Heaven & Hell, page 8
part #7 of The Gallows Series Series
“Hey,” Dev said, clutching the bottle in his hand tightly. It wasn’t the usual pink shit he drank by the bucket-load, and it wasn’t already open.
“What’s that?” Ray tilted his head. Champagne, and not the cheap stuff either. He raised an eyebrow. “Special occasion?”
Dev frowned. “Look, man, I don’t want to start anything…”
“It’s too late if you didn’t,” Ray told him.
Dev flinched. “You left.”
“And I came back.”
“You’re a vampire.” He’d put his free hand into his pocket.
Ray laughed out loud at the thought of Dev trying to attack him with a stake. His demon joined in. “Don’t worry. I’ve eaten tonight already.”
“I’m sorry about how this happened,” Dev said. “But you left, and we didn’t know where you were or what you were doing or if you were ever coming back.”
“I know,” Ray said. “I want to put all this behind us.”
“Eh, what?” Dev didn’t sound convinced.
“The summer festival starts tomorrow night. We should go together, for old time’s sake.” He even managed to sound a little bit sad. The demon approved of his easy twisting of emotions. He was a better actor than he’d ever thought he could be.
“I don’t know, man,” Dev said, removing his hand from his pocket to bite at his nails. “I’m not into that scene anymore.”
That scene was full of inhibition removing substances and loose women, and it had used to mirror Dev’s whole lifestyle. Ray smiled tightly, doubting his old friend had really changed enough to not be tempted by the thought of it. He tried another tact to ensure the answer he wanted. “Yeah, well, I’m single, so I am.”
“Maybe just for a couple of hours,” Dev said. “Usual time?”
The guilt trip was what made Dev change his mind. He was sure of it.
Ray nodded and stepped out of his way. “I’ll see you at the clearing.”
Dev waved as he passed, heading back to Sarah’s house with the bottle of Champagne. Ray wondered what they were celebrating and then discarded the thought out of hand. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. He’d pry them apart tomorrow night and the results would be permanent.
***
Dev breathed a massive sigh of relief as he hurried inside and locked the door behind him. He’d thought he might be toast for a second back there. Fortunately Dredd had already eaten, and was somehow trying to behave like a human rather than the monster Dev knew he was. He didn’t know what he was up to trying to get Dev alone in the woods, but he’d have to be an idiot not to suspect his intentions were less than honest. He didn’t get another second to ponder on it.
Sarah came down the stairs looking like a movie star. She had her fair hair twisted up in a glamorous style and she was wearing a little black dress with one of her favourite pairs of designer heels. Her smoky eye-shadow was toned down to a silvery-grey rather than her usual black shade.
“Wow,” he said. “You look amazing.”
“Not looking too bad yourself, Parrish,” she said, with a grin. She snatched the champagne out of his hand. “So is this my present?”
“Present?” He raised his pierced eyebrow.
“For our six month anniversary,” she said, as if she was insulted he might have forgotten.
He laughed. “Hey, that was a month ago. If anything you owe me a present for forgetting that.”
“Well, maybe you can earn a present later,” she told him, uncorking the bottle. “I’m in the mood for a drink now.”
“You might want to go a little bit easy there,” he said, wondering how to break the news.
“So what’s this really for?” She called out as she went into the kitchen.
He heard her rake the cupboards for glasses and he decided not to tell her he’d just seen Ray outside. She could sense him for herself if he was still lingering around. He didn’t want to spoil their night by being the one to bring it up. He had other things on his mind.
“Like I said, I thought we could celebrate,” he said, coming to the kitchen doorway.
He watched her pour the champagne into two wine glasses. She passed him one with her usual warm grin. His breath caught in his throat. She was radiant. Her smile had always been infectious, but right now she was more beautiful than ever. He didn’t get how she couldn’t see it herself. She hadn’t put on a noticeable amount of weight, but he knew she’d been wearing jeans she’d told him were the wrong size when her mum got her them at Christmas. The dress concealed the small swell of her stomach, though he noticed she stroked it subconsciously every now and then.
“Celebrate what?” She sipped at the champagne, made an appreciative noise and put the glass down on the table.
He wondered how to tell her. It really should have been the other way round. He took a long swig of the champagne. “Holy shit, this stuff is good.”
Sarah laughed and punched his arm. “Seriously. What’s to celebrate?”
He put the glass down and pulled her into a kiss. She had to already know. How could she not? It was her body. He was being an idiot. She was probably just too scared to tell him. He moved back and tried not to smile too nervously, though he felt his lips quiver slightly as he spoke.
“I know.”
She smiled back. “You know what?”
He brushed a strand of hair back from her face and it hit him. She really didn’t know. She had no idea. She’d been out there fighting demons and killing vampires like normal. Her behaviour hadn’t changed at all. Well, except from the occasional chocolate craving which she of course had to sprinkle with rock salt, because she was still Sarah.
“You’re having our baby.” His voice warmed as he said it. “It’s a boy, by the way.”
