Damned and Desirable (Eternally Yours Book 2) (19 page)

I stopped to catch my breath, suddenly aware of my strained breathing as I pressed cracked lips together. Closing my eyes, I willed the serpent that slithered down my back to remain still.

“Be calm, my baby,” I begged, or we both shall be turned to stone.

Ash

“Where am I?” I rubbed my aching head as I sat up. I was lying on some sort of lumpy straw pallet. Squinting, I saw flame flickering on grey stone walls just outside the iron bars that held me prisoner.

Prisoner! Wait!

I sucked in a gasp as the memories of the scorpion demon came flooding back. He’d intruded in Callum’s chamber. Why hadn’t Callum fought him? Then I remembered his prone body and festering wound.

Callum!

I fluttered to my knees, relieved that this time my hands and feet weren’t bound. A quick scan of my small cell and I found him on a straw pallet in a darkened corner. Tears streamed down my face as I crawled up to his body. Scorpius had spit anti-venom into Callum’s wound, but he still looked sick. I smoothed a hand across his forehead. He was burning up. Then again, he did breathe flame, so I assumed his skin would be a little flushed.

I hovered above him and examined his laceration. The oozing had subsided, and the skin had begun to scab over. Was that a good sign?

“Callum,” I whispered as I floated to my knees, stroking the soft scales on his face. “Wake up.”

I didn’t like the way his eyes rolled into the back of his head when I called his name. I didn’t like it at all. So much for the anti-venom. Scorpius had said his cure would hold him for now. Why hadn’t he completely cured him? Was he only keeping Callum alive so he could torture him again later?

I still had no idea what this demon wanted or why he’d captured me. Shadow had gone through an awful lot of trouble to bring me down to Hell. Whatever his master had in store for me was definitely not good.

I nearly squealed in delight when Callum’s eyes shot open.

“Callum!”

I helped him sit up, propping a fur behind him as he leaned against the cell wall. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, wincing as he looked down at his wound. He looked around the room, then at me, as if he was in a daze.

“Where’s my whiskey?” he asked.

Jeez. What was it with him and his whiskey? I wondered if they had AA for demonic dragons, because I was starting to think Aedan’s twin had a drinking problem.

I scanned the cell, but I didn’t see anything other than our two pallets. I took his clawed hands in mine and squeezed. “I’m sorry. I don’t see any whiskey.”

I didn’t know if the look of pain that crossed his features was due to his injury or if he was having alcohol withdrawal. Maybe this lockup was what he needed to go sober. Not that I was saying being a captive to the sadistic, poisonous Gatekeeper of Satan’s prison was a good thing.

When I heard the trickle of water nearby, I licked my parched lips, wishing I could have just a taste of the cool, refreshing beverage, but I reminded myself the water in Hell was tainted. Too bad, because I was so very thirsty. Hell’s hormone water made fluoridated tap seem like Evian.

Callum blinked a few more times, and then his eyes remained open. Good. He appeared more lucid. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” A frown marred his brow. “Are you?”

“I’m fine.” I tried my best to shake off his concern. He was so considerate, just like Aedan. I didn’t care what mistakes he’d made in the past, he didn’t deserve to be in Hell.

I followed his gaze as he scowled at something beyond our prison bars. I got a better look at our surroundings. This cell was different than the last one I’d been in. It was wider and the ceiling was much higher, so high they could have fit a giraffe inside, which was highly probable since I’d already met a dragon and scorpion demon; although, I didn’t think a giraffe ghoul would have been as badass.

On the other side of the bars, I thought I saw a bedroom, but the furnishings were not sparse like Callum’s den. This room actually had a bit of style for a cave dwelling. A four-poster bed was centered against the back wall, layered with what appeared to be plum-colored satin sheets. Beside it were antique lamps on rich, mahogany end tables. At the base of the bed was an embroidered wooden chest, and beyond that was a bistro table for two with a gleaming silver tea set in the center. Could this have been Scorpius’s room? He didn’t strike me as the kind of demon to have refined taste.

