Chapter Twenty
Emily
I’d had more time to work out my present what-the-fuck situation, and the odds of getting myself out of it weren’t great. I didn’t have any idea how a girl escaped Hell, or really even who this dude was. But odds not being in my favor had never stopped me before, and it wouldn’t now.
I’d expected demons to be a bit more beastly, but this demon reminded me of several men I’d had the misfortune of dealing with at my nine-to-five job. Pretty, well-dressed, and arrogant. The only thing different about him were those bird wings and terrifying demon eyes.
My captor hadn’t left me for a single moment. It’d been hours of him at a desk, doing whatever it was demons like him did—make their master plans for world domination?
It quickly became apparent I didn’t need to eat or pee. My bodily functions were nonexistent. I breathed out of habit, and because it felt fucking weird not to, but something told me I didn’t need to. I was dead.
My throat seized at the thought and panic prickled across my skin.
Asha would find me in my bedroom, lifeless and gone from the world, and think the worst. The way they’d made it sound, I didn’t have a chance in hell—ha!—of getting out after he’d brought me here. It was the reason Zelus had worked so hard to protect me.
Because he had.
I believed it when I peered around at my new prison. He’d wanted to keep me from this place, and he’d begged my best friend and her terrifying new boyfriend, Death, to do it for him.
The more time I sat with Zelus’s last desperate act, the more I was convinced that what I felt for him wasn’t one-sided. Maybe the way my bestie had changed Thanatos’s mind was the way I’d changed Zelus’s.
Didn’t much matter anymore. I was already dead and in Hell. My captor, whose name I still didn’t know, hadn’t said anything more than that. He’d ordered me to sit quietly and went to his desk to do whatever it was asshole’s who kidnapped helpless human chicks did in their spare time.
I’d become one of the many room decorations over the last few hours.
It was better than him touching me, though, so I was grateful I didn’t have to fight off a rapist while I was at it.
I hadn’t been tortured, let alone touched.
Other than labeling me as the bride my father had promised, he hadn’t done much else.
It fucking figured my own father had a hand in this.
I’d always wondered how he’d gotten his money and power when I was confident he didn’t have any before I was born.
His rise to the rich and powerful didn’t track.
It was just like that asshole to strike a contract with a devil to get his way in life.
But how was that even legal? Why my soul and not his? That wasn’t fucking fair.
First my childhood, now my afterlife.
Thanks, Dad.
I stared at the demon as he continued to peck at his laptop.
I didn’t expect technology to be a thing in Hell.
Magic and brimstone seemed more their vibe.
Maybe some weird chanting and blood sacrifices.
But I guess they appreciated the annoyance of a computer that sometimes decided it wouldn’t function properly.
Not unlike the humans they abducted and forced to sit on couches.
I’d grown tired and annoyed that he hadn’t explained why I was here, so I finally stood and stomped over. “Why am I really here?”
The demon’s red eyes jerked up to me as if he never imagined I was capable of talking or justifiable anger. “That was already covered, Emily Jackson. You’re here to be my bride.”
“Yeah, sure. I got that. But why?”
His eyebrow rose in question. “Why what?”
“Why a bride? What do you need one for?”
That pretty mouth of his lifted into a sly smile and he leaned back. “Loneliness, perhaps.”
My arms locked over my chest, hip out. “Yeah, no. We both know that’s bullshit. If you’ve been keeping tabs on me, I’m sure you’re already painfully aware how little evasive tactics work on someone like me.”
He was on his feet and towering over me in another heartbeat, but I didn’t step back. I didn’t need to. If he was going to torture me, then so be it.
He’d taken my soul after I’d only just gotten Asha back.
He’d made it impossible for me to kill the bastard who tried to hurt her, get him to grovel and apologize for being an asshole, then maybe fuck his brains out afterward.
I still wasn’t sure what all I wanted to do with Zelus.
And now this demon demanded I sit in silence to watch him type endlessly?
No, thank you.
I must’ve said as much with my glare because he beamed a smile at me. “And that glower is why you’ll make a perfect queen of Hell, my darling.”
He reached out, but I slapped his hand away. The thought of anyone but Zelus touching me made my stomach twist and threaten vomit when I wasn’t even sure if I could do that anymore.
“I’m not your fucking darling. Answer my question,” I demanded, channeling a rage centuries and generations long.
The rage of women everywhere who had to deal with assholes.
“Or I’ll use my big brain to figure your secrets out and weaponize them against you.
