AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Seconds later, he combusted, all that pale skin turning black and charred until ash rained down into a small pile, all that was left of the hellhound.
The man brushed his hands against each other as if to clear the dust despite not having touched Jerrod directly. He turned toward me, and I struggled to my feet beneath his gaze.
The enemy of my enemy had never been my favorite saying, probably because I’d had too many enemies for it to make sense.
“You’re late,” he said, censure in his tone.
“I’m…sorry?”
“No, you’re not. Still, when you failed to show, I had to venture out. You should be appreciative—I don’t do that for many.”
I had a sinking suspicion, but I asked the question anyway. “Who are you?”
He straightened his suit jacket, then the cuffs of his shirt. “Introductions, then? Very well. Welcome to hell, Ms. Harlin. I’m Lucifer.”
Yep. Never should have followed that kid…
* * * *
The palace made the rest of hell look like…well…hell, I guess.
While it kept that creepy tone and the green and red lighting, it was spotless and modern.
I didn’t follow Lucifer so much as he snapped his fingers, and we were suddenly somewhere else. A moment of panic struck me, but there wasn’t much to be done.
I brushed my fingers against the strings at my throat and could only hope they were still able to follow.
“You haven’t told me why you called me here,” I said as I walked beside Lucifer.
His words were careful and polite to an almost uncomfortable point. He folded his hands at the small of his back. “That will come in time.”
Inhistime, he meant.
“I was here with others,” I said. “They won’t know where I am.”
“They are of no importance to me. I summoned you, not a rag-tag team of misfits.”
“Well, that team of misfits is the only reason I reached here, since someone dropped me off at the boundary.”
“You seem to confound good travel magic. The mix-up was hardly my fault. And them keeping you alive is why I won’t kill them. However, I have learned that when men with designs are involved, plans tend not to go so smoothly.”
“Are you talking about them or yourself?”
He stopped in the center of the hallway and turned toward me, his eyebrow lifted. “Few speak to me that way.”
“I’m new here. I don’t know the rules, yet.”I tried to pair the words with a confident smile I was sure I missed the mark on.
“Perhaps you will prove yourself useful,” he said.
“Useful forwhat?”
“All in good time, my darling.” He waved his hand toward a door that opened without him touching it. “This room is yours for your stay. There will be guards posted at the doors, but you are safe.”
“Are the guards to keep me here or to keep me safe?”
“Yes.”
I sighed before walking into the room, him on my heels. “Are you going to remove the tracers on me?”
