“No touching the boobs,” I said as I pushed myself from prone and pathetic to seated and slightly pathetic. I smiled and picked my Baby Demons off of my chest. “How did you find me?”
“Easy peasy,” Ross said. “My doggies felt your sad.”
“The General and Bambi are here?” I asked, scanning the room in alarm. How would they feel about what I had done? I struggled to my feet and prepared to defend myself and my child.
“Sit, little one.” George’s soothing voice calmed me. “We are not here to judge. We have come to take you back.”
“You know what I’ve done?” I whispered. My stomach was knotted with sadness and shame.#p#分页标题#e#
“I’m glad to see they didn’t harm you. It was unwise of you to come here,” he scolded.
While his sentiments were nice, his facts were fucked.
I took a slow breath in and gathered my thoughts. General George had protected me and helped me save Ethan, but he worked for Satan. His opinion of the Demons was as warped as his master’s.
“I didn’t come here on purpose and I was never in danger.” I stood and put some distance between us. “Pockets,” I instructed my little monsters.
“Mommy don’t have no pockets,” Abe informed me logically.
I glanced down at my shredded eveningwear and grimaced. He was correct. I had no pockets. I barely had a dress. Closing my eyes, I reimagined my beautiful dress. A faint heat surged through my body and a small burst of glitter burst from my fingertips.
“Very good,” Bambi gasped with delight. “I like the one shoulder look far better than the halter.”
“Mommy so pretty in pink,” Rachel gushed.
They were spot on. Somehow my red halter had morphed into a hot pink one shouldered masterpiece. I had the magic—I was just missing the finer points of detail.
“Whoops.” I shrugged and attempted a smile. Letting my head fall back on my shoulders I contemplated what I had done. Was it truly mercy? I had to believe it was . . . but why did I feel so awful?
“Self-defense is a necessary reason to kill. Your life was far more valuable than theirs,” George said quietly.
Again his misinterpretation bothered me. I could nod my head and be done. Who would be the wiser? The screaming souls? Doubtful.
“It wasn’t self-defense. They asked me to end them and I did.”
The silence was loud.
“What?” Bambi asked. “You just killed them for no reason?”
I felt ill. She was only voicing what I already thought, but she was wrong. I was wrong.
“I corrected the sins of my father. These people . . . ”
“They were hardly people,” the General sniffed dismissively.
“I beg to differ,” I shot back defensively. Time to come clean. If they didn’t understand, they could do whatever they chose. As each minute passed I grew stronger. What I had done, while horridly distasteful, was the merciful thing to do. I could only hope that someday if I needed the same favor, I could find someone that cared enough to end me. “While they were by no means innocent, they had been at one time until my father took that away. With blackmail, murder and threats he destroyed their lives. They had no free will where this was concerned. None.”
“They didn’t attack you?” George asked.
“No, not in any real way.”
“And you believe this fantasy they wove?” he demanded.
I paced the cave. My anger rose and I was very aware the glittering gloves had appeared and my chest tingled. Calm down. Calm down.
“I went into their memories. Something maybe Satan should have done if he wasn’t so fucking selfish,” I snapped. “And to be fair, there was very little to redeem them at this point, but they tried. Over and over they tried. I am of my father’s blood and he destroyed their spirit and their lives. All I did was give them the peace they were owed.”
“And who owed them this peace?” George asked. His eyes narrowed. I was sure he took offense at my opinion of Satan or he was considering what was to be done with me. Whatever.
“I did,” I shouted. “I owed them peace that no one else could give to them. I owed them the dignity in death that my father stole from them in life . . . and everyone can just fuck off.”
Again with the silence.
I squatted down and picked up my Baby Demons. They were quiet and still. Amazingly, I’d wished pockets into my beautiful dress. I gently tucked them in and turned to face the Hell Hounds.
George was chuckling and Bambi was doing a bizarre doggie jig. WTF? Their reaction was alarming and incongruous and I wondered if this was the pre-Eat Astrid dance . . . I also realized the souls had been silent since I’d destroyed the Demons.