Angel's Curse (29 page)

“We shall see,” he said, leaning forward. “They can be quite brutal down here you know — words
can
hurt.”

I’m glad there’s not a couch here,
I thought to myself.
He'd probably want us to sit next to each other like we were the best of pals.

As soon as I thought the word
couch,
one appeared as if on cue, and I groaned. I didn’t know I’d have to be
that
careful about what I thought down here. Between my mouth and my mind running away with me, I was in for the ride of my life!

“It would seem you prefer the comfort of a couch. Shall we?”

He waited until I sat down — a mistake on my part — and sat next to me. The jeans he wore provided me with a measure of protection from the heat he generated and as such my legs didn't burn.

I shrugged my shoulders. “It seems my being here has brought you a few things — the daggers, the bodies of archangels, a lot of laughs and some entertainment.”

“And so it comes to this,” he said. “Why
are
you here?”

Just dive right in and say it.

“I want your blood. Not much, just enough for one final job.”

“Are you willing to pay the price?”

He took my hand in his and stroked it gently, watching the burn marks appear and disappear.

“We’re like yin and yang, you and I,” he said.

Was Satan putting the moves on me? Was the price to be burned to a crisp while engaging in some act with him, trying to heal myself as fast as he could dish it out? I rolled my eyes. What was it with immortal males and their obsession with sex?

“What is it that you want?” I asked.

“I don’t want your body, Helena, tempting as it is. I want that bright spark that resides within you, your soul!”

He continued to stroke my hand, using his finger to write the letters — s-o-u-l — on the skin.

“If and when you die, your soul will be mine. I think the odds are rather good, don’t you, that as an immortal you’ll live a very long life before someone finally comes along who is stronger and cleverer than you, to snuff out your flame.”

I didn’t plan living long after I’d taken care of Raphael, but to give Satan my soul? That to me would be betraying Danny more than having sex with a thousand immortals. Danny had told me my soul was still pure. If I gave it to Satan he would defile it, and, if after all I’d done so far — killing angels, sleeping with a vampire, meeting with the devil — there was still a chance I
might
be able to get into heaven, I couldn’t risk it.

“I can’t,” I replied.

“It is such a small thing, a soul, and when you are dead you will not miss it.”

“No deal,” I said.

I remembered the last time I said those words, not too long ago, and hoped this time I would have the resilience to back them up.

“If you change your mind, let me know. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have other matters to attend to.”

He kissed my hand. The burning impression of his lips covered the word
soul,
which he had written over and over on my hand. He stood and walked to the door that led to his private corridor.

“Someone will call by in the morning to collect you. I’ll give you a tour of our facilities, here in the Pleasure Dome. Oh, and don’t forget to bolt both doors when I’m gone.”

He laughed and left the room. I waved my hand and the bolt on the door Satan had just left through slid into place. I turned to the other door, but before I could bolt it someone opened it. I recognised the man as the one whom Satan had warned to stay away.

“I think you’ve got the wrong room,” I said.

“I think not.”

He walked to the couch and punched me in the face. My nose began to bleed, but didn’t break. He tore at the corset and skirt, scratching me deeply with his sharp nails.

“Thinks he can have you all to himself, does he? Where I come from we
share
the meat,” he snarled.

He was fast —
was everyone fast down here?
— and the initial attack caught me unawares.

Death!
I thought.

The blade appeared in my hand and I drove it under his jaw, up into his brain.

“
Don’t fuck with me,
” I yelled, pushing him back until he was on the ground and I was on top of him.

I wrenched Death upwards splitting his face as I freed the blade, and began stabbing him repeatedly, splattering his blood over the carpets, walls and myself.

The door was still open and the commotion brought others. Within moments Satan returned and the onlookers scattered. He pulled me off the body, kicking and screaming. I didn’t even feel his hands burning my arms. He pushed me up against the wall, holding me in place with his body.

He pressed the heel of his palm on my forehead and said one word, “Sleep.”

The room began to spin and I collapsed against his chest. When I woke up I found myself in the bed, totally naked, and both doors bolted.

There was a knock on the door.

“Shit, I’m not even dressed yet,” I grumbled.

By the time I got to the door I was fully clothed and ready to go. I opened the door to find the same little creature peering up at me. The poor thing looked disappointed that I wasn’t wearing another outfit like the one from the previous night.

“Master says come.”

“Where are we going this morning?” I asked.

“Food,” he replied.

I followed the little creature through the corridors to a small dining room, with a table that could comfortably seat six. Satan sat at one end, talking to a woman on his right. When I entered the room she excused herself and nodded to me on her way out. I stood just inside the door and looked at the spread of food on the table, much like a mortal-cooked breakfast, except there was no honey for the toast. Satan took a sip of what looked to be strong black coffee. He picked up one of three newspapers and began to read. After a few minutes he looked over the top of the paper at me.

“Do sit down, Helena. You don’t need an invitation.”

I sat at the opposite end of the table.

“Are you hungry?”

I shook my head.

“Tell me, what do you remember of last night?”

“Everything up until you left my room. Did you …
did we
…”

“No, Helena,
we
did not, but it didn’t stop someone else from trying. You get quite savage when men seek to take advantage of you, don’t you?”

“In my past life there was very little I could do about it,” I said bitterly. “Now I can fight with the best of them, and win. I
won’t
be abused ever again.”

“Your short-term memory will return soon. Loss of memory is sometimes a side effect when I put someone to sleep.”

