Hell's Gift (3 page)

She looked over to where Malcolm was seated beside her, then her gaze dropped to her lap. “Yes, of course I want Rhyan to return,” she said quietly, but she could feel his eyes burning holes in her head, trying to figure out what she wasn’t saying. Her excitement had almost caused her tongue to be too loose.

Isaiah cleared his throat to bring the attention back to him. “I think we are done here. There is no way for us to see the decisions he makes, so all we can do is pray he follows the right path. He will be advised that he does have a chance to return if he completes the task. The task being, that he bring his soulmate back with him. That decision will be his and his alone.” He stood from his chair. “You are dismissed.”

Rhyan

I was taking in my surroundings and sidestepped just in time to miss a large pile of feces on the cobblestone in my path. It was too large to have been from any animal I’d ever had the courage to meet face-to-face. I might be an angel, and technically immortal, but I can be injured when in human form.

Pogo chuckled in front of me. I was really starting to question whether he would be more help or harm in the end. I actually already knew the answer to that, but any help was better than no help, right?

I didn’t have much trouble getting my location out of him after my door appeared. There weren’t a whole lot of places I could have ended up after what I’d said. I knew I wasn’t in Heaven any longer, and it was evident I wasn’t on Earth. It’s my own fault that I ended up in Hell. A good guardian angel would have never done something so careless and stupid. And now there was nothing I could do about it.

My surroundings puzzled me. There was a great fog or smoke blanketing everything. And there were no trees or vegetation as far as I could see. Small stone huts lined the wide walkway, but I didn’t notice anyone besides me and Pogo about. Ash floated lightly from the dark gray sky above, and I held my hand out, letting a few pieces fall upon my skin so I could rub the burnt residue between my fingers.

I yelped and quickly wiped my hand on my pants, but I could already see tiny blisters forming on my fingers and the threads beginning to fray where I had wiped the acid-like residue on my perfect, heavenly clothing. It once had been impossible to get the clothing dirty or alter it in any way, but it sadly looked like that wasn’t the case any longer. It was evident I was in Hell.

I realized that Pogo was snickering lightly, and I also noticed that he was wearing a raincoat, complete with hood, that must have kept the acid ash from his skin and clothing.

“Where the hell—” I bit my lip and growled out my frustration. “Where did you get the raincoat?” I cried out, grabbing the back of my neck and arm simultaneously as a few more ashes found my bare skin.

He turned and gave me an innocent, clueless look. “It doesn’t rain here. Why would I have a raincoat?”

Of course it didn’t rain in Hell. Why would he have a raincoat? I asked myself sarcastically, then rolled my eyes. If the thing he was wearing wasn’t obviously three times too small for me, I would’ve taken it from him and made him suffer through the burning ashes. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as I counted to ten in my head. “What is that thing you are wearing over your clothing?” I said as calmly as I could manage through my teeth.

He snickered. “Oh, this old thing? It’s an acid jacket. The acid that’s falling from the sky will eat through anything except these.” He tugged a little at the collar, hiding himself even further inside the safe material.

I knew if I opened my mouth to speak that I would shout at him, and I didn’t know who or what might be listening. Catching the attention of anyone else was not on my to-do list on my journey through Hell. I hadn’t ever heard of anyone escaping Hell, but I solely lived by the motto that ‘there is always a first time for everything’ and ‘where there is a will there is a way’. I had to get out so I could guide Kendra. Heaven knew Josselyn wouldn’t be able to take care of her the way that I could.

“What do you say?” Pogo said, snapping me out of my subconscious plan to escape Hell.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I really didn’t need to be drifting off in thought while standing in plain sight for just anyone to aim something nasty at me. “Huh? What do I say about what?”

“Getting you an acid jacket.” He looked up to the poisonous gray ceiling above us. “This is only a light drizzle; most of the time it’s coming down much heavier. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to be caught out in it then.”

What was he talking about? I didn’t want to be caught out in it now. “Well, that’s about the only thing I’ve trusted that has come out of your mouth. Get me a jack…”

Something grabbed my arm and I jerked, quickly realizing that it had been a man that couldn’t have possibly weighed more than eighty pounds, but folds of skin hung in layers over his brittle bones. He was minus an acid jacket as well, and his clothes and skin showed the signs of the burns. “Please, sir,” he said as he looked up at me with sad, hungry eyes. “Might you ’ave a bite of bread you can spare?”

