Beelzebub Girl (28 page)

"Promise me you won't freak out." I shot him the most confident smile I could muster even though inside I was shaking.

Dallas didn't return my smile. "Just say it. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this." The frown on his face told me he was just trying to convince himself.

"Hell," I whispered.

"Huh?"

Biting my lip, I took in the various emotions running through him. Confusion and excitement intermingled with a bit of mistrust. I breathed out, relieved. It wasn't that bad.

"Well, are you going to tell me?" Dallas prompted.

"I just told you." I did, didn't I? Unless my scattered brain had just played a trick on me.

Dallas laughed uncomfortably. "You said 'hell'." I nodded. "You can just spit it out. There's no need for cussing."

He thought I was just cursing. Laughter bubbled up inside me, rippling out of my throat. I wiped away the tears in my eyes at his confused look, then shook my head. "No, you don’t understand. By

'hell' I mean we're in Hell. Literally."

"As in Heaven and Hell?" Dallas asked. I bobbed my head. "So we actually died during that mugging?"

"Not exactly." I faltered, searching for words. "See, we're in Hell because my dad runs the place."

Dallas stayed silent. Why wasn't he saying anything? I searched his face but he remained expressionless, regarding me coolly. No drama wafted from him, no fear or repulsion. My throat bottled up, insecurity washing over me.

"You lied to me," he finally said. His tone came so low I could barely hear him in the eerie silence of the night.

"No." I shook my head, wide-eyed.

"You did, Cass." His lips curled into a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "You said we were going to California and that your father ran an amusement park. To find out we're in Hell and your father's what everyone would call the devil makes everything you told me a big, fat lie. You should've trusted me."

He didn't even blink at mentioning Dad's name. "I'm sorry," I whispered because for once no words could betray my true emotions. I was so disappointed at myself, at him, at everyone. I had never been one to feel sorry for myself, and yet here I was swallowing down on the unshed tears that threatened to choke me any second. Maybe not being the crying kind was a blessing for a change because I didn't want to humiliate myself even more.

"Being sorry isn't enough." He let out a huff and ran a hand through his hair. "What are you?"

Now he made me feel like a freak, which ignited my defensive nature. I pushed out my chin defiantly. "I'm Cass, but you may call me Princess of Darkness."

"I'm going home," Dallas said.

"No." My eyes started to burn. Aunt Selena had been right.

Dallas would leave. Why didn't I lock the house so he couldn't venture out? What had he been doing outside anyway? "Just look at me. I'm like you," I said softly. "It's not my fault my dad's a fallen angel."

Dallas's eyes pierced into me, making my heart bleed at the contempt I saw in there. "You're not like me, Cass. I'm not a liar.

When Amber warned me, I should've listened. Aidan ruined her life.

I'm not going to add to the plate. As much as I like you, I want nothing to do with all this paranormal stuff." Throwing me a last glance over his shoulder, he walked down the narrow path into the house. I stared after him as he departed. He was probably packing his belongings this instant, ready to leave me behind like it had been his plan all along.

Tears clouded my vision and spilled onto my cheeks. My emotions threatened to choke me. Somewhere at the back of my mind I remembered the ancient book and the ritual I had just performed.

The thought registered that, unless the spell hadn't worked, he was a paranormal being himself now, whether he wanted it or not. He had yet another reason to hate me forever.

It was my nature to be good at deceiving, but all this time I hadn't really wanted to lie to him. I just thought he wouldn't understand. No one ever did. Not even Aidan and his friends, whom I had tried to help for years, yet they still despised me because I wasn't like them. I thought Dallas would be different because we shared a bond. Turned out, not even the one with whom I shared a bond wanted me.

Wiping my tears off with my top, I trudged down the narrow path away from the house into the nearby woods, seeking some solitude. Already I felt the comforting silence of the night enveloping my mind. Dad was right. I didn't belong among the other immortals and certainly not among humans. I belonged here, with the other fallen angels and demons. It was time to take my position seriously and embrace my place as Dad's successor. Better stuck here forever where people actually liked me than where my heart would be broken over and over again. Although, after the fight with Dallas, I doubted anyone could ever hurt me more.

