Damned and Desperate (30 page)

Wait. What?

My dad stood on shaky legs, tying the blanket around his waist before Aedan helped him into my white cotton bathrobe. “I’m sorry, Baby Ash. I have to go.”

The lead weight, formerly known as my heart, felt as if it dropped to the floor. “What? You’re leaving?” This couldn’t be happening.

The lines around my dad’s eyes tightened as his dark circles drooped. It was then I realized something. Everyone in Heaven looked ageless and perfect except him. He still bore the weight of the world on his chest. “I have to.”

My arms fell limply by my sides. The sorrow in my dad’s eyes reflected the hopelessness in my heart. How could he leave so soon? It wasn’t fair. “But I never even got to know you.”

My dad crossed the distance between us, wrapping me in a warm hug. I sank into him, not even caring he was sort of naked and this hug should have been awkward.

“Ashley,” he breathed against my hair as he held me tight, “we’ll have an eternity to get to know each other. I promise.” He pulled back, squeezing my shoulders. “I’ll only be gone a decade or so. The time will fly by before you know it. Besides, though my memories are a bit fuzzy, I believe you have another loyal guardian.” He flashed a sideways smile at Aedan.

He was right. I did have an awesome guardian, my brave and loyal boyfriend. My mom had nobody except my spoiled sister, whom I guessed was kind of awesome for getting my mom a new puppy. A loveable Lab was just what she needed to help deal with my death.

I forced a smile of my own. “Give Mom lots of love from me.”

Dad threw back his head and laughed. It was deep and rich, and just the kind of laugh I’d expect the most awesome guardian in eternity to have. “Lots of big sloppy kisses. I promise.”

Callum O’Connor

Dear God, I’d never been so frightened in all my life, though I did my damnedest not to let my fear show, to pretend the possibility of losing Cara in that avalanche of rock meant nothing to me. Steam poured out of my mouth and sweat dripped down my back as I shoveled rubble with my bare hands, but for every stone I removed, ten more took its place.

King Og had taken half his army to free the two Nephilim slaves from the quarry. They returned with shovels and carts. After a brief, tearful reunion, the two freed giants took charge, showing us how to work together to move the rocks faster.

We worked tirelessly until we found the first giant, buried under a crush of rocks and dead demonling spiders. The giant was alive, but barely. Fortunately, the Nephilim had brought vials of holy water, and they revived him.

The second two giants were found shortly after, followed by Mother. The spider’s legs flailed and then stilled when the imprisoned giant named Zam smashed her head with a big chunk of silver. The spider disappeared in a cloud of dust, banished to torment souls in a lower level of Hell. Fingers crossed Mother never escaped and sought vengeance, for she’d been a formidable enemy indeed.

One of the giants waved us over when he unearthed a small pocket of air. He pushed inside as others followed. My legs felt weighted down with a thousand stones as I trudged toward the opening. My arms and wings were so fatigued, I did not climb as deftly into the hole as the giants before me, but Shadow flew to my side, helping me down.

The place was only lit with a single candle. The Nephilims’ shadows obscured most of the light. And then I saw Cara, her back ramrod straight as she faced down the giant before her. She was covered in soot, one sleeve torn and her arm badly bleeding. For the first time, I noticed that tattoo on her shoulder extended down her arm. I saw another on an exposed leg. These were not ordinary tattoos, for they were raised and resembled flames. She tilted her chin, issuing the giant a challenging glare while demon priestesses huddled together behind her.

“If you’ve come to harm us, you’ll have to get by me first.” And then, much to my amazement, she burst into a ball of fire.

“Cara!” I yelled. “We’ve not come to hurt you. We’re rescuing you.”

Her flame went out like a candle snuffed by water. “Callum!” she cried and ran to me. “I thought the dragon ate you! I thought you were gone forever.”

As tired and sore as I was, I wrapped her in my arms, holding her close to my chest as she cried against me. Her charred robe hung off her skin, and the acrid smell of smoke and burned flesh filled my lungs. Now it all made sense. She was a flame demon. I’d seen her kind before, usually those who’d died in infernos. I knew she had to be suffering, and the exposed parts of her body not covered in tattoos would probably blister. One of the giants handed me a vial of holy water, and I splashed it all over her body. She leaned against me, moaning in relief.

I kissed her forehead, my eyes brimming over with tears of joy. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“Callum.” She pulled away, her watery gaze searching mine. “All this time Mother has been fooling us. I’ve been so blind.”

“It’s okay.” I wiped her tears with my thumb. “What matters is you’re safe. Let’s get you out of here.”

She shivered. “Where will I go?”

“With me.” I breathed against her hair. “I’m not losing you again.”

Ash MacLeod

After my uncle and grandma escorted my dad to what Uncle Mikey referred to as the guardian holding area, we knew that was our chance to sneak back down. We were going to the pyramid, no biggie, but I feared Grandma would cause a big stink if she found out. Aedan wanted to get there as quickly as possible. Since time passed more slowly in Hell’s fourth dimension, the Nephilim could have already returned to the pyramid. Who knew how they’d react to finding the devil woman in their midst? Hopefully, Cam was able to smooth things over.

