Chapter Six

∞Chapter Six∞

 

Anya was sitting in her wheelchair in the living room watching re-runs of old sitcoms when she got a feeling that someone was watching her. Bryan had taken Kia to his mother’s house to spend the night, and he still hadn’t returned. Still though, she called out his name. Maybe she just hadn’t heard him come in.

There was no answer but the soft ruffle of movement somewhere out of sight.

How did someone get in the apartment? Oh, thank goodness Kia isn’t home!

“Is someone there?” she called.

She wasn’t expecting an answer, nor was she expecting Dr. Carson to materialize out of nowhere.

Her hand went to her heart as it began to pound wildly in her chest.

“Oh!” she cried, “Dr. Carson. What are you doing here?” Her voice was soft, with a slight tremble.

How had he gotten in? Visitors needed to be buzzed in, and she sure hadn’t done it. A tingle of fear ran up her spine. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t look well, either.

“It’s a terrible thing that’s happened to you Anya. But you have people around you who truly love you, and would do anything to save you,” he whispered solemnly.

Anya was started just as much by the conversation as she was by his sudden appearance. He looked so forlorn. A part of him wondered what was making him so sad, while another part of her screamed danger.

“Yes. I am lucky to have people in my life. It will be all the more hard to leave them though,” she said, not sure how she should be reacting.

What is he doing here? How did he get in? she wondered, not for the first time.

“Was there something I could help you with, Dr. Carson?” she asked, to keep him preoccupied.

Preoccupied from what, though?

“On the contrary, child. It is I who am here to help you,” he said, looking around the room.

She had a family, a fiancé and a daughter. Megan would never have those he knew. She would never move in that direction now that she knew her time on this plane was limited. The thought made him frown. Especially since he didn’t want to think of her bearing children who were not his. But that itself was an impossible notion. He was dead, a demon, and he couldn’t father any children.

Looking back at Anya, Jeremiah continued, “Like I said, you have people who love you, and there are some people out there who would do anything to help those that they love,” he finished as the fire in his eyes began to burn.

“I- I don’t understand,” Anya mumbled, suddenly terrified.

If she survived this encounter, she would have to remember to tell Megan to stay away from the handsome, yet unstable, doctor. The way they had looked at each other, she wasn’t stupid, no matter how much Megan had denied it. There had been signs of attraction there, mutual attraction. But now, he made Anya’s spine tingle in fear. What did he want?

“I’m here to make it go away.”

He stepped closer, and Anya could see now that there was something different about his eyes. They were dark, almost black, with a trace of red flickering, almost like a flame.

How is that even possible? she wondered. It’s not. Nothing human could do that!

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Anya asked, “Are you going to kill me?”

Jeremiah stopped, and regarded the young woman in front of him. She was Megan’s best friend; his Megan’s best friend. How was he supposed to go through with this? Could he really damn the love of his life?

She damned herself by making that deal with you! he reminded himself.

“It’s complicated. But I will make the cancer go away.”

“How? And why?” she asked. Despite her resistance, she couldn’t help but to be curious about what drove him here, and why now.

“You don’t want to know,” he told her, shaking his head.

As best she could while in a wheelchair, Anya put her hands on her hips. “I believe I do.”

Lord help him, she was just as stubborn as Megan!

“Fine, I can’t tell you. At least, I can’t tell you the why. But I can tell you what, I suppose.” He regarded her for a few moments trying to figure out the best course of action. This was her life after all. Maybe she had the right to choose what happened in it. Maybe if she insisted that he not go through with the deal, and then maybe that would save Megan.

It still wouldn’t bring him and Megan together, but maybe she would have a real chance at life then. Jealousy still boiled to the surface that she would get to spend the rest of her life with a human who deserved her unselfish and unflinching kindness. Jeremiah was neither human or deserved her. He had done terrible things throughout his existence. How could he bring her down into the darkness, into the depths of abyss where he dwelled?

It would be cruel. They lived in two different worlds. But now that he had met her, he wasn’t sure he could survive without her. But would his death free her from their deal? He wasn’t totally sure. Maybe he could make a deal of his own? He didn’t have a soul, but maybe he could offer something else?

A sound brought Jeremiah back to reality. Anya had cleared her throat and was staring up at him expectantly.

With a newfound purpose, he told her, “Someone who loves you made a deal. Their life for yours,” he started and paused only a moment at the sharp sound of her intake of breath. “The cancer won’t kill you, and it will be gone forever. You can continue on however you choose, and in a few years, this person will be taking your place.”

