Ruby Shadows (6 page)

I
frowned at
her, trying to control my irritation. Did she not realize what
peril she had been in? If I hadn’t come to her the moment she
called, she would be dead by now, both her body and soul digesting
in the belly of the voracious Hellspawn. And yet she was acting as
if nothing had happened.

“
Yes, let us talk,”
I said, going over to the couch. I sat and patted a
spot beside me. “Come here.”

She
came—reluctantly, I thought—and settled beside me, not where I had
indicated but on the far side of the couch. She crossed her arms
and legs tightly as she turned to face me, presenting a closed face
and a tight mouth. Clearly she expected to be lectured.

I
had been
prepared to give her exactly what she was expecting. But the mulish
expression on her lovely face changed my mind. I would never get
through to her that way—another tactic was needed to get my little
witch to see sense.

I
leaned back
on the couch, one arm across the back of its faded floral fabric in
a pose of relaxation completely opposite to her tense, rigidly
upright posture.

“
You’re going to die soon, you know,” I remarked
conversationally. “I mean, even sooner than most humans, which is
saying something since your mortal lives are over in the blink of
an eye anyway.”

“
What?” She looked at me blankly.

“
But first,” I continued, “All those that you love are going to
die in various horrible ways, right before your eyes. Your beloved
grandmother included.”

“
What?”
She
was angry now, her vivid green eyes narrowed and her lush lips a
tight line. “How dare you say that to me?”

“
I’m simply stating the truth.” I drummed my fingers idly on
the back of the couch. “You didn’t close the door you opened into
the Abyss. I have been there and seen it, Gwendolyn.”

“
If you went and saw it, why didn’t you close it?” she
demanded. “Or did you just want to teach me a lesson?”

“
By exposing you to a vicious creature from Hell’s blackest
pit?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “That would seem to be what they
call “overkill” don’t you think? No, the reason I did not close the
door is that only the one who opened it may close it—the door will
react only to the touch of one who bears
your
soul signature. If you didn’t know that already, you
had no business opening it in the first place.”

“
All right, I knew it,” she grumbled. “I just thought, since
you’re a demon…”

“
Even my power is not limitless,
mon ange,”
I told her. “And there are rules to be obeyed.
Principles which govern all of Hell and cannot be broken on a
simple whim.”

“
Fine. So I didn’t shut the door. I
thought
I did, though,” she said earnestly. “I could have
sworn I did.”

“
In that you were wrong. The Hellspawn came for you because you
let it—you opened a way for it. You were careless and now you must
pay—and all your loved ones will pay with you.”

“
Why do you keep saying that
? Why should it want to kill the people I love?” she
demanded.

I
frowned at
her. “As to
why
it wants
to kill those you love, the Hellspawn will seek to inflict maximum
pain and suffering on its victim before it finally hunts them down
and kills them. The fear and anguish spices the meat, giving it
just the right flavor. Or so I am told.”

“
You’re sick,” she flared.
“And lying. It was coming for
me.
I’m the one it almost took!”

“
Because you were in your grandmother’s room. It was going to
take her first,”
I
pointed out.

She put a hand to
her mouth. “Oh my God… how did it even get in here in the first
place? Grams has every single door and window covered in the
strongest protection spells.”

“
You may have noticed that it used neither a door nor a
window,” I said dryly. “It tunneled in from beneath, neatly
avoiding your human magic.”

Gwendolyn
looked so ill I felt sorry for her—not that I would show it. She
would never learn if I allowed myself to show too much
compassion.

“
But if it was coming for Grams…”

“
It was. And I promise you, Gwendolyn, that it will hunt
down
everyone
you
love. Is there someone besides your grandmother that you hold
dear?”

Her face went pale. “
Keisha,” she murmured.

“
I’m sorry, who?” I leaned forward, inclining my head toward
her.

“
No one.” She shook her head tightly. “All right, I get it—this
thing is after me and everyone I love. So what can I do about
it?”

“
Nothing.” I shrugged, as though I didn’t care.

“
Nothing?” She stared at
me, her eyes wide and incredulous.
“Nothing?”

I gave her a slow
smile.

“
I
am afraid not. Not by yourself, anyway.”

* * * * *

Gwendolyn

I
lifted my
chin and glared at Laish defiantly. “That’s bullshit. I opened the
door, I’ll just go close it.”

Laish frowned.
“You are not so foolish as to believe it will be that simple,
Gwendolyn. Opening a door onto the Abyss is relatively easy—it can
be done in spirit form, as you did the night you dragged your
friend back from the afterlife. Closing it again, however…” He
shook his head. “Is quite a different matter.”

“
All right,” I said grudgingly. “I knew it wouldn’t be
easy
. But if I opened it, I
should
be able to close it.
Right?”

“
Not in spirit form.” Laish leaned forward, resting his elbows
on his knees and stared at me intently. “The only way you can close
the door completely is to go through the seven circles of Hell as
you are now, in your corporeal form, and physically close
it.”

I
stared at him blankly. Was he
crazy?

“
But I can’t do that. You
know
I can’t do that. It’s dangerous enough going through the
Shadow Lands and up to the Great Barrier. If I go past that and
into Hell itself, I’ll get stuck there forever.”

Laish sat
back, that annoying smirk playing around the corner of his luscious
mouth. “Only if you go alone and unescorted.”

I was beginning to
get a very bad feeling about this. “What are you saying?”

