Son of the Devil

Identity is a funny thing. In many ways, it defines who you are. Of course, I sometimes wonder if that applies to me. At a time when most young men and women are trying to figure out who they are, I was trying to figure out what I was. Recently, I found out certain key details about my origins. The surprising thing is that I'm not a bit surprised.

My name is Steven Vexes. A six-foot-two, dark-skinned young black man who hails from the City of Champions , also known as Brockton , Massachusetts . I'm an Aquarius, and I like ladies of all races. As long as they're pretty in the face, curvaceous in body and thick in the rear. I'm also partial to the occasional stud, once in a great while. As long as he's got a big one. Yes, I mean it like that. Sorry if that shocks you but that's just the way I get down. Yeah, I'm bisexual. For those hunks and sexy females who are reading this, I' hope you're open-minded. Last but not least, I'm the Son of the Devil.

How's that for an introduction? I bet it sure beats anything most people could come up with. I'm a freshman at Saint Hill University, a small private school located in the city of Milton , Massachusetts . I'm the captain of the men's soccer team. Lately, we've been doing alright. We took out Bridgewater State College, our biggest rival, along with Worcester State College. I think we have a chance at making it to the Division Three Championships of the NCAA this year.

I live in the dormitories, and for the most part, I found campus life to be quite alright. Saint Hill University has eleven thousand students, and only one campus. I was pleased to discover the student body was quite diverse. Over thirty six percent of us were minorities, which I found to be quite alright. The male to female ratio was one to one, also a plus. Why is that important? I'm a student-athlete and if the student body were imbalanced as far as the sexes were concerned, some of us sportsmen might lose our varsity teams thanks to politically correct Title IX. Thankfully, at Saint Hill University, we're off the hook. The athletic department sponsors men's varsity baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, swimming, ice hockey, football, gymnastics, golf, wrestling, water polo and volleyball along with women's varsity softball, basketball, cross country, tennis, golf, soccer, swimming, ice hockey, field hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, water polo, equestrian and volleyball.

When the year began, I was only concerned with passing my rather difficult criminal justice classes and playing soccer. I've never really been into academia but something about the field of criminal justice appealed to me. I've always wanted to become a cop. That was my goal. Of course, that was before everything started to go wrong. I was approached by a tall, dark-skinned man one day after soccer practice. The guy was weird and I thought he was a stalker or something. Turns out he was a lot more than that. He tried to kill me, and I swear I saw fire balls shoot out of his eyes. I ran like the devil himself was after me.

When I returned to my dorm, no one believed my story. Certainly not my teammate Josh Lee, an Asian dude I've known since my days at Cardinal Spellman high School in Brockton . Hell, I wasn't sure that I even believed the story. Still, I know I couldn't have imagined a fire ball singing me as I ran away. The bruises were quite real. I decided to keep to myself, and watch out for the weird guy with the strange powers who wanted me dead.

Over the next few weeks, my life basically returned to normal. Until I was approached by a very strange woman while studying at the campus library. This woman was tall, and simply drop-dead gorgeous, with blonde-white hair, green eyes and the biggest ass I've ever seen on a white chick. This lady called herself Zoriel and she claimed to be my Guardian Angel. I thought she was joking. Why are the hottest women always the craziest? I don't know. Must be one of the great mysteries of the universe. I told Zoriel that it was a shame a hot lady like her also happened to be completely certifiable. That's when she showed me her wings, which had been invisible until she displayed them for me.

Folks, I almost shat my pants. Holy shit! This woman was a real angel! Zoriel told me to beware of Erebus, who had been sent to kill me. I didn't know who the heck Erebus was. She told me all about him. Erebus was one of the minor gods of the Underworld in ancient Greek mythology. He was one of the Disciples of Thanatos, the god of Death. According to Zoriel, Thanatos had sent Erebus after me because he feared my joining forces with the fallen archangel Lucifer Morningstar, sworn enemy of Thanatos. Man, I couldn't believe Zoriel's story, but I sensed she was telling the truth.