“Where are we?” I asked.

He scowled at our prison bars. “I’m assuming we’re at Kate’s place.”

A tic jumped in my jaw as my flesh began to crawl. Why did her name ring a bell? “Who’s she?” I asked, squeezing my hands into fists, bracing myself for his answer.

The despondent look in his eyes made my insides turn to butter. “Katherine Murphy O’Connor, Aedan’s wife.”

Awww, shit.

Why did I get the feeling dear old Aunt Kate would turn out to be the relative from Hell? I suspected she wouldn’t be bringing me homemade cookies and hand sewn Raggedy Anne dolls like my Great Aunt Clara used to make.

“Why would Scorpius bring us here?” I asked, fearing Kate’s role in my captivity. The ex-wife of my current boyfriend holding me hostage couldn’t be a good thing.

“She’s his most trusted demon and his whore.”

“I’m sure my stay at Aunt Kate’s will be fun,” I said wryly. I still wondered how Aedan’s brother had gotten tied up with all these nasty demons. After my flight over the fiery pit, I realized Hell was a fairly big place. Couldn’t Callum have moved farther away from them and not left a forwarding address? Hell still didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

Crossing my legs, I wrapped my wings around me. The feathers had filled out more in the past day, making them feel downy and soft. Considering all the ugly demons I’ve seen, I considered myself lucky my demon form was Big Bird-Zilla. “Tell me something,” I said.

He raked his hand through his hair as a puff of smoke blew out his nose. “What?”

I leaned forward, searching his eyes, and praying he’d answer honestly something that had been weighing on my mind since last night. “Why do you terrorize level one with the other demons?”

His wan face colored. “You mean the mortal realm?”

“Yes.”

He let out a deep sigh, and the smell of sulfur hit me square in the face. “Because Scorpius would torture me if I didn’t.”

“Oh.”

So he was forced to do it. That was understandable, but it only made me fear what Scorpius would try to make me do. I didn’t want to go all exorcist on unsuspecting mortals. Not since my rebellious stage in junior high had I terrorized anyone. I still felt bad about causing my eighth grade Spanish teacher to have a nervous breakdown, even if she was
loca de la cabeza
. But I still didn’t understand why demons went to Earth. Was it merely to steal black magic witches during rituals, or did Scorpius have darker plans? “Why does he send demons up there?”

He frowned. “I’m not sure, but every full moon he sends thirteen of us. Some say it’s a test.” I could tell by the deep lines around his eyes he was tired. I almost felt bad asking him all these questions. Almost. I didn’t know how much time we had together, and I had to glean as much information as possible about my nemesis. I knew I’d be preparing for the battle of my existence soon enough.

“For what?”

His eyes darkened as he dropped his voice. “To prepare us for the apocalypse.”

Eeek! As in Revelations, as in all Hell breaks loose on Earth? I was fairly certain my mom would ascend to Heaven during the second coming, but I had at least a dozen friends who’d be joining me in the pit of doom, or at the very best, on level two in Purgatory. “Do you think it will happen soon?”

“I hope not.” He cast his gaze to the stone ceiling. “Lord have mercy on the living if the Day of Judgment arrives. Scorpius will not hesitate to strike down those left behind.”

Scorpius? Screw that demon. I was more concerned about the most evil of all. “What about….” I paused to catch my breath, as my chest began to heave and sweat dripped down my brow. I spoke on a rush of air. “Satan?”

“Satan?” Callulm waved away my suggestion with a dismissive flick of the wrist. “He’s been banished to the thirteenth dimension. I don’t think even the apocalypse could free him.”

I exhaled a breath of relief. “That’s good to know.”

“On level one, Scorpius is the closest thing to Satan.” He rolled his eyes as he motioned toward the bars of our cage. “And he does a pretty good job at it.”

“What exactly does a Gatekeeper do again?” I vaguely remembered Callum telling me he held the key to my escape, which kind of sucked, because I had the feeling Scorpius wasn’t releasing that key anytime soon.

