Courtney liked having siblings. Especially older ones.

They were like super affectionate parents who let you get away with lots of stuff and were always sneaking her delicious things.

But among all of her siblings, she had a sure favorite from the moment that she was brought into the family.

*Creak!*

Courtney’s bedroom door cracked open and she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her bed.

“…Did she buy it?”

Courtney cracked open one eye and stared up at her charming, purple haired eldest brother.

Beside him, there was a mature beauty with a slender body and long black hair.

The glow of her golden eyes and his red ones lit up her dark room better than her ‘Jack Skellington’ night light.

“Mommies were super concerned when I said my tummy was hurting at dinner, but they didn’t make me eat a lot, so I’m good to go!”

“That’s my baby sis!” S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Apophis and Courtney exchanged a very routine fist bump before she crawled out of bed.

She then held out her arms for Tiamat who was standing beside him- invoking slight feelings of jealousy in her brother in the process.

“Sister-in-Law!”

“Hey there, little tyke. Did you miss us?”

“Yea! How long are you staying this time??”

“Oh, you’ll have to ask your brother about that.”

Courtney turned towards her brother with big eyes.

He glanced down at his watch and then checked his phone to ensure he wasn’t missing any messages from a certain someone.

“I asked our sister to cover for me for a couple of days, so as long as nothing comes up, we should be able to stick around a bit.”

Courtney leaned over to whisper in Tiamat’s ear.

“How many is a couple..?”

Tiamat whispered back; “Three or four.”

“Well which is it??”

“Alright, alright, alright.” Apophis finally liberated his sister from the clutches of his wife and hoisted her onto his shoulders.

“Enough with all of this number talk. To the kitchen!” He pointed.

Courtney cheered with both arms in the air. “Hooray!!”

Together, the three left Courtney’s room and headed straight for the kitchen in the children’s wing of the manor.

Once there, Apophis placed his little sister on a stool at the bar so she could watch him work his magic.

Apophis wasn’t just Courtney’s favorite because he was warm, funny, and affectionate.

He was also the only one to let her watch the first thirty minutes of ‘The Human Centipede’ … she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about that though.

But the major reason why she favored her brother miles above everyone else was because he also had the pallet of a five-year old.

Meaning that he enjoyed eating and making the same terrible things that a child might delight in.

Some were wacky, some were colorful, and some were comically gross, but around 67% of the time he ended up hitting a home run.

And the best part about their secret culinary sessions was that he always snuck her out past her bedtime to partake in them.

Tiamat slid in the seat next to Courtney and the little girl finally noticed the two missing counterparts.

“Where are my other sisters in law?”

Apophis and Tiamat got funny looks on their faces and licked their lips fondly.

“They’re just resting a bit, little miss. Your brother helped us with a very strenuous work out.” Tiamat’s cheeks were red as she tried not to get flashbacks.

“Really? Then why aren’t you resting?”

“Erm…”

Tiamat had over 1,000 years on both of Apophis’ other wives.

She recovered from those ‘work-outs’ a lot faster than Claire and Rita did.

But how was she supposed to tell little Courtney that without scarring her for life?

“…Because this big sister of yours is just built different.” Tiamat cheesily flexed her outwardly unimpressive muscles.

Courtney seemed to be quite amused and fell into a fit of giggles.

Now that she had successfully preserved a child’s innocence, she turned her attention back to her enticing husband and watched him tie on an apron.

“So, what nauseatingly concerning concoction are you going to make for us tonight, little husband?”

“Fried gravy sandwiches.” Apophis nodded proudly.

“…The fuck?”

Courtney rubbed her stomach greedily. “I’ve been waiting for this all day! I even skipped dinner to make room!”

Tiamat wasn’t sure which statement she was supposed to tackle first.

Three doors opened up down the hallway and some very familiar faces started to come out.

“I thought I sensed you. Welcome home, you two.” Gabbrielle smiled faintly.

“Is it Chef Apophis night already?” Straga yawned as he scratched his exposed stomach.

“Christ. I still haven’t recovered from the pancake ice cream donuts you made last month..” Belloc grumbled.

Apophis held out his arms to hug his younger sister while giving his brothers the finger.

“All of you just hush up and come witness my magic in full effect, yea?”

“What exactly are you making this time?” Straga asked as he pet Courtney on the head.

“Fried gravy sandwiches.”

“…Bro, I can’t keep defending you.”

“I stopled a long time ago.” Belloc shrugged.

“I am also beginning to reach that point.” Tiamat nodded in agreement.

Apophis ignored all three of them and instead began pulling ingredients out of the fridge nearby.

“Yea, yea. Just make sure you guys aren’t hassling me for a bite when you see how good they turn out.”

Tiamat: “You are going to be Tehom’s first recorded case of hypertension…”

Straga: “I dunno if you know this, but we’re not poor. You do not have to eat like this.”

