Pure Hell (Seventh Level Book 1)

by Charity Parkerson

  As Anne moved closer, Pamela’s nostrils flared. Anne stopped a few inches from the demon. Reaching between them, she cupped Pamela’s cunt. Boldly holding her gaze, she dipped two fingers inside her. Holding still, Anne allowed the promise of pleasure to hang between them. “Why should Liam cost you two women? You’ve done all the work. I could be your little secret,” she whispered in her most seductive voice.

  She pumped her fingers inside her once to let Pamela know she was serious. She knew her point was made when Pamela’s eyes lost a hint of focus. With her fingertips wet with Pamela’s cream, she circled her clit. “You’re smart. You could keep me all to yourself.” She knelt in front of Pamela and licked her navel. “I’ll be yours alone to do with as you wish.” Sliding her tongue downward, she licked a wet path down Pamela’s body before stopping just short of her goal. “We could seal the deal today.”

  Pamela ran her fingers through Anne’s hair before using it to guide her where she wanted her the most. “I’m really good at sealing the deal. Maybe we can work out something suitable for everyone involved.”

  * * * * *

  “A cage? Really Kieran?” Kylie asked attempting to sound calm as she looked around at the bars that had no door she could find. It hung a few feet from the floor and reminded her of something she’d seen in a book once on medieval torture.

  He lifted his booted foot from the floor and used it to set the cage in motion. Metal screeched against metal as it swung in a wide arch. Grasping the bars, Kylie held on for the ride.

  “I admit it’s a bit dramatic, but sometimes theatrics are in order.”

  Her stomach shook in her fear. It didn’t matter that she was already dead. She knew deep within her heart there were things much worse than death. She’d immediately tried to simply disappear and reappear somewhere else as she’d done in the past but nothing happened. She was truly trapped. If she’d ever doubted Kieran’s power, she didn’t any longer.

  “Is that all this has been these past months? Theatrics?” she asked in attempt to draw his attention away from whatever horrible thing he had planned for her.

  The door exploded at Kieran’s back before he could answer. Chunks of wood flew in every direction. Liam’s large frame filled the now open doorway. His eyes glowed bright red and his chest heaved with his fury. Kylie almost dissolved into tears at the sight of him. Kieran didn’t bother turning even as the splinters pelted his back. A satisfied smile stretched his lips and chills raced over Kylie’s body at the sight of it.

  “How nice of you to join us, Liam.”

  Liam’s low growl was the only warning he gave before springing. Almost as if in slow motion, he froze in mid-air suspended as if held by invisible chains. Kieran continued staring in Kylie’s eyes the entire time and his grin grew wider at her gasp.

  “Have a seat, Liam.” Even though Kieran had not raised his voice there was no mistaking it was an order. With the invisible binds no longer holding him, he landed in a heap at Kieran’s feet. Obviously realizing he had no other choice, Liam came to his feet and moved to the chair opposite Kieran’s desk. Kieran claimed his seat behind it. Even though the massive oak surface separated them, the murder didn’t leave Liam eyes.

  “You have something that belongs to me,” he said sounding angrier than Kylie could have ever imagined.

  “Actually, she belongs to me.”

  “That possession is nine-tenths of the law bullshit is for mortals,” Liam snapped. “It doesn’t fly in our world. You can condemn or bargain. Those are the laws.”

  Kieran didn’t quite sneer but it was close. “No laws were broken. Kylie sold her soul to me with the understanding that in death she would find love.”

  The look of betrayal on Liam’s face at Kieran’s words caused a crack to open in the center of Kylie’s heart. She half expected him to walk out right then. Instead, he said, “An understanding is not the same as a bargain.”

  Kieran didn’t quite roll his eyes but he came close. He turned to Kylie.

  “Did I not honor our bargain?”

