Damned and Desirable (Eternally Yours Book 2) (13 page)

I wanted to argue but decided to save it for another time as I slumped back onto the bed. There was obviously something wrong with the water, and I didn’t want to wake up with a dick, but sheesh, I was still thirsty.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Ashley,” I said after I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Ashley Murphy.” Then I slapped my hand over my mouth. Why had I said that? I’d shed that stupid last name a long time ago.

“Well, I’ll be. A Murphy. No wonder Aedan fell head over heels for you.”

I grimaced. “Yeah, no wonder.”

He walked over to the wall and dumped the contents of the goblet down the stream. “Aedan was engaged to a Marie Murphy once. You look like her.”

Oh, boy. Here we go.

“Yes, I know. So what’s your escape plan?” I asked, needing to change the subject, and not just because I was tired of talking about Mar.

He averted his gaze. “I don’t have one yet.”

I rose on shaky legs and stiffened my spine. “What do you mean, you don’t have one?”

He shrugged. “I only just found out you were in Hell. Give a dragon a break.”

Which begged my next question. “How did you know I was here?” I asked with an accusatory note in my voice. This rescue seemed a little too convenient.

“How did I not know you were here? Just about every demon in this dimension saw Shadow flying over the Lake of Fire with a glowing angel in his arms.”

What little moisture I had in my mouth all went south as my hand flew to my chest. My stomach churned when I realized just how easy it would have been for him to drop me. That would have been an unpleasant surprise to wake up to, drowning in a sea of flame. “Y-you mean he carried me over a flaming pit?”

“Yeah.”

He grabbed something off the table that looked like a handful of jerky strips, but as I squinted at the thing, I just about barfed up hormonal water. Those weren’t jerky strips. They were legs, eight of them, all attached to a bulbous, hairy, petrified body. Dragon-grilled spider. Gross.

“You hungry?” he asked as he bit the head off the thing.

Bile projected into my throat as I vehemently shook my head. “No, thanks.”

“Suit yourself. More for me,” he mumbled as he ripped off a leg, grinding it between sharp fangs.

I tried to blot out the sound of crunching spider carcass as I searched the cave for an escape. Wringing my hands together, I batted my lashes, going for my best cute pouty face. Yeah, using my charms as a method of persuasion was pretty low, but I was in Hell, after all, and I didn’t think I could sink any lower, anyway. “Is there maybe a nearby elevator you can direct me to?”

Callum screwed up his features, and then he laughed so hard, smoke poured from his nostrils.

I clenched my hands and shot to my feet. “What’s so funny?”

“If it was that easy, none of us would be here. There’s only one elevator, and the dog guarding it isn’t exactly friendly.”

“Hang on.” I perked up at that. “Dogs love me.”

He wiped spider residue on his loin cloth and burped loudly into his fist. “Not Cerberus. He’s got three heads and venomous fangs.”

Cerberus? The monster from mythology? Lovely.

I threw up my hands. “So what am I supposed to do?”

He heaved a sigh as he leaned against the table. “Right now the best option is to keep you safe until Aedan comes for you.”

I rolled my eyes and plopped back down on the furs. “Which will be never.”

“He will rescue you.” He came and sat beside me, but not close enough that our legs touched. No, he left a respectable few inches between us. So why did it still feel like he was hogging my space?

“How do you know?” I asked.

He grunted, shaking his head. “My brother told me if I ever stole your soul, he would find you, and when he did, he would spare me no mercy.”

I turned to him, searching his gaze for any sign of deceit. “He really said that?”

He nodded. “Last time I saw him.”

I cringed as memories from my ghosting mishap came flooding back. Callum and his two demon friends had attacked me and tried to take me to Hell. If it hadn’t been for Aedan, they would have succeeded. Guess it didn’t matter since I’d ended up in the fiery pit, anyway. “Oh, yeah, I remember that night.”

“Sorry about that.” He pointed a clawed finger at my hand, which I realized was clenched in a ball by my side.

I held it up, waving my fingers at him. There was only a faint scar across my palm. “It’s okay now.”

His eyes searched mine, the look in them so heartfelt, I thought he was about to declare his undying love. “I was just doing my job, you know.”

Just doing his job? Was the guy for real? They’d been trying to steal a child’s soul. “Banishing a child to Hell? What a nice occupation you have.” So much for his heartfelt expression. Maybe he was just blowing smoke up my ass with the nice guy persona. Maybe he was only trying to earn my trust before he started torturing me. This was Hell, after all.

He looked into my eyes, his gaze steady and unwavering. “Children can’t go to Hell. We were there for the sorceress.”

“And what about those rumors I heard of you?” I asked as a shudder stole down my spine when I recalled the way he’d come after me the night I first encountered him. “That you’ve burned ghosters’ eyes out.”

“Rumors, nothing more.” He chuckled. “I suspect my brother started them to keep the other Grims from confronting me.”

I wanted so badly to believe him. After all, he was my only friend in Hell, the only person I could trust, although I knew I’d still have to be on my guard in case he turned out to be psycho like Shadow.

“That’s good to know,” I said, and then my blood ran cold when I realized that evil and sadistic sorceress was in Hell with me. “What happened to her? Lucia, wasn’t it?” I stole a quick glance over my shoulder, wrapping my wings protectively around me. “Is she around somewhere?”

“Oh, no.” He chuckled. “She got knocked down several dimensions on the first day.”

I assumed by dimensions, he meant levels. All that mattered was Lucia wasn’t here. I would not have wanted to meet up with a crazy, vengeful demon bitch. I had enough to worry about.

