The Devil Chooses

The Devil Chooses(Daniel Lewis) The Devil stood next to the tall hare, staring down at the creature's two young sons. Each rabbit sat in its own wheelchair, their bodies withered and deformed.

Their tiny, black eyes stared at the hare, the older with anger, the younger with fear. The Devil knew both feelings well.

He smiled to show a line of sharp teeth and said in a voice so smooth it was like black velvet, "I have been lenient with you, Tall Ha'r. Your family continues to work against me."

"Nonsense," the hare said, a tremor of fear in her own voice. "They haven't done any magic since the young 'uns were hurt. Haven't used their powers, not even a spell."

"There's power in their wheelchairs, Tall Ha'r." the Devil replied. "Power to move themselves around without the need for another's strong back to pull them."

"That's science," Tall Ha'r protested. "Modern technology. Nothing to do with the craft or you."
The Devil laughed then, a sharp, barking sound. He gestured towards the rabbit boys.

"It is all my power that has kept these children alive past infancy, Tall Ha'r. The power I lend you as your due for working for me. But it is time they paid their debt in return."

Tall Ha'r took a step back, bumping into the table and causing the glass to rattle. Her sons whimpered, and the Devil smiled again.
"You don't mean ...?" the hare asked.

"Their spirits are strong. They are exactly the type I need," the Devil said.

"But you promised they wouldn't be taken ..." Tall Ha'r cried.

"No, I promised they would live. Now they shall live even more. As witches in my service. That is worth a long life, don't you think?"

"I'll go to the council," Tall Ha'r shouted, fear making her lisp her words. "They'll put a stop to this."

"Oh no," the Devil purred.

"Not after what happened to your cousins, Tall Ha'r. You have no choice. Unless ..." He let the word hang, his gaze moving from the taller rabbit boy, to the younger.

"Unless what?" Tall Ha'r whispered.

The Devil stroked her long ears and chuckled when she jerked back. "Unless you let me choose only one. Then, your other son may go free. Forever."

"Mother, no!" the older rabbit boy cried. "Don't let him take my brother."

"Shut up, Harry!" Tall Ha'r snapped. "I don't want either of you lost to that thing. But at least ..." Her voice faltered as she looked at the Devil. "At least save my youngest. Keep Harry, but give me Toby back."

The Devil bowed and gestured towards the two wheelchair-bound rabbits. "The choice is yours, Tall Ha'r."

Two weeks later Tall Ha'r woke with a start. She had been dreaming again.
Always the same dream. The Devil offering to take Harry but leave Toby, and her agreeing. Then the blackness as her son was consumed by the Devil.
And Harry, now the sole survivor of their line, growing stronger and stronger in his power, even as he aged rapidly before her eyes, his soul shriveling until there was nothing left but hate and darkness. Tall Ha'r knew that she was responsible for that, having traded Harry for Toby's freedom, even though that bargain was not of her making.
And she hated herself as much as Harry now hated her. In the end, the Devil had still taken both her children.

"Mommy?" Tall Ha'r woke further to see Toby leaning over her. The younger rabbit boy was out of his wheelchair, something he had not been able to do since the Devil had first taken Harry from her. "Are you alright?" Toby asked, his ears flicking with concern.

"Of course," Tall Ha'r assured her remaining child, forcing a smile for him. "It was just a bad dream. Come, let's get you back to bed." She lifted Toby into her arms, savoring his light weight. Soon, too soon, he would be as heavy and useless in that wheelchair as Harry had been before the Devil took him.

She placed Toby back into his bed and tucked the covers around him.

"Mother," Toby said, and Tall Ha'r felt a chill at his serious tone. "Something is wrong. I feel it."

- The End.