Page 58 of A Chip on Her Shoulder

“You will get used to it in time.”

“What else are you going to tell me that I won’t like?”

“You will not precisely remember this, but it will exist within you as a gut feeling or instinct. Belial will prove to be one of your greatest allies. While his role is ruination, his loyalties are firmly entrenched with my son. Like you, he was made that way. The notes you read lead you a little astray. Belial is the ruination of all who oppose my son. I have taken steps to make certain he is aware of your importance. Cultivate Belial, and he will serve you and my son even beyond the End of Days.”

“Wait, beyond the End of Days? I thought that was the end. You know, the apocalypse, world goes kaboom?”

“The End of Days is only the beginning of an end and the end of a beginning. It is ever present, but it may never be present. It is a paradox. The threat of the End of Days must exist because nothing is meant to live forever. There must be the opportunity for renewal. But the time of that coming is always in motion.”

I sucked in a breath. “Are you saying the End of Days might not even come?”

“Precisely. There are conditions which must be met for it to happen, and even then, the time of the end is ever fluid. For as long as the balance remains, the balance I helped to create through allowing my son to fall and gifting humanity with free will, it may never come to pass. However, it will always linger on the horizon, waiting for its moment. And should it come, all things will become new. That is what it means for the End of Days to come. But you will have a place in the beyond, although I suspect you shall be the cause of my son’s next fall, a change from the helpful push or two I gave him to make him choose his own path. However annoying it can be, change has its benefits.”

Great. I’d been plunked straight into the heart of an utter disaster, and He fully meant for me to hitch and whip the damned Devil of all people. In good news, His son packed heat in all the right ways, and I found myself challenged to find any disadvantages with going along with His plan. “How does this put my relationship with the potential in-laws?”

“When you need some unconditional love, come knocking on my door. You will find my home a welcoming place to visit, but you cannot stay more than a night or two. You would try to take over if I gave you but a single chance. It is quite amusing when my son pays me a visit, and where you go, he will surely follow. He has some strange notions over our relationship. He can visit, but he cannot stay. If he stays, you will stay, and you really would try to take over if given a single chance.”

I laughed at that. “I really would. Answer me one last question, then?”

“Ask your question.”

“What will my death do to him?”

“It will change him for better and for worse, but once he is able to look beyond his newfound fear of loss, he will discover that not even death can take you from him. He’ll be cranky and clingy. That is why I am here. The price for your survival is one he will find easy enough to bear, as will you. Now, there is the matter of your brother we must deal with before it is your time to face death’s shadow.”

“I should flush him into the septic tank,” I muttered.

“You would regret that before he even made it into the tank. You would find the tank opening and fish him out, and nobody would be happy.”

“Just because I would regret it doesn’t mean I’m not going to think about it while grumbling.”

“It is your nature to think such things. The price is simple. My son must either destroy the traitor’s seed so your brother may have a future, or he must ask me to create a new angel for my heavens. That is the price that must be paid to maintain the balance and keep from breaking any of the universal laws.”

“Why not just make a new angel, tell your son to deal with it, and if he doesn’t like it, well, he should have made sure his devils hadn’t gotten out of hand. Probably again, the way I figure it.”

“Again. And they will again in the future, and you will find this element of being his queen rather annoying. If I gave you the choice, you’d make angels out of his devils, and you would throw everything out of balance. Your job is to help maintain the balance, not thoroughly crush it when certain devils and demons annoy you. And they will.”

“Do new angels come fully formed, or are they little baby angels?”

“They are as I wish them to be.”

“I guess I can’t take a little baby angel to his house, can I?”

“And you wondered why I assumed you would have no problems becoming a mother in the future.”

Busted. I shrugged. “Is that a no?”

“You would create much whining should you take an infant angel into my son’s home, and we would have the problem of having to balance even more angels, devils, and demons. The numbers must stay balanced.”

“It would be a little weird carrying around a headless baby, I guess.”

“Only a little. How about a kitten instead? I can create a kitten suitable for your new home, and she will stay young, playful, and affectionate towards you for all her days. It would be trivial to create such a small seed, and I will create something similar in my heavens to maintain the balance, perhaps a playmate for your kitten when you come to visit. No, that wouldn’t work. My kitten would simply follow you home. I suppose you must have two kittens of opposite natures to keep you company. Such a tragedy. You are not a solitary creature, and she will keep you company during the days my son must attend to work he does not wish for you to witness. He will want to spare you from discomfort.”

“You would give me a kitten? Wait, two kittens?”

“You can consider them a birthday present, and they’ll make adjusting to your new home a little easier.”

“I’ve never had a kitten before.”