by Laurèn Lee
Adriel, caught in Charlotte’s gaze, managed one final thrust, and they attained ecstasy at the same time. Adriel collapsed beside Charlotte, and they laughed heartily at how exhausted their lovemaking had made them.
“Wow,” Charlotte said breathlessly.
“Yeah,” Adriel agreed.
Charlotte curled up next to Adriel and put her head on his heaving chest. Both struggled to breathe, and both felt far too winded to get up for a glass of water. She placed her hand just above his belly button and nuzzled closer.
“I wish we could stay inside this room forever,” she said longingly.
“Only if there’s room service and a hot tub.”
“I’m sure that could be arranged,” Charlotte said. “Really, though. I don’t want to leave. The world is a scary place.”
“I know, babe. But it’s gotta get better sometime.”
“Liam is never going to let me go. What am I going to do?”
“We’ll figure it out. One way or another.”
“If only you had your powers back,” Charlotte said.
“We want the same thing. I miss being immortal. Now, I gotta watch out for speeding cars and plane crashes,” Adriel teased.
“I’m tired.” Charlotte yawned.
Entangled in each other, Adriel and Charlotte drifted off to sleep, remaining in each other’s arms for the next several hours. They both dreamt of better times where neither had to run and hide to be with the one they loved.
24
Liam returned the next day expecting to find a hungry, desperate and broken-down Charlotte in the basement. Instead, he found shattered shackles, and his fiancé was nowhere to be found. Fury rose in his throat, and he hollered at the top of his lungs in dire frustration. His shrieks echoed within the empty basement before he stomped up the stairs, slamming the door behind him.
“Harry? Yeah, I need your help. Charlotte’s gone.”
Liam hung up the phone on one of his other-worldly henchmen and cracked his knuckles. How did she get away? Who helped her? If Liam weren’t immortal, he would have bet his life Adriel had something to do with her great escape. But how? He wasn’t dominant anymore. And those chains were not cut with a man-made tool. Maybe it was that angel?
Liam skimmed all the possibilities in his mind and wondered how he’d exact revenge. He couldn’t believe he’d been fooled. Charlotte needed to be locked up; he needed to keep his eye on her. What would it take to find her and show her just how badly she needed to follow his rules?
Harry arrived at the condo and stepped inside without knocking. Despite his demonhood, on the surface he looked like a typical soccer dad: short hair, khaki shorts, and a plaid collared t-shirt. On the inside, though, he was rotten to the very core.
Liam met Harry in Hell and brought him back to Earth shortly after his rebirth as a demon. As a human, Larry was a husband and a father, but he had a slight addiction to stealing. He was the definition of a kleptomaniac. He stole cars, cash and anything he could get his hands on. He even stole another man’s wife for a night, which ended in a bloody battle when the woman’s husband came home the next morning.
He was Liam’s right-hand man and a very loyal henchman. Lucifer assigned him to help Liam cull the souls he needed to build his army. Anything Liam asked for, Harry did and with unimaginable vigor. If Liam asked Harry to cut his head off, Harry would ask which knife he should use.
“Where do you think she is, Boss?”
“I have no idea,” Liam growled.
“She at the human bar off in the middle of nowhere?”
“Well, that’s where I found her last time. She couldn’t be so stupid as to try hiding there again, right?”
Harry shrugged and ran his fingers through his chestnut brown hair. “Worth a shot to look.”
“Indeed,” Liam agreed. “Let’s go.”
The Prince of Hell and his steed left immediately for The Hairy Dog in Liam’s car. He sped the entire way and managed to avoid any law enforcement. Once they arrived outside the crumbling establishment, Harry wrinkled his nose.
“This is it? What a dump!”
“You have no idea. Let’s go.”
The men exited the vehicle and sauntered toward the front door, which barely hung on its hinges. Inside, Cyndy had no idea she was about to have a couple of unwelcome guests walk through her doors.
Charlotte and Adriel woke up as the moon rose above the horizon. Charlotte yawned and stretched while Adriel sleepily rubbed his eyes.
