Hell in a Handbasket Read online

  I tremble at the memory of how close I came to death. Part of me wants to laugh again because everything is too insane. I was kidnapped by a dragon! A dragon that’s alive and might still be gunning for me. Hopefully now that Sir Surchion has his orb back, he’ll leave me alone. Wishful thinking…

  Cain’s expression when he realized I didn’t have his precious relics confirmed his business with Sir Surchion wasn’t finished. The demons would be going back into the fire—so to speak—to get them back. My stomach turns with worry, but I tell myself they can take care of themselves.

  I just don’t want to be involved in any of it.

  I recall Dorian talking about the relics in the woods. They are crucial for our future, he’d said.

  Even though I want to push all of this behind me, I want to know why they call to me directly. Is it the darkness inside me sensing them, or is it something more? Whatever these items mean to the demons, it’s clear they’re hiding secrets they’re willing to kill for. And I’m sure that after finding the relics on my own, the three demons are going to want answers. It’s going to be near impossible to lie my way out of this one.

  I can’t help but wonder how different things would be if I just hadn’t stolen the Orb of Chaos from Sir Surchion. I’d still be sold to the demons, but there wouldn’t be this chaotic mess involving a psychotic dragon. One less thing to worry about.

  Rolling onto my side to get up, a familiar icy prickle slides across my skin, reminding me of walking right into a cobweb. And even before I see her emerging, panic strangles my lungs, and I jump out of bed, breathing frantically.

  Sayah slides out of me, her shadowy form skittering over the bed and across the lump that is Elias.

  I shudder. I want to leap out and grab hold of her, but that’s not how it works. Memory after memory slams into me of her escaping in the warehouse, freezing me on the spot.

  Those bright red eyes.

  Freaky, long, opaque arms.

  Reddish-orange wisps of power spiral around my body and through the tether binding Sayah to me.

  My dark little secret is on display. Except she’s never looked like that before.

  I’d lost control of her in the warehouse. But worst of all, she took her strength from me… draining me.

  She used me, and I can’t help but wonder if this whole time she’s been some kind of parasite living inside me, feeding off my energy. Terror tightens around my chest as I focus on the present reality of her sliding out of me so freely.

  I can’t breathe as I watch her lifting her head over Elias like a cobra about to strike.

  A hiss streams from Cassiel, and I flinch out of my frozen state. The little lynx is crouched low at the end of the bed, the fur on the back of his neck fuzzed up, teeth bared, ready to pounce. Even he identifies danger when he sees it.

  Sayah snaps around toward the cat, those ruby eyes meeting mine. I tremble, but this isn’t who I am. I’m not a scared girl. Sayah has been part of me for so long… even if she’s a monster, she’s linked to me.

  And I won’t let her overpower me.

  Come back! I growl in my mind. Sayah, you listen to me.

  The outline of my shadow shimmers, like she’s struggling to hold onto form.

  Steeling myself, I clench my hands, standing up to her. Return now.

  In a flash, she retracts like a yoyo, and she’s gone just as quickly as she arrived.

  I stumble on my feet and suck in shaky breaths. What the hell just happened? Is this how it’s going to be? Living with an unstable creature inside me, one not even demons know about? For the first time in my life, knowing what she is and how she got attached to me when I was a child are crucial pieces of information I desperately need.

  Reaching down, I scratch Cassiel and pat down his fluffed-up fur, and instantly he pushes his head against my hand. In moments, he spins on the spot two times, then settles back on the bed to sleep like he hadn’t just confronted a terrifying specter.

  I stumble over to the window, and lean against it. The iciness of the glass helps settle my nerves. Slightly. Peering out toward the woods, I catch a glimpse of something white standing at the tree line.

  I still, the hairs on my nape rising. Squinting, I try to make out distinct features, but they’re at a far distance, and all I can make out is a white aura around them. I can’t even tell if they’re male or female… or if they’re here to hurt us.

