Dancing with the Devil (part one)

Chapter 22: The Devil Does Not Forgive

August 7th 1997- a villa in south Spain

Grace Wingham watched her only daughter crying in front of her, this wasn't right, a kid should live like a normal kid, she should have a loving mother and father with her, there was no way that it was right.

It was necessary.

Grace watched as the innocent child ran into the dangerous Forrest, never to see her mother again. She slowly turned around at the sound of leather shoes against the patio to faced the tall, dark haired, thin lipped man. She found herself staring the devil right in the eye.

"It's good to see you, Grace." The devil smirked, stepping down the step to speak to his wife, followed by several armed guards. "And now, I wish the circumstances were different."

"I wish I could say the same thing." She said, standing up straight to sound confident, "what do you want Lucas?"

The man wasn't really listening to his wife, he was looking around, smirking at his wife's taste for grand places.

"I like this place, it's interesting. Lots of little spaces around back alleyways and round bends," He smiled, falsely, "perfect little hiding places for a game of hide and seek, don't you think?"

"I said, what do you want?" She spoke more confidently, causing Lucas to raise an eyebrow.

"I bet she would have loved that, our daughter, right?" He smirked, causing the woman's confidence to fall back down, "I bet she knows this place like the back of her hand."

He signalled for two of his guards to come forward, he turned his back to his trembling wife and spoke to them privately. As he turned around the two guards had sent out the order to the other guards and in no time, half of them had gone into the quiet house, and the other half into the forest where the small innocent girl had ran just moments before. Only two remained.

"Now, do remind me, it's been a while." He approached her, looking extremely intimidating, "what was her name again?"

"Don't bring her into this." She almost begged, watching any hint of consideration fall from his eyes.

"I will." He stated, simple and plainly, before he thought again, "it was Astrid, right?"

Grace didn't move, all she could feel was her heart beating in her chest and the sound of her heavy breaths.

"But you know what else I'm here for, don't you?" He asked and the small brown-haired lady froze, "where is the formula that you stole from me."

"I don't have it" she said quickly.

With that, the remaining to guards approached and knocked her down to her knees causing her to grunt in pain.

"Don't bullshit me, Grace." He said as a guard drew a knife on her throat, "where is it?"

"Please, believe me" she begged as the knife was pushed against her neck, "I don't have it, I'm telling the truth."

"Don't play games with me, Gracie" he said, referring to her by her old nickname, as he noisily dragged a chair over and perched on the end of it, "there's something else that I want to mention."

"And what would that be?" she asked, her tone of voice laced with disgust.

"A little mousy told me, that you have created an antidote to my work." He tilted his head, "and after I heard this, I just knew I had to find you."

"So what if I have?" she cut the end of his sentence off, "why would you care? You'd never use it, there's never any regret, you just do things without realising that there are actual human lives at stake?"

"You know, any other day I'd listen, but since you're the one with the knife against your throat, I'd watch your tongue," he threatened, " 'actual human lives' and all that."

A line was formed in her neck, small drops of blood appeared around the edge of the blade

"Does she know?" he asked, referring of course to formula.

"Know what?" Grace attempted to act clueless, which earned her an unimpressed eye raise from her husband, "no"

"really?"

"Yes."

"She was here right?" he took her silence as a yes, "C'mon Gracie, you know that I'll find her, and I'm not so sure as I'm in the mood for knew beginnings. Is your only daughters life worth risking?"

"You won't hurt your own child." she said, fully aware of the lies spilling from her mouth.

"you know full well that I'll do whatever I want to her." He menaced, "So, does she know about the poison?"

"She does." Grace finally breathed out.

"And about your antidote?" he continued.

"yes." she sighed in defeat as Lucas took the knife from the guards hand and threw it the pool behind the grace.

"And finally, I want to know. Where is my daughter?"

"She will never be your daughter." Grace had stated, knowing that this was the truth, "she will hate you forever."

"Well, that may be so. But I'll still find her." He leaned has arms further forward onto his knees, "you, can be the one to settle her fate."

"She was here." She almost shouted, panic in her voice, "she ran into the forest just as you arrived."

"See that wasn't so hard now, was it?" he smiled, almost with a hint of regret in his eyes. He put out his hand and wiped away the blood from her neck, only to see new spots form. "I'm sorry it had to be like this."

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked as Lucas stood up and put the chair to the side.

"I'm probably going to kill you." This caused Grace's head to shoot up and begin to shake.

"Please."

"You had your chance, this is all the revenge I need."

Grace knew that begging wasn't going to work. The devil does not forgive. Therefore she decided to except death, she would wipe away the tears and sit in the darkest depths of the netherworld and wait for that wretch of a husband to join her, and hoped that he would be sent to her by the revengeful hand of their daughter.

"Go to hell." she spat as he pulled a gun from a pocket and pointed it at her head.

"I'll see you there." He pulled the trigger.

The shot had rang out through the forest, ripping through the branches, splintering the wood much harsher than any bullet could. That is where it met the ears of a small fourteen year old girl, who would be crying at the though of her begging mother for so many years to come.