by Tara West
“No!” I wailed, feeling as if my chest was caving in on itself.
Aedan sat silently beside me, his face blood red and his body as stiff as a corpse.
The crowd went silent when Satan waved a hand. “Ordinarily, I send guests who disobey me outside.” He grabbed Melanie by the elbow, jerking her against him. “Since I’m feeling in a charitable mood today, I’ve devised a different kind of punishment.” He pointed the end of his serpent staff at my fiancé. “Aedan O’Connor, I hereby confine you to your room for ten days. You are not to leave your room until your full sentence has been served, understand?”
“Yes,” Aedan answered through a stiff jaw.
I let out a shaky breath in relief. Sitting inside his room had to have been better than being stuck outside, right? Why did I get the idea the Devil would find a way to make the torture even more unbearable?
The Devil’s lips cracked into a slow and calculated smile. “Oh, and to show I’m not the hateful bastard you all probably suspect me to be, I’ll allow you to have one friend in your room with you.”
“Ash,” Aedan said aloud without batting an eye.
Well, that made me feel a bit better about myself. I may have had a few repulsive habits and way too much hair on my nipples, but Aedan still wanted to be with me. That had to count for something.
“Ash?” The Devil tapped his chin while thoughtfully eyeing me. “Why there’s an idea, but, no, I’m not that cruel. I have a much prettier partner in mind.” He added with a wicked smile. “I think I shall leave Sister Melanie with you. She’ll make a fine companion, and no man can resist her beauty.”
Sarge pounded the table and jumped up from his seat. “You bastard!”
“Santiago,” I hissed, “Sit down.” The last time I’d smarted off to the Devil, he’d given me a tail and floppy ears. I didn’t want Sarge meeting that same fate or worse.
The Devil jutted his arm out, pointing the wand directly at Sarge. “And you, my one-legged friend. I’m afraid you must be punished as well for disrespecting your gracious host. You shall be Santiago, the three-legged dog. Then you and the bitch can try to make puppies while you’re locked alone in your room for the next ten days as well.” He mumbled something under his breath while waiving the wand at Sarge. I knew it was all over for my friend. Soon, he’d be a fleabag, too.
Sarge clutched his stomach, falling back into his chair. “I don’t feel so well.”
I leaned over, grabbing his hand. “We need to get you to bed.” I remembered how sick I’d felt the night the Devil had cast the spell on me.
Aedan and I both rushed around the table to Sarge and helped him up. He leaned on my shoulder for support while we walked him up the stairs.
The Devil sauntered over to us dragging Melanie with him. “Retiring to your rooms so soon? I suppose you’ll want this lovely lady for company.” He thrust Melanie into Aedan’s arms. “Can’t say that I’d blame you.”
I growled at Aedan, surprised to see how quickly he’d let go of Sarge to catch Melanie. Aedan let go of Melanie’s arms as if she was made of hot coals. I wasn’t fooled.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
She nodded as silent tears streamed down her face.
Oh, give me a break. All she had to do was sit by Satan for a few minutes. I had to endure him a lot longer than that. At least she still had her flawless, unhairy skin and big breasts.
“See you lovebirds after the honeymoon,” Satan said with a wink. “Have fun.”
Ohhh, that asshole had gotten under my skin for the last time. I pushed Sarge against Aedan and puffed up my chest as the hair between my shoulder blades stood on end. “I’m not cheating on Aedan,” I said with a menacing growl, glaring first at Satan and then at Aedan and Melanie.
“You humans and your foolish loyalty. You’ve forgotten, no pleasure is too sordid, carnal, or disgusting.” He smirked at Sarge and then me. “That especially applies to the two of you, as I’m sure your coupling will get rather hairy.” He threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, I love it when I amuse myself. What do I need all of you for?” He waved us off as if he were a king forced to acknowledge lowly peasants.
He continued to laugh as he turned on his heel, scraping a hoof across the floor with a nerve-wracking screech. He held a hand above his head, snapping his fingers. Four guards flanked our small group and Hitler hopped up the steps in front of us, squealing like a rabid squirrel as he swung onto the landing.
