Daring the Devil (Reigning Hell Book 1)

by Larry, Natasha

  I ducked back inside the beauty store. We’d have to check out what had happened down the street later.

  Lucky for me I wasn’t too late to witness Zane’s expression when he saw Agatha sporting her new wig. If his eyes had grown any wider, they would’ve fallen out of his sockets and rolled down the aisle into the traces of spilled conditioner.

  “Wow,” he said with a grin that swarmed my chest with wings.

  Even though it wasn’t directed at me, I still wished he’d smile more often. I’d even settle for twenty-four-seven.

  Agatha snorted. “Yeah, right.” She started to pull it off.

  “Don’t you dare take that off,” I ordered.

  She lifted an eyebrow. “Cool your flaps, HP.”

  “Sorry. It’s just that you look like a badass. And if the last few days have been any indication, you’re going to need to be badass. Will you do this for me?”

  She twisted her lips to the side then looked back at Zane. “Wow?”

  He nodded. “Wow.”

  Her cheeks flushed. “It’s a little too expensive…”

  “It’s on me,” I said. “It’s the least I can do for bringing Hell with me to your doorstep.”

  She blew out a slow breath. “Okay. Fine.”

  “Yay.” I clapped and hugged her.

  She snorted and pulled away. “I’m getting the wig, but we still need to talk about this strip club thing. Should we drive by one? See if we can spot Miss Molly?”

  We both looked to Zane.

  His mouth moved to speak, then it flopped open. He shook his head so hard his glasses slipped down his nose. “Wait. Wait. You think I know where one is because I’m a guy?”

  “Well, do you?” Agatha asked, her blue eyes bright with humor.

  He blinked hard as a flush crept up his neck. “I’m not even old enough to go into one.”

  Agatha smiled. “That’s not what I asked.”

  He groaned and turned his blush toward the front of the store. “Fine. Let’s just go.”

  I grinned after him. So he did have a little bit of a sinful streak, or at least a genuine curiosity. Or he was just a normal teenage boy. I didn’t know why that conversation made my steps feel lighter as I followed after him, but it did.

  After leaving the beauty supply store, we piled back in the van and drove

  down the street past the police cruiser. It was parked outside a store called Down to Earth Rocks & Minerals. As we rode past at a turtle’s pace, I spotted a policewoman through a large hole in the broken front window. Was that where the faint smell of brimstone had come from? I didn’t know, but seeing the broken-in store urged me to search for answers faster.

  Next, we drove to the edge of town where Zane “guessed” the strip club was. The sign on the Vixen Doll House read Closed when we got there, and there weren’t any other signs that read Minors Totally Welcome! or Miss Molly’s School For troubled Clothing, so we headed back to our school.

  I had hoped we could find Not Miss Molly and that would be the end of it, but it looked like we’d have to resort to Plan B. I would need help, though, a lot of it, and I wasn’t sure Zane and Agatha would climb aboard that particular messy, scary train with me.

  When the three of us entered the common room, people perked up from their lounging or online quizzes long enough to gape at Agatha’s new wig.

  “Niiiice!” one girl said.

  Some of the boys whistled.

  Agatha moved between the computer tables like a movie star, soaking in their compliments and casually flipping her rainbow hair. A true badass in every sense of the word. She deserved every second of their admiration. Even Mikey did a double take, but scooted from the room before Zane turned his head toward him.

  We sat at one of the vacant computer tables in the far corner with the hope that Google could help us find Not Miss Molly.

  Zane powered on the computer. “What are we looking for again?”

  “Any weird events around town that might help us find Miss Molly.” Including the broken window at the rock store on Main Street, though I doubted we’d find anything about it since it had probably just happened. “I wish I had my magic so we could do a demon summoning ritual, and she would come to us instead of the other way around.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Agatha said, sliding her chair closer to me. “As in not fun at all.”

  I grinned. “When I was little, I learned about all of these ancient summoning rituals. Most of them are pretty intricate to pull off even if I could still do magic, but I remember a simple one that requires no magic except…” I glanced at Agatha. “Human virgin blood.”

