Hell's Gift

by Haigwood, K. S.

  “No, I can’t gamble like that. I won’t risk you.”

  “You don’t have a choice. Just promise me you will ask forgiveness when I take your soul from him.”

  “No!”

  “Yes!” Dammit, I needed to talk to Malcolm.

  “I’m here,” Malcolm said.

  I gave a mental eye roll, but growled out loud at both of them. “I don’t guess I need to repeat any of that, do I?”

  “Nope, I got it all,” he said and his mental voice sounded like it was smacking.

  I sighed. “I figured that. What direction do we need to take from here?”

  “It’s looking like Abigail has to be the one to get it.” More with the smacking.

  “Rhyan?”

  I held up my index finger without looking at her. “What? No. Absolutely not. Did you see what he did to her because of me already? He catches her trying to steal her soul back and he’ll make—”

  Smack-smack. “It will be worse if you get caught trying to steal it from him,” he said.

  I was tired of talking to him in my head. I felt like a crazy person. “What the hell is that smacking noise in my head?”

  “Huh?” Abbi said.

  “Oh, sorry, the show was getting good down there, so I conjured up some popcorn. I’ll try to mentally eat quieter.”

  My eyes widened in disbelief. “Popcorn. Really? My soul is a second away from being damned and you’re up there eating popcorn?” I shouted to the ceiling.

  “Rhyan, you’re starting to worry me,” she said, and I looked back to her.

  “Just tell her she has to go get her own soul.”

  “It won’t work. He’s not just going to give her the soul back. What does Josselyn think?”

  Abbi’s brow furrowed. “Who is Josselyn and how would I know what she thinks?”

  “She’s not here.”

  I turned from Abbi, ignoring her question. “What do you mean she’s not there? Where is she?”

  “You told her to find a way to protect Kendra, and Isaiah already told her to stay away from her. Saying anything to the head guardians again would only tip them off what we are trying to do, so she went without permission.—Will you please inform your soulmate of what is going on? She’s thinking you have lost your mind.”

  “Jesus!” What the hell was she thinking jumping without permission?

  I huffed, then looked back to Abbi. I was mentally exhausted, and I had a feeling before it was all over and done with I would lose my mind. But if it meant Abbi’s soul would go to Heaven, I’d gladly go crazy.

  “We need to talk.”

  Chapter 19

  Malcolm

  Malcolm tossed the last kernel of buttery, salty goodness in the air and caught it on the tip of his tongue. He wadded the paper sack between his hands, and then just made it disappear.

  He turned the thoughts and voices of Abigail and Rhyan down to a whisper in his mind. The poor guy was trying to explain to his demon soulmate that in order for them to be able to leave Hell and come to Heaven to live happily ever after, she had to be the one to retrieve her soul right from Lucifer. And from the sound of things, she wasn’t buying into any of it. She feared it impossible. She wanted Rhyan to leave, but she didn’t want to lose him again, either.

  There was a whole lot of blubbering going on down there at the moment, that he had no interest in listening to. He never was very strong when tears spilled, so he would leave Rhyan to work his magic. It was Rhyan’s soulmate, after all, not his. He didn’t have to watch her cry.

  At any rate, Malcolm was positive Rhyan wasn’t supposed to ask Lucifer for her soul back.

  Abigail was. She had to be. He didn’t know of any other options. He felt like he was running blind.

  He was praying that his gut instinct was right about sending her in alone to get it. He wasn’t entirely sure on that because she wasn’t broadcasting as clearly as Rhyan. May be the whole she’s-a-demon-without-a-soul thing causing that. If that was the case, he was surprised he could hear her at all. But he’d had a fairly good signal of her, too, ever since he’d taken on Rhyan as a charge.

  Malcolm had nearly jumped out of his holy skin the moment he realized he was hearing and vaguely seeing from Abigail as well as Rhyan. He had been a mental basket-case after he’d watched Lucifer beat, rape and sodomize Rhyan’s dearly beloved. And he had literally gasped when the fallen angel had smelled something holy on her bare flesh. He still wondered if it had been Rhyan’s scent on her skin or if Lucifer had sensed him in her mind. Malcolm came to the conclusion that knowing wouldn’t help them, so trying to find out was pointless, a waste of time…and dangerous.

