“Do you like me, Ginger?” he asked it with such sincerity that I felt my face flush. I tried to glance over at Lunen, but Levie caught my chin in his hand and made me look him full in the face. There were lines of worry in his forehead, and his wing tips drooped to the cement floor. I had a feeling that this was a loaded question. If I didn't answer it carefully, I had a feeling things could get a whole lot worse. Not that they weren't already bad enough.
“Uh.” The information Lunen had given to me was floating around in the back of my mind, but Levie was staring at me with such intensity that I decided to hold that off for later. I squeezed my small hands around his big ones and marveled at the scorching heat in them. “Yeah, yeah, I think that I do. But Levie – ” He released me abruptly and took a deep breath, his chest expanding slowly before releasing it in a rush. “We need to talk.” He nodded once at Lunen before turning his attention back to me, eyes softer this time but still full of worry.
“Of course we do, Ginger,” he said with a soft sigh as one of his hands reached up the brush my face. I raised my eyebrow at him and pushed his hand away. I didn't want to be ignored anymore. It was time that someone gave me some answers.
“Not later, Levie, now. I've been patient with all of this.” I swung my arm out in an arc meaning to indicate the whole mess, from my first wish to my death. I'd been patient, but I didn't want to be anymore. Patience was only getting me fucked over. Levie shook his head, and I stomped my foot. Childish maybe, but effective. Levie raised his own dark brows at me. “I'm tired of being dragged here and there like a fucking puppet. Tell me what's going on!” Levie and Lunen exchanged a quick glance.
“Ginger,” he said, turning back to me. “After a human dies, they have only a short time period until they pass on to their next life. If we do not get you back to your Earth before our two day window is up, you will be lost to us.” My blood chilled despite the heat, and I took an unconscious step closer to Levie's warm body.
“Two days? But I thought when I sold my soul, I would work here? Isn't this Hell?” My voice was squeaky and small. So much for standing up for myself. Apparently, I was terrible at it. Levie and Lunen shared yet another private look, and Levie put his hands on my shoulders.
“You have not wished your last wishes. We must have you restored or your contract altered in this time period, Ginger. I must speak with my uncle now. There will be time for your questions later. Besides, do you not wish for me to help your friend?” Oh. Erin. I felt sick. In my own selfishness, I had completely forgotten. No wonder my family only wanted to see me on major holidays. I nodded slowly, and he let go of me, leaving my shoulders cold again. I couldn't really argue with that point. And I didn't want to pass on. I was terrified.
“Levie.” I grabbed his arm and pleaded with my eyes for him not to leave me. “I'm scared.” I didn't feel ashamed admitting it. I was terrified, and I had a right to be. I didn't have a religion or even a clue about what I was supposed to do in this place. I was dead and in Hell, but really, it was just like a waiting room. Unless I let Levie help me. I let go of him and turned away, wiping my eyes with my arm. I wouldn't let the tears fall.
“Ginger,” he said, wrapping his arms around me from behind and tucking his wings around us like a shield. “Do not worry. I will take care of you. I am your ... caseworker.” The second meaning behind the word and his breath on my ear made me shiver despite the situation. I nodded slowly and hugged his arms to my chest briefly before releasing him.
“You will take her to Purgatory for me?” Levie asked Lunen. Lunen nodded and Levie gave my arm one last caress before leaving. “I will come for you soon, Ginger. Do not be afraid, everything will be okay.”
I let Lunen lead me to Purgatory, which really was only a very extravagant hotel with a catchy name. A backdoor into the lobby had opened right off the end of the hallway that Lunen had dragged me down, and he showed me to my room without incident, leaving me there alone to ponder my thoughts. My brain was scattered and my feelings scrambled. I was having a difficult time processing any information, so I flopped down on the bed to rest my eyes and ended up drifting into an uneasy sleep.
