The Road to Hell

by Jackie Kessler

  I summoned the last of my strength. "Stop!" The word hovered in the air, echoing, beseeching.

  Angel paused, her fingertips brushing against the hair on Paul's exposed chest. "Jesse Harris, preserving him like this still leaves him a husk, devoid of life. I will not do such an anathema. You must rest now."

  Warmth crept up my limbs again, and my eyelids drooped.

  No.

  My hand clenched into a fist so tight that it trembled. My teeth clamped down onto my lower lip until I bit through, spikes of pain shredding the warm blanket of sleep the angel wrapped around me.

  Give me my rage.

  Bracing myself with my hands, I pushed myself up with a snarl.

  "Jesse…"

  "They just crossed the line," I whispered, my fury burning away the last vestiges of sleep. I climbed to my feet. "They want me back in Hell so bad? They've got it."

  "Please, you're not thinking clearly…"

  I gnashed my teeth against my lip until I tasted blood. "Yes," I said. "Yes I am. You just keep your hand where it is. You keep him preserved." Then I took a deep breath, and with my blood on my lips, I called his name.

  "Daunuan."

  My stomach taut, my chest too tight, I braced myself. No costumes this time. No possessions, no human facades. I'd called him, and between my blood and his name on my lips, he'd come.

  The demon Daunuan was coming.

  Shadows pulled themselves from the corners, stretching, throwing themselves across the room and slowly devouring the light. The halogen lamp flickered, died. In the darkness my senses whirled, acute to the point of pain: the sound of my heart thumping a crazy beat, of my breath hissing through my teeth as I panted; the tang of blood on my mouth, in my nose—sharp, precise, cutting through the smell of my sweat, the cold stench of my rage.

  A scream of wind—my hair whipping around my face, stinging my cheeks, attacking my eyes. A streak of color—red lightning, fire burning through midnight. And then a deafening boom.

  I clamped my hands to my ears and doubled over, grimacing as the monstrous sound charged my flesh like electricity, then sunk into my skin, settled into my bones. The thunder echoed, faded, leaving behind the steady ringing of mourning bells in my ears.

  The sudden, overpowering stink of rotten eggs brought tears to my eyes. I inhaled deeply, then exhaled quickly through my nose. And again. And again, until I was numb to the odor. Awash in brimstone, I lowered my hands and stood tall.

  Darkness still enshrouded the room, but I didn't have to see Daunuan to feel the effect of his presence. He towered in front of me, radiating lust, turning the air itself into an aphrodisiac. Hints of his thick hair winked in the blackness, and his eyes, the same yellow as his hair, glowed like a demonic Cheshire cat's—trapped sunlight, cursed gold. The silhouette of his horns seared the darkness above his glowing eyes, hot coals in a sea of black. A flash of white as he grinned, his fangs glistening with unspoken intentions.

  "Well, well," Daun said, his voice the deep purr of a sleepy mountain lion. "If it isn't my darling Jezebel." He rolled my name on his tongue, letting the L hover too long. I felt that tongue slide into my cleavage, lick the swell of one breast, then the other. Sweat popped on my brow as I forced myself to ignore his touch.

  "And a succubus," he said, the smile all too clear in his voice. As he spoke, invisible fingers fondled me, rolled my nipples until they hardened in his grasp. I caught myself starting to pant from his attention, so I bit down on my lip, hard. "What interesting company you're keeping, babes. Last I saw, your friend here was making moves on your man."

  "It's one of those strange bedfellows times," I said, my voice betraying none of my desire, or my barely checked terror. I couldn't let Daun get to me, not yet, not before he promised to help me. "Can you tone down the demonic darkness thing?"

  "You're the one who summoned me, Jezzie. Mortals usually prefer all the trappings. You being a human now, I thought you'd want the whole enchilada." His tongue lapped my nipple, then his lips clamped down. I bit back a moan as he gave suck. "You're so quiet, babes. What's wrong? Am I scaring you?"

  "No."

  "Liar. I smell your fear, Jezzie. It's intoxicating." Fangs flashed again in a silent laugh. "And you should be scared. You didn't cast any circles of protection before you summoned me. There's so much I could be doing to you right now."