  Rhyan didn’t need to know any details that had happened to her whilst with Lucifer, either, or the poor guy would lose his feeble mind.

  Being a guardian wasn’t Malcolm’s cup of tea, and he was extremely glad it wasn’t his full-time job. He would have been miserable having more than his own voice in his head for a human lifetime. And now he had two. God help him.

  He closed his eyes so he could see through Rhyan’s eyes once again. The guy had given up on trying to seduce his wife and had settled for holding her as she cried.

  Malcolm gritted his teeth under the sudden pressure. He felt every emotion, every sorrow, every tear and the loss they were both feeling by being inside their heads. It was a bit, well, a lot, overwhelming.

  He shook off the uneasy feeling and looked up. He was still the only angel in the Line of Defense room and was glad of it. With two other people in his head having conversations, aloud as well as not, made it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand, and letting his guard down could get them all busted.

  He did a lot of research on his own, so using the LOD’s speculum wouldn’t throw up any red flags and alert anybody of what he was doing. He had one of his own in his personal quarters, as did an eighth of the souls in Heaven, but it was generic and weak compared to anything the Line used. They used top notch, state of the art stuff, and were constantly trying to make something that was already perfect even more so.

  Malcolm glanced cautiously toward the main entrance of the room, then took a deep breath and walked straight to the huge doors encasing the one thing he sought. Without pausing, he threw the gold latch and flung the massive doors wide.

  The huge mirrored surface of the speculum reflected his perfect angelic frame and everything in the room behind him, then rippled as if it were alive and breathing. Using the speculum always made him nervous, even when he was in the presence of others. The thing had a mind of its own. No matter what anyone else said, he would always believe that.

  He took a breath, then a step closer. The silver waves began to move in swirls, inviting him in, seemingly elated to have a visitor.

  “Earth,” Malcolm said, and immediately the reflection of his distorted body from the ripples changed to a still, live photo of the third planet from the Sun.

  It looked so peaceful.

  Malcolm sighed and took another cautious step forward.

  He knew better. Appearances could be deceiving, and all it would take was a little closer look and the truth would be revealed. The humans filled it with war and hate and disease, and Malcolm was glad he had perished before the danger really threatened to engulf the beautiful lands.

  Lucifer’s guardians were getting smarter…and braver. Even the strongest of speculums, like the one that stood before him, couldn’t see into Hell. So, yeah, it was true he was using Rhyan, and even Abigail, to get the information he needed. He wanted to get them out of Hell, too, but being able to spy on the enemy without them knowing was his priority. He needed to know more.

  If the archangels found out what he was doing, the punishment would be severe.

  “Show me Josselyn,” he said, without worrying anymore about penalization. The image of the Earth quivered, then revealed the blond-haired, brown-eyed beauty he had grown so fond of lately.

  He knew she was going to stay there. It would be safer than repe
atedly risking entering and exiting Heaven. Once or twice could possibly go unnoticed, especially when you had a brilliant angel covering your tracks.

  Malcolm smiled at his inner gloating. He really wasn’t at all as conceited as he made people believe he was. He only did it to hide, to keep anyone from seeing what was really going on in his head; that, itself, took a genius to pull off with all the mind-reading angels running around behind the locked pearly gates.

  He hated that there was no way for him to communicate with Josselyn. He could look in on her by using the speculum, but she wasn’t his charge, and he wasn’t an archangel, so not being able to hear her thoughts from so far away was something he was just going to have to work around.

  As of yet, he hadn’t a clue how to work around that particular problem. It wasn’t like he could just leave Heaven and go to her if she got into any trouble; he had to stay there in case Rhyan needed him.

  Malcolm gazed longingly at her.

  The image flickered and then she looked up and smiled.

