A loud horn blares out of nowhere. As the first pain hits my hip and legs, tossing me into the air, I watch as all four guys come running out of the alley. My hair flies around my face as the coffee falls out of my hands, crashing to the ground, only seconds before I do. My vision blurs as I gasp for breath and try to move my arms. Nothing will cooperate with me, and the burning sensation throughout my body numbs. I turn my head to the right, my gaze landing on a wide-eyed Levi and a panicked Lex. Ryce stands above me, his arms crossed as he bites his lip. Aries is next to my head, I’m assuming putting pressure on my skull, but I can’t feel much over the pounding in my head. A car with lights blinking and a dented front faces me. Huh, so that’s what that horn sound was is all I can think before I succumb to the darkness.
9
I bolt upright. This time I’m prepared though. I died. Again. Well, shit, I can’t even make it an hour on Earth without getting myself killed. Although, this last one I can blame on Aries. If he wouldn’t have distracted me, I wouldn’t have stopped in the road.
As I’m thinking of him, I push myself out of bed and rush through my bedroom doors. I know them all well enough that they’ll be back down here any moment, and I need to get back up there. I can’t die a third time, can I? Nah, the third time’s the charm—isn’t that the saying humans often say? I just need to make it there before they do.
As I inch closer to the portal area, I take up residence in the nook of the wall, waiting for them to cross back over. It doesn’t take long at all before Aries comes bursting through the portal followed by the others.
“How did she get up there?” Lex asks as he pops through behind the others.
“Does it fucking matter? She made it through, and she shouldn’t have been able to. One of you must have let the portal location slip in front of her,” Aries yells as he starts pacing in front of my only way out of this literal hellhole.
Ryce leans against the wall, looking relaxed, but when he speaks you can hear the tension in his voice. “She died. When she dies does she come back down here, or is she just…gone?”
“Does it look like I know? There’s no fucking manual on what happens when the devil escapes Hell and dies on Earth. Holy shit, this is so messed up right now.” Aries stops pacing as he clenches his fists at his side. “She better hope she comes back down here, although I may just murder her again to teach her a lesson for leaving.”
Levi bites his lip as he looks toward the way I just came. “Maybe we should check on her. I mean, she had a broken back and legs. She looked like a destroyed LEGO house up there on the road. We should see if she’s healed all the way.”
My chest aches as I watch them struggle with what to do. I guess it would be hard watching someone die after being hit by a car. My joints are a little stiff, but there’s no permanent damage. I almost walk out from my hiding spot to let them know I’m okay, but I stop myself as they head toward my room, all four ranging from worried to pissed off.
As Ryce heads around the corner last, I slip out from the small spot and walk over to the portal. I should feel guilty for leaving them to worry, but damn it, I didn’t even get to try a pickle up there. If it wasn’t for them, I could have maybe survived another hour or so before accidentally dying.
I repeat the chant out loud, “Salvus Ibit Quae Sola.” The walls slowly rumble, and the red lines appear around the center, carving out an archway. I glance behind me one last time, but instead of guilt, I fight off fear. Ryce is standing a few feet away from me.
“Lucia, I wouldn’t do that,” he says just as the others appear.
I can feel the waves of anger shooting directly at me, and I know it’s from Aries. “Sorry, guys, a girl’s gotta live once.” I run through the portal as I hear shouting behind me.
An arm just misses my jacket as I tumble through. I scramble to my feet before the first one makes it out behind me. After watching them for centuries, I know they’re faster than me. I just need to make it far enough away to have time to plead my side of things. Especially since those jerks are constantly coming and going from up here. There has to be a way to convince them to let me stay for a bit. Levi seems like my best bet to get on my side.
My feet pump faster—well, as fast as they can in these ridiculous boots. Next time, I’m wearing tennis shoes. I make it a full ten steps, when suddenly I’m flying backward into a hard chest. My body slams into his as his grip on my arms tighten. My chest burns with each breath from the first amount of exercise in my entire existence. That shit’s hard; I always said I would only run if something was chasing me. Glancing behind me, a grin spreads on my lips as I try to flirt my way out of this.
