AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Unfortunately, it’s that pretty soul over there that has the final say. You’ll have to convince her, not us.” Dante wiggles his fingers at me.
The second Mr. Tavern’s eyes land on mine, I lose it. Something dark and deadly sneaks from the depths of my soul to crash over my mortal rationale in an intensely hot wave. My whole body stiffens as if it sucks in the evilness radiating from this bastard man’s essence.
His lips quiver. “Plea—”
“Send him to Hell!” I yell, heaving a breath. “He deserves an eternity of the same torment he put others through.”
Kase rocks me in his arms. “Aw, come on, angel-girl. At least have us cut off and choke him with his dick. Show him what it feels like.”
“Fuck his ass with it first,” Dante says, pulling a knife from his jacket.
Mr. Tavern thrashes and screams his head off even though Dante doesn’t get close to him, waiting on me.
As much as Mr. Tavern would deserve it, I’m not his kind of monster. I wish I could stomach inflicting what he’s done to others onto him, but I’m not a devil like Kase and Dante. I can’t agree to such a punishment in front of me. Knowing he’ll spend an eternity in Hell is good enough for me.
Bringing my hands up, I cover my ears, trying to stifle Mr. Tavern’s screams as best as I can. The ground rumbles beneath my feet, and Kase’s hands slide away from my waist. His shadow grows across the floor in front of me. I tip my head back and peek up at his monstrous feline form. Opening his wide jowls, Kase snarls, shutting Mr. Tavern up.
“I can sense you won’t sentence him to any appropriate punishment, so I will choose it for you.” Kase stomps forward, shaking the room with his heavy footsteps. “Go wait in my room. Know that justice will be served.”
Using his long black tail, Kase nudges me toward the hallway. My body finally decides to obey my brain, and I shuffle forward. My heart pounds so out of control that I can feel it beating from my toes to the top of my head. Mr. Tavern continues to scream and scream, his voice imprinting itself onto my essence in the same vile way his actions earlier stabbed into me.
“Please, let it be quick,” I murmur silently, turning my back on Kase just as he whips his tail toward Mr. Tavern’s groin. “I don’t want to hear it anymore.”
Light glows from Kase’s open door at the end of the hallway, drawing my attention away from the snarls and screams surely echoing across the universe as the putrid smell of Hell wafts through the air.
Silence suddenly falls over me, but one glance over my shoulder tells me it isn’t because it’s over. The fragrance of Hell still permeates the air as does the light from the fiery gates. Whatever is happening now is because of...Micah. I can sense he lingers nearby. He probably never even left after bringing me back.
I want so badly to stop short and run back to the living room, but the bitterness of vengeance stops me. I don’t want to know the twisted punishment Kase and Dante come up with for Mr. Tavern on my behalf.
Gathering my nerve, I stride into Kase’s room and shut the door behind me. The familiar angelic glow radiates from the cracks in the blinds, Micah’s light purposely shining brightly for me. I cross the room and yank the blinds open, not even stopping to peek out first.
I unlock and slide the glass door open. “You shouldn’t be here, Micah.”
He scratches the back of his neck. “I know I shouldn’t, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. You unintentionally called to me. I’m not all powerful and can’t make your soul keepers punish as quickly as you’d like, but I can envelop you in my shield, which can block out the noise of suffering.”
I gather my nerve and step onto the patio and slide the door closed behind me. “You probably think I’m a hypocrite for denying the man mercy.” Staring at his black boots, I refuse to meet his gaze. Why is it I feel badly about my decision?
“Raven, that dark soul was so far from redemption. Even if you could offer such a miracle, neither Lucifer nor the Higher Power would grant mercy to someone with a soul so vile. It would cause an imbalance in the universe, which is why I can’t grant you the one thing I’d give anything for. I know you don’t think you deserve it—or maybe you don’t want it anymore—but I won’t stop trying to figure it out.”
“You really are a glutton, aren’t you?” I say, twisting on the balls of my feet to glance at the back door.
Micah blinks in confusion, his expression hardening. His metallic gold eyes sparkle with the light emanating from his essence, and his long lashes cast shadows on his cheeks. “I’m far from a glutton, heathen. What have the devils been filling your head with? I can’t overconsume anything in regards to you. You’re not an indulgence to me.”
He doesn’t know—or maybe doesn’t realize—what Kase and Dante see. Or maybe it’s all in their heads, and we’re going in the wrong direction. Either way, I’m starting to feel badly about it.
“I just want to help you. You deserve someone to fight by your side,” he adds, slowly reaching to take my hand.
I let him. Something shifts inside me in this moment, and Micah’s sincerity engulfs me in a pool of hope and the goodness that comes with finding it again.
Micah glides his fingers over my palm, tracing the brand burned in my skin from his feathers. “I don’t think the Higher Power would’ve put you in my path if it were for any other reason than unchaining your soul from the darkness of the devil’s sins. Look at my wing, Raven. We marked each other. It’s like the Higher Power wanted us both to feel and see the reminder, so we don’t lose faith. We—”
A loud hiss trickles through the air, and I jerk my hand away from Micah. He glowers and unsheathes his sword, aiming it at the sliding glass door. Yanking it open, Dante bares his fangs at Micah. I raise my palm up, trying to get Dante settled down.
“You fucking marked her, Micah?” Dante asks, his deep voice reverberating through my bones. “You fucking staked your claim on a soul that doesn’t belong to you. Raven is mine! I’m going to destroy you!”
Stepping closer to Dante, I try to steal his attention by gathering the front of his shirt in my hand. “Hey, calm down. He didn’t mark me. It was an accident. I touched his wings.”
Uh-oh. The second the comment escapes my mouth, I realize my mistake. Dante’s jealousy gets the best of him even thinking about me touching wings that aren’t his. Fury lights his face and he grabs my wrist and spins me toward the door. His big palm spanks me right on the ass as he forces me inside and shuts the door in my face.
