Page 50 of Stalked By Pestilence
He’d taken my soul after I’d only just gotten Asha back. He’d made it impossible for me to kill the bastard who tried to hurt her, get him to grovel and apologize for being an asshole, then maybe fuck his brains out afterward. I still wasn’t sure what all I wanted to do with Zelus. And now this demon demanded I sit in silence to watch him type endlessly?
No, thank you.
I must’ve said as much with my glare because he beamed a smile at me. “And that glower is why you’ll make a perfect queen of Hell, my darling.”
He reached out, but I slapped his hand away. The thought of anyone but Zelus touching me made my stomach twist and threaten vomit when I wasn’t even sure if I could do that anymore.
“I’m not your fucking darling. Answer my question,” I demanded, channeling a rage centuries and generations long. The rage of women everywhere who had to deal with assholes. “Or I’ll use my big brain to figure your secrets out and weaponize them against you. I’m pretty sure someone mentioned you weren’t meant to cross over to my world. Something about it starting a war…”
His smile disappeared for long enough to emphasize I’d hit a nerve. “You have no power here, Emily. You couldn’t leave this room if I didn’t want it.”
My chin lifted. “I seriously doubt that, baby boy. But even if I can’t, I have a bestie with Death powers.”
That seemed to grab his attention. “Death powers?”
Oh, so he didn’t know? That could work in my favor. If he didn’t know I was connected with Death, then maybe that gave me an edge. I had two Horsemen and one badass bitch in my corner. I’d be careful and keep those cards close to my chest.
“Wait,” I started, making a seamless transition to distract him, “what do you mean queen of Hell? Does that make you Lucifer then?”
He barked a laugh and shook his head before reclaiming his seat. “That ugly bastard? No. I’m the much better-looking brother.”
“Brother?”
“Astaroth,” he clarified.
My eyebrow went up in question. “You all have such weird fucking names.” I rubbed my temples despite knowing that in this body—or lack of body—I couldn’t get headaches. “So, you’re looking to take his spot?”
He seemed surprised I’d figure that out. I was surprising a lot of arrogant men these days. “What makes you assume that?”
I scoffed. Humans, Horsemen, demons—they were all the same. They couldn’t fathom a smart woman. And it wasn’t like his motives were difficult to piece together.
I was about to give this dude hell.
“Lucky guess,” I deadpanned.
While he smirked and amused himself, I was slyly checking for ways to get out of this room. I didn’t know how this all worked, but I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try. I was a Counter Soul. That had to count for something. If Asha could escape death, I could certainly escape Hell.
I noticed a weird doorway at the far corner. It was pitch black and didn’t have a door. The surface was wobbling, too. It was theonly thing that made me think it could be an exit. Everything else looked like a wall.
My best bet was to try there first, and if he caught me, at least I’d see if it led anywhere. For whatever reason, he needed me, and he didn’t like the idea of brother dearest knowing it.
“Oh, looks like you’re getting a message,” I said, pointing to his laptop.
The minute he turned to look at his screen, I was moving—and much faster than I ever had as a human. It was the oldest trick in the book, but I’d learned those were often the most lethal. Stupid asshole.
I’d made it to the wobbly blackness and stepped through without him getting to me. The same sensation that took hold of me in my room seized my body the second I entered. Falling, I braced for a crash, but it didn’t happen. Then I was in a vast space with broken ground and fire.
It was a bit anticlimactic that Hell would look like, well, Hell, but I didn’t want to lose my chance to chase the dream of escape. I took another step, cursed loudly when my foot landed on nothing, and tumbled into another pocket of weightless space.
I’d become motherfucking Alice in Wonderland.
All I could think as I tumbled through oblivion was I needed to find Lucifer to tattle on his brother, and as if the thought summoned the room, I was standing in front of a throne seated on a stack of stairs. Fire burned high into the sky. Lava traveled in streams and pockets around the break in earth I stood on.
So on the damn nose.
What, was Heaven pearly white gates and singing cherubs?
A man who didn’t look very different from any hottie in my world sat at the top, ankle resting on his knee, appearing all kindsof bored. His eyes widened slightly at my sudden appearance. Guess he didn’t have surprise guests often. This must be the so-called ugly brother.