“You know, if you wanted to hold me, you could have just asked,” I purr. Aries’ eyes narrow, and his grip tightens just a little. I can feel every ridge to every muscle through his shirt pressed hard against my back. A fast tingling sensation bursts in my lower abdomen, causing my lips to fall a little. Watching him is one thing, but feeling him against me reminds me how deprived of touch I truly am. It doesn’t help he’s hot as sin too.
“Enough, Lucia. We need to get you back before you end up killed for a second time.” Aries pulls me along toward the portal.
Dragging my feet, I try to buy myself some time. Shit, I can’t go back yet. I just made it here. The sun’s shining, the birds are chirping, and my stomach is growling like I haven’t eaten in centuries. Which is because I haven’t. Wait a minute, why am I hungry?
Lex’s words interrupt my thoughts. “Great, now we have Aries going all caveman style on the queen of Hell. Give her a chance to talk.”
Aries slows down a little but is still heading toward the portal.
“It would be the third time” is all I can think of to mutter, still lost in thought over my now starving stomach.
“What?” Lex cuts in.
“The third time!” Levi half shouts.
“I told you this was a bad idea,” Ryce grumbles.
Aries dead stops. No more movement at least, so I guess I won this battle. For now. “What do you mean the third time?” He spins me around, his jaw clenched.
Uh oh, this is not the reaction I wanted. “Nothing really.” I bite my lip as I look down at the ground. “I may have been back one time before that, and some guy slashed my throat in a dark alley. No big deal.” I rush the words out while kicking a piece of grass with the toe of my shoe.
“Slashed your throat!”
“Murdered?”
“What the fuck!”
I’m not really sure who says what. “It’s not a big deal. People get murdered every day. I mean, come on, if they didn’t we wouldn’t have as many souls coming in and out of Hell.” I shrug as I glance at each guy.
“People do. Not the devil herself. There’s a difference.” He drops one hand from my arm to pinch the bridge of his nose. Apparently, up here I’m not only a target for violent deaths, but I can give the princes of Hell headaches too. Who knew Earth could be this much fun.
“That’s it, she’s going back now.” Ryce storms forward, fury burning on his face.
I take an instinctive step back. “Hey, can’t you all just give me a little time to explore?”
“No!” they all yell in unison.
Okay then. I mean, I can’t really say I expected anything different. Ryce’s arms wrap around me in a bear hug as he lifts me up and carries me over to the portal. “Open it,” he barks.
“Seriously, guys, I would have let you all manhandle me years ago if you’d just asked. A girl does get lonely down there, if you know what I mean.” Waggling my eyebrows, I try to lighten the mood.
Ryce stiffens behind me but doesn’t budge. Lex and Levi stare at me with widened eyes, a pink hue to their cheeks.
“Knock it off. You’re not getting out of this.” Aries steps forward and says the chant to open the portal on this side.
We all wait for the walls to shake and open, but nothing happens. He tries again, this time with a little more force. “Salvus I
bit Quae Sola.” Holding my breath, I prepare myself for the last bit of fresh air I have for the rest of my damnation. Unless I can sneak back up here again. I doubt it though with these four knowing my secret now.
The portal doesn’t budge. I wait for a puff of smoke to appear or a fizzle of electricity indicating it’s broken. Instead, Aries walks forward and places his hand on the rock wall in front of us. “Fuck,” he mutters.
Now that’s interesting. I release the breath and suck in a few more greedy ones since we may be here a bit. Nothing tastes or smells as good as fresh air.
“What happened?” Lex moves forward and eyes the wall. He runs his hands along the edges with his eyes closed. “Oh shit,” he says as his eyes pop open.
“Anyone care to explain what’s happening? She’s not exactly light.” Ryce’s chest rumbles behind me.
“Hey, no one said you had to carry me. And I’m not that heavy,” I mumble back.
His mouth moves closer to my ear as he whispers for only me to hear, “Would you have walked on your own over here?”