  They move slightly, their head tilting back to look up at my window, and panic punches me in the gut. I duck out of pure instinct, suddenly feeling stupid, and stay crouched there for a few heart-hammering moments. More Full Mooner werewolves? Or maybe Sir Surchion’s hired someone else to bring me back to the mountain? He does know where the mansion is, after all.

  My breathing picks up as my anxiety spikes. As long as I stay in this house with Cain, Dorian, and Elias, I’m safe. Right? Yeah. I’m definitely safer here with them. I just need to keep telling myself that. It’ll make the ‘them owning my soul’ thing a lot easier.

  Cautiously, I peer back over the windowsill and gaze onto the grounds below. It’s empty. The mysterious person in white is gone.

  The hell?

  Getting back up, I press my face against the window for a better look, scanning the whole yard and woods. Nothing. Just greenery, the wind rustling the naked branches and swirling the fallen autumn leaves.

  Okay, now isn’t the time to go crazy and start imagining things. Or start seeing ghosts. I have enough on my plate already—I don’t need to add apparitions to my list of weirdo talents.

  “What are you doing?” Elias mutters behind me, the springs of my bed groaning from his movement.

  I turn to face him, still a bit spooked by the whole Sayah incident and the mysterious phantom person outside.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He chuckles as he wrestles to free himself from the tangle of blankets around him.

  I glance over my shoulder to the window to find the property still clear of anyone in white. “I just may have…” I mutter to myself, but I hesitate to tell him about my morning happenings. Last thing I need is to have them think I have no control over Sayah and then have them lock me up. And the same goes with whatever I spotted outside in the woods.

  “What?” he asks sharply, and I curse myself for forgetting about his super-sonic shifter hearing.

  “Uh, don’t worry about it. I’m still waking up.” I rub a hand over my face and force myself to shake the heebie-jeebies off. “It’s hard to get sleep around here when I keep getting an unwelcomed visitor in my bed every night.”

  He walks around the bed but stops when he passes the busted-in door.

  I cock a brow at him. “Hm? So, why are you always in my bed, again? This isn’t a hotel room, you know.”

  “I regret nothing,” he murmurs and stretches his arms upward, causing an array of bones in his back to crack. My gaze slithers down his back, at the myriad of muscles shifting beneath his skin… and then at the way his sweatpants sit dangerously low on his hips.

  Is it hot in here? Because I’m suddenly flushed with prickling heat all over.

  I swallow hard, telling myself to avert my eyes, but I can’t. I know all too well what lies under those sweatpants.

  Healed cuts cover his torso, along with intricate black tattoos. Some aren’t the best, artistic-wise, and it makes me wonder if he’d gotten them done professionally or in a dark basement somewhere.

  This demon has probably faced legions of nightmarish creatures, yet he suffers from a small sleepwalking problem. It’s kind of cute… or it would be, if it didn’t involve my bed.

  “Seriously, though, Elias. If you’re having a problem—”

  He cuts me off with a sharp, sideways look. “No problem,” he growls viciously, and I flinch. Well, shit. You’d think I was accusing him of having erectile dysfunction or something. His messy hair covers half his face, making him look even more wild and unpredictable, but damn him and those sexy bedroom eyes. The sprin
kling of hair on his chest that tapers down into a funnel over his abs and vanishes under the elastic of his pants… it’s drool-worthy. Did I mention he has that deep V of sculpted muscle that guides the eye right to the family jewels? I don’t have a clue what that part of a guy’s body is called, but they might as well be named ‘fuck-me-muscles’ because they make me go lust-crazy. On cue, a tingle flares in my lower belly.

  “I’ll take my pants off. All you have to do is ask.”

  I blink rapidly and snap my gaze up. Having caught me clearly eye-fucking him, he smirks.

  Embarrassment crawls up my neck, but I attempt to play it off. “Why are you still here?”

  He laughs, the sound deep and sensual, bringing another flutter of desire down below. Man, he drives me insane.

  “I never thought I’d ever say this, but my eyes are up here,” he teases.

  “Get out of my room!”

  He doesn’t leave. Instead, he turns toward Cassiel at the foot of the bed and lifts his lip in a snarl. Cassiel peeks an eye open but shows no sign of being intimidated. That only seems to annoy Elias more.