  He smiled back and then slowly, and only half aware of what he was doing, reached out with his hand to caress Josselyn’s image in the speculum. The instant his fingers touched the liquid pool, it shocked him. He jerked his hand back, shaking his hand and rubbing his fingers together, then glared at the device, his eyes full of worry and uncertainty. It hadn’t really hurt, but it hadn’t felt good either.

  He had never seen the speculum react like that. But then again, he had never known anyone ignorant enough to touch it, either.

  Guess I’m the first dummy. Malcolm thought as he continued to study it.

  Josselyn wasn’t looking at anyone there with her, in the home of Adam and Kendra Chamberlain. He felt like she was seeing him as he watched her. And she’d never looked at him that way before.

  He covered his open mouth with his hand. How was it possible?

  Her eyes shone bright with interest and laughter. The corner of her mouth turned up slightly, and when he smiled and stepped closer, she gave him a full out beautiful grin.

  Malcolm’s eyes grew wide in amazement. Holy crap, she can really see me!

  Josselyn put her hand up, palm facing him, encouraging him to touch the surface of the speculum, inviting him to touch her.

  He couldn’t remember wanting anything more. He didn’t hesitate. His hand flew up to the still liquid and—

  “Malcolm!”

  He froze right before he touched her, then swiftly turned to the voice behind him.

  Troy stood ten feet away; a silly smirk carved his lips and one eyebrow popped up in amusement. “Ye, uh…d’ye come in here and use the LOD’s speculum tae admire yersel’ often?”

  Malcolm’s brow scrunched and drew down in confusion, then he turned back to look at Josselyn. She wasn’t there. There was only the image of him, confusion clear on his face in the mirror, to match the one in his mind, and the room behind him, with Troy’s smirk getting wider.

  He focused on the angel’s diverted eyes in the reflection. “How long have you been in this room?”

  A burst of laughter escaped Troy’s mouth. “Long enough tae watch ye pet yersel’. I thocht for a moment ye were going tae shed yer clothes and make love tae the speculum.”

  “Did you see it shock me?”

  Troy’s brow furrowed as if he thought Malcolm’s question odd. “I saw ye touch it, then jerk back as if it had stunned ye, aye—”

  “So then you saw an image there that wasn’t my own?”

  The creases grew in number on the Troy’s forehead. “Aye, ma ain…where I am standing noo. I waved at ye, and even said yer name a few times, but ye acted as if ye were o’er much intae the moment tae pay me ony mind.”

  Malcolm turned around to face the mountain of an angel.

  Standing on the twelve inch platform on which the speculum was located put him right at eye level with Troy. The seven foot tall Gaelic warrior was every bit as dangerous as his rippled body suggested he was. But he also had a spectacular sense of humor, and loved stumbling into these types of situations. He would have a field day with this if Malcolm allowed it.

  Malcolm was positive Josselyn had been smiling at him when he’d made contact with the device, but he also knew that it was impossible for an angel to lie. If Troy’s words had been untrue he would have had trouble opening his mouth, and then no sound would have followed after.

  Am I going crazy? Malcolm thought, then shook his head; hallucinations didn’t exist in Heaven.

  “You’re certain?” he asked. Maybe Troy was mistaken and was too amused to see anything except what his mind wanted him to see. Yes, that had to be it; the angel just hadn’t been paying attention.

  Troy’s hand came up and his fingers stroked over his mustache and goatee, lingering and playing with the coarse dark-brown hair on his chin. “Ye feelin’ alright, Malcolm?”

  Malcolm didn’t know what was going on or what to believe, but he did know that it wasn’t any of Troy’s business; the less anyone knew, the better. It was actually a good thing that he hadn’t seen Josselyn in the speculum. He would have demanded very secret answers.

  “Would you believe that I was practicing for a play?” Malcolm asked hopefully.

  Troy shrugged his big, broad shoulders. “If that’s whit ye telt me, I won’t ha’e a choice but tae believe it, right?”

  Malcolm sighed dramatically. “You caught me, Troy, but if we can keep my vanity between me and you, I’d appreciate that. I have a feeling it wouldn’t go over very well if Isaiah knew how much I loved myself.”

