Sealed by Fire: The Nature Hunters Academy Series, Book 2

by Quinn Loftis

  Once inside, Shelly couldn’t help but smile at the flurry of activity. Soldiers moved about in jerkins, at least that’s what she thought they were called, bearing the crest of their king. The men carried long swords at their sides. They must not have been readying for a battle because they wore no armor or chain mail.

  There were women dressed in long dresses—some nicer than others—scurrying about. A few carried baskets of food, and others folded heavy strips of cloth.

  Chickens pecked about, and horses were being led to and fro. It was incredible, like stepping into a history book she’d been forced to read—or more often, stare at in a stupor—in school. This was so much better than looking at a single picture surrounded by hundreds of words. If schools had the ability to take students to the past, their test scores in history would skyrocket.

  “This is amazing,” she said in awe.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Osiris replied. Though she wasn’t looking at him, she could hear the smile in his voice.

  They walked deeper into the castle grounds, and Shelly tried to take everything in so she could tell Tara every detail. Her BFFF was going to be so jealous.

  Shelly had no idea how long they walked around, but after a while, Osiris took her hand again. “I have more to show you,” he said, and then did his disappearing act.

  When Shelly opened her eyes, they were surrounded by sand and people who looked like they were dressed up in ancient Egyptian garb. No shirts, linen kilts, and sandals with a cord that wrapped up their calves.

  Shelly and Osiris were standing on something made of stone that elevated them above the people moving below them. When she gazed out farther in front of them, her eyes widened as she saw two huge pyramids. “Holy, Pharoah babies,” she muttered. Then she jerked around to look at him. “Why would you bring me here?” Shelly figured this would be the last place he would bring her, considering it would make her think of Ra.

  “He may be of the Egyptian bloodline, but he cannot offer you more than words. I can give the entire experience. If you want to sleep in a Pharaoh's lush bed, then you will feel the softest goose-down pillow beneath your head. If you want to bathe in the Nile with the queen of Egypt, then the water will cascade around your fair skin. I will give you so many incredible experiences, memories that will fill you with indescribable joy.”

  Shelly was surprised at the amount of desperation she heard in his voice, as if he actually wanted to give her the world. He didn’t sound like this display was merely due to a competition he wanted to win. Could the lord of the underworld really want something more than the torturing of souls for all eternity?

  He took her hand again, and they were off to somewhere new. This time, she heard the sounds of a city before she opened her eyes. When she finally did, her mouth dropped open, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if it had hit the ground.

  “What the…” she muttered as she looked at the hovering somethings all around her. Cars? Maybe they were cars. But they were shaped differently, like ovals with a pointy nose on them. She rubbed her eyes and then looked again. They were still there. “We aren’t in Kansas anymore,” she breathed out.

  “This is New York City. The year is 4042 AD,” he said.

  The buildings were tall—taller than anything she’d ever seen. Some were oddly shaped,and some didn’t even touch the ground. they were somehow suspended in the air. “Two thousand and twenty-two years in the future,” she said in awe. So wars hadn’t brought the world to a massive fall in technology, the zombie apocalypse hadn’t come to pass, and global warming hadn’t caused the polar ice caps to flood all of the continents. Go figure. “So everyone was wrong?” she asked, not knowing if he would understand her question.

  “There will always be war,” Osiris said, obviously having picked up on her line of thought. “The earth is always changing, and it is not for man to understand but to simply move along with it.”

  “That was sort of profound,” she said as she looked at the marvelous inventions before her.

  “I am ageless with incredible knowledge,” he said dryly. “I can say more than ‘burn baby burn’.”

  Shelly couldn’t help but laugh. “Did you seriously just make a joke about your job?”

  “All work and no play makes the devil a cranky demon,” he said with a smile that showed his pointy teeth.

  Shelly shivered. Those weren’t sexy. Not. At. All. “What else is new in this millennium?”

