by Michael Dean
I did as she requested and embraced her in my cocoon in front of the setting sun.
“C’mon babe, let’s go to dinner.”
“Oh boy.” I sarcastically replied.
Shade just grinned and held my hand as we casually strolled side by side back to our little suite to get dressed. Shade made sure that I made my magic happen by dressing in a dinner suit that matched her astonishingly tight fitting, grey dress she changed into.
“What took you so long?” I teased her.
“Shut up. I’m human, I actually have to shower, take clothes on and off, and get ready before I go out.”
“Hey, I showered.” I kidded her some more.
“Yes, you did…but I don’t have the ability to pull a change of dress out of thin air and have it magically appear upon my body like you. I was surprised you actually put on your wedding tux.” She messed with me as she adjusted her hair in a mirror close to the front door.
“Hey…what can I say, I’m good like that.” I came up behind her and kissed her neck.
“You’re impossible. C’mon, I made us reservations. We’re gonna be late.” She smirked and rolled her eyes.
“The late is all on you.” I opened the door and waved for her to go through it before me with arrogance.
Shade merely huffed at me playfully and walked by me.
When we got to the restaurant, we were seated outside. We had a wonderful overview of the ocean. This outside, patio area was dimly lit, making it very warm and intimate. A single candle was placed between us and we ordered a bottle of wine.
“Funny, now that I am of age to drink, I don’t really want to as much anymore.” Shade pointed out.
“Should we cancel the wine?” I grinned.
“Oh no, that compliments the mood out here to a T. I just meant, now that I can, I don’t want to as much.” She shrugged.
The waiter approached and poured our first glasses, he waited for us to taste the wine and approve it before he left us.
“So what do you think this home of ours will look like?” She asked.
“I don’t know, but I can’t get over how much everyone has done for us. It will be good to know that you will be well cared for if something happens to me.”
“Really, Leo? You're going to bring that up now? You have the worst timing sometimes, I swear.” She looked out to the ocean and sipped from her glass.
“I’m sorry, you’re right, but we do have to quit sweeping this under the rug. Sooner or later, we need to talk about this, address the what-ifs that are very prevalent in our lives. Not to mention very real.”
“When we get back home, Leo, not now.”
“Fair enough. I’m sorry.” I reached out and grabbed her hand that was resting on the table.
“It’s okay, besides, we have more pressing concerns to worry about tonight?”
I looked at her perplexed. “We do?”
“Ummm, Leo, the dress isn’t the only thing I have on that is sexy.” She shyly smiled at me before looking away, sipping her wine again.
Then it hit me, this is the first night alone with my wife…on our honeymoon. For most humans the was night of great anticipation, of which I was sure Shade was feeling, but for me, there was some worry. I still felt pain every time I kissed her or simply displayed my affection towards her. I just got better at dealing with it and hiding it. I had no idea what was in store for me when Shade and I first make love. I was little afraid, for more than just one reason.
“I hope I will cope well…you know…the pain?” I slurped my wine nervously.
“Well, since it’s the first time for both of us, I think slow is the best way to go anyway. If it gets to be too much for you, we can always stop.”
“Okay, but I don’t think I will want to stop. I’ve been wanting to be with you from the first moment I saw you.” I smiled at her.
“I’ve been wanting this too.” She smiled back.
I leaned over the table and we kissed passionately. We kissed for so long that we didn’t even see the waiter approach to take our order. We would have kept going but he eventually cleared his throat to draw our attention to him.
“Have you decided on what you will be having?” He nodded, looking very sheepishly at us.
Shade chuckled a bit and placed her order, as did I. We sat, talked, and ate very slowly, enjoying one another’s company while letting the anticipation rise as we headed into the main event of the evening. Tonight would be the first night of many, hopefully, to come.
CHAPTER 7
SEED
When we returned to the bungalow we turned the lights off and lit a few candles. We both talked on the bed, snuggling as we looked out the open doors upon the moonlit ocean. It was apparent that both of us were doing a little stalling.
“I’ll be right back.” Shade kissed me and hopped up off the bed and went into the bathroom to obviously initiate things.
I sat innocently upon the bed, staring out at Earth’s natural canvas, painted with precision outside. Suddenly the sound of the bathroom door slowly opening drew my attention, out stepped Shade, scantily dressed like I had never seen her before. She was wearing nothing but a black bra and nearly see through panties. I almost fell off the bed. She looked absolutely breathtaking.
“Well…what do you think?” She bit her bottom lip and posed a little bit as she strutted towards the bed.
I fumbled for words but eventually I eeked out, “Ahh, I am a little overwhelmed.”
Shade just smiled and crawled down upon the bed to me. “A demon intimidated by a human girl? Hell must be freezing over.” She hovered over the top of me and started kissing me.
“No, it’s burning hot right about now,” I replied.
She chuckled a bit and we went right back to kissing.
My hands began to explore her fit body a little further than I had done ever before. Before I knew it we were under the covers wearing nothing but the face of passion. Being that it was both of our first times, we took it slow and easy.
