Her screams of madness were the things of which nightmares are made, but I felt no mercy—no regret. Rhonda detonated and fireworks erupted from every orifice. Her body shattered into millions of shiny fragments and embedded themselves in the walls of both Heaven and Hell. I had blown her to Kingdom Come and she was never coming back.
Chapter 36
"Impressive," Cole snarled.
I had dropped to the ground in exhaustion. How in the Hell had I missed Cole? The sound of his voice was an unwelcome intrusion. I glanced up and froze. He had Lucy in a chokehold. Her face was bleeding and I recognized the mark. He had ripped her cheek open with his Hell Fire ring. How was she still alive? Were shifters immune to Demon magic?
Her face was bad but the Sword of Death pointed at her heart was far worse—a simple prick of the Sword was all it would take to kill a regular Immortal. Our mother lay in a clump at Cole's feet and wept. For herself? For Lucy? For me? Who knew. . .
"You are a surprise," Cole purred. "Didn't see that one coming, but no matter. My plan will still work."
"Let her go. Take me."
His laugh grated on my ears and I ground my teeth together to keep from saying something that could hasten my sister's death. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he barked and it took all I had not to answer. "You're unkillable. The mutt is not. I need insurance that your beautiful mommy will do as she has been told. I'm actually glad you killed the Dragon—now Amanda and I will rule Hell ourselves."
"Even if you destroy my father there are quite a few people in line for the throne, Cole."
"Yes, but none of them carry the son of Satan," he informed me haughtily.
"You think that child is his?"
"I know the child is not his, but once he's gone there will be no way to prove it. He has told all in Hell that Amanda carries his son. His son is the rightful heir and his son shall rule with me at his side."
He wasn't as stupid as I thought, but Lucy was.
The Black Magic that I'd given her had made her bold and I cried out as she made her move. Before my eyes a horror worse than anything I could have imagined unfolded. It happened so quickly I was helpless. She twisted out of Cole's deadly embrace and shifted into a monster so large and frightening she made the Hell Hounds look cute. She went for his head, but Cole was too fast. He plunged the Sword of Death through her neck and she collapsed next to our mother at his feet as blood spurted profusely from her neck. He had killed my sister.
The red of her blood mixed with the hatred in my soul and came out in a scream that ripped my throat raw. My palm burned and my head felt like it would fall from my body. A searing shot of pain flared up through my back and my skin separated. The agony was intense and I shot forward to the ground. The only thing that kept me conscious were the gasps and muttered curses from the Demon who'd taken the life of my sister.
Glancing up I saw the terror in his eyes as he backed away and stumbled over Lucy's dead body. Had my father shown up? Why was he so terrified? I struggled to my feet. My body felt much heavier than it had a moment ago. With a quick look back to see what had made Cole feel the need to run, I gasped.
No one had arrived, but something had. I had another gift. A beautiful new savage gift. Wings had erupted from my back. My left wing was golden and shot red fire and my right wing was black. Gold and sliver flames blazed from the black wing. I laughed. I was good and evil. I was life and death. I was Balance. I bore the mark of Angels and my dream of flight was no longer a dream—it was real. And it was Cole's turn to die.
I whooshed up into the air and flew at him like a bullet from Hell. His shrieks and cries would never bring my sister back, but he would not rule Hell and he would never lay a finger on my mother or father again.
He writhed and howled in pain as the fire from both of my wings sent wave after wave of acid poison into his traitorous body. I watched his bones pop and his skin tear from his body dispassionately. The pain he felt as his life force left him matched the pain in my heart of seeing him kill my sister.
It was over too fast. But it was done. He was broken and burned, but still identifiable. I wondered how long it would take him to turn to dust.
"Dixie." My mother sounded small and pathetic. I wasn't even tempted.
"Don't speak to me right now. I can't listen to your voice."
Her whimper didn't move me. Nothing could move me right now. I sat next to Lucy as her body shifted back to human and I gently closed her beautiful eyelids over her unseeing eyes. And then I cried.
