Chapter Five
Kara
My powers hadn’t returned.
I was still slung over the Devil’s shoulder, and all the blood had rushed to my face and head, triggering a killer headache.
It had only been a few minutes of him porting us through various places, but I had hoped—really hoped—I wouldn’t still be mortal when we stopped.
But what if my immortality never came back?
An unsettling thought.
Especially since I would be at the mercy of the Dark One.
And I’d be seriously bummed if I did not get the chance to smack him around. My mortal strength was pathetic.
Maybe there was a lesson to be learned.
But I’d gone to a human high school—and I hadn’t done well in those lessons.
It was one of the few things Dad let me do, and I could hardly focus through the hunger. Some teachers wouldn’t let me eat in class.
Forty-five minutes without food wasn’t hard for most people, but for me, it was a death sentence.
Those classes were the longest I’d ever gone without food.
I sighed.
My captor didn’t respond.
So, I sighed again—louder.
“Can you hold me differently?”
He stopped, and my face hit his back.
I didn’t know why I expected him to be cold.
He was the Devil—evil incarnate, always corrupting the world—so cold just seemed fitting.
But he was warmer than I was. Especially in the places where those craters marred his skin.
And then there was that scent again.
Marshmallows.
I might not be cursed at the moment, but food was still very much my thing.
And the scent was making me hungry.
“Can you repeat that?”
A slight tremor moved through me at the sound of his voice. It was like he had to drag it out of the pits of Hell just to speak.
“I’m going to pass out. The blood’s rushing to my head.”
“My hearing must not be what it used to be,” he muttered, his grip on my hip tightening—painfully. If he pressed any harder, I was sure those claws were going to sink into flesh.
“Do you not understand your predicament?”
I winced. “Not really. No.”
It wasn’t like I believed he was dragging me off to fuck—or to make love—as an excellent mate might do. Thank Hades.
Sure, his back was broad and muscular, and so was his chest. He carried himself like a man, but he looked too abnormal, too monstrous.
I doubted he had willing sexual partners. Hell, maybe he didn’t even have a dick. He said the darkness changed him, so my guess could be spot-on.
Then again, he wanted humans to drown themselves in sin, so why wouldn’t he indulge himself, too?
If he still had a dick, would it look normal? Or was it twisted and corrupted like the rest of him?
And why the Hades was I thinking about it?
I didn’t want to find out.
I supposed it was a blessing he had never once looked at me as a woman—or a sexual being. Instead, he gazed at me like I was the biggest pest he’d ever dealt with.
A gasp tumbled from my lips as he tossed me onto the ground in front of him. Pain shot through my tailbone, and I glared up at him.
Looming like a beast, he leered.
“You are mine, Kara. Or what is it they call you? Kitty?” His fangs hung over his bottom lip as he spoke. “Should I make you make my kitten?”
I kept my expression neutral. I didn’t want him to see how deeply his words repulsed me.
He grabbed my chin, his breath hot as it fanned across my face. “You are mine, Kitten. From now until you are no more.”
“So.” I licked my lips—immediately regretting it the moment his red gaze snapped to the movement. “What do I call you then? Surely, I can’t keep calling you the Devil.”
“It’s a pain,” I added. “And it feels weird to say or think without the word the in front of it.”
His nose, surprisingly normal, wrinkled into what looked like disgust. Then he released my chin as if I’d just infected him with ten different diseases.
I knocked the dirt off my clothes as I stood. Cold air swept over me, creating goosebumps on my skin.
Rows and rows of prison cells filled the surrounding space, stretching out endlessly. As I scanned the area, I saw no exit in any direction.
When I heard the souls crying, I realized where I was.
Inescapable agony and misery filled the air like suffocating smoke. Whatever horror the monster beside me had trapped them in was working.
I had sent plenty of wicked souls here myself, back when Dad allowed me to leave the woods.
I was in Hell.
The Devil’s domain.
Another chill coursed down my spine.
Maybe I was in over my head after all.
I needed to prepare. If he wanted to torture me, I had to endure it. He wouldn’t shake me up.
Didn’t get to, didn’t get to, didn’t get to, I chanted in my head.
