by Lacey Savage
Something wasn’t right. She didn’t feel like the mate of the ruler of the Underworld. The only thing she felt for this dark creature was dread and mistrust. But her appearance and the power she wielded as easily as breathing told a different story.
“Why do I put myself through this?” she asked.
Baal looked her up and down. “Women are difficult to understand, my love. Who am I to begin to speculate on the whims and fancies of the female mind?”
A surge of anger rose to the back of Heidi’s throat. “Female whims, huh? I don’t buy it. Why would I leave all this without a good reason?”
“You have a reason.” Baal spoke slowly, as though trying to reason with a child. “Or at least, you think you do. Don’t you get it yet, sweetheart? You’re in Hell. That means you’re dead. D-E-A-D.” He spelled out the word, as though that would make it easier for her brain to grasp. It didn’t help.
Heidi gaped at him and pinched her arm. “That’s not possible. I can feel everything. I have a real body! I’m not dead!”
“The Underworld doesn’t work the same way as the mortal realm. Here, you can be as ethereal or corporeal as you wish to be. It doesn’t make a bit of difference. On the other side, however, you don’t exist. Not in your current form, anyway.”
Heidi’s head felt like it was preparing to split in two. “So how can I travel to the mortal realm, then?”
“You find a temporary host. You use her body for the duration of your stay. Normally, you return to me on your own. This time, you required a little extra incentive.”
She grimaced. “What kind of incentive?”
“I had to get you myself. Trust me, that wasn’t something I enjoyed doing. I put myself at risk every time even a small part of me slips through to the mortal realm.” He waved a hand in the air. “No matter. I needed you back here, and I did what I had to do.”
“Why would I refuse to return?” She narrowed her gaze. “What happened up there?”
“Like I said, I don’t understand women. I do know that, usually, mortal ties are easy to break. Not so for someone as… sentimental as you. Something happens when you visit the mortal realm. It calls to you, lulls you into believing you can wreak more havoc up there than you can here. Although that may be true, I need you at my side.”
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. What Baal said made a strange kind of sense, yet she couldn’t help but feel she was missing a part of the story. The truth of that knowledge burrowed all the way into the marrow of her bones. Somehow, the secret to the mystery of who she really was tied in to the dark-haired man and his golden companion.
She looked past Baal again, taking in the formidable physique of the man who’d lunged at her. He’d been the first image to flicker across her field of vision when she’d awakened. At the time, every instinct in her body had screamed at her to protect herself. So she’d done the only thing she could, but he seemed to hold no malice toward her. Instead, every tense muscle in his body was angled toward Baal, and the fury evident on his features had only one target.
“I get you,” Heidi said, pointing at Baal. “And I sort of get me. What I really don’t understand is who they are.”
“Ah!” Baal spun around, leaving shimmering trails of shadow in his wake. “I’d almost forgotten the best part of your recovery after your trips above ground. What do you think?”
He marched toward the two captives and swept out a hand as though presenting prized possessions to be admired. Despite herself, Heidi couldn’t help doing just that.
Both men were naked, their toned bodies displaying myriad bruises that did nothing to mar the perfection of their rippling physiques. Their bodies trembled with barely contained rage and their thick, eager cocks twitched as though hungry for the opportunity to strike.
The sight of those solid erections sent heat to pool between Heidi’s legs. For the first time, she became aware that she wore precious little to hide her body from the prying eyes of all the men in the room. A tight leather bustier and matching thong were her only garments, clinging to her curves and leaving nothing to the imagination. Her breasts were pushed up and forward in the tight constraints of the leather, forming two perfect spheres and a deep valley of cleavage in between.
“They’re… umm… fine.”
She cringed at how hollow her words sounded. The men were more than fine. They were spectacular. But who were they? And what was she expected to do with them?
“Of course they are,” Baal said, a note of pride and affection in his tone. “You picked them yourself. They’re your favorite playthings. You’ve been grooming them for months in preparation for your return.”