I swallow fighting off the chills running down my spine. Shaking my head is the only coherent way I can respond with.
“I didn’t think so. And you’re not heavy, but it is a bit tempting feeling you pressed against me.” His breath tickles my neck with each word.
Closing my eyes, I fight off the urge to push myself against him and feel just how tempting I am to him. This is not the time or place, especially with one of the assholes trying to keep me hostage in Hell. I elbow him in the rib cage as hard as I can, sick of none of them listening to me. He lets out a breath as he drops me to the ground. Mission accomplished.
“There’s no magic,” Lex states, oblivious to the exchange.
“Where could it have gone? We just came through there less than five minutes ago.” Levi steps forward, touching the wall too.
Aries looks around, his hands going to a small knife at his back. “I don’t know, but we need to get out of here while we figure this out. It’s not safe for her to be standing in the open like this.”
I jump with excitement at his words. “I guess we do get to stay!” My stomach rumbles loud enough for the guys to hear. “And we can eat some food! Yes! I call dill pickles for breakfast!”
Ryce growls behind me, but his fingers trace my skin as he steps next to me, trailing down my arms as they go. Sharp tinges of electricity prickle my senses as he moves slowly. Biting my cheek, I hold back the small moan in my throat. I’m too pissed at him to admit it feels good.
“Nobody eats pickles for breakfast. But we can get chocolate chip pancakes.” Levi smiles as he rubs his stomach.
With widened eyes and a forced smile on my lips, I nod my head. “Sounds delicious.” My voice cracks, giving away the effect Ryce is having on me.
Levi grins, Lex watches me with an intensity I’m not sure I’m ready for, and Aries glares at Ryce.
“Right then, let’s go get some food.” Breaking the awkward silence, I head for the fields that bring us into town.
“Where are you going?” Levi calls out.
I stop and look between him and the path to town. “Um, to go find food. Town’s this way, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but you’re not going to town. We’re going to a safe house,” Aries commands.
What the fuck, that was not in my plans. “Yeah, no. Not happening. I want food.” As if on cue, my stomach rumbles again.
“Should it be doing that?” Ryce says as he eyes my stomach.
“Very interesting” is all Lex replies. “It seems there’s some strange things happening around here. It’s probably best if we analyze it back at the safe house though. Something isn’t sitting right with me.”
“Exactly my point. Ryce and I will take you to the safe house. Levi and Lex, go gather some information and report back to me.” Aries grabs my arm like he’s afraid I’ll run again. My stomach growls louder this time. “But first, bring her some damn food.”
With a chuckle, they disappear into thin air. What the hell? “How did they do that?”
“Just because we’re on Earth, doesn’t mean we don’t still have our powers. Hold on to me and don’t let go.” I wrap my hands around Aries’ arm as he snaps his fingers and we disappear in a whoosh too.
10
We reappear in a small alleyway next to a dumpster that smells like death, reminding me of home. I stumble as I try to catch my balance. “That’s a neat trick I need to learn,” I say while swallowing down my turning stomach.
“Unfortunately for you, it’s only a trick the princes can do. Fortunately for us, you don’t have that ability up here.” He grabs my arm again and starts pulling me along behind him.
“Do you mind? I can walk.” I yank my arm from his grip. “Why do only you all have that power? I’m the devil. Shouldn’t I have some cool tricks like that too?”
Ryce appears by my side. “It’s clear up ahead. We should be good to go.”
“Good, let’s get a move on.” Aries starts heading toward the alley opening.
“I asked a question! Why do you all have powers and I don’t?” I cross my arms and pout like a spoiled child. I mean really, how freaking unfair is it that the devil herself can’t have powers on Earth?
“Because we aren’t damned to Hell like you were. As the princes, we have the ability to step foot on mortal planes and keep our powers,” Ryce states while walking beside me, checking every few minutes behind him. “Since you were banned to Hell after the fall, you only have powers in Hell. You should be immortal up here too, but since you died twice, obviously that’s not true either. All of this is kind of out of our knowledge limits right now.”
