Chapter 37 #2
I figured he did. “I am not promising death won’t come to your children at some point, but it will come in the natural order of things rather than an inevitable event that you wait for with all-encompassing dread,” I promised.
“And sorry, Caleb. We didn’t tell you why we brought you here because we wanted your father to hear it at the same time. Lucifer?”
The Devil sighed. “In six months, there would have been a car accident. That is no longer written in the stars. There still might be a car accident, but it won’t be in New York, it won’t be right near his school, and you won’t have to witness it, aware that it was a fate you could not fight.
Those days are over. You are no longer bound to witness the relentless demise of your offspring.
Instead, you will have the honor of watching Caleb grow old and pass in peace, and then you can watch over his children, and then their children.
There will be life where there had once been only death.
I recommend that you thank his mother. The wish of her heart is what brought us to this moment.
But Crystal needed to be born and face her death before she could save you from yours.
I had… made a previous effort, but it failed. I am too gentle a soul.”
“You weren’t going to tear a boy from his mother, more like,” Yuless muttered.
Lucifer scowled.
“I thought you had taken him to shepherd him,” Gavin confessed, and a long and slow breath of air escaped his body.
I wondered how deep the pain had run for it to release in such a strained sound.
“I would never have robbed you of being with your child in his last moments. I would have shepherded him, as would my father and Azrael; we will never abandon any of your children. We have never left any of your women in the valley alone, either. We never will, when their time on the mortal coil comes to a close.” Lucifer reached out and clasped Gavin’s shoulder.
“If I could have helped you sooner, I would have.”
For a long while, the divine remained silent before he asked, “How can I repay you?”
“Actually, there is something you can do: invite Caleb’s grandmother to the wedding along with the rest of the family.
That would be helpful. It is time for Hagnar’s haven to be moved to a place where his node can replenish itself and thrive.
A new node will one day take its place there, but his needs to come to Florida for a while. ”
“I was once a god of creation,” Gavin replied in a gentle voice.
“I still am a god of creation, although I no longer have the faithful to create anything for. They perished long ago.” His gaze settled on Hagnar.
“If your haven needs to be moved, I can move it. If you require a new node to take the old one’s place, I can will that to life as well. ”
“You also do not interfere with mortal affairs,” Lucifer chided, albeit in a gentle tone. “But if you wish to breathe life into the new node, I would be appreciative. That is not a mortal affair. But Hagnar, despite the circumstances of his creation, is mortal.”
Caleb’s eyes widened. “If Grandmother comes, she’ll owe more fines. She always owes more fines when she goes anywhere. Other Dad is not going to be happy if Grandmother owes more fines.”
Gavin snickered. “You let me worry about your other father and your grandmother. If you want to go to the wedding, I have no problem with going to the wedding. I’m sure it will be fine.”
I sighed and shook my head. “You are in for quite the surprise. Just don’t tell us we didn’t warn you.”
* * *
A host of angels converted the racetrack to a wedding venue in record time.
I questioned the usage of belladonna and daffodils as the flowers of choice, especially as there were numerous beings who would die, rather rapidly, should the toxic plants be consumed.
As such, I started my day with wards to prevent anyone from consuming any belladonna.
Well, except for races that viewed the plant as tasty treats.
Zenzi loved belladonna and wanted to eat every bloom to cross her path.
There were more than a few races present who considered belladonna to be delicious.
Rather than wear white, I’d selected red for my dress, and I’d gone with blonde hair for the ceremony, which Darlene had piled onto my head in fancy curls Yuless would surely destroy the instant he was let off his leash.
The lingerie, which consisted of scraps of lace posing as underwear, would amuse him for ten seconds before they fell to his eager ways.
“Are you sure you’re okay with not walking me down the aisle, Dad?” I asked for the sixth time.
“Girl, I get to ride Aramathea. I do not have a problem with this. Your mother is riding Zenzi. She also does not have a problem with this. I am questioning why you’re riding David rather than Alligator Bait, however.”
“Lucifer just restored David’s balls, and David needs to relearn some manners.
If I’m riding him, he remembers his manners.