  Osiris motioned for her to follow, and they walked into a building with “Lowry’s” written in script across the front window. Inside, she saw walls lined with mirrors. Within the mirrors were images of clothing in various styles and colors. Shelly watched as a woman walked in front of one of the mirrors and stood there staring at the outfit pictured. Suddenly, the reflection showed the woman fully dressed in the outfit, even though the woman still wore her original clothing. “How the…” Shelly mumbled as she watched the woman turn this way and that, looking at herself from different angles. “Man, that seriously speeds up the shopping process,” Shelly said.

  Then the woman took a card from her purse and touched it to the glass, which responded by sliding open. The same outfit hung on a metal arm, which extended on its own accord. She took the outfit, and the arm retracted as the glass slid closed. Shelly stared, her mouth hanging open again, as the woman walked off with the clothes draped across her arm. “That is freaking awesome.”

  Osiris chuckled. “As they say, ‘convenience is the mother of invention’.”

  “I think it’s ‘necessity is the mother of invention’,” said Shelly.

  “No, humans achieved far more than they actually needed long ago. Now, people only innovate to obtain the things they want quicker. It’s as if they think they will somehow add time to their lives if they can consume faster. As if waiting on things somehow shortens their lifespan.”

  “It sort of feels that way,” Shelly said. “When you wait in line for something, you feel like you could be doing something more important. When you’re sitting in a car to get somewhere and it’s taking forever, all you can think about is how if you could just get there faster, you’d have more time to experience whatever it was you were trying to get to. Sometimes, even sleep feels like it’s robbing years of your life. It’s just so fleeting.”

  Osiris stared at her in awe and want. It was weird. She wanted him to stop, like, yesterday. “What?” she finally snapped, growing uncomfortable.

  “You are so, so young to have that kind of insight. Again, you make me see why you’d be the perfect consort for me.”

  Shelly scrunched her nose up. “Consort? Isn’t that a term for a glorified hoe?”

  “A glorified garden tool?” he asked slowly as if he were reconsidering her supposed insight.

  Shelly pinched the bridge of her nose. “Hoe. It’s a derogatory term for what you probably call a concubine.”

  “Oh, you mean a woman who exists solely for a man’s pleasure.” He said it so matter-of-factly, as if some women were simply destined for that fate, as if it were simply their lot in life.

  “No woman should ever be designated as someone who is simply the purpose for a man’s pleasure,” she bit out through her teeth.

  He looked bored as he responded. “But that’s what a woman is, pleasurable. Her body was literally designed to give a man pleasure, both visually and physically. Why is that a bad thing?”

  Did he seriously just say that? Shelly once again found herself folding her arms in front of her chest as she tapped her toe. “Because a woman is a human being, the same as a man. She has just as much worth in this world as he does. She has just as much to offer. They are different and have different strengths, but that doesn’t make one more valuable than the other.”

  “I didn’t say it did. The same could be said of a man,” Osiris challenged. “A man was built to perfectly pleasure a woman.”

  Shelly held up a hand. “Not visually. Their junk is just weird.”

  Osiris fro
wned. “You’ve been with a man?”

  “WHAT? NO!”

  “Then how would you know what one looks like?”

  “Health class, dude. They teach us the basics so we don’t go around making babies like rabbits,” Shelly said and realized just how weird the conversation was. “The point is, that a man and a woman weren’t created for the sole purpose of bringing the other pleasure, and can we quit talking about this? It’s just not right. Like freaking having the talk with my parents.”

  “I’m not your sire,” he said with so much vehemence she thought he might vomit.

  “So, how do you think the weather in hell is these days? Any global cooling going on down there?” Shelly said as she rocked back on her heels.

  Osiris frowned at her. “Are all human females as strange as you?”

  “Nope. You’d be much better off tossing me back in the ocean and finding a fish that’s a little more normal.”