I gave Pogo a nervous glance. He crossed his arms over his small chest and grinned at me. I looked back to the starving man and shook my head. “I don’t have anything. I’m sorry.”

The little man’s eyes narrowed up at me, pure hatred and unsaid threats evident in his glare. He took a step closer to me. “You lie. The bastards told you not to feed me, didn’t they? Didn’t they?” he shouted.

I shook my head, confused by the sudden change of his mood. “Honestly, I just got here. I don’t have anything I can give you.” I backed up a step, putting my hands up, yet he still continued to move closer.

He stopped, turning his head to the side to study me further. His eyes seemed to glaze over. “Well, then I will eat you,” he said, and lunged at me.

I didn’t have time to think about what to do. He came at me with his mouth open wide, ready to take a bite out of whatever part of my body he could sink his teeth into first.

I just reacted. I blocked his feather-like hit with my forearm, then grabbed his throat and threw him to the ground. I wasn’t trying to hurt him, but I wasn’t giving him a chance to bite me either.

I looked into his eyes full of fury. “I don’t have anything to give you, and you aren’t going to eat me. I hope you understand what I’m saying, because I won’t be so nice the next time you try to take a bite.” I got to my feet, leaving him on his back to get over his mad spell on his own, and I returned to Pogo.

Feeling a sharp pain on the back of my left thigh, I let out a roar, then punched the top of the little man’s head until his pointy teeth broke free of me. I pushed him back, but he snarled and came at me again like a rabid dog. I swung my leg around, drop kicking him to the ground, then placed my boot on his windpipe and began to transfer my body weight from one foot to the other.

“Enough!” a female voice said. I looked up, but continued to apply the pressure that was required of my foot to keep the guy’s throat under my boot.

She was tall for a female; I’d say maybe five-nine or five-ten, putting her still a couple inches shorter than myself. I couldn’t tell much else about her, because she was covered in a black cape, complete with a hood that shadowed her face from my sight. The acid ash didn’t seem to be affecting the satiny fabric, and I remembered Pogo had told me the acid would eat through anything except for the acid jackets; another lie that had escaped his mouth. Surprise, surprise.

“I hope you’re talking to him,” I snapped, pulling myself away from analyzing her further.

She laughed heartily, then paused as she shook her head. “Actually, I wasn’t.” She took a step closer to me and I transferred my weight a little more, making the cannibal below my foot let out a squeak. She froze, which was really wise of her, I thought.

“You can’t be serious. I guess you think it’s perfectly fine for people to go around eating other people,” I said, and watched as the shoulders lifted then fell under the cape. All she needed was a sickle and she could’ve played the part of Death perfectly. I suddenly remembered where I was and laughed uneasily as my brow rose. “Are you Death?”

“You speak of Death as if you think there is but only one.”

My eyes grew wide in shock, but not in disbelief. The tone of her voice led me to think she might have actually been telling the truth. I may have believed what she said, but I didn’t trust her. I didn’t trust anybody there. And that wasn’t going to change.

“I’ll ask you once more to let my minion loose from the entrapment of your foot or there will be consequences you aren’t prepared to deal with.”

“Ha! Lady, you have no idea what I’m prepared to—” My sentence was cut short, because a gust of power hit my upper torso, throwing me back thirty feet. I didn’t have time to brace for the fall and I landed hard on my right shoulder, then slid another five feet.

I felt all the previous aches from my earlier fall into Hell, and then some. I tried three times to gasp for breath with little to no success each time. I realized that breathing was something I had to do now. It was severely uncomfortable to not get enough oxygen into my lungs, but at the moment I was having trouble with that very simple task. I felt like I had been kicked in the chest by a horse.

I glanced up after my first good breath and noticed Pogo scurrying to me. I took in another deep breath and covered my eyes with my hand in embarrassment. I swore and batted at my face as a few ashes fell on my exposed skin. I sat up quickly, then realized I shouldn’t have. I could’ve sworn I had broken ribs. I was again painfully gasping for breath.

