by Tara West
“So you got sent to the fourth dimension with rapists and murderers?”
“No, I was assigned to the first dimension, but I was cast down here by the gatekeeper when I refused to sign his blood oath. That’s when Mother saved me.”
“You don’t deserve to be in Hell.” A knife twisted in my heart, stirring the embers of anger until I felt the need to scorch the walls.
“Callum, let it go. I’ve already resigned myself to my fate.” She looked away, unable to make eye contact with me.
Damn. I’d pushed her too far. What the Hell was the matter with me? Why couldn’t I let it go? She grabbed an empty basin and extra gauze, and headed toward the narrow exit.
I shot up, tossing my legs over the bed. “Where are you going?”
She turned, the soft features of her profile illuminated by a flickering light. “Mother will be expecting me.” She ducked beneath the doorway and quickly padded down the hall.
I released a steamy breath of frustration as smoke rings filled my cramped chamber. I’d driven her away and doubted she’d want to see me again. I supposed I deserved it for my intrusiveness. It was just as well I hadn’t formed an attachment to the girl. Loving her would only bring us both heartache, for nothing good could ever last in this wretched pit.
Ash MacLeod
I screamed as the ground sealed above our heads, shutting out all light. I felt the earth beneath us give way as we fell through nothingness. Holy shit! Were we falling into level five where there’d be scarier beasts and bigger bugs? Would more demons cast us down again and again until we were burning in the eternal lake of fire? I tumbled over and over, failing to gain traction with my wings.
Splinters of pain raced up my back when I hit the bottom with a splash. I could hear the others splashing around me as I swallowed a cool gulp of water. We’d landed in water! Ignoring the pain, I pushed above the surface, my gaze drawn to the only source of light in the darkness, the shining star around Aedan’s neck.
“Aedan!” I screamed as I swam toward him. Each stroke felt like I was breaking my arm again and again, and my wings were so heavy, I feared they’d pull me under. I felt the knot on my shoulder and hissed as pain lanced up my neck. Holy shit! Talk about killer bees. Remind me to never complain about another itchy mosquito bite or period pimple. I sure as hell hoped their venom wasn’t the kind that knocked me down a level, but I had no time to worry about that.
Aedan was flailing in the water and screaming, “I can’t swim!”
I knew better than to get too close to him and risk being pulled under. I’d never seen my boyfriend panicked before. This was not good. “Wish for a raft!” I yelled.
He held up his sword and it disappeared. A yellow raft big enough for two people appeared beneath him, bouncing him out of the water. He clutched the sides, his long hair plastered to his face, making him look like a wet, frightened dog.
I knew he was pretty much useless until he calmed down, so I didn’t ask for help as I heaved myself onboard, causing the small raft to tip side to side. Holy shitfire! Just the act of lifting my arm was like torture times ten. I didn’t think all of the codeine, Percocet, or medical marijuana on Earth would be enough to ease the agony.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I screamed as I pounded the bottom of the raft. I swear, it felt like I was birthing a child through my shoulder. Though I had no firsthand knowledge of what childbirth felt like, surely it couldn’t have been this awful.
Aedan’s eyes widened as he fell back. “Are you okay?”
“No.” I pointed to his star. “Can you wish for some pain pills?”
He frowned down at his emblem, clutching it in a white-knuckled grip before shaking his head. “It’s not letting me wish it.”
“Fucking great,” I growled. “How about a flashlight, so we can get the hell out of here?” I leaned back, hanging my sopping wings off the edge before they filled the raft completely with water. My wings were pretty much useless until they dried off.
He scooped water into his hand, touched the star, and the water was replaced with a light. With a trembling arm, he pointed the beam across a rippling lake probably the size of a football field entombed by rough grey walls of a cavern. He pointed the light up, but the faint beacon was shrouded in darkness. No telling how far we’d fallen or how we’d be able to climb back up. Not that I was in a hurry to be some dragon’s lunch.
As a cavern breeze tickled my nape, I sighed in relief. It had to have been at least forty degrees cooler in here, meaning it was probably a balmy eighty degrees rather than a melt-your-mascara one-twenty.
