by Jayce Carter
“Why do you keep entering then?”
“Because the prize is worth it. Do you have any idea how valuable a favor from Lucifer is?”
“Not really, no.”
He curled his lips into a smile that was chilling because it showed the points of his sharp teeth. “He can’t release a soul from the afterworld for good, but he can allow one to move to a new level.”
“Are you working your way up the ladder?”
“No. Too many rules in the other levels. I tried that, but I ended up getting sent back here. No, I use my favor the same way every time. I get a ticket back to earth.”
“I thought you said he couldn’t release people.”
“He can’t. The tickets don’t last long. I can inhabit a newly dead body for a few weeks, perhaps a month at most, then I slip back here. Still, even a visit is worth it.”
“I’m not really interested in your vacation plans, so are we done?”
“Not even close. See, Hunter and I, we’ve never faced off before. He’s undefeated, as am I. I don’t like to leave things to chance, however.”
“That’s good, because you don’t have a chance.”
“Ferocious for something so little,” he said. “One swipe with my claws and you’d be done for. Worse, you aren’t entirely mortal, are you? Do you even have a spirit? Would you go to an afterlife? Immortals give that up, but you?” He spoke as if the answers were all hypothetical and not talking about my real, actual life. He also moved on as if the answers were all together unimportant. “Tell your precious team to back out. They can forfeit, giving me the win I deserve.”
“You wouldn’t be asking for that unless you thought you couldn’t win fairly. You know they’ll beat you, don’t you? You don’t have any leverage.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. They might win, but so might I. If I come out on top, and if you don’t do as I say, if you don’t have them forfeit, then I’ll spend the weeks I have there peeling your flesh from your bones. I can’t touch you here, but we both know you won’t be here forever. And, if I win, that means you won’t have your protectors anymore.”
My chest grew tight, especially because the seriousness in his gaze told me he damned well meant it. This was a creature capable of exactly what he was claiming.
I looked to the side, to spot Kase who stared right at us, that red rimming his eyes showing he didn’t care for the creature to be so close to me.
I lifted my hand to tell him I didn’t need him riding in to save the day.
After another sharp look, he turned back to his conversation.
The competition was our only chance at real answers, at figuring out where the spirits were going and who was behind it. Even if Lucifer didn’t know anything, his favor could help us stop it. I could ask him to help us fight the shadow once we found it.
Plus, if my team forfeited, they’d be gone and unable to help me.
Or, more realistically, they’d be going through that dead zone on foot to get back to the palace, something that was probably more dangerous than the creature in front of me.
I shook my head and forced myself to meet the gaze of the creature from the blue team. “Not a chance.”
His eyes widened as if he’d been certain he could threaten me into compliance. “You’re making a very foolish choice.”
“Probably,” I admitted. “But that’s for tomorrow Ava to deal with. Today Ava says to go get ready. My team is about to kick your ass.”
He straightened to his full height, and for one split second I thought he’d lose control, that he might just forget that whole ‘no killing honored guests’ thing.
“I suggest you follow her exceedingly good advice.”
I never thought I’d be happy hear Lucifer’s voice, yet there we were.
The competitor nodded, then bowed before leaving, his hands curled into tight fists.
Once he was gone, I let out a deep breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.
Lucifer snorted. “So not quite so brave as you pretend?”
“I learned early that it’s more important to look tough than it is to actually be tough.”
“I’ve found that lesson sounds reasonable until forced to back it up.”
I recalled trying that with a bully once, and how I’d put my hands over my nose to catch the blood after they’d put me down with one punch. “Do it well enough and you won’t need to back it up.” I turned to actually look at Lucifer, finding him in a similarly fantastic suit—this one a navy blue rather than the black pinstripe from before.
I hated to admit he was handsome, but he was. Not in the way where I wanted him, but in the way where I couldn’t really deny it.
“Why did you not take his offer? You said you would do anything to keep your team safe.”
“Because until I can stop what’s happening with the spirits, they won’t be safe. Until I can figure this out, until we can fix it, no one is safe.”
He tilted his head, as if surprised that I’d answered without manipulation. “And you believe you can stop it? Because, from what I know of your attempts so far, you’ve had little luck. You have failed to even locate a suspect. Well, besides me, and I think you know you missed the mark there.”
“Like you’ve done any better. I’m your only hope and you were wrong about me, too. Looks like we were both shitty detectives. “
“I never believed you were behind it. “
That caught me off guard. “What?”
“I knew you could not have orchestrated it.”
“So why did you ruin my whole week and drag me here?”
“Because of what happened when you tried to find that first spirit.”
I frowned, thinking back to what Hunter had said, that other things could feel that. Hunter, the warden, Lucifer.
It seemed I was luckier than I’d realized that nothing worse had happened…
“That’s it? You don’t even care about the whole world-ending thing?”
