Shannon O'Reilly was bullied and everything his older sister wasn't. When his sister Sarah gives him a chance to change things through a single wish things don't go as planned.     I Wish: Book 5 Chapter 32 Demon Queen By Amethyst

Nope, there was not a chance in actual Heil that I was going along with this. I did not want to be the new Demon Queen. That was the last thing I wanted, and I wanted all the troubles that would go along with the position even less. I was going to have to say no to uppity Demons trying to kill me to take my place every chance they could get, trying to rule a world I knew nothing about fairly, and just being a leading figure Demon-kind in general.

We had done what we set out to do, right? I killed Baal and removed the threat he presented to Earth, Haven, Tír na nÓg, and the various other planes so this should be over now. Unfortunately, with those Demons bowing before me and hailing me as their new queen, I knew that it wasn’t.

If I just up and left, I would be leaving a power vacuum behind. Someone would take that spot by force if I left it vacant and they would, by their nature, want to prove themselves and we might just face another tyrant and warmonger as a result. I needed an alternative or Demonkind would just go back to their old ways under a new iron fist. I couldn’t let that happen.

“You did it!” My thoughts were interrupted by Sarah’s voice as first my sister and Annie, then Ellie, and lastly Ziralin all took turns practically crushed me with hugs.

Ziralin managed to say, “I’m proud of you, Babe,” before she wrapped me up in her arms and kissed me. Warmth and the comfort of her being close washed over me as I returned her kiss. The feel of her lips on mine, her arms around me, and our tongues dancing as she held me in her arms made everything right and I found myself lost in that moment, and the rightness of it, until we finally parted, both gasping for air. In her arms was where I wanted to be, it was where I belonged, and I could feel fleeting surges of joy in her mind that told me she felt the same way.

“Nice job, Shannon,” Becca said, surprising me with a hug as well once my fiancée finally released me to let me breathe again. “Thanks for making sure I could come with. Thanks to you, Michelle, and Lisa, I got to kill the bitch who killed my mom.”

“Are Michelle and Lisa okay? I don’t see Mason or Jen either,” I said in concern as I looked over the gathered faces.

“Michelle broke her leg, so Lisa decided they were done, and they headed home so she could use some healing spells on her somewhere they’d be safe,” Becca assured me. “From what I could see while flying over the gatehouses, Jen and Mason won their fights too, and headed home. They may need Ellie’s healing if they’re hurt though, they don’t have Michelle’s regeneration.”

After that, they all told me about their respective battles with their generals and the two very pleasant surprises that had come from them. First, Sarah’s magick as a Witch had come back to her when she was on the ropes and in her human form, allowing her to defeat the Succubus, Larezza. I had seen her using magick again during that last battle and I was so happy for her.

Sure, she could use magick in her Celestial form, and was even more powerful that way, but I could still remember what being burned out felt like. I wouldn’t wish that on my sister for the rest of her life, even if she could still use magick as a Celestial. It almost felt like I had lost a limb when I tried to use magick and couldn’t, and I hadn’t had my magick nearly as long as Sarah had when I had my brief burn-out.

The second surprise was revealed as Ellie recounted her battle and what happened after, and as my sister released eight Faery from her portable bunker. Two were still young Fae and they all probably needed some TLC, but there were eight more Faery that could join our troupe. Three of them were males too, which should make them very popular with our predominantly female troupe.

It was Annie who looked toward the Demons, some of whom were still bowing in fear, and asked, “What are you going to do about that?”

Sarah nodded, a pensive look on her face as she agreed, “This is an unexpected hiccup.”

“I’ve been kinda waiting for those guys to attack us the moment we drop our guard,” Ellie admitted as she watched the Demons around us warily.

“Let them try, we’ll kick their asses too,” Becca muttered. Was it just me, or was she hovering around Ellie protectively? That’s so cute.

“We can’t just leave them to sort things out themselves, that would just be asking for trouble,” I conceded with a long sigh. “I have an idea, but I don’t really like it. It’s probably better than any of the alternatives though.”

Ziralin took my hand in hers and kissed me lovingly before saying, “Whatever you choose, I’ll have your back, Babe.”

I nodded, letting out another long sigh as I channeled my magick into what was possibly the single biggest spell I had ever worked. Moments later, a colossal illusion of me, as I was now in my Succubus form, hovered over the entirety of the Rings, stating my message for everyone to hear. “Hear me, Demons of Heil! Baal is dead by my hands; I am your new Queen, and a new era begins for Demonkind. Those fighting, lay down your arms. Members of the resistance, come meet with me at the palace in the center ring.”

In the end, I had Sarah take the Faery to Tír na nÓg to join our troupe, where they could be reunited with others of their kind and get the care they needed from Jaenara to heal their traumatized minds as Ellie had healed their bodies. Annie and Ellie went home so that my cousin could heal Michelle and anyone else who needed it. Ziralin, and surprisingly Becca, insisted on staying in Heil with me to handle the transition though, so they could watch my back.

