Hell's Gift

by Haigwood, K. S.

  My eyes grew wide in shock, but not in disbelief. The tone of her voice led me to think she might have actually been telling the truth. I may have believed what she said, but I didn’t trust her. I didn’t trust anybody there. And that wasn’t going to change.

  “I’ll ask you once more to let my minion loose from the entrapment of your foot or there will be consequences you aren’t prepared to deal with.”

  “Ha! Lady, you have no idea what I’m prepared to—” My sentence was cut short, because a gust of power hit my upper torso, throwing me back thirty feet. I didn’t have time to brace for the fall and I landed hard on my right shoulder, then slid another five feet.

  I felt all the previous aches from my earlier fall into Hell, and then some. I tried three times to gasp for breath with little to no success each time. I realized that breathing was something I had to do now. It was severely uncomfortable to not get enough oxygen into my lungs, but at the moment I was having trouble with that very simple task. I felt like I had been kicked in the chest by a horse.

  I glanced up after my first good breath and noticed Pogo scurrying to me. I took in another deep breath and covered my eyes with my hand in embarrassment. I swore and batted at my face as a few ashes fell on my exposed skin. I sat up quickly, then realized I shouldn’t have. I could’ve sworn I had broken ribs. I was again painfully gasping for breath.

  “Are you okay?” Pogo asked, concern clear in his feeble voice.

  “Get away from me!” I growled, throwing myself into a coughing fit, and he took back his outstretched hand in fear I would bite it off as I did his harmless words. I clutched at my chest and looked up at him. I sighed. Heaven was so much simpler. “Who was that?” I choked out.

  He offered his hand again and I took it. The old man was actually a lot stronger than he looked, and that was good, because I honestly needed the help. I wasn’t used to being that helpless.

  I glanced over to where the woman had stood a few moments earlier and proven that I wasn’t prepared to deal with her.

  Death and her minion were gone.

  Chapter 4

  Abigail

  “Do you honestly have to get yourself into these situations every other day, Miles?” Abigail huffed at the minion she had just barely managed to save from that overbearing, arrogant, overly confident, weak male in the courtyard. “Close the door behind you,” she said, not waiting for a response as she untied the satin rope at her neck and pushed the hood from her head, letting the black garment fall from her shoulders. Miles caught it just before it hit the floor, then placed it on its hook by the mantle.

  He must be new, she mused as she let her thoughts drift to the new stranger. She hadn’t seen him before, and he was without proper bodily protection for this part of Hell. Why had he been in her syde, and why hadn’t he been announced? Pogo had some explaining to do.

  “He just looked so…” Miles smacked his lips hungrily, “…tasty, my Liege. You know I cannot help my urges.”

  She rounded on him. “Your urges are never ending, and if I had shown up a minute later I’m not certain you would have been able to act on your urges ever again.”

  He kneeled before her, taking her hand along the way, placing a light kiss on her knuckles. “Forgive me, please. I beg of you.” His eyes closed and he imagined their roles reversed. He had often fantasized about pleasing her, their bodies tangled together, sweating and breathless from hours of mindboggling raw sex. She had never allowed him to make his fantasies a true reality. He wasn’t handsome like he’d been as a human; he was nowhere near the perfection of the demons Abigail allowed into her bed chambers, even if they were only there so she could gain pleasure from their torture. He wasn’t a demon of higher stature; he couldn’t change his looks like some could. He was destined to be eternally hideous, and eternally hungry, because of the decisions he’d made on Earth. But Abigail…Abigail’s beauty could make angels envious. Lucifer couldn’t even deny his attraction to her.

  “If you lick my hand I will remove your tongue,” Abigail said firmly.

  Miles’ eyes shot open, embarrassed by getting caught fantasizing close enough that she could sense it. He dropped her hand, bowing his head in shame. “I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing, my Liege,” he whispered.