  Oh fuck.

  The invisible mouth offered one last kiss on my breast before it disappeared. Daun said, "I could send you to your knees."

  A crushing force pressed on my shoulders, and I fell to my knees.

  "I could force you to bow down before me."

  A lack to my back sent me crashing to the floor. My hands and forearms slapped against the hard wood, took the brunt of the impact. Something stepped on the back of my head, nudged my forehead to the ground. The floorboards tattooed their pattern against my brow, and still the pressure on the back of my head increased, as if it meant to drive me through the floor.

  Fuuuuuuuck.

  "My Lord," the angel said, "is this really necessary?"

  "Quiet. This is between me and Jezebel. My summoner."

  Behind me, the cherub fell silent.

  "Now then. I could be doing all sorts of things to you. But I'm not that into power games." Daun chuffed laughter, the disembodied sound galloping in the dark. "Forcing you to do anything takes the fun out of it."

  Invisible hands lifted me up, placed me back on my feet. If not for those hands, I would have collapsed in a gibbering heap. Daun was right. In my exhaustion and anger, I'd forgotten the most important rule: When mortals consort with demons, they damn well better prepare themselves. Charms, circles, wands, a credit card—whatever afforded them protection, they'd better use it. Because without it, the infernal had free rein.

  Too late to play it safe, I told myself, commanding my legs to stand firm.

  Far too late.

  "Lucky for you, I'm more into temptation than brute force," Daun said.

  A ghostly finger stroked my crotch until heat flared between my legs. I bit back a gasp.

  "See?" he said, chuckling. "Temptation. And after all our years together, I know how much you like to be surprised. The darkness stays, Jezzie. If you see what I'm doing, where's the surprise?"

  My knees threatened to buckle as the strokes grew bolder. Stop, I told my body. Not now.

  Not yet.

  My body humphed its disappointment, but obeyed me. For now.

  "Very impressive," I said, my voice husky. "But I didn't call you here for sex." Not quite a lie. Just not the whole truth.

  The finger paused. "You summoned an incubus without any intention of fucking me? I don't know if I'm insulted or amused." The finger resumed its stroking, and something kissed the hollow of my throat, my jaw, my earlobe.

  I swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the shocks of pleasure dancing on my skin. "I need your help."

  The finger vanished.

  In my ear, Daun whispered, "Maybe you're confusing me with the former angel. I don't do help."

  "Daun…"

  "You won't fuck me, you rub your love for your meat pie in my face, and then you have the gall to ask for my help? Not interested. Bye, babes."

  I felt him move away from me, but I didn't panic until the yellow of his eyes and hair winked out. I shouted, "Please!"

  In the darkness, he laughed softly. Coldly. "You need help so bad, Jezebel, I suggest you get your man to do it. Those big shoulders have to be good for something besides being a way station for your ankles."

  "He can't," I said, fighting back tears. Bad enough I'd already begged. Crying right now would be very bad. Daun may have been a friend once, but he was first and foremost a demon. The nefarious feasted on mortal weakness, consumed it like candy. I was just a human, complete with emotions that threatened to drown me.

  And a soul to offer to the highest bidder.

  "Oh?" I heard the curiosity in Daun's voice, hoped it would override his anger with me. "You've
got an itch he just won't scratch? The flesh puppet's got some values that are messing with your wicked desires?"

  "Not exactly."

  "Then what's stopping your man from helping his true love?"

  "Him being newly dead."

  I heard the gears turning in his head, and a moment later the darkness evaporated. Daun loomed over me, yellow eyes gleaming, long golden hair flowing over his shoulders. His body stood in sharp relief against the halogen light: his turquoise skin, peppered with flaxen curls, gleaming with sweat and the promise of sex; heavily muscled arms folded across his powerful chest; narrow waist leading down to a pelvis covered in a sandy brown pelt; strong thighs giving way to goat's legs and hooves. And a dick the size of a torpedo. Malefic standard to the max.

  The mortal part of me recoiled. The demon I used to be wanted to throw myself on Daun and start humping.

  He looked past me, his gaze fixed on the sofa, drinking in Paul's empty form. "Babes," he said, clearly impressed, "that's more like it."

