Hell to Pay (Blood for Soul Book 1)

by Alvin Atwater

  When we were outside the Secure Corps building, a thought dawned upon me.

  “Amony, why are you not dressed for the occasion?” I said, taking notice of her business attire: skirt and blouse, as if she was secretary of the year. “I’m pretty sure you’re not here to teach us how to sit at an office desk all day and drink coffee.”

  “Supervising,” she said. “I give you guys jobs, and pay you to do them. If I join and die, how will you get paid?” I shrugged and let her off without further comment. “All right, I want all you to split into teams. Epex and Elly, Sin and Devante.”

  Devante grinned. “Team Virgin versus Team Stud.”

  Sin laughed, as I felt Elly’s blush glow hotter than mine. “Are you serious? I mean I give Epex a pass, his nut sack has been fried for the past eight years. But Elly, a succubus.”

  “Fuck you!” Elly barked.

  “If you want, I can make you a wom—I’m only kidding,” Sin said as he raised two hands in surrender to Amony’s glare.

  “You don’t have to be such assholes.” Elly folded her arms.

  “Not assholes. More liked baffled buffoons,” Sin said.

  “If you horn-dogs are done harassing your co-worker, we can get down to some practice,” Amony said.

  “Horn-dogs, huh?” I said, giving her a look.

  “Don’t you start,” Amony said. “Both teams give yourselves about ten to twenty feet of room. You’re going spar.”

  “Is it okay for us to be doing this out here in the open?” I said.

  “No one will see. Trust in my wards a bit.”

  We took our places. Remember when Sin kicked my ass the last time we fought? Well, rest assured, I refuse to let it happen again. Seriously, Amelia’s training nearly possessed me as I entered the fray.

  Team work wasn’t out of her lessons. I let myself be an example to Elly as I took on my own opponent, but assisted her whenever she nearly went overboard. The feisty demoness should remember to not accidentally kill her allies.

  Devante and Sin were incredibly tough. Eventually, Devante and Elly ended up watching as Sin and I duked it out one on one. We both knew it was going to come to this. A score left unsettled. Amony reluctantly allowed it.

  I dashed for the demi-devil, starting the new fray with the first swing. He blocked, aimed a finger at me, and hit me with three shots of pure force. I staggered, but remained standing.

  Sadly, that was all the time Sin needed as he was on me, ruthlessly. I hopped on the defenses, barely blocking. He continued, relentlessly. Suddenly, he kicked me to the ground. I rolled over, hopped up, and bashed him with my own force. Sadly, my second and third attempts at force didn’t reach him.

  I had no intention of letting this be a repeat of last time. Among the things that Amelia had taught me, losing twice wasn’t one of them. Being that he had fought alongside me for a bit, Sin probably could predict some of my moves. Even so, I had a few tricks that not even he knew of. I charged emotion.

  Sexual desire.

  Emotion-based moves wouldn’t work against determined enemies very well but in a setting like this—one that was not life or death, I’d have a bit of fun. I funneled the power into Ruin by focusing on it. It shimmered in response.

  Sin was a split second from bringing the fray back to me. I ducked and dodged then following Amelia’s training, pivoted in a way that put me behind him. Technically, I would have won.

  Against an ordinary opponent. Sin immediately vanished—a forward movement so quick that I almost mistook it for quick-ascending.

  But that’s what I wanted. I had a present for all of them.

  I stabbed Ruin into the ground and released the energy into an invisible explosion. Everyone but me became smitten with wanting to bang anything that had two legs, Sin included.

  The hungry looks in their eyes made me laugh so hard, my side ached. Sin jumped Amony and was seconds from ripping her clothing off. I pulled Ruin from the ground just in time, undoing the effects.

  Devante hadn’t moved but Elly was right behind me, her hand on my shoulder.

  Everyone looked at her with widened eyes. She blushed.

  “Don’t look at me, it was his stupid spell!” she snarled, punching me in the back.

  “Ow, but I deserved that,” I said, with a laugh.

  “What the hell did you do?” Devante said, his voice in awe.

  “Turned all of you into horny fucks.”

