Hell's Gift (33 page)

I let out a roar and pushed with everything I had left. I wasn’t giving up. If it was going to take me, then it would just have to take me, but it wouldn’t be because I had given up.

I didn’t notice at first that the storm had receded until I had arrived at the door with my hand desperately searching for the knob while juggling the dead weight of another person.

I stopped, then turned to look behind me when the storm didn’t engulf us.

Fallis stood tall a few feet away. He nodded once, and I realized he was admitting defeat, and that he had been the one to stop the storm. I wondered briefly what that would cost him when Lucifer found out he’d had a chance to take me out, but had chosen not to.

I nodded back. “Thanks,” I said, and then left him standing there alone.

Chapter 42

“Talk to me, Isaiah. Where the hell is Malcolm?”

“I don’t know—”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You’re an archangel, for Christ’s sake! Track him, dammit!”

“We cannot. He is a floater now. He was possessed by a demon through the portal between Heaven and Hell, and after the exorcism the demon convinced him that he had stolen Malcolm’s soul and delivered it to Lucifer, that Lucifer owns him, that he is a demon now—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Give me a second to take all of it in while I try to get Phoebe to wake up.”

I looked down the long corridor, lined on both sides with doors. I turned to look behind me and it was the exact same. It appeared to be some kind of old dusty mansion with bad lighting.

I didn’t know what was behind any of the doors, but the hallway seemed to be safe enough to rest for a minute and try to get Phoebe awake.

I set her down, propping her back against the wall in between two doors, then grabbed the canteen to try and get some fluid in her. “You have to drink something or you will die. I can’t go back to the Syde of Pride and help you through it all again. Do you understand what I’m saying?” I growled in frustration.

“Rhyan, we all want you to know how proud of you we are. Not only are you trying to save your soulmate and yourself, but another soul as well. You should be commended—”

“Isaiah?”

“Yes, Rhyan?”

“Kiss my ass.”

“Right. I suppose I deserve that. So much of this could have been prevented if only I had spoken up earlier. I cannot even begin to tell you how deeply—”

“Then don’t. I still have a long way to go, so if you could save the groveling for another time, that would be awesome. If you’re going to be my guardian angel, you have some big shoes to fill.”

“I understand.”

I huffed, not ready to hear the news about Malcolm, but not willing to go on until I had. I was in a catch 22 situation, it seemed.

“So, you’re telling me that while Malcolm was trying to save my soul, Lucifer stole his?”

“That’s what the demon that possessed him wanted him to think, but luckily, no, up until just a few moments ago the soul was in the possession of the demon. It’s in a safe place, but now Malcolm is a floater and undetectable by anyone. He is neither demon nor angel.”

“Where would he have gone?”

“If we knew that, we could find him, don’t you think?”

I grunted and tried to ignore his sarcasm.
“I have to get her awake so we can get out of here. You wouldn’t happen to have an idea about which syde this is, would you?”

“You’re in Greed. Lameria is the princess. Don’t mistake her young, innocent appearance for young and innocent. She’s nearly as old as Lucifer and quick as a whip to boot. I don’t know of her relationship with Abigail, so just be careful and play your cards right.”

“I won’t fold, Isaiah.”

“Don’t lose the game either, Rhyan.”

“I’ll try not to. Go find Malcolm. I’ll shout if I need help. Let me know if you hear of anything about his situation.”

Phoebe’s eyes were twitching and then she opened them and looked right at me.

I smiled. “Hey, bright eyes.”

“You came back,” she said, and I put the canteen up to her dry lips. She took a small drink, then pushed it away. “You need to drink some.”

“I already have,” I lied. “I filled it up in the last syde. Drink the rest.”

She gave me a weary look, and finally decided to believe me, then drank greedily until the last drop was gone.

I smiled and put the cap back on. I cleared my dry throat and slipped the empty canteen through the open zipper of her pack. “I grabbed this for you. You dropped it.”

