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Chapter Eighteen
I sat at the table in the hotel room, more than a little uncomfortable with exactly how nice it was.
This was the sort of room with the layout of a full apartment, complete with a huge balcony, since naturally it was on the top floor.
Not that the top was all that high, but even six stories up offered a nice view.
Hunter crouched beside me, tracing the burn with his finger as he frowned.
Grant sat in the other chair, the room belonging to him. I’d called him once I’d gotten my wits about me. Ifanyoneunderstood what had happened, it would be him or Hunter, but since Hunter didn’t seem to have a phone, Grant had been my option.
Of course, as it turned out, Hunter had been there too. While Kase and Troy couldn’t get along at all, Hunter and Grant had formed a quick friendship.
“This is hellfire,” Hunter said, and for the first time, I heard real worry in his tone.
“What exactly is hellfire?”
Hunter rose to his feet, then started to pace. “Hellfire is, unsurprisingly, fire from hell. But, it isn’t fire like you think. It is a basic building block of that realm, which means beings from that realm often are connected to it.”
I frowned. I wanted to pretend like I understood what he was talking about—I hated being the clueless one in the room—but given the large, ugly scar on my arm, maybe it was best to actually admit I needed a bit more. “What does that mean?”
“It means what attacked you, whatever you saw in that room, whatever is controlling Olin and the others, it has to be from the afterworld.”
“We knew that already.”
Hunter shook his head. “We guessed that because of the scent. This is a whole different matter. Look.” He rubbed at the corners of his eyes, as though the conversation was taxing. “The number of beings who could do what we’re talking about are a handful. We are basically talking about Lucifer and maybe a few of his children.Maybe.”
I snorted. “Right. The devil did it.”
Hunter turned a serious look on me. “I am not kidding, Ava. Lucifer might not be what you expect from the bible, but don’t think he doesn’t exist. He is very real, and you really don’t want to meet him.”
I snapped my mouth shut.Seriously?I tried to add that tidbit into what I knew—and again had to admit how little that amounted to. There really was a devil?
Grant spoke up from his seat. “You don’t know much about the afterworld, do you? How is that possible when you are connected to it? I know Gran knows all about it.”
“I never wanted to learn. I couldn’t get out of seeing the spirits, of my crazy dreams. I didn’t want to know more, to get dragged any deeper. What did it matter, anyway?” I let out a soft sigh. “It’s not like knowing would change anything.”
Grant tilted his head, a thoughtful expression across his features as though fitting pieces together. Instead of calling me on whatever he thought he’d figured out, though, he kept on subject. “There are some very scary, very powerful things there. Lucifer is one of them. The afterworld is his domain, and he doesn’t venture out of it.”
Hunter made a pointed sound. We turned out gazes toward him.
“He doesn’t do it much, but he has been known to, at least in part.”
I sat back and crossed my arms. “I am so tired of people talking in riddles. Would you just come out and say what you’re trying to not-so-subtly say?”
Hunter looked directly at me. “Lucifer is one of the few with the power to influence others, and he’s strong enough to dothatto your arm. What if we’re dealing with him?”
Grant pressed his lips together before shaking his head. “What benefit would he have? What would he get out of making a few immortals kill some extra people and terrorizing one human girl? It all seems too low on the priority meter for him to waste his time on.”
Hunter did another two lengths of the hotel room before pausing. “I don’t know. But I can tell you that marks likethat”—he pointed at my arm—“aren’t the sort of thing that very many could do.”
“If it was him, what could we even do? I mean, we’re talking aboutthe devilhere. Is there even recourse, or is this like stopping the apocalypse?”
Hunter snorted. “Lucifer is powerful and old, but he isn’t invincible.”
I paused, then offered him a questioning look. “Aren’t you a hellhound? Doesn’t that make him your boss?”
“Not so much. hellhounds are outside of the power structure. Our entire purpose is to keep in what should be in. We’re one of the few things in the afterworld that doesn’t fall under anyone else’s power.”