  “I don’t do sacrificial blood.” Her eyes locked on Zane. “But there’s a virgin right there.”

  He glowered at her. “Wimp.”

  My mouth dropped open. “You’re a…”

  “Virgin?” he asked, a little too loudly. “Yes, I am.”

  Wow. I’d always just assumed that someone as hot as Zane had strutted around the block a time or two, but knowing we shared that commonality bounced my feet up and down like they were about to tear loose from my legs and tap dance.

  “What?” He shrugged under my stare. “You have to trust someone to have sex with them. And I don’t trust anyone.”

  “You don’t have to trust someone to have sex with them,” I blurted.

  A slow grin curled his mouth. “So says the princess of Hell.”

  “Touché.” Did that mean he didn’t trust me only because I was from Hell? Why couldn’t I be from Siberia instead? My feet slowed their happy taps as if caught in a flood of glue.

  “And yeah, thanks for just assuming that I’m a virgin,” Agatha muttered, turning back to the computer with a roll of her eyes. “So, you’re not a virgin, I’m assuming. Right, HP?”

  “Why would you assume that?” I asked.

  Zane laughed. “Wait, you are?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Why is that a shocker?”

  Agatha’s eyes popped open wider. “Seriously?”

  I frowned. “I’m starting to understand why you felt offended for my assuming you were a virgin.”

  “Okay, I have to know.” She leaned closer. “Why are you a virgin?”

  “Yeah.” Zane raised an eyebrow. “Demons not your type?”

  I shrugged. “That and…no time.”

  Agatha snorted. “No time. Yeah, right.”

  I scowled at her.

  “Oh, you were serious.” She slapped a hand over her mouth.

  How did this conversation center on me all of a sudden? “I spent most of my time either reading or watching movies or…dreaming.”

  Zane gave a soft smile when he caught my gaze. “About what?”

  I shrugged, something like Hellfire burning through my cheeks. “Everything.”

  “We should start a club,” Agatha said before hitting a key on the keyboard. “I’m printing yesterday’s police report, by the way.”

  “Or a bet.” Zane leaned back in his chair. “First one to lose the V card gets a trip to Hawaii.”

  “I was thinking more like fifty bucks,” Agatha said.

  I nodded. “Money for sex. I’m pretty sure there’s a name for that.”

  “Names, schmames. Let’s shake on it,” Agatha said.

  We all did in a messy, confusing exchange of hands.

  “Agatha and her new look is gonna kick our asses here,” I said.

  She snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  Zane gazed at me. “So, we’re doing this, then?”

  My heart skidded to a stop, but I managed to squeak out, “You should probably buy me dinner first.”

  “No.” His cheeks flushed, and he shook his head at his lap. “The other thing. The demon summoning thing.”

  Right. Of course that. I inhaled a ragged, and to be honest a slightly relieved, breath. I had too many other things to worry about than giving up my virginity right then. Later? As long as it was with Zane, I would totally think about it.

  �
�If you guys think you’re up for it tonight, then yeah,” I said. Because what could go wrong? I honestly had no idea since I’d never done it before. But if we took some precautions first, then it might just work.

  “What are you guys doing?” a soft female voice asked.

  I looked up and found Elia. Her presence beat a fury inside me. She had some nerve coming close to Agatha after the stunt she pulled.

  She waved a paper in the air. Her shoulders slumped, but there was a sly smile stuck on her face. “Why are you printing out yesterday’s police report in Jonesborough?”

  I stood and snatched the paper away from her. “Mind your own business.”

  She frowned and hugged herself. “Sorry, I was just… I just wanted to say hello.” Her gaze landed on Agatha. “I love your wig.”

  I stepped closer to her and lowered my voice to a deadly whisper. “You don’t get to talk to her after what you did. Go. Away.”

  She sniffled and tears welled in her eyes that were worthy of a best actress nomination. “O-Okay.” She turned, but before she walked away, she said, “You should be careful, Kasey.”