He will be an immaculate stallion, but that’s going to take a few weeks.
Apparently, David’s genetic test came back clear of every single ailment Clydesdales can have, he is the perfect example of the breed, and gelding him may as well have been criminal in the Devil’s eyes.
At that stage, I just let him make off with my horse.
It did help that he brought my stud back to me with a mare who should toss some beautiful foals.
David did have one key adjustment when he was gifted back his balls. ”
“That he only produces female sperm is a little strange,” my father admitted.
“It’s brilliant, because it means his bloodline cannot over infiltrate the breed. I’ll pick the mares he breeds with carefully, and I’ll help the Clydesdales that way.”
“And your new mare is also clear of genetic issues?”
“She is,” I confirmed. “She came from a conservancy breeder who had left the show world decades ago, bred as part of their program. My homestead will have two proper purposes.”
“You mean three. I’ve heard about your intention to turn it into a rescue. And I don’t mean of animals.”
I shrugged. “My rescue has pretty strict requirements to get in. Either Lucifer is asking me for help or the poor bastard lives down my street and needs a place to land.”
Upon learning how Lucifer had gotten so many acres, I’d burst into tears. He’d gone to every house around the lake, offering to buy out the properties and charging them the value of their property taxes and utilities in rent.
In a few cases, he hadn’t charged them at all for staying in the homes.
While I had changed the fate—and lifespans—of many in my path, I had made the painful choice to allow the cycle of life and death to continue, uninterrupted, down the street.
Donna Leanne had cancer, and she would only live for another year.
The old lecher across the way had stepped up upon learning this, and her year would be in as painless a state as he could make it.
And when he became an angel of death, nobody would say a word, and the Lord of Lies would play his part to make certain nobody asked any questions.
Lucifer had believed I would need the year to come to terms with the mean old woman’s loss.
Lucifer was right.
When Donna Leanne’s time came, I would take her ashes out to the deepest part of the ocean and set her free.
She’d told me the wish for her remains not long after confessing the truth of her situation to me.
I’d been delivering eggs and fruit, and I’d returned home that day with a heavy heart and a better understanding of the Devil’s work.
As planned, I rode David, who had been decked out in red and white to at least make it look like we were trying for a wedding rather than a bloodbath. I even rode sidesaddle, all so Yuless could enjoy plucking me off my big horse’s back.
Many little things littering our ceremony were meant to offer us small memories and tiny moments of joy. He wore a classic black suit, as that was what I loved him in the most. The red tie had been Lucifer’s idea, and it worked well for him.
I’d purchased two rings for him, a plain golden band and an infinity band loaded with black diamonds boasting a tendency to reflect the colors of the rainbow, much like him.
Hagnar, in his serpent form, lounged on a pile of cushions, being fed tidbits of fruit and meat from a trio of Nahuatl tribe women from deep within a remote jungle. I had no idea where Lucifer and Gavin had found them, but they had been a morning surprise that had reduced the guardian to tears.
They were rescues, and they would become temple handmaidens in Hagnar’s service.
To them, the golden serpent of fire and light was as sacred as any god.
There was one other surprise lurking in the crowd at the racetrack, revealing there had been more to the Devil’s plan than I could imagine—and that the Lord of the Morning was truly also the Lord of Lies.
I had no idea where they had come from, but the tiny tribe of African people, sixty-seven people strong and displaced due to war, were all distant descendants of the people who had once worshipped Gavin and offered him power everlasting. Unbeknownst to Gavin, they still believed.
Their ancestors had just changed his name to escape death.
I suspected the curse had deafened his ears and blinded his sight, but that would be a problem for me to solve after I finalized my capture of the Destroyer of Georgia and handled my one last sacred duty to Belinda.
Finding a home for an entire tribe of people would be a problem for another day.
Music began to play, a peaceful South American melody better suiting Hagnar’s traditions, the cue for the audience to become seated and the ceremony to begin. Hagnar’s handmaidens settled around him, and I appreciated how they rested their cheeks against his scales, finding comfort in his presence.
In human form, he had that potential.
His true shape embodied peace and the promise of protection.