The Devil's Ex

Chapter Ten - Ashes

Despite the years that had passed, the little cottage still looked the same. Modelled on a barn from the 18thcentury...maybe 17th, she could never remember, the little cottage was at odds with the towering bricks that surrounded it. It even still had a thatched roof, as though it had been plucked from a small English village somewhere. Of course, that was where the similarities ended.

The orbs of light that hung around the cottage would definitely not be found in the quaint English countryside, nor would the swirling ball of unbridled power that Fenton kept like an art sculpture in the back yard. 'A magical being in the exact moment of implosion,' he would often say, is what the structure was made from. Held in a time loop by Fenton's considerable power. Whether it was true, Jenny had never really wanted to know.

She'd met Fenton shortly after she'd first moved to hell. A member of the Devil's Council, Fenton had served as advisor for many, many centuries. Possibly more centuries than the world had left. He had also become a close confidant for Jenny, in no short measure due to the fact that he absolutely detested the devil at the best of times.

In the latter decades of their marriage, Fenton had become Jenny's only source of light in an otherwise darkened world. At the time, leaving him, had possibly been harder than finally leaving her husband. Of course, time had healed that wound, even when it hadn't healed the gaping hole left by her disastrous marriage.

She approached the small cottage, her breath hitching with apprehension. She wasn't entirely sure what kind of greeting she would get. He had, after all, been instrumental in her leaving her husband, even going so far as to disguise her absence for a while to give her a chance to put distance and magic in between her and the devil. However, Jenny had never even bothered to thank him, or to attempt further contact. Hopefully he'd understood. Hopefully he knew she couldn't risk it.

Jenny felt the spells brush over her as she walked along the path, this would be the first test. She would only make it to the front door, if he allowed her to do so. Sure, she could probably override the spells and tear them down, she'd never truly tested her magic against Fenton's. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

He had once been born with magic, like Jenny, but he'd been killed, and rumour had it, resurrected, into a demon. Born of magic but in demonic form, he was incredibly powerful and incredibly old. He was also, technically, impossible. Defying all odds had always been his super power, though.

The spells bucked and strained and for a heartbeat, Jenny feared he'd keep her out, but to her relief they flashed and sizzled against her skin, until they parted like strong winds and allowed her through. She reached the front door, but the heavy oak slab swung open before she could knock.

Although she knew he would look the same, just as she did, it was still a surprise to find him there, as though nothing more than a second had passed from the last time they'd spoken. On the day he'd finally convinced her to leave.

"Jennifer," he gasped, his facing crinkling with a welcoming smile.

Like a puzzle piece falling into place in her chest, Jenny stumbled into his outstretched arms and hugged him tightly. The warmth of the cottage and his body flooded through her, chasing the fear and exhaustion from her bones. "I've missed you," she said, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"And I, you," he answered as he squeezed her tighter.

For the first time, in a very, very long time...Jenny felt at home. She felt safe.

*

A/N
More tomorrow...