“
It is more what I am
offering
,” he corrected. “And what I am
offering
is to take you through the seven circles to the very
edge of the Abyss. I will keep you safe and be certain you are not
molested.”

I
put a hand on my hip. “In return for
what?
And don’t play innocent with me, Laish. You and I
both know that demons don’t give anything for free.”

“
You wound me,
mon ange.
Do
you really believe me to be so usurious?”

“
I
believe you’ll take what you can get,” I said grimly. “The question
is, am I willing to give it.”

“
No, Gwendolyn.” Laish spoke quietly but his eyes gleamed in
the dim lamp light. “The question is, what price will you pay to
keep your loved ones safe from the evil
you
have brought upon them? What price can you put on
love? Some might say no sum is high enough.” He shrugged. “Of
course, those that speak such foolishness have human emotions which
I, fortunately, am not burdened with.”

I felt my
mouth go dry. “What do you want?” I managed to ask. “The rights to
my eternal soul? Are we going to strike some kind of Faustian
bargain here?”

Laish laughed,
a low, rumbling sound that might have been pleasant to hear under
other circumstances. Now I found it incredibly annoying.

“
Not at all,
mon ange.
Contrary to popular belief, not every being who lives in Hell
is bent on collecting souls. I have no interest in or use for your
celestial spirit.”

“
What then?” I demanded, though in my heart, I already knew
what he was going to say.

His eyes burned like
fire. “It is not your soul I crave but your innocence—that rare
flower you keep to yourself, unsullied and unplucked by any up
until now.”

“
Well isn’t
that
a fancy
way of saying you want to sleep with me,” I said flatly. “I already
told you, Laish—I’m not giving it up for you.”

“
You won’t have to…not all at once,” he murmured, still giving
me that intense, burning look that made me feel naked. “Didn’t I
tell you I prefer a slow seduction, Gwendolyn?”

“
You…you did say something like that.” I wanted to look away
from his burning gaze but somehow I couldn’t. Under my fuzzy
bathrobe my nipples were suddenly so tight they ached and there was
a heat growing between my thighs that was hard to ignore. I crossed
my legs more tightly, glad I was on the far side of the couch from
him.

“
Therefore, we will take things step by step. Little by little
you will give yourself to me. You will open to me slowly but
you
will
open.”

“
But will you make me…will I have to sleep with you…in the
end?” I could barely get the words out.

Laish gave me a lazy smile. “That is for me to know,
mon ange.
But I promise that if
we
do
make love, it will be
because you want to, because you are aching with need—so tormented
with unfulfilled desire that you cannot help yourself. And then you
will give yourself gladly.”

“
You’re delusional,” I scoffed—or tried to. My words came out
as more of a squeak. “You think this is some kind of victory?
Forcing an unwilling woman to have sex with you?”

“
Firstly, I have not said that we will, in fact, have sex, as
you put it. And secondly, you will not be unwilling. In fact,
you’re not unwilling now.”

Suddenly he was
sitting right beside me—so close I could feel the heat of his big
body radiating against my side.

“
Ma cher,”
he
murmured, caressing my cheek softly with his knuckles. “So
beautiful, so untouched. I cannot wait to taste and pleasure you.
To hear the soft sounds you make when you come for me.”

“
I…you…” Somehow the words wouldn’t come out.
“I’m not…I don’t
want…”

“
Yes, you do.” His voice was soft and low. I wanted to pull
away from the gentle touch of his hand but I found I was frozen. “I
can smell your lust, my darling,” he murmured, still stroking my
cheek. “It perfumes the air around you no matter how tightly you
close your thighs.” He inhaled deeply, his eyes never leaving mine.
“How I look forward to breathing you in, tasting your sweetness
right from the source.”

“
Y-you can’t,” I stuttered. “I’ve never—”

“
But you will,” he assured me in that low, gentle voice. “We
will together, one slow step at a time. And if we do finally make
love, you will enjoy yourself to the fullest, I promise you
that.”

I
opened my mouth to reply but just then my Grams stalked
in
, wearing the
twin of my own fuzzy bathrobe only hers was green. She had a frown
on her face and her arms were crossed over her considerable bosom.
I couldn’t tell if she had heard Laish or not.

“
Grams!” I said, jumping up and smoothing down my bathrobe
guiltily.

“
Gwendolyn,” she said, glaring at me. “Just
what
is going on here, young lady? Who is this man
and what is he doing here in the middle of the night?”

Chapter Six

Gwendolyn

Grams was
really
not
happy to hear where I was going and who I was going with. And by
really not happy I mean
completely
pissed off.

“
You’re not going,” she said, glaring at me. “You’re not going
and that’s final, young lady.”

“
Grams,” I said patiently. “You don’t understand—I
have
to.”

“
I
do
understand. I understand
that you’re talking about going into Hell—
Hell, Gwendolyn—
and you’re going with a demon you called up
from the pit.”

“
Actually I live in the part of Hell the ancient Greeks termed
Hades,” Laish said blandly. “It’s quite scenic—I even have a lovely
pomegranate tree in my front yard.”

“
Oh, you think you’re so smart, young man,” Grams snapped. “I
know
exactly
what
you’re trying to say.”

“
What?” I demanded. “What is he trying to say?”

“
The food in Hell,” Grams said. “You can’t eat
any
of it. Can’t drink anything there
either.”