“It was awful, Rhyan. There was nothing there. I was hot and thirsty and you were gone. I didn’t have a choice but to give up. I tried to think about different ways I could earn my door, but there was nothing and nobody to be envious of, or rather not envious of. How did you do it?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is how we are going to earn this door, right?”

Phoebe looked away from me down the corridor to the left, then the right. “Which one do we choose? There are so many.”

As I helped her to her feet an idea came to me. “Maybe we don’t open any of them. I can’t imagine there would be anything good or helpful waiting for us. Perhaps we should just walk until we find something different?”

She nodded. “We can start with that. I’m just glad the temperature is decent. I can live with this.”

I chuckled. “We’ll see about that. I’m hoping you’re right. We both ’bout died in the last syde. I still don’t know why the prince let us go.”

“Perhaps your wife is helping? Nobody likes Lucifer. We all show him respect, because we have no choice, but that is why I helped you…because I can see in your eyes that there is another way besides his way. I have a feeling a lot of people in Hell would react the same if they could get past being scared.” She looked at me with terrified eyes. “Don’t leave me behind, Rhyan.”

“I swear I won’t.” I got to my feet and offered her my hand, then handed her the pack when she was standing and steady on her feet.

“Which way?” she asked.

I shrugged and started walking down the long corridor to my right. “This way is as good as any, I suppose.”

Thoros

Thoros sat, propped against his favorite oak in front of the Chamberlain home. He had expected Josselyn to have already returned, but waiting wasn’t bothering him.

He thumbed through a Hustler magazine, a little disturbed by the way women kept their bodies these days; some completely hairless, breast implants. He turned the magazine sideways and opened the centerfold. A broad smile graced his face as he imagined the tattooed, pierced female before him would please Velan very much.

He memorized her name, so he could check in on her later to see if possibly her time on Earth might be up soon. He wagered finding an excuse to take her sooner than planned wouldn’t be a problem.

Of course, Kitty Swallows was probably a fake name, unless her parents were warped in the head, but he had his way of finding even the oddest aliases some people chose to go by, and wasn’t the least bit put off by the handle.

He heard the pop come from inside the house and he quickly stood, folded the magazine and tucked it in his back pocket.

She didn’t come outside right away, but a smile spread across his face when he heard the cheers and laughing from hearing happy news.

The female angel would be eating out of his hand soon, he thought. No woman had ever been able to resist him after touching their lips to his. He wouldn’t even be surprised if she didn’t beg him to take her with him today, give up Heaven and all of her loved ones in exchange for waking up next to his body for all of eternity. It wasn’t like he would throw her out in the syde with the other minions. He would keep her safe and happy in his quarters, and Lucifer wouldn’t object as long as she could be convinced to give up her soul on a silver platter. Who needed a soul anyway? It’s not like the damn thing is good for anything, he thought, and then began to walk toward the house with his head held high and confident in his plan.

He’d reached the second step when the door opened and a very nervous looking Josselyn walked out.

Thoros held out his hand, palm up. “Wanna take a walk? I will be a perfect gentleman. I promise.”

She nodded, then started down the steps without touching him.

He rushed to catch up with her long, quick strides. “You in a hurry? I thought we’d—I don’t know, maybe take it a little slower, get to know one another first.”

She stopped and looked at him, then burst out laughing. “This isn’t a date, demon.”

His brow creased and he sucked in air through his teeth. “Ouch. Easy with the ‘D’ word. Not all demons are bad.”

She rolled her eyes, then started her speed-walking again. “I’m sure you’re sweet and innocent, Thoros. I can’t imagine you ever doing anything bad.”

“You can drop the sarcasm. My lustful way is what landed me in Hell. What I meant is, not all of us are mean. We have feelings, too, Josselyn, and right now you’re stomping all over mine.”

“Oh, good grief, you can’t be serious,” she said, and looked at him. His hand was over his heart and his bottom lip was poked out in a pout. It was obvious he’d been joking about his feelings being injured, but it made her laugh lightly which was probably what he was trying for anyway, she thought. “Okay,” she shrugged her shoulders and began walking at a slower pace, “I guess there is no real harm in walking a little slower.”

