Hell Inc.

by C. M. Stunich

  “Was that as good as your romance novels?” I asked him, adjusting myself so that I could lay my head on his shoulder.

  “Better,” Levie replied sleepily.

  The next morning, I woke up and stretched languidly. Levie was sleeping with his arm around me, and I blushed as I remembered last night. I wasn't a virgin anymore. It wasn't as life shattering as it was made out to be, but I was still as happy as a clam. The only thing that was bothering me was the growing intensity of my affection for Levie. It was both frightening and invigorating. I'd never had feelings even remotely like this before, and I didn't know what to do with them. I stared at Levie's sleeping face and fretted over how I was going to act when he woke up. Never having had sex with anyone before, I wasn't really sure if anything was going to be different. Levie apparently didn't share any of the same issues.

  “Are you going to continue to move around, stupid girl, or are you going to allow me to sleep?” I slapped him playfully on the arm.

  “You've had enough sleep,” I said, irritated with him and flicked him in the forehead. Levie grabbed my wrist and opened his eyes. He stared at me with feigned annoyance and strangely enough, a bit of humor as well. This was certainly different.

  “Are you trying to wake me up for any particular reason?” he asked me, pitching his voice so that it came out low and sensual. I leaned towards him, meaning to kiss him, when the phone rang. Levie rolled his eyes and waved his hand at it dismissively as if to tell me to answer it. I did, and a woman's voice came screeching out at me.

  “Levie!” she screamed. “Are you there?” Who the hell was that? I had never given Levie my phone number so there was no way he could have given it out to anyone. I handed him the phone wordlessly, a questioning look on my face. He took it gingerly from my hands and put it to his ear.

  “Leviathan speaking,” he said slowly and then cringed immediately. His body language reminded me of how he had acted when he had answered the phone in the Hell Inc. office. Submissive and nervous. Who the fuck was that? “Yes. I am truly sorry, Mother. You know how I can be when I'm working.” He glanced at me apologetically. Levie's mother was calling him. How amusing. I sidled closer and attempted to eavesdrop. “Things do not always happen the way we plan them to, Mother.” Levie held his hand over the mouth piece. “I will be there later.” Irritation was beginning to creep into his voice, and he leaned over me as more screeching sounds came from the phone. He clicked the receiver back into place, effectively silencing it. It rang again immediately, and he ignored it. After a couple of minutes, it stopped, and I looked at him.

  “What was that about?” I asked. “And how did she get my phone number?”

  “The woman is too crafty for her own good.” Levie stretched and sighed as he looked over at me. His face held a worried expression, and it made me nervous.

  “What is it?” I asked, trying not to sound alarmed. He sat up and spread his wings before leaning back against the pillows.

  “Ginger, there is something that I've neglected to tell you.” Oh shit. Now I was terrified. “It is about demons and sex ... ” I gave him a panicked look which he returned, looking equally panicked.

  “Well!?” I squeaked and tried not to reach over and shake him. Thoughts of diseases and angry, knife wielding demon wives swam through my head. I wondered if he was in some kind of relationship or how many demon girls he'd had sex with. The very idea made me jealous, and I couldn't believe I'd never thought to ask. I waited anxiously as he rubbed the back of his head.

  “Demons,” he said slowly and then stopped. Looking as if he had just changed his mind about what he was going to say, he continued with, “Stupid girl, I merely wanted to tell you that I have changed my mind. I like you more than just a little bit.” Levie puffed out his chest, and the look he gave me was full of haughty arrogance. Was that his way of acting embarrassed without actually showing it? I knew he wasn't exactly telling the truth although I did appreciate his compliment.

  “If you're not going to tell me the truth, then I'm getting up right now.” I moved as if I were planning on leaving, and Levie grabbed me around the waist, pulling me against him. His erection was pressing in horrible places, and I fought the urge to moan and move myself against it. “I have a lot of questions for you,” I whispered. Levie leaned in, and I felt his breath on my ear. When he spoke, his voice was full of wicked promises.