“Are you okay?” Pogo asked, concern clear in his feeble voice.

“Get away from me!” I growled, throwing myself into a coughing fit, and he took back his outstretched hand in fear I would bite it off as I did his harmless words. I clutched at my chest and looked up at him. I sighed. Heaven was so much simpler. “Who was that?” I choked out.

He offered his hand again and I took it. The old man was actually a lot stronger than he looked, and that was good, because I honestly needed the help. I wasn’t used to being that helpless.

I glanced over to where the woman had stood a few moments earlier and proven that I wasn’t prepared to deal with her.

Death and her minion were gone.

Chapter 4

Abigail

“Do you honestly have to get yourself into these situations every other day, Miles?” Abigail huffed at the minion she had just barely managed to save from that overbearing, arrogant, overly confident, weak male in the courtyard. “Close the door behind you,” she said, not waiting for a response as she untied the satin rope at her neck and pushed the hood from her head, letting the black garment fall from her shoulders. Miles caught it just before it hit the floor, then placed it on its hook by the mantle.

He must be new, she mused as she let her thoughts drift to the new stranger. She hadn’t seen him before, and he was without proper bodily protection for this part of Hell. Why had he been in her syde, and why hadn’t he been announced? Pogo had some explaining to do.

“He just looked so…” Miles smacked his lips hungrily, “…tasty, my Liege. You know I cannot help my urges.”

She rounded on him. “Your urges are never ending, and if I had shown up a minute later I’m not certain you would have been able to act on your urges ever again.”

He kneeled before her, taking her hand along the way, placing a light kiss on her knuckles. “Forgive me, please. I beg of you.” His eyes closed and he imagined their roles reversed. He had often fantasized about pleasing her, their bodies tangled together, sweating and breathless from hours of mindboggling raw sex. She had never allowed him to make his fantasies a true reality. He wasn’t handsome like he’d been as a human; he was nowhere near the perfection of the demons Abigail allowed into her bed chambers, even if they were only there so she could gain pleasure from their torture. He wasn’t a demon of higher stature; he couldn’t change his looks like some could. He was destined to be eternally hideous, and eternally hungry, because of the decisions he’d made on Earth. But Abigail…Abigail’s beauty could make angels envious. Lucifer couldn’t even deny his attraction to her.

“If you lick my hand I will remove your tongue,” Abigail said firmly.

Miles’ eyes shot open, embarrassed by getting caught fantasizing close enough that she could sense it. He dropped her hand, bowing his head in shame. “I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing, my Liege,” he whispered.

She raised an eyebrow at his comment, then turned and walked to her fountain. “I know exactly what you dream about. Don’t waste your breath telling lies.” She didn’t wait for a response that would have inevitably been another untruth. Miles was famous for them. She would choose a different minion to stand in as her favorite, but they all lied. They couldn’t help themselves, so she tried not to get too irritated when their mouths opened and prevarication rolled out on each wiggle of their disgusting tongues. “You are dismissed,” she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I’ll call if I need you.”

“My Liege, if I may…”

She didn’t turn from her fountain. She ran her finger across the silky liquid. An image began to form. “You may not. I will call if I need you,” she repeated, her voice rising toward the end to make her warning clear.

“Yes, my Liege,” Miles said sadly, then left without another word.

The clear, sparkling, blue-green water feature cascaded over several tall tiers made of natural crystal. It circulated on its own and never required tending or filtering. Its breathtaking beauty was only part of what made it so special.

The image of Abigail’s territory came to her as clear as if she’d been standing there amongst the filth and acid and ugly beggars. She watched with an evil leer as her minions suffered through their miserable eternities. They weren’t happy, which meant she was doing her job. Even though she was ruling over the Syde of Gluttony, and had anything she could ever desire, she wasn’t happy either. Lucifer had given her everything short of Heaven and Earth, and that was only because that was impossible for him to do at the moment. Of course, that gift was promised to her when Heaven and all of its angels fell and bowed at Lucifer’s feet. That would happen, but not for a while yet. She wasn’t sure if even ruling Heaven alongside Lucifer would make her happy. She felt there would always be something missing.