“Excuse me?”

“I made you sleep. It was the only way to contain your rage without hurting you unnecessarily. You are definitely feisty — a real whirlwind I think the saying is.”

He held up the paper again. “Crime on the increase — three murders in one night, numerous fights and barroom brawls, muggings, rapes. It’s a
wonderful
time to be alive!”

“Not if you’re mortal,” I mumbled.

“Not if you’re a
virtuous
mortal,” Satan laughed.

I placed an elbow on the table and rested my chin in the palm of my hand. I drummed the fingers of my other hand on the table, restless and bored.

Satan put down the paper. “I expect you’re ready for a tour of the Pleasure Dome.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

Who cares?
I thought.
If I can’t get what I need what does any of this matter?

I had to think of a way to get what I needed without having to give up my soul. Surely there had to be something I could do.

The door opened and Satan beckoned for me to follow him. He was in casual gear again — shirtless once more — and I noticed the only tattoo adorning his body today was the same one I’d had on my butt the night before.

“Isn’t that meant to be on the back of your head?” I asked, pointing at the tattoo.

“Pure fiction,” he replied. “Here we are.”

He stopped in front of another plain door. Most of the doors looked the same and I wondered how newbies managed to navigate their way around.

“I think you’ll like this room,” he said, as he opened the door.

It was a large gymnasium and training room. A number of demons were already here working out, or sparring, and a few were actually fighting with weapons.

“Lethal blows are not allowed in here, by penalty of death. Of course if someone were to attack you, as happened last night, you’d be within your rights to dispatch them however you saw fit.”

So that’s what happened last night, I’d been attacked. I was still pretty vague on the details though.

“I wouldn’t mind some weapons practice,” I said. “I’ve only ever user a blade, though I did have a few lessons on how to throw throwing stars.”

“What would you like to learn to use?” he asked.

“A sword — a samurai sword to be specific, and a staff.”

“Why a staff?” he asked.

“There are times when I’d just like to maim someone, or hurt them badly, rather than kill them. I reckon a staff would do the job nicely, or a baseball bat.”

Satan clicked his fingers and the two demons that were fighting with knives stopped, bowed to each other, and came over.

“Asmodeus, Rahab, this is Helena. Asmodeus is an archdemon, Helena, the
only
archdemon. Rahab is my weapons master. He excels in violence.”

Wow! I was meeting the only archangel to have fallen. He was here practicing with Satan’s weapons master. Rahab must be good to hold that position.

“Rahab, if Helena pops in for some weapons training you are to accommodate her every need. She has expressed an interest in sword and staff.”

Rahab bowed his head. “Yer will.”

He had a strange accent that I couldn’t pick.

“Asmodeus is often referred to as the King of Demons,” Satan said, and Asmodeus bowed his head in acknowledgement, “and I the God of Demons. It’s the only time the
G
word can be used,” he whispered. “Unlike some deities, I work and travel amongst my followers, provided they are in my domain.”

“I hear you killed three archangels,” Asmodeus said.

“It would have been four if Raphael hadn’t turned tail and run,” I replied.

Asmodeus smiled and nodded. He turned to Satan and said, “How did you find this one?”

“She came seeking me,” he replied. “I had no desire to find her, but now,” he smiled, “I have
no
desire to let her go.”

My eyes widened and I pressed my lips firmly together to stop from saying something I might regret.

Satan pointed at me with his thumb and laughed. “She’s proving to be most entertaining, although right now she’s fuming to think she may be stuck here.”

Asmodeus and Rahab laughed as well.

“Thank you for your time gentlemen,” Satan said. Asmodeus and Rahab returned to their training.

Satan placed a hand under my elbow and guided me out of the door. I was grateful that I wore a long-sleeved top, until his hand burned through the sleeve and touched the skin. It didn’t seem to burn as badly as yesterday.

“The next area I’m going to take you to consists of a good many chambers and cubicles — far too many for most to keep count of. There are numerous entries and exits, and apart from The Cage, it’s the most popular place to go.”

The Cage. Could it be possible some parts of the world above were reflected down here?

“What’s The Cage?” I asked.

“Why Helena, it’s only The Cage on which the one you spent so much time in — when you were in the world above — is modelled on. Did you think the preacher was the power behind it all?”

“Well, yeah, I did.”

He laughed. “He is a front man, nothing more, and he used to do his job well. You must tell me why he hates superglue so. He has an aversion to it like you do to feeding off mortals.”

I laughed. It was my first
real
laugh in hell. “Is there no corner of the world, mortal or immortal, that
hasn’t
heard about the superglue incident?”

Satan stopped and backed me up against the wall, placing his hands on either side of my head, just above the shoulders. I could feel the heat radiating from his arms.

“It’s obviously a funny tale, judging by your laugh — very nice by the way — and I’d like you to share it.”

He was so close and things were just getting hot. I could see how long his thick eyelashes were, and how they framed his eyes, highlighting them.

“You really had to be there,” I said. “Superglue is a fast-drying and very strong glue. I used it to glue the preacher’s dick to his balls and his hands to his dick. He’s a very heavy sleeper, so he didn’t know what I'd done until he woke up. It took him months to recover, so I heard. He couldn’t get it up for a long time.” I laughed, then my voice became hard. “I wish I’d cut it off. He was abusing kids, the bastard. It was the one thing I was willing to risk my life for. If he hadn’t put a contract on my head, most likely I wouldn’t be standing here now.”