“No!” Anya said, horrified. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out who could be so stupid. Though, maybe Dr. Carson was lying, or just plain crazy. But then there were the eyes. There was no denying or rationalizing the way they burned like the fiery pits of Hell. Anya knew he was telling the truth, as much as she wanted to deny it.

Jeremiah knelt down to Anya’s eye level and put his hands on either side of the wheelchair. Looking at her, he told her, “Anya, this can be your decision. You don’t have to do this.”

It was curious. He looked almost pleading, like he didn’t want to save her. Or maybe.

Realization dawned. All the pieces were coming together. He could see it in her face. All he could do is hang is head. For the first time in his very long life, he was ashamed �" ashamed of what he was and the things he had done.

“Did you make the deal?” Anya asked, the steel sliding into her voice.

Unable to speak, Jeremiah jus gave a weak nod.

“You made a deal with Megan, her life for mine? Why?”

Anya was fuming. But she didn’t know who to be angrier at! Megan could be so impulsive and rash sometimes that it wasn’t funny. She would get something in her mind, and then she was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t let it go until she got her way. The man never had a chance!

But then, there was Jeremiah! Whoever, or whatever, he was, Anya had seen the sparks. How could he do something like that?

Anya let out a slight chuckle. She didn’t mean to, but it slipped out. Here she was, silently admonishing a man she now knew to be some sort of demon for making a deal with her best friend, because they were attracted to each other! It was ridiculous! This whole situation was crazy. Maybe she had gone crazy.

“I’m not going to let Megan trade her life for mine. I don’t care how many years she got,” Anya said matter-of-factly, and she thought she saw Jeremiah breathe a sigh of relief.

Crazy.

In the blink of an eye, Jeremiah was standing and nodding. “Good. Good,” he was repeating.

“Wait, there’s something I want though.”

Intrigued, Jeremiah made a gesture indicating that he was listening.

Taking a deep breath, Anya asked him, “Will this release Megan from her deal?” When Jeremiah nodded, she continued, “I don’t want to drag this,” she started, making a general motion with her hands, “on and on. It’s making everyone on edge and miserable. I came home to die, and that’s what I want to do.”

Jeremiah’s jaw went slack in shock. He had come here to save her, and instead she was asking him to kill her.

“You don’t know what you’re asking me to do,” he whispered. “You’re Megan’s best friend. She’d never forgive me.”

“Do you really care about her?” asked Anya, genuinely curious, and concerned for her best friend.

Nodding, he clarified, “I’ve been around a very long time. I’ve made a lot of deals, and I’ve never once regretted a deal until Megan,” he admitted with a laugh. “I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone, ever. It’s quite unnerving, to tell you the truth.”

He ran a hand through his hair and shifted slightly, so he was looking at the wall, and not at Anya. “Just being around her makes me feel like a better person, well not person per se, but you know what I mean,” he said with a rueful smile. “She makes me wish for things that are impossible.”

Not giving him time to continue, Anya said, “Nothing’s impossible. Especially when it comes to love.”

Jeremiah gave a slight snort. “We are too different. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I think she knows that now too.”

“Then what does it matter if she never forgives you? And who said that she would have to know it was you?”

“I don’t think I’d be able to keep it from her. I’d feel �" guilty,” he said slowly, as though he was tasting what the word sounded like.

There was a pang in Anya’s chest as she felt bad for Jeremiah, and Megan. They were obviously in an impossible situation. Megan was going to get hurt, no matter how this ended, and it hurt Anya to know that. She hoped her friend was strong enough to get through her death, and strong enough to lean on Jeremiah for support, after she forgave him, because he obviously loved her.

“She will forgive you,” Anya assured him. “If there’s one thing I know about Megan is that when she loves, she does it with her whole heart. The fact that you’re here is proof of that.”

“I don’t want to hurt her,” he implored.

“You won’t. This, this is what I’m asking for. She will understand that one day. It’ll be up to you to make her understand that.”

Knowing her end was coming, Anya was glad to be alone, and that she had been awake to give Kia and Bryan kisses goodbye before they left. Thankfully, Kia wouldn’t be coming back with Bryan to find her mother dead.

She wondered how he’d do it. Knowing what little she did about him, she felt assured that he would do what he could to make sure she was as comfortable and that it would hurt as little as possible. But feeling a bit macabre, she asked, “How will you do it? Kill me, I mean?”

Jeremiah looked uncomfortable, more so than he had yet during this bizarre conversation.  

“All you have to do is relax. It’s won’t hurt, Anya,” he promised as he swiftly swooped down next to her chair again.