I reached the trees and kept going. The canopy of thick branches filtered most of the moonlight, but some rays found their way through, casting a golden glow on the dry earth. My steps thudded through the eerie silence of the night. Twigs snapped under my feet, the sudden noise jerking me out of my thoughts. I peered around me and realised I had walked farther than I intended. The air smelled of burned flesh here, probably gases from the volcanoes in the distance, and yet I had never noticed it before.

My tears had long dried on my cheeks. Stopping, I inhaled and scrunched up my nose. I focused on my latent abilities waiting to be released soon and turned my head, smelling all directions. The bad odour seemed to come from up in the trees. Peering at the dark canopy above my head, I squinted. For the fragment of a second, I thought I saw a shadow in the distance, jumping from one branch to the next. I took a step forward to get a better look. Nothing stirred, but a twig snapped, the sudden sound cut through the silence like a knife. Someone was out there. Maybe a dying bird or one of Dad's demons. Only too late did I remember Dallas had been chased in those same woods just half an hour ago.

The creature charging me came out of nowhere. One moment I was staring at the trees towering over me, and the next something knocked me to the ground. I raised my arms to protect my head as my back hit a large branch. Throbbing pain rippled through me, making me choke on my startled yelp. Groaning, I turned to the creature leaning over me. A long mane of hair encircled a tiny, shrivelled face with yellow eyes floating in their hollow sockets. Her loose skin looked as though it had been put through a shredder, hanging from her in chunks. Her long nails pierced the skin on my throat, probably ready to stab me if I moved.

I opened my mouth to speak when she fletched her teeth, and for a moment I thought she'd bury her long fangs into me like a dog into a bone. Whatever this thing was, I knew I should be worried, but all I could think about was the burned smell that wafted from her and that made my stomach clench, ready to puke. The blood bond between Dad and me kept me from contacting him, but my mental abilities could reach out to the others. Focusing, I called out to Ginny and communicated where I was so he could raise alarm. There was no answer, but I knew help would arrive in a heartbeat. This was Hell, where nothing ever happened. An event like this wouldn't go unnoticed for long.

My mind searched the creature's, probing forward through foggy layers of conscious thoughts until I reached what I wanted to know.

She had come for me, but she wasn't alone. My mind penetrated further. I flinched at the memory of leaping flames and the onset of unbearable pain. As the creature's body seemed to catch fire, my whole body began to burn. I forced my awareness away from her mind and the pain stopped. There were so many things I needed to know, but I figured I'd find out soon enough.

"Get up," she hissed. Her voice sounded like a long screech. I had difficulties understanding her because much of the flesh around her mouth was eaten away, revealing the white bone beneath. If I could only reach for my phone, I'd be able to punch in a code and knock her out or beam myself onto another plane. But her scary eyes watched me like a hawk. Maybe if I played along she'd become careless.

Pushing up on my elbows, I did as she ordered, sweat trickling down my spine as her odour hit my nostrils again. My heart hammered hard in my chest, but my mind remained clear. I was an immortal, I had nothing to fear, and yet I wasn't comfortable turning my back on the creature to walk up the path back to the house. My footsteps thudded across the dry earth, but the sound couldn’t mask the creatures whistling breathing. I wondered why I didn't hear it before.

Dad's mansion came finally into sight. I frowned and shot the creature a look over my shoulder. "In there?"

She didn’t answer, just gave me a push forward. I squeezed my hand inside my pocket.

"Don't," the creature hissed. I pulled my hand out again, realising she knew about my phone. Either she had watched me, which couldn't be since I would've noticed the smell, or someone had told her about it. But who?

We reached the gate. I scanned the darkness stretching over the back garden. Nothing stirred. The gargoyles didn't move.

Concentrating on the little demons, I sent my thoughts out to them, ordering them to pierce the creature's eardrums with their wailing, but the statues didn’t move.

Out of the darkness stepped two figures dressed in black with hoods covering their heads and faces. The first one's hand was clasped around a dagger he held to Dallas's throat. My heart sank in my chest as I lunged forward, ready to defend him with my life. The creature's claws wrapped around my arms and pulled me back. I fought against her tight grip and the sudden wave of pain invading my arm where the thing bit me. Kicking her in the gut with a strength I didn't know I possessed, I sent her flying a few feet away. She scrambled up to her feet quickly, fletching her teeth, but before she could charge me again the second hooded figure pulled out a sword and held it to my throat whispering, "Move back, Rebecca."

