Jackie nodded. There was no choice. She had to do it.
She stepped away from the protective circle of demons and faced the white stone column. “I can do this,” she muttered. She took the black dagger from Moz’s hand and held it tightly. The weight of it was comforting, and the leather wrapped handle fit into her hand perfectly—as though it had been made for her.
She walked forward slowly, stumbling as another earthquake shuddered beneath her feet.
“Go!” Admar shouted.
“I am going,” she muttered. The lantern in her hand pulled and vibrated, the flame leaping behind the glass as though it were begging to be set free.
“Jackie, you have to run!” Iradon shouted.
She looked back at him. “Run?”
“Run!” the demons shouted together. Jackie made a face at them, but her resistance died as a deafening roar echoed through the chamber.
“Run,” she whispered. “I can run.”
Eleven
Well, she tried running.
With tremors thundering through the rock, she stumbled more than ran toward the white stone column. Desperate tears prickled at her eyelids and she could not trust her own legs to carry her forward.
She was so close, and then the ground cracked and crumbled under her feet and she screamed as she tripped and fell forward.
This time there were no demons to catch her, and she fell on her side on the cold rock. The fall ripped the scream from her lungs and she lay there, gasping for breath. The black dagger flew from her hand and spun across the stone floor. Her grip on the lantern slipped, and it sailed through the air in a gentle arc.
“Jackie, the lantern!”
Admar’s shout made her draw in a shuddering breath and she pushed herself painfully to her knees.
“Shit.”
She scrambled forward and tried to get her feet under her. The lantern spun through the air and crashed against the base of the white stone column.
“Shit!”
The lantern shattered, sprawling glass over the stone and the green flame surged forward, freed from its cage.
Jackie held her breath as the flame crackled wickedly, and then flared low, as though hunting for fuel… but there would be none for it to latch on to.
She cast a desperate glance over her shoulder to the three demons. Iradon lunged forward toward her, but Admar and Moz held him back. “What happens if the flame goes out?” she shouted over the rumbling of the rocks.
“I don’t know!” Admar shouted with a shake of his head.
Jackie bit down on her tongue. “Goddamn it!”
She ran forward, her eyes on the dwindling flame, but before she could reach it, the shuddering green glow snaked forward and climbed the white stone column. It rippled and flickered, sparks snapping loudly as it progressed toward the alcove that had been carved into the column.
“What is it doing?” she cried.
“Get back!” Admar shouted.
She skidded to a stop as the flame licked forward and leapt into the alcove. Jackie covered her face as the green flame settled itself into the alcove and pulsed there for a moment, as though waiting for something. And then, with a blinding crack of light, it surged upward and engulfed the top of the column in green fire that spread out over the stone ceiling of the chamber.
Jackie fell back onto the floor, pushed there by the hot concussion of the flame.
The demons stood together, their fists clenched as they tried to hold themselves back from running toward her.
“Get the dagger!” Moz shouted. His roar cut through the noise of the flames and the rumble of the stones and Jackie skidded toward the dagger.
She reached out for it, and her fingers brushed against the leather wrapped hilt, but it was just out of reach, and another tremor sent it spinning out of her grasp.
“No!”
“Jackie!”
She turned, but a shuddering roar filled the chamber and the floor cracked and split open. The chamber shook and rocks fell from the ceiling. Jackie screamed and closed her eyes as sharp stalactites rained down and surrounded the demons. They had told her many times that they were difficult to kill, but she had no doubt that being crushed by a large black stone would be the end of any demon.
The roar of the flames calmed and Jackie dared to open her eyes. The demons were surrounded by stalactites, embedded in the stone floor. Moz’gethen roared his anger and struck at the stones, but though sparks flew from his claws, the stone did not move or shatter.
“What is this?” Admar yelled.
“Your just reward,” a smooth voice said.
The flames still rippled and raged around the white stone column, but the noise had dulled and the rumbling of the tremors had all but ceased. Jackie pushed herself to her feet and stood unsteadily, the split in the stone floor separating her from the demons.
“Stay where you are, Jacqueline Keller,” the voice said.
Her head snapped around as a figure materialized out of the swirling dust that filled the room.
He was tall, and broad shouldered, with pale blond hair that swept away from his high forehead in effortless waves. His eyes were dark, almost black, and they consumed her as she stared into them. The green glow of the fire flickered over his skin and sparked in his eyes. He wore a well-tailored suit that hugged every inch of his torso. Everything about him reeked of wealth, and danger.
“Who are you.” Her voice shook with fear and she cleared her throat, trying to mask the sound of it. She knew who he was without even asking, but she could not keep the question from bursting from her lips.
The man smiled and tugged at the lapels of his jacket. “Not your style?” he said with a smirk.
“You look like the guy who sells cocaine at the nightclub on forty-first,” she choked out.
The man laughed, and the sound sent a ripple of agony through her skin. Her breath hissed through her teeth and she looked at the demons behind their stalactite cages.