“What time is it?” Charlotte asked.
Adriel struggled to adjust to the darkness while he turned over and glanced at the clock beside the bed on a wooden nightstand.
“It’s eight o’clock.”
“Holy hell! We slept forever.”
“Well, we had quite the workout.” Adriel winked.
Charlotte sat up and propped herself on her elbows. “I wonder where Mary Elizabeth is?”
“Wherever she is, I’m thankful she gave us enough time together.”
Charlotte kissed Adriel’s cheek and smiled. “Remember when we met?”
“How could I forget?” Adriel responded sarcastically.
“I was so afraid of you at first,” Charlotte admitted.
“Well, that was the point.” Adriel shrugged and stood up.
“But, I felt something right away.”
“You did?”
“I wasn’t sure what exactly the feeling was, but I felt drawn to you. Like we were always meant to meet.”
Adriel stared quietly out of the hotel window. He’d pulled on his jeans, but his bare chest still gleamed in the darkness.
“You know, I never believed in fate before I met you,” he said. “Out of all the people I could have been ordered to take on, it was you. It was always you.”
He turned around to face Charlotte, the soft glow of the moon reflecting upon his perfectly sculpted face. Charlotte returned his gaze and held it for several seconds before she turned away shyly.
“Do you think we’ll ever be able to be together?”
“I hope so,” Adriel said.
Charlotte crawled out of bed and strode over to Adriel. He pulled her into his arms and fastened his grasp tightly around her body. She nuzzled into his neck and breathed him in. This man, once a demon, stole her soul, but she never realized one day he’d steal her heart, too.
Back at The Hairy Dog, Liam and Harry blew through the bar like a tornado. Only, this time, the bar was empty. Liam overturned every table and smashed the liquor bottles one by one. He howled at the moon lurking through the window.
“I guess they’re not here?” Harry asked.
Liam shot him a scathing look of contempt. “Obviously. But now I don’t know where she could be. I need her!”
“We’ll keep looking, Boss. I won’t stop until I find her or someone who knows where she is.”
“I don’t like being made a fool,” Liam said through gritted teeth.
“She’ll pay. Don’t you worry.”
Liam and Harry left the bar a complete wreck. They jumped back into Liam’s car and sped off, leaving a trail of dust and chaos in their wake. Liam wasn’t sure where to go next to find his fiancé, but he knew once he found her, she’d regret ever crossing him in the first place.
25
Not long after Adriel and Charlotte awoke, Mary Elizabeth returned to the hotel room with another friend in tow: Cyndy.
Mary Elizabeth knocked politely on the door, for which Adriel and Charlotte were grateful. They lay half-dressed in bed and managed to pull on their clothes before Mary Elizabeth and Cyndy walked into the room.
“Smells like sex in here,” Cyndy mumbled.
Charlotte blushed and crossed her arms over her body. “You’re back! Where did you go?”
“Had to look into a couple of things,” Mary Elizabeth responded cryptically. “Also, I wanted to bring Cyndy somewhere safe. It seems like Liam made a mess of the bar.”
“What? Really?” Adriel asked.
“Is anyone hurt?”
“I hid in the freezer until they left,” Cyndy said.
“Do you know what he wanted?” Charlotte asked.
“Well, as soon as I heard them pull up, I ran into the kitchen. Didn’t stick around to see if I could help them.”
Charlotte nodded and slumped on the bed. “This is horrible.”
Adriel, already out of bed, walked back over to Charlotte and rubbed her back. “It’s not your fault, Charlotte.”
“Sure feels like it is.”
“Listen, I have an idea,” Mary Elizabeth interjected.
“What kind of idea?” Charlotte asked.
“I think I know how Adriel can get his powers back.”
Charlotte gasped, but Adriel stared steadily at Mary Elizabeth, biting his lip in deep thought. Cyndy walked around the room, inspecting each corner. Mary Elizabeth promised her it was safe for her, but she had her doubts.
