The Devil's Love

Shadow of Death: Chapter 19: Anton

"Leave it alone." Sarah chided.

We were in the darkness of the in-between area, waiting for the gate to open. I was nervous, to say the least, fearful of rejection now that I didn't have their forced loyalty.

"How did you know?"

"I can hear you fidgeting Anton."

How was that possible? I didn't hear anything, and it's not as if she could see me adjusting my tie yet again. Maybe she just knew me.

The light appeared in front of us, Castian pushing the mantle open.

"Good morning Castian, are your parents' home?"

"Yeah." He said warily. "You're not going to make them demons again, are you? They're like zombies; the babies haven't stopped crying."

"No, I am not going to make them into demons again."

I closed the mantle, looking at Sarah with a lot of concern. How could I ask them to work for me when they were struggling with newborn babies?

"I'll go and get them," Castian said softly.

As he walked past the lounge he poked Marty's arm; she was asleep with a cloth covering her face. She bolted upright, wincing as she clutched the giant mound. Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

"I'm going tomorrow, okay? Stop stressing."

"It's okay Martine; the doves are flying again. You can stay to birth your children here."

"Yay." she groaned and flopped back to the lounge.

With another groan and a frown, she sat up again, slowly getting off the lounge.

"Got to go, great to see you again."

She waddled slowly out of the room, complaining about her aches and pains the whole way.

"I'd say I know how she feels but I think she's suffering three times as much."

Sarah looked at me with a slight chuckle.

"Hey."

I looked up to see Nicholas standing at the doorway.

"Are the gates unlocked?"

"Yes, they are. War is over, and deals have been cut."

He gestured to the lounges, looking around me to the pooch that was hiding.

"Hey, Cerberus."

The mutt whined.

"It's alright," I said. "I won't take him away from you again."

Happily, he bounded over and put his two front paws up to Nicholas's chest, enjoying the good patting.

"It's only been a couple of days." He began. "Why don't you go and find Castian?"

Cerberus dropped back to the ground, barking as he bounced his way out of the parlor. As we sat down, Rowan entered the room looking a little perplexed, sitting beside Nicholas as she offered her greeting.

"We came here to make an offer. However, Castian informed us that you are having troubles with the babies, are you not sleeping well?"

"It's not the babies that are the issue; it's the change over from being demons going without sleep for a long time to vampires who need sleep. We will get there. What's the offer?"

"Return to the underworld, as employees, not demons."

They were rather shocked, staring at me without a word said.

"I will make it worth your while; you will get paid to work, sick days, annual leave. You can bring the children; your hours will be more reasonable. In fact, you could pick your times to coincide with the needs of the children, especially Castian. If you want to bring him with you that is fine, you can have his teacher perform the lessons in one of the spare offices."

I stopped talking as Sarah squeezed my hand, reminding me to calm down. It wasn't easy, I had so much to say, and it seemed like it wanted to come out all at once.

"Well we were considering the school in New York, it's our understanding that it will be ready for the new school year. His teacher will be running the place."

It was surprising that it was happening. I know that I'd suggested it when I brought the council down, but I didn't think that anyone would take me seriously. But still, it was interesting.

"Excellent. I would like to know what you think of it and how Castian finds it, we will need something for Brannon. In the meantime, you can still bring him with you."

They looked at each other, not saying a single word as they turned back to me. It felt like my heart had stopped beating. I don't know why I felt like this, how could their thoughts and opinions matter so much to me? I'd never cared about what anyone thought until Sarah, the world and its occupants were pretty much inconsequential to me and my life. But not anymore.

"Sure." Nicolas offered.

Rowan smiled as she looked from us to Nicolas, returning to us after a glance.

"We'd love to." she added.

"Excellent. Get some rest and stop by tomorrow for a visit. We will discuss the finer points then."

As I stood I took Sarah's hand; she gave me a reassuring and gentle squeeze. I looked at her and saw the sweet, happy face that I loved to see.

"So do we have to address you in any specific way now?"

"Anton is fine, Rowan."

"Or friend," Sarah added.

Gee thanks for that. Could she be any more obvious?

Rowan crinkled a smile as she walked over, Nicholas pushed the mantle open looking uneasy like I was. Maybe it was a man thing though I wouldn't have a clue.

"Tomorrow, mid-morning is fine." I offered, giving them another chance to get out of it.

But there was none to be had, just one confused man and one happy woman. It was like a mirror really; the other side was equally the same.

Sarah and I stepped into the darkness; I gripped the baby carrier in one hand and Sarah's hand in the other. Waiting to be sealed in the darkness, to have the inky black hide me. As the last of the light fell away, and we were in the obscure land of nothing, Sarah wrapped her arms around my waist and held me without a word said. She didn't need to, I knew what she was thinking, what she wanted to say.

Everything was going to be okay.