  Kylie looked in Liam’s direction and her heart turned over in her chest. Her fingers itched to feel the soft stubble of his short-cropped hair. She envied the black t-shirt stretching across his chest for being able to touch his skin while she could not. She would never get enough of him. Greed gnawed away at her insides and pride burned through her veins at the knowledge he did indeed belong to her. She loved him, she realized with a start. As twisted as Kieran’s description of the emotion had been, he was right.

  “Yes,” she admitted, causing Liam’s head to swing in her direction. His jaw was set in a hard line. He was so angry with her she could feel it from all the way across the room. “You made all my dreams come true,” she said, answering Kieran’s question while holding Liam’s gaze hoping he realized the words were meant for him as well.

  “You heard the lady. A bargain was made and met.”

  Even though Kylie could tell it chafed him to do so, Liam still asked. “And what terrible thing do you expect from me to secure her release?”

  “You mistake my intentions. The time has come for you to stop hiding your nature and do the job you were meant for. Take your place at my side and I’ll sign her soul over to you.”

  “I’m a cop. That’s the job I was meant for.”

  Kieran leaned his elbows on the desk. His voice dropped into the appealing one Kylie knew so well. “I know you feel it. You’re a soul reaper, Liam. You burn with the desire to own her. You need to possess her soul. You won’t be able to rest until you deliver her to her final judgment.”

  Liam’s expression never changed. “No. I can’t say I am feeling those things right about now.”

  Kieran sighed dramatically. “Then I will continue torturing her sister until she begs me to kill her just as Kylie did.”

  Liam flinched but otherwise didn’t react.

  “Anne? Oh my God! What have you done to her?”

  Kieran didn’t bother answering Kylie. He kept his eyes locked on Liam awaiting his decision.

  “I’ll go, Liam. Just tell him you’ll take me wherever he tells you to.” She could hear the desperation in her own voice and she didn’t care.

  Both men ignored her pleas.

  “I’m not asking you to give her up, Liam. There’s no need for that now that she is here. You could keep her in limbo and take pleasure in her body anytime you pleased. Just as I did with your mother. All you need to do is accept your place in life. Claim her as your own.”

  Kylie’s knees gave out and she slid to the floor of the cage. Delphine was right. Kylie had seen so much it made her blind. She could no longer tell the difference between the living and the dead. No wonder Delphine seemed so young. She probably had been close to Liam’s age when Kieran killed her. The mother of his own child. She realized in that moment there was no hope for her.

  “How am I supposed to know you’re not lying about Anne? For all I know Kylie’s sister could have been dead for years now.”

  Kieran nodded as if pleased by his son’s quick mind. “Justice is a witness in this matter. He acted as her escort last night when she came to the club.”

  “Anne was here?” Kylie asked, even though everyone was still ignoring her.

  “Will you accept his word on the matter?”

  Kylie jumped as a mist appeared. It hung in the air for a second before transforming into a man. He was huge with bulking muscles taking up too much space in the room. He flashed a startled look at Kylie.

  “Yep. I’m in a cage.” It seemed neither death nor fear of burning in hell could scrub away her inability to keep her thoughts to herself. He rubbed his hand across forehead as if exhausted by it all and opened his mouth as if to say something before snapping his teeth together again.

  Instead, he focused on Kieran. “You rang?”

  Kylie hadn’t heard Kieran do anything of the sort but Kieran nodded. “My son doubts my word Miss Trace came calling last night but he has agreed to trust your
testimony on the matter.”

  He shuffled in place. His one nervous gesture told Kylie everything she needed to know. Anne had been here. However, Liam continued to wait patiently for the actual words. “There was a human female here last night and I was told her name is Anne Trace. However, I could not swear to you it was her real name as I had never met her before last night.”

  He shot a nervous glance in Kylie’s direction and in that moment, everything became clear. This man, Liam and her sister would all be the ones to suffer because she had wanted to feel something other than scorn for once in her life. She’d gotten her wish and she would take her punishment. She stumbled back to her feet.

  “Don’t lie on my behalf. I don’t want anything to happen to you because of me.”

  The man scoffed, but she pressed on. “Please? I can’t escape my fate. Don’t make me live eternity knowing I was responsible for your torture or something equally horrible.”

