Page 99 of A Monstrous World: The Complete Series

Chapter Two

Wraith

T he very last thing I want is to be here.

It’s been five human days since our session with Nadia, and my nerves are frayed.

It’s considerably worse the longer I go without seeing her.

Time moves slower in Hell, making it feel like an eternity has passed.

There will be no respite until she’s in my presence.

I’ll continue to become more and more agitated until I can lay eyes on her.

I’ve never been very good at playing my cards close to the vest.

That’s why I have Knight. We’ve been a team for more years than I can count. Millennia pass slowly in Hell, but that’s neither here nor there.

The sin eater is my other half.

Knight is one of three of his kind in all of Hell.

They’re even rarer than reapers, and we’re practically endangered.

There’s a unique bond that occurs between reapers and sin eaters, but considering we discovered it by chance, there’s no way I would out that information in front of the demons in the pit tonight.

Knight sighs. His shoulder-length, straight blond hair falls around his face as he leans on the wall, glaring at Nero. His eyes glow white with annoyance as his lithely muscled frame flexes. He’s always moving, and now is no exception, especially since the pride demon has something we want.

“A simple yes or no will do.” Nero smiles, like he thinks he’s winning this little exchange.

“The two of us against your horde?” I reiterate his ludicrous statement.

“Your cluster against my horde,” Nero clarifies, but we both know Malice won’t fight unless it’s absolutely necessary. Meaning, it will be Knight and me taking on his army of demon lackeys.

“Are you sure you’re willing to lose that many of your prize fighters tonight?” Knight uses his forearms to push up on the fence and swings himself up to sit on the brick wall that separates the fight organizers from those they deem cannon fodder.

“You’re truly that confident?” Nero scoffs, plucking at the sleeve of his over-priced suit.

“You might be immortal, but I can make you wish you weren’t.

” The predatory smile that crosses his face sends a shiver of unease down my spine.

I wish that prideful fucker would get in the pit and let us have a go at him, but fucking up a few of his army will have to do.

“The relic if we win?” I ask for clarification. “It will be ours to do with as we see fit. You’ll relinquish it to us immediately following our victory.”

“And if you lose?” Nero asks.

“You get to watch your men pummel us to your heart’s content.” Knight smirks, staring directly into the pride demon’s eyes. His long hair billows in the wind, but Knight doesn’t move a muscle as the showdown continues.

I glance between the two, watching to see who will blink first. I’m tired of being trapped in Hell, and our plans in the human realm are taking a little too long to come to fruition. Meaning, we have no choice. We won’t leave the pit tonight without victory.

“Are you afraid my cluster can demolish your horde, High Lord Nero?” Knight taunts, quirking a blond brow.

Malice is going to be exceptionally fucking pissed. The third member of our group is a nightmare. They’re more feared than even reapers.

My kind reap tainted human souls for punishment, but due to the immortality of supernaturals, we generally recycle demons who have become too treacherous to exist. Their essence gets dumped into the Bowels of Hell with the humans, and they’re wiped of all that makes a demon a demon.

Memories, thoughts, even powers, in some cases.

I don’t think too much about it, as it isn’t my role in Hell to do so, but an uncomfortable shiver slides down my spine at the thought.

“Fine.” Knight shrugs. The showy bastard pushes himself up and does a backflip in the air before landing on his feet. “Find some other way to entertain your audience, since you’re unsure?—”

“We have a deal,” Nero snaps. “Perhaps a little pain and suffering will remind you to be humble.”

“No demon is humble.” Knight walks along the brick ledge. He reaches me and jumps down, landing in a crouch. “Ready to win this?”

I nod. I’d do much worse to finally exist in the same realm as my love without the laws of the universe pulling me back, time after time.

I knew before I stepped into the pit that I’d be prohibited from using my powers. Knight is too. The only one of the three of us who can is Malice, since his power is at will. Well, ours are too, but not to the extent of the nightmare.

Nightmares feed on terror and fear. He could send an arena of monsters to their knees if he wished to put on a show. Rather than participating, he’s watching from the comfort of the viewing deck.

The lazy bastard.

I have no doubt that he’ll jump along for the ride if we secure a portal to Earth.

He’ll simply watch and bide his time, only joining in if absolutely necessary. However, I know he’s developing a bit of an addiction to a certain fae. I can’t imagine he’d turn down the chance to interact with her without the laws that garner his kind slipping through the veil.

Not all demons can pass through the veil between the human realm and Hell, but our cluster is a bit of an enigma.

Reapers are regularly drawn to the human realm, for obvious purposes. Perhaps a few millennia ago, it was more common for sin eaters and reapers to work in tandem. But since they’re practically extinct, the universe has had to do without their part in things.

I’m not sure if the others were recycled into some other type of demon on their resurrection, or possibly they found peace and simply ceased to exist. It’s impossible to tell. But the risk isn’t one I’m willing to take.

Knight is a valuable member of our operation.

He cleanses the soul of its sins, making for an easier transition.

It’s actually quite convenient, as the process purifies the soul, preventing me from suffering any nasty side effects that would likely occur without Knight doing his part.

It’s also why I’m the most prolific reaper in our realm.

There are no consequences when I opt to devour a soul rather than reaping it, which normally wouldn’t be the case.

The universe, or some higher power, might call us to where we’re needed, but we aren’t obligated to judge the soul unworthy. Don’t get me wrong—in many cases, they are. But I’ve refused to reap a soul on more than one occasion, and the first started with her .

Nadia is the very reason I’ll fight my way through every demon in Nero’s horde. I doubt he’ll continue sending the entire legion once he realizes we aren’t fucking around. It would look incredibly bad for him. Then again, pride demons aren’t known for using their better judgment.

My chest heaves as I sidestep a lust demon just before he can dose me with his venom. I spin, slamming my foot into his back, and his silvery-pink magic spews into a gluttony demon instead.

I don’t get a moment to revel in that success as several lesser demons swarm attack.

They’re disturbing little creatures without a free thought between them.

Lesser demons are basically animalistic in nature.

They pledge to a higher demon and do their bidding, lest they be slaughtered and recycled into the pit.

I grab a small purple and black demon that looks like an alligator. My claws dig into his scaly shoulders as I spin, tossing him into several other crawling creatures.

“I wish Malice would say enough is enough and get his lazy ass down here,” Knight says, breaking the neck of a basilisk.

The crunch is gruesome, even from several feet away.

His boot lands firmly in the face of an envy demon as he stares at Malice, giving him a look that indicates he’d like our brethren to get the fuck up and help us end this.

In my distraction, I allow a claw to rake across my cheek.

A low, menacing growl escapes as I spin, shivering my hand through the wrath demon’s thick armor plate that lines his chest. My hand clutches at his still-beating heart as I remove it from its cavity.

He’s immortal, but that’s going to take quite some time to regenerate.

Malice’s smoky tendrils dance around the arena, and I finally let out a breath of pure relief.

“Oh, look. You finally decided to join the party.” I spin, slamming my fist into the head of a lesser demon.

“Motherfucking finally,” Knight says from somewhere behind me.

My cluster is essentially unstoppable when we’re together. But I have no doubt tonight is going to get worse before it gets better.