I yelped when two large heads bobbled beside us, only to heave a sigh of relief when I saw two lolling tongues.
“Jack, go help the others.” I pointed to a cluster of silhouettes in the distance. It appeared Mar was trying to heave Katherine’s lifeless body on top of Boner’s back.
“Katherine!” Mar was screaming as Katherine slipped beneath the surface.
Boner spun around, pulling Katherine to his chest.
“I’ve got her,” he said. “Climb on.”
As soon as Jack saw he wasn’t needed, he swam back to us, bit down on the rope attached to the boat, and with a grunt, began pulling us.
Aedan’s eyes were as wide as saucers the entire trip to shore. It wasn’t until we got to the rocky embankment and began wringing out our clothes, he released a shaky breath. He examined my wound, and I didn’t hesitate to smack him when he touched it. An obnoxious whitehead was already forming. It was like I had my own personal Mount St. Demon growing out of my shoulder. I just hoped it gave us warning if it decided to blow.
Since I was the only one fortunate enough to have been stung, I had to withstand the looks of repulsion from everyone as they gawked at my volcanic pimple.
Tired of wasting time, I took Aedan’s flashlight and spun a slow circle. The stalactites tapered off toward the rear of the cavern, revealing what appeared to be the only exit, a dark and narrow tunnel.
Aedan pointed to it. “That way.”
After we helped Mar adjust Katherine’s limp body across Boner’s back, Aedan wished for a rope and tied up her limbs and snake in case she woke and attempted to poison us all. Not that she would try it. (Insert sarcastic eye roll.) Although, at this point, snake venom would be a welcome reprieve from the agonizing throbbing on my shoulder.
Aedan shined the light into the tunnel and pulled me with him as the others followed.
It was slow going, as the rocks were like sharp shards of coal. Since the hot sands of Hell had already burned holes through the soles of my shoes, they didn’t offer me much protection. My wings hung down my back like two sopping blankets, dripping all over the rocks and making them even more slippery. Mar and Aedan would occasionally grumble as they slipped, their wings slapping their backs like fish flopping out of water.
We stopped at the mouth of a cave, which was surprisingly lit with a flickering glow. Where was the light coming from? A fire? Or a candle? Some part of me hoped it wasn’t demon-made, but with my luck, we were about to enter the dragon’s den. Aedan shone his light inside, revealing a glowing white wall that appeared to have been made of mesh.
“What the heck is it?” I asked.
Aedan shrugged. “I have no idea.” He touched it with the tip of his finger. He snapped his hand back, the wall stretching with his movement like sticky elastic before it released with a pop. “Don’t touch it,” he said as he examined a white coating on his finger. “It’s a trap.”
I gaped at him. “What is it? Glue?”
He shook his head, wiping his finger on his toga. “It’s a spider web.”
Mar gasped behind us. “What kind of spider would build such a web?”
An involuntary shiver stole up my spine. “A big-ass spider.”
“Oh, my!” Her hand flew to her throat as she stumbled into Boner.
“Oh my” was the freaking understatement of the century. I felt like I was stuck in some twisted version of the Wizard o
f Oz. Jack was a two-headed Toto, Katherine was the sadistic wicked witch, the flying monkeys had poisonous stingers as big as blades, and the road to Hell wasn’t paved with pretty yellow stones but big-ass spider webs. The wizard at the end of the tunnel was probably going to make us his next meal. If only I could click my wet sneakers together and wish us back up to Heaven. I’d give up an eternity of cheesecakes and orgasms to get out of this mess. Well, maybe just the cheesecakes.
I stumbled back, clutching Aedan’s arm as my head spun. “Aedan,” I cried. “The bee poison.” It must have taken hold, because I felt so incredibly strange.
Mar leaned into Boner, clutching her stomach. “I feel funny.”
What? Her, too? I thought I was the only one who’d been bitten.
“I feel it too,” Aedan groaned, his rich baritone dripping across my senses like I was being coated in delicious warm honey.
