Page 47

Chapter 46

Eldest Spawn of Satan

Jemma

T he demon smirking at me from the corner of my living room had maroon hair, cut very short—shorter even than SJ’s blond flop—and eyes that promised violence, and that they would enjoy every second of it. A scream burbled up from my chest, but I swallowed it back down. I was not going to let this particular devil terrify me.

Oh, but she terrified me.

“Let me guess … Hellen?” I cocked an impertinent hip, but the wobble in my voice gave me away. Her smirk widened into a vicious grimace.

“I see my reputation precedes me. Although perhaps my brother has been telling tales. All lies, I assure you. Or … maybe he was entirely too honest. One of his many failings.”

Her gaze raked me from head to toe. “You need no introduction, either, Jemma Bliss. SJ has been rather overprotective of you. Odd, I must admit, given he was supposed to be securing your eternal soul for our demons instead of forming some strange, obsessive attachment to you.”

I chanced a horrified glance at Joe, but he was still gaping at the appearance of a literal devil in the middle of my living room.

Hellen, seeing my glance, turned her attention to Joe, giving him the same once over she’d just given me. Her eyes glowed, her teeth bared in a covetous grin. “Oooh, you’re a handsome sack of meat, aren’t you? I’ll enjoy breaking you, possibly even more than I will my brother’s little human plaything. Perhaps I’ll even keep you after. Strung naked to the wall of my chamber, like a very pretty piece of living art.”

Joe’s cheeks flushed crimson. “What is she talking about, Jemma?” he asked warily, his eyes not leaving the Devil in the room. “This is … is this SJ’s sister?”

“Uh … So, yeah … This is SJ’s sister.” I let out a manic giggle. “Surprise! He’s … kind of the Son of Satan.”

“And this is the … daughter of Satan?” He dug his fingers into the fabric of his trousers. There were still tear tracks on his cheeks from earlier, but he seemed oblivious, his eyes fixed on Hellen.

“I prefer eldest spawn of Satan.” Hellen and Joe seemed locked in some bizarre staring competition, their attention not straying from one another. “Unfortunately, I cannot inherit the crown. That goes to my distinctly lacking little brother. Who has been missing from Hell for almost six days now.”

My stomach cramped. What? Six days? Since Saturday?

“No!” My throat constricted with worry. “That can’t be right! I saw him go through a portal home on Saturday afternoon!”

But had he gone home? Sally had seen him on Saturday evening, lurking around the university … with a letter he was desperate to post.

Hellen’s face twisted into something so ferocious that I flinched backwards. “Apparently my brother was a better liar than I gave him credit for.” She stepped towards me. I stepped back on shaky legs. She advanced again. I retreated again.

“I … I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I mumbled. “He … whatever we were, it’s over now. He made that very clear.”

Hellen’s eyes flashed, and from inside the apartment, a scorching wind blasted me from behind, forcing me forwards. I yelped, digging my heels into the rug. I tried to turn, to push against the invisible force, but it was no use. I was buffeted towards her, my heart both hammering and sinking at the same time. The pounding pulse of it was deep in my abdomen as she leered at me.

She was going to do something awful to me, and there was nothing I could do to stop her.

I wondered frantically what she’d done to SJ to make him come back and end things with me. All my suspicions about him lying to me were founded, I was certain of it. He’d lied, to protect me from his lunatic sister. And it hadn’t even worked.

Where was he? What had happened to him? That pounding in my gut became a throb of nausea. What if he was …

My thoughts were torn from me when Hellen snatched me by the throat, dragging me against her. I screamed, but all that came out was a gargling groan, my voice box constricted.

“Jemma!” Joe gasped, getting to his feet. “What’s going on?”

“Your sister is collateral in a little … or rather a very large deal with my brother. And he broke his end of the deal. He disappeared. So, I’m taking what I’m owed.”

“Put her down!” Joe demanded, his voice a low warning. All I could see, smooshed up against her, with her hand still gripping my throat, was the way her eyes widened.