She gasped and pushed him back, her blue eyes wide and staring. “That’s not even funny, Dev.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be funny,” he said, wondering when he’d known that the baby was going to be a boy. It had just come out and he’d known it was true, like all of the other weird little things he picked up on now that he was relatively drug and alcohol free.
Sarah clasped her hands over her mouth as she stared at him, as if she had suddenly realised he was actually serious. Her gaze drifted downwards and he practically saw her thinking about the jeans. She dropped her hands from her mouth after a breathless minute.
“Shit!” She expelled the curse on her exhalation, her face paling as she blinked at him.
“I thought this wasn’t likely,” he said, quietly. “Because I’m not a tracker.”
“It’s not. There’s like… a one in a million chance,” she said, her breath coming sharp and fast. “That’s why I thought it was okay… Holy hell.”
“Maybe you should sit down,” he suggested, pulling out a chair at the table and taking her arm to guide her to the seat.
She took his advice for once without question, sitting down and staring up at him in shock. Even in a panic she was beautiful. He couldn’t help but smile as she blinked and looked up at him, hitting him with the most helpless look he’d ever seen on her face. “What do we do?”
“Well, I had one idea.” He took a breath and got down on one knee in front of her.
The ring his grandmother had given him before she died had stayed in his bedside drawer for years. He’d thought about giving it to Sarah ever since the first time he laid eyes on her, but as time went on he’d realised how unlikely it was that it would ever be hers. Yet, now here they were, together, with a baby on the way. He wondered now if knowing the ring was hers, even back then when it seemed impossible, was a part of his strange abilities.
He took a shaky breath and steeled himself for the no he was sure she was going to give him, at least this first time. He fully expected to have to ask again, and again. It wouldn’t matter what she said, he knew they would be okay, they would be together. He brought the ring out of his pocket and looked up at Sarah. “I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Maybe getting pregnant was unexpected, but I don’t care how it happened. I want to marry you… and I want to bond with you.”
She didn’t stop staring at him. He had to be crazy. This was Sarah Gallows he was talking to. The one woman enough like him to freak out at even one of the massive life proposals he was making all at once. If he wanted to scare her off he was going about it the right way.
“Just think about it, okay?” He kissed her softly and moved back.
“I don’t have to think about it,” she said. She sounded as stunned as he felt. A sly smile broke out on her face. “How does next weekend sound?”
He raised his eyebrows, wondering if he was hearing things. He couldn’t breathe for a second. Was she serious?
She grinned. “Too soon?”
“Eh… what’s so special about next weekend?” He wasn’t going to let on that she’d practically given him a heart attack for the second time that night.
“It doesn’t have to be that soon. I was just testing you,” she said with a grin as she snatched the ring and put it on. “No take-backs!”
“Oh thank God. I didn’t know what I was going to do if you said no.”
“I can’t believe this,” she said, her hand dropping to her stomach. “How could I not know?”
“You’ve had a lot on your mind,” he reminded, with a shrug. His gaze had dropped to the ring sparkling on her finger as she rubbed her stomach. He started to feel like he was dreaming. It was all too perfect to be real.
“The wedding can wait,” she said, biting at her lip. “But the bonding should happen soon.”
“War,” he said, relief filling him that she’d be rid of the demon bond soon.
“The baby,” she said, a frown darkening her expression. “We have to protect him. It’s a boy?”
He nodded. “I don’t know how I know, but yeah. We’re having a boy.”
“I should probably buy a pregnancy test or something. You know, just to confirm it or whatever.”
“We can do that tomorrow.” He didn’t bother mentioning her parents, who as far as he knew still didn’t have a clue Sarah was seeing him. They’d find out about him soon enough if he was going to be their son-in-law.
“Right,” she said, taking another sip of the champagne before she put the glass down. Her take charge attitude was snapping back into place. “Do you have that razor?”
He nodded, taking it out of his pocket. “So it’s a blood-letting bonding ceremony then?”
“Sex first, and then blood. The wedding ceremony will cement it properly, but we should do the rest now.”
He smiled. “No complaints.”
***
Sarah put up with War’s presence in her head from the second Dev unzipped her dress to the pressing of their cut hands together. She ignored his rabid protests, concentrating on getting the ceremony right. His anger manifested in her nails raking Dev’s back before he even laid her down. She managed to control him after that, holding him back. The one thing that worried her was the removal of Dev’s protective charms. They would both be vulnerable while they bonded, but that was the whole point. They had to open up to each other in way that was intense and unconditional. The soul-gaze went both ways when she made it happen. She knew Dev would see into her like she’d seen into him. It was simultaneously the most amazing and the most terrifying thing she’d ever experienced. War’s voice melted into the background as she saw into Dev’s heart and knew he was as devoted to her as she was to him. That had never been under debate. She hadn’t wanted to subject him to this ritual, but it was never because she didn’t think his feelings were real. She hadn’t wanted to force him into something so permanent just to make her own life easier. The baby made it necessary. She wasn’t willing to take any chances ensuring the safety of their unborn child. Neither was Dev and she loved him for knowing before she even did. It had to be the nicest way she could have found out.