“I care about the spirits, but my influence at the moment is limited to here in hell, and seeing as the spirits aren’t here, there isn’t much I can do. You, however, are potentially far more valuable. What you did shouldn’t have been possible, and things that aren’t possible are my favorite.” That came across as far more of a threat then a compliment. As it turned out, the devil thinking I was valuable just didn’t please me.
It was a time when I missed flying under the radar in life…
Things were so much easier when I didn’t have everyone looking my way.
“I hate to be the one to tell you, but if you think I’m going to be useful in any way, you’ve wasted your time. I am, at best, a fucked-up medium.” Good thing I wasn’t wearing the bracelet, because I was pretty sure I’d get one hell of a shock for that statement.
The more time passed, the more I learned, the more I accepted I wasn’t human, at least not in the strict sense. No matter how badly I wanted to be, no matter how much I wanted to be just like everyone else, I guess turning into some sort of ghost creature was a good way to shock me out of my belief.
Lucifer exhaled sharply, a sound that said I was being foolish. He gestured to the side of me without addressing my statement. “It is nearly time for the competition to begin. We should take our seats.”
“Wonderful. It’s been almost a whole day since I had to sit on a skull. I miss that incredibly gross feeling.”
Lucifer sighed, then pulled a cloth from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to me, leaving the one in his outer pocket free from me stealing it. “Mortals are tiresome. I remember now why I don’t allow them in the palace.”
“Well, maybe remember it next time you decide to summon one, because this wasn’t my idea of a great time, either.”
He crossed his arms as I spread the cloth over the seat and lowered myself into it, grimacing at just how uncomfortable bone furniture was. “Your mouth will be the death of you,” he said before taking his own seat.
He
was probably right.
Watching both teams come out made me question not giving into the blue team’s demands.
The blue team had behemoths of men on it along with one woman who was tall and had horns that went up from her temples then twisted back to meet behind her head. They looked like the sort of people who would kill someone for nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was a far cry from my team.
Sure, I knew what my boys could do—I’d seen it. However, where the blue team wore their viciousness on their sleeves, my boys didn’t look nearly as intimidating.
A fear crept into me.
What if I’d picked wrong? What if one of them did get killed? What if it was all my fault?
I met Grant’s gaze, and all those worries must have shown on my face because he gave me a smirk and winked.
The arrogant bastard. Still, it helped. He knew what he was capable of, what the others were. Grant was not the self-sacrificing type, especially not without milking the hell out of it. There was no way he’d just allow himself to be killed off without even an ill-timed joke.
It let me draw in a breath, to remind myself that they’d survived one round and a few attempts over the night.
An announcer called both teams, this time calling out each member individually. When the teams had been introduced the last time, the crowd had gone crazy for the blue team. The crowd had been almost deafening with fanboy and fangirls.
This time, however, things had changed. When the woman gestured toward the black team, those standing around went wild.
She went through each of them, as she had the other team, and there was no doubt the crowd had taken to my boys.
Hunter threw his arms up and spun as if the cheering of fans were the best thing he’d ever experienced. Of course, before I could get too jealous, he turned toward me, winked, then blew a kiss.
Grant lifted one hand, all cockiness and confidence.
Kase nodded, hands folded at the small of his back, reminding me a bit too much of Lucifer’s demeanor.
Troy, however, was always the odd man out. Discomfort showed in his stance. Where Hunter and Grant lived for the affection, and Kase seemed comfortable with it even if he didn’t puff his chest, Troy looked as if he’d rather fight any of the other team if it meant he didn’t have to endure being the center of attention.
Then again, he wasn’t a fan of his other form, and a fight like this required it. No wonder he didn’t relish the activity—he had to show an entire group of people a part of himself he loathed.
“I wonder what they want,” Lucifer said when the teams filed out and the shimmering image appeared before us, this time of a slightly different but similar arena.
“What?”
“Your team. I know they came for you, but I wonder what they would request as their favor. The favor belongs to the team member who makes the killing blow on the final creature they face. My bet would be on Hunter, given he has done this before, but Kase killed the creature in the first round. What will they ask for?”
“How would I know?”
“Because I suspect nothing they do here is for themselves. Being here benefits them little.”
“If we can’t deal with the spirit mess, I think that involves everyone.”
“Not really,” he said.
“Pretty sure the whole living and afterlife bleeding into each other is a big scope problem.”
“They’re more adapted to such a world than mortals. In fact, they may prefer it.”
I shook my head. “No more humans, no more new immortals. And you keep proving you know more than you let on.”
“Everyone knows more than they let on. Anyone who shows their entire hand is a fool.”
“So help me already, would you? You’ve wasted my time, risked my life, and for what? For something you think I can do?”
He twisted to look at me despite the teams walking into view in the arena, as if the competition had little value to him. “Believe it or not, I don’t want the world to end, either. I rather like the living realm, and my power would be lessened were the barrier between the afterlife and the living world broken.”
“So tell me what I need to know already. Stop playing games.”
