a very trained killer.
Sarah laughed. It was not pretty, and it wasn’t innocent. It was fucking terrifying. “An eye for an eye,” she said.
Five seconds ago, Sarah was a giggling child. Now she was an old soul who understood far more than a typical five-year-old should.
“An eye for an eye,” Sarah repeated, floating off of Satan’s lap and into the air.
“It’s a justifiable argument,” Mother Nature chimed in. “Nice twist on the action.”
“Umm… not on my watch,” I said, moving to pull Sarah out of the air and take her to safety. I instantly regretted my decision to bring her here. It had taken a turn with risks I was unwilling to live with.
I was too late.
I wasn’t running the show. Sarah was. And her power almost knocked me off my feet.
“An eye for an eye,” Sarah yelled, zipping through the air with such speed, she disappeared momentarily.
In a blur of golden Heavenly light mixed with dark Demon magic, my five-year-old Nana took revenge on the woman who had killed her. Literally. Catriona’s piercing scream as Sarah’s small hands removed her head echoed in the stunned silence. It was fast. It was efficient. It was bloody. And it was done.
Emotionlessly, Sarah tossed the severed head to the ground. It rolled to Wilhem’s feet. He kicked it. There was a tense moment as we watched Wilhem’s men try to figure out what to do next. To say it was traumatic to watch a beautiful little girl gleefully tear the head off of the Vampyre who’d tried to sentence her to an unholy existence would be an understatement. I was pretty sure I was going to need some therapy after today, and I was positive Sarah would need to chat with a shrink.
The uncertainty in the air was thick. Satan was thrilled with the unrest. Sarah was cuddled back on his lap. He had conjured up a box of popcorn that he shared with a transfixed Mother Nature. Ethan and I stepped forward. The entire Elite Guard drew their weapons. If a coup was in the works, it was going to occur now.
“Spare Wilhem if you can,” Ethan said as his fangs dropped. He pulled a katana from his scabbard. “The rest can burn in Hell if they attack.”
“Stand down,” Wilhem shouted to his men. “If you are with me, show me. If you are not, you are free to leave. Now.”
Half of his men disappeared. The other half went to their knee in reverence of their Prince. It was pathetic.
“Wilhem has a few problems on his hands,” I told Ethan.
“He most certainly does. He made his own bed. Now he has to lie in it.”
Ethan addressed his devastated and hollowed-out brother. “You are not welcome here. Take your army and leave at once.”
“I’m sorry, my brother,” Wilhem whispered. “I didn’t know.”
“Irrelevant,” Ethan ground out. “A true leader bears the sins of his people. Your sins are many. Go now before I am forced to make you leave. Trust me, you do not want that to happen.”
Anastasia took her place on the other side of Ethan and stared at Wilhem emotionlessly.
“Et tu, Brute?” Wilhem asked his sister.
Anastasia’s gaze narrowed dangerously. “I should be asking you that question,” she said coldly. “Your fall from grace is astounding… and tragic.”
“I expect this will be reported to the King,” Wilhem said, holding his head high with effort.
“Indeed, it will,” Ethan told him. “By you. Immediately.”
Wilhem nodded jerkily. “It shall be done posthaste.”
Turning to his remaining men, the broken man strode into the middle of the group. “We shall return home. Now.”
In a flash of magic laced with defeat, Wilhem and his army disappeared. In the breeze from the mass exodus, the ashes of Catriona vanished as well. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
“Well, that was fun,” Mother Nature trilled, standing up from her chair and clapping her hands. “I give all of the lawyers an A plus! The case was riveting. The bad girl was quite evil. The punishment was positively inspired. However, the popcorn could have used a little more butter,” she said, eyeing Satan with a smirk. “And now it’s time for Sarah and me to leave.”
“Whoa,” I said, holding my hands up. “I’m going to raise Sarah. She’s mine. She’s Nana reincarnated.”
“I know, darling! Isn’t that just wonderful,” Gigi sang, ignoring most of what I’d just said.
“Actually,” Satan cut in, still cradling a now sleeping Sarah in his arms. “I was thinking Elle and I should raise her with Luke. The child has