Authors: Cambria Hebert
He kissed me. Long. Slow. Deep.
I tucked my arms around him and stroked the hair above his ear until finally he slept.
It just seemed impossible to me that the person lying here against me was anything other than good, that he would kill because he could. What exactly had he been doing that night in the woods? I searched my mind for an answer. I went over everything I felt in his memory with a fine-tooth comb.
But the truth of it was…
I just didn’t know.
Riley
He wasn’t here. I searched every inch of this castle (it took forever). I searched every nook and cranny in this place. I found some bodies. I found some bones. I even found a couple demons trapped in jars.
But I did not find Beelzebub.
Where could he have possibly gone after being set free.
I would’ve bet everything I had, which admittedly isn’t much, that the first thing he would’ve done was come after me for taking over his humble abode.
Unless he was somewhere lurking, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Maybe he was off gathering the other Princes to storm the place together.
No. From what I learned here, the other Princes barely got involved with one another unless they had to. And none of them seemed to like Beelzebub so I doubt they’d bend over backward to help him out in any way.
Except of course for Leviathan.
He had a slight grudge against me.
“Jeeves!” I bellowed.
He appeared within seconds. “Yes?”
“I’m going out. I’ll be back later.”
He nodded.
“I want you to do something while I’m gone.”
“What is it, sir?”
“Find out where Beelzebub is. Find out what he’s doing.”
He got that look on his face and I knew he was thinking about the Devil. I admit the dude was intimidating, being the ultimate evil ruler and all. But I wasn’t about to admit to thinking that. Instead, I sighed heavily. “Jeeves,” I began. “The Devil might have been here, but he’s gone. I’ve been through every inch of this place.”
Jeeves nodded enthusiastically.
“So get over it!” I snapped. “When I get back I want answers!”
He ran off into the darkness of the castle and I headed for my Jeep. I had a Prince to visit.
It didn’t take as long as it did last time to get to Leviathan’s land. Traveling by Jeep instead of dragon was definitely preferable. I knew the moment I drove onto his land because the Jeep was immediately surrounded by large black crows with red eyes. The crows followed along with the route I drove and when I stopped beside the large gray castle, they landed on the hood and sat motionless, staring at me through the windshield with beady, blood-colored eyes.
“Please,” I groaned and got out of the Jeep. “Does he think a pack of birds is going to scare me away? Next time I want roasted protein I’ll be sure to come a hunting.”
The birds didn’t say anything to that and I walked over his drawbridge, which was wider and thicker than mine, toward the giant double doors.
Before I got to them, they opened with a whoosh, blowing my hair and shirt back. Leviathan stepped out. He looked the same—ponytail, goatee, ugly scowl.
“You must have a death wish,” he said. “Coming back onto my land.”
“I see you got the place cleaned up,” I quipped. “Congrats.”
“Seize him!” Leviathan ordered and the birds morphed into men. Well, demons to be exact. They all had very long, dark-colored dreadlocks with leaves and dirt adorning them. They were also naked and had deformed hands.
There were five of them.
I could have taken them.
Had they not all jumped me at once.
I managed to wrestle myself to my feet, with one holding back both my arms and legs, and the fifth one standing closer by, ready to do whatever it was that these things did.
“You should have yelled, ‘Off with his head!’” I told Leviathan. “It would’ve been much more dramatic.”
“Your head isn’t the only thing that’s coming off,” he replied.
Finally he made a good come back.
The birds with dreads started to wrestle me away, so I called out, “I came to tell you he’s out.”
“Stop!” Leviathan said, and the men turned back to face their Prince.
“Beelzebub is out?”
“Yep, checked his cage myself.”
He stroked his chin. “I’m surprised you still walk.”
“I haven’t seen him. I thought maybe you might have.”
He studied me closely, trying to decide if I was lying. I guess I passed his test because he answered. Yay for me. “No, I haven’t.”
“Have you heard anything about where he might be?” I asked. I even included the birdmen in my question.
“Why would I tell you even if I had?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
I shrugged off the demons and stood upright in the center of their circle. “You might be interested to know who let him out.”
“I might.”
“The way I see it, this is an exchange. You tell me your information and I tell you mine. Then I’ll drive off your land and not come back.”
“Who says I’m letting you leave?”
“I do. Because you’ll want to see what he does to me for taking over his castle.”
Leviathan grinned. “True.” He studied me once more. “All right, then, I know nothing. I didn’t even know he was out until now.”
“He hasn’t come here looking for help with his battle with me?”
“No, but if he does I will gladly accept.”
“Big surprise there,” I said.
“Now tell me who set him free.”
“The big man himself,” I answered. “The Devil.”
“Lucifer?” he said, straightening a little and glancing at the demons at my side. An uneasy stir went through them all.
I nodded.
“Where is he now?”
“Haven’t seen him. According to my staff at the castle, Lucifer set Beelzebub free and then they both disappeared.”
“Leave now,” Leviathan ordered.
“What, no refreshments?” I called out.
Leviathan turned back in the center of his wide doorway. “If Lucifer has seen fit to become involved in whatever battle you have with Beelzebub, I want no part in it.”
My respect for Lucifer went up a notch in that moment. That guy knew how to instill some fear.
“Leave,” he ordered again.
This trip was pretty much a bust, so I headed back to the Jeep.
“Oh, and Renegade,” he called. “Allow me to repay the mess you left the last time you were here.”
There was no warning. I was once again surrounded by the demons who grabbed me by the arms and legs and then the fifth one made a solid roundhouse kick to my lower back. I heard it crack as my knees buckled and I fell onto the ground.
I groaned. The pain was so sharp I could barely draw a breath.
“Really?” I wheezed. “The same spot?”
They all went inside and I lay there writhing in pain as the drawbridge was drawn up, blocking the door.
Well, shit.
I army-crawled to the Jeep and managed to pull myself in. How did one drive with a broken back?
Not well.
Not well at all.
In fact, I hit a lot of demons, ran through a house, and nearly went over a small cliff. All of it by accident this time. Every jolt, bump, and demon I flattened made me call out in pain.
Finally, I came to a stop at the side of the wide expanse of black sludge. I didn’t think I was going to be able to swim across to the dragon’s lair.
I didn’t have a choice.
I opened the door and fell out of the Jeep onto the ground and then rolled myself into the water. It was thick, dark, and pulled at me like a greedy, hungry man. Demons came at me and I fought them off. I wanted to shift, but the pain was so intense I was afraid it would break me more.
My vision began to darken and blur. My head dipped under the water more and more until I couldn’t lift it above any longer.
I wasn’t afraid of drowning. Hellhounds couldn’t drown.
But I did start to feel afraid.
Afraid that I would sink down into the black depths, unable to find the surface and wallowing in pain until my body slowly healed itself.
No one would know where I was.
Would anyone even care?
The black sludge was going to swallow me whole and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Heven
Something tickled. Even before I was fully awake I started wiggling my nose, trying not to sneeze. I heard a deep rumble and I smiled, cracking my eyes open just a little so all I saw was a pair of honey-colored eyes staring back at me.
I reached up, pushing away what was tickling me, and it disappeared. “Careful,” Sam warned softly so I opened my eyes all the way to see a perfectly shaped red rose in his hand.
This time when I reached for it he handed it over, directing my fingers between the thorns.
“Happy Birthday,” he said as I brought the rose to my nose and inhaled its floral scent.
“It’s beautiful,” I told him, pulling it back to study it once more, but I barely got the chance to look at its silky red petals because he pushed it and my hand aside and lowered himself closer until it lay forgotten on the pillow beside us and he was kissing me in a way that made me forget my name, let alone my brand new age.