Putting her hand out, she replied stubbornly, “I want to know.”

Resisting the urge to growl, Jeremiah wondered what he had done to deserve to have found such insufferable and stubborn women!

Oh, yeah. That’s right. Roaming the earth for hundreds of years, killing for pleasure, for food. Then there was the whole minion of the goddess where he conned unsuspecting mortals out of their souls. Sure they got what they wanted, for a little while, until it was time to pay up.

The memories he tried to block out were more than he could bear. He had chosen this life, but he hadn’t known what it would mean. Seven hundred and twenty eight years ago his wife was going through a particularly tough time at childbirth. His Sara and the baby were both dying. Unsure what to do, he ran into the woods which were said to be filled with demons, he shouted to them that he would do anything if they would just save his wife and child.

That was when Maya had come to him. She told him that they could be saved, but he had to do something for her in return. At that point, he would have agreed to anything, and he did. The next thing he knew, it was morning and there they were, looking no worse for the wear. It was as though their struggle the night before had never existed.

Relieved, he hugged them both, and kissed his wife. After a few moments of holding his son, there was a movement outside that caught his attention. Swiftly placing the fussing newborn in his mother’s arms, Jeremiah raced outside to than the beautiful angel for saving them.

But Maya was no angel. She was a demon, but not just any demon. The woman he had made a deal with the queen, the goddess of the unholy. And there was no getting out of a deal made with her.

And so, before he could utter a sound of thanks, she swept him away. Back at her dwelling she reminded Jeremiah of the deal they made, and the promise she intended to hold him to. That was when she kissed him. He tried to pull away, but she was so strong.

She bit me!

The raving lunatic had bit him!

But she saved your Sara and you boy, he reminded himself. Isn’t this the promise you made?

No, he argued. This was not the promise he made.

Struggling to free himself, Jeremiah pulled against her strength, but he was weak. Compared to her supernatural strength, he was merely more than a mouse trying to get away from a sleek sophisticated tigress.

There was no hope. He was hers.

That’s when the change started. And she had left him there. When he finally awoke, the memory of what had transpired was foggy and grainy. He couldn’t quite remember. Until he saw the woman chained to the wall.

She was crying, and would probably have been begging for her life if her mouth wasn’t gagged. There was a slight tremor in the recess of Jeremiah’s memory. Something about her he should have known. But at that moment the only thing he knew was the sudden primal need to feed.

The need was so raw and new. At first he didn’t know what it had meant. How does one quench the devil’s thirst?

As he got closer to the sobbing woman, he noticed small stains on her dress. The reddish color was slowly blossoming. And then it hit him.

The smell. Every instinct kicked into hyper drive as all the pieces clicked and he realized what he needed to make the cravings go away.

Blood.

As the smell invaded his senses, Jeremiah could take it no more. He lunged, driving his newfound fangs into the woman’s neck. There was a slight gurgling sound as the skin from her throat fell away and she drowned, and Jeremiah drank.

When it was over, and she was dead, he pushed away from the wall. There was no more blood left in the poor sacrifice’s body. He had drained her. Yet the hunger lingered.

But it did help to clear away some of the cobwebs. The fog began to lift and memories started to unfold. He had needed to save Sara and the baby. Then he met the woman in the woods. When he came out to thank her for her help, she had bit him.

What sort of monster was she? What sort of monster did she make him?

He had killed someone, drained them of their blood!

Horrified, he rushed back over to the body. There had to be something he could do!

“No! No! No!” he chanted over and over, screaming the mantra.

As he lifted the hair out of the face of his victim, he saw the sweet angelic face of his beloved wife. He had killed her.

No! This isn’t possible. Please, Sara!

This face crumpled. The heartbreak set in. How was he going to survive?

Anya reached up, cradling his face in one of her palms.

“It’s OK. I’m ready.”

“I’m not,” he whispered.

Remembering how he had killed his beloved so many centuries ago, brought him to his knees. How could he take Anya’s life now? But if he didn’t, then he would have to take Megan’s, just like he had taken Sara’s.

“Look at me,” Anya demanded. “My life for Megan’s. I’m dying. You are not going to save me to just take Megan away. I’ve made my peace. In fact, I was ready right after I was diagnosed. The only thing keeping me here was not knowing how I could leave everyone else here, knowing they would be in so much pain.

“You’re going to do it, and you’re going to do it now before Bryan gets home!”

The fire in her eyes flashed. She was determined.

Yes, he could do this. Couldn’t he?

