by Laurèn Lee
“Then we die trying!” Adriel said and punched the couch behind him.
“Ahem, speak for yourself, Addy,” Cyndy said. “Maybe Charlotte has a point.”
“You seriously think it’s okay for Charlotte to trade herself to that monster?” Adriel seethed, his chest rising and falling faster than he could catch his breath.
Cyndy hung her head while Charlotte stared at the ceiling. “It was just an idea,” she said.
Henley and Bentley looked to each other and back to Charlotte with eager eyes. “You’d really sacrifice yourself?”
“She will not!” Adriel roared.
Charlotte grabbed Adriel’s hands with her own and gazed into his eyes. “I love you so much, Adriel, but if I can save the world from any more of his evil, I have to do it. I can’t sit idly back knowing I could have prevented any more destruction.”
“There has to be another way,” he pressed. “I can’t, I won’t lose you to him.”
Charlotte pressed her forehead against Adriel’s. “You’ll never truly lose me. My heart is yours forever.”
Adriel closed his eyes and pulled Charlotte into his arms. “You know I can’t let you do this, right?”
“Well, lucky for me, I don’t let a man, or demon for that matter, control my life. You’ll have to let me go.”
Adriel backed away, and with his lip curled upward, he stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
“That went well,” Henley said.
Charlotte sank to the couch with her head in her hands.
19
Adriel didn’t return that night, and everyone in the house turned restless and anxious. Mary Elizabeth promised Charlotte she’d keep her safe while they brainstormed another idea to take Liam down, but she politely declined.
“I can’t let anyone else get hurt, Mary Elizabeth. Not when I can stop this myself.”
“I understand, but we don’t want you to do this. Adriel will not be able to handle it,” Mary Elizabeth said. “There’s also no guarantee he will give up his power for you.”
“I won’t be able to handle watching anyone else die because I didn’t have the balls to step up,” Charlotte replied.
“The balls? What do you mean?” Mary Elizabeth asked.
Charlotte grinned; it never ceased to entertain her when Mary Elizabeth didn’t understand modern-day euphemisms. “Never mind,” Charlotte said.
While everyone else separated and ventured off into their respective rooms, Charlotte told Mary Elizabeth and Cyndy she needed to go for a walk to clear her head and get some fresh air.
“I don’t think Adriel would approve,” Mary Elizabeth warned.
“I’m a grown ass woman. He would be able to tell me his concerns himself if he didn’t run off.”
Mary Elizabeth nodded and didn’t stand in the way as Charlotte laced up her sneakers, zipped up her hoodie and walked right out the front door.
Overhead, the moon ignited the sky with its pale yet mesmerizing glow. Outside of the city, the stars shone more brightly, and entire constellations could be seen winking in the sky. Charlotte craned her neck to look for the North Star and walked in that same direction. She had no destination in mind, just needed some time alone to sort through her thoughts.
She walked along the road, not a single car in sight. Charlotte hypothesized about what life would be like if she gave herself over to Liam. Would she have to live in Hell with him? Could a human live in Hell at all? Would he want her to become a demon, too? So many questions raced around in her mind, Charlotte felt faint. She needed to talk to Adriel. And not the Adriel she loved, but the badass demon she met at the bottom of the cliff. The Adriel who would do anything he needed to, without hesitation. She needed that Adriel to tell her she was doing the right thing. Even if it wasn’t the right thing for her, it was the right thing for everyone else.
Charlotte reached a clearing beside the road which donned an open field under the full moon. She knew then what she needed to do. She jogged into the field, the brush scraping against her legs in the process. She started running as fast as she could deeper and deeper into the field. She didn’t know where she was going, just knew she needed to get there fast. As Charlotte sprinted into the darkness, her foot caught a lone rock wedged into the earth, and she flew forward, landing on her knees and the palms of her hands.
The rock cut her on the way down, and her calf bled freely. Charlotte didn’t cry, though. She didn’t even wince. All the time she tried to numb herself to the evils of the world, and it felt good to feel the pain. To feel anything at all. The sticky liquid oozed down her leg and splattered into the dirt. Charlotte closed her eyes and called Liam.