  "Not my handiwork."

  Daun arched a golden brow at me, then jutted his chin toward the angel, whose hand rested on Paul's unmoving chest. The cherub blushed, avoided Daun's heated gaze.

  "Not her, either," I said.

  Eyes narrowed, Daun walked over to where Paul's body lay. He inhaled deeply, then snorted, his blue nostrils flaring. "Her."

  There was no question who he meant. Numbly, I nodded.

  "She moved fast."

  "Did you know?" I didn't really want the answer, but I had to ask. "Was this what she'd planned from the start?"

  He looked at me, his eyes unreadable, a smile playing on his face. "There's no good answer, you know. If I say yes, I knew all along that your former Queen meant to seduce your man and steal his soul, then you'll hate me until the Lake of Fire freezes. And if I say no, I had no idea, your former Queen doesn't exactly confide in me, then you won't believe me."

  "I'd believe you," I said.

  But you wouldn't, Meg whispered. You'd always wonder if he'd lied to you.

  That's not true.

  In my mind, Meg laughed. Just goes to show that humans are all too happy to lie to themselves.

  Shut up, Meg.

  As if Daun could hear my conscience mocking me, he said, "I keep forgetting how much demons and humans have in common. You're lying to me now, but I don't think you know you're lying. You mortals are a complicated piece of work. I liked you better as a demon. Then you were deliciously one-track minded."

  Shit. "I guess you're not telling, then."

  His eyes sparkled with secrets. "Like I said before, babes, love sucks. Especially short-term, mortal love. And really, what other sort of love is there for humans?"

  "Some love is stronger than that."

  "Right, here's where the stripper breaks into a country song." He snorted laughter. "How's the joke go? Play the song backwards, and he'll come back to life."

  Tears fought their way from my eyes, soldiered down my cheeks. I looked down at my feet so that Daun wouldn't see me cry.

  "So what are you supposed to be doing?" he said to the cherub. "Turning him into a jar of meat preserves?"

  Angel said, "My Lord, Jesse Harris requested this of me."

  "Thought you were playing for the other team now. Or are you moonlighting as a guardian angel?"

  "I owed her a favor," she said tersely. "All debts are now paid."

  "Good. Owing anything to mortals can come back to bite you in the ass. But having the situation reversed almost always works out to your benefit. Speaking of which…" His voice broke off, and I felt his amber gaze on me. "Tell me, babes, what were you going to ask of me?"

  I looked up at him, the tears doubling my vision, softening the lines of reality so that for a moment, I thought I saw sympathy in his yellow eyes. But no, that was the biggest lie of all. Daun was a demon, and demons didn't have feelings. "Why do you want to know?"

  "Just curious," he said. "I can't bring him back to life, and I sure as shit won't challenge your former Queen. So I'm wondering what you needed my help with. Funeral arrangements, maybe?"

  "Something like that." I took a deep breath, blew it out. My heart thumping madly, I said, "I need you to kill me."

  Chapter 13

  In The Arms of Don Juan

  "Poor babes," Daun said. "You've lost your mind with grief."

  "I'm perfectly sane." Considering that my lover had been first seduced and then murdered in front of my eyes, I was doing pretty well.

  Daun didn't seem to agree. "Then you've got a fucked up sense of humor."

  "I've never been more serious."

  By the sofa, Angel said, "I agree with my Lord. You're insane."

  Daun and I ignored her. He stared at me, his amber eyes unblinking. In his natural form, his face was all lines and sharp angles, revealing nothing soft. A smile unfurled, and even that was hard, cutting: a slash of mirth, a slice of humor. "You want me to kill you."

  I lifted my chin. "Yes."

  Something slammed against me, pushed me backward to the floor. My head connected with a thud, and for a moment stars burst across my vision like mental fireworks. Daun threw himself on me, straddling my hips and pinning my shoulders with his elbows. His shaft jammed against my stomach, and he rubbed himself against my belly. That would have been fine, except in the middle of getting his jollies on me, he wrapped his hands around my throat.

  "This?" he said, his voice a deadly purr. "This is what you want?"

