Demonic and Deserted (Eternally Yours Book 4)

by Tara West

  Aedan coughed into his fist again before turning to me with a drawn mouth. I sucked in a sharp breath as the fire’s reflection danced in his eyes.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  I looked over my shoulder at Melanie. She squeezed Santiago to her chest while silently nodding, her eyes as stoic as stone. Jeez. She made being brave look so easy.

  “Wait.” I grabbed Aedan’s arm as I tried to steady my breathing. It was hard to keep focus with the echo of my racing heart sounding like a jet engine in my ears. No matter how many breaths I took, I couldn’t get my heart to slow down. Oh, well. My whole body trembled as I looked up at him. Dear God, please don’t let us perish down here. “No, I’m not ready, but let’s get this over with.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Damn, it was hot! I shielded my eyes while following Aedan into the inferno, a mixture of surprise and relief when I saw my human hand in front of me. I checked my tassel tit bra, making sure it covered my girls. Then I scooted my sash down, widening it a bit so that it covered my lady parts. Just barely, but it would have to do.

  We jumped through flames and landed on a cliff overlooking a massive pit of lava. The roar coming from the pit filled my ears with dread. The ledge wasn’t much wider than a sidewalk. The hotel behind us looked like a medieval castle with charred brick walls and tall turrets.

  I danced around on the stone, regretting that I didn’t have any shoes. “Hot! Hot! Hot!”

  This was way worse than running across a concrete Mexican pool deck during spring break. Then I hunched over, screaming as pain lanced down my back. That’s when I remembered I always had wings when I took on my demon form. I hoped they sprouted and dried quickly, so I could fly above the inferno and give my poor feet a break. I pulled my arms into me, flexing my shoulders as I tried to get the wings to break free.

  “Let me help.” Aedan said as he ripped my wings out of their membrane.

  I screamed as pain lanced through me. Then I took several quick, deep breaths. Now was not the time to fret over minor pain like getting my spine ripped open. Did I really just think that? Damn, I’m badass.

  I looked up at Aedan. His tunic had ripped off, leaving him shirtless, exposing all of his delicious muscles, making him look very much like a god. He also had beautiful feather wings, except instead of looking like a big, yellow birdzilla like me, he was blue. Really blue. Hubba, hubba, Papa Smurf.

  “Whoa!” I pointed to him. “You’re very blue. I wonder what your power is.” I coughed into my fist. The air was so dry, it sucked all the moisture from my lungs.

  “Someone help him, please.”

  I spun around and gasped. Melanie was on fire. Literally. Her whole body was lit up in flame and Santiago was curled up by her feet. He was also in demon form, a hulking giant green monster.

  Oddly, Melanie wasn’t screaming or writhing in pain. She just stood there kind of looking like a flaming statue. “Are you okay?” I asked, which, in hindsight I realized was kind of a stupid question. We were in the fiery pit of hell, burning up like roasted wienies. None of us were okay.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m a fire demon,” she spoke through the flame, her tone taking on a hollow echo. “Just help him.” She nodded to Santiago.

  “Sarge, wake up,” Aedan said and then doused him with water.

  Hang on. Water?

  Aedan hovered over Santiago, water pouring out of his hands as if his arms were fire-hoses. I could scarcely believe my eyes. Aedan’s demon power was water! Well, that will certainly come in handy down here.

  Much to my relief, Santiago shook his head and sat up, rubbing the water from his eyes. Then he looked down at his big, green, and very naked body and jumped up, his heavy balls slapping his thighs with the movement. “Damn! It’s hot!”

  I averted my gaze, trying not to get too much of an eyeful of his green giant junk. I didn’t get stuck in hell’s inferno to get distracted by Shrek porn. I checked Melanie to see if she was oogling him, but it was hard to tell with all the flames surrounding her. That shit had to seriously burn! She was going to need a serious aloe bath when we got out of here.

