Beelzebub Girl (19 page)

"I know someone who can help," I said, softly. "Amber's a necromancer and she's agreed to get involved."

"She's keen on exhibiting her skills on TV?" Dad snorted. "That's even worse than hanging a blinking banner over her head and shouting it from a rooftop."

"She said she'd love to," I lied. "Give us a shot, please. You won't be disappointed."

Dad sighed. For a moment, we sat in silence. Chewing on my inner lip, I held my breath as I wait for his answer.

"We'll do it," Dad said, unconvinced. "I realise you're a grown up now. It's about time I trusted you more."

I jumped into his arms and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Dad. You'll be so proud of me."

"Even more so than I am already?" Dad whispered. "I doubt that's possible, sweetie."

Raising a child in Hell is a family business, meaning everyone, including the great-great aunt, chime in as they see fit, calling at the most inconvenient times to scold or praise. Getting married was a huge deal so, naturally, sending an invitation wouldn't do the trick.

Dallas and I would have to see everyone individually to get their blessing.

My aunts lived a rather modern life, traveling and marrying mortals, seeking careers and trying to blend in. Dad, being the conventional one in the family, had always been keen on keeping me away from them. Apart from the morsel of information Dad had passed my way throughout the years and what I'd read on the usual birthday and Christmas card, I didn't know much about their lives.

Before I could dive into this adventure though, I had to ensure I kept my promises to Dad.

I waited until Dad returned to work before descending into Distros, marvelling how nothing ever seemed changed down here. The quietness was even more disconcerting than the last time I visited with Dallas. I decided to call on Amber first because she was a key player in my campaign, then move on to Theo. If the girl didn't agree to participate, I'd have no problems finding another ghost, but a necromancer might be tougher to hire.

The little hut was bathed in silence. I knocked and listened for any movement, or stray thought, giving away Amber's presence, but nothing stirred.

She's right behind you,
Kinky said a moment before I felt a soft breeze on my neck, barely more than a mortal's last breath.

I turned slowly, ignoring my racing heart, and smiled. "Here you are."

Amber opened the door and let me walk past into the tidy living room. Given how little she cared for cleaning, I figured it must be Aidan's doing.

"Cop a squat and I'll make you a cup of tea. We can have some girl talk." She gazed at me. "Wait. I can sense you're not here to talk about my newest pair of shoes. What can I do for you, Cass?"

The frostiness in her voice didn't go unnoticed. I wondered whether Dallas told her about our engagement. If so, it wasn't in her nature to keep quiet. Knowing her, she was more likely to scream and kick, and maybe even pour a glass of holy water over my head like she did to Aidan when she found out he was a vampire.

"Dallas mentioned you'd be happy to help with my campaign," I said.

"Of course, as long as it's really about promoting Disneyland."

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"It's not." My heart started hammering again. "Did Dallas tell you we're getting married?" Smirking, she averted her gaze. I guessed that was an affirmative then. "You're not keen on the idea," I continued, unfazed. "It's okay. I can't blame you for not having a very good opinion of the devil's daughter."

Amber sat next to me and grabbed my hand, dropping it just as quickly. For a moment, silence ensued as though she needed to prepare her words. "You're not what I expected," she said, eventually.

"How so?"

She hesitated again, gaze sweeping over the old paperback on the side table. "You really seem to like Dallas. You're helping us hide here even though you don't know our reasons." She looked up, frowning. "You don't know the reasons, do you?"

I shook my head, only now remembering I meant to find out and then forgot.

"Why are you doing this?" Amber continued. "What are you gaining from all of this? Shouldn’t you be—"

"Screwing you over?" I laughed. "See, that's why we need to set straight a few clichés about Hell. I'm helping you because I want Dallas to focus on our relationship rather than worry about your safety all the time."

She nodded. "Fair enough. I didn't know he was that worried. We would've never told him anything if his own life wasn't at stake."

"Does he know you're a vampire?"

Peering at me, she barely blinked. "What gave me away?"

"Call it intuition." Amber nodded as if impressed. "So, answer the question, did you spill to your brother?"

"Dallas knows I can talk to the dead, but I might have left out a few tiny details." She avoided my gaze.

"Like being a blood sucker."

A glint of anger flashed in her eyes. "I don't drink blood. I—"

Grinning, I held up a hand. "I'm kidding. I was there to witness the ritual, remember? And I certainly broke every rule." Like stealing the book from right under everyone's nose. Apart from Aidan, no one even saw me. That still had me giggling a few weeks later. Taking stuff every now and then was the easiest and most harmless way to please my fallen angel nature.

"Thanks for not telling Dallas about any of that. He would've freaked. I only mentioned my gift—" she raised her brows "—or should I say 'curse' because he wouldn't leave it alone. He knew something was wrong and I cracked under the pressure. You don't know Dallas. He won't let up until he has the truth in his hands."