I still didn't know why the Devil's enemies were after me. Zoriel told me I was a being of great power. I would figure it all out someday but in the meantime, I had to hide. I wasn't too keen on that. I worked my butt off last year to get into Saint Hill University. My way of escaping from my aunt Gina and my uncle Leonard. I didn't want to throw it all away. Zoriel said I had no choice. I told her to go screw herself. She glared at me with baleful eyes, but said nothing and simply vanished. Utterly. After Zoriel's departure, I contemplated my options. How in hell was I going to survive my next encounter with Erebus? On second thought, hiding might have been a good idea.

If Erebus was coming after me, there was nothing I could do. I couldn't go the police and tell them an ancient Greek god was after me because he didn't want me to join the Devil's Army. So I just went on with my life. As far as I knew, I didn't have any supernatural powers whatsoever. When the game was on the line, I got sweaty and bruised just like all the other hard-chargers on the men's soccer team. I didn't feel any different, but I had to be sure. I asked my Coach if he saw anything different about me. Coach Hayden Hawks is one of the sharpest men I know. He's a tall, lean white guy with dark brown hair streaked with white and pale blue eyes. He's been Coaching men's soccer at Saint Hill University since 1978.

Coach Hawks invited me into his office for a talk about my performance. He said he might be able to assuage my fears. Hearing Coach use words like assuage certainly felt strange, but whatever. As I sat in his office, Coach said he knew what was going on with me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Coach smiled and told me to stop worrying so damn much. Or he'd bench me. Apparently, I was one of the best soccer players he'd ever seen. Then, with a wry grin, he escorted me out of his office. I thanked him, then left for class.

As I walked from the field house, I was aware of a presence. When I turned around, Erebus was there. The dark man glared at me with glowing red eyes. I froze, knowing he was to be the end of me. As electricity crackled in Erebus hands, I couldn't move. It was eerie. I was frozen with fear. That's when someone intervened. Coach came out of the field house, and hollered at Erebus. The dark god turned around, and glared at Coach. Coach Hawks told him to get away from me. I knew then that Coach was about to die. He was a tough son of a gun but there was no way he could take on someone like Erebus.

Erebus looked Coach Hawks up and down. With a malicious grin, he hurled a lightning bolt at Coach. Before my amazed eyes, the electrical charge struck Coach, and Coach withstood it. A bright beam shot out of Coach Hawks eyes and struck Erebus, who shrieked in pain. Run! Coach said to me. His voice snapped me out of my reverie and I ran with vigor which surprised even me. As I ran, I turned around to see my soccer coach trading energy blast after energy blast with an ancient Greek god. It was a fantastic battle. Coach seemed to have the last word, however. His last fireball struck Erebus square in the chest, and the dark god vanished. Coach came to me.

I stared at him, stunned. How in hell did he do that? Coach smiled, and told me to come with me. We headed to the school cafeteria. It was around four on a Friday, so the place was deserted. Coach sat me down and explained himself while I sipped on a coke. Coach told me he hadn't been totally honest with me. He was more than human. I stared at him. I had gathered as much. Of course he wasn't human. What was he? Coach told me he was an upper-level demon. One of the Lords of Hell. I was quite stunned. What was a Lord of Hell doing coaching a college sports team? Coach laughed, and said even the Lords of Hell had to have their day jobs. He was a soccer fan who jumped at the chance to coach a college team while he moved to the mortal world decades ago. Coach was a good friend of my father, and said my father entrusted him to look after me when I came of age.

These revelations surprised me, to tell you the truth. I grew up raised by my verbally abusive aunt Gina and my uncle Leo the miser. I didn't know who my father was, though my mother died in a car accident. Coach looked at me sympathetically, then dropped a bomb on me. According to him, I was the Son of the Devil. The Heir of the Throne of Hell. The Grandson of Yahweh, God of the Covenant. Lucifer Morningstar was my father. And he intended me to become his secret weapon in his war against the gods of the Underworld and the Kingdom of Heaven. Awesome bit of news, don't you think? That's when I just about fainted. Not something I usually do but I think that's understandable under the circumstances.

