Heven & Hell Anthology (Heven and Hell) (12 page)

He grabbed me and began squeezing my arms. He lowered his head, his face coming closer and closer…

He was going to kill me.

No, he was going to kiss me.

I would rather die.

“No!” I shouted, and just like that, he was blasted away. His body lifted through the air and past the kitchen island like he was a feather.

He slammed into the french doors that led to the deck and crashed right through them, glass shattering and wood splintering. I looked around to see Freaky Clown standing near the breakfast nook, dangling the necklace—taunting me.

I turned to face him, squared my shoulders and concentrated. The vase of flowers on the table behind him lifted into the air and I sent it crashing over his head.

He jerked as water and glass rained over his helmet of hair, but, otherwise, he gave no reaction. Crunching glass to my right had me looking to see that Franken-nasty was coming back inside, his green skin practically glowing in the darkness.

He rushed me and I flung out my hands, satisfied when a strong wind gusted from my palms and blew the freak back. The best way to never get hurt was to never let anyone touch you. I guess all that concentrating on how to fling things around was worth it.

But the bad thing about pushing people—things—demons back that wanted to hurt you was they just kept coming. I didn’t have time for this. With a flick of my hands, one of the kitchen drawers opened and a large knife floated out. I sent the knife sailing forward to bury itself in the chest of Franken-nasty. This time he fell down, but his body was still twitching.

“Enough!” I screamed and he fell, unmoving.

I turned back to Freaky Clown that held my necklace hostage. He lifted it above his mouth and opened wide. “Platinum is not a snack, weirdo,” I told him before settling my eyes on his throat.

I watched in sick fascination as he began to choke. I knew that his throat was closing, becoming smaller and smaller, the last of the breath in his nasty lungs was being used. He dropped the necklace and it clattered to the floor. Both his hands went around his neck as he stared at me with bulging eyes. I took a step toward him. And another. I concentrated so hard I knew when his windpipe collapsed. Foam began to form at the corners of his disgusting mouth.

“You don’t steal from me,” I told it and it tried to nod. It tried to beg me to stop.

I wasn’t about to stop. I had a say in whether this thing lived or died. I was the one in power.

Freaky Clown fell to the floor, sprawling on his back, still gagging and choking. Then he stopped moving. His face was whiter than ever and his limp, lifeless body lay among white and peach roses.

I bent down, scooped up my necklace and fastened it around my neck. “They make conditioner for hair like that,” I spat then turned away.

I surveyed the damage in the kitchen. The broken vase had left flowers and water everywhere. The broken glass littered the floor and water pooled on the tiles creating puddles under my feet. The busted french doors left shattered glass inside and out. Ripped curtains billowed in the breeze and wood lay in broken pieces and hung from the ruined frame.

Not to mention there were two dead bodies.

Something told me the maid wouldn’t be willing to clean this up. Even if I offered her a raise.

A cloaked figure stepped through the ruined doorway and I flung power outward to push them back. A hand lifted and flung the power back at me and I was sent flying across the room, slamming into a wall. The picture hanging on it fell, narrowly missing my head. The frame cracked and glass shattered.

“Never use your power against me,” Hecate said, pushing her hood away from her face to stare at me with flashing eyes. She made a formidable and frightening sight standing there in the doorway, with the glowing moon at her back and that violent look in her eye.

“I didn’t know it was you.”

Hecate ignored me and looked around at the aftermath.

“These things broke into the house. That one tried to take my necklace,” I said, pointing to the freaky clown.

“You used your powers to stop them.”

“I wasn’t about to let them take what was mine.”

“You’re ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“Italy.”

“This is going to happen in Italy?” I asked dubiously, fear creeping into my chest.

“It might, but now you know you can protect yourself. You can protect the paper I seek.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Heven doesn’t want me to have my paper back. Her boyfriend is the spawn of hell. She may use his connections to stop you from taking back what is mine.”

“So these things are from hell?”

“Yes. Demons are from hell.” I swear I heard fondness in her voice.

I stood up, shaking. What had I gotten myself into?

“Allow me to take care of this mess. It’s the least I can do.” With a wave of her hand, the kitchen was returned exactly as it had been before. Even the flowers were replaced. The demons were gone.

“See you in Italy,” Hecate said; then she disappeared.

I stood there in the empty room for a long time.

*    *    *

In Italy after Hecate and I took back the scroll…

It was dark here like the sun didn’t exist. As I was falling through the long hole I jumped into (can’t believe I really did that—but really, the look on Heven’s face was so hurt that I actually preferred a dark unknown hole to looking at her), I told myself that there would be light at the end… Yeah, there wasn’t.