  She raised an eyebrow at his comment, then turned and walked to her fountain. “I know exactly what you dream about. Don’t waste your breath telling lies.” She didn’t wait for a response that would have inevitably been another untruth. Miles was famous for them. She would choose a different minion to stand in as her favorite, but they all lied. They couldn’t help themselves, so she tried not to get too irritated when their mouths opened and prevarication rolled out on each wiggle of their disgusting tongues. “You are dismissed,” she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I’ll call if I need you.”

  “My Liege, if I may…”

  She didn’t turn from her fountain. She ran her finger across the silky liquid. An image began to form. “You may not. I will call if I need you,” she repeated, her voice rising toward the end to make her warning clear.

  “Yes, my Liege,” Miles said sadly, then left without another word.

  The clear, sparkling, blue-green water feature cascaded over several tall tiers made of natural crystal. It circulated on its own and never required tending or filtering. Its breathtaking beauty was only part of what made it so special.

  The image of Abigail’s territory came to her as clear as if she’d been standing there amongst the filth and acid and ugly beggars. She watched with an evil leer as her minions suffered through their miserable eternities. They weren’t happy, which meant she was doing her job. Even though she was ruling over the Syde of Gluttony, and had anything she could ever desire, she wasn’t happy either. Lucifer had given her everything short of Heaven and Earth, and that was only because that was impossible for him to do at the moment. Of course, that gift was promised to her when Heaven and all of its angels fell and bowed at Lucifer’s feet. That would happen, but not for a while yet. She wasn’t sure if even ruling Heaven alongside Lucifer would make her happy. She felt there would always be something missing.

  She sighed as she sorted through her thoughts, then touched the liquid lightly over Murry’s quarters, zooming in considerably to admire all that he had to offer her. She studied him as he stewed in his own fury for a moment, then sent him a summons. Making a strong man scream in pain and beg for mercy would settle both their moods. She watched as he received her call, and then the slight smile that spread across his handsome face. She imitated the gesture, then moved her attention elsewhere. He would be along shortly.

  She paused when something outside the courtyard caught her eye. It was Pogo and the male that had almost caused Miles to become less useful to her.

  The irritation of seeing him again slipped away and she leaned in, curiosity winning over the other emotions that tugged at her mind constantly. Pogo had led him to shelter out of the acid ash. They were hid away under the bridge that crossed from the courtyard to the highlands.

  She touched the liquid, zooming in on the stranger even more. He was well built and extremely handsome, even competition for Lucifer, although she would never admit that aloud to anyone. His attitude was something that would definitely need to be dealt with. He would have to learn his place, and quick. There hadn’t been many minions - or any demons - about earlier when she had allowed the stranger to talk to her as if she were no better than he.

  She watched as the two conversed under the bridge. The stranger had been casually talking to Pogo, but suddenly stopped and looked directly at her. Abigail was caught off guard. She gasped and quickly moved back away from the fountain. Then she laughed at herself for being so ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly see her, or even sense her. And why was she so damn jumpy anyway? She had every right to look at whom or whatever she wanted that was in her territory. In a very big way, the male already belonged to her, she thought matter-of-factly and liked the idea. And if
for some weird reason he was in her territory by mistake, then she would just request from Lucifer that he be given to her.

  She had requested Murry, and he had been passed to her without any questions at all. Lucifer knew she took other demons to her chambers, though not to her bed – that was his alone – and he knew that was the reason she wanted Murry. Her sadistic tendencies brought different reactions from different demons. Eternity was a long time and she grew bored of any one individual far too quickly.

  She touched the liquid again lightly, zooming in even further on the face of the handsome stranger. It still appeared as if he was looking at her. She stared into his blue eyes, then let her own green ones fall closed so she could better conceive of his strong hands rough on her body, touching, teasing and taunting her until she cried out for him to stop, or begged him for more sweet torture.

  She touched her mouth with her fingers, imagining the pressure was from his demanding mouth. A soft sigh escaped her lips as they parted slightly.

