Hellsbane Hereafter (Entangled Select Otherworld)

by Paige Cuccaro

  The spontaneous demon guard closed ranks at my back in a semicircle. The stench of brimstone polluted the air, like rotten eggs on a hot day. I could almost feel the push of their heightening tension, spring-loaded, ready to pounce at one false move.

  Baldy positioned himself at my right side between me and Dan. His face creased in scorn, he looked Dan up and down like Dan was a piece of meat gone bad. “What could you possibly need from this illorum?

  “Crissy.” Dan said her name like cocking the hammer on a gun. At any moment he could pull the trigger and the two of them would explode into action.

  “Dan, no,” I warned. “Don’t do anything.”

  He ignored me and finished his order. “Take the kids.” He pushed Kenny back toward his partner, not taking his eyes off the group for a second.

  The demons around me shifted like a pack of dogs sensing their prey might bolt.

  “Wait.” I spoke to everyone but glanced behind me, making eye contact with the demons. “Everyone just calm down. Okay? I’m ordering all of you to calm the hell down.”

  “Run,” Dan said.

  And just like that, the chase was on.

  Crap. Faster than any human could move, Crissy lunged for Kenny with Abby still snug under her arm. She wasn’t fast enough. The demons masquerading as a couple, both looking like soccer parents in their mid-thirties, were on the kid in a flash. The woman grabbed him while her cohort ran interference.

  A quick backhand caught Crissy across the cheek, sending the sexy blonde rocking off balance, scrambling to keep her footing. The soccer mom shot out of kiddy-land, racing across the park, down game alley, and under the archway to Lost Kennywood.

  I was on her heels, Dan racing at my side. We couldn’t tackle her, or Kenny could suffer the impact. I glanced at Dan and knew he’d hate what I was about to do, but I didn’t have a choice. I opened my mind to him, pressed my thoughts into his.

  I’ll go left under the Phantom coaster and get around in front of her. You herd her toward me.

  Dan stumbled at the sound of my voice in his head, eyes wide, mouth sagging open just a little. I gave him one quick nod then cut off to the left, ignoring his offended and questioning eyes.

  My plan worked. Demon mom, too busy holding on to the squirming Kenny and staying a step ahead of the kid’s pissed-off dad, didn’t see me loop around. She headed over the decorative bridge that edged the long pond at the bottom of the Pittsburgh Plunge ride. I came from the other side, the hilt of my sword already in hand.

  The demon ran at top speed, although nothing compared to how fast an illorum could move. And that was a joke compared to how fast I could get from point A to point B. By the time she saw me standing in her path, I’d already started my swing.

  Pivoting on the ball of my foot, I crouched, willing my blade to form even as it sliced through the air. It happened too fast for the demon to stop her momentum, my blade catching her across the shins. The cut was quick, slicing through meat and bone. She stumbled forward another two steps, the black oozing stumps of her legs thumping against the white cement, her feet already dissolving into steaming goo behind her.

  Dan was there before she finally lost her balance, snatching Kenny from her arms as she fell.

  He turned, shielding Kenny from what would come next, what had to come next.

  The demon woman writhed on the ground, pushing herself over to snarl up at me. “I knew it. The archangel is too blinded by his parental bond to see he’s brought a traitor into our ranks. Traitor!”

  “You’re right. But that has to stay my secret. You should’ve walked away when I gave you the chance.” I swung my sword.

  “Bitch.” The last of her word still hissed through her lips as her head rolled off her shoulders and thumped down the low slope of the bridge. The head, already dissolving into black steaming goo before it finally stopped rolling, her demonic body reeking of brimstone, became unrecognizable within seconds.

  “Dammit, Emma.” Dan yelled at me like an angry father. “Are you crazy?”

  I turned to see him with Kenny, his arm over the kid’s shoulder, holding him close. It wasn’t until the applause started that I understood what he meant, remembered where we were, and realized what I’d done.

  “Was that real?” Kenny asked. “Did Emma really kill that lady?”

  I scanned the crowd, people watching from all around us, and as far away as the other side of the long pond standing in line for the Black Widow ride. Crap.

