Chapter Six
Kara
The Devil stared at something behind me, his shoulders tensing as his grip tightened on me.
“Your family has come for you.”
“As you knew they would.” I turned my head but was met with nothing but darkness.
“They won’t enter,” he said, just as I faced him again. “And you’ll never leave. You had time to say goodbye. I wonder… Did you?”
I thought of Shadow. He told me to accept my fate. Had my long-time companion known the future before I did? It seemed like everyone wanted me to say farewell. But I was far too stubborn to believe I’d never see my family again.
“I really don’t feel like talking anymore.”
I tore myself from his grip and tried fading out of Hell.
It was hopeless, of course. Still, I had to try.
When that failed, I tried to fade again within the same room. That worked. I reappeared a few feet away and raised my blade.
But all too soon, the weapon was ripped from my grasp and sailed into the Devil’s waiting palm.
“I don’t think you want to keep picking fights.”
“Oh, but I do.” I dematerialized my blade and summoned a dagger instead. The moment the sword vanished from his hand, the dagger materialized in mine. I threw it, aiming for his chest.
The monster didn’t flinch. The blade struck with a sickening crack, and at that moment, I saw exactly who Harvest mimicked all his life. The same terrifying stillness. The same inability—or refusal—to feel pain. Like father, like creation.
The Devil pulled the knife out, and black blood poured from the wound. “I feel nothing, Kitten. No matter how many blades you throw, or what words you speak, that will remain the same.”
I shrugged. “It might feel like nothing to you, but it’s therapeutic for me.”
“Will that be the case when I get my hands on you?” His voice struck its intended chord, and a fresh swell of unease filled my chest. “Will it still calm you if I change my mind and decide to kill your family before everyone fades?”
His tail shot toward me, but I caught it.
My pulse pounded in my ears as I gripped the tip.
Revulsion crawled under my skin again, but I held tighter, yanked harder—then heaved.
I slung him over my shoulder, the impact jarring through my feet.
The blackened bricks beneath him cracked and buckled, scattering like ash as his body hit the ground.
Then everything changed.
The surrounding darkness twisted into a long, narrow cell. The Devil vanished. A terrible sound followed— like bricks grinding against one another. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening.
The walls were closing in. From every direction, the space shrank. Fast.
I tried to fade. Nothing. Panic cracked across my chest like a whip.
I was so focused on escaping that I didn’t sense him behind me. I didn’t remember to look until his tail coiled around my waist. Before I could react, he slammed me into the wall.
The crushing stopped. The room fell silent, save for the ragged sound of my breathing.
“Even your freakish strength irritates me,” the Devil growled, vibrating with rage as he stalked closer.
His tail tightened around my body, and I flinched when it coiled up over my mouth. The heat rolling off him made it worse, like I was being pinned beneath molten stone. His horns cast eerie shadows over his face as he leaned in.
“Nothing works here. You can’t fade unless I allow it. There’s no escape. It’s just me, you, and Hell.”
Tears blurred my vision.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.
I wasn’t afraid. I was furious. Helpless even with my power. His domain bent everything to his will. My panic spiraled. I couldn’t breathe. My ribs ached, rising and falling rapidly, and my lungs burned. I was going to pass out.
“What is it?” he asked suddenly softly. Too soft. Cruel in its mock concern. “What’s got you so disheveled?”
I couldn’t let him see it. With every ounce of panic-fueled strength, I summoned my scythe—not to wield, but to wedge between us. I let my power move it since my limbs weren’t cooperating. My aim clumsy, my swings frantic. I sliced through flesh—mine and his.
The scent of metal filled the air.
I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I hacked and cut until the tail dropped away from me. Staggering upright, I looked around—left, then right. He was gone. Just like that. Had I really been fighting a ghost?
The walls closed in again. The panicky burn in my lungs intensified. It was hard to breathe. I dropped to my knees, shut my eyes, and accepted my fate. Being crushed to death was better than that thing wrapped around my body again. Then the roaring stopped.
The bricks halted abruptly. When I opened my eyes, I saw the walls had frozen in place—one had even vanished, leaving me an exit. The Devil was playing games.
Tears threatened again, not from fear, but from shame. I’d let him get to me. That was the worst part. Until I got control over my breathing, I stayed still. I had to do better.