A screeching from the arena drew my attention back, and in the center was something I didn’t recognize. A woman creature, sort of, but with elongated arms and legs and pointed nails. White hair flowed around her in an almost ethereal way, as if it defied the laws of gravity despite appearing corporeal.
“What is that?” I asked.
“A banshee.”
I frowned, trying to recall if Gran had ever taught me anything about them.
Nothing.
Lucifer huffed, as if my lack of knowledge were an annoyance to him. “They scream when someone is about to die. Of course, they are often the cause of death. See, that scream? It is something that can be lethal to the living and the dead. Banshees exist in the living world, but their screams cross the barrier into ours.”
When she screeched again, I covered my ears even though I’d bet the barrier filtered some out.
Sure enough, two from blue team collapsed to their knees, and Troy shook his head, stumbling backward.
Grant waved his hand, his lips moving, before walking up to Kase.
Kase nodded, though I couldn’t hear what they said to each other, and opened his mouth. Grant ran his thumb across Kase’s fang, then use his bleeding finger to leave a smudge of red on each of Kase’s ears. He did the same to himself, to Hunter and Troy, and as soon as he did, as soon as he left that blood mark, the screaming didn’t seem to affect them anymore.
“This is why I dislike mages in my games,” Lucifer said, a clear pout to his voice. “They like to ruin my fun.”
Lucifer’s frustration was my gain, and I leaned forward to watch.
I understood the main issue. The teams needed to avoid killing the banshee before taking out the other team, or they would be locked into another round. However, the black team had the advantage here, due to Grant’s trick, which meant the blue team would be smart to try and kill the banshee and hope for a more favorable opponent the next round.
For that reason, the two still on their feet on the blue team rushed forward, toward the screeching woman at the center of the area. They moved slowly, as if the sound waves from her physically pushed them backward.
While Hunter and Troy weren’t harmed by the screaming, they didn’t move much faster. It seemed Grant’s spell could protect them from some of the damaging effect but not free them entirely.
Hunter and Troy went in opposite directions, with Troy headed for the two people on the ground and Hunter for the ones who went for the banshee.
“Agree to submit to me tonight,” Lucifer said.
“Excuse me?” The words startled me enough I turned my gaze from the arena to his.
“You heard me. I need to test something, and for that, I need your complete compliance. No fighting me, no hiding, no lying.”
“Why would I do that? It seems to me my team is doing fine, and if they’re the only survivors, they’re the winners, so they’ll get all the special treatment tonight. What reason would I have to do what you want?”
He lifted one finger, and the banshee’s scream intensified in time, as if he controlled it.
Hunter stumbled as he reached the two, shifting to his dragon form, the smoke spreading out and his scales catching the light. Still, even as he moved, it was clear the sound affected him. He pounced on the two, and I jerked my gaze away so I didn’t have to see what happened to them.
Troy fell to his knees, but his body changed, his back bowing, his bones doing that popping thing when he started to lose control.
Red leaked out of Grant’s ears, his face pulled into tight lines that screamed of pain.
“Do you really think I can’t make this far worse for them?”
Just as I was ready to think it was a coincidence, he lifted that finger hi
gher, raising the pitch of the scream, and this drove even Kase to the ground, his fangs bared.
Even still, Troy had the upper hand with the two members of the blue team. He twisted, his real form much larger and stronger than either. Plus, with the increase of the banshee screams, they were all but useless.
With one swipe, Troy ended both of the team members on the ground so only the black team remained, though not in great condition.
“See, you have nothing to bargain with,” I said. “My team already won.”
“Not yet they didn’t. To end the round, they have to kill the banshee.” He lifted his hand, and the screaming intensifying until a warm trickle down my neck said my ears bled as well.
And in the arena, it was worse. All four men were on the ground, twisting, and none could reach where the banshee stood at the center, her mouth open, that horrible sound making the area around her blurry.
“They won’t be able to survive this long,” Lucifer said. “Even with Grant’s trick, she can overcome it and end them all.”
“Then you won’t have a winner or my help.”
“But without your compliance, you’re useless to me anyway, and what do I care about a winner? I only set this up to give me leverage to use you as I please. Understand that I don’t care about the competition, about your precious immortals or about you. I play to win, mortal, and I always do.”
My stomach rolled at how easily he’d maneuvered me, and how he’d set it all up against me. Try as I might, I didn’t see another option. The banshee would kill them if I didn’t agree.
“Okay,” I whispered. “I agree.”
Lucifer dropped his hand, the banshee’s scream quieting.
It was Kase who rose first, who showed that astonishing speed as he rushed the woman, grasped her chin and snapped her neck.
Her body fell still to the ground, and the crowed exploded into applause.
“I will see you tonight,” Lucifer said before rising from his seat and walking away, as if I were no longer important.
Then again, I wasn’t.
He’d outsmarted me, and I had no idea what he wanted from me….
Chapter Nineteen
I was amazed that the guards heeded my request when I asked to see the black team. I had to assume Lucifer had already approved it. He probably knew that if he didn’t allow it, he’d have to deal with my complaining.