After exhaling a sigh of relief, I forced myself to look into his eyes. Beneath the glowing red, I thought I saw specks of blue, bright blue, just like Aedan’s. “So Aedan is going to just march through Hell and find me?”

He puffed up his scaly chest. “If anyone can do it, he can. My brother is smart and resourceful, and he’s been fighting demons for a century.”

“Great.” I rolled my eyes. “There’s just one problem.

“What?”

“He doesn’t know I’m here.” My shoulders fell. Nobody knew I’d left with Shadow. Aedan probably wasn’t expecting me to come to his room tonight. He wouldn’t even notice I’d gone missing until tomorrow.

Callum stood, muscles bulging as he stretched his arms over his head. “I’m sure he’ll figure it out eventually.” Then he headed for narrow doorway leading into the main part of the cave.

I stood, apprehension settling in my gut. Twisting my hands together, I jutted a foot forward. “Where are you going?”

He turned to me, his bright red eyes darkening to an ominous crimson. “There is one soul who knows you’re here, and he’ll come to reclaim you soon enough.”

“Shadow,” I breathed. “What are you going to do?”

Steam poured out of his nose as he laughed. “What dragons do best.”

Aedan

After leaving the flaming pit behind us, we came to a forest, gnarled petrified trees the color of stone, some of which were three stories tall. They had died eons ago. Jack proved just how fragile they were when he bumped into one and it disintegrated in a puff of dust, raining debris down on our heads.

Though we choked on soot and the stifling air, we had no time to stop for water. Shadows followed us, too, their hideous outlines played across the trees, illuminated by crimson light from the distant flames.

I knew they were scorned souls, eager to seek revenge on the Grim Reaper who’d delivered them to Hell. Whether I had been their Grim or not made no difference. We all looked alike to them, only now fear of their cloaked, skeletal escorts had been replaced with resentment. They would not hesitate to turn my scythe against me and cast me down to the next level of Hell. I considered myself lucky to have Jack and Sarge on my side. I only hoped we could reach Ash before the demons assembled their numbers.

The first demon attacked sooner than expected, falling from above and landing behind me. I ducked and spun around, narrowly missing the creature’s blade as it whooshed past my nose in a blur. Before I could react, snarling canine fangs snapped off the demon’s head and tossed it into the forest. Its screams echoed through the trees as its headless body chased after it.

I placed a hand to my throat, thankful my head was still intact. “Thanks, buddy,” I said to Jack.

He answered with whimpers as one of his heads nudged me forward while the other looked over his shoulder. Good idea to keep moving. I had a sinking feeling this attack wouldn’t be the last.

Ash

“I have come to claim what’s mine.”

“Shadow,” Callum chuckled as smoke poured out of his nose. “How nice of you to visit us lowly demons. We were starting to think you weren’t coming back.”

I clung to the cave wall, hanging back as other demons filed past me, circling Callum and Shadow as they faced down one another.

“I made a vow to my master, and I intend on keeping it.” Shadow held out a hand, and the crowd parted as he pointed directly at me. “Give me the girl.”

A shiver coursed through me as I tried to sink farther into the darkness. His cold gaze upon me made my flesh crawl. Why hadn’t I stayed behind in Callum’s lair?

Callum cast a disinterested glance over his shoulder. “Sorry. She’s my bitch now.”

I flinched at that. Yeah, supposedly this was all just Callum’s act, but I didn’t like the idea of being anyone’s bitch, even if the demon claiming me had perfectly round buns.

Great. Here I go gawking at dragon ass again.

I had no idea why I was so fascinated with his rear. Maybe it was the skimpy loincloth he wore that left little to the imagination, and his crimson scales didn’t hide much, either. Somehow I knew that beneath his rough exterior was the flesh of a man, and the heart of one, too. Maybe the real reason I was drawn to him was there was something else about this demon that was so very Aedan. Could have been that, like Aedan, he had this need to protect me. Could have been I sorely missed Aedan and was looking for anything with a heartbeat—and who was I kidding—a penis, to take his place.

Gawd, what was wrong with me? Ever since that hairy demon had splashed me in the face with water, my hormones have been buzzing like a diesel-powered vibrator.

Shadow’s body lengthened before my eyes, until he was towering over Callum. “She is a prize for my master. He will not be pleased to know you have her.”

Callum scowled up at him, clenching his hands by his sides. “Then you were a fool to leave her in the care of a hungry demon. Please explain to your master that I thought she was too pretty to be eaten.”

My face flushed. Did he really think me pretty, or was this all part of his ruse? And why the heck did I care, anyway?

Shadow’s features seemed to freeze, and I almost envisioned his hollow eyes a window into his soul, barren and devoid of life. “I can assure you she was not meant to be eaten. The demon will be punished severely.”

Callum crossed his arms, chuckling. “Already took care of it.”

I’m fairly certain the stifling air in the cave dropped about twenty degrees.

Shadow held out a hand, waving his fingers. “Give her to me, and I will see she is kept safe.”

Callum widened his stance and held his ground. “You had your chance. Like I said before, the bitch is mine.”

Shadow’s body lengthened again, so tall it stretched to the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and then he disappeared, like a flame doused by fire. An uneasy feeling settled in my gut, as I knew the demon hadn’t vanished. He’d disguised himself in the darkness. I heard a snap, like the cracking of a whip, then a curse, before the entire cave lit up in flame. I ran back to Callum’s den as other demons followed at my heels. I knew they were thinking what I’d been thinking. This fight was about to get real ugly, and no way in Hell were they going to get near it. I only hoped Callum won the battle. If I had to be someone’s bitch, I’d rather be his.