  “No, buddy.” Dan bent over, putting himself on Kenny’s level, patting his shoulder. “It wasn’t real. Emma put on a skit for the park. It was all pretend.”

  I blinked at the people clapping. They’d just seen me cut the feet off a woman then cut off her head, and they clapped. The woman had melted into piles of steaming goo, and they clapped.

  Turning in circles, my brain just couldn’t fit this freaky new puzzle piece into the craziness that had become my life. Not one of these people believed what they saw. They couldn’t accept it could be real. It was too horrific, too strange. But it was my life, my everyday life. And they thought it had been some weird production; they thought it had been entertainment.

  “Emma,” Dan said, his voice like the crack of a whip. “Emma!”

  I flinched, looked over to him, and saw the worry in his eyes. I let it go and shifted my brain to something I could understand.

  “Is he okay?” Turning to close the distance between us, I willed the particles that made up my blade to split and dissipate, just as I slipped the hilt into the sheath at the small of my back.

  “Yeah.” Dan glanced down at his son and rubbed his head, mussing his blond hair. He looked back to me. “He’s fine. Are you?”

  I nodded. “She didn’t touch me.”

  “No. I mean, that’s good, but…” He glanced down at Kenny then back to me. “Emma, what’s Jukar going to do? Are you in danger?”

  It took me a few seconds to figure out what he meant. I glanced at the quickly shrinking black mess and back to Dan. “No. It’s, uh, it’ll be okay.”

  “Why’d you do it?” he asked.

  I blinked at him. Seriously? “I couldn’t let her hurt Kenny.”

  “Why not?” A serious frown filled his face. “I mean, I haven’t been at this as long as you, but I’ve dealt with enough people like her—like you. Your side doesn’t pull their punches. Why’d you stop her? Why would you help an illorum?”

  I laughed, more from nerves than anything else. “I’m still the same person I’ve always been. You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to your family.”

  “You would if you’d really switched sides,” he insisted. “What’s going on, Emma? Why’d you come here? What are you up to?”

  I sighed, trying to come up with something he’d believe. But before I could say anything, Crissy raced up to join us.

  “Dan, thank God.” She stopped between us, Abby still clutching her neck. “What’s she doing here? Where’d the, uh…D-E-M-O-N go?”

  “Demon,” Kenny said. “That lady was a demon? Cool.”

  “No,” Dan said, but no one was listening.

  “What’s a demon?” Abby asked.

  Crissy shrugged, cheeks red. “Sorry.”

  “Forget it.” Dan tipped his chin in my direction. “Emma took care of her.”

  Crissy looked at me. “Why?”

  “Really?” I asked, astonished. The people I’d left behind really did believe I was a traitor.

  “What happened to the others?” Dan asked Crissy.

  “They took off.” She snorted, giving me a disapproving look. “Not exactly a loyal bunch, are you?”

  Dan didn’t give me the chance to answer. “Take the kids. I need to talk to Emma.”

  Crissy held out her hand to Kenny. “You sure?”

  Dan nodded. “Yeah. Contact Ham. Have him meet up with you. He’ll make sure you get the kids home safely.”

  She looked from Dan to me and back again, clearly not okay with the
plan but trusting Dan enough to believe he knew what he was doing. Good girlfriend. I’d never been that for him. “Yeah. Sure. Be careful, okay?”

  “Can I ride the Enterprise first?” Kenny asked.

  “Next time,” Crissy said.

  “Aw, c’mon,” he whined as she led him away.

  When they were out of earshot, Dan turned to me. “Okay. Spill it, Emma. What’s really going on?”

  “I need your help.” I exhaled, relieved to finally speak with him. “I need you to use your connections to—”

  “No. Tell me why you killed that demon. I heard what she said to you, Emma. You betrayed her—one of your own. Why?”

  Maybe it was frustration or the simmer of adrenaline still pumping through my system. Or maybe I’d just reached the end of my fraying rope. Whatever it was, I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut another minute. “She wasn’t one of my own.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I looked around, as though someone might be listening. “I’m not a traitor. I didn’t switch sides. I’m working undercover. Deep undercover. For Michael.”