Heidi shook her head. The throbbing in her cunt had intensified the longer she gazed upon the physical perfection of the two captives. Lust swirled in her veins, making it hard to focus.
“I don’t understand. What have I been preparing them to do?”
Baal heaved an exaggerated sigh. “The mortal realm takes its toll on you. I beg you not to go every time you choose to make the trek up there, but you refuse. It used to take you years to recover after a trip, but ever since you discovered the release, your recovery time has been remarkable.”
“The release?” Heidi echoed, growing more confused by the moment.
Baal reached down and touched his index finger to the tip of the dark-haired man’s cock. The man jerked back like he’d been burned, his black eyes darkening even further with turbulent rage. Beside him, his golden companion’s eyelashes drifted down, hiding the turmoil in his own gaze.
“It’s quite simple, really.” Baal stepped between them and spread his hands out to either side of his body. “Just don’t ask me to explain how it works. This is your magical concoction. I only know that when you’re through with them, you return back to me as wholesomely evil as you’ve always been. Truly, one hundred percent yourself.”
The pounding in Heidi’s temples had grown to unbearable proportions. Only the hungry ache between her legs matched the thudding pain, each sensation vying for her attention. She rubbed her index and middle finger across her right temple, trying to keep her focus on the issue at hand.
“And just what, exactly, is it that these men do for me?”
“It’s not what they do for you, princess. It’s what you do for them. To them.”
Having grown tired of playing games, Heidi placed the hand mirror on the ground and lifted herself to her full height. “I’m listening.”
“As I said before, it’s simple.” He paused, letting the tension build until Heidi was ready to scream. She’d opened her mouth to do just that when he continued. “You fuck them. Then you kill them.”
* * *
Varin stood perfectly still in the Demon Guardian’s grip, his body held rigid as slow burning hatred simmered in his veins. He’d served Baal for centuries before his initial fall from his Lord’s grace. In all that time, he’d learned what the ruler of the Underworld was capable of. Deceit was among Baal’s favorite weapons. It left no scars -- no visible ones, anyway -- and allowed him to use as much or as little pressure as he wished to achieve the desired results. It was also the most effective method he’d discovered to turn friends, siblings and lovers against each other.
Judging by the look of horror and fascination on Heidi’s beautiful features as she glanced first at Luke, then at Varin, Baal’s plan was working. Without a touch of physical torture, he’d managed to get Heidi exactly where he needed her: willing to believe that she was a divine princess of the Underworld and able to destroy the men she’d come here to save.
Before his trip to the mortal realm, Varin would have considered Baal’s plan a magnificent display of his Lord’s dark villainy. Now, the only emotions that churned in his gut were contempt and fear. Not for himself, but for Luke. And for Heidi, who had no idea what she’d gotten herself into.
Damn it, Heidi! Why did you have to be so fucking determined to rescue us?
He darted a glance at Luke from the corner of his ey
e and felt the anger he’d directed at Heidi begin to dissipate. Looking at Luke, he knew exactly why Heidi had returned. She’d sworn to retrieve him from the depths of Hell if it was the last thing she ever did. This time, Varin thought, it just might be.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Baal said, his voice booming against the cavern walls.
Heidi gave no indication she heard him. The only evidence of her awareness came from the way her chest rose and fell with the force of her shallow breathing, lifting her breasts upward with each ragged sigh.
“I want you back to your old self as soon as you can manage it.” Baal strode toward the lava-drenched exit, not bothering to spare Varin and Luke a second glance. “Enjoy yourself, but do be quick about it. Fuck them senseless first if you must. It doesn’t matter to me. Just be certain they’re dead before you leave this room. You’ll know it when their souls have expired, as they’ll rise from their bodies and travel to the depths of the Underworld to join the billions of other damned souls.”
“So these men… they’re not dead?” She hesitated, drawing her lower lip between her teeth. “Like I am?”