I didn’t plan on staying long though, only long enough to ensure that certain things were done to my satisfaction. A day was enough to do everything that I wanted. Demons invading other planes were pulled back to Heil so that those planes could once again be peaceful and under the rule of their rightful residents, and a new ruling council of Heil was set up in the Rings until proper elections could be held.

Kisha, the Demon from the village of Mynsk, and our contact with the resistance, would be Chancellor and my permanent representative on the council. She had managed Mynsk well and just wanted a peaceful, decent life for her people, so I thought she would be a good choice. With a council behind her to delegate to, I thought she should handle the job.

I created an amulet artifact that would allow Kisha to contact me from an okka crystal that would keep the artifact charged. Then I made it clear that if I didn’t hear from her once a month or suspected that things were not going to my satisfaction, I would come to investigate, and if I didn’t like what I saw, there would be hell to pay. I also planned to make random and unannounced stealth visits from time to time to ensure that things were going to plan.

Heil didn’t need another monarch to rule with an iron fist, it needed a boogeyman, a threat that would keep those who lusted for power or who would abuse it in check. Hopefully, the council and Kisha would take my warnings seriously and not step out of line. If they did, then I would have to come back officially, and I would come down on them hard. I didn’t like the idea of using what was basically threats and bullying to get what I wanted from them, but I liked the alternatives less.

At least this way, the people of Heil could choose their own path, hopefully a more peaceful one, going forward. I would technically still be their Demon Queen, but I would ‘rule’ from a distance and let Kisha and the council handle the actual governance. I didn’t plan on telling them how to rule their world other than putting a law in place to keep them from invading other planes again. I may have also made a few suggestions for how demonic magic and curses could be used creatively as blessings instead, to promote life and growth in their world rather than for death and suffering, something that could improve the quality of life for all their people.

Who knows if they would actually take my suggestions and rules to heart, but I would be keeping an eye on them and keeping them honest. The amulet I made Kisha would allow me to do so if I wanted. I also leaned into the boogeyman bit though as I warned them that I would be doing spot checks on their progress from the shadows from time to time, and they would never be able to sense my presence. It was not an empty threat, and they all knew it.

I spent most of that day in meetings with Kisha and the people that I had chosen for the council until elections could be held. That time was largely spent establishing the necessary laws, explaining how elections and democracy work, and laying the groundwork for the council and the future of Heil. It was exhausting and I was so ready to go home.

As we left the future Council Hall, Ziralin put an arm around me and quietly said, “I know that you had to be a little more heavy-handed than you were probably comfortable with there, Babe, but I think you’ve got them started in the right direction.”

I leaned over to kiss her, putting my arms around her and luxuriating in her warmth, her scent, and her presence. “I hope so, my love. I am so glad that’s over with, if I have to hear one more person call me ‘Your Majesty’ I think I’ll scream.”

“So, we can go home now, Your Majesty?” Becca asked with a completely unrepentant grin.

“Fuck you, Beks,” I shot back, which only made her laugh. “Yeah, let’s use these bug-out bracelets and go home.”

A lot changed after we got back from Heil, and I’m not just talking about the whole Demon Queen thing. Things were pretty quiet on the supernatural front with all the Demons returning to Heil in fear of my shadow, which left us more time and energy for school, work, family, and friends. Speaking of friends, I wasn’t the only one who went through some changes during that whole experience.

The only one who hadn’t changed all that much was Annie, my future sister-in-law was still cool as a cucumber and a total badass. Sarah, on the other hand, had her magick back and she seemed a lot more at ease because of it. It was nice seeing her happy and casually using magick around the house again.

Jennifer seemed a lot more confident since her battle against Falora. She admitted to me that sometimes she felt like a sidekick with all the supernatural stuff and that everyone contributed but her, even though she was the only one who thought that. Now that she had proven herself by defeating one of the most powerful Demons in Heil, that new confidence was starting to show up in other parts of her life as well, especially with her boyfriend.

She was taking charge and being proactive a lot more in their relationship and Mason was showing as much new confidence as she was. This was especially true with his acting. Our agent had noticed his new confidence after the holidays and had him auditioning for bigger roles, which Mason was ecstatic about. He also took his hunches a lot more seriously now.

Ellie shed her fear of a certain type of Demon, and I think saving the lives of those Faeries in Heil helped her stop blaming herself for her father’s death. Lisa and Michelle were both just as eager to learn from me and Ziralin as they were before, but they were more patient now, and less rushed without a great battle looming ahead of us, which made our lessons with our apprentices a lot more fun. As for me and Ziralin, our relationship was deep and loving before, but after what we had been through during our time in Nhekar and Heil, and being separated for much of that time, made us both appreciate each other’s presence much more. I never wanted us to be apart like that again.