After Sarge had gone completely limp in our arms, Aedan and I had to carry him up the last flight of stairs.
“Hurry faster,” the monkey snarled back at us.
I answered him with a flick of my middle finger, ignoring his hiss as we brushed past him.
Aedan helped me drag Sarge to the bed. I frowned down at my friend, whose skin had gone clammy. I feared he was in for a rough day. At least he didn’t eat the spam. The carpet had enough drag-racing stains on it.
“You go now!” The monkey blew spittle in Aedan’s face while swinging from the top of Sarge’s canopy bed.
Aedan answered Hitler with a punch to the gut, sending the primate careening across the room with a squeal.
The bull guards grunted behind me, and I knew Aedan was out of time. I caught sight of Melanie hovering in the doorway. Was she anxiously waiting on Aedan, or was she concerned for Sarge?
I looked up at Aedan with watery eyes, not knowing how we could be parted for that long. “Aedan, I—” I searched his bright blue eyes, unable to say more. It was kind of hard to get romantic at a time like this, and not just because a big bull beast was breathing steam down my neck. I knew I looked hideous to Aedan. How exactly was he supposed to sweep me into a loving embrace and give me a passionate goodbye kiss?
Aedan squeezed my shoulders, his intense gaze searching mine. “We’ll get through this. I know we will.”
“I know I will.” I was unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I thought of the way Melanie had vulnerably cried on Aedan’s shoulder. I was certain she’d need to be comforted once they were alone. The sirens would probably try to tempt him again, leaving him confused and horny with no one to console him but Melanie. Would he be able to control his passion?
His eyes flashed with pain as he squeezed me harder. “Ash, I’ll be loyal to you. I swear it.” He spoke so fervently, I almost believed him.
I hung my head, unable to look into his eyes as a lone tear slid down my snout. “Just remember that I love you.”
He tipped my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “And I love you. I always will.”
“I hope so,” I mumbled. I shook out of his grip. I didn’t want him touching me. I was too hideous.
“Melanie, don’t go,” Sarge groaned before turning over.
My heart wept for him. Would Sarge ever win Melanie’s heart, or would we both lose our loves to the Devil’s manipulations? After all, the Devil didn’t think sins were sordid, carnal, or disgusting, but they could certainly be hurtful.
* * *
Aedan O’Connor
“Aedan, are you okay?”
I cast a glance behind me as Melanie settled a hand on my shoulder. I didn’t want to be rude, but I couldn’t give the girl the wrong idea, either. I leaned far enough forward that she had to let go.
“Yeah, I will be in a minute.” I wiped my misty eyes with the back of my hands as I stared at the sky beyond the balcony. The view from my room was breathtaking, waves crashing to the shore beneath a towering cliff. I knew it was another screensaver, but I appreciated not having to look upon the malformed and tortured faces of the damned.
Much to my dismay, Melanie walked around the sofa and sat beside me. Her peach perfume enveloped me and teased my senses. Though instead of wanting to sleep with her, I pined for Ash all the more. For her wedding gift, I’d bought her a perfume that smelled like strawberries, knowing how much she loved strawberry margaritas. I’d packed it in my suitcase. I frowned as I realized the spiders had probably destroyed it.
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Melanie twisted the edge of her satin belt around her finger, her lips turning down in a pout. ”I’m sorry about what happened to Ash and your wedding.”
“Thanks.” I shrugged. I should have been relieved that she’d remembered I had a fiancé, but her concern seemed warm enough.
“I’m sure once you escape, she’ll transform back.”
I cringed. I certainly hoped so. I didn’t fall in love with Ash’s beauty. I fell in love with her quirky personality and loyal, caring heart. I loved her even though she was a furry, black mutt. But would she forever be stuck in that form? I wanted a wife who’d take care of me, but fetching my slippers wasn’t the care I’d had in mind. Still, I wouldn’t turn my back on her no matter her physical fate.
“You mean, when we escape,” I corrected her. There weren’t going to be any “ifs”. I refused to accept that this was to be my fate. If I couldn’t find a way out, God would surely come save us. Wouldn’t he?
