by Michael Todd
Sofia laughed. “I think my mother would love that. She always hated planning big events. It is part of the culture, though, so she has become accustomed to it. I personally love small and intimate gatherings like today. This has become everything I ever wanted it to be. Not overblown, but elegant enough for my personality.”
Timothy brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and looked at her reflection in the mirror. “My little Calvin is all grown up. He’s gonna marry this voluptuous queen and have a happily ever after. It’s the most fabulous thing I’ve done in a very long time. Girl, and this dress. Valentino. I’m dying over here.”
Stephanie laughed. “Don’t die. I need you for this.”
“The fabulousness will kill me. Ugh.”
“Hold it together, jerk.”
15
Katie stood in front of the mirror and admired her lavender gown. It cascaded over her curves and lay gently on the floor. Spaghetti straps held it up in the front, and wisps of sequins peppered the thing all the way to the hem. She approved of the back of the dress, or lack thereof. It scooped low, curving right below the dip in her back. Her hair was pulled back and carefully pinned in luscious curls off her neck.
Around her neck was a slender silver chain with a single diamond hanging from it. She pulled on her strappy silver heels. Just then Pandora walked around the corner wearing a tight black halter dress that went straight down to the top of her pointy platform heels. Her black hair fell around her shoulders in lush ringlets.
Pandora took a deep breath and put out her arms. “Tell me, do you think I should go in my human skin or my demon skin?”
She flashed her demon scales, her body a red so deep it was almost black. Her eyes flashed red. “I think this may be a bit too much, but at the same time I feel like my human skin is a bit douchey, you know?”
Katie lifted her eyebrows. “Human, definitely. You look like a block with your scales and black dress. Besides, Sofia isn’t Damned, and we don’t want to freak her out with a demon standing behind her.”
Pandora flashed back to her human skin. “Good thinking. You look fucking radiant, by the way. Good Lord, Brock is going to piss himself.”
Just then there was a knock on the door, and Pandora smiled. “Speak of the devil.”
Katie walked to the door. “I hope you don’t mean the actual devil.”
She opened the door to find Brock standing in the hall, one hand in his tuxedo pocket. Her jaw dropped. He looked suave as hell. His new demon had done the trick; he didn’t have a scratch on him. She waved him in, and he chuckled as he walked past her into the room. Katie admired him. “You are good as new.”
Brock put out his hands. “And you are a vision. Fucking beautiful.”
Katie blushed slightly, and Pandora held back a snicker. “How is your demon?”
Brock laughed. “Like a thirteen-year-old boy ready to go.”
Katie shook her head. “How in the world did you heal so fast?”
Brock shrugged. “I gave him a little incentive to get a move on.”
Katie wrinkled her forehead. “What was the incentive?”
Brock reached out and grabbed Katie by the waist, pulling her hard into him. He ran his lips across her neck before pulling back with a grin.
Katie’s breath caught in her throat and she giggled, putting her hand on his chest. “Hold on there, buddy. We’ve got a wedding to get to.”
Pandora stepped forward with a snicker. “But after the wedding? Look out.”
Calvin pulled his coat over his shoulders and buttoned the front, then looked at himself in the mirror. He lifted his chin and straightened his bowtie just a smidge.
Korbin walked up next to him, and Calvin laughed. Korbin held his hands out and looked at his jacket. “What? What did I do?”
“In all of the years I’ve known you, Korbin, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a tux. You look like an actual human being in that thing. I can now see why Stephanie has a thing for you.”
Korbin slanted him a look and shook his head. “I know, surprise, surprise, Korbin is more than just an evil dictator endlessly harassing his mercenaries.”
“I never thought of you as an evil dictator.” Calvin was laughing just the same. “Maybe just a bossy-ass demon-slayer.”
Korbin opened his hand, showing Calvin a set of gold and blue cufflinks with his initials on them. “These are for you. They were my grandfather’s. He had the same initials as you. He was a lucky man, and hopefully some of that will rub off on you and Sofia.”