Yes. This time I can save her.

Steeling his resolve, and voiding his face of all emotion, Jeremiah whispered, “I’m sorry.”

As she opened her mouth to protest, he grabbed her neck and sealed the deal with a kiss. Swiftly he changed positions and went in to strike, biting the soft flesh beneath her ear.

***

The knock on her door made her jump.

Damn you, Jeremiah! Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone?

Megan wiped at her eyes, making sure there were no traces of the tears she had shed before she opened the door.

But it wasn’t Jeremiah standing on the other side of the door. Instead, Olivia pushed past Megan and walked into the apartment.

“Make yourself at home,” Megan muttered as she closed the door.

“Good,” Olivia started. “I just wanted to make sure that he left you alive last night,” she remarked, snidely.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about that vampire you were out with last night!” hissed Olivia. “You didn’t tell me that was what you were dealing with! They are the vilest of all of the goddess’ creatures; they don’t care about anyone or anything else. Their deals, never work out. You and your friend will both be dead in the end!”

Megan stared at Olivia in horror. No, it couldn’t be true, could it? Everything she had ever heard indicated that vampires can’t be out in the day, and they didn’t eat.

You never saw Jeremiah eat anything.

But he took me out to dinner last night, she argued with herself.

Right. But you never got the actual eating part of the dinner!

It couldn’t be true. Right?

She hadn’t needed to invite him in first for him to enter her apartment.

But his eyes, she remembered, they glowed a bloody red.

Reality began to nestle in.

She had sent him away last night. Told him to hold up his end of the deal and that she never wanted to see him again. He had never actually said what would happen to Anya when he held up his end of the deal, just that the cancer wouldn’t kill Anya.

Did that mean that Jeremiah was going to kill Anya? Megan wondered in silent horror.

NO! her mind rebelled.

“We need to get to Anya’s place. I told him last night I never wanted to see him again and that he had better hold up his end of the deal,” Megan said, feeling detached, as she scrambled to get her shoes and coat on, while fishing her car keys off the hook.

She didn’t care what she looked like when she walked out that door, just as long as she got to Anya on time!

Please don’t let me be too late! she pleaded as she swung the door open for the second time that morning.

Megan was stunned as she stood there and stared into the face of Jeremiah.

Her heart raced as it sank into the pit of her stomach.

Oh no, was she too late?

Unsure if she was about to kill the monster before her or jump into his arms, Megan decided the best course of action would be to stay right where she was.

Olivia hissed and went to move around Megan, but Megan held out an arm to stop the other girl in her tracks. This was her fight. No one else was going to go to into battle for her. Megan had gotten herself into this mess, and she was going to get herself out, no matter the cost.

“Jeremiah, what can I do for you?” Megan asked coldly. She didn’t really care about the answer. Her interest was more in finding out if Anya was still alive, or if he had taken her life too.

He took a cautious step forward, stepping inside the apartment. As he closed the door, something flew onto his back. He should have known better than to turn his back on a witch!

Olivia had latched herself onto his back and was hitting him. He could hear her yelling at Megan to get her purse, and he wondered what she would want from her purse while she was in the middle of pummeling him.

He tried to dump her off his back, but she was holding on tight. He thought about slamming his back into the wall, but he didn’t want to hurt her. That wouldn’t bode well since he was there to plead his case and beg her forgiveness.

What the hell is the witch doing here, anyway?

When Jeremiah looked up, he saw Megan coming back over with a big black bag. She looked confused. It was obvious she had rifled through it, but wasn’t coming up with what she thought Olivia was looking for.

“There is a water bottle. Get it out and throw it at him,” she hissed, as she grabbed at Jeremiah’s hair, yanking his head back.

“Get off of me!” he huffed.

This was getting frustrating. Goddamn women! For not the first time, he wondered why the hell all the women he met had to be so damn stubborn and exasperating!

Finally, Megan had pulled the bottle out and was fumbling with the cap. Just as she was splashing it, Olivia yelled, “Stop!” as she jumped off Jeremiah’s back.

Not able to stop the motion completely, some drops of the water splashed up into Jeremiah’s eyes.

Letting out a grunt, he reached up and wiped the liquid from his face. Astonished, he looked back and forth from Olivia to Megan.

Maddening!

“I don’t-” Olivia whispered as she made her way back over to Jeremiah. Taking her hands, she moved them over his face, much like she had to Megan the other day.

When she was done, she pulled her hands back. Cocking her head to one side, she stared at Jeremiah, as though willing the answers to her unasked questions to materialize. Shaking her head, she moved back to Megan and repeated the process.