“No, princess. They’re still human. That’s what makes this so much fun.”
Not waiting for Heidi to reply, Baal snapped his fingers. The Demon Guardians released their captives and fell back a few steps to stand guard on either side of the cascading lava door.
Baal waved his right hand, pausing the flow of molten rock while he stood inside the curve of the threshold, then turned back to Heidi. “Oh, one last thing you should remember as you play. Your toys will lie. They’ll do everything in their power to avoid their fate. In your natural capacity as my Queen, you’d remain unmoved by their pleas and no doubt quite persuasive arguments. In your current state, however, I’m not so sure they won’t get to you. So I’m telling you now, I’ll be watching you. If you give me any reason to believe they’ve convinced you of some lunacy or other, I am going to come in here and kill them myself. If that happens, though, I can’t guarantee what kind of effect it will have on you. Understood?”
Heidi shifted on the balls of her bare feet and shook her head as though clearing it after a momentary daze. “Got it. Sex and death. It doesn’t sound too complicated.”
Baal laughed. The rock amplified the horrid deafening sound until it echoed back in rippling cackles. Unmistakable evil rolled through the chamber, accompanying Baal and his cronies as they all left the room.
The torrent of liquid rock resumed its abundant gushing flow, cutting off any avenue of escape Varin, Luke or Heidi might have had. Not that it would have helped if he’d left the door unblocked. The three of them could have run through every winding tunnel in the Underworld for an eternity and they still wouldn’t have managed to find a way out, because there simply wasn’t one. Opening a portal through the fabric of space and time was the only method of transportation between the mortal realm and the dark recesses of Hell.
If Varin still had his powers, he’d waste no time tearing a hole into thin air and shoving Heidi and Luke through it. As it was, he had nothing but his body and the truth of his words, neither of which were a match for Baal’s convincing display of mastery.
“So…” Heidi lifted a supple arm, which undulated as she twirled blue strands of magic around her wrist. “I guess you have no say in any of this, huh?”
Varin opened his mouth to answer, but Luke was faster. He moved toward Heidi with the speed of a predator, his golden hair flowing behind him like an abundant lion’s mane.
“That’s not exactly true. We volunteered for this duty. It’s an honor to lay down our lives in sacrifice so that you might once again rise from the ashes of your mortal self and become the great deity you’ve always been.”
Varin knew his jaw hung open, but he couldn’t get words out. He’d expected Luke to fight Baal’s villainy with every bone in his body. Instead, he was calmly playing along.
Too calmly.
Pride and unmistakable affection swelled up within Varin’s chest as he stepped forward and stood beside the younger man. “He’s right,” Varin said, pleased with the thundering confidence in his tone. “We’re… honored to assist you in any way we can.”
Assist you to remember who you are. And get you the fuck out of here as soon as your memory returns.
He left the words unspoken, knowing she wouldn’t understand. Clearly, though Baal had stripped her of her memories, he’d left her in full possession of her magical abilities. The Lord of the Underworld had needed those to prove to her that she was who he said she was.
That mistake would have to be enough for Varin to use against him and send Heidi back to the mortal realm, where she belonged. If it wasn’t, they were all doomed, as it was the only miscalculation Baal was likely to make.
Heidi furrowed her brows. She glanced from Luke to Varin, then back again, confusion and a hint of skepticism playing across her face. Loosening some of the magical tendrils and letting them dissipate into thin air, she pointed a slender finger at Luke’s chest. “Did I do that to you?”
Luke glanced down to the spot she indicated. A smile curved one side of his mouth. “As much as I’d like to say those are love marks bestowed upon me, I’m afraid the truth isn’t nearly as seductive.”
“The guards.” Heidi pressed her lips together, her mouth thinning into a flat, bloodless line. “They looked like the type of men who’d enjoy hitting first and asking questions later.”
