For a split second, from behind, she could have sworn it was Darrak, and her breath caught.
But it wasn’t.
“Excuse me.” She caught his arm to slow him down and he looked at her curiously.
He cocked his head. “Let me guess. Succubus, right?”
“Me?” She swallowed. “You guessed it.”
“I can spot them a mile away. You’re too beautiful to be anything else.”
Andy groaned.
Great. Just what she needed right now. A pickup line from Hell.
The demon glanced at Andy. “Nice hellhound.”
“Thank you,” Eden said.
He reached his hand out to her. “The name’s Stefano.”
After a slight hesitation she shook his hand. He felt warm and human, even though she was sure he was anything but. “Eden.”
“What an adorably ironic name. Tell me, Eden, are you bearing delicious forbidden fruit?”
She cringed. “And this is Andy.”
Stefano released her hand after one more squeeze and glanced at the hellhound. “Are you protecting your mistress from any unwanted attention at the market today? Are you a good hellhound? Yes, you are!”
Andy growled, low in his throat. A line of drool slid off his jowls and dribbled to the ground.
“Not so friendly, is he?”
“You’re an incubus, aren’t you?” Eden said.
“How did you know?”
Good-looking and not too smart. Dead giveaway. “You remind me a little of somebody—somebody I’m looking for.”
“Name?”
She hesitated. “Darrak.”
He pursed his lips. “Never heard of him. If he doesn’t show up, I have a little bit of downtime. I’d love to get to know you better, Eden. You and your hound.”
“Is this loser for real?”
Andy asked.
Luckily Eden was the only one who could hear him.
Stefano looked down at Andy with surprise. “Your hellhound talks?”
Okay, maybe Eden wasn’t the only one who could hear him.
“He’s, uh . . . special. Look, Stefano, I’m hoping you can help me with something very important—”
“A talking hellhound. That’s incredible!” He crouched down and braced his hands on his thighs. “Say something else, boy. Speak!”
Andy blinked.
“I really don’t need this right now. But, woof.”
Eden had to take control of this situation again. “Do you know how to get to the Void from here?”
Stefano froze and slowly looked at her before rising back up to his six feet plus of height. “The Void.”
“Yes, it’s a place of endless nothing where demons go when they’re destroyed.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of what the Void is. I’m just wondering what a beautiful succubus like yourself and her talking hellhound would want with a place like that.”
Her stomach churned. “Forget it. Obviously you don’t know.”
“I don’t know precisely. But as soon as one leaves the safety of the market you’d be able to feel its pull. It’s not far from here.”
She felt the first pinprick of hope since she’d arrived. “How do I leave the market?”
“Wait a minute . . .” He was silent for a moment, studying her. “You’re not a succubus at all, are you? I was wrong.”
She didn’t like the look on his face. It was suspicious, searching, and the flirtatious friendliness from a minute ago was fading quickly.
“I need to get out of this market,” she said firmly. “Tell me how to do that.”
“There’s a mild spell on the entire area to keep the customers shopping for as long as possible. You have to really want to leave before you can break away from it.”
“Trust me, I really want to leave.”
“So you can go to the Void.”
She kept her mouth closed. Andy began to growl again.
Stefano drew closer, inhaling. “I smell something sweet.” His eyes narrowed. “Something that shouldn’t be here. What are you really, Eden?”
“A visitor.”
“Whose visitor?”
“Lucifer’s.”
Stefano flinched at the name, but he didn’t look as if he believed her. “I smell angel. An angel in the Netherworld. Not a very good idea. Much too dangerous a place for a sweet little thing like you.”
Before her very eyes, he shifted his form until he grew taller, broader. His skin became leathery and the red of bricks, his horns long and curved and shiny black. His lips peeled back from sharp yellow teeth. “Maybe I should have a taste of that sweetness. I hear angels are delicious.”
He grabbed hold of her arm. Andy clamped his teeth into the demon’s shin.
And Eden summoned magic into her hands and blasted the incubus back from her. He landed on his back ten feet away, looking up at her, dazed.