“Liam! I’m here. Come on and get me. I surrender!”
Nothing happened.
Until something did.
The earth rumbled, and Charlotte thought she was stuck in an earthquake. She held on to her knees, pulled them to her chest, and rocked back and forth. The birds in the sky scattered away, flying off into all different directions. Wildcats cried in the distance, and a dog howled nearby.
The ground shook and cracked only feet away from Charlotte. She pulled herself up and hobbled away from the fissure. Smoke billowed out of the crack, and flames licked the ground. Some of the brush caught on fire, igniting as though gasoline had been poured moments earlier.
A figure rose from the fissure, a silhouette against the fire.
“You rang?” the voice called out to Charlotte.
At that moment, Charlotte knew who stood feet away from her, hidden among the flames. “You came.”
“I thought you’d never call for me again,” he said.
“I’m surrendering to you. I’ll be your wife or whatever,” Charlotte offered.
Liam stepped out of the shadows and into the light cascading from the fire. “There’s a but in there somewhere, isn’t there, love?”
“But you have to stop doing what you’re doing.”
“And what is it I’m doing?” He stepped closer to Charlotte, looking as debonair and evil as ever. Blood still dripped from her wound, and her body quivered.
“You have to stop killing people. Stop killing the demons who won’t pledge allegiance to you. You have to stop it all.”
Liam placed the palm of his hand under his chin, appearing pensive as he considered Charlotte’s proposal.
“So, you want me to give up being the King of Hell just so I can have you back?”
“Yes,” Charlotte said.
Liam grinned, baring all his teeth. “I think you overestimated my love for you, dear Charlotte.”
She froze, her feet glued to the ground. “What do you mean? You’ve been begging me to take you back. You said you still loved me and would stop at nothing to have me!”
“You’re not wrong: I did want you back more than anything. Until, that is, I tasted the raw power associated with the throne six feet under. It seems I love power more than anything, even you.”
Charlotte’s jaw dropped, and the realization sank in: she’d done this all for nothing. She promised herself to a demon who didn’t want her more than anything after all.
“You look shocked, love. I think it’s sweet, though. You thought I’d give everything up for you. In the past, I would have, but not now. Power is my one true love.”
Bile rose in Charlotte’s throat, and regret flooded through her veins. “No! No! You have to take me back. You need to stop all of this!” she pleaded.
“Poor little Charlotte,” Liam sang. “Can’t get her way, and she throws a tantrum. Does darling Adriel know you’re here? Offering yourself to me?”
“I’ll do anything, Liam. Please! Don’t hurt anyone else.”
“Love, I’m a demon. Killing people is my whole thing.”
Liam stepped even closer to Charlotte as the fire around them spread madly across the acres, even reaching the main road where Charlotte traveled only minutes ago. He reached out for her, and Charlotte slapped his hand.
“
I hate you!” she screamed and spat in his face.
Liam wiped the saliva off his cheek and laughed madly into the night. “You’re too much, love! I appreciate the offer, but I’m respectfully declining.”
He grasped her arms, and his touch burned into Charlotte’s skin. She screamed into the night and grabbed Liam’s hand with her other, trying to pull him off her. All the while, he stared into her eyes, the flames overwhelming his irises. When he finally let her go, a handprint was burned into Charlotte’s arm.
“Something to always remember me by,” he said.
Finally, tears poured from Charlotte’s eyes, and she collapsed before Liam.
“C’mon, Charlotte. Let’s go,” he said.
She looked up, tears staining her cheeks. “What? You said you didn’t want me.”
“I said I wouldn’t trade my throne for you. I never said I didn’t want to take you back.”
Perplexed, Charlotte stood before Liam. “Where are you taking me?”
Defeated and exhausted, Charlotte didn’t have it in her to fight Liam any longer. Part of her wanted everything to be over. Even if that meant welcoming death into her life.
