The door opened slowly, and a man in a white suit walked, slow and lithe, through the threshold. His hair was shiny and black, his eyes deep-set and calm. He was beautiful and grotesque at the same time; a baby-faced supermodel with eons of hate and bitterness flowing through his veins.

Bex took a step, but Claire held out her hand and flattened it against his chest, restraining him. “Stand next to Ryan.”

“But…” Bex protested.

“Do it!” she growled. I’d never heard her take that tone with her little brother.

The man’s eyes darted to the youngest Ryel, his head unmoving. It was unnatural, frightening. Bex slowly walked to the wall, wary of the pair of eyes that studied his every move.

I pulled my infant daughter closer to me, turning slightly so that my shoulder was in a position to protect her. I didn’t notice the movement until I realized it had drawn the man’s attention back to us.

“Desecration,” the man breathed. His was more of a hiss than a voice. “Even more than your father.”

“Do not speak to her,” Jared said, his tone low and terrifying.

Ryan looked to Claire. He was confused and worried, but he didn’t move.

The man took another step.

Jared stood, and lifted his hand, pointing at the black-haired man. “She belongs to Him. You can’t touch her. You may kill us all, but He’s commanded that she live.”

The man took in a deep breath through his nose, his eyes rolling back into his head. His lids shuttered, and then popped open, focusing on the baby. When he spoke, his voice was many; distant and loud simultaneously. “If you’ve noticed, I quite enjoy doing things He forbids.”

“Should I shoot?” Ryan whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

“No,” Claire said, her voice strained. “Don’t move.”

Ryan frowned, clearly unsettled. “What is it?”

“The Devil,” Bex said.

The man’s pupils bled into the whites of his eyes, the darkness inside them glistening from the light of the fire outside. He took another step.

A large vein bulged from his pasty forehead as his calculating eyes targeted my daughter.

Jared didn’t wait for him to take another step. He charged, stopping abruptly when the Devil grabbed him by the throat. Claire immediately reacted, attacking him with astounding speed. Her small body flew against the wall, and Ryan reacted.

She held up hand. “Don’t,” she said, standing.