  “I am glad that you allowed me to be your first.” I didn't know how to respond to that type of statement, but I knew that as he kissed my ear and neck that I had to get away from him now or I was going to forget all about his weird confession and Terrence's attempted raping. I struggled against his arms, and he let go of me with a groan. Without looking back at him, I went to the bedroom door and opened it to find the sphinx sitting there.

  “Is an unspoken truth really the same as a lie?” I didn't like the riddle and glanced back at Levie who was glaring angrily at the sphinx. I pushed past it and closed the bathroom door behind me.

  I was surprised to find out that not only did Levie’s parents not live in Hell, but that they lived smack dab in the middle of suburbia. As we stood waiting on the porch, I spared a glance at my new demon lover. His wings were pulled as tightly against his body as he could manage and little droplets of sweat were beading on his forehead. I smiled as I got the urge to lick them off. Last night had really set off my sex drive. Levie looked absolutely perfect to me, even in his ugly black T-shirt with the stupid 'Hell Inc.' logo, a scroll with two black horns. I just wanted to tear it off and ravage him right then and there. I had to bite my lip and clasp my hands behind my back to keep from running them down his smooth chest. I shook my head to clear it of its lascivious thoughts and examined the neighborhood.

  It was like a scene from The Twilight Zone. Every house was the same: a cookie cutter, two-story new construction in a shade of beige with a manicured hedge and gas guzzling vehicles in the driveway. Levie's parents house was no different; demons like beige too, apparently. They even had a set of pink flamingos on their front lawn and a Tahoe parked in the driveway. The latter of which the sphinx was currently in the process of marking. Apparently, it was a he.

  And he had seen me naked. Great. I thought about telling Levie, but he already looked like he had enough on his plate. I faced forward again, and the two of us waited together in uncomfortable silence while pounding footsteps approached the front door. When it was finally flung open, we were greeted by a beautiful, female clone of Levie. Mounds of shimmering raven hair fell down her back, and a very familiar pair of orange eyes glared at the two of us from her position on her rooster doormat. She might have been his twin in looks, but I knew from the instant Levie began to cower that she was his mother.

  “You’re late,” she snapped and gave me a rather dismissive once over. Her lips tightened and her eyes roamed over Levie in a very calculating manner. “What have you been up to lately?” she snarled. “Besides getting fired. You look horrid and you smell even worse. And if I find out you've lost us our position in the – ” She looked at me for a moment, head cocked to the side, and then shuddered. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to be feeling but offended certainly was on the top of my list. “Just come in the house before you embarrass me in front of my neighbors.” Levie slunk inside, and I followed warily as she slammed the door with a force that I could feel through my feet, locking the preoccupied sphinx out. He would eventually find his way in; he always did.

  I took a look around the entryway. After the view of the neighborhood, I couldn't say I was surprised at the mundane decorating, though it was a little more country than I'd expected. Geese, ducks, and hen tchotchkes cluttered just about every inch of every surface that I could see, and the walls were lined with prints designed specifically to get me to fall asleep standing.

  “I didn’t get fired, Mother. I was merely demoted.” Levie’s mother sniffed rudely. The look on her face told me that she couldn't care less what had actually happened. As we followed her do
wn the hallway and into a very modern kitchen, another human appeared. He was graying at the temples and had bright blue eyes infected with such warmness that I couldn’t help but return his smile. He held out a hand to me and I took it, grateful that Levie’s mother was no longer focusing her attention on me.

  “Are you, uh,” I paused, trying to remember what Levie had said his mother's name was. “Lenore's client?” He laughed softly and shook his head.

  “Hello there, sweetheart,” he said to me cheerfully. “My name is Frances.” He glanced at Levie with raised eyebrows. “And I’m this one’s father.” I turned to Levie and examined the sour expression on his face. Levie is half-human? I wondered, giving him a look that said that I was pissed he hadn't told me. He was so snarky towards humanity in general that it came as a big surprise.

  “Hard to tell,” I said, sweetly, staring into Levie’s eyes. “He just looks so much like his mother.” Frances laughed and approached his son, slapping him jovially on the back. Levie scowled and stretched away from his father.