Chapter 37
"What in the name of my homeland am I looking at? And where in the Hell am I?" my father bellowed as he examined the seven foot sequined and feathered statue of himself. "If this is supposed to be me, there will be some asses frying in the Basement tonight."
Through my tears I saw my father and Amanda. The next to arrive was Hayden, followed by Stella, then Elijah. Myrtle, Carl and Janet appeared in a puff of glitter and everyone looked terribly confused.
"What the fuck?" Myrtle gasped and took in the carnage.
"This is certainly one Hell of a decorating job," Stella muttered as she kicked a pile of dust that used to be a Demon.
"Dad," I whispered. My voice was still raw from screaming, but he heard me and so did Hayden.
"Dixie." Hayden ran for me and stopped short when he really saw me. "You have wings," he whispered reverently and knelt down to take me in his arms. I wrapped my arms around him and let my tears fall freely.
"I see your power finally came in," my father said sardonically as he gently ran his hands through my wings. "You seem to have had some fu. . ." His speech halted when his eyes found Eve. He stood mesmerized and then slowly approached her. "You. Why are you here?" He struggled with the words and I knew without a doubt that Cole had been correct. Satan loved Eve. I had never seen my father at a loss for anything—until now.
"I have failed, Lucifer. Don't look at me," she sobbed and curled into a ball on the hard floor.
"What have you done?" he asked in an awestruck voice I'd never heard.
"Who is she?" Amanda demanded as she sidled up to my father and grasped his arm in possession. Her eyes shot around the room as she tried to ascertain what had happened. Her quick shocked intake of breath was not lost on me as she spotted Cole's dead carcass. Her brain clearly worked fast and she developed another plan.
"I am nothing," Eve choked out. "Nothing."
"That's right—you're nothing," Amanda hissed. "I carry the son of Satan in my body. I will be his queen."
"About that," Satan said silkily as he removed Amanda's claws from his arm. "You'll be nothing of the sort. You'll be lucky if you live through the night."
"What do you mean?" Her voice was shrill and her eyes blinked rapidly. "I carry your child."
"You carry a child. Not my child. Do you take me for a fool?" Satan bellowed and more of the ceiling caved in.
"Look at me." She whimpered and clutched her stomach. "I am round with our baby boy."
My Father stood as still as a statue. His words were clipped and shards of ice dripped from each syllable. "I have lived for millions of years and I have eight children. Only eight children. I am very aware when I impregnate someone and I did not put my seed in you."
"But I don't understand," she blubbered as she dropped to her knees before my Father.
"Oh, but I think you do. I keep my friends close, but my enemies far closer. . .Amanda."
He raised his hands above Amanda. I knew what he was going to do, but it was wrong.
"Stop," I said harshly. "You will not destroy her."
The shock on my father's face would have comical if the situation wasn't so dire. "What did you say?"
"I said do not kill her."
"You think she is innocent?" he hissed.
"No, I don't." I got to my feet and stood toe to toe with Satan. "She is guilty, but the child is not. Give her reprieve until the baby is born and then do with her what you will. . .or give her to me and I will destroy her
, but not while she carries an innocent life."
My father stared at me with surprise and wonder. He lifted my chin and kissed my forehead. "As you wish, Balance. As you wish."
Amanda began to crawl from the room, but Elijah froze her with a flick of his hand. Satan gave him a brief nod of approval and let his gaze wander back to the woman that had been the downfall of so many.
"Motherhumpinshitballsonfire," Mother Nature shrieked as she fell from the sky with my grandpa on her back. "Can't I ever get a fucking break? Bill and I were testing out my new spinning sex swing and I catch wind that the Apocalypse is looming." They landed with a thud and Grandpa rolled across the room.
"Dixie has it covered," Satan said with pride as he righted his father and hugged his mother.
"Well, of course she does," Gigi snapped. "She's smarter than the lot of us."
