by Laurèn Lee
“You want me to kill people?” Charlotte gasped.
Adriel backed off to give Charlotte room to breathe.
“Why didn’t you tell me this in the beginning?” Charlotte asked, astonished.
“Well, I figured if I needed your help with a killing spree, you may not have been as obliged to assist.”
Charlotte thought about it for a few moments, and she knew Adriel was right. She would never have agreed to give up her soul and help him commit multiple murders if she knew the details from the start.
Adriel ostentatiously patted his breast coat pocket, “And you can’t turn back now. Otherwise, I’ll keep this pretty little thing and Liam will perish.”
Charlotte nodded, she knew she was trapped. There would be no getting out of this pact alive if she refused to go further.
Carefully, Charlotte asked, “Can you at least tell me why you need them dead?”
“My boss wants to bring their souls to the depths of Hell.”
“Your boss? You mean the Devil?”
“Yes, Charlotte. The Devil.”
“What if I can’t do it, or something goes wrong?”
“Then, we’re all dead.”
Charlotte began to pace up and down the alleyway. How could she have gone from being happily engaged to a powerless puppet for a demon? She was conned into doing something dangerous and immoral, and there was nothing she could do about it now. There was no turning back, just as Adriel had said.
“How about we get out of these clothes?” Adriel asked, more gently now.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow at his choice of words.
“Shut up and take my hand,” Adriel said.
“Oh no, not this aga —” and they were off traveling through time and the unknown.
Within seconds, the alleyway had disappeared, and Charlotte and Adriel were standing in the condo’s living room.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Charlotte muttered as she tried to regain her balance.
“You’ll get used to it soon enough, Char.”
Charlotte looked over at Adriel suspiciously.
“Don’t your friends call you ‘Char?’”
“Key word being friends,” Charlotte chided. “Hey, how did you know where I live?”
“Charlotte, please. It’s me.”
“Hmmm. What else do you know about me? I’m starting to think you’re an all-star stalker.”
“I know lots about your, dear. For example, I know you have a pretty little tattoo on your lower back.”
Charlotte instantly covered the spot where a tiny heart had been permanently inked on her body.
“How did you know about that?” she pressed.
Adriel ignored her and began snooping around the condo. She watched him carefully as he inspected various items room to room. He picked up a photo of her and Liam, arms wrapped around each other, smiles shining brightly. He made a subtle gagging sound and put the photo back, face down.
“Can you not?” Charlotte interjected.
“Well, if you were a decent host, you’d offer me a drink. Maybe then, I wouldn’t need to snoop for entertainment.”
Charlotte huffed, “Fine, what do you want to drink?”
“I’ll take a glass of the house red.”
“Perfect, wine to match your eyes,” Charlotte sneered.
Adriel batted his eyelashes.
Charlotte poured each of them a glass of Cabernet. Liam always made sure to have a healthy stock readily available for her ever since she began staying with him back in college.
“How about a little music, huh?” Adriel announced. He walked over to their Bluetooth speaker system, and with a wave of his hand, the music began playing.
“Sympathy for the Devil? Really, Adriel?”
“I thought it was fitting,” he smirked.
Charlotte used her phone to turn down the stereo a few notches so her voice could be heard above the music.
“Tell me more about this plan,” Charlotte requested.
“Well, I plan to finish this glass of wine and pour myself another,” he said.
Charlotte threw him a loathsome glare.
“Oh, Charlotte. You're always so stiff and demanding. I thought you would have loosened up a bit more after I took your soul. Fine, what would you like to know?”
Charlotte chugged the remnants of wine in her glass and asked, “Why does the Devil want their souls in Hell? When do we, or I, have to kill them? How will we do it? What if we get caught?”
“Slow down. You know, you’d be great at those sale things where the people talk so fast you can barely understand them,” Adriel said, amused.
“This is not an auction, Adriel. This is my freaking life we’re talking about here!”
“Here, finish my glass too and I’ll get you another. You need to calm down.”
Charlotte hesitantly took the glass, and sniffed it once Adriel had gone to the kitchen.
“I saw that!” Adriel said.
“Just making sure it’s not poisoned,” she called back.
Adriel returned with two more glasses of wine, seemingly polishing off the bottle they had just opened. He handed her the new glass, filled to the brim.
“Ouch,” Charlotte exclaimed as soon as she took it.
“Sorry, my hands run a little warmer than you’re probably used to,” Adriel said. He then put his own glass down, rubbed his hands together and sparked a contained fire in the palms of his hands.
“What the hell?” Charlotte screeched.
“No, that’s where I live Charlotte, this is simply a parlor trick.”
“Enough, Adriel. It’s time to talk,” Charlotte demanded sternly.
“The Devil wants their souls because it’s his duty to collect the most evil and spiteful spirits and add them to his collection. You will need to kill them sooner rather than later and I guarantee you will not get caught.”
“How will I do it?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m still working out the details on that one, but once it’s finalized, you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”
They sat in silence for what felt like hours, but in reality, only a few minutes had passed. Charlotte wanted to get up and get something to eat. After all, she hadn’t had anything since breakfast and she was now feeling extremely tipsy.