  After Aedan helped up Sarge, we set out on a path that skirted the outer perimeter of the hotel, ducking flaming geysers, thick smoke, and pools of lava. Damn, it was hot, so damn hot, I felt as if my insides were melting. Come to think of it, they probably were. We were literally inside an oven. Luckily, Aedan made the trek around the hotel a lot easier by splashing water on the path and on my blistered feet. The water tasted salty, otherwise, I would have used Aedan for my own personal fountain. Too bad, because my throat was so dry, it hurt to cough. I remembered Aedan had drowned in a hurricane back on earth, so his water powers kind of made sense. By the time we’d covered one side of the castle, the static air had dried my wings, and I hovered between Aedan and the others.

  We still hadn’t seen any signs of the fire dragon, and I crossed my fingers that we could get to our friends before we met with trouble.

  My heart skipped a beat when a patch of smoke cleared and I saw a mass of people huddling by the windows of the hotel.

  “Aedan!” I pointed to them. “We’re almost there!”

  “Callum!” Aedan waved his hands wildly and then took off at a run.

  We all chased after him.

  Omigod! We’re almost there! We’re going to make it!

  “Stop! Stop!” Callum yelled.

  What? Didn’t he want to be saved?

  Aedan skidded to a halt a few feet away from a bubbling stream of lava that cut through the path. It was weird how the stream twisted and turned, almost as if was a snake. And then the lava rose up, sprouting like a geyser until two distinct horns formed followed by a long snout.

  Oh, crud.

  Aedan spun around, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Run!”

  My heart practically leapt out of my chest as I tore off at a run, my wings pumping me forward. Melanie and Santiago weren’t as fast as Aedan and I, and we overtook them after a few paces. I looked over my shoulder to see the dragon bearing down on them. Instinct fueled my actions as I spun around, jumping from the ground and flying backwards while unleashing a bolt of lightning from my palms. The spark shot out of me like a cannon, slicing through the dragon and arcing into the sky. The dragon’s fire displaced, shooting out of his head and neck, the flames fizzling out into embers. Aedan flew beside me, hitting the dragon with a wave of water. The dragon cried out again, sinking back into the river.

  “Hurry, before he comes back.” Aedan waved us back to the crowd.

  After Aedan and I flew over the stream, we waited for Melanie and Santiago to jump. Melanie screamed when her foot landed at the edge of the river, but she limped forward, waving off Santiago when he tried to help her. She was still on fire, after all.

  We were all coughing on smoke fumes by the time we reached the others, but they were far worse for the wear, their skin blackened with soot and covered in burns. Aedan hugged his brother and then wasted no time in activating his scythe, slamming it on the ground and then watching the sky for the elevator.

  “Everyone, get ready,” he called.

  I quickly scanned the faces in the crowd. All of them looked familiar, the priestesses we’d saved from sub-level four. Weird, because I knew I’d seen other souls pressing up against the glass. Had they already been eaten by the dragon, and if so, why hadn’t our friends been eaten?

  A sinking feeling settled in my gut. I tugged on Aedan’s arm. “I-I think this is a trap.”

  A magnificent thunderbolt rent the air above us, and a giant, gleaming silver elevator fell from the sky. It landed on the ledge with a thud, the shiny doors sliding open.

  Aedan and Callum helped the priestesses on board. Melanie’s fire was thankfully extinguished when she stepped onto the landing.

  “Is that everyone?” Aedan yelled above the din.

  “No!” Callum pointed beyond Aedan’s shoulder. “Katherine!”

  “Ugh.” I gritted my teeth
as I saw a lone figure huddling by the window. Aedan’s bitch ex-wife, Katherine, had been left behind.

  I was so tempted to leave her, but I knew her mother Mar, along with her boyfriend, Boner, would risk their souls to come down and save the bitch. Then we’d have to come back and save them. After I got on that elevator, no freaking way was I ever going down to hell again, and I didn’t care how much they remodeled sub-level one. After today, I was sticking to positive digits. If any of our friends in hell wanted to see us, they’d have to slum it on purgatory’s level ten, and God strike me down if I ever complained about the mold again. At that moment, nothing sounded more heavenly than a soak in my bathtub with the rust ring around the faucet and then a long, hard sleep on our mattress with the squeaky springs.

  Aedan turned to me. “Get on the elevator. I’ll go get her.”

  “Like hell you’re going after her without me.” I flew toward her without a backward glance. “Get the bitch and go home,” I chanted. “Get the bitch and go home.”