  That sure sounded like a threat, but we’d already made a deal she could use my keys. What else could she want?

  Whatever it was, it could wait. I had a demon to summon.

  21

  Zane and I sat on top of the prep station in the kitchen after curfew, waiting for Agatha. A sharp, sterilized knife lay between us, a perfectly normal item for a perfectly normal night unless this turned into the shower scene in the movie Psycho. Or unless we were about to summon a demon. So…not normal at all, I supposed.

  “This seems like a really shitty idea,” Zane announced, scratching absently under his cast. “Can’t we just send a carrier pigeon to Miss Molly with a note to her demon that she has cancer or some lie like that?”

  “Demons refer to humans as flesh suits or soul sacks,” I said, rubbing my fingertips over the silver bowl in my lap. “They don’t care one bit about the state of their insides.”

  “Still seems like a bad idea.” He sighed. “Why do you need virgin blood anyway? I’d love to cut into Mikey.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I said with a frown. “But I get a whore vibe off of him. Virgin blood attracts demons.”

  “Of course it does.” His gaze met mine. “Do you think she’s okay? Agatha, I mean?”

  “She seems fine…” She’d actually seemed to be enjoying herself while we researched area crime in her brand new, badass wig. “How are you doing with all this?”

  “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” He glanced at me. “Why do you care, anyway? Isn’t caring against the rules?”

  “Rules? I don’t know anything about any rules.” I grinned, and he matched it, stirring my blood faster.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  I heaved a mock sigh. “You’ve been asking me questions all day.”

  “Sorry,” he said, chuckling.

  “I was teasing. I don’t mind at all.”

  He tapped his fingers against the cool metal of the prep station between us. “You’re not staying here, are you?”

  I stared at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, eventually you’ll have to go back home, right?”

  Agatha burst through the door, cutting my frown short, a large plastic bag slung over her shoulder.

  “Sorry I’m late.” She dragged a chair across the room, the ends of her rainbow wig caught in her grimace, and sat herself beside the prep station. She pointed her blue gaze at the knife. “No bloodshed yet, I see.”

  “We were waiting for you,” Zane said. “I figured you wouldn’t want to miss the chance to see me getting sliced and diced.”

  “And you would be right.” She shuddered.

  He looked at me with a sigh. “Well, let’s get this over with before she pukes.”

  I hesitantly ran my thumb across the knife’s handle. “Before we get started, I want you both to prepare yourselves.”

  “We’ve seen demons,” Zane said, rolling up his sleeve. “We’re practically experts.”

  I shook my head. “Other demons might show up.”

  “Other demons?” Agatha gulped and glanced down at the plastic bag at her feet. “So that’s why you needed so many soap containers.”

  I nodded, headed for the stove, and sparked a blue flame on low. “Just in case others do show, we’ll need some salt. Lots of it.”

  “On it,” Zane said and crutched over to the nearest shelf.

  Agatha followed. While they searched, I found a needle in a drawer and lowered it into the stove’s flame.

  “What are you doing over there?” Agatha asked.

  Zane was using his crutch to scoot a bag off a high shelf into Agatha’s waiting arms.

  “I’m going to have to ward you if you guys really want to help.” I glanced back at them. “And by ward, I mean permanently.”

  “Sounds delightful,” Zane said drily as Agatha caught the bag of salt. “I can’t wait.”

  I lifted the needle and turned. “Ready?”

  Agatha gulped again and tossed the bag of salt at Zane as if it weighed nothing. With the size of her arm muscles, it probably didn’t. “Shouldn’t the man go first?”

  Zane juggled the bag with one arm and dropped it on the floor, all while shaking his head. “Ladies first.”

  She strode toward me on stiff legs.

  “Lift your hair from your neck,” I said.

  She shifted her rainbow hair to the side, her whole body tightening. “It’s a good thing I trust you. I think.”