All I needed was five minutes to compose myself. I went to the bathroom, pretending I had to freshen up; although, I was pretty much eternally fresh in Heaven. Truthfully, I needed a moment alone to cry. I’d just lost my best buddy, after all. So as I sat on the toilet and sobbed my heart out, five minutes turned to ten, and ten turned to twenty. After a while, I didn’t think I’d be able compose myself long enough to leave. I’d grown up thinking all dogs went to Heaven. Bullshit. In the blink of an eye, my best friend was my dad and my dad was gone. God’s angry water trick was cruel, but this was by far the cruelest thing he’d ever done to me. How could I be happy in Heaven without Jack?

Somewhere deep within my subconscious, I thought I heard a whisper:
You have Aedan.

True. I did have Aedan, and he was by far the best thing that had ever happened to me. He’d risked his soul twice for me, first by descending into the pit of Hell to save me from abduction, and then he’d fought a soul-sucking dragon to keep me safe. I didn’t know any other guy who’d have done that for me. Well, except for Jack. But Jack was gone now. I should have been running into Aedan’s arms, showering him with kisses.

As if on cue, I heard a light tap on the door. “Ash, sweetheart, you okay?”

I sucked in a sob. “Yeah,” I said half-heartedly.

“Would you open up?”

Unable to bear the look of pity in Aedan’s eyes, I hung my head as I opened the door.

He cupped my chin, forcing me to look at him as he wiped my cheek with his thumb. “Hey, no tears in Heaven.”

My throat tightened, feeling as if it would seal shut. “I miss him.”

Aedan planted a tender kiss on the top of my head. “I know you do, sweetheart, but it won’t be long and you’ll be together again.” He wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin against my temple. “We have company.”

I sniffled. “We do?”

“Yeah.” He laced his fingers through mine. “Let us cheer you up.”

Imagine my surprise when I found Inés drinking lattes and eating cheesecake in our kitchen.

“Hola, chica!” She threw out her hands, pulling me into her strong embrace and crushing me with her heavy breasts.

“Inés!” I struggled out of her grip as I looked at her. She was beautiful, as in super-model perfect, and she actually had flapping wings. “You got your wings.”
And a few other parts
, I wanted to add as I admired her generous cleavage in a tight neon top.

“Sure did.” She spun around, showing off two iridescent wings with rainbow hues. “I had them specially made. Aren’t they pretty?”

I let out a low whistle. “They’re beautiful.” Then I added with sincerity, “You’re beautiful.”

“Not just beautiful,” she said with a haughty air. “Divine.”

Uncle Mikey stepped from behind the counter, offering her a generous slice of cheesecake.

“Uncle Mikey?” I eyed him warily. “You’re back?”

“No, no.” Inés’s wings buzzed as she waved away the cheesecake. “This ain’t your uncle. He’s my valet.” Her cheeks flushed as she shot me a sly look. “He sort of looks like him.”

I shook my head, laughing under my breath. “They’re identical.”

“Well, I just stopped by to say ‘hi.’ My valet promised me a hot stone massage. I don’t want to keep him waiting.” She growled before biting her plump pink lip, holding out her arms to Aedan. “Give me some sugar, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Delicious.”

Aedan hugged her, and then she planted a big, pink lipstick smooch on his cheek. “You spin me right round, baby,” she said with an exaggerated wink. “If she breaks your heart again, give me a call.”

She turned to me with open arms, acting as if she hadn’t just tried to steal my boyfriend right in front of me. “So nice to see you, darling.” She pulled me closer, whispering into my ear. “You remember to treat him right.”

I squeezed her back. “I will.”

No sooner had we shown Inés out when the same pimple-faced porter who had delivered Aedan’s first message from the Grim Union was at the door.

“Aedan O’Connor?” he asked as he held out an envelope.

“Yeah,” Aedan answered through a hardened jaw.

The porter slapped the envelope in Aedan’s hand. “I have a summons for you from the Supernatural Retrieval Committee.”

Awww, shit. The Grim Union.
I knew this had to be about the scythe. I sure as heck hoped King Og had found it. If not, well, we’d weathered far worse than losing a scythe. Aedan and I would overcome this. And if they knocked him all the way down to the bottom level of Purgatory, I’d go, too. Heaven wouldn’t be Heaven without Aedan. Besides, living in the slums of Purgatory sure beat being stuck in the pit of Hell. I’d rather eat out of a dumpster than drink angry water. Well, not really, but it didn’t matter, because I’d just have my family smuggle us food.

Aedan took the envelope, and without saying a word, slammed the door in the porter’s face. He wasted no time ripping open the letter. He briefly scanned the contents before wadding it up in a ball and shoving it in his pocket.

I laced my fingers through his, searching his dark gaze. “Aedan?”

He shrugged, trying to play it off as if it was no big deal. “It’s just a summons.”

For a split second, my knees weakened before I forced myself to suck it up. I wasn’t about to let some stupid summons intimidate me. “Are you going to answer it?”

“After I speak with King Og.”

After all the shit we’d endured the past few days, fingers crossed we got some good news for once.