  * * *

  Aedan O’Connor

  “Ash, look out!”

  The dragon’s fiery tail rose up from the scorched earth, whipping toward Ash. She spun around, ducking as the flaming whip flew above her, narrowly missing her head. The rest of the beast rose up from the earth, resurrected from the vapors like a phantom. She hit it with a thunderbolt and flew back while it advanced. I threw wave upon wave at the creature, soaking it until it was no more than smoke vapors. I smiled inwardly at how easy he’d been to defeat, until Ash let out a blood curdling scream, pointing behind me. Another dragon twice the size of the first two hovered above me. I threw a stream at it, dissecting its neck. He roared as his head lolled to the side, but then his flames fused back together and he continued his advance, his tail lashing dangerously close to the elevator while the passengers inside cried out in terror.

  “Go!” I screamed as another dragon jutted up from the flames.

  Thankfully, my friends actually listened. The elevator doors slid shut and the gleaming silver cube shot into the sky, and hopefully, toward sanctuary. There was no telling how far they’d get with spiders on the loose, but anywhere was better than here.

  “Well, just great,” Ash cried out. “There goes our ride home.”

  “Not our only ride,” I called over my shoulder. I still had the scythe, so I could easily summon another elevator after I dusted some more dragons. I hit both dragons with wave after wave, reducing them to blobs of smoke. I ran toward Ash. She’d already pulled a sobbing Katherine to her feet.

  I grimaced when Katherine turned her back to me, exposing a shriveled up snake hanging limp down her back. I’d forgotten about her demon form. My once beautiful ex-wife was hardly recognizable, covered in blisters and soot. Not that she didn’t deserve a little bit of torture after the life she’d lead, but this punishment was extreme even for her.

  “Come on,” I said to Ash. “Let’s go home.”

  I hit the elevator button on my scythe, surprised when the lights on the wand blinked and then faded. I shook it hard, my heart sinking to the pit of my stomach when the scythe made not a sound. Usually, it would light up or buzz. Something to let me know it was working. As water from my hair and clothes dripped onto the baton, I was struck with the sickening realization. I’d shorted out my scythe.

  Holy hellfire!

  “Aedan, why isn’t it working?” Ash cried.

  “I don’t know.” I shook it again. “I think the salt water shorted it.”

  “Bravo! Well done!”

  I spun around and saw the Devil leaning against the frame of the open door, arms and legs casually crossed as if he hadn’t a care in the universe.

  He waved toward the bubbling rivers of lava criss-crossing in front of the hotel, rivers which I knew would swell again with monsters.

  “You’ve defeated my dragons.” He flashed a wolfish grin, one that enhanced the cold, calculating look in his beady eyes. “I knew you could do it. Won’t you come in where it’s cool inside?”

  I shook water off my scythe, trying not to let him see the panic which split my chest in two like a cleaver. “That’s okay.”

  “No?” He arched a thin brow, nodding behind me. “Are you sure?”

  I looked over my shoulder, horrified at the sight. At least ten more flame dragons were emerging from the streams, their long necks stretching toward the black sky.

  “We can’t take them all, Aedan.” Ash’s voice shook with fear.

  “On second thought,” I grumbled while helping Ash carry Katherine inside.

  The Taurus guards shut the sliding metal doors just as the dragons were about to converge upon us. How convenient for the Devil. Ash was right. We had stepped into a trap. We laid Katherine on the floor, propping her up by the wall. She moaned before curling into a ball, the smell of her burnt flesh making my gut roil.

  I was shocked and angered to see my lovely bride-to-be transform back into a dog. Ash looked down at her furry hands and back up at me, horror reflecting in her big puppy eyes.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart.” I squeezed her hand, trying to keep my tone upbeat. “We’ll be out of here soon.”

  “Well, my plan worked out differently than expected.” The Devil paced a slow circle around the pentagram tiles on the floor. He turned to me with a scowl. “Where did you get that scythe?”

  I squared my shoulders. “None of your damned business.”

  Shadows darkened his features. “Now I know what happened to my spider.” He snapped his fingers, and I was rushed by three bulls.