Wiping my now-healed lips, I rose and stepped through the gap into a clearing with a single red double door. My hunger pangs returned sharply, gripping my insides. I clutched my stomach and reached into my back pocket for a Slim Jim. My fingers touched nothing. My lips parted. Hades.
The snacks must’ve fallen out when he picked me up—or during one of the many chaotic moments. Oh, no. The gnawing hunger would drive me insane. Well, good. Maybe I’d eat the Devil and save the world.
Steeling my spine, I reached for the door and opened it. Warm air hit me. I blinked several times, wondering if my mind was playing tricks. The space in front of me looked… normal. No, it was gorgeous.
A black chandelier cast a moody glow over a long wooden table with a single chair at one end.
To the right, a fireplace crackled gently beside a lone chair with a book resting on the seat.
While the cushions were black, the chair itself looked like it was made of bones.
Across the room, on the opposite side, was a massive dark window, eerie and opaque.
A wide desk was a few feet in front of it. That was where the Devil was.
He peered into the blackness like he could see something out there. His hands behind his back, and that creepy tail of his flicked lazily. The room itself was dim, bathed in a red glow, so I had no idea what he found so fascinating in a window that revealed nothing but bleak darkness.
I materialized my scythe.
A rattling noise sounded from behind me. I jolted and turned. An iron cell appeared out of nowhere.
The steel door creaked open, and his voice rang out. “You can stay there.”
Yeah. Uh, no. I stalked forward.
Two wisps of smoke appeared behind him, low to the ground.
A second later, a deep growl echoed from the shadows.
Two massive hellhounds appeared. They stood tall enough to reach his waist and, like their master, their eyes glowed a piercing red.
Saliva pooled from their oversized jaws, dripping past rows of vicious teeth.
Despite the drool…they were kind of cute. Their ears stuck straight up. Although they didn’t have fur, a black fog drifted lazily around their forms. Their skin shimmered with the same strange Hell patterns—craters—that marked the Devil’s body.
The growling stopped abruptly as I stepped closer.
Those glowing red eyes blinked and then widened. The beasts whimpered and darted behind their master, hunkering down behind his legs as if that would somehow make them invisible. It didn’t—they were way too big—but the attempt was adorable. And weird.
I wasn’t exactly terrifying.
Maybe they knew what my curse was and feared I’d gobble them up.
The Devil’s posture stiffened. Sighing, he looked down at the dogs beside him. Despite my approach, he hadn’t turned to face me. He was unconcerned. His dogs, on the other hand? Completely freaked out.
Some monsters they were. More like scaredy cats. I frowned. “What’s wrong with your hellhounds?”
“It would appear,” he said slowly, “they have exceptional memory.”
I scrunched my nose, not understanding what he meant. Whatever.
I bolted forward, scythe in hand.
“What’s the goal once you attack?” he asked.
I froze mid-step.
“You can’t escape. I feel nothing. And yet you’re still driven to fight. Meanwhile, if I do the same—you feel quite a lot, don’t you?” He bent to pet the cowering hellhounds, then straightened again, still facing the window. “Get in the cell.”
Anger and embarrassment scorched my face.
He was right. In his domain, I had no control.
My family might know I was here, but I doubted they had any clue how to reach me.
Reapers couldn’t fade into places they couldn’t visualize, and something about this place—something he’d done—was keeping me locked in.
Raising my chin, I said, “I’m not getting in there.”
He turned slightly and let those glowing red eyes land on me.
“You’re not?” he asked, before vanishing.
My stomach twisted as panic flared. I took a step back, and then a large hand closed around my throat. He reappeared in front of me with a storm brewing behind his expression.
I raised my blade, but he yanked me off the ground with ease. My eyes burned, bulging from the pressure. A fiery ache clawed at my throat. Still, I stabbed him in the shoulder, but he didn’t flinch.
I wasn’t ready when he slammed me against the cold, metal bars.
The Devil was like a flame, scalding me with his body heat as he rammed into me. The bars dug into the middle of my back, but his grip on my neck loosened. I gasped for air, and the pressure behind my eyes eased.
My jaw tightened as I met his gaze. I dared him to see the fury in my eyes.
His tail slithering and wrapping around my right pants leg caught me off guard again. Panic replaced the rage. I knew the exact moment he saw it. The Devil’s jaw slackened, and his eyes gleamed with something twisted. That slow, creeping smile returned.
“You gave it away too easily,” he muttered, leaning in.
His tail tightened, sliding higher--onto my thigh. My skin crawled.