Coach Hayden Hawks smiled when he saw the dumbfounded look on my face. I had trouble taking it all in. My soccer coach was a demon lord from Hell. My father was the Devil. And there was an ancient Greek god after me. And you thought your life was hard! Coach said he could see a lot of his old pal Lucifer in me. I sincerely wish he'd stop saying that name. I think my discomfort pleased him. Coach said he'd been watching me for some time. For ages he'd looked after me, using his magic to shield me from the forces which would destroy me if they knew what I was. Unfortunately, he couldn't shield me from a Pagan god. Erebus power was far beyond his, though he held his own against the dark god back there.

I took all that in. One thing bugged me, though. If I was so damn special, how come I didn't have any damn powers to show for it? Coach smiled, and said he knew all about my powers. They were there, they just needed to be unlocked. He promised to train me. But that was for later. For now, I had to get back to my dorm and get some sleep. When I asked him about Erebus, he told me not to worry. The dark god wouldn't be back for quite some time. I went to bed, and reflected on the day I had. My roommate Josh watched some videos on YouTube while I tried to get some shut eye. He watched some big-booty girls shaking their moneymakers in a Rap video. That was his life. Going to class, playing soccer and enjoying Rap music. Once upon a time, my life was that simple. Now, everything was changed.

The next day, my training with Coach Hayden Hawks began. If I thought the man was a tough soccer coach, he was even tougher and meaner when it came to teaching me about my hidden powers. He took me for a walk in the city of Boston. As we strode through the crowded streets of the Theater District, Coach pointed to various men and women he saw moving about. According to him, there were countless nonhuman beings living in human society. Demons. Vampires. Werewolves. Satyrs. Nymphs. Mermen. Mermaids. Trolls. Monsters. Fallen angels. Superhumans. They were all real. When I asked him about Zoriel, the angel who manifested herself to me, Coach told me to steer clear of her. According to him, Zoriel was a recently fallen angel. She'd gone mad after her wings were cut off by the arch-demon Astaroth, one of Lucifer Morningstar's favorite henchmen. Heaven kicked her out. She was a rogue entity, welcome neither on Heaven nor Hell.

I considered that. How strange. When I saw Zoriel, she didn't seem sinister to me. Of course, what did I know of angels? Coach reminded that he was once an archangel. He had left Heaven of his own free will because he believed in Lucifer's cause. Now he was looking after Lucifer's only begotten son and protecting said son from the dark gods of ancient Greek mythology. I wanted to know more about these supernatural beings. Coach taught me how to spot them. He taught me how to peer into things with a sense other than sight, smell, taste, touch or hearing. It was my sixth sense. Once I got the hang of it, I found the world to be far more fascinating than ever before.

As Coach and I walked through the city, I saw the nonhumans for what they were. A tall blonde woman who walked around holding hands with a tall, slim young black man was actually a Succubus, a member of the elite class of high-ranking female demons. The young black man she was with wasn't human either. Not one hundred percent. He was a wolf-man. Unlike werewolves of legend, wolf-men and wolf-women weren't ordinary people transformed into strange beasts by moonlight but supernatural beings masquerading as ordinary people. A sexy Latin woman in a waitress uniform at the nearby Starbucks was actually a fallen angel. And the distinguished Asian gentleman in the business suit to whom she served the coffee was a genetically enhanced human being. He sped-read his way through the large tome he carried merely by touching it. It was incredible. The fantastic lived among us and we never knew it.

I was amazed. Coach laughed, and we continued walking. Here and there, I saw beings which were neither human nor fully inhuman. They looked like ordinary people, yet they weren't. coach told me they were Half-Breeds. The offspring of nonhuman entities and ordinary mortals. All manner of supernatural beings came to earth and often had offspring with ordinary men and women. Gods and goddesses became the parents of those half-human, half-divine beings known as the demigods. Fallen angels sired offspring with humans too. Those offspring were known as the Nephilim. So that's what I was. A Nephilim. Coach laughed when I said that. According to him, the Nephilim had the power of whatever fallen angel sired them. As the son of Lucifer, the most powerful of all angels, I was more powerful than most beings. Potentially more powerful than the pagan gods and goddesses of the Underworld themselves.