  “Fucking furball,” he grumbles.

  Looks like two animals are sleeping with me. Soon I could open a zoo in here.

  “So, you sleepwalk?” I ask, wanting to bring the question back to the table. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Plenty of kids in my foster homes used to do it, or at least talk in their sleep. I even read somewhere that Jennifer Aniston sleepwalks around her house, so it’s not as uncommon as you think.”

  One thick brow arches, and he snaps back, “Who says I’m ashamed of it?”

  “Woah. I’m just trying to say it’s normal.” Touchy, much?

  He crosses the room and flops down on the bed, sending Cassiel flying. He hisses at him before making himself comfortable again.

  With his back to me, he pushes his hair out of his face with a shake of his head and sighs heavily. “I’ve never sleepwalked in my life. Well, until recently."

  Taking a seat on the bed next to him, I tuck a leg under myself. “It’s probably stress related,” I suggest. “Being forced out of your home into a new world… Anxiety does things to your brain.”

  Lips tight, his gaze falls to the floor. “Recently, as in never until you came into this house.”

  “M-Me?”

  He nods.

  “But why?”

  He hesitates. “I'm… not sure.”

  I’m pretty sure that’s a lie. I can see the distress and unease in his stiff posture, but I don’t press. This is the first time he’s talking to me without making everything a joke. Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll actually open up a bit.

  “You know what’s funny?” he goes on, and I don’t stop him. “That I miss so many things about Hell, like my pack of hellhounds, my own place on a mountain, far from others, plus the hunting grounds were incredible.”

  “But…”

  He snorts. “We’ve been trying to get back there for a century, but I’m not sure if it’s worth going back anymore.”

  “What do you mean?” I ease, hoping I’m not pushing the boundaries here with my questions. You know what they say about curiosity and the cat, but I want to know more about the demons I live with. They’re so secretive.

  He eyes me for a long moment, debating how much to tell me. Then, his tense shoulders ease and he replies, “It’s in ruin. It’s chaotic.”

  “It’s Hell.”

  “This is true, but with Lucifer in charge, things are quickly sinking. And he’s going to take all his people down with him.”

  That surprises me. The way he talks about Hell, it sounds like a tyrant king or dictator kind of situation. Like Lucifer is making his people suffer or sacrificing them or something. I didn’t expect the underworld to be that way.

  “But,” he begins quickly to redirect the subject, “nothing compares to the monsters I’d hunt there, the fights they put up. I crave the chase, and these woods out here give me nothing worthwhile to track. Nothing bigger and scarier than me to sink my teeth into. Earth could do with a predator in these woods.”

  “Speak for yourself,” I say, which draws a chuckle from him. “Oh, I know. How about a dragon? You’ve got one of those now.”

  His expression hardens, and his voice drops to an ominous rumble. “You’re right. I do.”

  Is it something I said? I was trying to be funny.

  He gets to his feet suddenly and strides to the door. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

  When Elias leaves, I’m left confused and a bit dumbfounded. I’m not sure why he took that wrong, but maybe he’s going through some demon version of PMS.

  Telling myself not to dwell on it, I march into the bathroom and start to get ready for a fun day. Minutes later, a knock sounds on my door, and Sadie’s sweet voice drifts into the bedroom.

  She’s come to help dress my wounds.

  After I shower, she thoroughly cleans and bandages all my bites, cuts, and scrapes. My muscles are still sore from everything the day before, so she also helps me get dressed.

  She pulls out a rusty-colored dress covered in white polka dots. I’m about to object—it’s far from my style—but when she looks me up and down, smiling broadly, I find I don’t have the strength or energy to tell her no.

  After slipping into my shoes and running a brush through my wet hair, Sadie and I head out of my room. I can’t help but notice that the guard is no longer at my door.

  Huh. Guess the demons aren’t worried about me trying to escape again. And they’re probably right, at least until things with Sir Surchion calm down. Then I may just use their trust to my advantage and find a way to get the H-E-double-hockey-sticks out of here.