Calvin took the cufflinks and shook his head. Suddenly he hugged Korbin tightly. “Thanks, man. That’s really awesome.”
Juntto cleared his throat, and the guys looked at him. He was staring down at his untied bowtie. “How do you tie one of these things?”
Korbin shook his head. “Don’t look at me. Stephanie tied mine.”
Calvin chuckled and put the cufflinks on. He walked over to Juntto, who had his Channing Tatum look on again. It made Calvin laugh. “This whole Channing Tatum thing is interesting. Just don’t start Magic Miking it during the wedding.”
Juntto grunted. “I may have his face, but my moves are much smoother.”
Calvin laughed, tying Juntto’s bowtie. “Have you ever been in a wedding before?”
Juntto shook his head. “No, things are a bit different on my planet, ceremony-wise. There are no flowers or anything like that. We take a dip in the teal pond below the ancient shrines of our gods. It is the everlasting pond, full even through the drought that crippled our planet. The parents are there to exchange the money.”
Calvin lifted an eyebrow as Juntto continued, “Yes, money. How much did you pay for your wife? She is very beautiful and very intelligent. She would have raised a lot of currency for her hand on my planet.”
Calvin finished tying the bowtie and glanced at Korbin. “We really have no idea what you are talking about. We decided we loved each other and we wanted to get married. In fact, she asked me because I was dragging the line on that one. You pay for your wives? Do they have a say?”
Juntto nodded. “Like your culture, we pick our wife, or wives, depending on our stature. When you choose a bride, you must present goods to the woman’s family. You offer a sum of money to the father. The poorer folk offer food, the pick of the harvest or a number of beasts for slaughter.”
Calvin shook his head. “Beasts?”
“Or a harvest. Like corn?” Korbin was interested now.
Juntto nodded. “Oh, yes. A woman like Stephanie, for example, would be worth quite a bit. If not money, she would be worth at least five beasts and three full spring harvests.”
Korbin chuckled under his breath. “My wife would be worth five beasts? I’m sure she would be happy to hear that.”
Juntto nodded seriously. “Oh, yes, that’s a very fair price for a woman like her. Sofia is worth at least a dozen tribbles.”
“What is a tribble?” Calvin asked cautiously.
Juntto waved his hand toward the window. “They are like your goats.”
Calvin nodded slowly. “And what is the goat-to-beast ratio here? Are we saying Sofia isn’t worth as much as Stephanie, or is she worth the same? I need a cheat sheet for this.”
Korbin thought about it for a moment. “When you have a son, you have to have enough goods for your own family and enough to pay for a bride?”
Juntto nodded. “Many farmers have become poor when their sons married up in society. They were not prepared for that. It is a slap in the face to offer less than what a woman is known to be worth.”
Korbin opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. Calvin frowned. “So, wait. You’re telling me you judge the worth of your women based on beasts, goats, and vegetables? I don’t think most Earth women would be very happy about that.”
Juntto shook his head. “Not her worth as a person. Women are regarded very highly on my world. The tribbles and the harvest, these are simply signs of what the man is willing to give up to have
her as his wife. What sacrifices he and his family will make to ensure her family is taken care of.”
Calvin let out a deep sigh. “I don’t get it. Seems wasteful.”
Juntto waved his hands at them. “If you don’t understand, I cannot explain it to you.”
Calvin turned to Korbin with a smirk on his face. “I wonder what Timothy will pay one day for a husband?”
Korbin chuckled. “Knowing him, nothing less than fourteen tribbles, three beasts, and a handful of corn on the cob.”
They all started to laugh, including Juntto. “No, two men do not pay the fee. They just marry.”
Calvin nodded. “I like it. Your planet seems progressive in that way, but a little old-school when it comes to women marrying men.”
Juntto made his way out of the room. “We grow our babies, so we don’t care who marries who.”
Calvin and Korbin both stopped. Calvin mumbled, “Well, that’s convenient.”
