“I thought you left,” said Helena. She pulled the cigar from her lips to hold it between her fingers while she rested her wrist on the edge of the window. After appearing that day to surprise her, Vladimir had disappeared, and she had hoped he was gone for good. But here he was now.
Vladimir smiled at her words. He said, “You’re an intelligent woman, Helena. I believe that is what I like about you. It seems like there’s something bothering you.”
“Which doesn’t concern you. I believe you have to learn to mind your own business and not to poke in others matters, Mr. Lazarus,” sparing him a look, Helena’s eyes shifted to look outside the window at the people.
“Speaking about that, there is something I noticed in you,” said Vladimir, his eyes not moving away from looking at the woman’s features. “You are from a family of good demons. And as we all know, every demon who dies, ends up in Hell. Right?”
“Are you waiting for me to die?” Helena’s words were calm and collected. She brought her hand that held the cigar, her eyes falling on him as she pulled the smoke into her lungs and letting it escape out of her lips again.
“I would have been excited if I didn’t find the mistake. It seems like Heaven has decided to open the path for you to get inside in it to spend your afterlife,” stated Vladimir. The Devil continued to say, “I don’t often check people’s status and I know the demons always end up in Hell, but I couldn’t resist not looking at where you would end up, considering what you do.”
The person seemed far too free, thought Helena to herself. The life of the Devil and that of a person from the living world was too different. People in the mortal world were put under constant trials. Though she didn’t know about this until now, she knew why the path to Heaven had been opened to her. It was Michael.
Vladimir stared at Helena, who broke her gaze from him to look back outside the window as if the scene outside was far more interesting than the person who was talking to her. His own eyes moved to see what she was watching, and he noticed a family walking at the side of the road. It was a mother, a father, and their two children.
“When are you leaving to Cait?” questioned Vladimir.
Helena didn’t see a point in withholding the news from him. Telling or not telling, he would eventually find out. Therefore, it was better to prepare herself than get into shock by his sudden visit.
“Next week,” replied Helena. Once her cigar was exhausted near the end, she said, “I should get back to work.” Within a blink of an eye, the Devil disappeared. She looked all around her room and behind the book rack, which was placed behind her chair. He was gone.
Far away from the High House and in the Hawthrone castle, Vladimir appeared in the middle of the corridor, having a nearby servant gasp in shock and running in the other direction.
“Welcome back, Master!” Odin greeted him enthusiastically. “Did you have a good stroll outside?”
“I did. How are things in the castle?” questioned Vladimir.
Odin cleared his throat before he started to speak, “Master Calhoun has been busy with Theodore in the royal court. Archangel Paschar left for Heaven with Archangel Raphael after being called. Mr. and Mrs. Harris went to their house and said they would return tomorrow. Lady Madeline has been kept company by Lady Lucy, taking care of baby Morven. Baby Morven has taken an attachment to the spider toy that you gave him, but I doubt the Harris family was pleased with it as they got him a sheep,” Odin dutifully reported.
“Is that so,” hummed Vladimir, walking through the corridors of the castle that had turned into his house. “I am going to see what is keeping my grandson in the court, while you make sure nothing happens to little Morven.”
“Yes, Master!” came the enthusiastic voice from the demon, and he quickly went where the baby was.
Odin knocked on the open door of the room, and Madeline smiled at him, “You don’t have to ask for permission, Odin. Feel free to step in and out any time.”
“I would never dare, milady,” Odin bowed his head.
“Did Vlad return?” asked Madeline, as the demon had stepped out of the room to find where his master was. It was strange how the demon was different when compared to the rest of the other demons. Odin often turned anxious when Vladimir was away for far too long.
“He did, milady. Master has gone to meet Master Calhoun,” replied Odin before coming to stand next to the baby and making sure it was alright. He had been noting down every detail so that he could report it if his Master would ask him.
“He must have gone to meet Lady Helena,” murmured Lucy in a thoughtful tone.
“How strange, I would have never guessed that there was something going on,” replied Madeline, a hint of surprise in her tone. The head of the High House didn’t look like she had time for romance and her words were usually curt. She still remembered the time when the High House had come to the castle to run a trial, and Calhoun had offered her a bottle of wine.
“By the way, Odin,” said Lucy to grab the demon’s attention, “I heard you were in the in-between realm before, is that true?”
Odin nodded his head, “I did, milady. It was before the Master took me to Heaven.”
“Why didn’t you go through the gates? Did you miss your family and didn’t want to forget them?” questioned Lucy, looking at him curiously. Even Madeline was curious about this. Since Vladimir and Odin had started to live in the castle, people became curious about the Devil’s servant.
Odin blinked at this question and then said, “No, I wanted to kill them.”
Hearing this, the two young women turned surprised.
“Once upon a time, I had a loving family. I had a brother. A twin,” Odin said. “We were all killed. And I was the last person to die out of the four of us, I couldn’t let go of resentment towards the murderers. I had spent quite a few years and if I stayed a little longer, I would have turned into another creature. The people whom I wanted to hurt, they had been attacked by vampires but I couldn’t let go of the memories. But Master found me in the in-between realm and got me to follow him inside the Heavenly realm.”
“We are sorry to hear that,” murmured Lucy, and Madeline nodded her head.
With a smile on his face, Odin said, “I don’t feel bad about it now. Master took care of the humans I was waiting for once we descended into Hell.”