I’m pretty sure someone mentioned you weren’t meant to cross over to my world. Something about it starting a war…”
His smile disappeared for long enough to emphasize I’d hit a nerve. “You have no power here, Emily. You couldn’t leave this room if I didn’t want it.”
My chin lifted. “I seriously doubt that, baby boy. But even if I can’t, I have a bestie with Death powers.”
That seemed to grab his attention. “Death powers?”
Oh, so he didn’t know? That could work in my favor. If he didn’t know I was connected with Death, then maybe that gave me an edge. I had two Horsemen and one badass bitch in my corner. I’d be careful and keep those cards close to my chest.
“Wait,” I started, making a seamless transition to distract him, “what do you mean queen of Hell? Does that make you Lucifer then?”
He barked a laugh and shook his head before reclaiming his seat. “That ugly bastard? No. I’m the much better-looking brother.”
“Brother?”
“Astaroth,” he clarified.
My eyebrow went up in question. “You all have such weird fucking names.” I rubbed my temples despite knowing that in this body—or lack of body—I couldn’t get headaches. “So, you’re looking to take his spot?”
He seemed surprised I’d figure that out. I was surprising a lot of arrogant men these days. “What makes you assume that?”
I scoffed. Humans, Horsemen, demons—they were all the same. They couldn’t fathom a smart woman. And it wasn’t like his motives were difficult to piece together.
I was about to give this dude hell.
“Lucky guess,” I deadpanned.
While he smirked and amused himself, I was slyly checking for ways to get out of this room. I didn’t know how this all worked, but I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try. I was a Counter Soul. That had to count for something. If Asha could escape death, I could certainly escape Hell.
I noticed a weird doorway at the far corner. It was pitch black and didn’t have a door. The surface was wobbling, too. It was the only thing that made me think it could be an exit. Everything else looked like a wall.
My best bet was to try there first, and if he caught me, at least I’d see if it led anywhere. For whatever reason, he needed me, and he didn’t like the idea of brother dearest knowing it.
“Oh, looks like you’re getting a message,” I said, pointing to his laptop.
The minute he turned to look at his screen, I was moving—and much faster than I ever had as a human. It was the oldest trick in the book, but I’d learned those were often the most lethal. Stupid asshole.
I’d made it to the wobbly blackness and stepped through without him getting to me. The same sensation that took hold of me in my room seized my body the second I entered. Falling, I braced for a crash, but it didn’t happen. Then I was in a vast space with broken ground and fire.
It was a bit anticlimactic that Hell would look like, well, Hell, but I didn’t want to lose my chance to chase the dream of escape. I took another step, cursed loudly when my foot landed on nothing, and tumbled into another pocket of weightless space.
I’d become motherfucking Alice in Wonderland.
All I could think as I tumbled through oblivion was I needed to find Lucifer to tattle on his brother, and as if the thought summoned the room, I was standing in front of a throne seated on a stack of stairs.
Fire burned high into the sky. Lava traveled in streams and pockets around the break in earth I stood on.
So on the damn nose.
What, was Heaven pearly white gates and singing cherubs?
A man who didn’t look very different from any hottie in my world sat at the top, ankle resting on his knee, appearing all kinds of bored. His eyes widened slightly at my sudden appearance. Guess he didn’t have surprise guests often. This must be the so-called ugly brother.
If gorgeous is ugly, I guess.
I hadn’t taken a breath before a swarm of demons came from all sides, flooding the piece of earth I stood on.
I’d recognize those shadowy monsters anywhere.
I swallowed a scream and fled toward the only dude who looked normal-ish.
The one on the throne. A mistake, I realized, but one I’d have to make if I was going to get ahead of his crazy-ass brother.
His eyes tracked me all the way up the steps, his lips lifting. “What do we have here?”
I breathed a grateful sigh when the demons didn’t follow me up. As luck would have it, I was well-practiced in the fine art of running in heels. “Uh, Emily. I’m Emily.”
“Emily?”
His eyes were slitted like a cat’s and surrounded by a pool of dark red. His black hair was swept back, and the beauty of his face couldn’t be overstated. He was one pretty asshole, but I was starting to think hotness was the rule and not the exception with all these supernatural beasts.
How dare Asha keep them from me.
“And Emily, what are you doing at my throne without an invitation?”
“My King!” I heard someone yell, and I’d know his voice anywhere.