  Now he was laughing. “Are you serious?” Devante said. “That power, it could be so useful at—”

  “No!” Elly said. “Epex, promise me you won’t do that again.”

  “Jeez, calm down, it was just a prank. I wouldn’t let you embarrass yourselves any more than you already have.”

  “I know, but still promise me,” Elly said. “It’s a disgusting power.”

  “All right, whenever I use emotion, I won’t make people want to fuck each other. Happy now?”

  “I’m guessing you believe in fair and square,” Devante said to Elly and then laughed.

  “Oh fuck off. You’ll stick your thing in anything.”

  “Thing?” Devante’s mocking grin only widened.

  “Knock it off!” Amony said. “Acting like a bunch of children. Training is done for today. Meet here in the morning, well rested and ready to talk Sunset.”

  We all nodded.

  “You got it, boss,” I said. Then turned to Elly. “If you still want to fuck my brains out, the offer is still good.”

  She punched me in the gut. I let out a wheezing laugh. Man, I could never tire of that blush.

  “Don’t be an ass, virgin boy,” she said. “How about making up for your stupidity? Lunch, on you.”

  My smile melted away, but I let her off. “Fine, what do you want?”

  “Italian. And I know the perfect place.”

  Let me say that Italian food is amazing. I never thought rich sauces, pasta, and “true” pizza could send my taste buds to a heaven that left fast food far behind in the dust. Well, to be honest, I had never had Italian but holy fuck, did I not know what I was missing. My wallet wheezed in agony. Poor guy, paying for this meal.

  I glanced at Elly whose cheerful expression flourished as she took another bite out of her food. Even an earthborn demoness could enjoy life without being hunted. Long wavy brown hair, bright hazel eyes, and a rack that would make any man take at least three looks. I found it hard to believe that succubae would even consider virginity. Biology or not, predators are still predators, right?

  “Do you want to go to the bar?” Elly said after I paid the horrendous bill. We were sitting on a bench, underneath a dim streetlight while waiting for the cab. I considered the brilliant idea for a moment then looked at the time. A beer or twelve sounded great. Of course it did.

  “Not tonight,” I said.

  “Goddess troubles?” Elly said with a wink.

  “No,” I said. “I’m hoping to be sober for meeting in the morning, believe it or not.”

  Elly chuckled. “If you say so.” She knuckle-tapped my shoulder.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  I woke up early, and I mean really fucking early—six in the morning early. My goddess was there, cuddled against me, asleep. My goddess…I shook away such silly thoughts. This isn’t Romeo and Juliet. Sappy thoughts are for the doomed.

  More doomed than I am. I did feel relief at her presence, because when I had arrived last night, the house was empty. Amelia and her friends were normally back by ten. I did receive one text from her in response to mine: be back later aka BBL. If humans hadn’t created Google, I’d be fucked when it comes to figuring out some of their pseudo-language.

  That text stopped me from investigating. Of course, if I felt any wrongness to it or any presence that shouldn’t be in the city, I would’ve gone after them. But they’re adults and having a girls’ night out was a thing.

  As I sat up, I felt a hand grab my arm. I peered into bright green eyes. Before I knew it, I kissed her. Amelia returned t
he passion and we made out for a few minutes. She tried to take it to the next step but my rationality returned along with my knowledge of goddess biology. Sex with Amelia would only be for baby-making, sadly. She would have it no other way. Yeah, shitty teachings from Paradise Realm.

  Well, actually there was an exception. Marriage. She knew it too. I could have her whenever I wanted, when I wanted, if I tied that knot. A Paradise Realm marriage was eternal, unbreakable. And fucking pointless. The pre-determined love of destiny thing is basically an arranged marriage.

  “If I didn’t have class, I’d join your meeting,” Amelia said after breakfast. I made sure to sheath Ruin and strap it to my side. Amelia cast some kind of glamour that hid it from humans. Goddess powers, figures. “I’d like to hear more of Amony’s intel on Sunset.”

  “That goes without saying,” I said. “I’d rather this city remained Fallen-free.”