  Dan stared at me for three solid heartbeats before a smile flickered at the corner of his lips. “No. Seriously.”

  “I am serious. When Eli fell, Michael made me an offer. If I pretended to switch sides and work for Jukar and feed Michael inside information on what he’s up to, he’d make sure Eli would be forgiven. They’d let him back into Heaven. He’d be seraphim again.”

  Dan looked away, huffed an irritated kind of laugh, then looked back. “Eli. You’re doing all this for Eli?”

  “Dan.” He couldn’t still be jealous.

  “So what happens if it works? What happens for you and him if they take Eli back?”

  I shrugged, not wanting to think about it, let alone say it out loud. “Nothing. It’s over. We never see each other again.”

  He stared at me for several seconds, seeming to weigh my words. He tilted his head. “You really love him that much?”

  I met his eyes. “Yeah. I do.”

  Another awkward silence fell, then finally he nodded. “What do you need?”

  I sighed, a weight lifting from my shoulders. “I need you to use your connections to figure out if there’s something other than coincidence that brought those nephilim together in that house at the university.”

  “I don’t know if my connections will do any good, but we can try.” He tossed his head for me to follow. “Let’s go down to the station and find out.”

  “Thanks, Dan.”

  He turned to lead the way then stopped and looked back at me. “Oh. I should warn you. Um…some of the guys are, uh, kind of holding a grudge.”

  “Perfect.”

  …

  Less than a heartbeat later we pushed through the doors of the Pittsburgh police station. Dan led the way into the lobby. I waved to the first few cops I saw: Manny Szymański, Ed Gallo, and Shawn Taylor. They weren’t exactly friends of mine, but I knew them and had joked with them. Not one of them waved back. Manny actually made one of those disgusted guy snorts and looked away. Whatever.

  I stopped trying. I’d say the PPD was a boy’s club, but gender had nothing to do with it. They were cops, a breed unto themselves. They risked their lives every day, and the people who loved them sat at home praying they’d walk through the door when it was over. They were a tight, exclusive group, and I had hurt one of their own.

  The only way I’d be forgiven was if Dan gave the okay. And even then, it would be a long time before they truly trusted me again. I liked these guys. I wanted them to include me in their club, but I just couldn’t worry about it at the moment.

  “You can, um, wait here.” Dan didn’t meet my eyes.

  “Seriously?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Visitors aren’t allowed past the lobby.”

  “Right.” I laughed. “I’ve been in the squad room like a hundred times.”

  “That was different.” He glanced at Manny behind the tall counter and back again. “Things were different, you know?”

  I followed his glance. Yeah. I knew what he meant. “Fine.”

  “Just tell me what you know, and I’ll see what I can find out.”

  I sighed. “There’s not much. One of the guys said something about United America, Inc. They owned the house before me.”

  “You own the house in Oakland?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah. It’s complicated.”

  “I bet.” He held up a finger like he wanted me to wait a second. “I’ll be back.”

  For the next three hours I sat, paced, ate three mini-bags of Doritos from the snack machine, and downed five cups of coffee. And spoke to exactly no one. I wasn’t just getting the cold shoulder, I’d been stuck in the damned freezer.

  “Emma,” Dan said while I was bent over trying to pull my fourth bag of chips from the machine without the spring-loaded plastic door slamming shut and crushing it.

  I turned. “Finally. Thought you forgot about me.”

  “Took longer than I expected.” He was all business, showing me his notepad and scribbled handwriting. “I found out all the guys at the house are scholarship recipients. Most are only a couple thousand each but one of them…one of them is on a full ride from the same foundation as the others.”

  “From United America?” I asked.

  He nodded, a Cheshire cat grin slowly stretching his mouth. “Yes. But that’s not the best part.”

  “There’s a best part?”

  “Wait for it.” He winked, smiling bigger. “United America is a subsidiary of New England Capital, which is owned by The Bedford Company.”

  “The Bedford Company.” Jukar’s company. I should’ve known. “Thanks, Dan. I gotta go.”