That was a comforting thought. Slowly but surely, I learned what I could do. Once activated, my abilities kicked in. It was eerie. One day I was a normal guy, the next I could do amazing things. At the gym, I bench-pressed eight hundred pounds. Dead lift. My strength was increasing. Soon I'd be stronger than any human being who ever lived. I was mightily impressed with myself. Until Coach showed me what he could do. Let's just say that his superhuman strength far exceeded mine. While I was bragging about lifting ordinary weights, the dude took me to the parking lot and lifted a pickup truck three feet off the ground with one hand. How about that? I give him that one. I could do other stuff, too. I had better than normal night vision. I could also leap incredible heights. I found that out the hard way when Coach pushed me off a building rooftop. Did I mention it was the Hancock Tower? I fell for nearly eight hundred feet! When I landed, or rather, crashed, I was in one piece!

I was really mad at Coach for pulling that stunt. He seemed disappointed in me somehow. He said he thought I'd be flying by now. I reminded him that I didn't have wings. He smirked, then suddenly flashed his own wings. Two huge, pitch-black wings similar to those of a bat. They looked fearsome. Coach snapped his fingers, and once more his wings were invisible and intangible. Hot damn, what I wouldn't give to have wings like that! Coach shrugged, and told me that most Nephilim lacked the power of flight. Only those sired by high-ranking and exceptionally powerful fallen angels ever manifested such powerful supernatural talents.

In the meantime, I had an ability he claimed he'd never seen in a mortal being before. I was invulnerable. Nothing seemed capable of hurting me. Coach tested that by hurtling fireball after fireball at me, and they never did more than cause me to sweat a little. That was pretty cool. Superhuman strength and invulnerability. I felt like a superhero. If only I could fly. Time after time I tried, only to end up embarrassing myself by crashing every single time. I gave up on the whole flying thing. It just wasn't for me. Coach let me off the hook after a while. And on campus, life went on. To my dismay, I found out that having superhuman strength and being invulnerable didn't guarantee victories in sports. Especially since I was no faster than I was before on the soccer field. Coach forbade me from using my powers on the field. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Watching my team lose and knowing the entire time that I could have won the victory for them all by myself. Watching Saint Hill University lose to Western New England, Springfield College and Bates College totally sucked.

That was a hard lesson. It reminded me of how different I was. Even in a world full of strange beings. Kinda made me wonder what the fuck the point of it all was. Coach told me I was destined to play a key role in the war between the pagan gods of the Underworld, servants of Thanatos, the god of Death and Lucifer Morningstar, the Crown Prince of Hell. That so didn't make me feel better. I demanded that Coach allowed me to meet my so-called father. Or this damn Thanatos everybody was making such a big deal about. Coach told me this was simply not possible. According to him, the Devil was too busy and Death was simply too much for me at the moment. Until my time came, it would behoove me to stay away from the major powers at war over the dominion of the cosmos.

Sometimes, I wonder if Coach can answer a question without being cryptic about it. I suppose that's what I get for being what I am. I tried to go back to my normal life. And strangely enough, I found it comforting. It was a Friday night and for once we didn't have a game on, and no late classes. Josh and I were in the dorm. I watched him get dressed all nice and everything. So I asked him where he was going. He told me he was going to a campus party to meet his new girlfriend Jennifer and some of her lady friends, along with some guys from the football team. He asked me if I wanted to come along. I thought about it. Why not? Coach wasn't training me, and Erebus hadn't come after me in ages. So I showered, got dressed and left for the party. I am the Son of the Devil, a being I've never met. I'm supposed to be this big honcho with a big destiny. Whatever. I'm also me. Steven Vexes. And that's enough for me. I'm going to go out, party and have fun with my peers. To hell with Heaven, Hell and their little war. It's my life and I do what I please!