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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A malevolent smile froze on the demon’s face. His eyes rolled back in his head, showing me two blood-streaked marbles. His grip slackened to the point where I was able to extract myself from it. The demon’s body began to vibrate like a jackhammer, a seizure on steroids. Eight arms made staccato motions, dropping the weapons they held.

I took advantage of his temporary weakness and attacked the old-fashioned way. He didn’t seem to notice the scythe as it hooked around to the left. It was a clean slice. His head rolled off his shoulder and tumbled to the ground. That’s when I noticed the face on the other side.

Two faces. That was how he’d been able to fight us both without turning his head. The amber eyes that had been coffee-colored only moments ago gazed at me in wonder before fading to a dull hazel. I’d seen the light fade from plenty of eyes, but I’d never seen the color change. Curious.

The demon’s body pitched forward and crashed on top of the head.

Kane and I exchanged hesitant looks of relief. His hand was drenched in blood as he clutched the gushing wound on his side.

“We need to get you to a healer before you pass out,” I said. Sage didn’t live too far from here. We could make it.

Kane regarded his former colleague. “What just happened?”

“I made a deal with the devil.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

I sighed. “Different deal. Different devil.”

The air snapped and my heart sank at the appearance of a red door. I’d hoped for a bit of a reprieve before they demanded their pound of flesh.

The door swung open. I pictured myself taking Kane’s hand and walking through the door together, straight into the Castle.

Home.

But that was a dream, and this… This new nightmare was only beginning.

“Lorelei?” Kane’s tone was questioning.

I looked back at him. “If there’d been any other way…” I felt a tug, and then a violent yank. I clawed at the air, trying to reach Kane’s hand as I was sucked through the open doorway. The door slammed shut behind me, separating us.

Light blazed, causing temporary blindness. At least I hoped it was temporary. Once the intensity diminished, I recognized my surroundings. There was no red leather sofa or clanging pipes. I wasn’t anywhere near the Castle.

As I feared, ‘home’ was The Corporation’s headquarters.

I stormed through the lobby, past the statue of the Lar and his dog, to find the target of my ire. “Good day to you,” the Lar said.

I swiveled around, unable to resist his kindly greeting even under the egregious circumstances. “Good day to you, kind sir. Maybe you can help me. I need to find Posy Martell. Blonde, favors the color pink. A voice that can cut glass.” Ask me how I know.

“The recruitment offices are located in the building on the western end of campus.” His canine companion barked, confirming the statement.

As furious as I was, I couldn’t ignore the dog’s sweet disposition. “Hey, buddy. Can I pet you?”

His tail wagged, and I felt a smidge calmer as I dug my fingers into his soft fur.

“No one ever asks to pet the dog,” the Lar said.

“Their loss.”

The dog licked my hand.

“Who’s the bestest boy?” I said, rubbing both sides of his head. My wave of emotions flattened, and my heart rate slowed to a normal rhythm. Forget gods, dogs held the real power in this world.

A red-haired woman hurried toward me. She wore a flowing dress, sandals, and a green lanyard around her neck. A faint row of freckles spanned her cheeks. “Excuse me, can I help you?”

As I straightened to respond, the Lar and his companion turned back to stone. “I hope so.”

The woman’s eyes widened in recognition. “Wait. You’re Melinoe. I saw you at the cocktail party, but we didn’t get a chance to meet. I was so bummed to miss you.”

I glanced at the badge attached to her lanyard. Aine. I knew that name—Celtic goddess of youth, beauty, love, and summer, among other things. Well, the youth and beauty were clearly in evidence.

“I shouldn’t be here. There’s been a mistake.” At the very least, I should’ve been given a chance to set my affairs in order.

Aine’s mouth formed a sympathetic pout. “The gods don’t make mistakes. ”

Her statement was so out of line, I fought the urge to bruise her beautiful face. “I need to find Posy Martell. Can you take me to her?”

She tapped her chin, thinking. “The name doesn’t ring a bell. Does she work in accounting? I never remember anybody in the finance division. Just the idea of numbers makes me sleepy.”

“She’s a recruiter. A siren.”

