by Мишель Роуэн
Val swallowed hard. He wasn’t lying now. This was the truth and nothing but the truth. But it didn’t change anything. He could be as mad as he wanted to be about this situation—he couldn’t do anything about it.
“You need to let me out of here right now,” Nathaniel said, though his expression hadn’t gotten any friendlier. “You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re in way over your head, little angel. I have given you the opportunity to come with me and you need to realize that it’s for the best. Your best. My best. There is no room for argument. And there is no time for these games. None of this means—”
“Shut up.” His words filled her brain up so much that she couldn’t concentrate. It was like having every TV channel on at the same time with the volume turned up to maximum.
He didn’t say another word.
She began pacing back and forth between the sofa and the bookcase, all eight feet of it.
“Okay, Nathaniel, let’s get something straight. I don’t like you. But I’ve summoned a demon for a reason, and just because the demon I’ve ended up with is you doesn’t change my plans.”
He raised a dark eyebrow, but said nothing.
“I need you to help me find a demon named Julian. I believe you two know each other. He’s stolen something from a friend of mine. Something important. I need to get it back. This is nonnegotiable. There’s no time to waste. I want to leave immediately for wherever you, as a fellow demon, think he might have gone. Once I get the item back, I will release you. After that I don’t want to see you again. Ever. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”
He glared at her. Then nodded his head.
“And don’t even think about trying anything funny. This summoning spell binds you to me.”
She squeezed the crystal in her pocket tightly. “You have to obey me. And as we just proved a minute ago, you can’t lie to me.” The thought almost made her smile. “Got it?”
Another nod, this time slower and even less friendly than before.
“Now, Reggie.” Val pulled him off her shoulder so she could see his furry face. “It’s probably best if you stay here. When Claire wakes up you need to talk things through with her. You have to get her to reverse your spell.”
His little beady eyes got very wide. “Are you kidding me? I know her. I figure she’s got at least another two days before she feels open enough not to turn me into mincemeat. Besides coming with you gives me even more of a chance to prove to her that I’m not just a big loser.
That I’m actually brave and noble. And other crap like that. I’m coming with you guys.”
“No, you are certainly not coming with us.”
“Pleeeaaase?”
Val frowned and moved him closer so she could look him right in his little black eyes. “It’s easier this way. Trust me.”
“Pleeeaaase?” He tickled her with his whiskers that time, and she rubbed her face.
“You’d rather come with me to track down a demon who-knows-where, than stay here until your girlfriend wakes up?”
“Without question.”
Val studied the rat for a moment. He seemed very serious and sincere. Maybe it would be a good thing to take him along. She didn’t want to be alone with Nathaniel if she could help it.
Not that she was nervous about being one-on-one with the painfully gorgeous demon, giving him the access to now try to tempt her constantly without a chance for her to catch her breath.
Not that she’d ever give in to temptation, that is. But was that a good enough reason to put
Reggie in danger, too?
She glanced at the demon, then at the rat, and sighed.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
“Okay, you can come.”
“Hooray! I think.”
She turned to Nathaniel who was tapping his foot impatiently.
“Nathaniel, this is Reggie. He’s coming with us.”
“Hey, Nate,” Reggie said. “Is it okay if I call you Nate?”
Nathaniel crossed his arms and looked away.
“What’s with the silent treatment?” Val asked.
Nathaniel glanced at her and pointed to his mouth.
She was confused. “What?”
“Oh,” Reggie said. “You did tell him to shut up a minute ago. Since he’s compelled to obey you, I guess that’s what he’s doing. He can’t talk.”
Hmm, Val thought. I think I’m going to like this.
With a motion of her hand, she said, “You may talk again.”
Nathaniel gritted his teeth. “You are going to pay for this, Valerie. You have no idea how dearly.”
“Do you want out of that circle, or what?”
His jaw was clenched so tightly that it looked painful. “Yes.” The word was a long hiss.
“Promise me that you’ll do nothing to harm me or Reggie if I let you out.”
It was a struggle, but she finally heard a “Fine.”
“You have to promise me. Say the words.”
A deep breath now. “I promise that I will not harm you . . . or the rodent.”
“His name is Reggie.”
He rolled his eyes. “Or Reggie.”
“Now you may have noticed that Reggie is a rat. I know that you demons aren’t particularly fond of them. Is that going to be a problem?”
“I’ll manage.”
Val nodded. “Okay. You may exit the circle now.”
She tried to look confident, but as soon as he stepped out of the circle she took an immediate step back. Claire chose that moment to roll over, her incessant snoring punctuated by a loud shout of what possibly could have been the words Fry vat!
The sound of her voice made Val jump. Her nerves hadn’t been very good lately. She wondered if they’d ever be good again.
Nathaniel smoothly moved toward her until he was only an arm’s length away. Val expected him to reach out and choke her to death, something violent. Anything. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. But by the look on his face he probably wanted to.
“Julian,” he said. “And you’re aware of the fact that we know each other how?”