  He took her hand without a word, and they left the future. When they reappeared, they were sitting in the balcony of a theatre. The stage was empty. The place was lit by burning lanterns lining the walls. Shelly looked down and realized she was wearing a silk dress and corset. She looked around and saw that all of the women were dressed similarly, and the men wore finely tailored dark, three-piece suits.

  She turned her attention to the stage. A woman stepped out and began to sing. It was a beautiful opera in a language she didn’t understand.

  She looked over at Osiris, who was also dressed in a suit, looking very debonair, and she’d dare say even sexier than he had before. “You brought me to the opera?”

  “Not just any opera,” he said. “The very first. The year is 1597 AD.”

  She turned her attention back to the stage and leaned forward, listening to the haunting sound of the woman’s voice. By the end of it, Shelly felt tears on her face. The pain in the woman’s voice was so apparent, so sad, that Shelly could feel it in her own heart. She felt Osiris’s eyes on her, and then his fingers were tucking her hair behind her ear.

  “What’s it like to feel as deeply as you do?” he asked her quietly. His hand rested on her shoulder. They were no longer in the theatre but suddenly in a living room, decorated with what could only be called decadent fabrics and fixtures. The furniture was made of black velvet, and lush gold curtains hung from walls that looked to be at least twelve feet tall. Red rugs on the floor were thick and beautiful, bearing golden threads woven into intricate designs. Large pictures hung upon the wall. Upon closer inspection, Shelly realized they portrayed a battle, but not one fought between men. These were winged beings. Some looked like men, and others were grotesque and evil. Demons, she had to surmise.

  “Where are we?” she asked, forgetting the question he’d asked her. She felt a breeze on her skin and looked down. She wore a long, black silk nightgown. A flowing robe was draped around her. Shelly grabbed the sides of the robe and yanked it closed, finding the ties to hold it together and tying them tightly. She snapped her eyes to his. “Really?” She growled.

  He shrugged unexpectedly. “You’re beautiful. You should be clothed in garments that accentuate that beauty. We’re in a place I like to come when I tire of the souls. It is still in the underworld, though.”

  “Oh, okay then. And for the record, I don’t wear sleep clothing in front of strange men.”

  “But you wear it in front of men who are not strange?” he asked.

  “Don’t twist my words,” she spat. “You know what I mean.”

  Osiris walked over to and trailed a finger across her cheek. “So much passion in you. Everything you feel, even your irritation, is intense. How do you fit it inside of you without exploding?”

  “Believe me, it’s not easy, especially around infuriating people like you. It’s like you were created to push buttons.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Oh, right,” she said sheepishly. “You’re Lucifer. It’s not like you’re meant to create warm fuzzies.”

  “I am what I am,” he said as he dropped his hand.

  He sounded so sad and it confused Shelly. She’d never considered that the ruler of hell could have feelings other than hate. Isn’t that what he did? Hate the human race, hate anything good and pure? Hate, hate, hate?

  “Why are you mumbling the word hate? Have I broken you?” Osiris asked.

  She shook her head. “Sorry. Sometimes I don’t realize I’m talking out loud.”

  “Can we sit?” he asked and motioned to the black couch.

  It looked so comfortable that Shelly wasn’t sure she wouldn’t fall asleep. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how tired she was. “How long have we been out hopping through history?”

  Osiris sat down next to her, a little closer than she was comfortable with. “We have two hours left.”

  “What?” she asked, shocked at his answer.

  “Time moves differently when you’re sifting through it.”

  “Sifting,” Shelly said. “That’s fitting. And no wonder I’m tired. I’ve been awake for two days straight.”

  Osiris snapped his fingers and a cup appeared. “Here, drink this. It will help.”

  “What is it? Hell’s version of an energy drink?” She took the cup and sniffed it. “Wait,” she said, pausing before she could drink it. “This isn’t like the fae thing, is it? Like don’t drink or eat anything in Faerie? Does that principle apply to hell, too?”

  Osiris looked confused again.

  “You need to read more,” she said.

