“Hey, hey,” I say, quickly righting her. “Let me take you out of here.”
But where? If I take her to my villa on the banks of the Lethe, my brood won’t give us a moment of privacy. If I take her to my ziggurat, she will be offended by the much less visually appealing demons in my armies.
Well… there is one place. We would be alone. There would be only one entrance and exit I could easily ward against intruders. I could fill it with luxuries, flowing gowns, heavy jewels—things human women killed for in the past.
It would only be temporary, of course. No female has ever held my interest for longer than a fortnight, and I imagine this one only has because, as one of the mortals under the Council’s protection, she was forbidden and out of reach. Once I seduce her and she gives in, inevitably dulling that spark of intrigue, I’ll return her to the Fallen in Purgatory.
I take Simone into my arms, and she struggles weakly, mumbling protests even as her eyes drift closed. She’s all elbows and knees and so light—I’ll have Forneus, my majordomo, bring her food from the finest restaurants in Paris.
“Shh,” I tell my little fairy as I straighten to my full height. “You’ll be safe soon.”
From everything but me.
8
SIMONE
The sound of gently trickling water wakes me up from disturbing dreams. An angel came and flew me out of Hell on wings of silky indigo feathers. The smell of orchids drifts through the air, a welcome change from dust and ash and sulfur.
Did an angel actually take me to Heaven? I thought Maalik said our kind aren’t welcome there. But maybe they thought I suffered enough?
When I open my eyes, I’m disappointed to find a mostly bare rocky ceiling above me. It’s a pale gray stone with climbing vines and various white blooming flowers. I turn toward the sounds of water and find a gently steaming stream winding through the cave with more flowers growing around it.
Where am I? How did I get here?
As I sit up, my stomach cramps, and I double over. How long has it been since I last ate? I remember my granola bars, then the imp and the burn on my cheek. Hesitantly, I touch it and find it smeared with some kind of ointment. Did someone help me?
Taking stock of the rest of my body, I see I’m still in my leatherarmor. I exhale in relief—no one undressed me while I was unconscious. I realize I’m lying in a very plush, round bed, surrounded by colorful pillows in jewel colors. And on a low table next to it, a feast is spread.
My mouth waters as I take in plates of cold cuts, slices of various artisan breads, and an assortment of creamy spreads. There are also layered trays full of macarons—my absolute favorite dessert.
I only hesitate a moment, wondering if the spread before me is too good to be true. But between my cramping stomach and shaky limbs, I figure I’m not going to survive long without eating. With shaking hands, I pour myself a glass of lemonade, eagerly gulping it down. Then I attack the meats and cheeses, finishing it all off with every last macaron. Too late, I think to pace myself—what if this is all the food I’m going to get for who knows how long? I should pack whatever’s left, find out where I am, then get back to my teammates in Abaddon.
With that in mind, I slide off the bed and start exploring the cave. Everything is illuminated by torches and shafts of light coming from high above. It’s odd to find pieces of furniture in a cave, isn’t it? Like they fell out of the sky and landed here.
I crouch next to the water, debating if I should dip my fingers inside. What if it’s like the Lethe and I lose my memories? I’m already fuzzy on so many things right now. Though, of course, some parts of my life I could do with forgetting. In the end, I decide not to risk it.
Following the cave wall, I find what looks like the exit—a dark corridor that seems to lead away from here. So I’ll need one of the torches, as well as food and drinks. I walk to the nearest torch and try to lift it from its holder. My hand goes right through it.
“What the…”
I try again with the same result. It’s like an illusion! I don’t feel any warmth coming from it either, though the ground and stream are warm enough to make the cave a comfortable temperature. Are all the torches ghosts?
I walk from one to another, desperately testing them all. None of them are real. How is this possible? The Fallen have been trying to teach us a lot of things, but manifesting illusions? We’re all probably hundreds, if not thousands, of years away from being able to do anything like it.
How am I going to see where I’m going? I’m nowhere near being able to summon fire—maybe just a spark, and the attempts drain me. I guess I’ll have to hope more of the cave is lit up by cracks from above. Heck, maybe the exit is just around the corner.
Determined, I wrap what’s left of the food in napkins, then stuff it in my empty backpack. I check my hidden pockets for weapons, horrified to find them all gone.
“What was I doing?” I ask myself, my voice echoing back at me. Was I fighting and have no memory of it? Or did I somehow get robbed? Maybe whoever brought me here took them. “How am I going to get back to Purgatory without my weapons?”
“You won’t,” a calm male voice replies, seemingly coming from everywhere.
I startle, dropping the backpack onto the stone floor.
The disembodied entity clicks his tongue. “What a waste of good food.”
“Show yourself,” I demand, my voice shaky and uncertain. I’m not sure that I want him to show himself. What if it’s some enormous demonic minion, like a behemoth? What am I meant to do, especially with no weapons?