He ran both hands through his hair and the pale blond disappeared, replaced by flowing black curls that struck the collar of his leather jacket. The change shuddered over him and his fine suit became motorcycle leathers and his velvet loafers a pair of black leather boots.
“Better?”
Jackie shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“My dear girl,” the man said. “I can be whatever you want me to be. All you have to do is say the word. When you are my Queen—”
“No,” Jackie whispered.
“No?”
“No!”
She lunged for the black dagger and sprawled on the floor to grab it. She clutched it tightly and held it out in front of herself to keep him at bay.
“Don’t come any closer,” she cried.
“Or what?” he laughed. “You’ve come here to be my bride, there’s no need to pretend otherwise.”
“I don’t want it,” she said through gritted teeth.
She glanced at the demons across the chasm and then back at the Devil.
“But that’s the deal, Jacqueline,” he said smoothly. His voice caressed her ears, sensual and full of dark promise. “This is the price of your sins. The wager has already been made, otherwise the lantern would not have found you so easily.”
“Does that line work on every woman?” she asked bitterly.
The Devil chuckled and the sound lanced through her body, making her back arch painfully. “Every time.”
The Devil looked over at her three lovers and snapped his fingers, throwing a bright spark. The demons roared with anger. “Your work is done,” he said. “You are no longer necessary.”
Webs of stone sprouted from the stalactites and spread between the bars, penning them in and hiding them from her view.
“What will happen to them?” she cried.
“They have served their purpose,” the Devil replied. “They have brought you to me and now they are released back to their places… Or, they would be, but I can smell them on you.” He
frowned at the three demons and shook his finger at them warningly. Like a parent scolding naughty children. “I will—overlook your dalliance with them, my darling. I can understand why they violated their covenant with me for a taste of their new Queen.”
Jackie recoiled. “No. No what’s not what happened,” she whispered.
Black smoke enveloped the Devil and he appeared at her side, the blond hair and tailored suit replacing the motorcycle leathers once more. Jackie’s eyes stung with tears and smoke and she brandished the dagger in front of her.
“They will be punished, however. I cannot have them returning to their places with the knowledge of what is now my property.”
The stone webs tightened and Jackie heard the demons gasp in pain.
“No!”
Jackie held the dagger tighter and pointed it at the Devil.
“Where did you get that?” he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Shut up,” Jackie cried. “Set them free! You can’t hurt them!”
“I think you’ll find that I can,” he said simply.
There was a howl of pain from the demons and Jackie cringed.
Tears streaked down Jackie’s cheeks and she wiped them away with the palm of her hand. The hand holding the dagger shook and the Devil smiled. “Please—” she begged. “Please, I’ll do it. I’ll be Queen of Hell—just let them go!”
“I cannot allow them to live,” the Devil said firmly. “You belong to me, and no other.”
Jackie gritted her teeth and dropped the dagger down to her side. “Please—as a wedding gift. Allow them to live… Banish them somewhere, but don’t kill them.”
“Banishment,” he said thoughtfully. “A unique idea…”
She stepped closer and placed her hand on the Devil’s chest. The heat she had felt from the demons’ bodies was nothing to what raged under her palm as she touched him.
The Devil smiled.
“I will grant you this wish,” he said. “And then we shall descend—”
“Whatever you say,” Jackie said.
He winked at her, and Jackie felt something change. She looked down at her clothes and flinched as she realized that her borrowed wardrobe was gone, and in its place was a long white dress that hugged every curve and swept over the splintered rock floor.
“A dress?” she squeaked. The final indignity.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers to release the demons, but as his attention shifted to them, Jackie lunged forward and plunged the black blade into his stomach.
The Devil laughed, but the sound was wet and strange and Jackie stumbled backward. “What is this?” he said incredulously. His black eyes burned into hers and she could see more than anger in them as he glared at her. “You cannot kill me…” He stepped back and fell to one knee.
Jackie stumbled forward as waves of heat radiated off him. “No, but I can break this goddamn promise,” she snarled.
She pulled the dagger from his stomach and ran toward the green flames that still burned in the alcove. With a desperate cry she raised the dagger high over her head and slammed it down into the center of the alcove—in the heart of the flame.
A keening wail filled her ears and Jackie fell to the ground, covering her head to drown out the noise.
“You dare!”
The Devil’s shout of rage was drowned out by the wail from the spirit of the lantern’s flame. The flame shuddered and then burst upwards once more, scorching the stone ceiling before shrinking down to a tiny spark that flickered at the blade buried in the pale stone. It shrank away from the black metal and snaked down the stone column, searching for the safety of the lantern, but it was smashed beyond repair. She stomped down on the remnants of the metal lantern, breaking it into tinier pieces. The flame recoiled and then sputtered angrily before winking out.
“No!”
Jackie spun around to see the Devil’s fists clench and black fire erupted around him.
“The promise is broken,” Jackie shouted. “Now get the hell away from me! You don’t own me!”
The Devil staggered to his feet and all of Jackie’s bravery fled as the figure, wreathed in black flame stepped toward her.
