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“Careful, now,” Donovan says, tapping his book. “My face has saved you from an eternity of torment by boredom.”
I plant a hand on my hip and smirk. “Unless you’re here to torture me in place of the Pit, in which case I’m going to have to decline and ask you to send me on the next bus.”
“Funny. It’s good to see your sense of humor hasn’t waned even in the face of peril,” he says, then lets out a soft cough into his fist. Then he glares back at the officer demon behind the desk. “Hurry up. We don’t have all day.”
“Yes, sir,” the woman says, then immediately gets to work on her computer to file the request.
The other demons in the queue next to me let out sighs of relief. I hate to admit it, but Donovan really did save my ass today. The thing is, I don’t know how or why. It can’t just be divine intervention on my behalf. Or maybe it’s dumb luck that someone decided to audit us today?
My tail twitches again, and I take a step toward the enormous angel. “So, what’s the deal? Why now? They’ve been sending demons to the Pit for the past thousand years or so.”
Donovan rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Figures. Lucifer wasn’t aware of this, either. Someone up the chain of command is going to hear from this and thenthey’llbe thrown into the Pit. It’s absolutely reprehensible what they’re doing to you all down here.”
A corner of my mouth curves into a smirk. “Careful now, Donovan, or someone might accuse you of actually caring about us.”
He snorts. “I care about the law, as always, Miss Faith. You’re very lucky today that a human prayed on your behalf, begging us to look into this. Normally, we wouldn’t investigate prayers on the behalf of demons, but when he mentioned you were gettingthrown into the Pit for your poor job performance… well, we had to at least look into it.”
I blink, too stunned to form words. A human prayed on my behalf?Byron. Byron prayed for me?
Noticing my surprise, Donovan smirks and says, “Yes. You must’ve left quite the impression on that human on Earth. In fact, I’m also here for another reason.”
I lift my brows and stare up at him, suddenly feeling incredibly small. He leans down, still smirking that awful smirk of his and says, “You caught the attention of our hiring department.”
A sharp laugh bubbles up my throat. It’s louder than I mean it to be, and the other demons around me flinch and press their backs against the wall. Donovan rolls his eyes as he straightens.
“Yes, I know. I was amused, too, and thought it was a joke at first.”
I’m laughing so hard tears spill down my cheeks, and I dab at them.
“Are you quite done?” He glares at me.
I gnaw on my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll get it together. Okay, I’m good,” I say, and my tail curls behind me.
“Good. Our hiring department noted the soul you saved from possible damnation. At that human’s current rate, his trajectory was for Hell. You’ve turned him around,” he says. My heart swells, and my tail snaps against the floor, cracking like a whip. The demons behind me cower and let out sniveling whimpers. Oh, good grief. No wonder they couldn’t cut it and were doomed for the Pit, if my tail scares them.
“And?” I say, batting my lashes prettily. “He’s going to be okay, then?”
Please let Byron be okay. It would be a blow to my own soul if he ever wound up down here. He’s a little rough aroundthe edges. A work in progress. But who isn’t? He hasn’t done anything to earn himself a place down here. Not yet, at least.
“Most likely, thanks to you. Which leads me to my next point. An offer of employment,” he says.
“W-What?” I stammer. “No, there must be some mistake. I’m a terrible employee. I was about to get demoted to the Pit!”
He flashes me a smug smile. “Yes, I’m aware. But you were a poor employee… here.” He gestures to the room full of bewildered demons.
I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
“Your lack of conviction in your work and reluctance for cruelty and malice are an asset in Heaven, Miss Faith, She Who Is Ironically Named For A Demon,” he says, and his lips curl into a sardonic grin. Ugh, I hate this angel’s face, but I love the words coming out of his mouth right now.
“So, you’re saying that because I’m terrible at my job in Hell, I have a shot at a job in Heaven?” I ask. “I’m worthy of Heaven?” They think I’m good. They think I’m worthy of working upstairs. This can’t be real. But I’m trash, right? That’s what my boss always told me. “Just want to make sure I’m getting this straight.”
Donovan nods. The demon officer behind the desk stops typing and looks up at me, her jaw slack. Yeah. She can’t believe this shit, either. At least it’s not just me.
“That’s precisely what I am saying,” Donovan says, then squeezes the bridge of his nose. “I would rather not have to explain myself again, and I urge you to consider this carefully, Miss Faith. This is not an offer extended often. Do you accept?”
My heart thrums again in my chest. A chance at redemption. A chance at getting out of Hell and in a job where I finally might be appreciated. It’s more than I could have ever asked for or even dreamed of. It’s the solution to all my problems. No penthouse on the Lake of Fire, which is unfortunate, but at leastI wouldn’t have to pretend I enjoyed my job. I could apply myself somewhere that suits me better.
But then Byron’s face appears in my mind, and my stomach curdles like spoiled milk.
