Page 77 of Plaidypus
Heaving a sigh, the cindercorn stallion lowered his head. My father went to him, offering pats to the shoulder. “It’ll be all right, Sam. I’m sure it’ll only get a little worse before he stops talking.”
“It’s not going to get worse, I promise. Mostly, the demons will be needed to monitor and care for the mother, be she human or vampire or other. This will thrill Ernesto, as one of his regrets in his long unlife has been the inability to produce more children. He was always unusual, for his love for his family survived his turn. He just lost the ability to truly comprehend that love. They will struggle for a while, particularly when they realize they may once again have children.” Lucifer waited for his wife to finish preparing the chairs before easing Ernesto onto it and coming for Pierina. “They will need to rest for a while, but I expect they will awaken at sundown. In the meantime, we will appreciate this wild land, roast under the sun, and otherwise laze about.”
I could handle lazing about, especially as there was plenty of room near Icy for me and Leonard. I retrieved the beach towel from her saddlebags, which had been set a respectful distance from Uluru, and spread it out. “Come sit, Leonard. As she’s my moose, we get to enjoy the comforts of being near her along with the vampires. I’ll even let Matthieu hide nearby, in the shade, where he doesn’t char to a crisp.”
“Thanks, Nadine. Appreciated.”
Darlene giggled, and she produced a third umbrella with a flourish. “Come with me, Matthieu, and I will make my wicked husband provide us some magical air conditioning so we can also enjoy being lazy. There are enough umbrellas for all us weak creatures who don’t thrive in the heat. Also, Mr. Pony, please don’t mind your future son-in-law snuggling with your daughter. He’s an excellent male wolf, and she’d be sad if you took away her prized provider of hot chocolate. You can indulge in a light beating during some form of self-defense training, which both need.”
“I can work with a beating during self-defense training, but only if I can recruit. Sam?”
“Granted. I’ll have Bailey get in a few extra classes with them.”
“Hey, why are you throwing me to the wolves?”
“You’re capable of surviving a pair of wolves, that’s why,” Sam countered, and he blew smoke and flame at his wife.
She flicked her ears forward. “I can fight them when they’re wolves?”
“You can do whatever Amanda lets you do with them.”
I suspected something had broken in the cindercorn mare’s brain, as she resumed bouncing around and bucking, although she took care not to clip anyone with her hooves.
“Her father’s influence is rather strong here,” Lucifer stated, and he grinned. “She’s getting more than a little influx of his magic, and this is resulting in a rather amusing overflow of energy. I extended an invitation, but he snarled and wanted to protect his many grandbabies.”
“Who is her father?” I asked.
“Ra.”
My eyes widened. “The Egyptian god?”
“Yes, him. He reigns supreme in the places where the sun’s light shines the strongest. Egypt is only one such place. He is at the peak of his power in the summer of any desert, and this desert is one of his beloved creations.” Lucifer gestured to Uluru. “If anything, this formation is a testament to the sun’s power, a gift from my father to the entity that was Ra, so that those who would make a pilgrimage to its summit might be close to the divine. But that far predated man in general. The divines existed long before the people who worshipped them, although the type of worship helped shape them some. But Ra is as Ra was from the moment he’d been willed into existence. And it’s more complicated than even that. Ra exists because my father exists—but Ra cannot exist without my father, just as my father cannot, truly, exist without Ra.”
The divine and their heritage would forever baffle me. “Are you saying Ra and your father are the same entity?”
“Not precisely. Think of my father like a mosaic vase, one with many fragmented pieces. If you broke apart that vase into each of its separate pieces, Ra would be one of those fragments. Ra is now his own being and has been for many long years—just as I am my own being. But we were all once part ofHim, just given life in different ways. I was brought into being asHisson, destined to fall. Ra was destined for another fate and purpose. Consider the fragmentation a price of freedom and free will. Because humans were given the choice to believe as they wished,Hebecame many. This fragmentation is why things are as they are now.”
“But isn’t Ra a completely different entity fromHim?” Sam asked.
“Genetically, emotionally, physically, and metaphysically, they could not be more different if they tried. There is no relation between you and your beloved. AllHeprovided for Ra to exist was the energy of his being, not flesh and bone. That is Ra’s and Ra’s alone.” Lucifer smiled and went to his nephew, stroking his nose. “You have nothing to worry about. Ra needed to exist because there would be humans that would believe in the power of the sun above all—and onlyHecan create such a being. That is the burden ofHisexistence. All life on this Earth, in some way or another, stems fromHim.”
“Then that means Christianity is the one true pantheon,” Leonard muttered, settling down on the beach towel near Icy before rewarding my moose with strokes of her thick fur.
“Not at all. It just meansHeallowed humanity to decide for themselves which way was the right way. They’re all right. In some way or another, they lead back toHim.Hejust recognized whenHeneeded to let people have their own faith. In the end, allHecares about is the deeds of the soul, not their beliefs in life. No amount of unwavering faith can buy anyone entry toHisheavens—just as no being pure of heart will enter my many hells as one of the fucking assholes. They may come as dinner guests, but they may not stay.”
“That took him a while to get used to. Pure spirits, coming toourhome to have dinner? I may as well have started stealing baby angels and refusing to give them back.” Darlene grinned and threw several blankets onto the ground beneath the umbrella she’d set up. “Come sit, Matthieu. I only bite Lucifer and only when he’s been really good.”
“I’ve been good,” the Devil whined.
“For once in your life, you have been good, but you have to wait until Ernesto and Pierina are back on their feet. You can earn extra good points by checking in on the rest of the brood.”
Lucifer disappeared.
Darlene laughed, lounged under the umbrella, and pat the ground beside her until Matthieu joined her. “Young predators need bigger predators around standing guard, so come cuddle close and get some sleep. The pony can also stand guard, as can the cindercorns. Your sister doesn’t need any additional protection between the wolf and her moose. You’ll be going home soon enough.”
My father sighed, and he grabbed one of the extra blankets, spread it out near Darlene, and joined the others in lounging. “Why am I standing guard?”
“You’re the one who decided to eat a desert death adder,” Darlene reminded him. “Then you beat an idiot with a liru. Venomous snakes aren’t for ponies to chew on.”
