Good Side of Sin (34 page)

“ISAIAH! ISAIAH! ISAIAH! ISAIAH!”
There was no answer. Crap!

There was a soft knock at the door, and a moment later a male voice announced that it was time to join the others at the ball.

I blew out a defeated breath and gathered my skirt in my hands. “Let’s do this thing.”

I was surprised to find Omega—and only Omega—waiting for me when I opened the door of my chamber. He was dressed in an extremely well-fitted, all-black suit that complemented his broad chest and shoulders. Armani would be jealous of the unique pattern and fit. It wasn’t any design I had ever seen.

Trish squeezed by me, interrupting my ogling of a male that was not Thoros, and walked away from us without a word.

We were alone.

Embarrassed and ashamed, I cleared my throat and looked back at him.

He was staring at me.

I swallowed nervously under the heavy weight of his odd eyes behind the solid white mask that covered the top half of his face. It was almost like they were the eyes of a predator, perfect for spotting prey in the dark and reflecting light just enough to stay hidden in the shadows. I hated being prey.

“What are you staring at?” I snapped, and didn’t regret the rude tone of my voice. He was being inappropriate. He knew Thoros and I were together, yet he insisted on antagonizing him by flirting with me. Well, I wasn’t at all flattered.

He smirked as if he had just read my mind and accepted the challenge.

“Don’t…” I closed my eyes and let the breath seep through my scarlet lips. I could feel heat rising in my cheeks and knew I didn’t need to let him get under my skin or I would start making mistakes.

“Don’t? I wasn’t aware you could read minds.”

“For argument’s sake, let’s just say you’re easy to read.”

“I wasn’t doing anything you weren’t doing. Don’t bother lying. The truth is all over your pretty face. He will see it, you know.”

I dropped my head to stare at my gloved hands. They were trembling. What was wrong with me? The guy was attractive, but I didn’t want him. I could say that and know I wasn’t lying to myself. I didn’t like him like I liked Thoros—not even close. I was just merely distracted by the peculiar design of his formal wear.

“I was only admiring your suit. It’s… different from anything I’ve ever seen before.”

He turned and offered me the crook of his arm. I took it, grateful that he seemed to be dropping the subject of my ogling him.

“Well, I was only admiring how beautiful you look in the red dress I picked out for you to wear tonight.”

That was a compliment, not flirting. Compliments were allowed. “Thank—”

“Of course, I was also imagining the way you would look bent over my mattress with all that crimson chiffon thrown up around your shoulders.”

I don’t recall clearly all that happened in the following seconds. All I remember was flushing hot with fury, a short scuffle—on my part—and then my body being thrown forcefully up against the corridor wall. Omega jerked my arm behind my back, and then thrust my wrist up to my shoulder. I screamed out, but he pressed my cheek to the stone, making it impossible to think about anything except the pain I felt in my shoulder.

“Isaiah,”
I whimpered through my mind, but there was still no response to my plea.

“Quiet!”

I cried silently. I didn’t know what he would do or how far away help was from me. I had no powers in Limbo. I was as weak as a human here.

I could feel his hot breath by my ear before he spoke and it made me want to throw up. “Tell me how your boyfriend escaped from Hell and the rest of your stay here will be pleasant.”

“Ahh,” I screamed in protest when he tightened his grip on my wrist and pushed it upward even farther.

“Remember, if you die in Limbo, you belong to Limbo.”

I shook my head the best I could, but it barely moved. “He didn’t escape. He was freed.”

I felt a sharp pain and heard a loud pop in my shoulder as he dislocated it. I screamed out in pain as he yelled in my ear, “How was he freed?”

“An angel made a deal with Lucifer and won. It freed him and eight others from Hell, but they only have half a soul; Lucifer has the other half. Ahh,” I screamed when he fisted my hair in his hand.

“Isaiah!”

“What else?”

“Nothing—nothing, I promise! Thoros would tell you the same—”

“There has to be more,” he said through his teeth as he yanked my hair back hard. I couldn’t help it. The scream erupted from my throat as the hair was torn from my scalp, and I pleaded for him to stop. “Shh…” he whispered by my ear, and I felt his lips touch the bare skin below my ear. “This will all be over soon. Just tell me what I want to know.