Korbin shrugged. “Makes sense. You’d have to be one hell of a woman to carry a behemoth like Juntto.”
A row of black town cars kicked up dust as they drove down the road toward a historic Spanish chapel near the base. Timothy had directed a team of emergency decorators to do some restorations on it before the wedding. A few new pews, an intense cleaning, and a few flowers went a long way to bringing it back to its former glory. The stained glass window in the front shimmered in the warm sun, reflecting a rainbow onto the dusty path in front of the chapel. The first car came to a stop and Calvin and Korbin got out, walking quickly inside, or as quickly as Calvin could walk with his cane.
Katie and Pandora rode together in the next car. The driver opened their door and helped them both out. They went to the front and positioned themselves to wait for the guests to arrive. It was a small wedding, with Katie serving as maid of honor, Korbin as best man, and Pandora presiding over the service. Timothy took his seat in the pews with Stephanie. She had to hold his hand. He was already crying.
Brock walked in behind several of the military service men and women who were stationed on the base and winked at Katie as he took a seat next to Juntto and Angie. Katie cleared her throat and looked away. He did look damn good.
She glanced at Pandora, who nodded at her knowingly. Katie rolled her eyes and stood up straight. She held a small bouquet of flowers in front of her. Normally she would walk down the aisle, but the place was so small it didn’t make much sense to do so.
Doctor Ozu, Doctor Thorough, and Alice all walked in, waving to Katie and Calvin and taking seats in the audience. The rest of Brock’s team were still too banged-up to get out of bed, so they sent their good wishes from the barracks and stayed behind with the nurses. Timothy stood up and kissed Stephanie on the cheek. He walked quickly out of the church. Joshua and several of the girls tiptoed into the church and filled the back row.
Pandora reached behind her and pressed the Play button on the iPad hidden on the pew and the sound of playfully chirping violins echoed through the old adobe church. Flowers hung from the ceiling and were draped over the wooden benches, and a white runner led up the main aisle. It was beautiful, and exactly what Sofia wanted—elegant, floral, and intimate.
Calvin was holding onto his cane with one hand at the front.
Pandora leaned over and whispered to Katie, “I still think we should have worn matching dresses.”
Katie sighed and shook her head. “The person presiding over the wedding and the maid of honor wearing matching dresses? That would have looked weird as hell, and we would have looked like freaking twins.”
“No fun. You are no fun.”
The music switched, and everyone quieted down. The crowd in the pews stood as Sofia appeared in the doorway. Her jewels sparkled wildly, and her face glowed as she clutched Timothy’s arm as he led her toward her groom. Calvin smiled sweetly, a tear filling his eye. Sofia reached the front of the chapel and Timothy giggled as he handed her to Calvin.
He pulled her veil back and grinned. “Oh, hey, there.”
“Hey, yourself.”
“Ready for this?”
“I was born ready.”
They grinned at one another.
The crowd sat back down, and Pandora cleared her throat. “Well, hell, we made it, didn’t we?”
Everyone laughed. Pandora looked down at a cheat sheet Sofia had written for her and started the service. “Ladies and gentlemen, Damned and innocent, we are gathered here today to celebrate one damn good show. Today we will witness the joining of two of the most kickass people I have ever known, Calvin and Sofia. They let me choose a reading, and as much as I wanted to go with some of my own words of wisdom, Katie thought I should stick to something more Earth-bound.”
Sofia smiled and looked back at Katie, mouthing, “Thank you.”
Pandora cleared her throat. “I chose a prayer instead. Lord, we thank you for giving Calvin and Sofia the blessing to become one today. We thank you for kicking Marty the hell out of Calvin since he didn’t do well with the tacos.”
Everyone chuckled.
“Lord, we ask that you allow these two to live together as a family with peace and love in their lives. You of all people know that Calvin is one of the most deserving of your soldiers. He has defeated more demons in his life as a Damned than almost anyone else. Give him the strength to protect his home now and forever, even as a measly human. Amen.”
