"Low is condemning an innocent man to Hell, Raphael," Mel said coldly. "What Luce and I do is really none of your business, nor your concern. Why are you here? If you've only come to lecture me on going to Hell and bringing Luce home with me, you may leave." Gracefully, she rose from Luce's lap and headed for the kitchen, smoothing her dress down along the way.
"I came here to tell you about Persi and the mess she's left us in. It has nothing to do with him." Raphael glared at Luce. "He's the one you should ask to leave."
Mel spooned tea into her teapot. "Luce is my guest and he's free to leave whenever he wishes, but he's here at my invitation now. My love, I think you should stay to hear what Raphael has to say."
"Why?" Raphael spat.
Mel poured a steady stream of boiling water over the mixture of leaves and flowers. "Because I need Luce to help me clean up Persi's mess. He's going to return to his old job as CEO of the HELL Corporation."
"WHAT?" the two men shouted together.
Luce recovered first from his shock. "Only if you're working there, too. I'm not going back to HELL without a small slice of Heaven. You can have the office across from mine and I'll make you coffee every morning."
Mel's smile lit up her whole face. "That sounds lovely. Of course I will, Luce."
Three
Mel carried her cup of tea to the armchair by the window and settled into the well-padded cushions. Luce clunked his cup on the coffee table and sprawled across the sofa, leaving Raphael the other armchair. He watched in fascination as the archangel dragged one of the dining chairs over and parked his backside on that instead. He sat stiff and silent, making Luce wonder if he was going to say anything at all or if he was just wasting their time.
"Raphael, didn't you come here to tell me about Persi?" Mel asked. "I mean, do you know who the last person was to see her before she disappeared?"
"Me," he said hoarsely, then cleared his throat. "Me. I was the last one to see her. We were discussing the dismantling of the demon corporation and their banishment back to Hell. Persephone worried about sending anyone back, because that would only strengthen this guy's army." He shot Luce a cold glare. "He was pining for you, she said, but he'd soon realise you wouldn't have feelings for the likes of him and take up arms against Heaven again. I told Persephone that she'd have some time, as the devil had managed to lure you into Hell and under some sort of spell that made you forget who and what he is." Raphael's eyes glittered. "She said –"
"Hang on," Luce interrupted. "You fed her a line of bullshit about how I've worked some sort of hocus pocus on Mel? I thought angels couldn't lie."
Raphael glared at him again. "I don't know how you did it, but there's no way Mel would give you the time of day without some sort of magic. Persephone said she'd find you and make it right. But instead, she disappeared." He dropped his gaze to the floor. "She was supposed to visit her mother in Heaven after our meeting, but she never arrived. Demeter said Persephone would never have forgotten – she's very close to her mother."
The same mother who'd tried to take a sword to me, Luce fumed.
"If he wasn't with you at the time, Mel, I'd have suspected him," Raphael continued. "After what he did to Persi last time –"
Luce jumped to his feet. "I didn't touch the little bitch! She's feeding lies to the lot of you. Say it to my face, angel. If you want to accuse me of crimes I didn't commit, we can take this all the way to Heaven's gates. Go on!" He advanced on the wide-eyed angel – or at least he tried to, but he couldn't seem to move.
Raphael rose. "Not so tough now, are you?" he taunted, yet when he tried to step forward, it looked like he'd run into an invisible wall.
"Enough," Mel said softly, her eyes darting from Raphael to Luce and back again. The edge of steel in her tone made it an order neither of them could disobey. And neither of them could move…
She was doing it. Luce realised a split second before Raphael did.
"Whatever you believe about Luce, you're mistaken," she said to Raphael. "Do you know anything else about Persi?"
"No," he said sullenly. "So I should go." He attempted to, but Mel's invisible grip still held him fast.
Luce grinned. "Now who's tough?"
Mel placed her hand on his chest. "Luce, please. The more polite you both are, the more smoothly this will go and the sooner it'll be over. Now, I want both of you to sit down, please."
Luce finally capitulated and, a moment later, Raphael followed.
"Better," Mel said. "So, I gather that the problem is that Persi's missing and no one's in charge of Hell. Yes?"
"No," Luce replied. "I think Lili and the other senior demons are in charge. The HELL Corporation could be run by a concussed monkey right now, for all I know. I only signed over the company to the nephilim girl."
Mel inclined her head. "Okay. So no one's in charge of the HELL Corporation and the best qualified person to replace her is the retired CEO – you, Luce. As we've already agreed, I'll assist. Raphael, if you find Persi, or if someone else does, you already said she's looking for me, so I want to know if you hear anything about her."
Raphael nodded, but the calculating look in his eyes showed that his mind was working overtime. "I'll give you regular updates about anything we hear to do with Persi."
"I also want a team of angels to assist me in the office, with some Exousiai, if George can spare any."
"Oh no, not bloody Powers!" Luce groaned. "Last time I ran into one of them, he pulled out a damn sword and tried to butcher me in the middle of the street. The last thing I need in HELL is a bunch of archaic warrior angels who think I have a target painted on my arse."
"Wearing pants might help fix that problem, Luce." Mel's eyes danced with laughter before she resumed in a more serious tone, "Exousiai are experts at dealing with demons, so I need some. I'm sorry. But Raphael can explain the terms – no drawing without provocation and they must stay away from you. I'll give you a list of who I want, Raphael."
Raphael nodded again. "Is that all?"
"No," Mel said slowly. "There's also the matter of the underwear you owe me. And a new shirt."
Luce smirked at Raphael, only to find the angel wore a similar expression. So who owed her underwear, then?
"Raphael, I was helping out the Agency when my clothing was damaged. I require replacements," Mel explained.
Luce sniggered.
"I’m not…not shopping for women's clothes!" he spluttered, flushing.
Mel shrugged. "Fine." She held out her hand. "Then give me your Agency credit card, please."
Raphael pulled out his wallet and handed over the card, glowering. "He better not be helping you."
A wicked smile spread across her face. "That's none of your business, Raphael. Now, if there's nothing else…keep me updated. I'll see you out."
When the door closed behind Raphael, Luce said, "I can help you. I know this shop that sells the sexiest –"
"Luce. Though I don't do it often, I'm familiar with clothes shopping. I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides, I have to do something on my lunch break and there are plenty of suitable stores in the city near the office." Mel's eyes met his. "Now, what were we planning on doing before we were interrupted?"
Luce grinned. "Let me refresh your memory."
The tale continues in
To Hell and Back
which you can get HERE.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean’s Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares tril
ogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.
Want to know more? You can follow Demelza on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or her website, Demelza Carlton’s Place at:
www.demelzacarlton.com
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Welcome to Hell Box Set: Paranormal Romantic Comedy Page 40