  I didn’t stand a chance. They had me in a headlock and the scythe out of my hands in no time.

  “Let him go!” Ash cried.

  How was I supposed to fight three supernatural giants while listening to my fiancé hysterically sobbing? As soon as they let me go, I started swinging, hitting one of them in the gut and then howling when my knuckles throbbed in pain. It was like hitting a brick wall.

  The Devil took the scythe from the guards, turning it over in his long, bony fingers. “Your friends are very lucky to have escaped. Too bad they didn’t wait for you.”

  He didn’t give a damn about my friends. It was clear by his mocking tone. If anything, he was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to use them as leverage against me.

  I turned up my chin, my spine stiffening. “I’d rather they were safe.” Which was true. Though I’d have loved my brother’s help defeating the Devil, there was nothing more nerve wracking than worrying over loved ones while trying to keep my own hide from burning in the fiery pit.

  “Of course you would. You’re such a selfless fool.” He looked at my fiancé with a wide smile. “Oh, Ash, you made such a beautiful bird. I almost regret turning you into a dog. Almost. Cheer up. It shouldn’t be much longer before Cameal comes for you. Once I put the Archangel outside, I will release one of you to deliver the news to God. He will not let his special one suffer.”

  Satan obviously didn’t know God as well as he pretended. “God’s not going to listen, you sick bastard,” I said with a sneer.

  “Aedan, please,” Ash begged.

  The Devil placed a hand on his chest, covering the hollow cavity where his heart should have been, a look of mock indignation on his face. “I don’t understand your grudge with me, Aedan O’Connor. It’s completely unwarranted.”

  “Unwarranted?” I balled my hands by my sides, wishing so badly I could punch that smug face, but I knew he’d turn that scepter on me before I could cross the floor to him. “You turn my fiancé into a dog and abuse my brother and friends for your personal enjoyment.”

  Ash sidled up to me, whimpering.

  The Devil tapped his pointed chin, looking lost in thought. “Perhaps I won’t include you with my bargain. I think I shall throw you outside with Cameal and leave you there for eternity.”

  I waved my fist in his direction, anger making my blood boil. “Listen to me. There will be no bargain. God isn’t going to let you into heaven.�
��

  The Devil crossed his arms, his dark, beady eyes turning a malicious shade of red. “Well, then I suppose you’d better get accustomed to my rules.”

  I wasn’t intimidated by his scare tactic. “Never.”

  “We shall see about that,” he said with a laugh.

  The guards lunged for me again. I fought them to no avail. Whatever they’d planned to do to me, I was prepared to fight it. One had me in a headlock, lifting me so high off the floor, my toes barely touched the ground. The other two aimed their spears at me. I waited for the torture to commence, but when two other guards grabbed Ash, dragging her toward Satan’s throne, fear gripped my brain, squeezing it until I could scarcely think to reason.

  Ash snarled and scratched, snapping at her guards until one of them punched her in the face. She whimpered as her head lolled back.

  “Leave her be!” I hollered, kicking and punching the bulls who held me in place.

  “You have been a very naughty dog, fighting my guards. It’s time you learned to obey,” the Devil said as he picked up a chalice, holding it over her jowls.

  Blood wine!

  “Noooo!” I screamed, but it was too late.

  He poured the contents of the goblet down her throat, the juices spilling down the sides of her neck as she struggled against him. Ash crumbled to the floor when the guards released her.

  Satan looked at me with a triumphant smile. He handed the goblet to a guard and then held his hand over Ash’s prone body. “Rise, dog.”

  My vision tunneled on my fiancé as my world threatened to spiral out of control.

  Ash sat up, wiping her blood-stained fur with the back of her furry hand. “Yes, master.”

  I quit struggling against my captor, my arms falling by my sides as a giant chasm opened up inside my soul, spinning like a vortex and sucking every last ounce of happiness from me.

  “Aedan O’Connor,” Satan said with a sneer while pointing my scythe at my head. “You’ve caused me trouble for the last time, obliterating my pet spider and killing her young. Nobody has made me this angry in a long time, not since the Big Man made a fool out of me and tossed me in this miserable pit.”