Thoros smiled. “That’s better. So, since this is our first non-date, let’s get to know each other a little better. How long have you been an angel?”

She grumbled incomprehensibly as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Does it really matter?”

“Look, if I’m going to let you kiss me, I need to know a few things about you first. What kind of reputation would I have if I just went around letting strange women kiss me?”

“You’re the Prince of Lust. I’m sure you do that kind of thing all the time.”

He shook his head. “Not anymore. I stopped recently; went cold-turkey on kissing strangers.”

“Ha! Since when?”

He stopped walking, and his brow furrowed as he realized what he was about to say was completely true. “Since I met you.”
What the hell is this woman doing to me?

Ignoring his weird behavior, Josselyn continued walking and answered him, “I think…about one hundred and sixty human years. It was in the mid eighteen hundreds when I died. I drowned while swimming.”

“Skinny-dipping?”

“Sorry to ruin your fantasy, but no.”

“Ever have children?” he asked, falling into step beside her once again.

She shook her head. “No. I never married.”

He chuckled. “So? I didn’t have a wife. It never stopped me from getting—”

She shot him a dirty look. “There is a reason I went to Heaven and you did not.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you never did anything sinful in your life?”

“I’m not trying to tell you anything.”

“Why not?”

“What’s the point?”

“Just because we are from different sides of the train tracks doesn’t mean we have to be enemies, Josselyn.”

“I’m not suggesting we are enemies, Thoros.”

“Well, then, let’s be friends.”

She stopped and glared at him. “Fine. We’re friends. Happy now?”

Thoros glanced around them, then shook his head. “I will be happy when you kiss me. You’re not going back on your word, are you?”

“No,” she snapped. “I just wanted to be far enough away from the house so the other angels don’t see us.”

Thoros turned to glance at the house. It was approximately two hundred yards away, and there wasn’t a chance of even Lucifer witnessing them lock lips from that distance. Plus, he’d made himself invisible when he arrived, so only Josselyn could see or sense him anyway.

He reached out with his hand and took hers. “I think we’re good here. You can kiss me now.”

She puffed out her cheeks, blowing out a breath. “How am I supposed to kiss you without you leaning down? You are at least six inches taller than I am.”

He smiled, then dropped to one knee in front of her. “This better?”

She growled silently in annoyance and desperately tried to think of a reason it wasn’t better so she could stall a little longer, but nothing came to her.

Josselyn swallowed nervously and closed the distance between their bodies.

Thoros grinned up at her, waiting patiently for her to make the move that would willingly make her fall under his spell.

“Don’t disappoint me,” he said with a smile.

She framed his face with shaky hands. His eyes locked with hers and any trace of anxiety radiating from her aura fell away to somewhere other than where they were. He could see in her eyes that she wanted to kiss him.

Josselyn shook her head. “I won’t.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up and then her lips met his.

Josselyn

The softness of his lips was unlike anything she’d ever felt. She’d kissed men before, but none had ever compared to the kiss with Thoros. It made her excited and hot and hungry for more.

Her fingers dove into his thick mane and he opened his mouth, allowing her tongue access to roam freely within. The instant her tongue found his she staggered back from the intensity of the blow straight to her core, but she didn’t fall. She only vaguely realized Thoros had stood and was holding her tightly to his body, and he was kissing her back with a fierce desire. The deep, throaty moans she heard coming from his throat seemed to be even louder than the ones involuntarily escaping her own.

Jesus, what is this amazing feeling and why haven’t I ever experienced it before?
She thought, and then gasped when he lifted her feet from the ground and wrapped her legs around his hips without breaking contact with her lips.

She didn’t object. She felt the bulge behind his zipper nudging against her sex and she pressed into him, bringing an undiluted cry of passion from his lips. She could imagine their clothes gone and him sliding deep inside her. The thought nearly made her lose her lust-filled mind.