  Malcolm almost gasped. The lie had floated so easily off his tongue that he had almost believed it. What was going on?

  Troy gave him a dawdling glance, then snickered. “Awbody kens hoo vain ye are. There’s nae need tae go stating the obvious.”

  He walked to one of the tables a few feet away and retrieved a red cap with a familiar ‘A’ clad with a halo and wings, then stuck it on his head. Troy never missed a Los Angeles Angels’ game. The one time he did, it had been seriously hard to put up with the angel’s bad mood for weeks. He was never denied access to Earth again after that.

  “Forgot ma hat.” He situated the cap for comfort, then winked at Malcolm. “I’ll leave ye tae finish whit ye started. Sorry I interrupted ye, laddie.” Troy turned on his heel with a mischievous grin on his face and walked out the way he’d come in.

  Chapter 20

  Josselyn

  Hercules let out a low growl and Josselyn’s head shot up in alarm. She had been lounging in Kendra and Adam’s living room, playing peek-a-boo with Ben, when a chill ran up her spine.

  Kendra had noticed the change in her mood and jumped to her feet.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know,” Josselyn said calmly, then slowly rose and handed Ben to Adam. “I’ll go check everything out again.” She made eye contact with Adam. “Stay together. No matter what happens, stay together and do what I say. If you have any holy objects in the house, get them and put them on your person.” Josselyn glanced to Kendra. “I promised Rhyan I would do everything in my power to keep the three of you safe. I know of the crazy stuff you’re capable of, so please don’t try to be a hero and get yourself killed. You can’t win in a physical fight against Murry or any demon.”

  Kendra nodded and Josselyn left the room.

  The uneasy feeling seemed to be getting worse as Josselyn walked through the house alone. She’d never had to go up against a demon before, but she knew she had the instincts to protect herself as well as her charge if the occasion did ever arrive.

  She checked the master bedroom, then Ben’s room. All was sound.

  Guardian angels met on a weekly basis in classes that taught them how to defend themselves. Even without the lessons, Josselyn felt confident she could take care of Kendra. That was if the female listened to her.

  She made her way to the photography studio, but nothing was amiss there, either, and she realized the goosebumps had nearly gone from her skin
.

  She pulled the French doors closed and looked to her left, where the kitchen was located.

  The chill returned to her body and she ignored the urge to run her hands over her arms.

  “Kendra!” Josselyn shouted, “Everything still alright in there?”

  “We’re fine!” Kendra replied. “Just find the son of a— ow! Don’t poke me, Adam!”

  “You’re not supposed to swear in front of angels,” he whispered back and all went silent after that.

  Josselyn was still on high alert, but she had to smile at the married couple. She could feel the love they had for one another and knew exactly the misery Rhyan had been going through.

  She sighed. She knew Rhyan had been in love with Kendra, but she didn’t have to listen to his thoughts if she chose not to. If you had a charge, you didn’t get that choice. You could turn the voices down, but it was impossible to completely turn them off if you had more control than the guardian demon.

  Josselyn made it through the kitchen and down the hallway. She was positive something was outside. Her skin felt like it was on fire the closer she got to the front door. What puzzled her was the fact that, whatever ‘it’ was, wasn’t inside with them already. Usually demons didn’t beat around the bush about their intentions.

  Of course, if the demon killed Kendra, Adam or Ben, their souls would go on to Heaven, so it wouldn’t really be benefiting anything from the visit if their souls were what it was after. What could Murry possibly want if he didn’t want to kill them?

  She rose up on her toes and looked through the peep-hole in the door. She couldn’t see anyone, so she only had two options: she could go back to the living quarters with Kendra, Adam and Ben and wait for Murry to come to them, or she could go outside and confront him face-to-face.

  She groaned and flexed her fingers nervously. Going outside was her only option. She needed to keep the danger as far away from the human family as possible.

  Josselyn placed her hand on the door handle, took a shaky breath then turned the knob, jerking the door open to eerie silence and not much else.

  Her eyes darted all around, and when she didn’t see anything right away, she walked to the edge of the porch and heightened her senses. Something was definitely there, and it was close.