Page 75 of Plaidypus
The Devil raised a hand. “You may wish to dismount, those of you upon the Four Horses.”
Leonard clued in first to what the Devil had in mind, and he scrambled off the Pale Horse of Death’s back. The animal snorted, twisted his head around, and nuzzled the wolf’s chest. The others likewise dismounted, leaving the Four Horses in their full gear. I’d wondered why Lucifer had insisted on so many trappings, including colored blankets matching their role in the Apocalypse.
They lined up, eyeing the man with madness in his eyes.
I understood, then, what would come.
Mercy sometimes meant brutality—and sometimes, it meant beginning the Devil’s work on heat-blasted land, as close to his many hells as the Earth got.
“Take him to my many hells, so that he might perish as he deserves for the crimes he has committed upon and to this Earth,” Lucifer ordered. “I would wish for Death to come for you slowly, but mercy has been asked for, and mercy has been granted. You will not escape punishment, but you will be given a just demise for a life undeserving of such kindness. War and Conquest, it falls upon you to later return and guide the mortals to the closure his victims deserve. Pestilence, it is your duty to do as you must, however you must, be it famine or a plague upon those likewise responsible, until true justice has been delivered. Death, the final blow is yours. Do with him and his ilk as you please, inHisname.”
Dark clouds roiled over Uluru, and a crack of thunder drowned out all other sound.
The Four Horses moved to do the Devil’s will, and in a cloud of darkness illuminated with bolts of silver and gold, they vanished, taking their prey with them.
The clouds overhead rumbled, and then they, too, disappeared.
“And so it is finished.”
Rather than murdera man for his foul deeds, I cleaned the rock he had defiled. Lucifer helped, using his magic as a fallen angel to preserve the stone and plants befouled by the paint while we scrubbed. My father endured a scolding from his chiefs, Leonard did his best to keep the cindercorns from killing my father, and I kept an eye on the vampires, waiting for the moment their souls would snap back to their bodies.
My father did an admirable job of protecting himself from his cranky chiefs, as he had mastered the art of scratching behind their ears at opportune moments. As cleaning the rock beat trying to intervene, I focused on my job.
Lucifer kept close to the vampire father and daughter, which suggested he expected their souls to swap sooner than later.
As though determining I was the last bastion of sanity, the Devil’s beleaguered heir joined me with her sponge and attacked one of the more offensive symbols, one associated with genocide. “I want to apologize for my father, but at the same time, he’s not actually doing anything wrong for once,” Kanika whispered. “It’s disturbing. And Malcolm is sticking near the cindercorns because hecanmanifest water if either accidentally set a fire.”
“I’m sorry you’ve had to come out for this insanity.” I worked harder at removing the desecration from the stone. “I’m just glad Lucifer is protecting the site while we clean it up. I honestly thought it would be more about the murder than the cleanup, but he did a lot of damage to this place.”
“We could have used magic, but that wouldn’t sanctify the land. There are no shortcuts in undoing a desecration. That’s one of the first things he taught me after he dragged me to hell and started teaching me what it meant to be his daughter. I mean, beyond convincing me I had to call him my father and that I am his daughter now. It was easier to accept Darlene’s basically my mother and has been from the start. There are pictures when she held me as a baby. She even told me why she’d let me go. I mean, she’s notliterallymy mother, but she’s a hell of a lot better than my actual mother.” Kanika attacked the symbol, and while I’d taken a gentler approach, she went to work, tearing through the sunbaked paint. “My father’s magic is strong enough you could chisel it off without damaging the rock.”
I followed her example, and my wolf appreciated letting some of her strength come out. Sure enough, more elbow grease helped eradicate the damage. “Do you think stoning him with melons would have been more merciful than tossing him to the Four Horses?”
“The Four Horses are the best blend of mercy and justice. You cast your stones and made it clear that you did not abide by the desecration. You prove your word helping to remove it. The vampires are taking the brunt of the sacrifice, though. They do not like manual labor unless there are succubi and incubi involved.”
Ernesto, who’d taken on the job of erasing the invocation involvingHim, snorted a laugh. “Understatement of the year, my dear Kanika. It has been hundreds of years since I have scrubbed a floor. But this is far more important than scrubbing some mere floor. My acts of service have been darker in recent days, and while I rather do detest how bright this blistering sun is, it is worth the price being paid. My youngest is a little less enthused, but basement dwellers are not fit, and it will be quite a while until he becomes fit.”
I grinned at the ancient vampire calling my brother out as the basement dweller he was. “Your basement dweller days are over, Matthieu.”
My brother hissed at me, and I growled back.
“Children,” Ernesto scolded. “After we remove the paint, I will dig back into the days of my youth and do some basic sanctifications. That should be sufficient to preserve the site until the people of this land can do their own working. Lucifer?”
“Yes, that should work nicely,” the Devil replied. “This worked out for the best. I dislike how much damage he did, but he has earned his fate, and the Four Horses are pleased with having doneHiswork. And my father is pleased enough with me for doing bad things in good ways. Or something like that. I’ve learned not to question whenHedecides to praise me over something.”
Kanika leaned over and whispered, “My father is an attention whore and loves when his daddy praises him.”
“I heard that.”
“Oh, poor Lucifer, King of Hell, the Lord of Lies, Enjoyer of Affection,” Kanika taunted. Then, with a wicked smile, she cooed, “Satin Blabbermouth Liar McSmarty Pants.”
“Wicked daughter! I demand grandchildren as penance for this assault upon my most delicate and fragile ego and sensibilities.”
At the end of the line of those of us determined to clean up the mess the desecrator had left behind, Darlene cackled.
“You will pay for that, old man.”
“Ah, but will you make me pay through the extended spoiling and babysitting of grandchildren?”