  Justice looked incredulous at her words. “He can’t hurt me.”

  “I could try.”

  Justice snorted at Kieran’s words. “I do my job. I work the door between worlds. I show you the respect due your position as I do your counterpart but neither of you better ever begin to think I work for either of you.”

  Kieran waved an impatient hand. “Yes. I know. Justice is swift and fair. I guess I have no choice but to summon Anne.”

  Liam watched the exchange silently. His face remained impassive as if none of it meant a thing to him.

  “Liam,” Kylie said, attempting to draw his attention her way. “He already has my soul. Walk away now. There is no way Anne would believe any of this long enough to show up here. Please just let me go.” She could only save one person at a time. Justice said he couldn’t be hurt. She only had to save Liam and Anne. All she needed was Liam to leave and she’d be down to one but Liam continued to ignore her. However, she did manage to snag Kieran’s attention. “Miss Trace, the point has never been for me to own your soul, but to force my son to accept his true nature. Don’t get me wrong, you were an important chess piece in this game but a pawn is all you are. You’d better hope I do not lose my need for your services.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said, feeling the tears burning at the backs of her eyes. “I don’t understand what I could possibly do for you.”

  Liam spoke without looking at her. “He needed someone who would understand me and accept my oddity as normal. He needed someone I could connect with through shared experience because they can walk both worlds as I can but most of all, he needed that someone to be dead so I would willingly choose this world over the human world. It has always been his wish for me to stand at his side and help him in his quest to corrupt everything good.”

  Kieran tilted his chin acknowledging Liam’s words as the truth. “I’ve spent years searching for just the right person. You’d be surprised how rare you are, Kylie.”

  “Not really,” she muttered under her breath.

  He continued as if she’d not said anything. “One of a kind, actually. I’ve existed since almost the beginning of time and I’ve only met one other human who could see our world as clearly as you do.”

  “Delphine,” she supplied and a hint of a smile touched his face at the name as if the mere mention of Liam’s mother brought back fond memories.

  Liam growled and the sound seemed to bring Kieran back to the present. “Ah, yes. I suppose we should move things along. Justice, you’re free to leave.”

  Justice clasped his hands in front of him and leaned against the wall as if settling in. “I think I’ll stay.”

  Kieran waved a dismissive hand as if it mattered not at all to him and he rapped his knuckles on his desk. At the sound Septem appeared at his side. Kylie bit back a whimper and fought the urge to cower in the corner of her cage. With a subtle shifting of his weight, Justice placed his body between them. An overwhelming sense of gratitude for his protection swept over her. To most, Septem appeared to be a beautiful blonde woman named Pamela. Kylie didn’t know who Pamela had been in life. Most likely, she had been another hapless victim of Septem’s torment before he’d decided he enjoyed her form so much he wanted to keep it as his own.

  When Kylie looked at Septem, her dual nature allowed her to see his true form. If anyone had asked her six months earlier to describe the devil’s appearance, she would have described Septem. He was the horned beast of lore and nightmares while the true devil possessed the face of an angel. Yet they were both equally evil.

  “My lord,” Septem said in way of greeting with a short bow. His deep voice even sounded demonic.

  “Bring Anne to me.”

  The demon didn’t shuffle nervously the way Justice had but neither did he move to do as Kieran bid.

  “I cannot.”

  Kieran’s eyes flashed dangerously and Kylie did move to the back of her cage at his look.

  “What do you mean you cannot?”

  “Her soul was lost to us, my lord.”

  Kieran leaned back in his chair giving Septem his full attention. “Explain.”

  “There was an accident. Her and the cop she’s been running around with, Mark something or another.”

  The whitening of Liam’s knuckles as he squeezed the arms of his chair was the only indication he gave he was hanging onto every word as avidly as Kylie was.

  “What kind of accident? What’s happened to my sister?” Kylie was beyond fear of Kieran’s retribution over her interruption. She needed to know.

  “Her soul passed unto the light. There was nothing I could do.”

