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Chapter One
So, hell was pretty much what I’d expected.
Troy sat across from me in a small cave we’d taken shelter in, still avoiding looking at me, turning the spit with something cooking on it over the fire.
I had decided against asking what it was they were roasting, because I doubted any answer to that would make me happy.
If it were some strange hellbeast, I’d be grossed out, and if it were a cute, fluffy critter, I’d be sad.
Some questions were better left unasked, such as “Do I look fat in these?” or “Do you think my sister is hot?” and “What animal did this come from?”
Hunter came into the cave looking far too happy, as though he’d been waiting anxiously for just this moment. Hell, he was almostskipping.
Kase, on his heels, appeared significantly less pleased with the turn of events.
“I love the smell of brimstone in the morning.” Hunter set down an oddly shaped cup in front of me.
I took a closer look at the dish, the white of it standing out against the dimness of the everything else. “Where’d you get this?”
“Don’t worry about it. Drink. You mortals get parched fast out here.”
His answer didn’t ease me at all, so I lifted the cup closer to the fire. The white took a moment to place, and once I did, I couldn’t unsee it. “Is this bone?”
Hunter groaned and sat cross-legged on the other side of the fire. “Itoldyou not to worry about it.”
“You can’t seriously expect me to drink out of a bone cup.”
“I have skulls, if they’re more your style.”
I was ready to yell at him for the stupid joke until I realized he probably wasn’t kidding. Somehow, the idea that Hunter had a collection of fine china made from bones in hell seemed right on par for him.
Especially the way he had no shame over it.
“Drink,” Kase said, nodding toward it. “I doubt you want to die of dehydration while in hell.”
“At least it’d be ashort trip if I did,” I muttered before closing my eyes—it’d be easier if I didn’t have to actually see the cup—and drank the water in big gulps. I figured if I finished it off quickly, I’d have to touch the thing for less time overall.
Which was a stupid reaction since I’d touched dead bodies plenty of times.
But I’d never use them as flatware. There were some lines a person didn’t cross.
The water was warm, stale and tinged with an odd taste that made me want to gag a bit as I downed it.
Still, once I finished it, I handed back the empty cup. “Why would Lucifer drop ushere? I thought he wanted to see me?”
Hunter shrugged. “He might figure a good test would be worth it. Anyone who can’t survive a few days journey in hell isn’t someone important enough for him to meet in person. Or maybe he intended for us to get dropped in his Court, but something went wrong. Magic doesn’t work quite right on you.”
“Things aren’t supposed to just go wrong for Lucifer.”
“Then you don’t know Lucifer. Remember the whole fall from heaven thing? He’s had things going wrong right from the start.”
And, again, that made me feel no better.I liked the idea that at least Lucifer had his business figured out. The thought that he was as powerless and fumbling as the rest of us gave me a moment of thinking,Ifhecan’t get shit right, what chance do I have?
I sighed and crossed my legs, leaning forward.Great. We were stuck in hell, had no idea why I was where I there and now even the guy who ran it all didn’t seem to have a good grip on specifics.
The only person happy about our circumstances was Hunter, who grinned as though he couldn’t have planned things any better.
Then again, it was his home.