I stared in awe at him. Rebecca. The vampire who had turned Aidan and his vampire clique, Kieran and Clare, a few hundred years ago, way before I was born. The one who had almost killed Amber.

The one after whom I had sent Dad's reapers. Why didn't I recognise the hair or see the connection?

My hand wandered to my pocket again, eager to use my tiny device and get Dallas and me the hell out of this mess.

"Don’t dare take out your phone or your boyfriend's dead, and you with him," the first hooded guy said. I blinked at the next surprise of the day. I wouldn't mistake this voice in a million years.

Seriously, what was it with me and my inability to make anyone actually like me? As I peered from Dallas's face to the one hiding behind the hood, seemingly satisfied in his belief it kept him anonymous, I couldn't believe the irony of the situation. I had told Dallas Hell was the safest place on earth, and yet one of the craziest hunters had forced her way in together with the one group of immortals I thought were my friends. Thinking back to Dad's warning and staring at the sword cutting into the fragile skin of my neck, I figured I was lucky if the Shadow didn't spill my blood for one of their grotesque rituals.

Where the heck was Dad anyway? Surely he couldn't be sleeping like a stone and miss all the drama of his only daughter being slaughtered on his doorstep in a freaky attempt at voodoo, or whatever these people practiced. Even the gargoyles seemed engrossed in their slumber, slacking off in their job, or why else wouldn't they raise? If I could only get nearer and kick them out of their dreams. I took a tiny step toward them. The blade pressed harder into my skin. Something hot and sticky trickled down my neck, and I almost fainted from the smell of blood. Behind me, Rebecca screeched hungrily.

"Cass, no!" Dallas yelled. I shot him a tentative smile, my heart bleeding at the worry I saw in his eyes. For a mortal, he was surprisingly calm. Then again, I wasn't surprised given that he had been gifted an immortal mate. Well, a soon-to-be immortal with the powers of Heaven and Hell if I only made it alive to my eighteenth birthday. Either way, Fate had chosen him wisely.

I raised my gaze to the hooded guy holding the blade against Dallas's throat. "You know the timing couldn't suck more. My life's in ruins already, but you surely added to the fire. How did you even get in here?"

"You underestimate everyone," Connor said. "Your kind always does." Heard that one before, but I couldn't remember where.

"Where's the book?" the other Shadow asked. My head turned sharply toward him. Devon. He was the one who helped Amber retrieve the book from the Otherworld.

I groaned. "Et tu, Brute?"

He kept silent, but I knew he understood Latin and my insinuation at him being like Brutus, Caesar's best friend and the one who betrayed him.

"The book belongs to us," Connor said.

"That book should've never been written so, from that perspective, it belongs to no one. You want it so you can take control of the whole immortal world." I shook my head. "Fat chance, mate. I'd rather die."

"What about your boyfriend?" Connor asked. "Would you rather see him dead?" Connor's robe shifted as his hand clenched tighter around the dagger in his hand. My heart started racing a million miles an hour. It was nothing but an empty threat. He couldn't mean it because the Shadows didn't kill mortals. Or did they? The blade cut into Dallas's skin. I peered at his widening eyes and the blood trickling onto the white of his shirt, almost black in the darkness. My mouth turned dry, my tongue stuck to the back of my throat. All reasoning stopped. I jumped forward, forgetting the sword cutting into my own skin, but Rebecca's grip held me back, snarling and spitting, probably crazed by the scent of Dallas's blood. Why didn't anyone hear us?

Seriously, it seemed like nothing could interrupt Dad's rejuvenating sleep.

"Get the book and he'll live. You have two minutes," Devon whispered. "If you try anything funny, he's dead. Now hand over the phone."

Groaning, I fished it out of my pocket and tossed it across the ground to the guy's boot. "Don't worry. I'll be right back," I whispered to Dallas, then headed down the path into Dad's mansion.