“I don’t know how that’s possible,” Adriel finally said. “I always heard if you had your demonhood ripped away, there was no going back.”
“Someone lied to you, then,” Mary Elizabeth said matter-of-factly. “It’s very possible.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, a little birdie told me where I could find someone who’d gone through the cycle of human to demon several times.”
Charlotte gawked at Mary Elizabeth. So that was the errand she went on? How did she find someone of that nature?
“What did he say?” Adriel asked cautiously.
“He said he’s turned from demon to human several times in his life. The only downfall is that each time you turn back to a demon, you lose a few of your powers. But, this could be a way for you to help take care of Liam once and for all. You won’t have all your powers back, but most of them.”
Adriel paced around the room, his hands resting firmly on his hips. Charlotte pulled her knees to her chest and watched Adriel with fierce concentration. Annoyance lingered on her face, but no one noticed it except Mary Elizabeth.
“It’s perfectly safe to transition back, Adriel,” she said.
“If I do, he will still be more powerful than me,” he answered with defeat in his voice.
“Yes, that’s true, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be more cunning than he is,” Mary Elizabeth assured him.
Adriel nodded and turned to sit beside Charlotte on the bed. “What do you think?”
“You’re asking me if I want you to turn back into a demon?” Her eyes searched his face for the truth.
“Of course. I care what you think.”
“It’s not my decision to make,” she replied blandly.
Adriel looked to Mary Elizabeth and Cyndy for guidance.
“I think whoever has the power to take down that bastard needs to do it,” Cyndy piped up.
“I think you should, Adriel. I can help, but you need your powers back if the world is to stand a chance against him.” Mary Elizabeth offered.
“Okay. What do I need to do?”
Charlotte, Adriel, Mary Elizabeth and Cyndy left the hotel room early the following morning. The moon lingered in the sky as the sun rose to greet the darkness. In a way, it was the perfect metaphor for what was about to happen: Adriel was about to descend into darkness and resume his role as a fiery demon. Anxiety pulsed through his core as he wondered how it would feel to be a demon again. Would it feel as liberating as the first time? Would he feel any different? Would Charlotte still be there for him when he returned to Earth?
The group traveled via time and space through Mary Elizabeth’s touch back to The Hairy Dog, landing firmly upon the gravel outside the disheveled bar. Cyndy wrinkled her nose in disgust at the destruction before her.
“Bastards,” she whispered.
“Damn,” Charlotte said. “There’s no way this place’ll pass inspections now.”
Cyndy shot Charlotte a vicious glare, and Charlotte shrugged. All the windows were shattered beyond repair. The door, now entirely off its hinges, lay several feet away from its frame, and smoke snaked out a hole in the roof where Liam flicked a fireball before leaving.
“Sorry, Cyndy,” Adriel mumbled and patted her on the back. “We’ll get it fixed.”
The group followed Adriel as he led them down the road and to the cemetery that held the Gates of Hell. Charlotte wanted nothing to do with this plan; she wanted nothing to do with Adriel retrieving his powers. She wished there was another way to take down Liam, but for now, it was their only option. Mary Elizabeth promised to help, but one single angel only has so much pull against a demonic asshole hell-bent on causing as much chaos as possible.
Each of them stood at the Gates of Hell as Adriel recited a sacred spell used to summon the gates to Earth. The ground rumbled; birds chirped madly, and the rush of animals scattering away echoed within the barren land.
The gates, black and poignant, rose through the dirt, standing ten feet taller than any of them. Adriel stepped forward, the fire from Hell just a few paces away, and turned around to face the most important women in his life.
“Well, see ya on the other side.”
Then, he pulled open the gates and jumped into the depths of Hell.
26
Adriel landed unsteadily on both feet in the depths of Hell. He’d never been there as a human before, and beads of sweat poured down his back the moment he found solid ground. Before, the heat didn’t bother him, but his human body couldn’t handle it. Once, he tried to explain to Charlotte what Hell was like, but he didn’t do a comprehensive job. He explained that Hell was like a city, fueled with fire and complete with torture chambers and never-ending hallways consumed with flames. It was like an ostentatious hotel for the universe’s most evil souls.