The biggest changes were, of course, with Rebecca though. With her mother’s death successfully avenged, she had a new life ahead of her. So, it was a week after the holidays ended and school was back in session when we decided to start our plan to get Rebecca a new legal identity.

Since none of us could come up with a better plan than Annie’s idea of her being a ‘Jane Doe’ with amnesia, we decided to go with that and put the plan into action. At least the plan was simple enough, and Becca was the one who insisted that we just get it done and over with. I was worried about giving Becca amnesia though, even if it was temporary.

So, as we took her to a quiet alley where Annie would ‘stumble upon her’, I did my part by casting a sleep spell on her and placing a seal on her that would temporarily keep her from using her Succubus abilities or accessing any of her memories. Becca was already dressed in some dirty worn clothes that didn’t fit all that well and between that and the smell of not being allowed to bathe for over a week (a necessary evil to sell the illusion), she was a very believable homeless teen. The police and people at the hospital didn’t seem to find any fault with it when Annie ‘found’ her and brought her to the hospital as a concerned citizen.

Obviously, they couldn’t find out who she was through fingerprints, and since she didn’t remember anything, and there were no missing teens or kids with her description, she was kept in the hospital as a Jane Doe while Child Services got involved to try to find a placement for her. Which was when Annie and Sarah, who had ‘found’ her and been spending time with her during visitor hours, offered to take her in.

It was almost two weeks later that we found out that they had cleared the background check and that she would be placed in their care while they filed for adoption. There was no real reason not to approve them since Annie was a former cop in good standing, she and Sarah were engaged to be married, and both had a stable income and a nice big home. Still, I was worried about leaving her as an amnesiac for that long and how it might affect her.

Now it was finally the day for Sarah and Annie to bring my new niece home from the hospital. We were planning a party for her and Talisha was already in the kitchen baking a cake. Becca looked a little nervous and shy when they brought her in the house, a complete one-eighty from how she had acted since I first met her at that support meeting all those months ago. It was strange, and very concerning since I could no longer feel the magic of the temporary seal I placed on her two weeks ago.

“Shit,” I thought in sudden worry. I might have underestimated the time she would be held in the hospital, but did I do something else wrong? What if she couldn’t get her memories back?

I was about to go into a full-on panic attack when Rebecca suddenly doubled over in laughter “The… look on your… face,” she sputtered.

Okay, she was totally messing with me, the bitch hadn’t changed at all. To think I was actually worried about her. “I take it you remember everything now, Beks,” I groused as Ellie glomped Becca and hugged her tight. I wasn’t the only one who was worried about her, and I thought it was cute that Ellie and Becca had a thing for one another even though I was still mad at Becca for messing with me like that when I was worried sick.

“Yup,” she managed to get out as Ellie attempted to squeeze the life out of her. “The seal broke two days ago, and I got my Succubus abilities back then too. I had to keep the act up and it made things kinda awkward with one of the male nurses when I almost shifted, but I survived. So, thanks, my queen,” she taunted playfully.

Goddess, she really was like a kid sister sometimes, or I guess a niece now. “I didn’t think you’d be stuck in the hospital that long and I didn’t want to risk a semi-permanent seal. For some reason I can’t fathom, I actually care about you.”

Becca turned almost serious then, as she and Ellie let each other go and she came to hug me as well. “I know… and I meant it. Thanks, Shannon, for everything you’ve done for me. Thanks to all of you actually.”

I hugged her back, a smile touching my lips. “Any time, Beks. That’s what friends, and family, are for. So, did you all pick out a new name for you for when the adoption gets set up? I’m not calling you Jane.”

Becca laughed bitterly at that. “Thanks. Honestly, I’m getting a little sick of that name. I didn’t think they’d really end up calling me that in the hospital.”

“You can keep calling her Becca,” Sarah interjected. “Once it’s official she’ll be Rebecca O’Reilly, and she’ll be starting school with you, Ellie, and the other girls next week.”

“Now, let’s call the others and get them over here for the party to welcome Rebecca home,” Annie added.

I found myself smiling at that as I raced to my room to grab my phone, shouting over my shoulder, “I’ll call Jen and Ziralin!” I knew though that the latter probably would already sense from my emotions that Rebecca was home and that it was time. Thankfully, Ziralin didn’t live too far away now and would probably arrive soon, so we could cuddle and I could get some quality time in with her while celebrating Becca’s return.

Despite Becca messing with me earlier, I was in a good mood as I ran off to call my best friend and the beautiful silver-haired Faerie who I loved with all my heart. Things had changed a lot since my birthday, for all of us, but overall, those changes had been good. I had friends, a family that was bigger than just Sarah, a great modeling career, magick, and a wonderful fiancée who I loved with all my heart. Honestly, that was more than I could have ever asked for back when I made my wish that day.