Speaking of honey, I’d sure love to taste his nectar. He was so damned gorgeous with all those rippling, tanned muscles and that long mane of hair clinging to his back. Even his soggy wings looked appealing. I leaned into him, stroking a shiny membrane on his wing before twirling a feather between my fingers. His eyes rolled back as he tilted his head, groaning.
Weird, because I had this overwhelming urge to fall to my knees and give him a blowjob right then and there with my two-headed dog and everyone else watching. What the heck was wrong with me? My slut sonar wasn’t just stuck in overdrive. The damn clutch was jammed, and the pedal was floored.
At least the pain in my shoulder had subsided, so much so my only discomfort was between my legs, a throbbing need fueled by desire. I licked my lips as my gaze shot to the bulge between Aedan’s thighs. His wet toga clung to him in all the right places, revealing a solid erection. Either Aedan had smuggled a rock in his shorts, or else he was horny. How in hell could he be turned on at a time like this? Oh, well. All that mattered was he was hard, and I was wet, and not just from falling in the lake.
I snaked my arm around his neck, my head swimming with images of his dazzling eyes as water droplets glistened on his bronzed brow. “You are so damn sexy,” I purred as I ran a finger down his chest. “I’m so glad you’re not a Grim anymore.” Truthfully, though, I would have probably fucked him in his grotesque Grim form, that’s how hot and bothered I was at the moment. I leaned up, nibbling on his ear before tracing hot kisses down his neck.
“Ash,” he growled as he thrust his hips into me. “Not here.”
I reached between us, cupping his bulge in my hand. “Yes, here,” I pleaded. “Nobody will know.” Which was a blatant lie. But from the moaning and groaning sounds behind us, they were all too preoccupied to care if Aedan and I stole a quick fuck on the cave floor.
I flung my head back, crying out when Aedan grabbed my tits, squeezing hard as he rolled my nipples between his fingers. That’s when I noticed Jack was humping a large boulder and Boner was straddling Mar, doing something to her I could have sworn had been outlawed in Tijuana.
Aedan ripped off my tank top and yanked down my jeans, and I was too damn turned on to stop him.
I licked a bead of water off my lip, and somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I knew what was happening. Holy Hell! We hadn’t fallen into any old lake. We’d fallen into a lake of horny water! Oh, damn. We were so going to regret this later, but at the moment, I really didn’t give a shit.
Several jarring booms woke me from my trance, and I looked up into Aedan’s wide eyes, then back down at his dick in my hand. Wait a minute? What the hell was I doing butt-ass naked in some dark cave giving my boyfriend a handjob next to a big-ass glowing web? And why was Aedan allowing me to do it?
The booming sounds, thankfully, belonged to the Nephilim named Anak, peering down at us with that impossibly long neck of his as if we were some sort of failed science experiment.
I felt the blush creep into my cheeks, even as I tried to play it cool. “Hey, Anak, where did you come from?”
The giant’s eyes widened. “Hole swallow Anak and Anak fall through.”
Oh, seemed logical enough. Not really, but since weird was the new normal, I figured I’d just roll with it.
“We were just changing out of our wet clothes,” I said, trying to keep a straight face.
Liar, liar, pants set on fire with a flaming gasoline torch.
He arched a thick brow as he nodded toward Mar and Boner, who were still getting it on, though I had no idea how he managed to fit. “You drink lake water?”
“I guess so.” I looked down at my hand, which was still clutching my boyfriend’s dick. You can let go now, Ash. I gently peeled away one finger at a time, surprised at how tightly I had been holding it. Poor Aedan. He heaved a sigh and slumped against the wall, his hard-on bobbling and then pointing up at me as if it was accusing me of cruel and unusual punishment.
Anak snickered, wagging a finger. “Anak no drink water. Anak no want to hump rock like doggie.” He pointed to Jack, whose two heads were panting profusely as he continued to get it on with the boulder. Poor Jack. He looked so pained. No wonder. The hard surface was probably chafing his pecker.
