The man rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Why does everyone assume I am the devil?”
“Um,” Lacy said softly, “you’re in hell? Standing in front of the biggest wall of fire I have ever seen?”
The man got closer to her then turned his back on her. “These are wings. Wings!” He pointed over his shoulder.
“The devil was once an angel,” she reminded him. “He had wings.”
The man spun around to face her. “I am an angel. I serve and protect. Yes I am in Hell, but I am not evil. Nor do I think you are either.”
Lacy considered her options. If what this angel was saying was true, she could do so much good by accepting his offer. “What if I change my mind?” she asked him.
“And that is why I like you,” he said. “You consider all options before making a rash decision. If you change your mind, I will let you go.”
Lacy didn’t know if she would be doing good or not, but the call to help others was strong in her. What if what he said was true? Even if it wasn’t, she knew she was hell-bound anyway. What could it hurt? “Is that a promise?”
“It’s a deal,” he smiled and held out his hand.
“I won’t hurt innocent people,” she told him. On that, she would not budge.
“I would never ask you to,” he told her, still holding out his hand.
Lacy looked at his eyes and then his offered hand. She expected to see deceit, but what she saw was sincerity. Honesty. She slowly brought her hand up and he clasped it in his own. He shook her hand firmly and said, “My name is Ash. Welcome to Hell.”
Absolution
Keepers of Hell Book 4
Written by and published by Danielle James
©2015, Danielle James
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the people out there, human or otherwise, who chose to get out of a bad life and make things better for themselves, for everyone who fought back and for those who had the courage to move on and make other’s lives better too.
Thank you Cynthia Lucas for the Twat Pie poem. Oh yeah, and for designing the stunning covers for this series.
Introduction
Lacy knew she was dead. She was floating freely down the infamous tunnel; watching glimpses of her life pass her by. It was like being in a moving, circular theater. She could see and hear her life as she lived it, one scene at a time. She saw her mother brushing her hair and tying it into a bun on her head before her first piano recital when she was six. She heard her mother’s comforting voice, telling her that she had all the confidence she needed. She saw her first boyfriend and had to smile at the way he looked at her. She saw the day she got married, how happy she had been.
Lacy saw everything leading up to her identity change, including her husband’s dead and bloody body on their living room floor. She saw her students. She remembered every one of their faces on her first day.
She saw the face of the students the day everything went to hell in a hand basket. Her heart pounded in her chest as she relived the fear they all felt.
Lacy knew she was on the fast track to hell, so it didn’t surprise her when the movie of her life came to a close and she saw fire at the end of the tunnel. She had taken a life and she knew the price. She didn’t think it would come so soon, but she had known it was coming. Her body, or spirit, whatever she was now, moved faster through the tunnel.
Faster and faster she flew, and she held her head high. She would take her punishment for her sins without regret. She would not beg for her soul. It had never been hers in the first place.
She finally got to the end and landed on her feet in front of a wall of fire. The heat poured off it and her brow glistened with sweat. Did dead people sweat? Apparently so. She looked around her to realize that she was in a cave of some sort. What was she supposed to do now? She took two steps to her left and the wall of fire moved. It wrapped itself around her, blocking her path. Was she supposed to go into it?
Lacy looked harder at the flames. If this was what she was meant to do, then she could do it. She tried to move her feet, to accept her eternity, but it was as if someone cemented them to the floor. She couldn’t move. She could only stand there.
That was when she saw a flicker of movement in the flames. Something was in there. Something that was not part of the fire. As it drew closer, Lacy could see it take the form of a man. He was tall with broad shoulders. There was something else though. Two identical things extended above his head on either side. They were too big to be horns, but all she could see was his outline. Demon, she thought. What else would she expect in hell?
The demon man got closer until he broke through the flames and stood in front of her. She could now see him clearly. Dark hair over blue eyes that didn’t look evil to her, and those things? Those were huge, black wings.
“Lacy,” he said to her.
Lacy held her head high and straightened her shoulders. “Yes.”
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said to her in a soft tone.
Lacy didn’t know what to say, so she remained silent.
“You have done some things in your life that were both incredible and sinful,” he continued. “I don’t know if this is your final destination or not, but I would offer you a job here, if you’d like.”
A job? A job? What did he mean her final destination? And what kind of job? Did he want her to kill people for him and drag them to Hell? Did he want a housekeeper? And just, what?
“You don’t have to remain silent,” he told her. “You’d like to know what kind of job I am talking about, right?”
Lacy regarded him through wary eyes and nodded in response.
“You have shown great courage and love in your human life,” the man said, walking back and forth in front of the fire. “You have done great things and I feel as if there are more great things for you to come. I am recruiting warriors to protect and serve down here.”
Lacy finally found her voice. “Protect what, exactly?”
The man turned to her. “Hell. Earth. Me. Take your pick.”
“And if I refuse?” she asked.
“You will go on to your soul’s rightful place, either here or in Heaven. I don’t know which. You will not remember meeting me,” he said. She knew by the look in his eyes that he was telling the truth. She got the impression that this man did not bullshit about much of anything.
