The Devil's Day by Megan Mackie

Author:Megan Mackie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc.
Published: 2023-01-17T01:32:34+00:00

Chapter 17

“Marcus,” a woman says. She is both tired and eager. A baby rests on her stomach. “He looks like a Marcus.”

“What happened to naming him after me?” a man says, leaning next to her on the bed to look down on their baby.

“Loyal? You were serious about that?”

“Yes, Loyal Blakely, the Third.”

The woman laughs. “That sounds terrible.” Loyal Blakey Jr.’s face falls, which makes the woman laugh harder. The baby keeps trying to wake up at the sound of her laughter but can’t manage to break out of his blinkie, sleepy twilight. Finally, the woman takes pity on her husband. “How about this… How about we name him Loyal Marcus Blakely, and we call him Marcus? So, he would sign his papers L. Marcus Blakely, you know?”

“The third?”

“The third,” she agrees. “But we’ll call him Marcus. That way, I’ll know who I’m yelling for when there’s trouble.”

They both giggle. The woman is tired, and her eyes drift shut. The husband smiles at her gently and takes the baby to the chair, looking proud as he gazes down at his son.

A nurse comes in, pushing a cart. “How is everyone doing?” she asks softly.

“She just fell asleep,” Junior says, nodding at the woman.

“I need to check vitals, but I can do that later,” the nurse says but stops as she gazes down at the woman. She comes over anyway and takes the woman’s wrist. The nurse’s stillness alerts the husband that something is wrong. But he’s sure any minute the nurse is going to look up and reassure him.

Except she doesn’t. She shouts. He doesn’t understand the words, and time seems to compress. Like a video fast-forwarding, the room fills with people surrounding his wife. He stands uselessly, holding the baby. There are more words he can’t hear, and they take his wife away. He tries to follow. The nurse stops him.

Someone takes his baby; he barely notices. There is activity; there are two people in white coats talking to him about things he doesn’t understand.

Clot.

Stroke.

Coma.

He stands in a dark, too-quiet room.

She lays in the bed, a tube in her mouth. He holds her hand, but it doesn’t hold his back.

He’s no longer alone in the room.

“I’m...” the new voice starts to say but stops.

“Were you going to say sorry? Does the Devil apologize?” Junior feels something for the first time, through the numbness he’s lived in for ages.

“I’m not responsible for this,” the being behind him says instead.

The shell of numbness cracks. “Is this the price, then? I wanted a son, and in exchange, you took my wife?”

“Blakely...” a woman’s voice says. He turns at the sound. Maddie, the one called the Magdalene, stands next to the shadow he knows as the Devil. “It’s not as simple...” She reaches a hand to rest on his shoulder in some semblance of comfort.

“Will you take him back?”

She stops and retracts her hand. “What?”

“The child, for her. Please bring her back. Take the child and give me my wife.”

“The time for making changes to this deal is long past,” the being in the shadow says.

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