“He told me. You two are buddies?”
“Definitely not.”
He sure was tall. Val suddenly wished she was wearing heels. But for demon-tracking, she supposed her secondhand Reeboks were the best choice.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, little angel? I am not so easily deterred from my goals, you know. And being that my goal is .
. . you . . . this situation is perhaps not as dire as I’d originally thought. Perhaps I should be thanking you.”
“Don’t make me tell you to shut up again.”
“We have so much in common that it’s truly hard to believe. Perhaps that’s why I was assigned to you.”
She frowned. “We have nothing in common, demon-boy. Except for finding Julian. And if that means we have to go to Hell to find him, then that’s what we’re going to have to do. So let’s cut with the chitter chatter, shall we?”
He began to laugh then, a rich hearty sound that moved through her body like warm water. It was a good laugh, nothing overtly evil about it. Other than the fact that she knew he was laughing at her for some reason. She didn’t like it when people laughed at her. Even when they had good reason.
“What’s so funny?”
He shook his head as he tried to get his laughter under control. “You think I’m going to take you to Hell?”
“Isn’t that exactly what you’ve been trying to do since we first met?”
“That’s different. That is on my terms, not yours.”
She frowned deeper. “But I command you to.”
“You can command me all you like. It’s simply not possible.”
“Why not? Are you lying to me right now?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not lying. It’s not possible for a human to enter Hell.”
“There has to be a way.” She hated how weak her voice soun
ded.
“There is a way. You must first give yourself over to me, body and soul. And that requires you to agree to do so freely”—he stepped closer—“and completely. And utterly without question.” He grinned and cocked his head to the side. “My original offer is still up for grabs.”
Stop staring into his pretty eyes, she told herself. Demon. Capital D. Demon.
She finally tore her gaze away from him. “Not going to happen. Take two steps away from me this instant.”
He did what he was told and looked annoyed with himself. “That’s not fair.”
“Is there another way? How do we find Julian without going to Hell? Isn’t that where demons are? Tell me. Is there another way?”
“Yes,” he said, then looked disgusted. “I am hating this.”
“Too bad. What’s the other way to find Julian? Tell me right now.”
“Most demons rarely go to the head office. That’s what we call Hell.” His smile returned.
“Julian rarely goes there unless he’s summoned, or so I’ve heard. He’s not big on dealing with authority figures. Hurts his inflated ego to know he’s just a peon.”
“Then where would he go?”
“The Underworld.”
Val blinked. “The movie with Kate Beckinsale?”
“No. The Underworld. That which lies just below the surface of this dimension. The buffer zone between the earthly realm and Hell itself. Most demons call it home, including myself, for whatever that’s worth. I know for a fact that Julian spends a great deal of time there while he plots his little self-important schemes.”
“The Underworld,” she repeated.
“That’s right.”
“What do you think, Reggie?” Val pulled him off her shoulder again to look at him directly.
“Ouch! Would you stop squeezing me like that? What do you think I am, a Beanie Baby?”
“Sorry, it’s just that my neck was starting to hurt.”
“Then don’t look at me. Just talk. I can hear you just fine since I’m sitting right next to your mouth. I had my appendix out less than a year ago. Geez, woman.”
“Sorry, okay? Now tell me what you think about what Nathaniel just said.”
“The Underworld?”
“Yeah.”
“Not a fan of Scott Speedman. Kate Beckinsale’s pretty hot, though.”
Val squeezed him. On purpose this time.
“Ow! Okay, okay. I don’t know what you want me to say. If we have to go to the Underworld, then we go to the Underworld. In my book, it sounds a hell of a lot better than Hell. Hey, I just said ‘hell’ twice in one sentence.”
Claire turned over again, clutching the grimoire like a teddy bear to her purple-clad chest.
“Extra mayo, no lettuce,” she announced, then punctuated the statement with a honking snore.
Val looked at Nathaniel. “Then let’s not waste any more time. Let’s go.”
He sighed. “When?”
“Right now. How do we get there? I don’t have any more money for public transportation today. Well, maybe I could piece together bus fare for me, but that’s it. You’ll have to come up with your share. I think Reggie can probably ride for free.”
“Finally,” Reggie said. “A plus to being a rat.”
Nathaniel eyed the rodent, then looked at Val. “We don’t have to take the bus.”
“Then how do we get there? Walk?”
“Didn’t they teach you anything in Heaven?” He sighed. “I said before that the Underworld is just below the surface of this dimension. All I need to do is open a doorway.”
Val waited, but he didn’t make any move to do so. “So go ahead and open a doorway.”
“Patience, Valerie. Perhaps that’s why they threw you so unceremoniously out of Heaven in the first place, don’t you think? Patience is one of the seven virtues, after all.”
“Nope,” Reggie piped up. “She got kicked out for pride. And I’m not talking about the colorful parade.”
She pinched his tail, which was met with a high-pitched squeak of pain. “Open the doorway, now. That was a command.”
