Page 69 of Dragon Her Heels

That thought pained me, and I considered the problem before me. “Hugh, how do you feel about the flood?”

I wondered if He understood my real question, and that I wanted to know what he, the glimmer of mortality within the expansive presence of divinity, felt of the event that had birthed the shadows within him.

“All my children deserve free will, and no loving father punishes his children for using the free will gifted to them. It is my greatest sin.”

If I were to judge by the light within Him, it was His only sin. I held the answer in my hand, but I wondered if I could also plant seeds for the future I wished to preserve, not just for me, but for Lucifer and everyone else who deserved to be able to live without the awareness of impending destruction looming on a distant horizon. “If you knew, before you had become Yahweh, of that sin and of that remorse, would you have offered your forgiveness?”

The silence stretched, and after a while, He sighed. “Yes.”

I wondered what sort of battle he’d fought with himself before deciding that was his truth. Careful that I worked with a fragile strand, one of irreplaceable value, I eased it from the core of the radiance so that I could get a closer look at the glimmer to see what made it stand out in the light of a star.

A hint of color, and then another, played over the surface, as though it strained to hide the rainbow within.

Smiling at the thought of the rainbow becoming a true promise for a bright future one day, I touched the seeking end of the darkness to the tapered end of the glory that had once been simple, plain, and quite probably boring Hugh. For but a moment, the strands clashed and battled, but then bit by bit, the gossamer shimmer grew in intensity.

Hoping I wasn’t about to make a mistake, I began tugging apart the shadowed cord, unraveling it so I might be able to braid its remnants into new glory and a new beginning. I fed the doubt and the sin to the light born from honest forgiveness, and when I reached the tattered and frayed ends near the core, I brought them back into the weave as well.

In time, I could only hope He would find peace, but that journey was one only He could make.

“Then forgive yourself and the Him who came before you. That way, perhaps the End of Days will become just a memory among many, one forgotten with time.” Only when confident the light had devoured all hints of darkness did I release the strands. “Thank you for caring for the alligators, Hugh.”

“Great or small, I made them all, and they are my children as much as this one is my beloved son. Like you, their passing would have brought me pain, for they had done nothing to deserve that fate. But that is why you acted. You did not recognize it then, but you understood that tornado was not part of the natural order. You did not fight to change fate, but you fought to restore their right to choose their own fate. Her death would not have been a consequence of her making but one of yours. And now that you know this, what will you do?”

I considered his question, and I opened my eyes to stare out over the lake and at the little dragon pitching a big fit over the power still coiling around and through his castle. “I expect tornadoes will have a short lifespan around me. I do not like them in my turf, and should the storms be wise, they will behave in accordance to my rules—and my rules say no tornadoes in my neighborhood. This is my paradise, and I will preserve it.”

“And thus the line is crossed and those futures you so carefully safeguard are a little closer to secured, my fallen but beloved son. And please stay fallen. My heavens are stuffy enough without you trying to behave when underfoot,” He teased. “But being serious, do bring your darling up sooner than later. Your brothers and sisters are whining, and I’m quite tired of the whining.”

“Seriously?” Lucifer complained.

“Bring her brother as well, so that I might remind them I brought them together so they might be a family for all eternity, and that love is worth far more than anything else. One of these days, may it be sooner than later, they will believe me.”

I giggled at the thought of them being a loving yet dysfunctional family. “May I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

“What are hedge witches, really?”

“To answer your question, I have to delve a little deeper into the way things were, the way things are, and the way things might be. It’s complicated. My son likes to think there are only three facets of Death. In truth, there are four—and hedge witches are the fourth facet. Hedge witches are those who have been touched by death and have endured, the magic of that connection becoming viable in their hands. Hedge witches who have not communed with death are merely practitioners who have the potential of becoming a hedge witch—and most of them fail to become even practitioners. Death unlocks the gift.”

“But I’ve always been a hedge witch,” I murmured.

“That is not quite true. When the seed of your life was initially planted, you were just the possibility of a child, a soul yet to have life. You have been touched by Death numerous times. The first time, you were in your mother’s womb. She suffered from an illness, and you hovered along the edge of the Valley of Death. I was with you then, although you do not remember it. Azrael was also with you when I needed to turn my attention elsewhere, so that you were never left alone in your dark hours. All your next brush with Death did was strengthen your connection to life and death. Azrael again accompanied you, but that time, the Four Horses came as well, out in the open rather than frolicking through the valley pretending like I had not noticed them and their curiosity. You do not remember that dark hour; your soul needed rest, and so you slept in the border of the valley while they stood watch over you. It pleases me how peaceful your second venture to the valley proved to be. Should you venture back to the Valley of Death again, you will do so in good company. I expect the Four Horses will find you first and guide you back to the light of life. The facets will not mind you making off with the Four Horses, by the way. They will safeguard you through the ages because even the Four Horses of the Apocalypse do not wish for there to be an End of Days. They would lose everything and everyone they love, and trust me when I say they are as capable of love as you or I.”

That would give me more than a little to think about. “And your daughter?”

“I have loved her dearly and truly and deeply from her first breath, and I want nothing more than to see her grow into a life of joy, family, and happiness.”

I wished I could promise he would see the future he wanted for his little girl, but I couldn’t. I could offer one thing to him, which I did without regret. “I will do everything I can to make that happen.”

“For better or for worse, I thank you. It is not much, but I have a gift for you should you accept it.”

“I like presents,” I announced.

He laughed. “One day, your paradise will become your heaven. You will not take up everlasting residence in my heavens or my son’s many hells, no matter how much we would welcome and cherish your presence. This house will become your heart’s home, and your paradise will become the only heaven you will ever need. Like with all things, it will just take a little time.”

I could handle a wait. “Am I really going to live an offensively long time?”

“I am afraid so. Should you continue to walk the path you have chosen, it will be inevitable. It may not comfort you right this moment, but you will not mind, not like your predecessors. They were robbed of their right to choose their fate. You do not carry that burden. If it makes you feel a little better, I have faith that you are up for the task. For now, seize your opportunities and live your life. The rest of the pieces will fall into place in their due time. And, well, should you become impatient, I am certain you will usher in glorious chaos and mayhem. Lucifer, do tend to her and keep some of your trustworthy with her tonight. We will talk more on the morrow.”

“As you wish, Father.”

Without another word, His presence departed, leaving the room a darker and colder place. “Well, that was interesting.”

“That it was. So, what would you like for dinner? I might be the Lord of Hell, but I know when my father means business, and I do not want to find out what he has in mind if I decide to be rebellious tonight.”

I giggled. “I could use some brawling over pizza with Darlene. For some reason, I bet we both have some nerves to work out.”

“Truer words have never been spoken. Pizza and a brawl it is.”