She frowned, looking down at her lap as she twisted the sash around her fingers. “I’m not escaping from here. I’m already damned.”
“You don’t deserve to be down here, and if God or Cam won’t free you—” I thumped my chest. “We will.”
She vehemently shook her head. “I don’t want to jeopardize your chance of escaping.”
There was a tremor in her voice, subtle, yet strong enough for me to feel the undercurrent of fear. She truly didn’t want to be left down here.
This woman seemed too kind to have been damned to hell. She cared more about our safety than her own. I wondered, not for the first time, what sin she’d committed to have been struck down. My twin brother had been sent to hell for adultery, a sin which he’d regretted for over a hundred years. I’d always thought his punishment was too severe. It seemed unfair to me that a person would be forced to endure an eternity of torment based on a few bad decisions. If Ash and I hadn’t gone to heaven and pleaded his case, my brother would have been damned to hell forever.
“Melanie, we’re all in this together,” I tried to reassure her with a soothing tone, while cautiously scooting to the opposite end of the sofa. “Besides, you should know Sarge won’t leave you down here.”
The color drained from her rosy cheeks. “He should. I’m not worthy of his attention.”
“Melanie, I’m not going to play the fool. I know God damns sinners, but he’s forgiven my brother, and he can forgive you, too.”
“I know what your brother did. My sin was greater than your brother’s.”
I swore under my breath when her eyes welled up with tears. I didn’t want to have to offer her comfort. We certainly didn’t need to start off our sentence of solitude with hugs.
“But I can tell that you’re sorry.” If I could have kicked myself for that stupid observation, I would have. I wasn’t good with offering crying women comfort. Of course, she was sorry. That was kind of a moot point.
She turned away from me, breathing in through a sob. “Sorry doesn’t bring my baby back to life.”
Well, damn. “You killed your child?” I blurted, not meaning to sound so harsh.
She answered with a nod and a sniffle. I knew she was silently crying. I felt my pocket and swore. I had no handkerchief to offer her.
“Was it madness?” I asked. I’d heard of new mothers succumbing to temporary madness and smothering their babies.
“Sort of.” She turned back to me with swollen eyes and a wet face. “It was drugs. I set our house on fire.”
My jaw dropped before I had time to correct it. “By accident?”
“Yes and no.” She shrugged. “The fire was an accident, but my drug addiction wasn’t. I should have given up my child. It was selfish of me to keep him when I couldn’t even take care of myself.” She ended on a wail, covering her face with her hands and sobbing profusely.
I felt like a ten pound bucket of shit for not closing the distance between us and offering her a comforting embrace, but then I thought of Ash. She would be less than pleased to find out I’d taken Melanie in my arms, even if it was out of pity. “But you didn’t mean to kill your child.”
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, looking up at me with red-rimmed eyes and a blotchy face. “No, and I’d give anything to go back in time and turn that drug pusher away from my door. I’d give anything to hold Matthew again.”
“Take comfort in knowing that he’s up in heaven,” I said, not knowing what other comfort to offer her. It was true, though. The innocent were always given admittance to heaven.
“I do, but I’ve denied him a life, and I hurt my parents, too.”
“Melanie, this doesn’t mean you belong in the pit of hell or that you’re not worthy of love,” I pleaded. “Sarge cares for you.” I thought of Sarge who was probably turning into a dog as we spoke. He owed me for putting in a good word for him, considering all the times he’d tried to steal my girl.
Melanie flashed a half-hearted smile. “I know he does.”
“Does he know about your past?” I asked.
Her face flushed as she stared down at her lap. “No.”
I leaned forward, dropping my voice to a stern whisper. “Tell him.”
She jerked back, looking at me with wide, frightened eyes. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” I pressed. Surely a guy like Sarge was willing to look beyond her past if he’d given up his ghosting position and safety up in purgatory to stay down in hell with her.
She caved into herself as if the weight on her shoulders was too much to bear. “I’m ashamed.”
“He already knows you’re a sinner.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist, looking out at the sky as a seagull flew by. “I know.”