“A siren?” Her pale eyebrows inched up. “How unusual to use a lesser being to entice others to join us. She must be very good at her job.” Aine drank me in. “Well, she managed where many others have failed, so I suppose she is.”

I wasn’t interested in their petty politics. “I need to find her. Now. Her office is at the western end of the complex.”

She produced a blue lanyard from thin air. “You’ll need to wear this to indicate you’re a visitor or security might accidentally identify you as an intruder and smite you. We wouldn’t want that.”

“Certainly not.” I dutifully slipped the lanyard over my head.

“This way, please.”

I followed her outside to the curb. Aine whistled, and a golf cart trundled toward us. “I’ll need to escort you to her office. Visitors aren’t permitted to wander the complex unsupervised. I’m surprised you were able to access the lobby on your own.”

“I was… somewhere else, and then I ended up here.”

“In Paradise,” Aine said with a vacant smile.

I didn’t respond.

The golf cart came to a halt, and I climbed inside. Aine sat beside me, checking her emerald-encrusted watch. “I’ll be late for a meeting, but I suppose this takes priority.”

The golf cart started to move. “I’m more than happy to find her on my own now that I know where to go. ”

“I wish I could allow it.” She angled her head to regard me. “How did you arrive here unaccompanied? You said you were elsewhere.”

I couldn’t bring myself to talk about the nightmares I’d left behind. “I used a special card that Posy gave me, and a door opened.” A special trap, more like, but I knew what I was doing, and I’d do it again if it meant saving Kane. I only wished I’d known I’d be sent here immediately. I thought I’d have time to put my affairs in order. Say goodbye to my friends and loved ones. Thoughts of the demon swarmed my mind. I clenched my hands into fists, tamping down the worry I felt. He’d be fine; he had to be.

“I should probably take you straight to HR,” Aine said, more to herself. “If you appeared beyond security on your own, that must mean you’re officially on the roster. There will be paperwork to complete.”

No doubt. I cranked up the saccharine charm. “I really need to see Posy first, just to thank her for everything she’s done to get me here. It wouldn’t have happened without her.”

Aine smiled. “That’s so kind of you. Are you sure you’re a goddess?” Her laughter tinkled in response to her own joke.

“I’m not a typical one, that’s for sure.”

Her face grew solemn as she leaned over to ask in a conspiratorial whisper, “Is it true you were reborn in human form?”

“Yes. My parents were avatars of Hades and Persephone.”

She returned to an upright position. “A miracle child. Such a blessing. I can see why The Corporation has taken such an interest in you.”

“I’m more of an obsession, really. It’s embarrassing for them.”

“I bet the siren earns herself a corner office,” Aine mused. The golf cart rolled to a stop in front of a white stucco building. “Here we are. ”

We exited the cart and walked toward the entrance. There was no sign of security in this area.

“Is there an entrance to Paradise at this end of the complex?” I asked.

“Not an official one. Only current members can access it.” Aine used her badge to access the main set of doors. “We’ll check with reception to see which floor she’s on.”

I scanned the lobby walls. “No directory?”

“There’s one on the system, but I don’t have my phone. I tend to leave it behind when I attend meetings. Otherwise, I’ll allow myself to get distracted.” She offered an apologetic smile. “We all have our weaknesses.”

“So true.” And right now, I really wished I knew what Posy’s were because I’d exploit the shit out of them.

Aine escorted me to the reception desk at the far end of the lobby. “Greetings, my love. We’re looking for the office of Posy Martell. Would you be so kind as to point the way?”

The receptionist’s jaw unhinged as he took in the Celtic goddess’s appearance. The ends of his ears were slightly pointed, and his freckle count far exceeded my companion’s.

“You’re Aine.”

“That I am.” She leaned forward to read his badge. “Clayton. Lovely to meet you, my sweet.”

He quickly recovered. “Posy Martell, you said? That’s the second floor, room 211.”

I turned to Aine. “You should go to your meeting now. Thank you for taking the time to escort me. I appreciate it.” I wanted to avoid having any witnesses for my confrontation with Posy.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“Posy will take me to HR. She’ll want the credit.”

Clayton’s head bobbed in agreement. “She will. She’s a big fan of credit.”