  “Take in a deep breath.” When she did, I pressed the needle into the back of her neck. Her skin sizzled like cooked bacon. My hands shook only slightly as I branded my family crest into her flesh—a cross with smoke and flames. Without ink, it looked like scratches, but hopefully it would do. When I finished, I waved my hand to cool her new tattoo.

  “No touching it, okay?” I smiled. “You’re officially my family now.”

  She turned, and something like pride shined in her blue eyes.

  I nodded toward Zane. “Your turn.”

  He set that intense gaze on me as he crutched forward. I held a fresh needle to the flame. When it was hot enough, I gestured for him to move his shirt to the side. He did so, revealing the back of his tanned neck and the chain of Saint Maria’s miracle necklace. Hopefully it had one more miracle inside.

  I braced one hand against his shoulder, and after forcing myself to ignore the usual thrill touching him gave me, I tattooed my family crest into his skin. He didn’t even flinch.

  “Probably should’ve warded you a long time ago,” I said.

  “You think?” Zane said, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

  “It’s your fault for being a demon magnet.” And a Devil magnet. And a pretty much everything with a pulse and eyes magnet.

  He sighed. “This mark of Satan crest is really going to ruin my job prospects.”

  “What job prospects?” I asked.

  He shook his head with a frown. “I guess we’ll never know.”

  I twisted my mouth to the side, not quite sure if he was joking or not. “It’s on the back of your neck, so it shouldn’t be too visible. Besides, it’s not the mark of Satan. It’s the mark of Kiera Morningstar, aka Kasey Morrison, aka HP, if you’re feeling perky.”

  “Think it’ll work?” Zane asked.

  “No idea.”

  “That’s super comforting.”

  I smiled. “You’re welcome. Now it’s my turn.”

  Since I couldn’t see the back of my neck, I tattooed mine into my forearm, future job prospects be damned. I disposed of the needle in the garbage and turned to attack the bag of salt.

  Two minutes later, all of us were armed with three flasks each, one of which was filled with salt. Blessed salt. Or cursed salt. Whatever. Anyway, I’d said some words and hoped for the best. Who the Hell knew if this would work anyway? The other two flasks were filled with ou
r dwindling supply of holy water and wine.

  “Okay,” Agatha said. “Let’s get the bloodletting over with.”

  Zane and I crossed to the prep station.

  I took Zane’s right hand, turned it over so his palm faced up, and held his gaze. “Ready?”

  He nodded, staring at me with an intensity that made it hard to concentrate. Pulling my gaze to his palm, I picked up the knife and watched the overhead light reflect on the sharp blade. My hands shook, but I willed them steady. This would only hurt him for a second. With a deep breath, I gripped the knife tighter and sliced it across his palm.

  He winced and dark blood flooded out from the slit in his flesh. The sight of it calmed me for some reason. You can take the girl out of Hell and all. I pulled the bowl under his hand and turned his palm over, allowing the thick fluid to ooze down into it.

  Zane grunted. “How much do you need?”

  “Just a little more.” I eyed Agatha, who sat away from us next to the stove, and nodded toward my backpack on the floor by her chair. “I have some bandages and medical tape in there. Can you get it ready?”

  She nodded and bent to retrieve the items, but hesitated. I jerked my head for her to come hither.

  Finally, she strode over, her face pale, pressed a clean towel into his palm, then wrapped it in a thick, white bandage with her eyes half closed. “Ewww, this is gross.”

  Said the girl who’d taken a knife to her own skin, but I wasn’t one to judge.

  Once he was patched up, I took the bowl and held it out in front of me. Here goes nothing. Actually here went everything. If we—I—messed this up, things would shake up around here, in every demon-y way possible. I stared down into the dark pool of blood and focused only on Not Miss Molly.

  “Not Miss Molly, Not Miss Molly, Not Miss Molly,” I chanted.

  Agatha and Zane joined me and touched the bowl, muttering her name. We stood there for the longest time chanting, so long that my feet prickled with the lack of movement.

  Zane yawned. Agatha’s head rolled to her shoulder as if she’d fallen asleep while upright.