  “I would prefer it if you didn’t touch me. You know that I hate to be touched.” Levie brushed at some imaginary dust on his sleeve. Frances laughed and ignored him, wrapping his arms around Levie and pulling him close for a hug. Levie’s mother turned her own glare on the two of them.

  “Quit your roughhousing,” she snarled and looked pointedly at my duffel bag. “Take the – ” she paused. “Girl’s things to the guest room.” Levie grasped the handle of the bag and straightened.

  “Come along, Ginger,” he whispered to me. “I will show you the way.”

  The guest room was on the second floor and reminded me of the type of bed and breakfast that's only found in the middle of nowhere, complete with a variety of smiling farm animals. Levie threw my bag onto the patterned rose quilt (complete with rooster) and turned to face me. I couldn’t help but notice a slight coloring to his cheeks. I wasn’t exactly sure what his look meant, but I was determined to find out.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked him slowly, taking a step forward. My hand hovered awkwardly in the air as I thought about putting it on his arm, but it all seemed too intimate so I let it fall to my side.

  “Ginger,” he said formally and coughed into his hand. “I must confess something to you. It's about – ” He looked down at the carpet and neglected to finish his sentence. Ah, I finally understood.

  “Demons and sex?” I finished for him. We stood together in silence for another minute before I turned to my bag and started unpacking. “It better not be something horrible,” I said cautiously, trying to leave the worry that I was feeling out of my voice. “Or I might have to use my last wishes for revenge.” My attempt at humor fell flat, and we both went silent again.

  “Have you,” he paused again and began stroking his chin. “Perhaps read the contract in full?” I faced him slowly, my blood having gone cold despite the inordinate amount of heat he was radiating.

  “Why?” God, how could one simple word sound so mean? I couldn't help myself though; he was scaring me, and my defenses were up.

  “Perhaps you should do so.” I stared at him.

  “Why?”

  “My uncle is most displeased. I am to meet with him again today.” He paused. “It is about ... your last wish.” I grabbed a handful of underwear from my suitcase pocket and squeezed it like a stress ball. My jaw was clenched and tight when I spoke.

  “You said I hadn't broken any rules, Levie.” I twisted the cotton and lace jumble between my hands while I waited for him to respond. He was staring at a miniature statue of a cow behind and to the left of me. The fact that he wouldn't meet my eyes was my first sign that something was really wrong.

  “Technically,” he said, voice low. “You did not. However, your last wish has set off alarm in the company.” I raised my eyebrows at him.

  “Alarm? Why? More people should be able to see your ad. That's good, right?” Levie sighed and his wings drooped considerably, coming dangerously close to destroying a glass candy dish filled to the brim with a smelly potpourri.

  “Not precisely. You see,” Levie took a deep breath before continuing, his chest expanding considerably as he no doubt steeled himself for a disagreement. “We were not looking for ... normal humans.” His voice caught, and he made a desperate attempt to avoid my gaze as I tried to catch his.

  “I'm not a normal human?” I asked, highly doubting that I could be anything but. Except for the whole supernatural sightseeing thing. Yeah. Except for that.

  “You are a ... ” He paused again. For someone normally so eloquent, if a bit pompous, he sure was having a hard time getting it out. “A Guardian.” I laughed.

  “That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. A Guardian? I can't even protect myself.” Levie scowled at me and leaned back against the vanity, red nails tapping a rhythm of annoyance.

  “You are certainly not meant to protect anyone.” The way he said it pissed me off, even though I knew it was true. It was my turn to scowl. We sat in silence for another moment, the both of us scowling away. What a sight we must have made to the sphinx when he sauntered into the room and sat between us, tail flicking back and forth as he took stock of the situation.

  “Then what, pray tell, am I a Guardian of?” Levie harrumphed and turned to face the mirror. He picked at a particularly, hideous doily while he considered his next words. He better choose them carefully, I thought. Or I swear to God, I'm going to launch this underwear at him.

  “My race. Or to be more accurate, any demon race.” I raised my eyebrows at him, and the sphinx and I exchanged an amused glance. Me, because I was in disbelief and him, because he was just plain weird.