Hayden stepped close and I leaned into his warm comfort. Right now I could care less if I was smarter than anyone. I just wanted a bath—and to take my sister's body to a safe place.
"It was Cole and a horrid Dragon named Rhonda. They planned to use your love for Eve against you and take your life."
My father was silent, but my grandmother was not. "Where is that worthless assbag?" she demanded. "I have had it up to my ears with this bullshit nonsense."
"Mother," Satan warned.
"Enough," she spat. "Enough of you." She slowly turned and faced my mother. "What do you have to say for yourself, Eve?"
"I don't know," Eve replied.
"That's what I thought." Gigi shook her head in disgust. "You are done. Your duties have been revoked. You are weak and selfish and you have been since you bit the damned apple."
"But the balance," I said as I took my grandma's hand in mine. "Temptation is part of what balances us."
"Who said I was eliminating balance? I'm simply taking it away from Eve."
"And what True Immortal will you put in her place?" Elijah demanded, speaking up for the first time. He kept a healthy distance from Hayden, but his question was pertinent.
"Why, her daughter, of course," Mother Nature replied as if we were all idiots.
"Her daughter is Balance," my father said angrily. "You shall not condemn Dixie to holding more than one trait."
Hayden stiffened beside me. He liked the idea no more than my father. Quite honestly I didn't like it either.
"Not Dixie, you assknuckle. Lucy. Lucy is Eve's daughter too. She is the logical and only choice."
"She's dead," I said. "Cole killed her. I saw it. He used the Sword of Death." My knees buckled and Hayden caught me before I fell.
"For God's sake! Sorry, son," she shouted to the Heavens. "Lucy's not dead. And where the Hell is God? Is he too good for every family meeting?" she yelled as she stomped over to Lucy's lifeless body. "Wake up, child," she said lovingly. "It's time to get up."
Suddenly the realization that I hadn't felt Lucy's death left me breathless. Lucy hadn't died. I would have known. The Beginning of Time was correct. There were True Immortals floating in our midst and Lucy was going to become the product of her own genius—she was the spare heir. She would become Temptation.
"She was stabbed with the Sword of Death," Elijah said loudly. "The Sword of Death kills True Immortals."
"For the love of my big bosom, it has to be a three part finale," Mother Nature shrieked and stamped her foot. Vines and trees erupted out of the cement and brightly colored parrots flew through the fractured ceiling. Gigi was getting pissed. "Lucy did not have a broken heart, she did not want to die and she was stabbed in the neck from the looks of it. Not the heart."
"Sorry—my mistake," Elijah muttered and jumped out of the way of a massive tree that exploded through the ground where he was standing.
"At least this one isn't weak," Gigi said as Lucy slowly came to. "She won't cave to anyone and she will do her duty as it should have been done in the first place. The reason Eve failed is that she took the easy way out and only dealt with the sexual side of temptation. Temptation in its truest sense embodies much more than sex." She aimed her derisive words straight at Eve.
"Give me the Sword of Death," my mother cried. "I will end myself so all of you can have your happily ever after."
"Oh no, dearie. That would be far too light of a punishment for you. You shall not forfeit your life. You will live for eternity to make amends for your transgressions."
My mother slumped forward, dropped her head to her hands and silently wept. There was good in her, but it had been eclipsed or her will had been bent by evil. She wasn't fit to lead, but Gigi was right not to let her die. A large part of me wanted her to get well and become who she had been a long time ago. I wanted to know the woman who rocked back and forth on the floor. I wanted to earn her real love and I wanted her to earn mine.
"I'll take her to Hell," my father said.
"No, you won't," Grandpa informed him. "She is your weakness. She will go with Mother Nature. Someday she might go free, but until then she will be dealt with by one who is not tempted by her."
"Why are all you people staring at me?" Lucy demanded as she stood shakily and took in all the unfamiliar faces. "Who in the Hell are all you people?"
"That's no way to talk to your step-Gigi," Mother Nature admonished a shocked Lucy. "Your mother has fallen down on the job, so you get to be Temptation."