“He’s a good man. You should give him a chance.” Fool that I was, I settled my hand on her shoulder, meant only to offer her a bit of comfort. “You should give yourself a chance.”
“Thanks.”
She looked down at my hand with a watery smile and then leaned into me for a hug before I could stop her. I reluctantly let her wrap her arms around my neck as I patted her back a few times. Then I quickly pulled away, excusing myself to the toilet. I didn’t have to go, not having had anything to eat or drink in the past two days, but it was the only way I could get away from her. I shut the lid on the porcelain and sat down, hanging my head in my hands with a groan. The Devil knew exactly what he was doing, forcing the two of us together in one room. The son-of-a-bitch was hoping I’d forego my honor a second time. It was going to be a long, miserable incarceration.
Chapter Eleven
Ash MacLeod
I awoke to the sound of waves crashing along a shoreline and seagulls calling to one another. Such a beautiful, peaceful sound. Instead of basking in the ocean breeze drifting in from my Grecian balcony, I rolled over with a grunt, yelping in pain when my big snout hit a hard spot in the sofa. I wasn’t supposed to be a dog, and I certainly wasn’t supposed to be here. I was supposed to be Mrs. Aedan O’Connor, sipping strawberry margaritas with my new husband in a hammock on our magical purgatory beach vacation. I slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, my gaze focusing on the pool-sized bathtub overlooking the ocean. My tailbone itched so badly it burned, a grim reminder that I was infested with fleas. I could jump in the pool for a refreshing swim and a cool drink. The thought was so damn tempting, especially as my throat had gone dry, and I had to hang my tongue out of my mouth just to keep from overheating. Too damn bad I knew what would happen if I got near the water. I’d get horny and hump the pillows, or worse—Sarge.
Speaking of Sarge, he’d finally stopped complaining about his stomach sometime during the night, and we’d both drifted off to sleep. I pushed myself off the sofa, padding up to him with my tail between my legs. Had Satan truly turned him into a dog? If so, I sure hoped he didn’t freak when he woke up.
I pushed back the curtain on his canopy bed and blinked down at the creature snuggling into his pillow. What the hell was that thing? A gremlin?
“Sarge?” I sniffed the sheets, then cautiously smelled the tip of one small, furry foot. Smelled like Sarge. I poked his side and then jerked back.
He jumped up with a bark, landing on three legs, his lips pulled back in a ferocious snarl. Oh, man. What was this thing? He was more dog than I was, only about two feet long with two legs up front, one in back, and one stump, short brown fur, and big pointy bat ears. Really the only thing human about him were his big brown eyes that reminded me of Sarge. Other than that, he was the biggest Chihuahua I’d ever seen.
“Hey, Santiago,” I whimpered. “How are you feeling?”
He nearly fell face forward as he tried to look between his three legs. “Am I a dog yet?” he squeaked out the question, sounding as if he’d swallowed one too many helium balloons.
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “You’re a dog.”
He sat on his hind leg, leaning to one side as his stub poked out. “What the hell is up with my voice?” He looked at me with wide, frightened eyes. “What do I look like?”
My shoulders slouched as I backed up. “You don’t want to see.”
He jumped up and barked, the sound so high-pitched and grating, I was forced to cover my ears. “Move out of the way!”
“Okay.” I held out both hands. “But let me help you off the bed.”
He growled a response and jumped onto a stool beside the bed before hopping on the floor. He ran over to the armoire, looking like a backwards wheelbarrow as he careened across the floor, nearly skidding into the wall. Grunting, he pulled himself up on the stool before looking at himself in the mirror. “How the hell did I get so small?” he squealed as his brow drew together.
Santiago might have been only two feet tall, but he had all of the attitude of a Pit Bull. I had to admit, he made a really cute doggie.
I covered my muzzle with my hand, stifling a chuckle. Unfortunately, my traitorous wagging tail gave my laughter away. “I, I think you’re a Chihuahua.”
He thrust a paw into the air. “That pendejo! I’m a fuckin’ three-legged Chihuahua!”
Damn. He was even cute when angry.