Aine relented. “Well, I’m sure I’ll see you around, now that you’ve officially joined us. Peace and love, Melinoe.” She blew me a kiss and hurried through the lobby, her sandals padding softly on the granite floor.

Clayton lifted the phone, and I reached across the counter to stop him. “I’d like to surprise her, if you don’t mind. Such a monumental day for her. We want to make it memorable, don’t we?”

He swallowed a mouthful of air. “She won’t be pleased with me if I let you do that.”

I rested the crook of my arm on the counter. “Let’s be honest, Clayton. Is Posy ever pleased with you?”

Slowly, he lowered the phone to its cradle. “If anyone asks, I wasn’t at my desk when you came in.”

“Deal.”

I darted up the staircase, taking the steps two at a time as my adrenaline surged. One nightmare coming right up. No regrets.

The door to 211 was closed. I didn’t bother to knock. I flung the door wide open and planted myself in her office.

Posy stood at a window that offered a partial view of the sea. Longing for home, perhaps. Her head jerked toward me. “You made it.”

“You don’t seem very surprised to see me.”

She folded her arms as she assessed me. “You just saved your hot demon prince from an eternity in hell. I expected you to look happier about it.”

I marched toward her, rage fueling every step. “Why would I look happy that I was manipulated into using your special card?”

Posy tucked a stray blonde strand behind her ear. “No one forced you to flash the Bat signal. You could’ve chosen not to.”

“We both know that wasn’t an option. If I’d lost that trial, Kane would…” I pictured Kane bleeding out in the middle of Wild Acres. “Is he all right?”

“He’ll live.”

I relaxed slightly. “Tell me the truth. Lucifer was part of your plan all along, wasn’t he? Even your meeting with me was a ruse, a chance to set me up by giving me the card.”

“I have no idea what you mean. I work in recruitment. The goal was to recruit you. My knowledge of other departments is limited.”

I whipped the card at her. “Bullshit. You gave me this card, knowing that Lucifer was on his way because you’re the ones who gave him Kane’s location in exchange for helping to deliver me to The Corporation. You gave him information about me, too, straight from my file.” How else could Lucifer have known details about my life, like Matilda’s murder of Solomon?

Posy’s mouth twitched at the sight of the card floating to the floor between us. “I’m glad the card was useful to you. That was the whole point.”

“No, the whole point was to trick me into joining your ranks.” A sickening thought occurred to me. This was Birdie’s discovery. She wasn’t killed simply because she knew Lucifer was in Fairhaven. She was killed by a corporate assassin because she’d figured out Lucifer was in cahoots with The Corporation. The pieces catapulted into place. Lucifer hadn’t come through the crossroads; The Corporation had asked one of the Tien-Wang to open a door into Fairhaven for him to avoid detection. The trials were preplanned. I’d bet all my blueberries that someone at The Corporation likely had tabs on Kumbhakara, which was how Lucifer knew when the monster was dead. If we were preoccupied with passing a series of trials, then we wouldn’t dig any deeper to discover their collusion. Why would we when we thought we had it all figured out ?

I glowered at her. “Were the trials your idea?”

The siren snorted. “Lucifer has been making deals since the dawn of time. He hardly needed our input on how to handle his beef with your boyfriend.”

I recalled Belphegor’s uncharacteristic strength. His ability to design a trial around the contents of my subconscious. His two faces, eight arms, and change in eye color.

I broke out in a cold sweat. “You gave Lucifer an elixir.” Who offered it to Belphegor. Not the kind that created avatars, however. This was a variation, one that left the demon in control of himself but with specific powers of deities. A nightmare scenario even I wouldn’t have conjured.

Posy suddenly took a great interest in the magenta polish on her fingernails.

“Tell me, was Belphegor merely a test subject for a new experiment or is this elixir already available to the highest bidders?” Brizo was the Greek goddess of the subconscious. The Hindu goddess Durga had eight arms. Janus was a Roman god with two faces. Was The Corporation holding them captive for experiments? Was I next?

Posy rolled her shoulders, as though the conversation bored her and she was ready to move on to a night of cocktails and karaoke. “I really couldn’t say.”

