I’m telling the truth, you bastard. You might be the Prince of Lies, but not everybody is dishonest.
That wipes the smirk off his face. He hardens his gaze, though he still appears to be weighing his options.
“You said I have an ability,” I add hastily. “I know it’s of value to you. So, do we have a deal or not?”
“And just how do you expect me to deliver my son’s soul to him? I won’t go to him, and I doubt he’d be willing to come down here…or able.” He smiles thinly. “Seems he has a bit of a chest wound.”
I rip my jaw out of his grasp. “That’s your problem,” I snarl, “but if you agree to the terms of the deal, you’re obligated to deliver. Aren’t you?”
He chuckles. “Who’s been teaching you about demonic contracts, Pet?”
“Nobody. It’s…common knowledge.”
Except it’s totally not. I don’t know where this information is coming from.
“I see.”
He looks unconvinced, and for a moment, I’m filled with despair that this entire journey has been for nothing. All that pain, both Death’s and mine, for nothing. It can’t end like this…can it?
Lucifer walks a few paces away from me, contemplating the terms. “It’s an interesting offer, to be sure,” he finally says. “If I deliver Death’s soul back to him, say, through a courier, then I get to take yours, here and now?”
“I want to see you deliver it.”
He presses his hand to his chest. “But, Sacha… Pet… Don’t you trust me?” When I make no effort to reply, he crosses his fingers over his heart. “I will uphold my end of the deal. What I’m curious to know is whether you will uphold yours.”
“What is it you’ll want from me?” I breathe, terrified to hear his reply.
“Everything.”
“And you will give Death his soul back?”
“You have my word.”
“Then…” Come on Sacha, just say it! “…you have a deal.”
Lucifer grins, his eyes gleaming with that familiar, terrifying intent.
I see a flash of what he really looks like behind all the magical glamor, and he’s horrifying.
I pull away reflexively, but Lucifer grabs my head and holds me tight. He seizes my lips with his own, and a forked tongue slithers into my mouth and all the way into my throat. I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Then I feel something much worse invading me.
It starts in my solar plexus as a tugging, and then I can feel my soul being ripped out of my body. It’s tearing apart, stripped away from me in tatters, pouring out of my body and into him. He sucks it down, swallowing it whole, greedy for every shining morsel. I’m shaking and crying, terrified and in pain. He’s enjoying the experience in every sadistic, possible way. I want to push him back, to renounce my offer in a fleeting moment of weakness, but I’m powerless to escape his grip.
Powerless to escape him.
But there’s no escape for me, and Lucifer now has my soul. I look down at my body and see myself fading from view. At first it’s like I’m just vanishing out of existence altogether, but it’s more that I’m turning transparent, tissue-thin…ghostlike.
Ironic, that. I got into this mess because I could see ghosts, and now here I am, a ghost myself.
Lucifer steps back and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes are glowing brilliant red, and his body is trembling. He grins at me.
“So that’s that,” he says. “Come with me, Pet.”
“What about Death’s soul?”
“What about it?”
I feel my heart—or my virtual heart—plummet.
“You promised you’d give it back.”
“So I did.” A familiar collar appears around my neck, tight and restrictive, and the leash is sitting in his hand. “But you said it yourself, Pet. I’m a liar.”
The End
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About Scarlett
Scarlett Snow comes from a big family in a small Scottish town and has always strived to prove that if you are passionate about something, no one can stop you from chasing your dreams. She lives with her wolf dog and kitties and is unashamedly addicted to coffee.
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Tiegan Clyne has been writing for longer than most of her friends have been alive. She loves music, dark fantasy, and telling stories. Tiegan is a crazy cat lady in training and an all-around good egg.
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Grim (Death's Apprentice Book 1) Page 14