“There’s nothing else,” I cried. “I swear…”

His grip tightened on my hair, and I opened my tear-filled eyes in time to see the stone wall rush toward my face. There was a loud crack, and then bright flashes of light danced before my eyes. Before I could regain my balance, I felt his fingers close around my throat and my air way was immediately cut off. I couldn’t breathe, and I felt a surge of panic run through me. I had never needed oxygen in Heaven or on Earth, but obviously the same rules didn’t apply here in Limbo. Was I about to die? Was that even possible? It sure felt like it.

I kicked at his legs and tried to hit his hands away with my good arm, but even I could tell that I was growing weak and my hits were inaffective.

The pressure of his weight against me was instantly knocked away, and I slumped to the floor, unable to stand on my own. I tried to open my eyes to see what had happened, but everything around me had gone fuzzy.

Something touched my injured shoulder and I jerked away from the touch with a shriek.

There was shouting and heavy, blunt noises that sounded extremely close to me, but I couldn’t make myself move.

“Josselyn? Josselyn, we’re here. You’re safe now, child.”

I sighed in relief.
“Isaiah, I called for you. You weren’t there.”

“I know, and I am truly sorry. That was my fault entirely for giving you and Thoros too much privacy. I apologize. It will not happen again.”

I nodded, and then the pain disappeared along with my consciousness.

“That dress looks amazing on you. I wonder who the designer is,” Emma said as she searched for a tag in the neckline of Aries’ alabaster, floor-length, formal gown. Having no luck finding one, she shrugged and glanced back at herself in the mirror. A look of awe replaced her frown as she turned in a slow circle, so she could look at her own pale-green strapless ensemble. “Forget Heaven. I want to come here when I die. The clothes are fabulous. And did you see that hot guy that brought us here? He can be my knight in shining armor. I wonder if he’s single or if there are more like him here.”

When there was no excited, girly response of Aries agreeing with her on the subject of hot guys, Emma looked over to find the pretty girl staring at the closed door of the room, her eyes glazed over and unmoving.

“Crap! I keep forgetting you’re blind now.”

Aries took in a shuddering breath and blinked rapidly up at Emma with glazed, unseeing eyes. She shot to her feet from the chaise longue and grabbed Emma’s hand in haste. “We have to go! Your knight is trying to kill Josselyn!”

Emma’s eyes popped wide. “What?” she said, aghast, but Aries was already dragging her toward the door, clearly unwilling to waste time explaining the definition of murder.

“We go right. Hold on to my hand and lead us to them!”

Emma did as she was commanded, but she shouted as she ran beside the barefooted seer, “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Are we just going to rush into the situation with nothing to protect us? Why would he want to kill Josselyn?”

A small whine pushed through her lips at the thought of being unarmed. She never went anywhere without her weapon, but a holster and custom-made handgun did not exactly
go
with her ball gown.
Someone should definitely design one that did,
she thought. Of course, a thigh holster would work nicely. She just had not had time to grab hers from her apartment before the devil sent an angel of death to destroy them all. Emma wasn’t stupid enough to think her human weapon would hurt any being she had met in the last twenty-four hours, but it sure made her feel better when it was on her person.

There was a wall about twenty feet ahead of them with another choice of which direction to take. Before Emma even opened her mouth to ask which way, Aries shouted, “Left!”

They rounded the corner and Aries pointed to a large group of people blocking the wide hallway. “There!”

Emma slowed, but kept a tight grip on Aries’ hand as she thought,
How the crap did she know where they were going if she can’t see?
Emma waved her other hand in front of Aries face, but there was no sign that the girl noticed anything.

Ethan looked up when he heard Aries’ shout, and then closed the distance between them, taking Emma’s hands in his.

“What happened, Ethan? Aries said Omega—”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. We were on our way down to join everyone at the party when I heard words I’d never expected to hear come out of an archangel’s mouth, and then Isaiah broke into a run. Thoros and I ran after him, and when we got here Thoros tackled Omega to the floor. The asshole was choking Josselyn.”

Emma gasped and tried to look around Ethan, but the crowd was too thick for her to find Josselyn in the mess. “Oh, no! Is she all right?”

“We don’t know; she’s unconscious and nobody’s powers work here. I—”

“She’ll be fine,” Aries said, and Emma looked over at the seer. She looked pale and a little disoriented as she reached out for the wall to steady herself.

Emma caught and steadied her. “What’s wrong, Aries?”