Her stonewalling only served to enrage me further. “Kami’s vision during our meeting—she said better the devil I know than the devil I don’t are one and the same.” Posy had called her words gibberish, but now I knew they were nothing of the kind.

“Like I told you, our Prophecy Department is right fifty percent of the time.” She shrugged. “We hedged our bets.”

“You deceived me; that makes our contract null and void. At the very least, it’s fraudulent misrepresentation.”

“That requires a false statement. What lie did we tell?”

My mind was too fuzzy with anger to think clearly. “ Then it’s fraud in the inducement. Either way, the contract isn’t legally binding.”

“I suppose our legal team will have to hash that out with yours.” She blinked those thick lashes, the picture of pure innocence. “You do have a legal team, don’t you?”

“What I have is a strong desire to kill you with my bare hands.”

She tsked. “Now, now, Mel. You wouldn’t want to get sent to Human Resources for the wrong reasons on your first day, would you?”

“I would if there’s a chance they’d fire me.”

She practically purred. “Getting terminated by The Corporation isn’t what you want. Trust me. It’s right there in the word.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“You already took your chances and lost, hence the reason you’re here now.”

“You cheated.”

“Oh, sweet summer child. There’s no honor among thieves, or gods. The Corporation does what it wants, when it wants.” She pressed a button on her phone. “As much as I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, my role with you is done. Recruitment achieved.” She shivered. “Oh, I do love that hit of dopamine when I cross another task off the list, don’t you?”

I sank into the chair across from her. “I don’t understand. You helped me win the trial, so what does Lucifer get out of the deal?” The torture he inflicted during the trials wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the supreme ruler of hell. He’d want more.

“As far as I know, Lucifer has decided to extend his stay in your adorable little town. He made so many friends during his visit, I can see why. ”

My stomach dropped like Sisyphus’s stone. “He’s staying in Fairhaven?”

“Apparently so.”

Suddenly, I understood. The deal I made with Lucifer was that if I won the trials, he wouldn’t drag Kane to hell for eternal damnation, but there was nothing in the contract to prevent Lucifer from staying in Fairhaven to torture him.

And there was the loophole Kane had been so certain existed.

Posy applied a fresh coat of pink lipstick and smacked her lips. “You’ve heard the term hell on earth, haven’t you? I think that was Lucifer’s phrase. I can’t be sure. I heard it secondhand. I wasn’t allowed in the major meetings.” She smiled at her reflection in a compact mirror. “I bet I’ll be invited now, though, thanks to you. Ooh, I hope so. They always have the best snacks.” She snapped the compact closed.

My body went limp. The demon never had any intention of dragging Kane back to his circle of hell. His plan was to torture Kane by setting up camp in his own backyard. What better revenge than to ravage the demon prince’s adopted home and force him to watch, or even worse, participate?

The queasiness I’d been feeling exploded into full-blown nausea. Kane and I had been so concerned that we’d destroy each other by getting romantically involved that it didn’t occur to either one of us our love for each other might end up destroying others. The realization was a painful one. I’d finally decided to mix and mingle after keeping myself separate and apart from society for so long and this was the end result. Pops would be crushed.

Dozens of questions swirled in my mind. I was the liminal deity of the crossroads, and I’d abandoned my post. What happened to the people of Fairhaven would be my fault; their safety was my responsibility. My throat ran dry at the thought of Chief Garcia and Officer Leo. They’d be ill-equipped to defend a town overrun by demons, if that was part of Lucifer’s plan. West and the Arrowhead pack were their best chance.

Posy made a noise at the back of her throat and nodded to the doorway. I twisted in my chair to see a woman flanked by two security guards.

“Melinoe, meet Beatrice from HR.”

Beatrice looked more like a prison warden to me. My jaw clenched.

“You should be happy, sweetie,” Posy said. “Your sacrifice has allowed Kane to remain in his preferred location under Lucifer’s watchful eye. Try to think of it as giving him a new lease on life.”

Smiling, Beatrice dangled a green lanyard in front of me. “And now we have a new lease on yours. Welcome to The Corporation, Melinoe.”

Ahhh, what just happened?! Find out in Dead End , the 9th and final book in the Crossroads Queen series.