He wiped his slippery forehead with the back of his hand and listened intently for any signs of demons in the vicinity. The hard part was just beginning, and he had no room to make mistakes. The man Mary Elizabeth spoke with laid out exactly what someone needed to do to return to demonhood, and he couldn’t fail. Failure wouldn’t just mean not retrieving his powers; it’d mean death. It would mean never seeing Charlotte again. It would mean Liam would take over the world.
Hazy, black smoke lingered several feet above Adriel’s head as he sidled against the wall. Luckily, he knew this area of Hell well and could navigate it with no problem. The actual problem, though? He needed to find a demon to capture without being seen or heard.
All was silent down the hallway Adriel traveled. Now, he just needed to find the right demon. But, who could he use to regain his powers? Mary Elizabeth told him he’d need to find a weak demon, one who trusted him while he was a demon. Did anyone still trust him down here, though? Lucifer and Liam must have smeared his name after stripping him of his powers. Would anyone still respect him?
Then, Adriel thought of his friend Zachary. Zach was the first demon to befriend Adriel once he changed his address to the depths of Hell. Zachary murdered his wife after he caught her cheating with the mailman, and his soul found its new home with Lucifer. Adriel and Zach were each other’s wingmen in Hell and often chased sexy demons for the hell of it, pun intended.
Zachary was half Adriel’s size, even in his human form, and might still have a soft spot for his old friend. It was worth a shot, and it was the only idea he had. Adriel checked the next gold-plated number on the door before him to see which section of the Underworld he resided in now.
Forty-three, Adriel said to himself. Zach lived in cabin one hundred and five. Almost halfway there.
Now, Adriel would have killed for a glass of water, let alone to get his powers back. His hair, totally drenched, was slicked back like a fifties greaser. He regretted wearing such tight jeans as they stuck to him like glue.
When he needed to blend into his surroundings the most, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
Adriel passed number seventy as he jogged down the hallway. Ahead, a corner revealed the final stretch to Zach’s cabin. Only Adriel quickly realized he wasn’t al
one any longer. A shrill laugh echoed throughout the hallway.
“I can’t believe he said that!” a she-demon squealed. “What an asshole!”
“Did you expect anything different, Denise?”
Adriel didn’t recognize the voices, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t recognize him when he rounded the corner. He needed a place to hide until they passed, and he needed one right now. Adriel twisted the door to his left and leaped inside. He hoped the room was empty. Otherwise, he was done for.
He closed the door gently behind him and whipped around to find the room vacated. It was a woman’s room: red lace panties covered the floor, and bottles of wine decorated the countertops. A large photograph was taped to the wall and reflected a tall, thin woman’s vibrant smile as she stood beside the Eiffel Tower.
Some demons had trouble letting go of the past and kept a few momentos from their human lives. Just as Adriel tiptoed back to the door to peek out, the doorknob turned gently, and the door opened a crack.
“I’m thirsty. Let’s get drunk!”
It was the same woman from the hallway, the same woman Adriel wanted to hide from, which led him to this very room. Except, the room was hers.
Adriel held his breath and quickly thought of an explanation to relay to the she-demon. Would she kill him? Send for Lucifer so he could kill him? Everything was about to come crashing down.
The door opened further, but the demon faced the hallway instead. Adriel stood in the middle of her room, frozen, and watched her in the doorway.
“Wait, I forgot something at Gil’s place. Come with me?”
Denise, he remembered, gestured toward the direction from which she came. Adriel couldn’t see her friend in the hallway but heard her groan.
“He’s insufferable. Do I have to come with you?”
“Yes, please, with a splash of blood on top!”
“Fine, let’s go, slut.”
Denise closed the door, never looking inside to see Adriel. He collapsed to the floor and clutched his chest. Being a human in Hell was a lot more nerve-wracking than he thought.