“He holds the key to the elevator. We can’t pass the guard without his permission. Once our three hours are up, he resets the elevator, and it will find us no matter where we are.

If Scorpius has to come after us, there will be Hell to pay.”

Damn. Scorpius didn’t just hold the key to the underworld; he had Hell by the balls. “Do you earn credits for your hauntings?”

He arched a brow, a ring of smoke escaping from his mouth. “What are those?”

“In Purgatory credits are a point system so you can move up levels.”

“There is no point system here. In Hell, you either keep your head or you don’t.” He threw up his hands, waving to our dank dungeon. “You either die another death, or you survive another day in this hellish nightmare.”

Double damn. Hell was looking more dismal by the hour. And why exactly did Callum think Aedan could pull off a rescue? Judging by the way things were going for us, Aedan would probably find himself some demon’s bitch or else a pile of soot shortly after setting foot in Hell. This was exactly why Aedan said he couldn’t save me if I ever landed in the basement. He was being realistic while Callum was just blowing smoke. There was no way Aedan was coming for me.

I dropped my head into my hands, doing my best to hold back tears, and though I didn’t know if it would do any good, I prayed. I begged God to take pity on his wayward, fallen angel. I promised I’d live a good afterlife from now on. No more ghosting for me, either. I’d take whatever crappy job I could find in Purgatory, so I could go back to my friends and family. I missed my grandma and uncle, I missed my dog, and I really missed Aedan. I wondered how he’d manage without me. Would he go up to Heaven and try to reconcile with Mar? And who would look after Jack? Would Boner keep him, or would Jack finally reincarnate as a human, forgetting all about his best friend?

“Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into a pickle, niece.”

I gasped as I looked up at the woman standing above me. Again, I was stunned by how much she looked like me, minus the frizzy hair, wings, and jaundice. How had she gotten in and had she come to help me? She was an angel after all. Maybe God had finally taken pity on me. “Aunt Mar?”

“No, not Aunt Mar.” Callum groaned as heavy creases marred his damp brow. “Your nettle.”

My nettle! As if my afterlife couldn’t get any worse.
“I thought my nettle was Travis.”

He held up two fingers as color finally returned to his cheeks. “I have two nettles. Most demons do.”

I spun around and looked up at her as she smoothed a hand through her perfectly flawless hair. “Shit.”

“Looks like I’m not going to get a word in edgewise,” she said, rolling her eyes.

My wings buzzed with agitation as I slowly stood, balling my hands into fists. “There’s nothing you have to say worth hearing.”

“Of course not,” she said with a perky voice as she smiled much too sweetly. “Well, how’s your foray into damnation going?”

I looked down at Callum, unable to restrain the whine in my voice. “Callum, please?”

He nodded and held up a hand. “Help me up.”

I grunted, flapping my wings as I struggled to help Callum to his feet. He was by no means a small demon.

“Is he your lover now that Aedan has spurned you?”

Keep your cool, Ash. She wants to piss you off.

“Aedan didn’t spurn me.” My tone was devoid of emotion, though my skull was a boiling steam cooker ready to explode.

“Stay back.” Callum pushed me behind him.

“Calling you another woman’s name in bed?” Her laughter was a high-pitched siren rattling my eardrums. “What is that if not spurning? We all know the only reason he’s with you is because you look like m—”

Her scream was short-lived as Callum unleashed his fire. In a matter of seconds, my nettle was a pile of dust on the floor.

I pressed a hand against Callum’s back. “Thank you.”

His muscles stiffened beneath my touch.

“So is it your goal to sleep with all my women?”

My limbs froze at the familiar sound of my boyfriend’s booming voice. “Aedan!” I stepped from behind Callum and held out my arms.

But Aedan refused to look at me, his heated gaze centered on Callum.

“No,” Callum growled as he pushed me back, “not Aedan.”

“I can hardly look at you much less call you my broth—”

My breath hitched when I saw Callum’s back expand with air. “No!” I screamed as I tried to push past him. Then I shielded my eyes as Callum’s blinding white fire lit up the room.