Pandora nodded at Sofia. “Now the vows.” She looked at the crowd. “They wrote their own vows. I tried to help. I always say, there should be at least three positions explicitly stated in your wedding vows, so you know what your partner is into. Not including missionary, which is a baseline basic-bitch type of…”
Katie shook her head wildly, and Pandora shut up. “Okay. Sorry. The vows, please.”
Sofia turned to Calvin and breathed deeply. “I will make this short and sweet. I promise to walk with you in life, follow you in death, and honor our family every step of the way. I promise to help mend your broken bones, and I promise to love you for the rest of my days.”
Calvin beamed at her. “Sofia, my sweet. I never imagined a life outside of training, dungeons, and bloodbaths. But then there you were, waiting for me to save you. In the end, you saved me. You have given me the ability to see past who I was and look forward to who I will become. I promise to love and cherish you all of our days. To walk beside you in life, and to always, always, put my dishes in the dishwasher.”
Sofia giggled and wiped a tear from her cheek. Calvin kissed her hands. “Here is to forever with you.”
A ways down the dusty trail, Gabriel stood and listened to the service. His white and silver robes fluttered around him, and his silver hair whipped around his head like a halo. He smiled as Calvin kissed Sofia’s hands, then wiped a tear from his eye.
He lowered his head and raised his hands in prayer. “May Calvin, Sofia, and their unborn child find the light of God and the protection of all the angels. Amen.”
Gabriel raised his head sharply, and the smile dropped from his lips. He tilted his head to the side and listened intently.
His brow furrowed. With a swish of his hand he disappeared from sight, sparkles of sunlight blinking where his hair had just been.
A shimmer pulled Pandora’s attention to the open door, but there was nothing there. She narrowed her eyes. Under the flowers and Calvin’s joy, she could sense an angel’s fleeting presence. Under her breath, she whispered, “Gabriel, you asshole. What now?”
Outside the chapel a cloud of dust began to swirl, obscuring the horizon. Katie looked at Pandora and followed her eyes outside. The two stepped forward without speaking. They walked past Calvin and Sofia, waiting with bated breath as something approached. Katie squinted into the dust. “What is it?”
“Doesn’t your angel know?” Pandora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, they were glistening bright blue. “Demons.”
As the words left her lips, the infected carnies came stomping over the
hill. In front was the strongman, ruby-eyed and pounding his fist in his palm. Next to him was the bearded lady, her eyes bright red, twirling her finger through the long beard on her chin. They led the rest of the carnival workers, men and women who were performers and Ferris wheel mechanics and everything in between. They all had bright red eyes. They stopped on the dirt road and stared at the small church.
Pandora wrinkled her nose at the bearded lady. “Oh, honey. We are going to need to get you to the salon, stat. They are gonna have to use a whole bucket of wax on that shit.”
Calvin joined them and peered at the strange group. “What the hell do we have here?”
A little person wearing brown corduroy pants, a white Henley, and suspenders pushed through to the front of the crowd. Pandora smiled. “Aww, look at the little person. He’s so adorable.”
The little person growled, showing spiked teeth. He ran to the front of the church and began hissing and snarling at Pandora. She tilted her head to the side. “Hmm, you are not quite as cute as I thought.”
Katie picked up the front of her dress and turned to the congregation. “Those who can fight, get into position. Those who can’t, stay in the church. This is holy ground, so you should be safe. Calvin, that means you.”
Calvin gritted his teeth, then looked at Sofia and nodded at Katie. “Be careful out there.”
Pandora smirked, reaching down and ripping the bottom of her dress off up to her thighs.
Timothy gasped.
Pandora winked at him. “Be right back. Momma’s got to deal with some wedding crashers.”
16
The soldiers took off their dress jackets and filed out of the church in shirts and ties. The carnies were gathering down the road as if waiting for something. That was fine with the soldiers. They popped the trunks of their cars in unison and pulled out cases of weapons.
In the church, Sofia smirked at Calvin. “Really? Your friends brought guns to the wedding?”