As she tried to stand, she stumbled and nearly fell over until Adriel whooshed over to her spot and caught her in his arms.
“Easy there,” he said.
“You really are ridiculously warm,” she noticed.
“Part of being a demon,” he smiled.
In the moment, something came over Charlotte as she lay in Adriel’s arms. She felt no fear, but instead, felt incredibly safe. She reached up to touch Adriel’s face and even this part of his body radiated heat beyond belief.
“I think it’s time for you to get some sleep,” Adriel said as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
“Are you going to stay?” Charlotte asked cautiously.
“Sorry, Char. I don’t fraternize with my work partners. Even though I’d love to see a closeup of your tattoo,” he said, his eyes ablaze.
Charlotte was still wearing the cocktail dress from earlier in the evening. After his confession, her stomach turned into its own furnace and sparked warmth throughout her entire body. He’d set her softly down upon her bed.
Before Charlotte could respond, she blinked and Adriel had disappeared without a normal goodbye, as per usual.
19
Present
Charlotte turned over in bed once she roused and felt a warm body next to hers.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Adriel said.
Without hesitation, Charlotte climbed on top of Adriel and straddled his exposed abs.
“Now, it’s a good morning,” she said as she began to kiss his neck and slowly made her way up to his lips.
“Mhmmm,” Adriel moaned, “I’ve been waiting for this ever since I saw you.”
Charlotte rocked her
body against Adriel’s, relishing the high.
“I want you, Charlotte. And I’m going to have you.”
“Please, Adriel! Please. I want you, I need you,” Charlotte pleaded.
Just as Adriel began undressing her, a large boom of thunder rang out and shook the room.
Charlotte, startled, sat straight up, severely out of breath.
“Having a good dream?” Adriel smirked from across the room.
Charlotte looked around furiously, and checked to see if she was fully clothed or not.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood, so I figured I’d stop by and visit my favorite partner in crime. You seem a little flushed, would you like some water?” he teased.
“Seriously, get the hell out of my room,” she warned.
“Sure, princess. But hurry up. We have plans.”
Charlotte waited until she could barely hear Adriel fumbling around with her belongings in the living room before creeping out of bed. Her face continued to feel flush and her heart pounded through her chest. That dream felt way too real and somehow, someway, it seemed Adriel knew what kinds of inappropriate things had occupied her mind while sleeping.
Once dressed, she walked out of the bedroom and found Adriel attempting to make a cup of coffee with her Keurig.
“Ah, finally. Something Adriel doesn’t know how to do.”
“I was trying to make you some coffee. I hoped it’d make you less cranky today.”
“Ass,” Charlotte said.
“Well, we can get you coffee later then, take my hand.”
“Jesus Christ, Adriel! I just woke up!”
“For one, Jesus wasn’t as holy as everyone thinks and two, you do what I say.”
Charlotte knew she’d lose the battle if she protested and begrudgingly held out her hand, grateful she had put on clothes before coming out to greet him.
Landing in a grassy field, Charlotte maintained her balance upon landing this time. It was remarkable how she was growing accustomed to Adriel’s form of transportation so easily. Looking around, Charlotte noticed not only were they standing in a lush patch of land, it also happened to be a cemetery.
The gravestones appeared battered and ancient, and most were covered in weeds and moss. Chills shivered down Charlotte’s spine and she felt acutely aware this was not a friendly place to be.
“This cemetery is the Gate to Hell.”
Charlotte started laughing out loud until she saw Adriel was stone-faced and serious.
“Oh,” she said.
“This is where we eventually need to bring Charlie, Greg and John once we kill them.”
“Why here?”
“My boss is only able to collect souls near the Gates. He does not bear as much freedom as I.”
“Wait, so you can roam freely, but the Devil is stuck in hell.”
“For now.”
“Where exactly are we, anyways?” Charlotte asked, ignoring Adriel’s last remark.
“The Dormientes Cemetery.”
“I’ve never heard of this place.”
“Well, you’re about to become very familiar.”
“Once the Devil has the souls, will I get my soul back? Will Liam wake up?”
“As long as my boss is satisfied, then yes, you should get your precious little Liam back.”
Charlotte wondered if she would be meeting the Devil during the delivery of the souls. What would he look like? Would he really have horns? A tail? Would he hurt her? So many questions swiveled and swirled within Charlotte’s brain.
Lost in thought, it took a minute to realize Adriel had started walking away from the cemetery and toward a dirt road.
“Hey, wait up!” Charlotte called out.
Adriel clearly didn’t hear her, or chose to ignore her, because his pace didn’t slacken. Charlotte began to jog and finally caught up to him on the road.
“Where are we going now?” she gasped.
“Just a little place I like to call my second home,” he said, providing no additional details.
“Okay, and we’re going to walk? No Harry Potter apparating?”
Adriel dismissed her again and continued to stride down the road with purpose. A few hundred yards later, the two of them approached a shabby looking building with a neon sign, half extinguished.
It appeared the sign once read, “The Hairy Dog,” but with the missing lights, it had become, “he Hair og.”
“This is your second home?” Charlotte asked, confused.