Again, she stared in amazement when she was done.

“Unbelievable,” she breathed as she stepped back from the pair. How was this even possible?

“Olivia, what’s wrong?” Megan asked, concerned.

“How did you do it?” Olivia asked, spinning back to Jeremiah. “How did you break the deal? How are you back?”

“Wait,” Megan said, confused, “the deal is broken?”

She turned to look at Jeremiah for answers. What the hell was going on?

Taking a deep breath, Jeremiah nodded. “Yes,” he said with a smile.

But Megan wasn’t smiling. If the deal was off, then that meant that Anya was still going to die from the cancer.

But you were just on your way to stop him from keeping his end of the deal. Weren’t you?

The sigh of resignation that Megan let out weighed heavy on her heart.

Wait, what did Olivia mean by ‘how are you back?’

“Will someone please explain to me what is going on?” Megan asked, looking back and forth between them.

Grinning, Jeremiah moved closer to Megan. He leaned in, cupped the back of her head, and kissed her. At first, Megan tried to resist, but like always, she succumbed to the need to be with him.

Is this what dying is going to feel like?

She sure hoped so!

Pulling back, Jeremiah pulled her close for a hug.

“It’s alright now,” he said, smoothing her out-of-control hair. “Everything is going to be alright.”

But it wasn’t. Megan knew that no matter how much she wanted it to be true, everything was not going to be alright. How would it be alright? Jeremiah was a deal making demon �" a vampire, and she was human, a human who had sold her soul and was going to die in seven years.

But she wasn’t going to die. Olivia and Jeremiah just confirmed the deal had been broken. But how? And why?

“I don’t understand,” Megan murmured into his chest.

“I went to go visit Anya,” he started but paused when he felt Megan tense. “Shhh. She’s alright,” he said with a laugh.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I had gone there to fulfill my end of the bargain for you. She was resistant, by the way,” he laughed. “She insisted that she couldn’t, and wouldn’t be saved.”

He took a deep breath. He knew the next part of the story could destroy everything he was hoping for with Megan. But, she deserved the truth.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Olivia. She made a motion indicating that she was going to leave. He just nodded.

“And?” she prompted.

Why was he confronted with so many moments of truth with this woman?

“And,” he started, “she made a deal with me. She said she was already dying and she refused to let you die for her. I swear I didn’t tell her you were involved at all, she figured it out on her own,” he finished in a rush.

“You killed her?” Megan screeched, pushing him away.

Jeremiah stumbled back, stunned. He tried to deny it, but Megan wasn’t listening.

“No. Listen,” he pleaded.

“You son of a b***h!” she shrieked. “I trusted you. How dare you!”

“Megan, please. I-” he tried to reason with her, to no avail.

“Don’t you dare,” she seethed as she walked up to him and pointed her finger in his chest. “You’re vile, revolting.”

“I didn’t kill her!” he screamed in Megan’s face.

Megan opened her mouth and closed it a few times, trying to figure out what to say next.

“Megan, please listen to me. I didn’t kill her,” he whispered as he stared into her eyes, begging her to believe him.

“You can call her if you’d like. It was actually pretty incredible. I never experienced anything like it before.”

“Like what?” she asked cautiously.

“Being alive. For the first time in such an incredibly long time. I don’t know how it’s possible,” Jeremiah breathed as he cradled both sides of Megan’s face with his hands, wrapping her hair around his fingers.

It all felt so surreal. He was afraid if he didn’t hold on tight, that it would all just fade away and he’s be back to who he used to be. Losing this, losing her would be the worst thing in the world.

“I still don’t understand,” she sighed, rubbing her cheek in his palm.

“Neither do I. Somehow, I went there to free Anya from her cancer, but somehow, she freed us both.”

“What does that even mean?” It sounded a bit like a whine, which caused Megan to wince. She couldn’t stand whining.

Laughing, Jeremiah responded, “It means we can all live the rest of our lives with the people we love. Something happened when I bit Anya.”

The glare Megan gave him didn’t escape his notice, but he continued anyway. “It was like any other time at first, and then it was like I was choking. The next thing I knew I was on the ground and my body was on fire. I thought my throat was tightening and I couldn’t breathe.

“But that was the weirdest part �" I didn’t need to breathe. So why did I feel like I couldn’t get enough oxygen?”

Megan was looking at him like he had gone mental. Maybe he had.

Pushing on, he continued, “Have you ever heard of a maefaw?”