“Cold, isn’t it?”
I felt his gaze on me but didn’t look.
“I don’t want the souls to rot while they’re in their mind prisons,” he continued. “But not that many last.”
So, that was how he punished them. Of course. An eternity trapped in whatever each person considered hell.
In a creepier voice than before, he asked, “What are you thinking?”
It sounded like barbed wire rasping through a dozen throats, layered over itself—coming from every direction.
I flinched and nearly stumbled, when something latched onto my pants leg.
Looking down, I saw a black tail coiled around my calf.
I thought I saw a lava-like substance swirling through cracks in his skin, but I looked away too quickly to be sure.
My mouth parted. And I had a terrible realization: If I peeked behind the Devil…
I’d probably see that appendage hanging off him. Which was absurd—because I would’ve seen something that big. Hades. I could feel it coiling farther up my leg. I shuddered.
“Where did that come from?” I shrieked. “It wasn’t there earlier!”
“If I’d known it would have this effect,” he said, voice like smoke wrapped in teeth, “I would’ve revealed it sooner.”
I kicked at it with my foot, but the tail didn’t budge. Instead, it tightened.
It should have been obvious the Devil had a tail, but somehow, it still caught me off guard. I stiffened, revulsion climbing up my throat like a sickness.
Ryan—Payne’s dad—had one when he was Fear, and I’d never gotten over my aversion to it. I was pretty sure Maureen used to beg him to swing her around by it when she was a kid. The thing was weird, hairless, and way too powerful.
Considering the Devil created Fear, I assumed his tail was just as creepy—if not worse. My skin itched and buzzed like it wanted to melt before that thing could touch me.
There was no way in Hades I was going to look at the appendage. The fact that it was coiled around my pants leg was already enough to make me spiral.
Loosening my shoulders, I blurted, “So…does this mean you’re my pet since you’re the one with the—”
The Devil moved faster than my mortal eyes could follow. Suddenly, pressure crushed my stomach and ribs as the long extension wrapped around me, squeezing tightly. Fear and disgust ripped down my spine like lightning.
Is this it?
Was I going to die by a fucking tail because I didn’t know when to shut up?
I wheezed. My middle ached with blistering heat, and the burn only deepened as the tail hoisted me into the air. My feet dangled. My lungs refused to work. There was no room to breathe.
“I—”
The tail slithered higher, wrapping around my mouth. The scent of burned marshmallows grew stronger.
That’s it, I decided. I was ready to die. Everyone had their weaknesses. I’d just found mine. I couldn’t handle the tail. And that bothered me more than the pain. As my heart hammered and my body ached, I still managed to glare at the Devil as he looked into my eyes.
“Do you get it now, Kitten?” he asked, voice cold. “You are at my mercy. My bringing you here is not a game. You’ll stand by and watch as I take what I’m due.”
If my vision wasn’t blurry from lack of oxygen, I might have rolled my eyes.
Then I felt it.
Hope.
It felt like the sun peeking through the clouds on a rainy day in the human world. Power surged through me. A rush of energy sparking every cell. The Devil’s grip was no match for my true strength.
His eyes narrowed as he sensed it too. “I wouldn’t,” he warned.
“But I’m going to,” I promised, calling forth my scythe.
I morphed it into a thin blade and slashed through his tail.
The appendage loosened, and I landed on my feet like a cat.
The Devil didn’t flinch, but he grabbed the blade as black blood spurted between us.
I didn’t need the weapon. With my free hand, I rose to my tiptoes and snatched one of his horns.
“So, I was thinking…How about Spot for a nickname? You’ve got those hellish spots peeking out of you, and it’s a great human pet name.”
Before I could see his reaction, I slung him over my shoulder like he weighed nothing.
Only he didn’t land on his back like I wanted.
He vanished. Most likely ported.
I had to remember that I was in his domain. Anything could happen. It was hard to be careful, though—especially when I’d been forced to live that way my whole life.
Adrenaline surged through my veins as I spun in a slow circle, waiting for him to reappear.
That was when the cellblock changed. The rows of cells vanished before my eyes, and darkness crept into every corner. The air turned icy. So cold I could see my breath with every step.
