“Goodbye, Astrid,” Dixie said. Her eyes were full of tears and her hands shook. “I’ll miss you.”
She threw her arms around me and buried her face in my neck. I squeezed her and rocked her like a child. She longed for a mother like I did. It made my heart hurt. “Dixie.” I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “I’ll see you in six months. It’s not that far away.”
“You’re right,” she said and forced a smile to her lips. “Six months.”
She hugged Ethan and her father and disappeared in a cloud of pink glitter.
“I have one thing left to do before I go home,” I told Satan. He nodded his head and bowed to me. I turned to the man that made living for eternity worth it. “I don’t want to do this alone. Will you come with me?”
Ethan brushed his lips against mine and whispered, “Always.”
I took a deep breath, touched the amulet on my neck and turned back to Satan . . . but he was gone. In his place sat the General.
“George?”
“I answer to that.” He chuckled and loped closer. “I also answer to Satan, Lucifer and the Prince of Darkness in a pinch.”
I was speechless . . . almost. “You’re a motherfucker,” I gasped. “Does anyone else know?”
“No—well, Bambi does.” He gave me a grin. I shook my head and tried to clear it.
“Does she shift to a Demon too?” I asked. I hoped with all my heart that Bambi wasn’t Amanda.
“No. She’s my Hell Hound lover.”
“Of course.” I rolled my eyes and laughed.
“Put your hand on my back, children and I’ll take you where you want to go.”
***
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. It was simply sad. I called her name and she came to me. Her beauty was still there, but her mind was gone. She thought she was supposed to lead. The amulet could kill one—the one who was meant to lead.
I told her I loved her and she just looked confused. She was broken beyond repair and I had one last gift to give her. The gift of mercy. I was Compassion and it was my gift to give.
I touched the amulet and it turned to dust in my hand. Her end wasn’t brutal like her life had been. It was quiet and peaceful. She looked in my eyes and for the first time in my life I think she really saw me. She smiled and then . . . she was gone.
I turned to Ethan and I fell into his arms. “I will love you till the end of time.”
“And I you,” he replied and held me tight.
I pulled myself together and turned to Satan. He had transformed back to his breathtaking self. “I want to go home.”
He held his hand out to me and I went to him without hesitation. He held me like a father holds his daughter and kissed me on my head. “Would you mind if the Babies stayed for a while? I find them quite amusing.”
I looked up at the Devil and narrowed my eyes. “No strip clubs?”
“I promise.”
I didn’t believe him for a second, but I knew he’d take care of my little monsters. “One week and then you will send them home.”
“Yes, one week. This promise I shall keep.” He grinned and I giggled. “Are you ready?”
I glanced around the Basement one last time. I took Ethan’s hand in mine and I nodded to my uncle. “Yes. I want to go home.”
“As you wish.”
THE END (for now)
###
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~ Robyn Peterman
KEEP READING in this ebook to read an excerpt from Robyn’s “Ready To Were” story appearing Summer 2014 in the THREE SOUTHERN BEACHES anthology and an excerpt from “The Demon of Synar” Book 1 of the Forced To Serve series by Donna McDonald
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Other Books by Robyn Peterman
Hand Cuffs and Happily Ever Afters
How Hard Can It Be?