When I awoke, the sky outside was dark. Levie hadn't shown, and I was starting to worry not only about him but about how much time had passed. This just made the whole situation a nightmare from hell, literally. I hadn't the slightest clue where to start. I flung myself off the bed and began pacing. The adrenaline that was flowing through me was making it hard to sit still (not to mention that I was feeling a bit claustrophobic). It wasn't that the room was small or anything, I just felt trapped by indecision. Like I was in a box and all the infinite possibilities of what could or might happen were the walls keeping me locked inside. It was at that moment that I noticed the genie's bottle again. I had left it sitting on the nightstand like some sort of bauble.
I snatched it up and stood staring at it, wondering if it even worked down here. It hadn't before, when I'd wished to be alive again. Like that was ever going to happen. I slumped back on the bed and squeezed the pink glass, wishing it would just shatter and cut open my hands. At least that would give me a distraction to focus on. I rubbed my thumb over the pink swirls wondering what the damn thing was pretending to be. It was too narrow at the opening to be a vase but just about the right height and thickness on the bottom. I threw it on the floor and kicked it. Another childless act, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I was angry. I had a right to be. I was dead.
A wail escaped my throat and I threw myself into the pillows sobbing like some deranged teenager who'd just broken up with her boyfriend. I spent the better part of the next hour feeling sorry for myself. I do admit my short attention span got the better of me. Even sadness wasn't entertaining enough to hold my interest for long.
I lugged myself out of the deliciously fluffy down pillows (this was Hell, right?) and began to pace again. When nothing came to me, I kicked the nightstand out of sheer desperation. A mistake since I was shoeless. I grit my teeth against the pain and watched just the tiniest bit of blood seep out from the edge of my toenail and drip onto the floor next to the genie's bottle. I picked it up and rubbed the blood off with my finger, wiping the residue on my pants and set it back onto the nightstand. If my eyes hadn't been so puffy and swollen from crying, I probably would have noticed the smoke sooner.
Orange tendrils drifted out and curled around my wrists. I swiped at them absentmindedly, feeling the light touch but not really noticing what was actually going on. The minibar caught my attention, and I prayed to whatever god that might still be looking out for me that there was booze in it. I opened the tiny white door and found nothing but V8 and a lean cuisine.
“What the fuck? Where's the chocolate cake and the Grey Goose?”
“This isn't level three, darling. You're not here for gluttony, you're just visiting.” I sighed, tired of all the little surprises the last few days had had in store for me and turned around, hand planted on my hip, to see Diamokina lounging on the bed. Her gypsy skirts and bright orange skin looked rather out of place on the beige and white bedspread, and I felt a spark of irritation flare up inside.
“I tried calling you earlier and you ignored me. What do you want now?” Diamokina grinned at me, and I tried not to stare at her pointy teeth, scary as they were.
“You just don't know all of the rules in the handbook. It takes a drop of blood to summon me to an interdimensional destination.” I rolled my eyes and threw up my hand.
“Oh, is that it! Gee, I guess it just slipped my mind.” I turned back to the minibar and snatched the can of V8. I popped the top and poured the tomato juice down my throat in one swallow and because I actually hate vegetable juice, I began to gag and cough. Diamokina laughed, and I heard her jewelry singing as she sat up on the bed.
“You are quite the silly girl,” she droned as I turned to glare at her, one hand clutching my throat. “But surely you can't blame me for all of this? We never did get the chance to discuss our new arrange
ment. That demon of yours whisked you away in an instant and left me to deal with that bottom dweller.” Her mouth curled into a sneer and her fingernails dug into the mattress, rending the fabric and releasing an errant spring. “That took me longer than I had expected and when I set out to find you, all I got was a charred piece of meat and an angry lesbian vampire.”
“First of all, what did you do to Terrence and again, thanks for the reminder that my body is completely and utterly ruined. And how do you know Helena is a lesbian anyway?” Diamokina rolled onto her back and stretched like a cat.
“He nearly had me but those two lovely furry blokes bashed in his head with a club.” A magazine appeared in her previously empty hand titled Bottles Weekly and she began leisurely flipping through the pages. “Anyway, the handbook's on the table there. Give it a go, and I'll see what I can do.” She paused for a moment and squinted at one of the ads.