“Home, my love. I’m taking you home.”
Liam grabbed Charlotte’s hand and pulled her closer to the fissure. The flames licked Charlotte’s face, but didn’t burn her; they only flirted. Without warning, Liam stepped off the edge of the earth, pulling Charlotte with him, straight down to Hell.
20
“Charlotte? Charlotte, where are you?” Tori called into the night.
When Charlotte didn’t return to the house, Tori, Mary Elizabeth, and Cyndy panicked. Not only was it terrifying that their friend was lost in the night, but what scared them even more was anticipating Adriel’s reaction when he found out.
Tori burst into Henley and Bentley’s room and begged for their help.
“Maybe she just went for a walk,” Bentley suggested.
“She’s been gone for hours now. We have to find her!”
“This girl causes too much trouble,” Bentley grumbled.
Tori eyed him viciously.
“Okay, okay. We’ll help.”
Henley also agreed and went to collect the rest of the demons in the house. Much to their dismay, they were coaxed into helping look for Charlotte as well.
Mary Elizabeth stood outside under the moonlight and called to Charlotte in her mind. She focused all of her angelic powers on finding her, but couldn’t locate her soul above ground.
“Where do you think she is?” Cyndy asked the angel.
“She is not on Earth, and she is not in Heaven,” Mary Elizabeth answered.
“Then where is she?” Cyndy asked.
“There’s only one other place she can be,” Mary Elizabeth said, her face crestfallen and desperate.
Cyndy bit her lip. If she wasn’t on Earth or in Heaven, that meant she had to be in Hell.
“No!” Cyndy cried. “How could that happen?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s not good news.”
The eeriness of the silent night swept over the demons, the human and the angel. Tori returned to the house to find Cyndy and Mary Elizabeth sitting on the porch with their heads in the hands.
“What is it?” Tori asked.
“Charlotte’s in Hell,” Cyndy said. “Adriel is going to kill us for letting her out of our sight.”
Tori’s jaw dropped, but she quickly regained her composure. “Try not to beat yourself up. I’ve known Charlotte for a very long time, and if there’s something she wants, no one can stop her. But how do you know she’s there?”
Cyndy nodded toward Mary Elizabeth, who frowned. “I can’t find her anywhere in my sight. And I can see everywhere except for the Underworld.”
“Who can’t you find?” a voice asked from the shadows.
“Addy!” Cyndy called. “You’re back!”
“Who’s missing?” he demanded.
Tori turned around to stand eye to eye with Adriel. “Charlotte. She’s gone.”
Flames ignited within Adriel’s expanding eyes. “What did you just say?” He grabbed Tori’s throat and closed his hand around it. Her breathing suffered as she tried to pry his hand off her.
“Adriel, let her go,” Mary Elizabeth said. “It’s not her fault. It’s not any of our faults.”
His grip loosened around Tori’s throat, and his hands dropped to his sides. “She’s really gone?”
“I’m sorry, Addy. I think she just wanted to do the right thing,” Cyndy said.
“She didn’t have to give herself up.” Adriel’s voice was melancholy.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have left,” Bentley mumbled under his breath.
Adriel whipped around, life returning to his dull eyes. “What did you just say?”
“Okay! Everyone calm the fuck down!” Henley yelled, her echo dancing around the walls. “She’s gone. We can’t change that. All we can do is move forward and try to figure out our next play.”
Adriel paced the room, the floorboards creaking under his weight. He ran his hands through his wild hair and cracked his knuckles one by one.
“If she’s in Hell, we have to go get her,” he said.
“I’m not going back there!” Bentley insisted, his voice a higher octave than before.
“Yeah, I don’t know, Adriel. It was hard enough leaving, and you want us to waltz back into Liam’s domain like nothing ever happened?” Henley said.
“He’ll have our heads on a platter!” Bentley cried.
“Here I thought demons were supposed to be badasses,” Cyndy mumbled.
Bentley turned on her, his eyes glowing with burning embers. “Liam is worse than the devil, girl. You want to take him on? Be my guest!”