Raising an eyebrow, Megan shook her head and headed toward the kitchen. She was still listening he knew. This was something that required Megan to consume copious amounts of caffeine. So he continued.

 “A maefaw is a type of fairy �" a spring fairy. They are about rebirth and living. Their blood has regenerative powers. I’d never met one, before Anya,” he said slowly and paused, letting it sink in.

“Anya? A fairy?” Megan scoffed. She had known Anya since they were little kids. She sure would’ve known if her best friend was a fairy!

Wouldn’t she?

“Yeah, we were both just as startled by the discovery. I’d heard that biting one would kill a vampire. And it did, sort of,” he finished.

As she brewed the pot, Megan contemplated all that Jeremiah was telling her. But what did that last bit mean, exactly? She wasn’t sure, so she asked him.

“It means,” he said with an impish grin as he snaked his arms around her waist, “that the vampire is gone, somehow. And now you’re left with just plain old Jeremiah Carson, a boring and less demonic human version.”

Human? Jeremiah is human?

His grin was infectious and she crushed into him kissing him fiercely. After a moment, she thought again about Anya.

“What happened to Anya? After you bit her?” Megan asked, eyes narrowed. She was none too pleased at either of them at the moment.

 “You have to understand, I had gone to her in a state of desperation, really. I knew it was what you wanted, but I knew that you didn’t really understand how things would work. Didn’t you ever learn not to sell your soul?” he asked with a laugh.

“Yeah well, I think I may have gotten that advice once or twice. As I’m sure you realized, I didn’t listen,” she teased. “What do you mean that I didn’t understand?”

Bracing himself, he decided it was time to leave it all on the table. “In order to save her, I was going to change her,” he said, letting it sink in slowly.

He saw the puzzle pieces trying to cram themselves into place inside Megan’s head. “Change her?” she repeated slowly, as realization dawned. “You were going to make her a vampire?”

Megan was stunned. It wasn’t at all what she had asked for. Anya was supposed to be saved, not killed and turned into a monster! Anger once again started to build, but Jeremiah tried his best to curtail it.

“Look, you were never really another job to me. From the moment I first laid eyes on you as we bumped into each other, I knew there was something about you. Then once I realized why we had met, that we were supposed to make a deal, I did my best to push those feelings aside, but it was never really possible. I didn’t want to this to you, to Anya.

“But then we got into that fight and I went home. I was completely disgusted with myself. I didn’t know what to do. And Maya was there,” he said running his fingers through his hair as he started to pace.

“Maya? You mean the goddess? She was at your house? Why?” Megan asked horrified.

“She found out about, well, about us,” he stammered, as he wondered if there really was an “us”. “She made me, Megan. I was her first deal,” he admitted.

He saw the wonder and horror cross her face and wondered again, if things really could work themselves out.

“I was dying and she found me. I told her I didn’t want to die and would do anything to live. I guess that’s how she got the idea. She told me that she could make that happen but that I had to help her in return with anything she wanted, whenever she wanted. Of course, at the time I didn’t really comprehend what all that meant. I just didn’t want to die,” he finished, looking up her, hoping to see something reassuring on her face.

Megan’s expression had softened, but he still wasn’t convinced that she wasn’t revolted by him. Not that he could really blame her.

“Jeremiah,” she whispered softly.

It was a much welcome sound. It was everything that Maya’s soft whispers weren’t. Where Maya’s soft words would conjure images of torture, the sound of Megan’s whispers were more like being hugged by thick white wispy clouds.

“She told me tonight that I had 24 hours to finish the job, or �" or she would kill you. I had no choice but to go to Anya!” he exclaimed as he stood before her. “She threatened you, and I couldn’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered as he cradled her head in his hands.

“She told me after this that she would grant me my freedom, that things had a way of working out. At first I thought it could be a trick. But then after what happened at Anya’s, I wondered if she knew all along.

“So you went to Anya and then she made her own deal, and that’s when all this happened?” she asked, trying to put the pieces together, as she gestured at him with her hands to indicate the reversal of his vampirism.

“Yeah pretty much, and once I realized what she was, all she had to do was the same thing I did. Right about now her and Bryan should be on the way to the hospital to get the tests to confirm.”

“Well, hell,” she said, jumping as the pot began to percolate. 

As if summoned, Megan’s cell phone started to go off in the living room. She raced over and saw her display indicating that Anya was calling.

Grinning like a fool, Megan answered the phone. She’d never been so happy in all her life. How did she get so lucky to get everything that she ever wanted?

I guess the devil really does know after all.