“And if I say yes?” she asked.
He smiled. “Then you become one of my Elite Guard. You will serve under me to protect the rules and keep us safe. You will keep earth safe.”
“Why would I agree to work for the devil?” she asked with a sideways look.
The man rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Why does everyone assume I am the devil?”
“Um,” Lacy said softly, “you’re in hell? Standing in front of the biggest wall of fire I have ever seen?”
The man got closer to her then turned his back on her. “These are wings. Wings!” He pointed over his shoulder.
“The devil was once an angel,” she reminded him. “He had wings.”
The man spun around to face her. She had a point there. “I am an angel. I serve and protect. Yes, I am in Hell, but I’m not evil. Nor do I think, are you.”
Lacy considered her options. If what this angel was saying was true, she could do so much good by accepting his offer. “What if I change my mind?” she asked him.
“And that is why I like you,” he said. “You consider all options before making a rash decision. If you change your mind, I’ll let you go.”
Lacy didn’t know if she would be doing good or not, but the call to help others was strong in her. What if what he said was true? Even if it wasn’t, she knew she was hell-bound anyway. What could it hurt? “Is that a promise?”
“It’s a deal,” he smiled and held out his hand.
“I won’t hurt innocent people,” she told him. On that, she would not budge.
“I would never ask you to,”
he told her, still holding out his hand.
Lacy looked at his offered hand and then his eyes. She expected to see deceit, but what she saw was sincerity. Honesty. She slowly brought her hand up and he clasped it in his own. He shook her hand firmly and said, “My name is Ash. Welcome to Hell.”
CHAPTER ONE
What a weird ass name for the devil in charge, Lacy thought as she followed the self-proclaimed angel into the wall of fire. She didn’t know how, but she understood that the fire would not hurt her if the angel did not want it to. She followed him, staring at his back. His wings were taller than he was, moving ever so slightly, like black silk. They didn’t move so much as they flowed. They appeared almost liquid they were so fluid in their movement. It was like watching black ink form and reform itself into a three dimensional picture.
Ash didn’t say anything else until they stopped at a pair of steel double doors. There was a panel on the side with buttons on it. Ash pressed the one on the top and the button lit up. “An elevator?” she asked.
Ash grunted and nodded. Of course there was an elevator in Hell. Why wouldn’t there be? When the doors opened and Ash walked inside, Lacy followed him. It was just like any other elevator she had ever seen. The walls were paneled in wood with a handrail along the middle all the way around. It was normal. So very normal. Of course, her mind was screaming at her that she was in Hell and absolutely nothing should be normal. A part of her wanted to run screaming, to hide somewhere that this man and his Hell couldn’t find her.
Lacy hadn’t run from anything in a long time. She wasn’t about to start now, so she shoved that little voice onto the back burner and forced herself to remain calm. The angel remained silent while the elevator took them to their destination. Where exactly, was her destination, Lacy wondered? As soon as she shook the man’s hand, she started having second thoughts about this job he offered her. But she didn’t feel like he was dangerous, at least, not to her. She thought he could be very dangerous if he wanted to be.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Ash exited the elevator but Lacy stood still. Surely, what she was seeing couldn’t be right. On the other side of those doors was a long hallway with plush grey carpet, heavy wooden doors, and long windows. There were people milling about, carrying files and talking to each other. One man threw a paper ball and hit another man in the head with it. They both laughed. Lacy felt her mouth drop open and she was powerless to close it. The doors started to close and Lacy knew she should move, but she couldn’t. A large hand slipped in just before the doors closed completely, stopping them. “You coming or what?” Ash asked her.
Lacy nodded and finally found the gumption to make her feet move. She stepped off the elevator and into the hall. The people who were oblivious to her before were now paying her very close attention. Lacy could feel their eyes on her and it took everything she had to hold her head high as she followed Ash. On closer inspection, Lacy realized that not all of these people were human. There was a man who had two tiny horns on his forehead. Not something she would have seen from a distance, but they were there. The man smiled at her as she passed and Lacy inclined her head in his direction. Another woman appeared to be normal in every way, except for her black eyes. They were solid black. No iris and no white. Lacy suppressed a shudder and moved closer to Ash.
“These are the good guys,” Ash told her in hardly more than a whisper. “You’re safe here.”
Safe. In hell. Wasn’t that the oxymoron of the week?
Ash finally stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall. It was heavy and had no knobs. Lacy was curious about how they were supposed to enter when she saw Ash press his hand against a panel on the side. The doors clicked open and Ash pushed them.
“You fucking campin’ ass bitch!” Lacy peered into the room from the doorway to see the man who shouted. “Fight like a man!”
“You’re just pissed cuz I wrecked your KD!” another man’s voice said cheerfully.
Lacy poked just her head in to see two very large angels sitting in front of a huge TV screen. They were playing a game. On the screen, digital soldiers shot at each other.
“Well come on in,” Ash told her.
