Read The Holiday From Hell Online
Authors: Demelza Carlton
The Holiday From Hell (20 page)
"Mel, if you had to choose between the ascent of a soul up the rungs of the angel hierarchy or your own happiness, which would you pick?" Luce asked.
"The soul, of course. I'm happiest when helping another soul achieve its potential," Mel replied.
She couldn't lie, Luce reminded himself. She was telling the truth, because she held her personal happiness less important than another's.
"What choir do these boys belong to?" Luce nodded at the five men who believed they were his brothers.
"Some are Archai, while others are Hashmallim, like me," Mel said slowly. "Why, Luce?"
"I'll never belong to either of those. I'm great at revealing corrupt, useless leaders but hopeless at leading them to choose to do the right thing. If you're hoping I'll be like these guys, you'll be disappointed." He swallowed back his own disappointment, but she needed to know. "The only thing I'm good at is keeping demons in order. Well, as much as anyone can keep demons in order."
Mel smiled up at him as if he was delivering the very best news and not a summary of his own shortcomings.
"The job I do best," he continued, "is the one where I'm the Lord of Hell." He kept his eyes on Mel. "And that job comes with some perks I'm not willing to relinquish." He concentrated hard and was rewarded by Mel's gasp. "The hot body you desire with the dark wings that make me your sexy devil. I wouldn't trade those for anything, because I'll keep those just for you." Luce glanced back to check he'd managed to do it right. Yep, dark feathers on the leading edge, but the trailing edge was cloud-white like a black swan's wings. He kissed the furiously blushing angel whose soul overflowed with gratitude and desire. "I'll trade a perfect soul any day for the imperfect one that you want. All I ever want to be is good enough for you, not someone else's ideal. Yours, forever and always, Melody."
"I love you," was all she managed to say before he kissed her again.
Luce gave her all his attention, so it was some time before he became aware of the voices around them.
"Please, Lord Lucifer, I need to thank you…"
"My daughter, for helping her, I owe you…"
"Must apologise. I didn't realise…"
Luce held tight to Mel as he addressed them all, "I know you all have things you want to say, but it's going to have to wait. Mel's been through a lot tonight and she's overdue some time out in Heaven. So I'll ask you to excuse us…" He lifted Mel into his arms and felt her weight settle comfortably against his chest. Time to make a dramatic re-entry into Heaven. Like he even had to walk through the gates. With Melody in his arms, this devil was already in Heaven.
"You take good care of her, brother."
Luce glanced around and registered that this last came from Patrick, who matched pace with him.
"Mel, you look positively glowing. More radiant than I've ever seen you before. If I didn't know better, I'd think…" Patrick sucked in a breath, his eyes darting from Mel to Luce and back again. He stopped in his tracks. "You're not pregnant, are you?"
Without breaking stride, Luce shot a roguish wink at the saint and grinned.
Hades knew he had to hurry, because that interfering angel Muriel would stop him if she knew what he'd done. He had to get away before she turned her attention to him.
Clouds faded to stone beneath his shoes as he left Heaven's gates behind and reentered the world. She might think she was destroying all the dark souls that had witnessed Lucifer's power, but she'd missed one. One that now coiled almost lovingly around his own corrupt soul – a gift from darling Persephone.
A small shrub had taken root in a crack in the road, a spindly thing that clung precariously to life. It'd be merciful to put an end to its misery, Hades thought, grinning. After all, the human caretakers of this place would poison it soon enough. He reached down and touched it, focussing all his attention in drawing its energy into himself. The plant crumbled into powdery ash at his feet.
Oh, that felt good. Now all he needed was to spread this power to all the dark souls in the Underworld and he'd have an army and power to be reckoned with. Power to take Hell for his own, while that uppity angel Lucifer cavorted in Heaven with Muriel. She wasn't so perfect – she made mistakes just like any human. And it was a grievous error to take Persephone from him. Let's see how powerful she'd be when all Hell broke loose.
His laughter echoed in the darkness and the Underworld trembled.
The tale continues in
All Hell Breaks Loose
to be released in 2015.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by her suspense thriller Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.
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