  Kylie went from standing to sitting with no memory of how she’d gotten there. A terrible mixture of grief and relief welled inside her. Her sister was gone but she was safe in the light. She didn’t know how to feel but her body settled on shock.

  Liam sprang to his feet. “As it is my understanding you cannot produce proof of the torment of Anne Trace then I shall leave you to handle the remnants of your so called deal with this one.”

  Without sparing her a glance, Liam walked away leaving her to her fate. It was the final blow. She’d gotten what she asked for but something inside her shut down in the face of it. She was broken.

  *

  The betrayal was so thick in its completion Liam could taste it. It was bitter and vile almost akin to defeat. In spite of the choking sensation in his throat, he held the stare of each demon he passed as his feet carried him away from the club. He would not show them any signs of weakness even as his heart melted away inside his chest. He felt every inch separating him from Kylie as if it ripped a layer of skin from his body but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. In every way, Kylie had been perfect. She was the perfect weapon against him. It was almost brilliant in its simplicity. She was a ticking bomb set at his feet perfectly timed to cripple him at his weakest. The only option to avoid complete destruction was to walk away.

  Instead of going completely insane with the thought of what it meant for Kylie, he concentrated on Mark. Two-thirds of Septem’s words were usually lies but Liam couldn’t see any gain for the demon in this case. As soon as Liam hit the back alley of the club, he closed his eyes and concentrated on finding Mark. The soul reaper inside him had no trouble locking onto his essence. Following that path, Liam used the same short cut as he had from the swamp except this time he found himself on the side of a backcountry road. Mark traveled this same road every day to and from work. It was normally a quiet street. Tonight, black plumes of smoke rolled from beneath the hood of a Mark’s 2010 Malibu. It was almost unrecognizable after the semi had finished with it, but Liam could feel Mark’s soul barely pulsing inside the vehicle. The smoke was too thick to see anything clearly other than the blazing orange flames. Liam plunged himself into the fray as only a man who couldn’t die would. If there was a single chance of saving Mark then he had to try. The metal of the driver side door burned at the same temperature as boiling hot lava beneath his palms. There wasn’t a doubt in Liam’s mind it was only a matter of
time before the car blew sky high. He was determined it wouldn’t take Mark with it. Giving up the fight against the door handle, which refused to budge, he ripped the metal door away from its hinges and tossed it aside. His eyes and nose stung as the acrid smoke filled his lungs but hope surged through him when Mark’s eyes peeked open.

  “Hang in there, Mark. I’m going to get you out of here.”

  Crushed as the car was, it was impossible to tell which side of the car had been destroyed first. Liam’s guess was, the semi had clipped the driver’s side, spinning it completely around before crushing the passenger side as well. The impact had sent the car careening into the ditch. By the looks of things, it had also flipped a few times. Mark was still strapped in and a trail of blood oozed from his head. The fact the car had not exploded yet left Liam amazed, especially considering the flames had already burned a body beyond recognition in the passenger seat. It looked as if they’d been partially ejected before becoming consumed by the fire. Liam’s heart fell at the sight. In this case, Septem had been telling the truth. Heat licked at his back, reminding Liam of the precariousness of the situation. Wasting no time, he tore Mark from the car and rushed him away. Out of harm’s way, Liam checked Mark over for injuries. His head was still bleeding but it didn’t appear to be life threatening. No doubt he would be coughing up a lung for the next few weeks, but it seemed he would survive. Mark’s eyes were open but he either couldn’t see a thing or the shock of seeing Liam in his true form had stolen his voice. It seemed, even though Mark would live, today was still going to be the day Liam said his goodbyes.

  “I’m so sorry.” The swelling in Liam’s throat had nothing to do with the smoke. He’d brought this hell upon Mark’s life. “You won’t see me again after tonight but I need you to know that.”

  Mark’s hand lifted from the ground and a weak pat tapped Liam’s arm. Mark’s one gesture seemed to zap the last of his energy as he lost consciousness.