  A knock at the door swiftly pulled her out of the daydream. Her eyes flew open to the stranger smiling back at her like he knew her secret, then he turned from her and said something to Pogo.

  The knock came again. “I’m coming,” she said hastily, then glanced down and smoothed her hands over the material of her dress. She ran her fingers through the water, sending the image away on liquid ripples, then headed for the door and her welcome company.

  She couldn’t imagine what would make her fantasize about the stranger in that manner. She allowed very few men to touch her. Why did she yearn for this new minion to do with her as he pleased? She didn’t know the answer to the question, and she realized that staying away from him would probably be her best choice. The problem was she didn’t want to.

  Abigail opened the door to a grinning Murry.

  “I was hoping you would call for me, my Liege,” he said.

  The sight in front of her didn’t excite her as much as the image of the stranger she’d seen a few moments earlier, but Murry would have to stand in as a substitute until she could get her hands on the real thing.

  She opened the door wider so he could enter.

  Murry

  Murry knew what was coming next. He didn’t even brace for it. He welcomed all the pain that would follow in the next couple of hours.

  It distracted him from remembering his huge fail with his charge a little over a year ago. He had gotten too confident and had totally underestimated that angel and his charge. Now there was no getting Adam back. The guy was actually happy. He was married to that bitch that stole his soul away, and they had a baby—a boy, from the brief thoughts he picked up from Adam. Even that was like a radio filled with static.

  Adam used to listen to him. Now every time he tried to get him to make a bad choice, the guy would shake his head like he was being annoyed by a bug buzzing in his ear.

  Murry had been trying since his fall to figure out a way to redeem himself; so far he’d come up with nothing. Adam was too far sucked in by the angels to listen to him anymore. But if he ever had the chance to get his hands around Rhyan’s neck, the angel that cost him his charge, he wouldn’t let go until his head popped off. He couldn’t do anything about it now. Rhyan was in Heaven, and he was stuck here in Hell until Adam decided to break one of the Commandments.

  He sighed, then put on his happy face and smiled as he walked into Abigail’s chambers. The door slammed behind him and then the air whooshed from his lungs as his body was thrown up against the wall with the force of a wrecking ball destroying a condemned crack-house. Her arms snaked around to his back and her nails bit into his flesh as she crushed her mouth to his.

  All thoughts of being miserable because he was stuck in Hell drifted away.

  Chapter 5

  Kendra

  Kendra shot upright in bed, her hand instantly covering her pounding heart. Her recurring nightmare had seemed a little too real for comfort this time. Hercules lazily raised his head and yawned. He stood, stretched his short legs, then laid back down, closing his eyes once more. She wiped at her sweat-soaked face and looked over to Adam’s peacefully sleeping form. The man could seriously sleep through anything, she thought as she fought to regulate her breathing. The alarm clock on his side of the bed read 3:03. Ben always woke around two for a bottle.

  She glanced at the cordless baby monitor and the light was off, indicating it was either broken or Adam had accidently turned it off again. With the bad dream still fresh in her mind and the eerie silence of the house, panic consumed her and she was on her feet and running. Something was wrong. She could feel it deep in her soul.

  When she got to the door of Ben’s nursery she saw it was closed, and after trying the knob she realized it was locked.

  “Adam!” she shouted, not caring if Ben had been sleeping soundly and was startled awake by her cry. She paused briefly but still didn’t hear anything from the baby or her husband. Jerking the handle, trying to break the lock free, she screamed again, “Adam! Wake up, something is wrong with Ben!” Tears instantly blurred her sight as she realized her biggest fear might have just become a reality.

  She reluctantly let go of the door handle and started running for the bedroom to wake Adam, but Ben’s soft cooing stopped her in her tracks. The sweet sound hadn’t come from inside his nursery. It had come from the other end of the house, where her studio was located.