  “It’s safe to drink,” he finally answered. “I wouldn’t give you something that would harm you. That would defeat the purpose of trying to woo you.”

  She snorted. “That rhymed.” Then frowned. “Fair warning. I get goofy when I’m tired.”

  “Noted,” he said as he stared at her.

  Shelly tried not to fidget under his gaze, but it was awkward as all get out. “What’s it like to be you?” she asked out of nowhere because she oftentimes had no control over her mouth. She looked at him, seeing the surprise on his face.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you feel anything? I mean, other than disdain?”

  Osiris’s brow drew low over his eyes. “I feel something when I look at you,” he said. “It’s not disdain.”

  “What is it?” She shifted on the couch, turning toward him.

  “Jealousy,” he said without any anger in his voice. “I’m jealous that you can feel so much. I look at you and see the passion in your eyes for everything. I don’t feel passion for anything other than the suffering of those who end up here.”

  “Why do you feel passion for that?” Shelly asked, genuinely curious.

  “I want them to suffer.”

  “But why?” she pressed.

  “Because He loves them.”

  “He?”

  “God. The one who created the human race. He loves you like He loves nothing else, not even the other beings He created.” The words came out with more passion than she’d seen the entire time she’d been with him. His eyes were filled with barely contained rage.

  Shelly’s heart hurt for the emotion she saw in Osiris’s eyes. “Do you want me to suffer?”

  His eyes snapped to hers. “No. I want you to feel passion for me. I’m a selfish creature, Shelly Smith. I want you for myself. I want everything you are focused only on me.”

  Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. She didn’t know how to respond. “Could you offer me the same?” she asked.

  “I cannot,” he said as he stood suddenly. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. His hand brushed against her cheek, and he stared into her eyes. “There's nothing good in me, little one. No matter how humans portray me in their stories, their movies, their tales. I am exactly what I am, and that is the opposite of anything good. I can offer you pleasure as you’ve never known. I can offer you the world at your fingertips. I can give you anything your heart desires.”

  Shelly felt a tear run d
own her cheek. She could see the darkness in him. It was complete, but she wanted to see a glimpse of light, no matter how small. She wanted to see that he wasn’t completely beyond hope. “None of that is what my heart desires,” she said softly. “It never would be.”

  Osiris’s jaw clenched so tightly she wondered how his teeth didn’t shatter in his mouth. “It’s time.” He snapped his fingers, and Ra appeared on the other side of the couch.

  Ra looked at her, his eyes roving as if he were making sure she was uninjured. His eyes narrowed when they got to her face and no doubt saw the tears. “Are you all right?” he asked, his voice as smooth and calm as ever despite the concern filling his eyes.

  She nodded. But she couldn’t speak, not yet. Maybe she shouldn’t have been sad, but she was. She didn’t want Osiris, but she wanted there to be a chance for him to be something other than what he was.

  “Choose,” Osiris said, practically growling as he stepped away from her.

  Shelly didn’t hesitate as she met Ra’s eyes. “I choose Ra.”

  “So be it,” Osiris snapped.

  Shelly looked at him and thought she saw a glimpse of hurt in his eyes, but it was gone so fast she wondered if she’d imagined it.

  Ra walked over to Shelly and stepped slightly in front of her as if to shield her from the lord of the underworld.

  “I have agreed to let her choose and I have,” Osiris said. “But for you to leave the underworld, there must be payment.”

  “What is your price?” Ra asked.

  “Your soul.”

  “That would nullify anything I might do to change my fate,” Ra said.

  “Correct,” Osiris said. “Your place will be with your ancestors regardless of your promises or sacrifice.”

  Shelly sucked in a sharp breath. She stepped around Ra. “No.”

  “Shelly,” Ra warned.

  “NO! I won’t let you give your soul to him for me, Ra. I won’t let you throw away your chance at avoiding this place for eternity. It’s not happening so just forget it. You can have mine.”