“Basically, you’re a pain in our ass, and up here it’s harder to watch you because you can die easier. Keeping you alive is not a task I wanted to deal with right now, not on top of everything else,” Aries grumbles as we come to the front of an old apartment building.
“Yeah, well, fuck you too. You’re a pain in my ass every day, yet you don’t hear me constantly bitching,” I mumble as I push past him.
Actually, the building looks more run-down than habitable. I glance up at the windows and see the cracked cement tracing a line along the edges. Some of the windows are busted out, a few are boarded up. If I had to guess, there’s probably a few homeless stragglers inhabiting a few of the empty apartments.
“This is where your safe house is? I can see why—there’s literally no way anyone would willingly go into this place,” I mumble as the front door squeaks open in protest.
The smell of must and mold hit my nose first. Great, just like home. The floors are the original tiles, handcrafted probably a hundred years ago. There’s a few cracks and chips in them, but mostly they’re intact, if not a little covered in dirt and dust. The walls have old wallpaper with dancing naked women and fairies strewn throughout a forest. If you’re not up close, they’re hard to see, almost like they’re trying to hide from the naked eye. Whoever designed this place had an eclectic taste. I follow the guys up the wide wooden staircase that leads to the floor above, each step groaning under our weight.
“Are you sure this place is safe to be in? I mean, you do know I’m prone to dying. I’m not going to fall to my death through these stairs, am I?” I gently tiptoe my way up the edge, hugging the railing to my side. I’ve felt death twice now; I’m not too keen on trying it again.
They both glance back at me and then each other. Ryce walks over and lifts me up into his arms. “Better safe than sorry. You’re an accident waiting to happen.”
As we reach the top, he gently lowers me to the ground. “Thanks, but I mean if you really want to carry me, feel free. My feet are pretty sore.” I wink at him as he shakes his head. Why it took me this long to torture them is beyond me. They’re all hot and really easy to rile up.
“Are you done yet?” Aries rolls his eyes as he opens the door to apartment D. I snicker. Raising his eyebrow, he looks at me. “What’s so funny?”
I cover the smile on my face by biting my lip. “Apartment D. As in dick. I mean, come on, four hot guys are in apartment D together. Who picked out this apartment, specifically because I need to give them a high five over their sense of humor.”
Ryce chuckles.
Aries groans. “Damn it, Levi. No wonder he’s always saying we got the D.”
A snort passes my lips as I try hard to contain my laughter. “I’m sure you all do.”
He whips open the door. “Get inside before anyone hears you. I swear you’re going to give me a migraine. You and Levi.”
I push past him and whisper, “Now I got the D.”
Ryce shakes his head as he fights off a smirk. I hear the door slam behind us as Aries storms out of the room into another area.
“I guess he doesn’t have a great sense of humor?”
Ryce shrugs. “How long have you known him? Has he ever once laughed in his entire existence?”
Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve heard any of them laugh in Hell before. Nope, not a single one. But being on Earth, I’ve heard three out of the four hard-ass princes laugh out loud. Maybe that’s why they like popping up here—it’s their own personal entertainment. Well, and now it’s mine too. They just don’t know it yet.
“Come on into the living room, I’ll show you around, and I’m sure you’ll have a speech shortly about all the rules once the others get back.”
“Great. Just what I want.” Rolling my eyes, I follow him into the living room.
“This is a television. A lot of people like to watch the news or stupid reality TV shows.” He pushes a button on a long plastic-looking dick. Okay, that might not be what it is, but after finding out the meaning behind apartment D, everything has a dick association to it now.
“What’s reality TV?” I grab the clicker thingy from him and start pushing buttons. Weather, no. News about an earthquake, boring. Cartoons with weird sea creatures on it, maybe. The screen changes and a bunch of orangish people with big hair pop onto the screen. One of the girls is falling over drunk, while another vomits into sand. Crossing my legs on the couch, I sit up a little to watch the spectacle on TV. Are people really like this?
For Hell's Sake (Queen of the Underworld Series Book 1) Page 5
