The Devil's Love

Shadow of Death: Chapter 29: Anton

Sarah hummed with relaxation as she settled against me, the warmth of the water was just right. Brannon was sitting in his own tub beside ours, propped on a stand that brought him to our height. He happily sat in the tub, splashing water around him. The thing was barely large enough for his sudden weight gain.

"I think he's eating too much." She mumbled, her finger was wrapped in his little hand.

That finger was being drawn to his mouth, as he shrieked his wings stretched wide.

"And it looks like I won't be able to take him to the surface until I can reason with him."

I chuckled mercilessly, finding it rather amusing.

Brannon was testing out his wings, flapping them, stretching them, moving them. Then he started to lift.

"No," Sarah said sternly.

"Sarah, you can't hinder his exploration of his own body."

"Uh, we're surrounded by the ocean Anton. I can't chase after him if he flies out there and gets tired."

I looked out to the glistening ocean, our watery wonderland that was our favored place. She was right about him getting tired, it wouldn't take long for that to happen but he needed to learn about his wings.

"Shut the doors."

"He'll bang into things, what if he falls to the floor?"

"Did you hear that Brannon, your mother worries for your abilities."

Brannon looked at me, thick black hair was already wet and a spiked mess, his eyes were still a bright blue and looked as incredible as his mothers. He smiled at me, showing one little tooth on the bottom row.

"It's like he's a six-month-old. Where did our little baby go?"

"He had a growth spurt, a rather large one."

She sighed as she laced her fingers into mine.

"The wedding was amazing." She said dreamily. "Even Allison looked like she was enjoying herself."

"I think you might find that Gabe had plied her with something a little heavenly. Maybe he was sick of looking at the sour puss face."

Sarah grinned as she laughed just a little.

"She said she's not getting married anymore. That's a little sad."

I'd say lucky for Carl who dodged a rather large bullet.

"It sure is."

"It was sweet that you invited Mister Ford. A little odd Anton but still sweet."

My body tightened at her words.

"You know I've never seen his wife. At least I thought he had a wife. He always spoke of his loved ones, his children."

Non-existent wife but the man has loved ones and children.

"Is that considered being a poor neighbor?"

"Maybe she was reclusive."

"Maybe. What do they call that phobia where they fear open spaces?"

"Agoraphobia," I said softly.

I could see the slight frown on her face as she laid back with her eyes shut.

"Yeah, maybe she has that."

The frown fell away, replaced with a soft smile.

"When I found that place, I couldn't afford it. The money hadn't come through, and I was so desperate to get away from Allison that I was prepared to live under a bridge. I went there hoping to convince him to be a little patient, that I'd pay him double the amount if he let me stay there. I would have been happy with a closet under the stairs so long as it was warm and dry but he was so nice. He said I could stay there and I didn't need to pay extra, he knew I was good for the money. It was so sweet of him to take me in and give me a home."

Of course, it was. He would never turn anyone away.

"When I got the shop I told him to come over for dinner whenever he wanted. Never did, though."

Gee, I wonder why. Maybe the reason started and ended with the demon in the kitchen.

"Anton," she said curiously. "How did you get Mister Ford in and out of hell?"

"I didn't."

She sat up and turned slightly so that she could look at me.

"Did Igor bring him for you?"

I shook my head, feeling like I was ready to have a major meltdown.

"I don't understand." Sarah frowned as she glanced down.

As her eyes rose to mine, she still looked really confused.

"You did invite him, didn't you?"

I shook my head again. She backed away, sliding to the end of the tub.

"Anton, tell me I'm wrong."

"I can't," I said softly.

Tears slid down her cheeks, looking at me with desperation.

"Really?"

I nodded with my own despair.

"I didn't know Sarah; I promise you that I was not aware of his nature."

"All this time, he was right there."

"He was looking out for you," I said as I moved closer, wiping the tears away. "It's not something to be scared of Sarah; it can happen. Sometimes a soul needs to be cared for, most of the time they send the lower angels to do the job."

She looked at me as if I should have known and she was right. I had stood before my creator and knew no different. To be fair, he had changed himself since the last time that I had seen him, but that was no excuse. His disguise of his nature was masterful, but I should have been able to detect him.

"You know, I think that he wasn't just looking out for me. I think he was protecting me, waiting for the day that you would find me. What made you walk through New York?"

"I don't know. The gate opened for me, and that's where it delivered me. There was no intention, no reason."

Sarah smiled as tears dripped out of her eyes.

"You were delivered to me. You think that he does not love you yet he has protected your soul for years, and when the time was right, he brought you to me. I should have been in my hometown; I'd grown up with whispers in my mind that I was destined to always live in Philadelphia."

Well, that was interesting. I wonder who was whispering to her, it wasn't like Michael to bother with those kinds of mind games nor could he instruct an underling to do such a task. Which meant that he had a partner in crime.

"You've always thought that he didn't care, didn't you?"

I nodded a little morosely.

"Did I just prove you wrong?"

I nodded again, and she chuckled.

Ignoring my distaste, Sarah leaned on the edge of the tub, moving a rubber duck around Brannon's bath water. He began to flap his wings with a little more force.

"Maybe we should put on some swimmers and go outside." She murmured.

"You'd rather be out there than in here?"

"I'd rather he was in a safer environment, at least he can drop into the water without hurting himself too much. You'll just have to chase him if he takes off."

I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her waist. She grinned as I kissed over her neck and jaw.

"You know there is a bonus to him exerting such physical energy."

"What's that?" She said with amusement.

"He'll sleep better, longer and deeper."

"Well then, that sounds great. Everyone deserves a good sleep."

Yeah, especially tired parents.