Page 51 of Stalked By Pestilence

If gorgeous is ugly, I guess.

I hadn’t taken a breath before a swarm of demons came from all sides, flooding the piece of earth I stood on. I’d recognize those shadowy monsters anywhere. I swallowed a scream and fled toward the only dude who looked normal-ish. The one on the throne. A mistake, I realized, but one I’d have to make if I was going to get ahead of his crazy-ass brother.

His eyes tracked me all the way up the steps, his lips lifting. “What do we have here?”

I breathed a grateful sigh when the demons didn’t follow me up. As luck would have it, I was well-practiced in the fine art of running in heels. “Uh, Emily. I’m Emily.”

“Emily?”

His eyes were slitted like a cat’s and surrounded by a pool of dark red. His black hair was swept back, and the beauty of his face couldn’t be overstated. He was one pretty asshole, but I was starting to think hotness was the rule and not the exception with all these supernatural beasts.

How dare Asha keep them from me.

“And Emily, what are you doing at my throne without an invitation?”

“My King!” I heard someone yell, and I’d know his voice anywhere.

I rushed through my next bit because if I was about to die—or disintegrate into nothing; not sure what they did to people who were already dead—I wanted that bastard to go down with me. “Your brother, Astaroth over there, crossed over and stole mefrom the human world as a bride to take your throne. Probably. He didn’t give me all the details. But I’m a Counter Soul or whatever for one of the Horsemen.”

“A bride?”

“Yep.”

“You’re a Counter Soul?”

“Got it in one.”

Oh-em-gee was this guy Captain Obvious or just that slow?

Throne Dude’s eyes narrowed and shot over to the asshole who was clamoring up the stairs. Just when I didn’t think it could get crazier, a dark circle opened up next to us. Thanatos walked through, followed by my bestie and…Zelus.

I gaped in surprise.

The sight of them added credit to my claim, and Throne Dude’s hostility ramped up. Fire burned in his eyes. Like, actual fire. Flames burned and flickered inside his irises as he got to his feet.

“You crossed over to the human world, Astaroth?” His voice was a terrifying rumble, and the ground underneath us quaked with his fury.

Thanatos’s eyes were on me, another victim of surprise. In his case, it made sense. Finding me taking audience with the king of Hell was probably not how they saw this going. I couldn’t hide my smug grin when I caught both Asha and Zelus with their mouths open.

I was a fucking badass!

Thanatos stepped forward, his stare flicking over to Astaroth before he greeted Lucifer with a nod. “We’re willing to overlook the offense and keep it from Heaven if the soul is returned.”

“The soul has a name,” I grumbled.

Thanatos’s smile eased the tension in my shoulders.

Zelus had his hands fisted when I glanced at him. His jaw was strained and his stare fierce and violent. I’d seen him restrained enough to know he was angry and desperate to come over.

I should’ve been pissed off to no end with him, but seeing him unraveling, his scales everywhere I looked and fangs gleaming with a silent snarl, made me desperate to wrap my arms around his shoulders and let him take me away from here.

Lucifer hummed and gracefully took his seat again. Dude had gone from fires of rage to icy cool super quick. “You know that’s not how it works, Thanatos.”

Thanatos’s jaw ticked. “You want something in return.”

“I do.”

I glared at the asshole sitting primly on his throne. “So you’re not afraid of starting a war?”