  At the bottom of the grand staircase, I try to swing left to the dining room, but Sadie shakes her head and points right, where the parlor is. My stomach sinks instantly. I know exactly what that means.

  “The masters are waiting for you,” she says.

  So this is what Elias meant about seeing me downstairs. Not about breakfast.

  Looks like the interrogation is about to begin.

  I pause and glance back up the steps, debating if there’s any way I could make a dash for it. But even I know that’ll only make things worse for me, ending up with me thrown over Elias’s shoulder as he carries me back downstairs.

  At that thought, naughty images flash in my mind, ones that make me flush with heat. Clearly, I can’t be trusted around the demons. Maybe I ought to wear a chastity belt instead. It’d be safer.

  “Aria,” Cain’s rich but stern voice snaps from the parlor, and my pulse kicks up a notch.

  Well, there goes that idea.

  With one last glance at Sadie, I suck in a deep breath and walk inside. I find Cain standing by the roaring fireplace and Dorian lounging on the couch. With a welcoming smile, he pops his head up and glances my way, calling me over with a flick of his chin.

  His friendly demeanor helps my rising nerves. A little. He may not want to eat or kill me yet, but I can’t say the same about the other two. Especially Cain, who is watching me with such intensity as I shift further into the room, that goosebumps creep along my arms.

  The tension in here is suffocating; the air is thick with the heat of the fireplace and my mounting worry. I expected them to demand answers from me—after all, I had stolen from them, lied to them, and kept secrets from them—but telling them the truth could make me their next meal.

  Elias enters the room then. When I glance up to meet his gaze, he quickly looks away and leans against the bookshelf along the wall, hands deep in the pockets of his sweats.

  “What’s going on?” I play dumb at first and flop down on the opposite end of the couch by Dorian. “An intervention?” I half-laugh, but no one responds. “Tough crowd.”

  “You know why we need to talk to you,” Dorian starts, his expression soft as he turns to face me. “We need to know everything. It’s time you tell us.”

  I sigh and sink into the cushions of the
sofa, a sliver of unease curling in my gut. Maybe there’s a way I can keep Sayah a secret. Just tell them about my ability to track magic, how it led me to the relics, and leave it at that. Sayah has always been the one constant thing in my hectic life, but after her going rogue in the warehouse and seeing what she was really capable of, even she isn’t reliable. Even now, when I try to get a feel for her, she’s keeping low, out of reach instead of pushing to come out like before.

  I need to be smart about this. Tread carefully through their questions and not make things worse for myself… whatever the fuck that means.

  “What do you want to know?” I ask, glancing at the three of them.

  “Tell us what you are,” Cain demands from behind me, and the harshness of his tone makes me wince. He’s going straight for the jugular, of course. Should have seen that coming.

  “I told you already. I don’t know.” That isn’t a lie. I truly have no idea.

  But my answer only seems to fuel Cain’s annoyance. “Then how did you track down our relics in the mansion? In the basement and in my room?”

  I blink up at him. Ah, so the overly stuffy, vintage inspired bedroom had been his. Saw that one coming a mile away. It fit him to a T.

  Three sets of eyes are on me, and I’m battling in my head how much to tell them. Exactly how much did they see in the warehouse?

  They did risk their lives to save me when they didn’t need to. Maybe they did it for their stupid relics… or the contract or whatever… but they knew I didn’t have them when they found me, and I’m still alive. That has to count for something, right?

  Elias clears his throat. “We saw your shadow side in the warehouse, so just out with it.”

  Well, that answers that then. So much for keeping Sayah to myself like I wanted. “Okay, fine. As I told you before, I don’t know what I am. Murray told me nothing, and well, I didn’t have parents to answer my questions. But when I was young, after some traumatic shit, my shadow seemed to come to life and move on her own. Usually she listens to my instructions, but what happened in the warehouse…” My throat parches as the memories spark fear, especially those from this morning, and I shiver. “She’s… She’s never done that before. I lost control of her. But it was a one-off thing.”