THE SWORD AND SICKLE

CHAPTER EIGHT, DAUGHTER OF SATAN, PART TWO

THE SWORD AND SICKLE

PART TWO

CHAPTER-SEVEN

DAUGHTER OF SATAN

Henry replied, "I don't think God has anything to do with it, honey." Reaching up to the rear-view mirror, he adjusted it to look at his face and took off his hat to see his hair.

"Dear, I guarantee you that you are aging just as planned."

Henry smiled, put his hat back on his head, readjusted the mirror, and said on the way home, "Very funny, dear, but don't wake me up when she comes to visit you in the middle of the night." Ebon's countenance turned very sullen and serious as she thought about Six-Six-Six. "I'm sorry if I upset you, dear."

"Don't worry; it will just take a while to get her out of my head."

General Abrams sat Six down across from his desk. She stared into his eyes as he thought. Finally, he spoke. "Six? Who is your father?"

My father was Beelzebub, my daddy was Jacque Lamont, and my mother was Jill. They are dead, Elijah."

"How do you know my first name?"

"I just do. It makes people feel spooky. So, my parents kept me at home a lot."

"How far back do you remember?"

"I can remember when I was in my mother's belly. That was when I first met my real father. He came to me in a dream and told me my name. He taught me how to meditate, so when I was born, I could see him while I was awake. When I was born, the doctor fainted because I had my name on my forehead. See?" She pulled up her bangs to show the general her name. On her head were the numerals 666.

"What does your father look like?"

"He is beautiful. He has two horns, like a mountain goat, and the face and body of a dragon. His voice has the power of a lion's roar, and he likes you."

Those words made the general tremble, and his hands shook as he struck a match to light his cigar. He said to himself, What the heck did Steel drop in his? lap? He suddenly felt he had lost all his power, and a queasiness filled his stomach as his vagal nerve told him it was time for flight or fight. He had not felt that feeling since basic training, when he first experienced the whiz of bullets over his head as he crawled under barbed wire. He looked at the little girl across from her and wondered if he was in too deep.

Six said, "Don't worry, Elijah; I won't hurt you, and neither will my father. I am here to learn from you. My father didn't like my parents, so they grew old and died. They tried to change me. To make me good. My father said you would be a better father for me."

"When did he tell you that?"

"After Henry picked me up,"

"If I am to train you, I will need your undivided attention. You cannot listen to your father or me either. Can you live like that?"

"He will not interfere with you; he only wants Henry to help. Henry will be a great help and will be like a daddy to me."

"You will call me sir or General, never Elijah; is that understood? I will be your true father from now on. I will only let Henry be with you if you understand that. When I tell you something, you will do it. You will eat when I tell you to eat, you will sleep when I tell you to sleep, and you will work when I tell you to work. You will be totally under my control, and my control only."