Lacy tentatively took a step into the room. The massive doors closed behind her, causing her to jump.
“Fuck you bitch,” the angel with white wings shouted.
“Hahahaha, the vampire has been taken out!” the other one yelled. His wings were strange. They were dark brown at the base but got lighter toward the tips, until they were solid white at his feathers. Pretty, really.
And wait, vampire?
“Did you just drop a care package on my freaking head?” the first one asked incredulously.
“Sure did,” the other one replied. “That’s one less trophy I gotta earn.”
Lacy didn’t know what to think. This was all so surreal. Maybe she wasn’t dead. Maybe she was having some weird ass coma dream and she was in a hospital somewhere.
“They’re just really a couple of overgrown children,” a woman’s voice said right next to Lacy. She yanked her head to the side to see a thin woman with red and gold hair standing beside her. “Hi. I’m Shelly, keeper of Greed. It’s nice to finally meet you, Lacy.” She held her hand out. Lacy looked at it for a moment and thought, well, what the hell. She took it. “How are you doing with all this?” Shelly asked her.
Lacy shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“I get that,” Shelly said. Then she turned her attention to the angels playing Call of Duty. “Boys! Knock it off and come say hi to Lacy.”
The angels didn’t stop playing, but they both turned their heads. “Hi, Lacy,” the one with the brownish wings said with a smile.
“Hey, girlie!” the one with the white wings said. He smiled and when he did, two very sharp canines glinted in the light. Oh. Vampire.
The guys turned their attention back to their game.
“That one with the white wings, that’s Antonio. He grows on you. The other is Jake. He is my mate and he kinda grows on you too,” Shelly told her.
Lacy took in her surroundings. Aside from the war waging on the television screen, there was a huge desk, which Ash had already settled himself behind, a chair, and a cage. I large black cage that had a man sitting in it.
The man was probably average height, but taller than Lacy. It wasn’t hard to do since she was only five foot three. He had dark, shaggy hair; not long, but long enough, and rich brown eyes that were staring back at her. He seemed lost and Lacy felt drawn to him immediately. She just wanted to hug him or something.
“What’s with the guy in the cage?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s Liam. He got out of my realm and for some reason, Ash has been keeping him here,” Shelly said. The irritation was clear in her tone.
“I don’t know what to do with him yet,” Ash said without looking up from his computer screen. “Priorities.”
Shelly rolled her eyes. “You’ll get used to these guys.”
Shelly left her side and went over to where the angels were playing. She pushed herself around the one she called her mate until she was sitting in his lap. The angel immediately sat back to make room for her. His arms went around her middle, but he didn’t stop playing.
Lacy just stood there. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She wasn’t a gamer so that was out. Ash seemed to be busy at something and she didn’t want to disturb him, either. The man in the cage was an enigma for the time being, so she was left standing there and inspecting the walls while clasping her hands in front of herself.
About a minute later, another woman entered the room. She had long, black hair and dark eyes. She moved with grace and balance, like a ballet dancer. Her eyes caught on Lacy and her expression changed from happy to concern. “What the hell?” she barked. “Seriously? You guys should all be ashamed of yourselves. Turn that shit off. Ash, have you even explained to this woman what’s going to happen to her? She looks lost.”
Ash’s head je
rked up from his computer screen and had the decency to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry, love,” he said to the woman, “I wasn’t thinking.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Don’t apologize to me,” she said. “Say it to Lacy.”
Ash turned his attention to Lacy. “I am sincerely sorry for my lack of courtesy. There is no excuse. Will you forgive me?
Lacy snorted and then covered it with a cough. This huge, hulking, beast of a man, who probably struck fear into the hearts of demons everywhere, just rolled over and went belly up for this woman. “I can forgive you,” she said, trying desperately not to smile.
“I’m Elizabeth,” the woman said, taking Lacy by the arm. “Don’t let these guys boss you around. Their egos won’t allow them to not be asses.” She led Lacy to the chair that sat across from Ash at his desk. Elizabeth sat on the edge next to her. “Ash is my mate,” she said. “Have you met the others?”
Lacy glanced back over at the angels who were no longer playing. “Sort of,” she admitted.
“Thought so,” Elizabeth said under her breath. “Get over here and meet this lady properly,” she barked at the men.
They immediately stood and came to stand in front of Lacy. “I’m Antonio,” the one with white wings said. He had shoulder-length black hair and eyes that were such a dark brown, they were nearly black. “At your service. I apologize for my manliness earlier. I will try to curb it next time.” Elizabeth smacked him on the arm and he grinned.
“Jake,” the other said, sticking his hand out for her to shake. There was something about his voice, Lacy decided as she stared at his proffered hand. Something she couldn’t put her finger on… where had she heard it before…? Oh!
“You!” she exclaimed. “You’re the one!”
Jake at least had the good sense to look confused and dropped his hand.
“You were the one telling me what to do when the kids were getting out!”
“I think you must be mistaken,” Jake said, shifting his eyes to Antonio’s and then his mate’s.
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