  “Wait.” He straightened, shifting forward like he might block me but didn’t. “Where are you going? What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to call a family meeting.”

  “Emma.” He exhaled like he rethought his words. “Be careful, okay? Jukar’s…he’s dangerous. He’s a fallen archangel, and nothing is more important to him than himself.”

  “You’re telling me?” I laughed, but I didn’t really feel it, and I knew it showed. My smile wilted. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

  He sighed, then nodded. “I know you do. But still…”

  “I’ll be careful. Thanks, Dan.” I turned to leave then remembered something and turned back. “By the way, no one can know about, y’know, my arrangement with Michael. No one.”

  I could only hope if Ham, his magister, read Dan’s thoughts, he’d understand the importance of keeping my secret.

  “Understood.” He gave me a thumbs-up. “Good luck, Emma.”

  “Luck?” I snorted. “Who needs luck? I’m working with angels.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Mihir, it’s me again. Emma Hellsbane. I need to talk to you about that ring. Seriously. You gotta call me back, dude. I know you’re a busy doctor and everything now, but surely you can find a minute to dial my number. It’s important, Mihir. I mean it. Call me back.”

  I thumbed the end button and shoved my phone into the pocket of my shorts before I pushed through the doors to Jukar’s New York office building. I was going to get answers from Daddy Dearest once and for all.

  Why had he kept his connection to the guys at the house from me? Why had he brought them together? What was his plan? And what was my part in it?

  By the time I stormed past the desk of Jukar’s personal assistant, a million questions spun through my head.

  I waved to the flamboyant fallen angel. “Sorry, Danjal, can’t talk. Is he in?”

  The handsome man shot to his feet. “Domina—”

  “What am I saying? Of course he’s in. He can be anywhere in the world with a single thought. He’s always in. He’s always everywhere.” I jabbed the elevator call button.

  “But he might be—”

  “Thanks, Danjal,” I stepped into the elevator. I gave the sl
ack-jawed angel a wink and a wave as the doors slid closed.

  A tiny pinch of guilt knotted across my shoulders during the ride up, but I knew Danjal wouldn’t really catch any heat for letting me bully my way past him. Despite the proud-papa exterior Jukar put on for the troops, I got the feeling he loved the back and forth half-truths and misinformation he fed me only to see how long it would take me to figure it out and confront him.

  It took me exactly this long. I stomped into his office from the elevator and found the archangel relaxed in his desk chair, phone to his ear. I stopped six steps in, leaving about another eight to the white high-backed guest chairs in front of him.

  He held up a finger to me by way of asking me to wait as he shook his head to whoever was on the other end of the phone conversation, his smile broad and cheery. “Yeah, Paul. I know. That’s what I said, too, but what are you going to do? Hey, can I call you back? My daughter just walked in, and she looks fit to be tied.”

  “You have no idea,” I muttered.

  “Kids, I know. They’re never happy.” He laughed at something Paul said. “Yes, yes, you’re right. I know. But you love them anyway, right? Okay…yeah, Paul. You bet. Thanks. Talk to you soon.” Jukar’s peacock-proud gaze turned to me.

  Just like that, my bullshit capacity hit maximum overload. “What self-serving crap are you up to, you Fallen piece of shit?”

  His smile wilted with a final halfhearted chuckle before melting into a flat line. Furrows across his brows deepened. Like a brewing storm front, a cold prickle of power rolled over me and my breath caught. My skin tingled like a million tiny feet had tried marching it right off my bones.

  “Watch yourself, nephilim.” His voice didn’t raise in volume, but my chest hummed with the sound of it.

  I shook it off. Mostly. “Only if you stop lying to me, Dad.”

  He sighed, and the press of his power eased. “What is it now, Emma?”

  I stepped closer. “You brought Abram and those other nephilim together in that house. Why?”

  He looked at me sideways, seeming to weigh how much I might already know. For a second I thought he might actually try to deny it, but after the silence had become kind of awkward, he sighed and leaned back in his white leather chair. “I wanted my children under one roof.”