At least with my new powers, I didn’t break a heel when I hit the ground. I was able to land lightly and gracefully. I glanced around, seeing nothing. Annoyed, I held up my hands, rubbed them together, then opened my palms and blew gently in the center. A small flame ignited. It wasn’t hot, but it did provide much-needed light.

I was in a tunnel.

Well, that explained the no-sun thing. Something jostled me from behind and I spun to face another one of those nasty demons. This one, thankfully, didn’t look like an evil clown or Frankenstein. But it was still horribly gross with no teeth, a huge forehead and only one arm. Without another thought, I flung it backward, and it hit the wall with a thud. I prepared to choke it like I did Freaky Clown, but Hecate’s voice stopped me.

“Come, the demons will not harm you here.”

I turned, the light in my palms extinguishing a bit and I gave it a blow to make it brighter. Hecate stood at the end of the tunnel in her regular black robe and a red belt. The red was a nice addition. “Come,” she said and turned to disappear around the corner.

I hurried after her and around the corner. My hands fell to my sides as I completely forgot about the light I was creating. I didn’t need it here anyway. The tunnel opened up into a room of epic proportions, a mansion. The ceiling had to be at least twenty feet tall, with gold chandeliers draping the massive beams that went from wall to wall. The walls were draped in fabric—a deep green color with a black scroll design in velvet. The furniture was black velvet and the tables looked like they were made from solid gold. There were black roses in clear vases sitting around the room and candle holders made from the finest crystal holding candles that burned throughout the space.

I stopped next to Hecate as three women wearing evening gowns rushed into the room. One was carrying a serving tray with two wine glasses filled with red liquid. Another was carrying a black cloak identical to the one Hecate was wearing, and the last was carrying a tray of fruits and cheese.

“Queen. We are happy to serve you,” the woman closest to us said, handing us both the wine. She bowed lightly and the folds of her black gown brushed the floor.

Hecate said nothing but took a sip of the wine and set her glass down. She shrugged out of her cloak and traded it for the fresh one. The new one didn’t have a red belt.

“You should keep the belt. It’s a good look for you,” I said and took a drink of the wine. After everything I had just seen, I needed some.

The three servants gasped and took a step back. I paused in my drinking. “What?”

“You can’t speak to the queen that way,” one of them whispered. She looked at me with pity. I pitied her because black wasn’t her color and it was probably all she got to wear.

“Ladies, this is Kimber. She is one of us now. She has proved her loyalty by getting me this.” Hecate held up the bronze tube and all three girls stared at me in wonder.

“Forgive me for speaking to you that way.” The one who warned me about speaking to Hecate apologized.

I shrugged and drank more wine.

“Leave the food and go,” Hecate said, and the girls moved to do her bidding. They didn’t even hesitate. That’s service. Whenever I would ask Mary to clean my closet, she would complain for ten minutes.

“Oh, and leave the belt,” Hecate called out and the red belt was returned to her instantly. I smirked. I knew fashion.

“Welcome to my home,” Hecate said as she fastened the belt around her waist.

I took in the incredible surroundings once more. I wasn’t sure why, but I was beginning to think she lived somewhere a little more… sinister. I guess that look of pure hurt on Heven’s face when I took that scroll had gotten to me more than I wanted to admit. What had happened up there… It had been unreal. Bugs and demons, demons as bugs, Heven waving around a dagger and begging me for help. Sam didn’t seem to be enjoying what was going on, either. You think someone supposedly from hell would like the chaos, but he was fighting it all—fighting the demons. Almost like he was protecting everyone.

I tried not to think of Cole and the injuries I saw on his face and body. The minute he called me Kimmie, I wanted to rush to him, to help him. Instead, I let him pass. Hecate had ordered me to kill them all, but that was never part of our deal. I wasn’t about to kill my friends. I mean my ex-friends.

“Of course, one must have a sanctuary,” Hecate said, looking at me expectantly.

“What happened back there?” I blurted.

“We took back what was rightfully mine.”

“Those demons—the bugs—they weren’t there because of Sam.”

Hecate looked at me, her dark eyes flashing. I wondered if I should take the other girl’s advice and not speak so much. “They were my back-up in case we needed help.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. Hecate’s face smoothed out. “But I didn’t need backup. Their shock at seeing you there, holding them off and helping me, was all I needed to get what I wanted.”

Her comment made me feel used. Made me feel like a pawn to hurt my friends. “But…”