"But. . ." Lucy stammered.
"Don't thank me now. The job's a bitch, but you can handle it. Just remember that sex is fun, but temptation has many faces."
"But. . ." Lucy choked out.
"I know. I know. You'd rather be emotion or death or something more stable, but you get what you get and you like it. You are a True Immortal, Lucy. I've known for ages, but until you are called to serve you cannot be privy to the gift. The expense account is divine and the family dinners would be wonderful if all the bastards would show up." She cast an evil eye to my father who ran his hands through his hair and looked at the sky. "So darling, what do you say?"
"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Lucy asked, still dazed by the motherlode of info that she'd just been presented with.
"No, you don't. In the same way I have no choice about being beautiful," she said.
"And insane," Satan muttered.
"I heard that, you little shit," she snapped at my father and then turned her attention back to Lucy. "We all have a choice, child. You are Temptation whether you want to be or not. The choice is if you will step up to the plate and do the job. Sink or swim, baby."
"I'll swim. I always swim," she replied.
"Good! I'm outta here," Gigi said. "Bill, are you with me?"
"Always, my love. I'm always with you," Grandpa said as he gave me a quick kiss and hug.
Mother Nature grabbed Eve with one hand and Grandpa with the other. "Later," she shouted as they disappeared in a blast of iridescent glitter.
"Um, I think people are arriving for the dance," Stella said as my classmates slowly wandered into the gym.
"Oh my God," a girl dressed in a white tube top, mini, thigh high boot and wings squealed. "The decorations rock!"
My father magically disposed of Cole's body and sent Amanda to some padded cell in Hell before they were noticed. He took me in his arms and held me tight. "You might want to retract those wings," he told me. "They're kind of conspicuous."
I quickly pulled them toward me and they disappeared into my back. "Thanks, Dad."
"No problem. Will you come back to Hell?" he asked.
I glanced over at Hayden and I grinned. "Yes, we will be coming back to Hell very soon."
"He's part of the package now?" Satan asked as he gave my Angel of Death the evil eye.
"Yep. He's definitely part of the package."
My father sighed dramatically. "Fine. I suppose it could have been worse."
He disappeared in a cloud of black glitter and the crowd of co-eds clapped wildly. They thought he was a magician. . .if they only knew.
Elijah walked right up to Lucy and
stared. "Would you like to dance?"
"My eyes are up here, douchebag," she said as he tore his gaze from her chest.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"You'd better be. I'll dance with you, but if you try any funny business I will knee your balls into you mouth."
"Duly noted." He grinned as he held his hand out to her.
"There's a match made in Heaven," Hayden said dryly as he pulled me onto the dance floor that had recently been a bloody scene of destruction.
I glanced around the room and smiled. Carl was waltzing with Janet. Myrtle was making out with Timmy by the broom closet. The baby Demons were at the snack table beating the Hell out of each other, much to the dismay of several faculty members who were at the dance. Stella had about ten young men vying for her attention and Lucy warily danced with Elijah. I laid my head on Hayden's chest and sighed.
"Can I feel you up?" Hayden asked with a glint in his eye. "It's a slow song."
"You have to spank my bumbum first." I giggled and snuggled closer.
"That could be arranged," his whispered in my ear as he lightly tapped my butt followed by a semi discreet body massage that should have taken place in private.
"I love you, my Angel," I told him.
"I love you too. Are you having fun?" he asked as he kissed me.
"Yep, but I want to go."
"Home?"
"Eventually, but I want to do something first."
"Can I guess?" he asked as he led me to the exit.
"Go ahead," I challenged.
"You want to fly."
I grinned and nodded. He led me out into the crisp cool evening and with a running start we launched ourselves into the night.
It was magical.
It was perfect.
And it was just the beginning.
EPILOGUE
Three weeks later
"Let me tell you something, Vampyre," Astrid hissed between her screams of labor. "If you ever pull out your penis again in this lifetime I will remove it with a dull butter knife."
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