“You’re not like that.” Varin moved close enough to touch her, but stopped just short of reaching out. He didn’t want to frighten her and experience a repeat of what had happened earlier.
It was clear to him she had no idea who either of them were. She’d reacted out of instinct alone, using the demon powers Varin had given her, which were now as much a part of her as her curls or her blue eyes.
The longer Varin thought about it, the more devious Baal’s plan turned out to be. He’d allowed Heidi to keep all her magic, even though he could have yanked it from her in a heartbeat as he’d done to Varin. Ah, but it was so much sweeter to watch her struggle with the overwhelming energy at her fingertips as she grappled with the magical power that she still hadn’t learned to fully control.
With the snap of her fingers and a few well-timed words, Heidi could snuff out both of their mortal souls. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let that happen.
Heidi ran her fingers through her hair, grimacing when her thumb nudged her horns. “What am I like, then? I can’t seem to remember much about my life before…” She waved a hand through the air, the gesture encompassing the chamber and perhaps the rest of the Underworld. “Before all this.”
Luke moved to stand behind her, his slate-gray eyes sparkling with genuine affection. From her vantage point, Heidi couldn’t see him, which was a shame, Varin thought. If she could get a glimpse of the tenderness and unmistakable ardor in Luke’s gaze, perhaps she’d begin to understand that their relationship ran much deeper than Baal had let on.
“You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met,” Luke whispered, trailing his fingertips across the nape of her neck.
Heidi shuddered visibly under his touch, her eyelids drooping slightly as he continued the gentle caress.
Emboldened by the knowledge that she wasn’t going to strike out at either of them again, Varin closed the remaining distance and pressed his body against hers. He lowered his head, pleased when she didn’t flinch or attempt to move away. Her breathing grew shallower and her warm breath tickled his lips.
“You’re bold and daring, courageous and unafraid. You don’t take orders from anyone, and you don’t back down in the face of adversity, no matter how bad the odds may seem.”
She smiled then, a genuine, lopsided smile that made his heart clench. Unable to hold back any longer, Varin swept the tip of his tongue into the crevice of her closed mouth. She tasted the same as he remembered, sweet and feminine, with a hint of something spicy, like cinnamon or clove.
His to
ngue traced her silky lips until she opened them and allowed him to delve into the warm, wet cavern of her mouth. Varin’s cock jolted with a fierce ache as he thrust inside her, remembering what it had felt like to slip his shaft in her mouth, to have her suck him deep between those full lips and moan around his throbbing rod.
He didn’t know what kind of response to expect from this woman who didn’t remember him. He’d have understood if she’d shied away or tried to push his aggression aside, but she did neither. Instead, she groaned softly, the sound of her willingness to give herself to him drifting into his mouth and lingering there like a whispered promise.
At last, Varin pulled away, driven by the need to see and touch and taste all of her. He trailed kisses over the side of her jaw and down the column of her throat, then dipped inside her cleavage and slipped his tongue into the luscious valley of her full breasts.
Heidi’s magic bounced out of control around them. It fluttered wildly, writhing in the air, binding them in a cocoon of euphoria. Varin’s heart skipped a beat as he wondered whether she’d learned to control her abilities. He’d had no time to train her, but he hoped her previous knowledge of all things magical would at least keep her from sending the currents of power spinning out of control as he brought her over the edge into the ecstasy of orgasm.
If she lost her grip on the fragile strands, she’d kill them all, whether she meant to or not. Varin’s only hope was to somehow remind her of who she really was. If he could do that without drawing Baal’s suspicion, she might have a chance to get out of this alive.
Banishing the dark thoughts from his mind, Varin dropped to his knees in front of Heidi and slipped his fingertips beneath the stretchy band of her leather panties. The exotic, heady scent of her arousal drifted to his nostrils. His cock responded instantly by growing fiercely erect, turgid with the need to sink inside her wet heat and lose himself in the tight grip of her cunt.