“You’ve lost!” Admar shouted.
In unison, the three demons roared and smashed their fists against the stones that held them captive. The stones shattered under their blows and the rocks scattered over the floor. Freed from their prison, they leapt across the fissure in the floor and rushed to Jackie’s side.
All around them, the stone chamber shuddered and crumbled. The Devil paused and then his mouth opened and he roared loudly enough to shake Jackie to her core. She clutched at the demons beside her, and they held her up.
The Devil stepped toward them, but as his foot slammed down against the stone floor, the rock split and opened beneath him.
“The bond is broken,” Moz’gethen cried. “The promise of the Black Chapel is broken!”
“Run,” Admar whispered in Jackie’s ear.
“What?”
“Run!”
Iradon and Admar grabbed Jackie’s hands and pulled her away from the black flames that raged around their former master. She looked over her shoulder as the Devil took another step, and then plunged into the chasm that opened in front of him.
“The chapel is coming down. You have to run. Run run!”
They dragged her through the crumbling catacombs, dodging falling rocks and crumbling stairs. Up. Up toward the chapel.
The air was thick with smoke and dust, and Jackie choked and coughed as they dragged her up the final set of stairs. The dress wrapped around her legs and she tore at it desperately, cursing the fabric as she ripped it to shreds to help her move more easily.
The black stone door stood open and they darted through as the ceiling began to crumble around them.
Admar lifted her up and pushed her through the hole in the chapel floor and she scrambled through, tripping and stumbling as she went. She jumped through the door and flung herself down on the bright green grass and turned, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.
The dark chapel tilted on its foundations and the unnaturally bright green grass beneath her began to shrivel and turn black. Jackie let out a gasp of horror and skidded back, away from the chapel.
“Where are you?” she screamed.
The ground shuddered and rumbled, gravestones tilted and fell over, breaking into pieces as they slammed to the ground.
First Iradon leapt through the door and landed hard on the grass. He crawled toward her as Moz leapt free of the sinking chapel.
“Admar! Where is he?”
Iradon looked back over his shoulder and lunged back toward the chapel. The ground opened and the entire building began to slide down into the sinkhole that had opened beneath it.
A cloud of dust and ash flew up, obscuring her vision, and Jackie grabbed for Moz who held her tightly, just out of reach of the fissure that had opened in the earth.
“No!”
She couldn’t bear the thought of them not coming out of the chapel. Couldn’t bear the thought of being without them after they had come through so much.
She choked on a sob of anguish as two figures materialized in the clouds of smoke. “Oh, god,” she gasped.
Admar, supported by Iradon, leapt from the chapel as it slid down into the crevasse. They fell on top of her, pinning her to the grass as the ground rumbled and shuddered around them.
She cried out with fear as their arms tightened around her, and then the world went black.
Her phone vibrated across her bedside table and Jackie groaned and pulled her pillow over her face. It was too bright. She still needed curtains.
“Fuuuck,” she groaned.
Her head ached. What day was it? What happened?
She rubbed a hand over her face and tried to sit up. Her room was littered with clothes and her blankets were twisted around her legs. Situation normal. Completely fucked. Rock bottom was in sight.
<
br /> She really had hit her head hard when she’d fallen. “I really should have gone to urgent care,” she muttered.
She pressed her fingers to her eyes, slid her legs over the edge of the bed, and sighed heavily. Her bare feet hit the floor and she pushed herself off the bed, dragging the blanket with her. She wrapped it around her torso and pushed her hair out of her face as she wandered into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” a voice said.
“More like afternoon,” another voice said.
Jackie stopped short in the doorway and braced herself with one hand.
“What the hell?”
Three men sat around her kitchen bar, each with a handful of cards.
Admar grinned. “Good thing you woke up, these two are about to lose another hand.”
“You’re cheating,” Iradon growled.
“The rules are extremely changeable,” Moz agreed. The afternoon sunlight shone on his smooth obsidian horns as he smiled at her. Jackie shook her head and blinked again to clear her vision.
“Are you— Did we…”
“Safe and sound,” Admar said.
Iradon got up from his chair and wrapped his arms around her. “You did it. You set all of us free.”
Jackie smiled weakly. “So this isn’t just a concussion dream?”
“‘Fraid not,” Admar said from the bar. “You’re stuck with us now.”
“All of you?” Her eyes widened slightly at the realization that it wasn’t all a dream. She had won. She had beaten the Devil and won her demon lovers...
“All of us,” Iradon said softly.
“I can’t— I can’t believe it,” she said.
“You’d better start,” Iradon said as he kissed her.
Admar and Moz left their chairs and came over to stand around her. Encircled by heated arms and bodies, Jackie smiled in disbelief.
She’d won, and the prize was beyond imagining.
“It might take a little bit to get used to this,” she laughed.
“We’ve got time,” Admar said with a sharp grin. “And we can’t wait to get started.
Wicked Souls: A Limited Edition Reverse Harem Romance Collection Page 139