  The last thing we needed was a nightmare worse than the hunters. They’ve been known to give even powerful heavenly-beings trouble. And there were hundreds of rumors about them. I started toward the door but Amelia cleared her throat loudly. “What?”

  She sighed. “Goodbye kiss.”

  Her friends walked in with grins just as I kissed her. I flushed at the sight of them.

  “Well, well, I see you’ve finally awakened the man within, Amelia,” Amanda said. Jade and Keisha laughed.

  “Well, look at the time, love to chat but I’m out,” I said as I hauled ass out of there. The last thing I heard was Jade’s voice.

  “I told you. He loves you even more than you love him.”

  Nosey humans, goddammit. Maybe it’s just a female thing. When it came to TV or movie romance, I swear they had a saying about everything.

  It was a cloudy morning with slight breezes every now and then. Traffic varied from moderate to heavy. Driving in the city can be a pain in the ass, but if my job wasn’t an easy walk, I’d probably consider a car.

  Well, ascending would do. Too bad humanity isn’t ready for such a sight.

  Everyone seemed to be in a light mood, as we waited for Amony to show up. There didn’t seem to be a day where she didn’t come in late, but hey, the boss could do whatever the fuck she wanted as long as the employees were paid. Am I right or am I right? She eventually dragged her ass in, coffee mug in hand, tired face.

  “Devante, give them the latest findings on Sunset I sent you last night,” she said with a yawn, before lazily plopping onto her chair.

  “Sure, I guess though if it weren’t for Elly, we wouldn’t have obtained this much information,” he said.

  “No thanks necessary,” Elly said smugly. “Just keep paying.”

  I shook my head slightly and chuckled.

  Devante’s care-free expression changed into seriousness as he began his brief. “The leader is a devil that goes by the Drifter.”

  “Lame,” I said.

  “Yeah, I know,” Devante said. “He’s basically the godfather in a mafia made of demons and a few other creatures.”

  “There are other creatures?” I said. “You know, besides witches and sorcerers?”

  The amusement didn’t leave Devante’s face. “I would think you, of all people, would know.”

  “No shit. I’m kidding you, jackass,” I said. “What other creatures?”

  “Fucked if I know, virgin princess,” he answered, wiping away any sense of smugness that showed on my face. “Shit in the myths, I’m guessing.”

  I sighed. “We’ll just keep them all in the demon categories.”

  “Okay, can I finish?”

  “Epex, don’t interrupt anymore, please,” Amony said.

  I didn’t bother objecting, But come on, what’s wrong with being a little curious about what we’re going to face? I’d like to know what I’m going to either put a bullet into or whose head I’m going to send rolling down three flights of stairs.

  Anyway, Devante went on and on about Sunset: from suspect hideouts to crimes committed, how arrogant this Drifter guy was, possible meeting times, and so on and on. I stopped paying attention to stare at Elly’s breasts after twenty minutes of the sorcerer’s nonstop babbling. I turned away seconds before she caught me. A hand smacked on the table in front of me.

  “What? I’m listening.”

  “Epex, any reason you’re no longer taking this seriously? I’m pretty sure pay is not the answer. Is it overpay?”

  I glared at her. “You know damn well it’s not overpay.”

  She sighed. “Boredom. Fine, then. Guess wha? A new job came in this morning. I’m sending all of you to Epex’s favorite spot, Middleburg University.”

  “You’ve got to be kiddi—”

  Amony interrupted me. “There are wannabe witches—college brats playing with Ouija boards every night. They’ve unknowingly gathered enough demonic energy through their spot. Sources confirmed their meet tonight will start attracting them. You will find and destroy the boards, then educate the girls.” She cast a sideways glance at Devante. “You’re a professor. Make yourself useful. I want you all out there by ten tonight. Dismissed.”

  “Well, fuck,” I said as I sat there, put in my place. My witchy boss knew it, too, as she walked out, vibe filled with satisfaction. I turned to the others. “Another night of bitchwork, great.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Sin said, grin curling across his face.

  “Cry me a river,” I said.