Aries’ eyelids drooped sleepily. “My gift is very strong, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t harsh side effects. I can form a tight mental bond with several people at once, and the more I’m around them, the stronger it gets.” Emma helped lower her to a sitting position up against the wall, but she already appeared to be getting a bit of color back into her cheeks. Aries took a few shaky breaths and continued. “Not only can I feel everyone’s emotions, but now it appears I’m affected by the physical things all of you experience, too. It’s a little overwhelming, and can be painful and exhausting at times. That may have something to do with the fact that the others are… not so human and have very real magic of their own.” She took a few steady breaths. “I’ve noticed since I connected with the angels and half-souled immortals that my gift has grown tremendously. Omega mentioned that we can’t use our powers here, but I have never known my gift to be stronger than it is now. I took Josselyn’s anxiety away when we first arrived at the palace. I’ve never been able to do something of that magnitude so quickly before, but the moment I touched her I knew I could do it. Omega was blocking me somehow, but I could still sense that he wasn’t at all happy that we were here. I don’t think him knowing that I can use my gift here is a good idea.”

Emma let out a clipped breath. “After what has happened with Josselyn, I think I will have to agree with you. Cute doesn’t mean nice—clearly.”

“Where is Mr. Bad News now?” Emma asked as she turned to look up at Ethan.

He shrugged. “Thoros got in a few good punches, and then the guy got away from him and just ran off. He wanted to go after him, but he was too concerned about Josselyn, so he stayed here. Thoros wanted to murder the guy. I could see it in his eyes. Isaiah wasn’t happy, either. I would have probably only gotten in their way, but I was prepared to do some damage myself. No man should lay his hands on a woman like that. For Omega’s sake, he’d better hide until we leave or even the queen won’t be able to save him.”

“What can anyone actually do?” Emma asked. “The guy is already dead. He can’t die again. This isn’t Earth, Ethan! These people are not human! You, Aries and I are the only ones in real danger here!” She shook her head and stood, and then hastily took her skirt in her hands and turned away from his stunned expression. “I shouldn’t have come here. This was a very bad idea—”

Ethan was instantly in front of her, shaking his head. “Emma, don’t go! Please. I need you here with—”

“I can’t go anywhere!” She blew an exasperated breath out of her mouth and tried to stay calm, so she could get all she needed to say out without crying. “Can’t you see that, Ethan? Nobody can leave here. We’re—stuck. The only person that had a chance of getting us out of here just got the crap beat out of her!”

Emma started around him again, but he took her by the arms and pulled her to him. Before she could protest, Ethan’s lips were on hers. She immediately shoved away from him and slapped him hard across the face. She glared at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. His face was still turned to the side where her slap had left it, a flaming red mark the exact size of her hand blistering his left cheek.

“I’m sorry, Ethan, but I’m not your girlfriend. I made the wrong decision coming here with you. I’m not blaming you for that. I was in shock and got caught up in the moment. A very good friend of mine is probably dead because he was protecting your father. Several other agents and marshals are dead because of these people that insist we trust them, but hold us hostage and kill people just the same.” Tears welled in Emma’s eyes and she looked down, taking his hands with hers to try to give him as much comfort as she needed herself. She felt all alone out here on this limb with everyone staring at her. “If what they say is true, Lucifer wants you. He wants
you
, and he will stop at nothing until he gets you. I’m just a human cop,” she shook her head as the first tears fell, “not some superhero that chases after demons, and takes weekend trips to Limbo to attend fancy masquerade balls. I don’t belong here. I don’t belong in your world of fairytales.” He sighed and she let go of his hands. “I’m sorry if I led you to think we could ever become something that just isn’t possible for us to be.”

Emma gathered her skirt once more and started to walk back to her room, but came to a sudden halt when she noticed a very pretty woman walking toward her. She had never seen anyone so attractive before in all her life. She was tall, with cropped brunette hair, spiked and styled in an array that fit the shape of her face perfectly. She had a strong-looking but feminine frame, and would have looked amazing in the stunning royal blue ball gown she wore now, or in rags. Emma’s attention was drawn to her symmetrical, heart-shaped face where neatly arched eyebrows sat above big, almond-shaped eyes, a color Emma could only describe as iridescent. Bright greens, blues, purples and silvers shimmered within the irises, seeming almost translucent in a way. It was as if she could almost see past them into the woman’s head, but she got the feeling that, if she dared to look at what was beyond the beautiful colors, she would not like what she found there.