Nathaniel’s breathing became labored as he stared at her, the amusement leaving his expression as flames filled his eyes. He was trying to fight her control over him, but it was a losing battle.
“Pride,” he said after a moment. “I’ll have to add that piece of info to your file.”
“You do that. Now the doorway?”
“Very well.” He turned and surveyed the room. “This will do, I suppose.”
He was looking at Claire’s massive bookcase, studying the shelves for a moment, then took a step back. Val saw his broad shoulders raise up as he took a deep breath. His hands moved at his sides, palms up, muscles tense, shaking with the effort of whatever he was doing.
She felt the warm air again, but this time it was different. It wasn’t swirling, it wasn’t going straight up. It was moving toward the bookcase, toward Nathaniel himself.
A pinprick of light appeared on the spine of one of the books. The light grew in size and intensity until it became a moving blue vortex. It narrowed and lengthened, and finally was as tall as Nathaniel was, and slightly wider. Val then watched his shoulders relax, his breathing slow down to normal. He turned to look at her, and she could see a thin film of perspiration on his forehead. He looked weary and, strangely, very human. Opening interdimensional doorways must have been very hard work, she thought.
He turned to the side so she had a full view of the dimensional doorway—a large white light with swirling blue edges. She couldn’t see anything on the other side that would give her a clue where it led, which meant she had to trust Nathaniel. Trust that Claire was right about his inability to lie to her. Trust that this wasn’t a one-way ticket to down below. The head office.
Hell. Whatever.
He grinned wearily and gestured toward the light. “Ladies first.”
Val hesitated, but only for a moment. She took a deep breath and placed Reggie firmly back on her shoulder. He entangled a paw into her already tangled hair so he’d have something to hang on to.
She was going to get the key back.
She was going to help send Barlow back to Heaven. Then she was going to do the same for herself and all of this would simply become an unpleasant memory. It would all be worth it in the end.
Another deep breath and she forced herself to walk toward the light, stopping when she got to Nathaniel. She reached out to him.
“Hold my hand?”
He frowned, hesitated, but finally took her hand in his.
They walked through the doorway. The light filled Val’s vision until she could see nothing else. Claire left them with a last call of, “Sesame seed bun!”
Val hoped that was a good omen.
Chapter Ten
WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD.
That’s what the sign said. It was the first thing Val saw as she stepped through the portal and her eyes adjusted to the bright blue sky.
Blue sky?
“This is so weird,” Reggie said, voicing her thoughts. “I was expecting, I don’t know, gloom and doom. Maybe drippy, slimy rock. This is not gloomy or drippy.”
This Underworld bore a striking resemblance to Miami Beach. At least the one Val had seen the other day on an afternoon rerun marathon of Miami Vice.
She turned around to look at the portal, but it had shrunk and disappeared immediately. They were standing in the middle of a paved street and had to step quickly onto the sidewalk when a car whizzed by. It looked exactly like a red Porsche.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” she asked Nathaniel who’d stepped away from her by a good ten feet and lit up a cigarette.
He pointed at the sign. “What do you think?”
She frowned. “I can read. But I just don’t believe it. Maybe the palm trees threw me a bit.
And the bright shining sun in the sky. And the beach over there.”
“If you like, I can return us to where we cam
e from. Just say the word.” He smiled, but it looked forced. “Perhaps somewhere a little more . . . private?”
“No. We’re staying. It’s just . . . what’s the word I’m looking for here?”
“It’s wacky?” Reggie suggested. “Kooky? Bizarre? Not the normal way of things?”
“Any of those would do nicely.”
“Is that actually an ocean?” Reggie raised a paw to point.
Val looked. Past a row of colorful buildings she could see a sliver of shining blue water. And lots and lots of tall palm trees. There were a few multicolored umbrellas on the beach for the gathered sunbathers. And was that a . . . a hotdog cart?
“Definitely wacky.”
“Kate Beckinsale would fit in great in this Underworld,” Reggie said. “I’m thinking black bikini, Gucci sunglasses . . . me and a bottle of tanning lotion—”
“Enough already.”
“They should change the name, though. It’s more like Sunnyworld. Or Tanline-land. Yeah, that works.”
“I’m glad somebody’s having a good time so far.”
Nathaniel flicked his half-smoked cigarette against a nearby parked car. “Valerie, this is pointless. You need to release me from this ridiculous spell. Do so and I will help you find
Julian of my own free will. You know I’d do anything to help you out.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m quite serious,” he approached her and ran a warm hand down her back, she turned to look into his gray-blue eyes and immediately felt pleasantly woozy. He smiled. “Then we can discuss what’s really important.”
“Oh,” she said, but it came out a little breathy. “And what’s that?”
He stroked the blond hair off her face. “You and me.”
She put a hand against his chest to push him away but she felt like she couldn’t move.
Suddenly it was just the two of them, the only ones in the universe, and all she wanted to do was—
“Um, Val?” Reggie said into her ear. “What are you doing?”
She pulled her hand away from the demon as if she’d been burned. Then scowled deeply.