Gabbrielle: “I’m aware that our bodies burn calories at impossibly high rates, but I still cannot advocate for your choice of diet.”

Among his siblings and wife, Apophis couldn’t help but notice the lack of faith or patience in his culinary abilities.

Except for little Courtney who was utterly mesmerized. “How do you come up with all this stuff..?”

“My genius seems to know no limits, baby sister.”

“Genius, hm? Since you have so much of it in spades, perhaps you might trade it for some humility.”

Everyone in the kitchen froze as they slowly turned their heads towards the dark hallway.

There they found a pair of the most beautiful beings imaginable standing against the wall- one black skinned,and the other red.

“Uh-oh…” Courtney hid behind Tiamat and tried to make herself look as small as possible.

The rest of the kids didn’t have bedtimes so they weren’t really afraid of Abaddon’s sudden appearance, but they were afraid that they would be scolded for waking up their impressionable sister.

“H-Hey, Ma. Dad. I’m home!” Apophis said innocently.

“Yes, we see that. And breaking your little sister out of bed too no less.”

Seras appeared behind Tiamat in a gust of wind and plucked her up from her chair.

But Courtney was already an expert highly trained in the field of pretend, and she let her body go limp immediately.

“Zzzz… sleepwalking…Zzz.”

“See? She wandered out here on her own, free of anyone’s responsibility.” Apophis shrugged.

Seras shook her head in incredulity.

She noted her son’s apron and a pile of ingredients on the counter and she began to get a sneaking suspicion.

“Don’t tell me that this is why you weren’t eating at dinner, little girl. I thought you said you made yourself sick trying human food again.”

“Zzzz…”

“The jig is up, dear.”

Courtney finally fluttered her eyes open. She groggily rubbed Seras’ cheek like a professionally stage-trained actor.

“Mommy..? How did I get here..?”

“Christ.”

Abaddon would’ve chuckled if he weren’t worried about Courtney picking up some bad habits.

“Don’t worry, we’re not here to break up your little tradition.” Abaddon dismissed.

“You know about it??” Apophis somehow looked shocked.

“My favorite child told me.” He beamed with pride.

The boys glared at Gabbrielle.

“””Snitch.”””

She merely shrugged harmlessly as if she couldn’t be expected to keep a secret from their father.

“I’ll tell you what..” Seras began. “We’ll let this little culinary madness continue if you learn how to add something green to your menus.”

Apophis opened his mouth to speak.

“No, green candies and jalapeños do not count.”

Apophis closed his mouth.

He soon found himself grumbling under his breath. “Well that almost defeats the whole purpose…”

Abaddon chuckled and clasped his hand on his eldest son’s shoulder.

“Well you can either do it, or I’ll tell your mother that you’re keeping your sister awake and jeopardizing her school performance.” (Lailah)

A shiver ran down Apophis’ spine. “…You’re a shrewd negotiator, old man.”

“Call it what you will.”

While Apophis went searching in the fridge for something that had actually grown out of the ground, Abaddon and Seras sat down with their children.

“I’m surprised you two are up and about this late. I would’ve thought you would have taken out your teeth and hit the sack by now.” Belloc joked.

“”How about we hit the son instead??””

“I apologize for my outburst.”

Abaddon and Seras rolled their eyes and returned to the matter at hand.

“Actually, I came bearing gifts for my diligent and kind children…But I forgot how little of you I actually had.” He glanced at Gabbrielle.

“I am a tough act to follow, father.” She nodded proudly.

“Yes you are, Peach.”

The boys rolled their eyes while Courtney looked even more excited than she did when Apophis texted her the menu for the night.

“Gifts?? Are they toys??”

There was a replica ‘Chucky’ doll and plastic knife that she had her eye on for quite some time now.

“Honey, we talked about this. Your dad isn’t allowed to get you anymore toys until you can learn your twos multiplication table.” Seras denied.

“But I thought daddy said he was the most powerful entity in the multiverse and he could do whatever he wanted??”

“Oh?” Seras asked dangerously with a smile that was not a smile. “Did he now…?”

Abaddon felt his back begin to sweat and he quickly tried to change the subject to secure his safety.

“A-Anyway! I want you all to take your pick of these.”

Waiving his hand over his chest, Abaddon pulled out fourteen glowing orbs from his soul; seven red, and seven golden.

“I was thinking that you all might like to have… hm?”

Suddenly, a few of the sins and virtues began to vibrate like they had minds of their own.

In the midst of him explaining, four of the orbs shot toward Apophis while he was dredging a pork chop in breadcrumbs.

Once the great powers entered his chest, he had no choice but to step back from the kitchen counter as his body was wrapped in a bright glow.

Seras had to cover her daughter’s eyes so that she wouldn’t go blind, but Courtney was still immensely amused.

“Big brother is a lightbulb!!”

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