She looked down at the demon. “I’m not that sweet anymore.”
“What the—?” He tried to get up.
Eden held out her hand to stop him. “Follow me and you’re going headfirst into the Void. Hear me?”
He stayed on the ground. “Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s more like it.”
She touched the cold surface of her amulet, but didn’t risk looking at it. A little black magic was worth it sometimes when she could avoid being a demon’s snack.
“We’re out of here, Andy. Come on.”
“You got it.”
Stefano said she had to really want to leave the market. This time she walked out with purpose, with no hesitation, and with every ounce of determination she could summon. There was a slight pulling sensation as she reached the outer breaches of the crowd and noise, but then with a small pop, she broke through.
Out here there was darkness, silence, and a look over her shoulder now showed the market far in the distance even though she’d only taken a few steps away from it.
“I hate this place,” she whispered.
“Me too. But I have good news.”
“Yeah? I could use some of that right about now.”
“He said that once we were out of the market we could feel the pull of the Void.”
She shook her head. “I can’t feel anything.”
“Well, I can. I bet Lucifer made me into a hellhound for that reason. I can guide you there.”
Eden let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding and nodded. “Then lead the way.”
“Well?” Theo asked. “Not to hurry you along, but I do have stuff to do.”
Darrak glared at him, feeling the pull of the Void behind him. “And you’re trying to convince me that you’re not Lucifer.”
“I’m not Lucifer.”
“How do I know that for sure?”
Theo inspected his fingernails for a moment. “Because if I was Lucifer I would have already gone Sparta on your ass and kicked you into the Void just to see the look of shock on your face.”
He had an excellent point.
“Does everyone get a deal like this before they’re gone forever?”
“No,” Theo said. “Most are introduced to the Void like a balled-up piece of garbage tossed into a garbage can before they have any idea what’s going on, rather than moseying up to the edge like this all subtle-like.”
“Then why me?”
“Because I think you could still be useful to me.”
Darrak wracked his mind, trying to find the answers he needed. “Are you one of the other demon lords? You want me to work exclusively for you if I agree to this? Keep the soul energy away from Lucifer?”
“I’m not a demon lord. And your time is ticking away. Just over two minutes left.”
The draw of the gaping chasm of darkness behind him was growing stronger, he felt it like long fingers sliding underneath his skin, like branches growing up over the jagged cement sides and wrapping around his ankles. It would be pointless to try to fight it. It already had him in its clutches, but now it was waiting before yanking him that last bit backward.
But something kept Darrak fighting, hoping for a solution.
A demon who hoped. Sure, that made sense.
What was down there? Would he land somewhere eventually? Is that where the rumor of the torturous pain came from before you were finally gone forever? Who started that rumor if no one had ever survived the plunge? He was in pain right now, but it was still manageable. He’d experienced much worse in his long existence.
“What do you care about, demon?” Theo asked.
Strange question. “Care about?”
“Is it only yourself? In these last minutes, are you only concerned about yourself and your own well-being?”
“It is top of mind.”
“But not completely. If it was, then you’d already have given me your answer. I need you to speak the words, demon. Say you’re willing to devote your future to killing innocent humans in order to save your own skin. Come on, it’ll be totally fun. Any normal demon would have already jumped on this opportunity, and you know it.”
“Can’t it be evil humans?” Darrak hated the catch in his voice as he said it. “Criminals, serial killers, blackhearted assholes with no chance at redemption?”
Theo laughed. “You’re hilarious. Of course not. What value does a black soul have down here? Zero. Just more cannon fodder. The true value in a place of ultimate darkness comes from the smallest infusion of light.”
He wanted to say yes. He did. But something stopped him, something apart from the invisible ropes that now tied him to the Void. Something else wrapped around his chest and squeezed tight.
“Thirty seconds, demon.” Theo crossed his arms.
Thirty seconds to decide his ultimate fate.
