Chapter 21
DAMIEN
Damien waved at Delilah as she climbed up the ladder. Heather followed behind her. ‘Did you successfully pass Floor Anger?’
‘Barely, but yes.’ She shot him a thumbs-up. He winced as soon as she let go of the ladder with one hand, tensed and ready to grab her if she fell.
‘What floor next?’ he asked.
‘Floor Greed.’
‘I’ll escort you there.’ That sounded much better than Damien admitting he’d left the reception level because he’d got tired of explaining to guests that, no, the lift still hadn’t been repaired, and, yes, they were working on it.
‘Thanks.’ Delilah grabbed the ladder with both hands and kept climbing.
When they reached Floor Greed, he helped her prise the lift doors open.
‘This is where a service door would be useful,’ she grumbled.
‘What kind of inefficient design requires us to go through the lift entranceway—’ She shut her mouth when she saw Howard and Lucy in the waiting room.
Lucy winked. ‘Actually, I designed the ladder so that I could use it even when the lift was operating. That way, no one sees me moving around the hotel and I don’t have to talk to people.’
Howard waved at them. ‘I think Jaime had already gone inside when we got here. John went in after her. I stayed out here to tell you.’
Standing in the waiting room, Delilah spread her arms wide and adopted a stern face. ‘Everyone, I’m an expert in this test. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve already passed this particular trial, but of course I’ll come along to help everyone else.’
‘Greed is not a difficult trial,’ Lucy said. ‘Most people quickly figure out that they need to reject the temptations. I doubt we’ll need any assistance.’
Delilah wagged a finger. ‘You would think, but it can actually be quite tricky.’ She put her hand on the doorknob. ‘Hey!’
A drawing of Delilah had been taped to the door of Floor Greed. It showed her with demon horns, her hair sticking up and angry eyes. The words on the bottom read Banned for Eternity.
Delilah stuttered. ‘Th-this is an outrage!’
Lucy laughed. ‘How did you manage to upset mindless disembodied hands to such a degree? I’ve never seen this happen in the history of my hotel. You are a most interesting mortal.’ She brushed past Delilah into the testing room.
‘I-I don’t know what I did,’ Delilah stammered. ‘Is complaining once so wrong? I don’t think I was unnecessarily rude about it. I was right! The test was unfair.’
From the alcove, Damien cleared his throat. ‘I think you got banned for winning the entire cave. That would probably concern the cave’s owner. What if you truly could have kept the entire Floor of Greed if you’d wanted to?’
‘I gave it back!’ Delilah wailed.
Howard said, ‘Here’s a joke to make you feel better. Why don’t kleptomaniacs get puns?’
‘I don’t know,’ Delilah said.
‘Because they’re always taking everything literally.’ Howard winked.
Delilah laughed as Damien groaned.
Smiling, Howard said, ‘I’ll take both of those reactions as a compliment.’ He entered the testing room.
Delilah said, ‘I think one of the people I ran into at Floor Greed was a kleptomaniac. But me? I never stole anything! I won the cave fair and square.’ She glared at the picture of herself, which glared back. ‘Now I wish I’d kept the cave. They couldn’t have banned me as the owner!’
Heather patted Delilah on the shoulder. ‘At least you’ve already passed this trial. Don’t worry about us. We’ll finish and return quickly. I’m sure the test will be easy, like Lucy said.’ She stepped into the testing room. The door closed behind her.
Crossing her arms, Delilah poked the drawing. ‘That doesn’t even look like me.’
It was an uncanny resemblance, almost as good as a photograph, except for the devil horns. Damien thought that Delilah looked lovely with fury burning in her eyes, but he knew better than to say it aloud. He made a neutral sound in the back of his throat.
‘This can’t be legal.’ Delilah waved her arms. ‘This is discrimination against Delilahs.’
Damien couldn’t help laughing. ‘Being Delilah is not a protected characteristic. I believe in the living world this would be called legal discrimination.’
‘How annoying.’ Delilah slumped against the wall. ‘I don’t know why this is hitting me so hard. I already got banned from every casino in London for winning too much.’
‘That’s quite impressive.’
‘I always thought it unfair that they can ban you for winning. If I’d been an impoverished gambling addict, they would have happily drained me of all my money. But if you beat the house too many times they kick you out. Does that seem right?’
‘It’s not about being right – it’s about making money. They’re looking out for their own best interests. There’s a reason why casinos have a shady reputation.’ Instantly, Damien wondered if he’d made a mistake by insulting Delilah’s beloved hobby.
But she only nodded. ‘That’s true. Then I switched to horse-race betting, and I was good at that too . . . but it didn’t work out for me. I never want to see another horse again.’
‘Fortunately, we don’t have any of those in Purgatory.’
‘My mother always said I was such a hellion that I’d be banned from Hell.
Now I’ve got banned from part of Purgatory?
I just know she’d be smug about this.’ Delilah sighed deeply.
‘I have to admit, getting kicked out of every casino, even the ones in the afterlife, makes me feel like maybe I’m the problem. ’
‘Maybe you’re just too cool for them to handle.
’ Damien would have done anything to wipe the sad expression off her face.
‘I’ve always admired how you live your afterlife: bold, carefree, letting nothing stop you.
I’m not like that. I died because of my indecisiveness, foolishly not going to the hospital when I felt sick. I wish I could be more like you.’
Delilah smiled. ‘Thanks. But you shouldn’t be hard on yourself. Want to know how I died? Trampled to death by a horse I planned to bet on. That just goes to show there can be such a thing as too much boldness.’
‘Oh.’ He blinked.
‘There’s no perfect right answer, and no perfect way to be.’ Delilah stood up and stretched her arms. ‘I don’t always get along with people like me. Too much ego in one room. I like you the way you are.’ She winked.
A warm feeling bubbled up in Damien’s chest. He didn’t know what to say. Should he thank her? Compliment her? Offer condolences on her death? Even at a moment like this with such small stakes, he still couldn’t decide.
‘Hey, I just had an awesome idea. After we complete Floor Greed, we’ll have four of the seven tests, right?’
Damien stuttered, ‘Ah, right, although Floor Heresy hardly counts.’
‘We’ll be halfway done. That calls for a celebration, don’t you think?’ Delilah grinned. ‘I’ll prepare a small party in the reception lobby as a surprise for the others. That way, I won’t be sitting here feeling useless and sorry for myself.’
‘That’s a lovely idea,’ he said. ‘I’ll gather some fallen sweets to bring you.’
‘I’ll get started on the decorations.’ She grabbed the ladder. ‘Thank you.’
After Delilah had gone, Damien collapsed in the alcove with a hand over his face. He could feel his hot blush against his fingers.
A soft weight landed in his lap. He looked down to see Nefertiti. ‘Where have you been, Your Majesty?’
She purred and rubbed against his hand. ‘You’ve returned for some pampering from your servant, I see.’ He petted her. ‘Nefertiti, what should I do? I like her so much. And she’s leaving as soon as the lift gets repaired.’