“What the fuck are you – ” I paused when I saw the pink hardcover next to the TV. It was embossed in gold writing that read: Introduction to Wishing, Volume One: Genies. I sighed and grudgingly picked it up. It was heavier than I'd expected and had much the same look and feel of a Bible. Oh, the irony. I opened up to the introduction which was, of course, written in a language completely unfamiliar to me.
“What the hell is this?” I'd be damned if I were tricked into accepting another bunch of gobbledygook in exchange for more problems. Diamokina shrugged, and I threw the book at her. Yes, literally. She rolled easily out of the way, and the book smacked into the down pillows with a soft thud.
“There's no need for violence, girl,” she said, folding her magazine up and laying it beside her. “I'm only here to help you.”
“Help me?” I croaked, one hand splayed across my chest. “You can't help me now; I'm dead.” Diamokina shrugged her narrow shoulders and pulled some of her white hair across her breast, stroking it lightly. Her head was almost entirely bald except for one long, ponytail of white that was nearly down to her ankles. She flicked the tips back and forth between her fingers as she spoke.
“So what? A bond is a bond. You're my master until you pass over. You're still you. Body or no.” She blinked her thick lashed lids at me, the solid blue of her eyes shimmering. “I can help you.”
“Can I wish myself not to be dead?” Diamokina looked up sharply.
“Not like that you can't. That would be disastrous.”
“Thanks, I've figured that out by now. Of course I need to work on my wording, but the whole concept, can I even do it?” Diamokina narrowed her eyes at me.
“You question my powers?”
“No!” I shouted, throwing up my hands. “I'm not questioning your freaking powers, I was just asking a simple question!” I puffed the air from my cheeks in exasperation. I was sort of in the process of developing an anathema to wishing. I didn't want to do it ever again. Not for fame, not for eternal life, just not ever. I only wanted to be alive again. That would be enough for me. “Let's just wait until Levie gets here, okay?” Diamokina waggled her brows at me and began plaiting her hair.
“Are you sure that you trust him? After all he's done to you?” I gave her a harsh look. How much did she know about all of this? She grinned at me, her pointed teeth shadowed by the poor lighting. It made her look rather scary. She held out a hand and out popped the contract.
“I found this in your living room when I went looking for you. Before I knew you were a jalapeño popper.” I glared at her and snatched the contract out of her hand. It was the one that Levie had given me. The one I had meant to read. I sat down on the edge of the bed and unrolled it.
The writing was in a fancy, black cursive ink. Typical. But the words themselves were not. In fact, they were anything but. After I managed to wade through the horrifically complex laws of wishing, I got to the real juicy part. The part that explained exactly what they did with your soul after you died.
Shock was too mild a word to describe my feelings. I had expected something a little more along the lines of torture, pain, or office work but this? Everything was starting to fall into place now: Lunen's words, Levie's actions, the sex.
By signing this agreement, the wisher agrees to be the sole and only mate of the assigned. If for whatever reason, the caseworker decides against their charge, they must do so before consummation of the agreement. Once the relation is consummated, the two shall be bound together for this life and the next.
Demons mate for life.
Fuck.
I dropped the scroll like it was poisoned.
I was bound to Levie via the contract. I was basically a mail order bride. I raced to the toilet and tried to throw up. I gagged and heaved for several minutes with no results. I stared into the basin and wondered what would happen if I tried to drown myself in it. A tap on the door caused me to wheel around in fear. Please don't let it be Levie. If I saw him right now, I might decide to kill him.
But it was only Diamokina. I sighed with relief and went back to hanging my head over the toilet. She swaggered in and propped one of her generous hips on the counter next to me. “You want to know why they do it?” she asked me, and I shook my head. I didn't fucking care. It was wrong, no matter the reason. It was wrong. “Well then, I can understand that. It's better not to know and be afraid than to know and be terrified.” I glanced up sharply at her, but she was just grinning away at me like everything was peachy. “I can help you.”