That redhead . . . had he really seen her? Was she just a figment of his imagination? Why did he think of her now when he was so close to the end? This was it. If he wasn’t able to wrap his mouth around the word
yes
—such a simple word considering how much it would mean—then it was all over.
His mind went again to the kids—his first assignment after saving his own sorry neck. It was a deal he once would have taken in a second and not given it another moment’s thought.
But he wasn’t that demon anymore. And he never would be again.
Oh, hell.
“That deal of yours?” Darrak said.
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you go ahead and shove it right up your ass?”
Theo’s lips curved. “Is that your answer? Are you saying no to me?”
A small part of him was screaming, wanting to change his mind while there was still a chance to survive, say anything to get out of this. But a larger part of him knew without any doubt that this was the right thing to do.
The right thing. A demon choosing to do something because it was the right thing to do. Hilarious.
“I’d tell you to go to Hell,” he said firmly. “But that would be a bit moot. My answer is no. Capital N, capital O. And that
is
my final answer, asshole.”
For emphasis, he gave the grinning entity the finger.
Theo cocked his head. “So it’s true, you have changed.”
Darrak just glowered at him. Then he staggered back a step as the Void’s hold on him tightened another notch.
“One final chance, demon.”
Darrak’s fists clenched. “Blow me.”
“No, thanks.” Theo shrugged. “Okay, I asked three times. You answered three times. It is decided. For the record, I think you should feel really good about yourself. Go you! Buh-bye now.”
The Void’s grip tightened like an iron fist, pulling Darrak backward. He fell to the ground and clawed at the cement. The very edge of the cliff face pushed against his shoe before it broke away, and then he was hanging on to the side of the Void by only his hands, his feet dangling over endless darkness.
So this is how it ends
, he thought.
Awesome.
Was this really it? Was he willing to give up?
Something kept him holding on. Something with as much of a grip on him as the damn Void had. He couldn’t let go. Not yet.
“Theo! Get back here!” he yelled, calling the name of the friend he’d already lost. The entity using Theo’s face didn’t reappear. He was gone, his job was done, and Darrak was alone to face his chosen fate.
No rewards in Hell for making the selfless decision, that was for damn sure.
This wasn’t a huge surprise.
It felt as if they’d been walking forever when a voice echoed off the dark brick buildings surrounding them.
“Theo! Get back here!”
Eden gasped. “That’s Darrak! It’s him!”
“I think you’re right!”
Andy started running then, although it wasn’t without effort. Whatever was in the air around here was starting to cause him some pain.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Watch out!”
A hand clamped down on her shoulder. She spun to see who it was and was shocked to see the face of Theo, Darrak’s demonic BFF who’d been destroyed two weeks ago.
He didn’t exist. Not anymore. And yet here he was.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Theo said.
“Let go of me.” She tried to summon her magic, but it fizzled in her hand before she could get even a spark going.
“It’s too late, Eden. Let him go.”
She glared at him. “Never!”
She turned and ran, racing around the corner up ahead and then skidded to a halt, shocked at what she saw stretching out before her. There was a huge crater in the ground that reminded her of the Grand Canyon. She’d been there once as a kid; her mom had taken the day away from the tables to take Eden on a helicopter ride above the canyon. It seemed so big and vast and expansive. A world wonder. At the time it had filled her with awe.
This, on the other hand, filled her with fear because she knew what it was.
The Void.
And Darrak was nowhere to be seen.
Theo was right. It was too late.
No, damn it, it wasn’t! She’d just heard him. She couldn’t have missed him by mere seconds. Life wasn’t that unfair.
“Darrak!” she yelled. “Where are you? Answer me!”
TWENTY-ONE
The sound of her voice brought Darrak’s memories back so forcefully it almost made him lose his already shaky grip on the side of the cliff.
The redhead.
Eden.
Terrific. Now he was hallucinating. In his last moments of existence, he thought of her. Not a huge surprise, really. After all, she was the only thing in the universe he cared about.
She’d be proud he’d made the right decision about the kids. So selfless. So unlike him. It almost made him smile.