  I squeaked out a no.

  "Or maybe this?" He lifted one of his hands, the other still pressing into the soft flesh of my neck. As I watched, the nails on his fingertips stretched into razors that would have given Freddie Krueger the mother of all woodies. Eep.

  Daun pressed one of those finger-razors against my cheek, the tip grazing my eyelashes. I didn't dare to breathe. Not that I had a lot of choice in the matter, what with Daun slowly choking the life out of me.

  "Want me to slice off your nose to spite your face? Because that's what this is, Jezzie. Your bullshit pride."

  I tried to speak, but his hand squeezed my windpipe. Grunting, I managed to whisper, "Not pride."

  "No?" He removed his hand from my neck, and I gasped in a harsh, shuddering breath. Blood roared in my ears as I breathed, the air burning my throat. As much as I used to enjoy sexual asphyxiation when I was a succubus, it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi as a human. Probably due to the whole needing-to-breathe part.

  Propping himself up on one hand so that he hovered over me, Daun pressed his other hand against my jaw, his razor-nail winking distance from my eye. "If not pride, then what? A death wish?"

  I opened my mouth, but only a wheeze came out. Bless me, what was it about the malefic that they always had to go for the throat? I swallowed, working moisture into my abused esophagus. Finally I was able to speak. "No. It's the final straw."

  He cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowed, plotting. Considering my words. The razor-nails retracted, but he leaned down on me, pressing against my shoulders with his elbows, one of his fingers on my cheek, stroking. "Do tell."

  Here we go. I had exactly one chance to convince Daun and the cherub to help me. I didn't want to think about what would happen if either of them refused. "I've had enough, Daun. I got out. I left Hell behind, got a soul, started over."

  His fangs flashed—either a grin or a leer. "Been there, read the book. Don't bore me, babes." His tongue darted out, licked his lips.

  Implied threat duly noted. "I was supposed to have a happy ending, ride off into the sunset, the whole shebang. But you guys won't leave me alone. And I've had enough."

  "'You guys'?" His mouth twisted into a smirk. "I can't speak for anyone else. Me, I want you back for the sex."

  "Not her" I said, not daring to speak Lillith's name aloud. "She took Paul, sucked out his soul."

  "Ooh. Sucking face with a dead man. Shivers."

  If I didn't need the demon so desperately, I would have taken Paul
's baseball bat and smashed Daun's fangs out of his mouth. "She said if I wanted him so bad, I should come get him."

  He darted his gaze to the angel. I couldn't see her reaction, but when Daun turned back to me, something flitted across his eyes. Bless me, why couldn't I read auras when I really needed to? He said, "She told you that?"

  "Yes."

  "Baiting you."

  "Yes."

  Angel cleared her throat. "His soul was clean, my Lord. She had no authority to claim him."

  As Daun pondered that, I threw in, "And then there's Alecto…"

  At the Fury's name, Daun hissed, and Angel murmured a prayer. Oops. Very few creatures blithely speak the name of an Erinyes. Being friends with Meg for so long must have burned away that automatic reaction of avoiding all things Fury. Yet another thing for me to hold against her.

  Meg, you stupid thing, why did you submit to the King of Hell? What is He doing to you?

  Angel's voice cut through my despair. "What on Earth does the Erinyes want with you?"

  "Nothing on Earth." I told them about Alecto's visit, how she'd given me time to consider her request, how hours ago she'd practically begged me to return to the Abyss. When I finished, Daun shook his head as he chortled. "You gave the bitch the boot, eh? Good for you, Jezzie. You've got balls."

  Now. Now, while his mood is good, and he's impressed with me.

  "Boobs, not balls," I said. "And I've changed my mind. I'm going to Hell. I'm going to help Meg."

  Daun's laughter shriveled and died.

  "And I'm going to save Paul."

  By the sofa, Angel muttered something under her breath.

  "And then I'm going to march up to the King of Hell and tell Him to leave me and mine alone." Here we go. To Daun I said, "But to do this, I need you to seduce me and kill me, so you can lead my soul to Hell. And," I said to the angel, "I need you to do the Snow White thing to my body, so I'll be able to return when I'm done."