Cyndy rolled her eyes, unamused. “He’s just one. We have more demons than he does.”
“Actually, there are a lot of demons in Hell who’ve pledged their allegiance to him, if only not to die by his wrath,” Henley said.
“What if they switched sides?” Mary Elizabeth asked.
Anxiety and paranoia wafted into the room like an unwanted stench. Adriel stopped pacing and instead stared out of the window longingly.
“We could try to get them on our side,” he said.
“What can we offer them, though? Protection? We still need our own protection from Liam,” Bentley said.
“But if we take all of Liam’s minions, it will be thousands against one. Surely he’s not that strong,” Adriel said.
Henley bit her lip. “I don’t know, Adriel. How would we even show our faces down there without Liam noticing?”
“We’d need a distraction or a diversion, of course.” Adriel’s lips curved upward, and flames bounced around within his eyes.
Sweat dripped from Charlotte’s pores like sprinkler left on during a heavy draught. Hell was hotter than she thought and drearier than she ever imagined too.
“I don’t understand how I can be down here,” she said.
Liam grinned wickedly and turned around to absorb the shock drawn across Charlotte’s face. “Lovely place, inn’it?”
“If by lovely you mean a terrifying place as hot as Hades,” she replied.
“We’re in Hades, love. Enjoy it.”
Charlotte pursed her lips as Liam dragged her along a dark and smoky hallway. They crossed paths with a few demons, who immediately bowed to Liam. Some of them even kissed Liam’s feet. Charlotte could hardly hold back the vomit rising in her throat. She longed for all of this to be over, but would it ever end? She thought she knew Liam so well that he’d give up everything for her, only to be fooled again. She should have known, and yet she had an inkling of hope inside her. Misdirected hope, though. Liam had grown so powerful, he could only love himself as much as he felt enamored by the sheer power of his role in Hell.
“Where are you taking me?” Charlotte asked.
“To my chambers, m’lady,” Liam said. His grip grew tighter on Charlotte’s arm. She’d have a matching scar to t
he one he left before their descent six feet under.
“If you didn’t want to give up everything for me, why take me in the first place? Why not leave me on Earth?”
“Just because I wouldn’t give up my crown for you doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind keeping you around, dear. You’re still my eye candy.” He winked after licking his lips.
“You’re disgusting. Seriously, you’re a freakin’ monster,” Charlotte said.
“Not a monster, I’m the Devil.”
They approached the end of the hallway, and Liam whipped open the door before them. Inside, dozens of snakes slithered about. Charlotte shrieked and clung to Liam for protection. He chortled and reveled in her touch.
“I like when you are close to me,” he said.
“I don’t know which I despise more, the snakes or you!” Charlotte spat.
“Well, get comfortable. This is your home now,” he said.
Charlotte stood behind Liam as a black and emerald snake approached her with its slimy tongue waving hello. “Please make them go away. I’ll do anything!” her voice quivered.
“Anything?” Liam asked.
“Liam!” Charlotte screamed. Impatience and fear scratched at her insides.
“Fine. As you wish.” Liam snapped his fingers, and the snakes scampered away. One left its shed skin behind as a souvenir.
Charlotte pushed Liam away and rubbed her arm soothingly where her blistered skin radiated with heat and pain.
“How do you live down here?” she asked. Charlotte looked around at the dungeon of a room and imagined a slave being kept down here.
“It’s quite cozy once you get used to it. I know you will too.”
“Will what?” she sneered.
“Get used to it,” Liam said. “You’ll share this room with me as my wife.”
“Are you kidding me? Did you inhale too much smoke back there? I wouldn’t marry you if you paid me.” Charlotte shivered, physically disgusted.
“What if I killed you instead?” Liam leaped toward her and closed his hands around her throat.
“Let go!” she huffed.
Liam dropped his hands, but leaned in closer to Charlotte, their lips nearly touching. “I’m the King of Hell, Charlotte, and you are my queen.”