Breaking into a slight smile, Adriel held the door open for Charlotte inviting her inside.
A putrid smell of cigarette smoke, stale body odor and whiskey assaulted her nostrils. The bar’s crowd seemed to house retired bikers and highly intimidating older men. The women dressed scantily and appeared to have more work done than Joan Rivers.
“Addy!” a leather-clad woman shrieked as she hopped over the bar and ran straight into his arms.
She appeared to be in her mid-thirties and had long chestnut hair blown out like an 80’s groupie. Her eyeliner, dark and smudged, resembled a raccoon. However, Adriel seemed pleased to see her. Charlotte felt a pang of jealousy seeing Adriel lift her up, but swiftly shook away the envious feeling.
Once Adriel put the woman down, she bombarded him with questions.
“I’ve missed you so much, baby! What brings you to this neck of the woods? How have you been? Tell me everything!”
Adriel briefly looked back toward Charlotte and nodded for her to come forward.
“Cyndy, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Cyndy.”
Charlotte extended her hand, but her new acquaintance merely looked down as if she was being offered a rotten piece of fruit. Charlotte quickly realized the gesture would not be reciprocated and put her hands in her jean pockets.
Turning her attention back to Adriel, “What can I get you to drink, baby?”
“Ah, I’ll have the usual and whatever Charlotte would like,” he said.
Cyndy nodded her head and returned to her post as bar keep; Adriel followed and eventually, so did Charlotte.
Cyndy poured a healthy portion of a deep amber liquid into a glass for Adriel and waved over another staff member to take Charlotte’s order. Apparently even serving Charlotte a drink was beneath her.
In hushed voices, Adriel and Cyndy began to talk rapidly, but Charlotte couldn’t catch a single word. She ordered a vodka soda from the other unkept bartender and resettled to a table by herself near the dart board. She couldn’t think of one good reason Adriel needed to bring her here. Charlotte gazed around, absorbing her surroundings. She noticed the windows had metal bars across them and the walls were covered with tarnished Polaroid photos, presumably of the bar’s patrons throughout the years.
“Hiya, missy. Interested in a game of pool?” asked a burly man with a beard ZZ Top would be proud of.
Adriel, all knowing, turned around and shouted, “Better be nice to her, Anders. She’s feisty!”
Anders waved and gave the thumbs-up.
“Sure,” Charlotte agreed meekly.
To ease her nerves, Charlotte took an impressive gulp of her drink. She quickly found out it contained much more vodka than soda. She noticed Cyndy glaring at her through slit eyes, like a watchful snake while talking to Adriel. Charlotte, feeling judged and out of place, tried to focus her attention on her new friend, Anders. If she was going to be made to feel awkward, she was at least going to try and have a little fun.
Several rounds of pool and a few more vodkas later, Charlotte began challenging other patrons to games of pool. Surprisingly, Charlotte continued whooping all of her opponents and even embarrassed a few.
Apparently, she played better after a couple of drinks.
After all of her victims were vanquished, Charlotte decided to make her way back to the bar and interrupt Adriel and Cyndy’s rendezvous.
She plopped down on a stool next to Adriel and smiled.
“I see you're making friends
,” he said.
“I am the champion, the pool hall champion!” she sung and slurred.
Adriel softly rubbed her back, trying to steady her. At his touch, Charlotte remembered her dream about Adriel and came down with an instant case of hyperhidrosis.
Without notice, a clash of two bikers erupted in the corner. Cyndy ran over to intervene, leaving Adriel and Charlotte alone at the bar.
“So, who’s that?”
“Cyndy?” Adriel questioned, “She’s an old friend.”
“Just a friend?” Charlotte pressed.
“Well, Nancy Drew, I’ve known her since her mother ran the bar. It’s been a long time. We may have been more than friends at one point, but it didn’t last.”
Bingo!
Charlotte now understood why Cyndy had been so cold to her, she must have assumed Charlotte was the new woman.
“What happened? I mean, why didn’t you two work out?” she asked, nonchalantly.
“She wanted me to kill her, bring her back to life as a demon and be together forever.”
Charlotte burst out laughing, but Adriel remained stoic and stared down at his drink.
“Oh,” she said, “You’re not kidding.”
“No, I’m not.”
The silence expanded between them and it was nearly palpable. Adriel sipped his beverage and Charlotte finished another vodka soda. They had never experienced an awkward silence before, but they were surely having one now.
“Hey! I have an idea!” Charlotte announced as she jumped off the stool.
Adriel stared quizzically as she went over to the jukebox, put in her quarters and picked a song to play.
“White Demon Love Song” by The Killers began to croon from the speakers and Charlotte sauntered back over to Adriel and grabbed his hand.
“May I have this dance?” she asked.
Adriel tried to pull back, “I don’t dance.”
“Well neither do I,” Charlotte said and pulled hard enough on Adriel to uproot him from his barstool.
She put his hand on the small of her back and they held their other hands together like an old-fashioned couple at a formal gala.
Again, Charlotte sensed Cyndy eyeing them like a hawk, but she didn’t care. Adriel maneuvered awkwardly. Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh as they stumbled over each other’s feet.
