The Devil's Playthings (25 page)

“Rose from the dead, and is seated at the
right hand of the Father?” Father Peter continued as Lucifer walked closer and spoke over him.

“Emma, give me your soul, and I will give you whatever you want. Just name it.” He tried to drown out Father Peter, and he l
ooked so sweet and innocent in a
soft white sweater and white pants. There was a part of her that wanted to run to him and be comforted by him, but she knew that part of her was in love with Lee
. A
nd he could never, as hard as he tried, be Lee.
He could never be human, as badly as he wanted to be.

“I do,” she said. “There is only one thing I want, and it’s something you can’t give me.”

“I can give you anything your heart desires, diamonds, rubies, jewels. I can give you cars, yachts, houses. Do you want a castle? We’ll go to Europe and buy a castle tomorrow.” He moved slightly closer, with his hands reaching out to her.

“God, the all powerful Father,” Father Peter began, but Lucifer interrupted him.

“He is not all powerful, I have the same power, and I can give it to you, Emma,” he said as he walked closer still.

“You can’t give me what I need, and humans can’t survive without it,” she whispered as Father Peter continued.

“Of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven us our sins.”

“You should have just let me die
, instead of making me
into
this,” she called out to him. “Humans need hope, as much as they need air, and water, and food. Without it, we’re nothing.”

He was close enough to touch her, close enough that she could smell him.
He smelled of wood and rain, of smoke and fire. He didn’t smell of sweat, or blood, or any of the things that humans smelled of.
Michael swooped down and landed between her and Lucifer. He took a step back, and Michael stood in a defensive stance, guarding the humans.

“If I had known, Emma, I would never have done it. If I could do it again, I never would have mixed our blood. I would have kept you human
,” he whispered, and he touched her hand.

He grabbed her, and she felt inside him all the hope a
nd love
she herself wanted to feel. She felt him on that precipice, asking God to make him human. She felt every ounce of jealousy he felt for humans
.
She felt all of his emotions and thoughts and fears. And she felt that somewhere inside him, he really did love her.
She felt something inside him click, and he watched and waited as Peter finished his ceremony. “I’m sorry, Emma. I do love you.”

“May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
Amen.
” Lucifer held her
hand
as
Father Peter pushed her
into the lake. Lucifer stepped back, and although he could have held onto her and pulled her back to him
,
his hand slipped and she fell in the lake
. His hand boiled as he reached into the water for her, and he pulled it out as he saw her
plunge beneath the surface
.

She was afraid. She wanted Luc. She wanted to be out of the water and back in his arms. She felt the water all around her. She held her breath, but she didn’t feel anything was different. Her body wanted to move up toward the surface, to air, to Luc.

Then she realized her desire for him was keeping her on this plane. She had to let go. She had to believe what Father Peter said. She had to release all her earthly desires and believe in God. She had to.

She saw a white light envelope her. She saw it sparkle like sunlight on ice, or all the diamonds he’d given her. She saw his hand reach through the water toward her, but it was too late. He couldn’t touch her any more. He would never touch her again. Whatever happened now, her life would be different. Her life would be hers, and God’s.

She felt like she was choking, gasping for breath. She started coughing, and her eyes opened wide as she saw that she was in a hospital. “Am I drowning?”

“No, you’re in a hospital,” the softest, sweetest voice answered back, and she turned toward the voice like she’d heard it every day of her life. “Why would you think you were drowning?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered, and looked into the most familiar
dark
eyes she’d ever seen. “Where am I?” She looked down at her hands; she was clean, she noticed. And there were tubes running to her arm.

“You’re safe,” he whispered, and patte
d
her hand.
“I’m Dr. Lee Kim.”
He was so handsome, more beautiful than anyone should be.

His hair was perfectly styled with bangs slightly lifted above his dark eyebrows. His nose was small and perfectly proportionate with the rest of his face, flaring just slightly at the nostrils. His lips were a perfect soft pink bow, an odd contrast against his light tan skin. His cheekbones formed little pink apples at his cheeks then swept into a high angle toward his hairline. But his most amazing feature was his eyes, small and almond shaped, and as black and deep as night. And when he told her she was safe, she believed him.

“Thank you,” she whispered. He grabbed her hand and held it for several minutes, staring deeply back into her troubled, soft blue eyes.

“For what,” he whispered.

“For saving me.” She didn’t want to let
him
go, and he allowed her to hold it for several minutes before stepping away from her.

“There’s someone I want you to meet. His name is Father Peter and he volunteers here at the hospital. I think he will help
you quite a bit.” He walked out of the room only long enough to go and gather Father Pete
r and bring him back to her
.

“Father Peter this is Emma Reinhold.” Emma’s eyes grew wide at the idea that he knew who she was before she told him. “You were arrested once,” he reminded her, and she nodded. “She needs you more than you know.” Dr. Kim excused himself, and Father Peter held her hand as she cried.

Lee
asked her to move in with him before she was released from the hospital, and she took the spare bedroom in his small apartment. She cooked and cleaned for him,
not well at first, but she got the hang of it.
H
e gently but firmly suggested that she continue her education. She easily
earned
her GED, with tutoring from both Father Peter and Lee, and then she enrolled in college.

They married after she graduated, and she became a teaching assistant at NY Polytechnic, and continued her education. Soon they bought a nicer apartment, and he hired in a young Hispanic woman to help her with the chores. Her name was Rosa.

When she became pregnant she was stunned. But she knew the exact moment it happened. “Lee, I think I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

“That’s a good thing, sweetheart,” he told her as he held her close to him, placing his hand on her stomach.

“But I can’t have kids,” she whispered. “They told me when I was 17.”

“Sometimes miracles happen,” he said, and pulled her on top of him to kiss her lovingly.

When she became pregnant, and felt the baby growing inside her, she began to have nightmares, of a winged beast coming to take her in the middle of the night. She told Father Peter, but he told her it was just the hormones from being pregnant.

“I wonder what he’ll look like,” she said one day as she was folding baby clothes in the brand new nursery
.
Lee spared no expense on
anything for the baby
. It was decorated in a nautical theme, navy blue with anchors and lighthouses.

“I’m sure he’ll look like whatever he wants to look like,” Lee laughed, and Emma turned toward him, experiencing the strongest feeling of déjà vu.

“What?” She had to hold out her hand and brace herself on the changing table. She knew she’d heard him say that before.

“I said, I’m sure he’ll look like whatever he’s supposed to look like,” he said as he walked toward her. He reached out and held her gently and lovingly.

In the harbor that day the body of a young man was found. He was decomposed beyond recognition and completely naked. His fingers and toes and been eaten off, presumably by fish, and every one of his teeth were gone.
DNA was consistent with a male of Asian descent, and from measurements they could tell he was about 6 feet tall. He was in excellent health
;
didn’t smoke or drink. Since his DNA was not in any data bank, t
here was no way to identify him, and he was buried in an unmarked grave.

Emma and Lee’s baby grew up to become the most powerful man in the world, and ushered in a new era of humanity.