I rushed through my next bit because if I was about to die—or disintegrate into nothing; not sure what they did to people who were already dead—I wanted that bastard to go down with me.
“Your brother, Astaroth over there, crossed over and stole me from the human world as a bride to take your throne. Probably. He didn’t give me all the details.
But I’m a Counter Soul or whatever for one of the Horsemen. ”
“A bride?”
“Yep.”
“You’re a Counter Soul?”
“Got it in one.”
Oh-em-gee was this guy Captain Obvious or just that slow?
Throne Dude’s eyes narrowed and shot over to the asshole who was clamoring up the stairs. Just when I didn’t think it could get crazier, a dark circle opened up next to us. Thanatos walked through, followed by my bestie and…Zelus.
I gaped in surprise.
The sight of them added credit to my claim, and Throne Dude’s hostility ramped up. Fire burned in his eyes. Like, actual fire. Flames burned and flickered inside his irises as he got to his feet.
“You crossed over to the human world, Astaroth?” His voice was a terrifying rumble, and the ground underneath us quaked with his fury.
Thanatos’s eyes were on me, another victim of surprise. In his case, it made sense. Finding me taking audience with the king of Hell was probably not how they saw this going. I couldn’t hide my smug grin when I caught both Asha and Zelus with their mouths open.
I was a fucking badass!
Thanatos stepped forward, his stare flicking over to Astaroth before he greeted Lucifer with a nod. “We’re willing to overlook the offense and keep it from Heaven if the soul is returned.”
“The soul has a name,” I grumbled.
Thanatos’s smile eased the tension in my shoulders.
Zelus had his hands fisted when I glanced at him. His jaw was strained and his stare fierce and violent. I’d seen him restrained enough to know he was angry and desperate to come over.
I should’ve been pissed off to no end with him, but seeing him unraveling, his scales everywhere I looked and fangs gleaming with a silent snarl, made me desperate to wrap my arms around his shoulders and let him take me away from here.
Lucifer hummed and gracefully took his seat again. Dude had gone from fires of rage to icy cool super quick. “You know that’s not how it works, Thanatos.”
Thanatos’s jaw ticked. “You want something in return.”
“I do.”
I glared at the asshole sitting primly on his throne. “So you’re not afraid of starting a war?”
The fire in his eyes had completely faded. In its place was pure, unfettered amusement. “If there’s no mortal world left, then what does it matter if there’s a war?”
I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t rebuke.
Thanatos seemed to gather what he meant, his hand tightening around my bestie’s. “What are your terms for her release?”
I heard a growl behind me, but Lucifer flicked his hand and the demon who’d stolen my soul to be his bride was gone.
“Nothing you don’t already want,” he mused. “Her soul is yours as long as you ensure the apocalypse does not come to pass.”
Zelus came over and swept me into his arms, holding my face in his gentle hands. “Did he hurt you, love?”
“You mean after he killed me?” My joke didn’t get the smile I wanted, so I sighed. “No, he didn’t.”
Whatever that confirmed for him, he put his arm around my shoulder. “We accept your terms.”
Thanatos shot him a look, but Asha spoke before he could, “You got yourself a deal, Mr. Lucifer.”
Lucifer’s smile was all bad, and I almost worried we’d done the wrong thing by agreeing, but I didn’t want the world to end either. I might hate the assholes I worked with, but good people like Dom, Alexa, Ginny, and Becky existed. They were worth fighting for.
“Very well. I’ll deal with my brother’s indiscretion and ensure it doesn’t occur again. No doubt he thought he could wield the power of God to defeat me.” That made him chuckle into his fist.
Ah, so Astaroth thought I had some God-given superpower being a Counter Soul. Go figure. It’d explain why he suddenly wanted me after claiming my soul was his over three decades ago. What a douche.
“But what is it you intend to do from here? She can’t be returned to her body. Her mortality is gone,” he pried, casting his eyes my direction with another knowing glint. The bastard was enjoying every bit of this.
Thanatos didn’t answer, just gestured for us to go through the blackhole he’d summoned in a room of fire and stone. “As long as we make good on our part, it’s of no consequence to you.”
Lucifer huffed a small laugh and bent his head in agreement. “Then, by all means. I look forward to the war you wage with Heaven to rebuke God’s plan.” His leg bounced as if an embodiment of his delight. “Should prove to be the best entertainment of the century.”
Zelus ushered me toward the blackhole, and with his arms around me, we fell through.