The pain I was feeling was so over the top that I almost couldn’t continue, but Shade would talk to me, caress me in the best way she could to try and help me forget about the pain. I’ve never been a part of something that was pure heaven, but yet pure torture at the same time. This was something that I wasn’t sure that I could ever get used to, but I knew that I had to cope some way because I wanted to do this with my wife as much as possible, and on this night, that is precisely what I did. We made love until, what happens to a woman the first time she has sex happened, and we stopped after that so she could handle her business.
We took the rest of that night and the next off, but after that, we spent a couple of days in bed together, not to mention the nights as well. There was some beach time shoved in there of course, but mainly, a lot of bed time. On the night before we had to leave, we made love for hours. When it was over, we laid in bed and pillow-talked for a while. Shade drifted off to sleep in my arms and I sat there, again, looking out the doors to the ocean in front of us.
While I was lost in the moment, a sharp and disturbing vision interrupted my serenity, taking me out of this reality and into another one. Hell had been quiet as of late, but not any longer.
The view of the ocean was quickly replaced by a flash. I was taken to that snowy place where I saw the beasts of Hell crawl out of from in one of my other visions. It was the same location where I saw Christian send War out of the crevice, setting him free out in the world. This time I was hovering above the surface, on the edge of the crack. Wind and snow were blowing hard in this frozen land and two figures were standing next to the crevice. It didn’t take long to see that it was Christian and War standing next to each other when I was taken closer. Christian was dressed in his usual attire as was War. War, of course, dressed in his dark black cloak where you couldn’t see his face. I was still denied the luxury of what or who was his or her identity.
“The time has arrived, War, the task has been completed. Now is the ti
me for you to rid us of the pestilence that is Leo. The child will be set loose upon humanity soon and I must have these nuisances eradicated. The child will be mine, the key to unlock the door to the human world…and you will aid me in this. This is your time of redemption…this is your moment of payback. You need not go to seek out the traitor, he will come to you. Your patience is crucial my friend. Your victory is near...hold steady. When your work is finished, I will father in a new age. The world will soon be ours!” He laughed manically.
War bowed to his master in obedience and Christian shot down into the crevice, leaving War above. A moment later, the land began to shake and the crevice opened a little more. As the world shook, I was zoomed directly into the blackened, shadowy face of War. I still couldn’t see what his or her identity was, but I knew that the time had finally come for me to come face to face with it, whenever I was ready. There was to be no more hunting it, War was ready to be found; whatever reason for the delay and the hiding, of which that I was unclear about, the time had come for us to go head to head. I knew that now.
“Leo…Leo.” I felt Shade shaking me out of the vision. “Did you feel that quake?”
“Umm, ahh, no…well yes…I guess.” I answered her, trying to clear my mind.
“Was that earthquake natural or does it have to do with you?” Shade was beginning to understand that the world's oddities, especially as of late, were not always due to naturally occurring geological events.
“What do you think?” I looked to her.
“Hell…Christian?”
“That’s always who it is now.”
“You had another vision?”
“Yes.”
“What is going on this time?” She looked concerned.
“War is waiting for me. I don’t think it will be hidden from me anymore. Something has happened to make Christian ready for our confrontation. All I have to do now is leave, when I’m ready, and I’ll find War this time. War isn’t seeking me out, he, she, it, is waiting for me to come to it. At least that is what I gathered from the vision.”
“You know directly where to go this time?” Shade placed her head on my chest.
“I think so.”
“Where is that?”
“Either the North Pole…or Antarctica. I saw enough this time to know that has to be where War awaits.”
“So, War isn’t going to come for you?”
“I guess not. For some reason, time isn’t of the essence with Christian this time. I’m not clear as to why, but he seems to be in no rush for War and I to meet…and this is what is bothering me the most.”
“What do you feel like he’s trying to do? Why do you think he’s being patient…now?”
“He mentioned something.”
Shade looked up to my face.
“He needs something, or someone to surface…I don’t know…I don’t know.” I held back from telling Shade about the child Christian mentioned because I had no idea what he was talking about. Not to mention Christian mentioning something about payback? From War? I didn’t understand.
“Something…someone?” Shade pushed.
“I don’t know, hun. I may have interpreted the vision wrong, but something is amiss. If I know anything about Christian, he’ll show his hand. When he does, it’s always trouble. I just hope by the time I figure it out it’s not too late.”
“I love you, Leo.”
“I love you.”
Shade turned her head from me and rubbed it a little across my chest. She didn’t say another word.
Neither did I for the rest of the night. Shade went back to sleep and I thought about nothing else other than what Christian and War were up to. My battle for Diccittidel had been tucked so far away on the backburner that I had forgotten about what I still had in front of me. Through all the good times as of late, the dark cloud, even more fierce than before, had reared its ugly head into our lives once again. It was time to push aside the human life I had been living and get back to reality.