  “Don’t think so,” Devante said, his devious smile forming too. “A mission of college girls—”

  “Epex, you are a genius,” Sin interrupted. Elly shook her head.

  “Fucking morons. We’re not going there to screw around.” She swatted at the back of both of their heads. She then pulled me out of my seat. “We’ll catch you two later.” She looked at me. “You and I need to have a little talk.”

  “Sure thing, go off to your virgin, dickless wonderland,” Devante said. Both he and Sin burst into laughter.

  “Oh, fuck off,” I said as I followed the succubus, but not without giving them the middle finger. If I hadn’t made that promise to Elly, I would’ve charged emotion and turned them into uncontrollably horny bastards. They’d be begging me to undo, it while running from the human police trying to lock them up for sexual assault.

  As soon as we were outside, Elly turned to me, folding her arms.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. I blinked.

  “Yeah, I guess, why?”

  “You’re a little, on the edge,” she said. “Did something happen?”

  “Nope, nothing important,” I lied.

  “You sure?”

  “It’s nothing, dammit. I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the mood to barf my own issues onto anyone else.”

  Elly shrugged. “If you say so.”

  To think she could read my problems on my face so easily kind of annoyed me. I like my emotions hidden behind a mask. Goddamn succubus. She was right, though. The hunter could pop in and out of existence in the blink of an eye, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

  I headed home after Elly walked off. How in the hell did I end up working alongside of a half-breed devil with good conduct, a virgin succubus, a witch, and a sorcerer? You’ve probably read in your little mythology books that these creatures are red flags to everyone, especially heavenly-beings.

  I thought that once, but these guys are the oddballs of their species. Me, too. Is it a coincidence I ended up getting to know them? Not that I cared anyway. I couldn’t hide from the hunters. I’d have to enjoy as much time in the human world as possible before there was hell to pay. I had known that, always. What’s that saying humans shout before doing something stupid? You only live once.

  As I rounded the block, I heard a voice speak from the sky. A voice that I heard before. One that shouldn’t be speaking.

  “Epex Helios, of the Helios clan, the pre-destined lover of Princess Amelia Venus of the Venus clan. The demigod who got himself into trouble yet displayed selflessness
for the first time in his life in order to save a human. You’ve managed to go on so long without getting dragged back to Hell. You who live as Conus’ biggest mistake. Half god, half sheep. You’ve gotten arrogant after managing to force me back to Paradise Realm. You who are Paradise Realm’s biggest mistake.”

  Before I could say anything, a hand lifted me up in a chokehold.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Have you ever done something only to see that it was a mistake, as that something returned to bite you in the ass? Twilight Zone shit, right? Yes, even I know about the damn show. The internet can sometimes lead one to miracles. This was one of those moments.

  My eyes were wide as I saw him in full view. He held me up, his smile so wide I shivered inside.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I gasped.

  “What? Surprised? Aghast? Petrified?” Yulese said. “My goodness, you really thought something like that could kill me? Sure, it burned, maybe felt like bee stings, and boasted enough strange properties to boot me back to Paradise Realm.

  To give credit where it’s due, that was somewhat impressive. I got some criticism on my early return, mostly by peers who were ticked that I let this happen.” Yulese shook his head. “Demigod. Worm. No…you’re an ant. I could take you back now but I have a better idea.” He slammed me to the ground, knocking the breath out of me. I groaned as the pain shot through half my back and arm. “I’m going to let some misthangers vent.”

  Just then, huge wings the color of cream soda appeared on his back. Within seconds, the asshole had ascended away, leaving me there with a thick cloud of mist. The fog probably covered at least three city blocks. Then I felt them:, twenty heavenly-presences, descending one by one.

  I also felt bloodlust.

  Holy shit, did they want to kill me. Not just kill me, but tear me to pieces, rebuild me, and do it again.

  Here’s a word of advice: don’t piss off a bunch misthangers. Just don’t do it.

  I took a fighting stance, as the mist morphed into twenty separate beings, each of them five to six feet tall, cloaked in mist, and armed with shiny steel daggers. I didn’t know if it was possible, but it felt like their bloodlust thickened.