  “I thought you just said I wasn't meant to protect anyone? And demons being protected by humans? Puh-lease.” I sounded like a bitch and I knew it but come on, this was just too much. Mermaids using my bathtub, I could buy, but this? No way. The sphinx twisted his head back and forth, headdress tinkling, as if he were laughing. Even though I was pretty sure he was on my side this time, I kind of wanted to kick him.

  “Stupid girl,” Levie growled, and this time, it felt like an insult. “Just listen to me. I am trying to explain this to you in the best way that I know how.” He opened his mouth to speak, and I waited, hands clenched tightly around a naughty, little G-string when the mirror blackened and the Devil's face loomed in front of us.

  He joined us in our scowl-fest, cigar hanging out of the side of his mouth as he leaned forward, his forehead becoming disproportionately larger as it was distorted by the glass. He wasn't happy. That much was pretty obvious, even to me. His brow was riddled with myriad wrinkles and lines that I was sure had not been there before.

  “Levie!” he snarled, the cigar flip-flopping out of his mouth and down past the frame of the mirror. “I need you. Now. We're having an issue with Infernix.” He didn't elaborate, but he did turn his red eyed glare over to me. “Oh dear, little flower, you and I, we are going to have one looong talk.” He turned away from the mirror, one hand motioning Levie to follow.

  Levie gave me a wary look which I returned. Apparently, nobody thought Ginger needed any information about freaking anything. Especially not anything that pertained to her.

  “Please,” Levie said, taking both of my hands in his. It was a gesture that succeeded only in reminding me about last night. I flushed. “Please tell me that you will not leave this house. My mother is more than capable of protecting you, and she has warded every entrance against forced entry. As long as I know you remain here, I can be assured that you are safe.” I nodded and gave his hands a light squeeze. It wasn't like I had anywhere to go. Besides, I had a lot of things in my head that needed sorting.

  “Sure,” I whispered. Levie leaned down and pressed a very soft kiss against my lips. It knocked every rational thought right out of my head and left me breathless. I wanted to beg him to stay, but when I looked up, the Devil was watching the two of us with a leer on his face. I didn't know what company policy said about b
ecoming romantic with clients, but I panicked anyway, pushing him away. A deep, smoky chuckle escaped Levie's lips, and he kissed me again before disappearing into the mirror without another word.

  I sat down hard on the edge of the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. The sphinx watched me closely, and I stuck my tongue out at him. “You can stop with the whole watchdog bit. I'm not going anywhere.” He stared at me but made no move to leave. “Can't I even get dressed without you watching? Now that I know you have a gender, it sort of freaks me out.”

  The sphinx sighed, a very uncharacteristic noise for him, and trotted out the door, sitting immediately in front of it like some sort of golden furred gargoyle. I slammed it behind him and began flinging things out of my suitcase. I didn't feel like changing; I just wanted some alone time. And I wanted to throw a fit. Even if it was a little immature, it made me feel better.

  I stood, breath coming in little gasps, as I struggled to piece together the information that I knew. It wasn't much, and I didn't feel like I was gleaning anything from racking my brain. I needed a distraction. I looked around the room, but there wasn't a T.V. or even a radio. The only thing that looked even remotely this century was the phone on the vanity. It was an older, white plastic, corded phone, but it would work.

  I called my own number and pressed the option for voice mail (the vampires had taken my cellphone as more collateral) and waited for my messages. There were a couple of debt collection calls, a frighteningly cheerful message from Erin, and lastly, one from Terrence. I raised my finger to hit the seven and delete the dreadful thing when a catch in his voice stopped me cold.

  “Ginger.” Deep breathing, like he'd been running from something. “I'm sorry. Please. Don't trust Hell Inc.” There was some rustling and a sound like a door being slammed. “They hired me to ... ” A wave of static cut through the message, and I lost whatever it was that Terrence had been trying to say. Silence. I moved the phone away from my ear and stopped when he continued. “I came to warn you. I'm at your apartment. They have your friend, Erin. And they're waiting for you.”