“You know what,” I said, staggering to my feet and pointing an accusatory finger at her. “That is the third fucking time that I've heard that today. I don't believe you. Go away.” Dia shook her head and twirled her own bottle around on the tip of her index finger.
“I can make sure you live to tell another tale. And I can get you out of your contract. I can even fix your little problem with 3rd Century Realty. And the yetis. And the fairies. I can get your friend back, safe and sound. All you have to do is help me help my people.” I looked askance at her and pulled the knob on the shower. Frustrated, she threw her bottle on the floor of the bathroom. It didn't break of course, but it was dramatic enough to get my attention.
“How do you know about all of that?” I asked, turning the shower back off. I shouldn't have been surprised, really, but I was. There was a feral grin on her face now, like she had a secret and knew I wanted in on it. I sighed. “Fine, I can at least listen.” Diamokina smiled in satisfaction and grasped one of my hands, pulling me to my feet and dragging me out of the bathroom.
“Now sit.” She pushed me onto the bed and magicked a glass of red wine into my hand. “And listen.” She rubbed her hands together, and I waited for her to continue. The genie took a deep breath and opened her mouth to begin when a knock interrupted us. We exchanged a glance, and I silently pleaded with her to open the door. Diamokina might have rolled her eyes at me, but I couldn't be sure considering they were a solid blue.
Levie was waiting outside, wings tight against his back, eyes narrowed at the genie. “What on earth are you doing here?” he snapped at her. Dia smiled and leaned her upper body against the doorframe in a very suggestive manner.
“She doesn't want to see you,” she purred, reaching out a finger to brush across Levie's chest. He slapped her hand away with no small amount of force and shouldered his way past her and into the room. He stopped in front of me and knelt down, taking one of my hands in his.
“What has she told you?” he asked me, voice soft. I pulled my hand back and slapped him. Hard. Right across his left cheek. Levie didn't seem surprised.
“Fuck you,” I said to him, proud of myself for keeping my voice strong and steady even though I felt about a moment away from tears. I had agreed to sell my soul, true, but I hadn't expected him to be the one profiting from it. “You tricked me. You made me your bride without me even knowing it. What is your fucking problem? How do you people fucking live with yourselves?” Levie shook his head and stood up.
“It is not what you think.” It was then that he noticed the unfurled contr
act lying across the floor. The one that I'd neglected to read. The one that bound me to him. “Despite what you may have read.”
“Oh yeah?“ I snapped, ignoring Dia's satisfied leer. I flung myself to the floor and scrambled back up, contract in hand and began to read. “Once the relation is consummated, the two shall be bound together for this life and the next. What the fuck is that then?“ Levie was still shaking his head. “Fine.“ I threw the scroll at his face, and he batted it away easily with one hand. It rolled across the floor and ended up back at my feet. “Explain it to me.“
“You are a Guardian. Only Guardians can hold genies.” He gestured absently at Dia, but his eyes were still focused on me. “And only Guardians can breed with demons.” I took a step back from him and ended up pressed against the sliding glass doors that lead to the balcony. I hadn't gone out on them yet. I was too scared to see what Hell really looked like, outside of offices and fancy hotel rooms. “Demons can only make more demons with the first Guardian that they mate with.” I felt my eyebrows climbing up my face.
“Are you trying to say that you were a ... virgin ... when we, when we did it?” The damn genie was scrunched up in the corner, wrapped in silent snickers. Levie's face flushed a deep crimson, and his chest inflated like a balloon. His next words were barely a whisper despite his enraged, or maybe just mortified, state.
“Of course. Are you questioning my virtue?” I wanted to laugh. Really, it was that funny, but I was still pissed about the whole affair.
“So you're saying that Hell Inc. just gathers women to be little breeding machines so that you people can continue your amazing and inherently superior race?” My voice rose an octave with each and every syllable so that the word 'race' was more of a battle worthy shriek than an actual word.
“There are male Guardians as well.” Wow. That was nice. They didn't discriminate based on gender. Anyone was good enough to be a breeding machine. Whoopee.
Hell Inc. Page 22