  She froze, her mind shocked and utterly confused by the events. Ben cooed again and her feet involuntarily began to move forward. She tried to recall anything different that may have happened before she’d gone to bed. Her pace picked up as she ran the events through her head. She’d been the last one to lie down and she never closed Ben’s door, let alone lock it. She was positive she had double checked the monitor, like she always did.

  She stopped when she was close enough to hear a voice coming from inside her studio. It sounded as if a person was talking softly and cooing back to Ben. She paused just long enough to grab the pistol that Adam suggested she get when they’d found out she was pregnant. She kept it beside the bookend on her bookshelf, and she hadn’t touched the thing with anything other than a dust-rag since she’d put it there. She honestly never figured she would need it. This was one time she was glad Adam had been right.

  She didn’t hesitate when her hand touched the handle of her studio door. There was an intruder in her photography studio, and that intruder had her son. She threw the French doors open wide and pointed the gun at the seemingly empty room. If there had been anyone for her to aim at, only a miracle would have allowed her to hit them with how much her hands were shaking.

  She heard Ben coo again, then looked to her changing screen where his tiny, innocent murmurs had come from. She knew he wasn’t alone; someone had brought him in there and was holding him now. She had pulled off miracles before; maybe Rhyan would help her out again.

  “I need you, Rhyan. I’m not having sex right now, so I kind of need you to pay attention, because it would really suck if I got me and my family killed now, after all we’ve been through,” she said in her mind, knowing Rhyan had heard her every thought since birth.

  She swallowed hard when there was no response, then stepped farther into the room, focusing all her attention on the screen. There was a slight glow from the moon shining in through the windows, and it gave off an outline of a man gently bouncing a baby in his arms.

  How could he be so calm? It wasn’t as though she had been quiet. He had to know she was in the room, and holding a weapon of some sort. She wasn’t stupid.

  She took a step closer and watched as the stranger stole every bit of her sanity. She couldn’t stand it any longer.

  “Who’s there?” She didn’t wait for a response. “Give me my baby or I swear I’ll shoot you!” she shouted.

  A male voice chuckled, sending chills down Kendra’s spine. The intruder walked slowly out from behind the screen, but she still couldn’t make out any of his features. All she could see, because of the
moon, was the silhouette of a well built man holding something in his arms.

  “Now, Kendra, you couldn’t hurt me with that thing if I put the barrel in my mouth and helped you pull the trigger,” the man said, then cooed at Ben again. “I was just introducing myself to little Ben here, and thinking what a joy it is going to be to get to know him. We will have such fun together.”

  She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t breathe. There was no possible way he could have escaped from Hell; Adam had chosen good over evil. He was happy. This isn’t possible, she told herself again, and felt her body begin to sway. She forced oxygen into her lungs. She couldn’t pass out now; Murry would take Ben if she didn’t stop him.

  She forced herself to move closer to him. Even though she knew he was right about the gun not hurting him, it made her feel better to keep it pointed at his groin. Hopefully, if she got trigger happy, it would at least injure him. She was confident she could catch Ben if things went in that direction. She circled around him so the bright moon would be at her back and she could see him more clearly.

  “Rhyan, Murry is here. I could really use your help. If it’s possible for him to be here, then they should allow you to stop in and help me out. At least tell me what to do. I can’t do this on my own,” she thought nervously. She took a deep breath and fought back the tears as the familiar pop was not heard. “Please,” she pleaded aloud and the tears began to flow faster as panic consumed her.

  “Aw, are we missing someone, Kendra?” He made a poor and exaggerated attempt of a shocked expression. Then it changed. A gloating smile spread across his face, and Kendra’s heart all but stopped in her chest. Something was wrong with Rhyan. There had to be something wrong or he would be here with her. There would have been no way he would have even let Murry touch Ben if there was nothing keeping him from coming.

  She gasped and began to choke. She couldn’t sense him in her mind. She could always feel him there with her. It wasn’t anything solid, just more of a comfort and security, but it was no longer there. Rhyan was no longer there.