We spent the last day of our honeymoon beach-bound, trying to cast aside our worries. At least for myself the worries never faded. When the next day arose, we left our tropical paradise and set course back to the real world.
Richard was right on time to pick us up. Hugging us and asking how the trip was. We small talked about it with him as we gathered our luggage and walked out to his vehicle. When we got inside to leave, Shade wasted no time in figuring out where the two of us were going to go from here.
“Daddy, are Leo and I going to separate places tonight or can we stay together?” Shade questioned.
“Well, there is still some work to be done on your little place, but I think we have it set up enough to be livable. You two have a home to go to. That’s where we are going.” He smiled.
Shade looked at me with glee.
When we got back to Mountainside, we took a small, raggedy, two-lane road up into the mountains. We weren’t nose bleed high by any means, but we were tucked away a bit. Solitude was definitely apparent where we were going. Finally, we turned down a narrow dirt driveway next to a tattered mailbox and through some dense trees. Out of nowhere, we saw this quaint little log cabin surrounded by multiple pine trees. There was a tiny front porch in front of the cabin that immediately drew Shade’s attention.
“Oh my goodness, it is so cute!” She squealed.
“Like I said, it’s not completely finished yet, some more small work needs to be done, but for the most part it’s quite livable.” Richard put the vehicle in park and we got out, pointing to some of the work that had been done on the old roof.
“Oh, Dad, it’s perfect. I love it.” Shade stood in front of it.
“Leo, what do you think?” Richard asked.
I shook his hand. “I think it is one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen. I have never truly had a home…well, I mean, Benjamin and Amanda…”
“I know what you mean, son. We were all glad to help bring the two of you your first home.” He interrupted me and patted me on the shoulder.
“Now that we’re here, how are we supposed to go anywhere?” Shade questioned.
“I pulled your car up here a couple days ago…it’s around back, c’mon, let’s go in and check it out.” Richard replied as he dangled the house keys in front of Shade to take, which she did.
Shade opened the door to our new home and we set foot inside before Richard. Fate was the first to greet us and Shade picked him up to hug him. Once inside, there was a small kitchen and tiny dining area to our left, with a small living room with a fireplace to our right. Straight in front of us was a short hallway that led to a couple of rooms. You could tell the house was a little worse for wear. It was a little old and I could see the various repair work her father and the rest of our families had been working diligently on. Nonetheless, I loved it.
“Let me show you what we did in the kitchen here.” Richard walked to the front of us to lead.
He pointed out a new refrigerator that was nearly shorter than me, a microwave, stove and a new pantry and cupboards he recently installed. There wasn’t a ton of room to move around in it, but it was exactly what we needed. Richard opened up the cupboards and drawers to show us that some of our wedding gifts had been put up. We had plates, bowls, silverware…the whole nine yards. Seems normal enough, but those simple human elements of life have long evaded me, I was soaking the home life right in.
Next he guided us into the living room. A small television was sitting upon a stand in the corner of the room by the fireplace. I recognized it as my mother and father's television they'd once had in their bedroom at home. There was a rug lying upon the hardwood floor, under a coffee table in front of a couch that looked to be in slightly used condition.
“The couch was furnished by Sam,” Richard said.
There was a lamp and some end tables here and there. Again, nothing fancy, but it was all that we needed. Richard then guided our attention to the hallway and led us down it. He pointed out a hall closet and m
entioned that the rest of our unopened gifts from the wedding that Anne hadn’t opened were in there.
“Anne took it upon herself to see some of things you two got. That’s why some you have bowls and things put up in the kitchen. Nosey as always, that woman.” He joked.
“It’s fine, Dad,” Shade answered with a grin.
There was a bathroom across from the closet which sat just before two bedrooms which were right across from one another. He pointed to the room on the left first. It was tiny and had nothing in it other than a window and closet.
“This is just in case you need it for storage, office…grandchildren…” He flashed a cynical, but playful smile at his daughter who blushed. I left that comment alone and said nothing.
“Over here is the master bedroom.” We walked in and he pointed around.
It was a bit larger than the other room, but still quite small. There was a brand new bed in it and some new furniture for clothing. He reached over and pulled open a sliding door, showing us a walk in closet. Then he walked over to another corner of the room to show us a small bathroom with no shower or tub, unlike the bathroom in the hallway.
“Well, that is pretty much it guys. She’s all yours.”
“Where did the bed and stuff in here come from?” Shade asked.
“Well, Anne and I, as well as the Spears family didn’t think you should be sleeping on the floor, so we got you some things. We know how hard it is starting out to accumulate life’s essentials in the beginning of a marriage.”
“Thank you, Dad, thank you all so much. I love you.” Shade hugged him.
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
“What can we do to ever repay this kindness?” I reached out and shook his hand again.
“We’ve already told you.” He grinned.
I smiled back at him knowing full well what he meant.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. I’ve gotta show you the breaker box and some other stuff, Leo, but other than that, you’re good to go. We’ll call you all and figure out a time to do some of the remaining touch up work when it’s convenient for you.” He waved at me to follow him.