“What are you going to do, you pathetic human?” she bit back. “I have her delicate little neck. It would be so easy to snap?—”

She cut off, her head darting towards the kitchen bench. Towards the pulsing light that I glimpsed over her shoulder.

Oh, shit.

My Soul Token. Flashing wildly with the whirlwind of my emotions.

“That lying piece of …” Hellen muttered against my face, and then there was another hot gust of wind, a metallic tinkling, and the Soul Token flew from the bench into her free hand.

“What is that?” Joe demanded, taking a step closer.

The wind swirled, shoving him back onto the lounge. He struggled, but against the air battering him, he was powerless. His jaw twitched with effort, his muscles strained.

“I am starting to see the appeal of a human toy,” Hellen remarked, spinning me so my back hit her front. She was taller than me, not much, but enough that combined with her inhuman strength, and whatever this … magic was, that she commanded the air with, I was at her mercy.

I whimpered as she brought the Soul Token up in front of my face, rolling it between her fingers. “So much power. And all from one insignificant little human. You know, my brother never let me touch this, despite promising me it was the key to Hell’s salvation. I understand why, now.”

Joe’s eyes were fixed on the token, which strobed pink and white in Hellen’s fingers. “What is that thing?” he repeated.

“ This is a teeny little piece of your sister’s soul. Put there by my wayward brother, to control her.”

“What?” Joe breathed.

“I … it sounds much worse than it is!” I coughed—Hellen’s hand was too tight for speaking to be comfortable. “And he gave it back to me. He wanted me to keep it.”

“Of course he did,” Hellen interjected smugly, and the light in the room dimmed as she closed her fist tightly around the token. “Another lie. My brother’s loyalty is clearly no longer with Hell. What a shame he’s not here to rescue you from your fate.”

“What fate?” Joe grated. There was a vein in his neck that bulged as he strained against the air pressure holding him down on the lounge. “If you harm a single?—”

“Save it for someone who gives a fuck!” Hellen snarled, all that smug politeness gone. Her fingers caressed the bones in the back of my neck. I shivered, closing my eyes, wishing that something—someone—would come to save me from this. But SJ, wherever he was, wasn’t coming.

He’d hurt me to protect me from this monster. And in the end, it hadn’t made a scrap of difference. She was going to hurt me, too.

“I believe you have at least one more little task to complete, before this piece of soul is rightly yours once more?” Hellen asked, voice all syrup again. I shuddered.

“SJ said you were awful. I think he lied to me, too. Because you’re not just awful, you’re despicable!” I spat.

Hellen grinned, her eyes lit with a feverish gleam. “What a delightful compliment! But you know, I think I’ve had enough of your inane prattle. It’s time to see if you can handle the sort of task Junior should have been giving you all along.”

The portal swirled, brightened. Hellen stepped towards it, shoving me ahead of her.

“Don’t you fucking dare take her with you!” Joe growled.

“Oh, feeling left out? Don’t worry, I’m taking you, too!” She flicked her fingers and the winds roared. Joe practically levitated off the lounge, stumbling towards the portal. His eyes were wild, but they found me, determination glinting for a split second. He thought this was how he could protect me.

How wrong he was.

“Leave him alone! You’ve got me—that’s what you wanted!” I screeched.

Hellen tightened her grip on my neck, as Joe fell into the portal … and disappeared with a shocked yelp.

“Oh, I am going to have so much fun with the pair of you!” Hellen crooned, stepping one foot into the portal. `

Luci came galloping from wherever she’d been lurking, climbing me in record time. I watched in awestruck horror.

Luci bit down hard on Hellen’s hand.

With a screech, Hellen released me, Luci still latched on and swinging, her red eyes promising more pain.

Hellen flicked her hand.

Luci went flying into the wall.

She fell to the ground.

She didn’t move.

“Luci!” I screamed, just as Hellen shoved us through the portal.