Aedan and I shared awkward looks while we slipped into our clothes. That toga of his looked like a circus tent, stained with mud as his erection propped up the center. My bra smelled like sewage, and the tiny pebbles stuck to the fabric scratched my nipples, which already felt bruised from Aedan’s rough foreplay. My tank top was ripped down the center, so I draped it over my bra the best I could. I found my underwear stuck inside my jeans. I stifled a scream when I saw the makeshift maxi-pad. I’d totally forgotten I was on the rag. Just one more layer of eew to add to our already awkward orgy.
Trying to slip into wet jeans proved to be too difficult. Aedan tried to help me, but his erect flagpole got in the way. He kept crying out, as if the mere act of touching me pained him. Had I been gripping it that hard, or was the torture from unfulfilled desire? Even though Anak was looking at us with that awkward smirk, I was still sorely tempted to rip Aedan’s clothes off and finish what we’d started. After a while, I gave up on the jeans altogether. I’d just been caught jerking off my boyfriend. It wasn’t like what I was wearing made a difference at this point. I draped my jeans across a ledge and slipped on my wet shoes.
Mar and Boner didn’t allow Anak’s appearance to interfere with their little freak show. Mar was propped up on a boulder, Boner straddling her naked body, his massive donkey hard-on rubbing up and down the center of her back.
I gaped at them while scratching my head. “Wow. Mar and Boner. Who would have thought?”
“I’m sure they’ll regret it later,” Aedan said in a strained tone.
I shook my head, still trying to wrap my mind around the horror. “I hope she doesn’t need stitches.”
“I don’t think there’s penetration, just a lot of rubbing.”
“Okay,” I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “Can I barf now?”
Aedan leaned into me, pressing his dick against my wet ass. What the hell was wrong with him that he’d get turned on at a time like this? What the hell was wrong with me that I’d push back?
Anak reached between us, tapping our shoulders. “Friends no have sex here.”
Aedan pulled back with a hiss. “Damn water!” Then he cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling. “Would you two break it up?!”
Boner fell back, clomping in a dazed circle. He cast his gaze over Mar’s nude body before looking at us with frightened eyes. “What the hell?”
Mar shrieked and slipped onto the ground with a thud, landing next to Katherine, who was still knocked out and lying motionless beside them. Wow. So they’d dumped Katherine and started fucking? They made my rough pecker pummeling look a lot less psychotic.
Mar gaped at Katherine, then at Boner, who was still braying and prancing around in a circle, his donkey dong so huge it nearly scraped the floor.
“Oh my goodness!” Mar’s hands flew to her mouth as her cheeks flushed a bright crimson.
I knew it was cruel, but I couldn’t help but laugh as I envisioned the description of their porn flick: Prudish princess takes horny horse for a wild ride in the underworld. Viewer discretion advised. Anyone with a weak stomach may find graphic visuals too nauseating.
My poor doggie. No matter how many times Aedan and I called him, he continued to hump that boulder like it was my long-lost stuffed rabbit, and he was intent on fucking the fluffing right out of it.
Holy heck. Could Hell get any weirder?
Callum O’Connor
When I woke from my slumber to pitch darkness, I had a feeling Shadow was in the room, for no one else could blot out not only all light, but almost all coherent thoughts as well.
Instinctively, I jerked up and punched the air, swearing as the tear in my wing ripped even farther. I punched the air again with the other arm, but my fist felt as if it was flailing through a void. I sucked in a sharp breath, my chest expanding with heat as I prepared to unleash my fire.
“Hold your fire. I have not come to hurt you,” Shadow’s dark rumble filled my brain. “I have come to apologize. You must understand I was not myself when I was controlled by Scorpius. I am reborn now and free from his mind control.”
“What happened to Scorpius?” I asked, anticipating and fearing the answer.
“Ashley blasted him with her lightning, casting him down several dimensions, no doubt.”
Could it have been true? Scorpius was banished to the bottom of Hell? “So the Nephilim army won?”
“Yes,” he answered.
My chest deflated as smoke poured out of my mouth. “How can I trust you speak the truth?”
The darkness slowly faded, replaced by the glowing light of the wall sconce. Shadow was standing beside my bed. He looked just as I remembered, tall and lean with skin the color of rust. “You would have been a dragon’s slave had I not saved you, controlled by Zahaka as Scorpius once controlled me.”
