Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
“What are you implying, Lucifer?”
Dripping water all across my home, I trudged up to the fourth floor to get a good view of the Destroyer of Georgia pitching a fit on his castle.
Sure enough, the tiny dragon clutched the highest spire of his domain, and even through the window, I could hear him making a ruckus.
I laughed at his temper tantrum, which did zero harm and was about as threatening as a cotton ball.
Lucifer, who’d followed me up, sighed at the black dragon’s demonstration. “I apologize for him. You did the equivalent of smack him across the nose with a newspaper, and that much energy going straight into his castle results in him being… boisterous.”
“If it wasn’t for the fact he’s glowing and bouncing around up there, I wouldn’t have noticed him.
” I considered flopping onto the floor and taking a nap, regretting I needed to make certain my guests settled for the night, had dinner, and kept an eye out for another storm showing up.
“I might have offended Zenzi. She was the closest. I’m lucky Moon stayed in the garage. ”
“He’s young enough the storm would have terrified him, and it was safer to stay with the other horses and your cattle. You’ve done enough warding today you can release your animals if you want.”
“They can stay indoors, and I’ll deal with it in the morning.
” Rather than flop on the floor, I crossed my arms and glared at the dragon.
“Seriously? Are all dragons either toddlers or horny?” I pointed downstairs, where I had the utmost confidence in Isaac’s ability to instigate debauchery.
“I should have asked those dragons to deal with that dragon before distracting my neighbor from the magic I needed to work.”
“It’s not a bad thing, you know,” Lucifer replied, and the tenderness of his expression startled me.
“She looks up to you, and she witnessed the lengths you will go to help someone who has made your life miserable. It’s common knowledge that woman has not been kind to you.
You have gone far beyond being kind to her.
If it makes you feel any better, she doesn’t think you’re a literal goddess, just that you have the benevolence and kindness of one. She’s not wrong.”
“I better not be a divine of any sort,” I muttered.
“There are benefits, you know.” The Devil pointed at the dragon fussing on the top of his castle.
“Take that one for example. A severe case of divinity would mean you would have almost an eternity to torment him through the strict controlling of his schedule and affairs. You would forever be able to enjoy this paradise you have fashioned for yourself, and every animal in your care will live with all the blessings you can muster for them until it is time for them to serve their next purpose. Your chickens will bless you with more eggs than you can ever use, and they will cross through the valley with no fear of what is to come because Death in all its facets will be keeping a careful watch for all of yours.”
A chill swept through me. “What are you implying, Lucifer?”
“I am implying that you, through the choices you have made today, have set yourself on that path. There is a line in the sand that divides a greater hedge witch from being the divine of hedge witches. The woman who might have taken up that mantle set foot on a different path. She became a mother, and she chose to cultivate the precious seeds of her family. That is the garden she opted to grow. Rather than accept the call, she focused her magic on those most important to her. And so she stepped away. But her garden is still of great importance, and she has done good with the power she chose to set aside and put away. She is still a hedge witch, but she will never again come near that line.”
I narrowed my eyes, considered the dragon, and then focused my attention deeper, to the node beneath the castle. Unlike even hours before, I felt it as a warmth that overlapped and spread onto the edge of my property.
Yet again, I became aware of a second, similar presence, but it lurked somewhere beneath my property, as though it waited for its chance to shine again rather than flare for a brief moment and fade away again. “There are two nodes here, aren’t there?”
The Lord of Hell pointed at the castle. “The one there is ancient, and it has been alone for the ages. It has seen the rise and fall of mankind, and it was there when I fell. Some of the power from my fall resides within it, offering the potential of its eternal life—a life it almost lost during its tangling.”
“What tangled it?”
“Mr. Durant has been long at rest, and in that lonely time for the node, it had nothing and no one. It tangled itself in search of purpose during the ages where magic lacked strength to support a dragon. And so the dragon slept, far from his den, in the company of a great and ancient friend, who sacrificed his slumber to make certain the dragon survived to this new age.” Something about the Devil’s expression bothered me, as though some great weight settled onto his shoulders.
“And this friend? Will he be fine?”
“In time, perhaps. He has a node of his own, but like this one, it has suffered and become tangled.”
“So, I untangle it. If it’s the same process, it’s a simple enough matter.”
The Devil arched a brow. “You underestimate what you have done, Crystal.”
I narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean? It’s all just threads, and even children can untangle a knot with enough patience. I just worked one thread at a time, gave each thread purpose and encouragement, and went from there.”
“And then you dumped an entire surge storm onto it. That is no easy feat.”
I grimaced. “Do you think the Destroyer of Georgia is going to forgive me when he finds out that I was absolutely willing to blow his castle down to save a neighbor who hates my guts and wants to kill me with horrible pie?”
“You weren’t trying to disperse the storm?” the Devil blurted.
“No, I was just trying to make sure the tornado didn’t kill anybody.” I sucked in a breath. “Shit! I forgot about the alligators.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The tornado tossed my babies out of the lake and threw them. I don’t know if they’re all right. What if they’re hurt?” I lifted my hands, ran my fingers through my hair, and upon encountering more than a few knots, I spat frustrated curses. “Are there even vets that will treat baby alligators?”
Lucifer raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. “Crystal, there are thousands upon thousands of alligators in this area. Should any of them die, they will serve nature’s purpose and there will be more alligators born next year. You do not need to take every hurt wild animal to the vet.”
“But they’re hurt because of me, Lucifer. I’m the reason the storm came. I made the decision to raise the castle and preserve the node.”
“Very well. We will go check on your alligators. But so help me, if Darlene cries, you will pay for millennia for your sins against my wife.”
“Sacrifice your body for her happiness, then. It’s not like it’ll matter if there are even more people engaging in debauchery in my house tonight. If she cries, distract her.”
“I resent your willingness to use my body to do your bidding.”
I wondered if I could inflict suffering on the asshole despite knowing I’d be challenged actually killing him. “Go ahead, push my buttons, Lucifer. Try me. I’ll tell her you’re the reason baby alligators are dying.”
The Devil’s eyes widened. “I see you are frighteningly like my wife, and this is actually a cause for concern.”
I needed to have a talk with an archangel about Lucifer sooner than later. “What do you mean?”
“My darling’s capacity for good is only matched by her capacity for evil.
That is why we fit so well together. She is both extremes, for better and for worse.
And it is my nature to temper her every step of the way.
Sometimes, I take comfort in that there are evils not even we will do—and we hunt for those sinners and deal with them harshly. ”
That did a good job of subduing me, and I wondered what I might be capable of if I had been a little less inclined to care for others. “What would happen if I were a little less willing to help and a little more willing to harm?”
“The End of Days,” the Devil replied with quiet regret.
“What fate will you weave for this and all worlds, Crystal? The game has begun, and life itself is the board upon which you play, and every life, no matter how great or small, is a piece that you can catch in your weave should you choose. And today, you played your first piece. Upon learning you were the cause of this storm, and that horrible old lady down the street would have been the one to pay the price for your actions, you grabbed the threads of fate, you cast them into a net, and you forced them to do your bidding. But where do you go from here?”
“I’m not the Fates, though. They are gone, aren’t they?”