He looked at her as she started to let go of his hand. “Is that it done?”
“I guess you’re stuck with me now,” she told him, as he refused to let go of her hand.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said, kissing her before he let go and started picking up and hauling on his clothes. “Oh, hey, we’ll miss the reservation. I phoned and made one when I went out for the booze.”
“Totally forgot about that,” she said, getting up and checking her hand. It had healed, like it was supposed to. She could put her dress back on without fear of leaving any bloody handprints on the material.
War’s voice had left her. She slipped into her underwear, hoping that her bond to the demon was broken. She supposed if it was still hanging by a thread that the wedding ceremony would sever it completely. She’d just have to try not to do anything to unintentionally reinforce it.
“We could skip the night out, if you wanted?” Dev offered as he buttoned up his shirt.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m eating for two now and that would be your fault so…”
“I owe you dinner,” he deduced. “Both of you.”
She smiled. “Exactly.”
Chapter Thirteen
It was happening and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Dev stared out of the window and knew the world was about to end. The apocalypse didn’t start with disease or warfare, or natural disaster. The sky was turning a funny shade of green, but he knew it was magical rather than chemical. He wished he knew how he knew.
Like with Sarah being pregnant and having a boy. It was weird knowing all these things he couldn’t really explain. Like seeing himself in Sarah’s kitchen, covered in blood and shaking like mad. That one was probably just a nightmare. Like his mother had told him, those things were rarely ever prophetic.
He stepped back from the window and got into bed. Sarah was sleeping soundly. She never seemed to wake up when he did in the middle of the night, regardless of how much noise he made getting up or how long he stayed out of the bed. He lay down next to her and wondered what his mother would say when he told her they were getting married. The diamonds shone in the ring, glittering even in the dark. It looked right on her finger, the perfect fit. It was in the early hours of the morning when he drifted off to sleep, his gaze on her sleeping face as he wrapped his arm around her.
He dreamed of the festival. Dredd was pretending to be a friend, but Dev wasn’t buying that. The old Dredd never would have tried to get him drunk and high. He wasn’t interested in hooking up like he’d hinted at either; he just wanted to get Dev off his face so he would sleep with a random girl. He pushed at him to do it, getting angrier and angrier with every refusal Dev made, until finally Dredd’s face changed. The vampire took him over and he came at Dev with his fangs bared and his demonic eyes glowing in the darkness. The blood that hit the ground when his teeth tore into Dev’s neck was thick and dark. He knew he was a dead man as he struggled against his attacker.
He awoke with a gasp, his hands at his own throat. Sarah was still sleeping soundly beside him. He wrapped an arm around her, warming away the shivers he’d awoken into. He was safe. They were together. Nothing bad was going to happen.
“Nightmares aren’t real,” he whispered, trying to make himself believe it. He didn’t get back to sleep, too afraid he’d have more. He decided he wasn’t meeting Dredd the next night. Brushing nightmares off as silly fears was one thing. Tempting fate was quite another.
***
Sarah got up, feeling like she was locked in some kind of trance as she showered and dressed. Everything that had happened the night before felt unreal. She wondered how far along she was and that thought just made her laugh. Having a baby was something she’d never seriously considered. Her attraction to human boys seemed to rule out the possibility. It was a shock, and one she didn’t think she’d be getting her head around anytime soon. She pulled her jumper on and ignored the temptation to touch her swollen stomach. If she felt something moving she might have to admit she was actually, seriously, having a baby.
“Hey. Are you okay?” Dev asked, as he got up.
She turned. “You’re awake.”
“I didn’t sleep much,” he said, yawning. “Are we going to get a test today?”
“I can go. You should try to sleep.”
“Nah,” he said. “I’m awake.”
“Well, then you should go and shower, because I can’t introduce you to my parents if you smell bad.” She got out her make-up and he saw her pick out the silvery-grey shadow again.
He knelt down behind the chair and hugged her from behind. “I get to meet the parents. Things must be getting serious.”
She snorted, getting on with her make-up routine. She saved the eye-liner for last, knowing her shaking hand would make it hard to apply and not wanting Dev to know how nervous she was about introducing him to her parents. His arms moved away and she smiled back at him as he walked out of the room. Her smile died as she looked back in the mirror.
She had a whole lot of explaining to do, not the least of which would be telling her mother exactly why she needed to have a tracker wedding ceremony when she was marrying a human boy. Sighing, she wondered if she could get away with refusing to tell them anything until Shaun could be there. He’d hardly back her up, but he could at least try to take some of the heat away from her. Groaning, she put down the eyeliner. There’d be no avoiding the truth. Everything was going to have to come out.
***
Dev yawned again, stretching this time to accompany the noise. He had a pregnant fiancé who had actually vowed to be with him for the rest of her life. Life should feel good. So why did he feel like the world was about to end?
Oh aye, he thought, I saw it out the window. He chewed at his nails as he thought about telling Sarah. She’d looked truly happy for the first time in ages. He couldn’t ruin that.
