Bobby Dollar [04] God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlepig by Williams Tad

Author:Williams, Tad [Williams, Tad]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy
Publisher: Beale-Williams Enterprise
Published: 2014-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Heaven was waiting for me. No sooner had I fallen into my own bed at about dawn on Christmas morning than I found myself in the dim, strange place we call Outside. Ambriel and the soul of Petar Vesić were waiting for me.

“Where is my grandson?” the old man demanded even before Ambriel spoke.

I looked to the brightness that was the judge, but Ambriel made no sign, so I told Vesić the whole story. When I said that his grandson was buried on the hillside beside the pile of ashes that had been Uberhardt’s retreat, he wept. Yes, souls can weep. You damn bet they can. “God save his soul, I will never see him again,” Vesic said. “He was a good boy. He will be in Heaven, and I…” He trailed off, but we all knew what he meant.

“But there’s more you need to know,” I said, and told Petar Vesić about his great-grandson -- the descendant he hadn’t known he had.

I’d hoped it would cheer him, but at first it seemed only to do the reverse. “But what will become of him? Who will take care of him? Oh, merciful God, if you are real, why have you left my great-grandchild alone in the world?”

“Actually, he’s in very good hands.” I thought about how bizarre it would sound if I tried to explain it. “He’s with a friend of mine. A friend who… understands. A friend who has some of the same problems.”

“Truly?” Vesic looked like he wanted to believe but couldn’t.

“I swear to you it’s true. On my honor as an angel. On my own soul.”

The old man looked at me long and carefully. Then he turned to Ambriel and said, “All right. It’s enough. I have to trust you all. I’m ready to go to…” He took a breath. “I’m ready to go.”

The radiance that was Ambriel flared a little. “For the crimes you have committed, Hell should be the only proper punishment, Petar Vesić. But you were not to blame for most of the evil you did, and you tried to repair what you could.

“You are sentenced to a hundred years in Purgatory. If you continue to show repentance there, I will recommend that Heaven accept you when your sentence ends.”

Vesic’s look of astonishment as he faded away was something I can’t describe. I was a little surprised myself. “Thank you, Your Honor,” I said. “That family deserves better than they got.”

“Many do,” said Ambriel. “And now, Doloriel, one further matter. From what you have said, your friend the unfortunate George Noceda risked his life to save the child.”

“And me. He definitely saved me. George is a good guy.”

Ambriel was silent for a moment, flickering. “It is beyond my power to undo his curse,” she said, “but a small reward is within the discretion of my authority.” Her fires dwindled a little, and when they blazed back up again they were brighter, hard to look at straight. “There. It is done. Tell him this will only last until the first hour of the new year, so he should enjoy it while he can.

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