I pressed my free hand to my chest, feeling the key tucked into the cloth there. No, I was sure I wasn’t dead, and that had to mean I could still find my way home. I mentally grabbed onto that hope with both hands and told myself I wouldn’t be spending the rest of my life trapped in Hell.
“My treasure,” the crazy guy purred close by. He inhaled deeply. “I need.”
Dropping my hand from the key, I started forward again, not wanting to tempt him further. Between the way he coveted the treasure hidden in my bindings and my skin, I expected it wouldn’t be long before he snapped. And then what?
My mind scrambled to find a way out of this mess. I didn’t know a thing about Hell except that the furies reaped the souls of the wicked and delivered those souls here. Souls of the damned. But I knew the underworld was home for more than the souls the furies delivered. All souls found their resting, or unresting, places here.
A thought hit me hard, and I stopped again.
My uncle.
He’d killed himself a month ago. While I knew nothing about Hell, maybe he’d know more. Maybe even a way out. It was a stretch, but it was all I had. Any plan was better than no plan, right?
Since Megan had placed the woman’s soul in a room, I just needed to search rooms until I found his. My fragile optimism shriveled at the memory of the rooms I’d been in. Monsters had occupied the majority of them, not souls.
Fine. Then I would need to explore rooms cautiously. Very, very cautiously.
I set out again with renewed purpose. At the next door I found, I paused and pressed my ear against the wood.
“No, no, no,” crazy-man murmured. “She will be angry if she goes in there. No game. No pain. Better to suffer.”
While I heard nothing beyond the door, his words made me hesitate to try the latch. He hadn’t hesitated to face off with the creatures who’d chased me or the glutton. If he didn’t want to face whatever was inside, then neither did I.
I continued on without opening the door.
“Yes. Watch her move. She glides.” His words carried a wistful note. “My treasure. Call to me. A word. A voice. I hate silence. I hate nothing.”
At the next one, I paused again to listen, and he repeated his brokenly worded warning. The third door, though, received his indifference as he talked about wanting my skin.
I tested the latch, and it opened to more darkness. What I wouldn’t give for a light switch. Or my phone. Rather than stepping inside, I blindly slid my hands along the hall wall and felt for the next torch.
“Pretty game,” crazy-man said. “I will play. Pretty blind goddess. I will give you light.”
A flame burst into existence a few feet away. I grabbed the torch and worked it free of its holder.
When I turned, crazy-man was leaning casually against the wall near the door. The effortless, sensual pose made my heart trip. But, I knew I couldn’t do anything to give away the fact that I could see him.
Feeling the intensity of his gaze, I walked past him—close enough that he leaned in and inhaled deeply—and peered inside the open room. The torchlight didn’t go far, forcing me to walk deeper into the space until I could see the barren stone walls.
Empty.
While slightly disappointed that I hadn’t discovered a roomful of souls, I had still found a space I needed. My only problem was my follower. Turning slowly, as if examining the room, I saw he lingered in the hall.
With my pulse racing, I retraced my steps and quickly closed the door in his face. Already fumbling for the key between my boobs, I glanced at the latch. It didn’t have a lock.
On the other side of the door, he gave a low chuckle, which made me nervous. In all the crazy-man’s ramblings, he’d yet to sound amused. Desperate, tortured, and insane? Yes. But not softly amused.
Slowly, I backed away. The door remained closed and the latch silent.
Keeping my gaze on the door, I sank to the floor and wondered if he’d stay out there, safely away from my skin. When he didn’t try the latch after a few minutes, I set the torch far enough to the side that my dress wouldn’t catch fire. Then I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes.
I just needed to rest for a few minutes. Then I’d continue my search. My eyes closed, and I exhaled tiredly. Everything grew heavier, and I sank close enough to sleep that I did that full-body jerk thing. I knew I should get up. I knew it would be stupid to sleep. But I was so exhausted. Emotionally and physically.
The latch moved, and the sound of metal brushing against metal jolted me out of my semi-aware state. I grabbed the torch and stood at the same time crazy-man strode into the room.
Unfocused because of the startle, I looked right at his torso and saw far more than I should have. His golden, lean abs. That interesting v that led into the pants that hung low on his hips.
Gods, he was mouthwatering, I thought as my gaze trailed lower.
