I took in my surroundings and found I was in a large room made entirely of gleaming black marble. Everything in here was black. The bed I lay in seemed to have been carved from ebony, and the sheets that lay beneath my body were like liquid ink. I also seemed to be dressed in a midnight silk robe. I wiggled a little and felt my heart sink when I realized I was naked beneath it.
There was a heavy black-lacquered wardrobe, two leather armchairs before a crackling obsidian fireplace full of viridian flames, and a large chessboard set by a window that looked out into an endless night sky. My eyes widened as I took in the green fire. What thefuck? On either side of the bed were heavy end tables with several drawers. The black marble tops were christened with gothic lamps topped with velour shades.
‘Let’s go to Hell.’Was the last thing Reaver… or I guessRamel,had said before I lost consciousness. WasthisHell? I eyed the green flames crackling ominously in the fireplace and frowned. Definitely hellish.
On the other side of the room was an ornate black door. It creaked open, and I gasped as Chaos stuffed his little cat face in the crack to nudge the door farther open.
“Chaos?”I rasped as he trotted merrily up to me, hopping up on the bed. “How did you get here?” He had always followed me everywhere, but following me to freakingHellwas impressive. I squinted at him, making sure it was really my cat. Sure enough, it was him. I would know him anywhere.
‘Meow!’he chirped. I stared at him, trying to figure out how on earth my cat had followed me into the fucking underworld when abruptly, he shifted and changed right before my eyes.
Suddenly, it wasn’t Chaos sitting on the edge of the bed, but Shem. He grinned at me, his green eyes glinting in the starlight.
“Hey, Lil. Welcome to Hell,” he said, and fury exploded through my chest. His grin didn’t falter or shift at all as he took in the rage on my face. The corner of his mouth kicked up, and he cocked his head to the side. “You don’t seem very happy to see me,” he chuckled.
“You’reChaos?!” I screeched. I lunged for him, momentarily forgetting that I was chained to the fucking bed, and he laughed softly.
“Yeah, sorry about that. You give great cuddles, though.” He reached out and patted my leg, mischief flashing in his eyes. “I could cuddle you right now if you’re interested,” he purred, and I spat at him. He waved a hand, and my spit disappeared before it could land. He tutted his tongue.
“None of that, Lilith. I may not be as depraved as your soon-to-be husband, but I’m still a demon. It’s probably not a good idea to piss me off.”
“You’ve beenspyingon me, haven’t you!?” I snarled, replaying recent events with the new understanding that Shem and my fucking cat were the same person and that he had been working with the enemy!
Shem had seen me hug Sam that day and made some shitty comment asking why I never hugged him like that. He must have fucking told Reaver!
He had hissed at me that first night he had seen me with the box cutter, and then Death had shown up shortly after.
He hadn’t left the room when I had been touching myself because he hadsensedReaver coming.He had gone to fucking tell him!
He patted a hand on my bare leg, stroking my thigh softly. He gave me a look that said he knew he should be sorry but really wasn’t.
“I’m afraid so, little Lilith,” he said as he stood up, moving to one of the end tables. He opened a drawer and leisurely perused through its contents. I strained against my manacles, trying to see what he was doing.
Suddenly, my mind processed something else he had just said, and my blood ran cold.
“You just said that Ramel was mysoon-to-be husband.What did you mean by that?” Speaking of the literal Devil, wherewasReaver? Or I guess Ramel… Reaver, Death, the Grim Reaper… whoever the fuck he was.
Shem glanced up from whatever he was looking for in the drawer and gave me a considering look.
“Ramel is going to claim you as his bride. Together, you will rule Hell, with me too, of course. As long as we can get Yahweh to agree. You probably know Him better as God.”
I frowned at this. “I don’t understand. Ramelhatesme. Why would he want to marryme?”
Shem sighed. “Ramel doesn’t hate you, Lilith. He’sobsessedwith you. Always has been. This is not the first time you’ve gotten us into trouble. I would have told you sooner, but Yahweh bound my words long ago so I wouldn’t be able to interfere with His twisted games.”
He continued rummaging while he spoke. “All I can say is, if I were you, I would stop fighting it. This can either be really enjoyable for you or really long, drawn out, and painful. Either way, fate will run its course. You belong to us now, so submit, or we will force you to submit.”
“I don’t know what thefuckyou’re talking about! I don’t want to marry the demon that has tormented me my whole fucking life! I want to go home.”
“I’m sorry, Lilith, but this is your home now.” He brightened as he seemed to finally find what he was looking for. He turned to face me, holding a long black object in one hand and a soft pink teardrop-shaped object in the other. I frowned, trying to make out what they were.
“Black or pink?” he asked, and my heart skipped a beat in my chest as he pressed a button. The two silicone objects started to vibrate in his hands.
Oh, hell no…
“You’re sick,” I gasped, kicking away from him while he gave me a dazzling smile. The same smile I had seen him flash at guests for four fucking years at Voodoo. How had I not seen what he truly was? An evil, depraved fuckingdemon!
“If you don’t want to pick, I’ll have to choose for you. I’ve always been partial to black.” He smirked and tossed the pink toy back into the drawer before climbing up onto the bed.
