I pulled from inside and I let my darkest of magic come to the surface. A sharp pain erupted inside my head and I dropped to my knees. A cage made of shimmering black and crystal white blades trapped the traitor and contained his stolen magic. The death and destruction around me stopped. The howling and weeping did not, but that would go on for eternity. Dante writhed in agony inside the cage and I watched him dispassionately as my pain disappeared and I slowly got back to my feet. I didn’t care and that made me worry. I knew if I simply flicked my fingers he would be gone forever. I was unsure if I should actually show him that much mercy. Did he not deserve to burn in the Basement? Was I his judge? Did I want to be?
“Will you kill him?” Satan whispered in my ear and I jumped. Ethan had appeared on my other side and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Did he lead a good life?” I asked as I watched him convulse.
“He did indeed,” Satan said. “As you know, he’s a card carrying member of my brother’s house.”
Right then I knew what I would do. He was stupid and driven by ego. His mistake came with a hefty cost, but the area was so very gray. I hated this and I wanted no part, but I was going to end him. Not for Greed, not for Satan and not for myself. He had committed unintentional manslaughter. He had not come in here to kill. He was distraught with what his greed had wrought. Should he spend an eternity in the Basement for deaths he did not maliciously cause?
“You’ll send him to the Basement?” I asked.
“Without a doubt.”
I flicked my fingers and Dante turned to ash like all those he had killed today. He was no more. Should I have ended his suffering? I thought so today. Hopefully I’d feel the same tomorrow. To separate the man from the destruction he’d caused today and base his judgment on the body of the whole was harder than anything I’d had to do yet. But I did it. I bent down and picked up the sword. I held it out to my uncle and he glanced at me with questioning eyes.
“It’s a fake.”
“Really?”
“Trust me.”
“And he got this and the deadly magic how?” he demanded.
“Ask your daughter, Greed.” I threw her under the bus where she belonged. I was done here and I wanted my bed. I was wearing my bra and I was a fucking mess. I honestly was beginning to question the existence of the Sword. I wanted to meet God and I wanted to go home. Satan could find his own damn Sword. I was done.
Chapter 30
God was so beautiful it was almost impossible to look at him.
After a sleepless night, we’d dressed formally and made our way back to the miraculously repaired dining room for lunch with God. The General had spent a good portion of the morning with us and the Baby Demons. I’d found out a number of alarming things . . . he had taken my Babies to a strip club and they been thrown out for lewd behavior. What that constituted in Hell was mindboggling so I decided to push that one aside for another time. However, the real kicker was when I learned that the gestation for a Demon was two years. I offered to pay for the hole in the plaster, but the General insisted he could have it fixed at no charge.
Ethan paled at the thought of me being pregnant for years and I nailed him with a vase. Luckily he ducked and I simply added it to the growing list of things I’d destroyed in Hell. The only consolation I had was that my baby was half Vampyre and since he was the first of his kind, maybe the gestation time would be shorter. I refused to even contemplate that it could be any longer. There weren’t enough items in Heaven and Hell put together for me to break if I really let my mind sit with that little nugget.
After calming down and locking the little monsters in the bathroom with a firm promise from them that they would stay, we went to the luncheon.
The dining room was laid out with the finest china and crystal I’d ever seen. An army of servants wearing all black hustled around and saw to the needs of the guests. This event was the first of its kind and clearly the Devil took it very seriously.
“This is one out of fucking control shindig,” Myrtle said as she offered me a puffy looking pastry. Her grin was contagious and I wanted to hug her. Her total lack of manners and couth made me happy.
“You are correct.” I smiled and took a pastry to be polite. “Are you, Carl and Janet working?” I sniffed the pastry and was delighted to find out I didn’t want it.
“We’re in charge,” she said proudly. “Moby used to be, but Carl kicked his mean old Demon ass yesterday and now we’re running the show.”
“Wow,” I said, unsure if that was the best way to maintain job security. “Congrats.”