Under Hell's Watchful Eye (2 page)

“Now, you don’t need cat fur all over your clothes before your next set,” she practically yelled. I sighed in frustration, rolling my eyes as Rita reached over and pinched my cheeks to bring a blush back into them. They wanted me to be life like even though I no longer was. As if the state of my veins didn’t give me away.

“Did they not tell you that I’m done for the night? The boss feels I need a break.”

Anyone who didn’t know already could probably guess who the boss was. Satan, devil, Beelzebub? Whatever you wanted to call him, that was him, and he had stated recently that a break was needed to, “Let your vocal cords rest.” Direct quote.

“Is this true?” Rita asked the other blonde. She had remained nameless. I had never once heard a name uttered in her direction in the two weeks she had been here, and I was betting I never would. She nodded back silently with that distorted face, a frown hiding sharp teeth.

“Then I guess we can leave her be.” Georgia backed away, dropping her hands to her sides with a disappointed look on her face that I almost couldn’t interpret. I could see her in the reflection of the mirror of the vanity, and when they said it was a door to the soul they were right. She was empty and dark, just like I was but I hadn’t had a chance to become what they were. Not even close. They walked out of the room, closing the door with a slam behind them.

The noise startled me, causing me to jump in my seat. Shadow was sitting in front of me, big blinking green eyes looking at me expectantly. I didn’t care what they said about cat fur. I was going to cuddle with her and that was that. I picked her up, rubbing her cheek with mine. Her fur was soft and warm and comforting. It helped take the chill out of my bod y that always took over once a set was finished. I held her close to me and listened to her purr as I did so, feeling it deep within my chest. A knock sounded at the door and with Shadow still in my arms I went to answer it. I place my hand on the knob, my heart pounding as I wondered who could be on the other side. I turned it slowly, feeling the anticipation build as my heart rate accelerated under the weight of anticipation.

I swung the door open, my gaze meeting eyes as dark as only the purest dark could be. There wasn’t even a tiny sparkle of light in them. They were dead eyes and they were staring into me like nothing else existed. The boss was standing on the other side, fingers playing with his goatee. How fitting. Satan wore a goatee, but at least he wore it well. That along with the white suit. I normally found them tacky, but up against his bronze tanned skin it didn’t seem out of place. He always wore some variation of a white suit, but I liked this one the best. It was slim and fit him perfectly, hugging each curve of his muscular form like it should. No one should be attracted to Satan, but sometimes you just couldn’t help it. Would I sell my soul all over again? Absolutely not. Not even for an attractive fallen angel in a nice suit.

“Can I come in, Jessabell?” he asked, dropping his hand to his side.

I backed away from the door, extending my arm out to welcome him into my room and said, “Sure.”

He walked in with a slow sureness, each step emphasized without him having to stomp into my living quarters. He had a commanding presence and he didn’t even have to try. Your eyes just couldn’t help but be drawn to him. His dark hair was only slightly unruly; a few pieces of it hanging down over his forehead, making him look even more highly attractive. To me he looked like an even cross between Hugh Jackman and Ian Somerhalder, the sultry look in his black eyes enough to make a girl’s heart melt. I closed the door behind him and took my spot back on the stool in front of the vanity and only daring to watch him in the mirror as Shadow hissed underneath me.

I hushed her and said, “Now, Shadow, not in front of company.” I watched him in the mirror as he stood behind me, watching every move I made in return. “What can I do for you, boss?” I figured I may as well ask.

His eyes met mine in our reflections and I looked down at the row of cosmetics in front of me. Olay, L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, and Shiseido lined the base of the mirror. Only the best for their rock star and, because of his connections, they would make any shade I desired or anything for any purpose. He had them all in his back pocket. You wouldn’t think someone like Satan would have cosmetics companies working for him, but money does make the world go round after all. Or was that the root to all evil? I guess we had our answer.

“A little birdie told me something about you today,” he purred. I could feel his eyes on my back as I sat there, staring intently at the cap of a bright red shade of Shiseido lipstick. My eyes shot up to the mirror, eyeing him with the same intensity.

“You know what they say about little birds. What did they say?” I asked. Play it cool. You hadn’t done anything yet. It was just a thought and you can’t get in trouble for thoughts, right? I wanted out, but wouldn’t anyone after so long?

“Well, that you were thinking about trying to leave us, young Jessabell. Now, why would you want to go do a silly thing like that?” He walked towards me with an easy stride. Not like he was threatening me at all.

I turned around, eyes wide in surprise as he knelt down in front of me and took my hand in his, smiling. Only pure evil smiled like that and it sent a chill down my spine as his eyes bored into mine. And I just couldn’t look away. I was frozen to the spot, hand clasped in his, and Shadow beneath me growling like a feral jungle cat. I didn’t even bother to shush her this time.

“You know your soul belongs to me. You signed it away for this life without even a thought, and now you have it. For all eternity with the best you can ever ask for. What is the point in running when I can bring you back here and you will never see your soul again?”

“I…I…” I stammered. I wasn’t sure what to say. He was right and everyone knew it. “How did you know?”

He smiled again and slurred, “I listen in every now and then. Because I have your soul locked away I can do such things. It was in your contract and you would’ve known if you had bothered to read it before you signed on the dotted line.”

My heart hammered against my chest and a small trickle of nervous sweat rolled down my back. Fear, pure and telling, rolled through me and I knew he could see it in my eyes because he smiled again, letting out a low chuckle. He stood, smoothing his pants and walked towards the door. When he spoke with his hand on the door knob he didn’t even bother to look back at me.

“There are consequences to everything here, Jessabell. And it’s about time you learned that I won’t spoil those who think to betray me and my trust.” He opened the door with a flourish and masses of black clouds entered the room surrounding me.

Disembodied voices answered my shrill screams and then, there was only darkness to greet me. Untainted nothingness. This was my punishment and there was no way out. He had my soul, my voice, and my body. And now he also had my horror.