"To make the bond of the lovers of the bumbum spanky," Abe said logically.
"You want us to bond?" I asked. My eyes shot to Hayden's.
"Yayayayayayayayayay," Rachael sang as she tossed the dagger in the air.
Hayden grabbed the knife mid-air before it dropped and decapitated one of my cousin's babies. That would have sucked.
"You makey bond and we watch and then you do the naked jiggy," Abe informed us.
"And we watch," Ross added solemnly.
"And help," Rachael chimed in.
"And video for YouTube," Beyonce explained as if that would seal the deal.
"Um, no. That doesn't sound like a plan," I said as I picked up the little Demons and walked to my door. "You guys go play and we'll let you know how it turns out."
"Can me touch you bumbum?" Abe asked sweetly.
I glanced over at Hayden who closed his eyes and shrugged. "For one second," I told him. "And then you little dudes have to go bother Myrtle. Okay? She would love for you guys to touch her bumbum."
"Yesssssssssssssss!" They hollered and all took turns quickly touching my bumbum with their tiny little hands.
"Enough," Hayden demanded as he shooed them out the door. "You're done with Dixie's bumbum. You will never touch her bumbum again. Understand?"
"You big silly Angel sex man," Beyonce screeched. "Me touch you bumbum now!" She dove and smacked Hayden's ass with glee. The look on his face was priceless and he chased the little devils from the room while trying not to laugh.
"Are you keeping them?" he asked as he pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut.
"No, I am not. They belong to my cousin Astrid and I will give them back when I see her again."
Blowing out a rather large sigh of relief, Hayden carefully examined the knife the baby Demons had gifted us. What the Hell—why did it look so familiar? The handle was encrusted with diamonds. It twinkled and winked at me. My mouth filled with water and my stomach cramped—Grandpa.
"Hayden, I can't bond with that knife," I said, quickly slapping my hand over my mouth just in case I hurled in memory of drinking my grandpa's blood.
"It's ancient. I've never seen anything like it," he said and then noticed my pallor change. "You okay?"
"No, not really. Suffice it to say that dagger brings some icky gastrointestinal memories."
"You want to expound on that?"
"Not right now," I gagged out.
"Got it," he said as he put the knife aside and took me in his arms. "I don't want to be interrupted by ass-grabbing tiny Demons anyway."
Something clicked and I inhaled deeply through the pain. I disengaged myself from Hayden's embrace and walked over to the dagger. Astrid gave me the baby Demons. The baby Demons gave me my grandfather's dagger. Mistakes in life were rare. There was no more time to put life on hold. I held my breath for a brief moment and made my decision. "I love you, Hayden. Bond with me. Now."
I placed the blade of the dagger on my left palm and sliced. Hayden quietly took the jeweled handle from me and cut an identical incision in his own left hand.
"I love you, Dixie and I will honor our bond until we cease to exist and beyond." He took my hand in his and our blood mixed. Sparks flew from both our bodies and we held each other as we collapsed to the floor. Our combined magic swirled around us and the room blazed with a rainbow of blinding light.
"Stay with me," Hayden insisted urgently. "Look into my eyes."
I did.
And in his eyes I saw his pain and joy. I saw horrors and beauty—desires and dreams. So much of his life passed before my eyes it hurt—it was brutal. The man I loved had a duty that was filled with pain and death. I was his light and he was my dark—my perfectly imperfect darkness. He would help me find the Balance. Even with my Demon heritage, I leaned toward the light. Purity of good and evil was a myth. . .both existed in every living being. My job was to know it, own it and keep it that way.
The magic receded and we both caught our breath. "Is that all?" I whispered hoarsely as I tried to stop trembling.
"Hell, I hope so," he said. He held me firmly to his chest. "I'm so sorry."
"Why?"
"Because of what you had to see," he whispered sadly.
"I'm not. I saw you. I love you. Nothing can change that."
"I do not deserve someone like you," he said quietly and gripped me tighter.
"And I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you, but we were lucky enough to find each other, and according to the blood brother act we just pulled, we get to keep each other."
His laughter lightened my heart and I knew we'd done the right thing at the right time. "Do you think there will be any aftershocks?" I asked.