I smacked into a chain hanging from above, but when I looked up, all I saw was endless darkness. A rusted hook hung from its base. I shuddered.
Another chain descended. It held a wailing woman in a tattered white dress, her body suspended midair. A hook pierced through her mouth, and bugs crawled in and out of her decayed flesh.
“Didn’t your father teach you what happens to everyone who ends up in Hell?” The Devil’s voice rang out from every direction—impossible to locate. “I’d be careful who you pick fights with, especially when you’re at my mercy.”
“So, you don’t like Spot?”
My words were all I had to keep my shit together. But he probably heard the hammering of my heart against my ribs. And the smell of my fear? It had to be a beacon for monsters like him.
“What scares you the most about becoming mortal again, Kitten?”
His voice felt like it came from right beside me, whispered against my ear. I swore I felt the heat of his breath. I spun around, but no one was there.
“What’s the worst thing I could do to you?” he continued. “What are you most afraid of? Do you think I can’t find out?”
The Devil punished people through their fears.
I knew he could figure out mine, but I didn’t know the answer to that question myself. Worry crept into my bones.
“Does my existence displease you so much?” I asked. “My dad believed you tried to kill me before.”
“You don’t know how much you disgust me.” His words scraped against my skin like sandpaper. “I tried so many times when you were a child to find a way to make you mortal. To end you for entering this world and pretending to be something you’re not.”
“You’re the one who cursed us,” I snapped. “This is a direct consequence of your own actions. Typical. A man blaming a child for something she had no part in. I never cared about the Devil. You were just the boogeyman. A scary story. The enemy my parents warned me about.”
He paused briefly before saying, “So, you’re repulsed I’m no Prince Charming?”
The question caught me off guard.
“Let me guess,” he drawled. “When your siblings started finding mates, you got excited. Maybe your toes curled, your heart raced—not from fear, but from hope. You dreamed of someone meant for you.”
I had fantasized about the possibility of a soulmate, and the embarrassment heating my cheeks made me instantly regret my silly hopefulness.
He could feel my fear, so he could probably sense everything else, too. I had to be careful.
“I have a heart, demon. Unlike you.” My voice was firm. “Yes, I liked the idea of having someone. But don’t worry. The disgust you have for me is mutual.”
“Good,” he muttered, slipping out of the darkness and appearing in front of me.
“It would be embarrassing to fall for someone who has waited an eternity for your father’s demise, would it not? Imagine how disgusted he’d be if I—”
Fury surged in my chest as I hurled my blade at him.
The sword struck him square in the chest and he smiled.
“What did I say?” he taunted, wrapping his fingers around the blade. “You should be more careful. You’re in my domain. You’re not going anywhere.”
Black blood trickled as he tugged at the weapon. His lips curled, nostrils flaring.
“So, what happens when you’re mortal again? Will you beg and plead once I get a hold of you?” His gaze burned. “Looking at you truly infuriates me. How could something exist that repulses me so much?”
He kept broadcasting his loathing for me as if he couldn’t help himself.
Suddenly, the Devil was upon me, and a soul-wrenching ache bloomed inside my chest. I was certain he’d done something or used some kind of chaos against me. It took every ounce of strength not to tremble beneath the pressure of his madness.
The scent of burned marshmallows filled the air, and I could no longer deny it. That was his scent.
He was too close. I could feel his breath against my face as he said, “Even with that face—so full of hatred as you seethe—looks hand-carved from an angel. You belong there, in Heaven, don’t you, Kitten?”
“You know that’s not a place I’ll ever go,” I muttered. “And it’s a place you’ll never return.”
“Finally, something we can agree on,” he said, his red eyes roving over me. “I’ll find your fear, and I’ll carve you up with it.”
I almost snorted. He didn’t have to try that hard.
I was already living a nightmare. Dad was gone.
I was in purgatory with a mate hellbent on hurting me for simply existing.
From every angle, my family appeared doomed to fail.
But I held my tears back like they were meant to fill an ocean someday.
I had the Devil to thank for that. He didn’t let me cry. Around him, I got to be absolutely mad.