I could only hope he wouldn't find out 'my truth' then. Inching closer, I soaked up the various emotional undercurrents wafting from her. "But you didn't tell him about me. Why?"

She shrugged. "That's your job."

I nodded. "Thanks for understanding."

"Never said I did." She sighed. "You're helping us, so I'm going to return the favour because I'd rather not owe you. What is it you want me to do?"

"Well—" I ran a hand through my unruly hair. "I was thinking of a reality show to increase Hell's popularity."

Amber snorted. "A television reality show? You mean one that's full of drama and mayhem? You want more people down here?"

"The reason's more delicate." I hesitated, hoping she wouldn't persist, but the prying personality trait must run in Dallas's family.

"As you can see, I have all day," Amber said.

I wasn't comfortable talking about Dad's affairs, but I feared if I didn't open up I'd never get to sorting out my other issues. "You must promise you won't tell anyone." I waited until Amber nodded, then continued, "Dad wants Mum back."

"Wait, I thought your mother was dead."

"Just because she's in Heaven doesn't mean she's dead." I rolled my eyes. "She's an angel." Amber cocked a brow. I held up a hand to stop any more questions. "I was hoping you could help me host a it."

She stared at me, amused. "You mean something like
Big
Brother
?"

I cringed. "More like a mixture between a talk and a family reunion show."

"Sounds great." She glanced at the door as though she was expecting another visitor. I only now realised Aidan wasn't here.

"Where's Aidan?" I asked, frowning. "You're supposed to stay inside."

"He needed to stretch his legs."

She's lying.
I didn't need Kinky to tell me that.

I know where he is,
Pinky said.
Snooping around the place. He's
looking for something, but I don't know what.

I freed my mind as I dove into Amber's head, searching for whatever secret she was trying to hide. But whatever her intentions were, she fought to keep them out of her consciousness. "If you have questions, you could just ask," I said.

"You'd better not get involved, Cass."

As in, mind your own business. Compared to the other layers of Hell, Distros was a small place. If Theo didn't know what Aidan was up to, someone else would. I smiled and changed the subject. "Are you up for raising the dead?" Amber shot me a surprised look. I shrugged.

"What? You need practice, I need someone who has enough presence to divert the attention from me. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

"Who will see it?"

"A local network will be broadcasting it." I didn't tell her that my plan included intercepting every single TV station in the world so everyone with a TV set would watch the show.

If she knew, she might just get her fangs all in a twist.
Kinky laughed at his own joke.
Fangs. Get it?

I bit my lip hard so I wouldn't join in the hysteria.

"Aidan wouldn’t be happy," Amber said.

I shrugged. "Then don't tell him."

"I can't do it." She moistened her lips, averting her gaze. Guilt could be a terrible weapon, and I was all for using it.

"We have a strict no-vampires rule in Hell. Dad doesn’t know you're here, but it's only a matter of time until he finds out."

She peered at me, frowning. "You think he'll kick us out?"

I tilted my head, raising my brows meaningfully. "That, or worse. You're not safe out there, and you know it. Now if you were to help out Dad, he might be more inclined to let you stay here until you've sorted out your issues."

"You don't understand. The one who's chasing us won't give up so easily. It might never be over."

"Layla will eventually get bored of you stealing her boyfriend," I said. What was one missing vampire from an entire harem? The truth was, if Amber didn't unknowingly enter a paranormal race and win the necromancer ability, she wouldn't have the entire Lore court hunting her.

"I didn't steal him," Amber hissed. "He never dated her. It's more of a fatal attraction—something like, 'if I can't have him, no one can.'

Anyway, I'm not talking about Layla."

I raised my brows. "Who else is stronger than Aidan?"

"The one who turned him," Amber whispered.

"Rebecca?" I laughed. Yet another of Aidan's jealous exes. The guy sure knew how to pick them. "She's stuck in vampire limbo." I knew that because I saw her through the eyes of Dad's winged demons aka gatekeepers. Amber entered the Otherworld to retrieve Layla's spell book so Aidan could perform a ritual that would help him live without a need for blood or constant darkness. Rebecca almost killed Amber before Aidan turned his beloved to save her life, or so I figured. But, of course, I might miss a few pieces of the puzzle.

Rebecca should still be dead, burned to the bone by Dad's demons.

Amber shook her head. "She found a way out, and now she's hell-bent on revenge. If that crazy psychopath can't get to us, then she'll try for her next target. Somebody we care about. Somebody who's mortal and easy to kill."

"Dallas," I whispered.

"Yes," said Amber.

My heart dropped. "No! She'll never touch him. Not while I'm alive. I won't let her. I know a few tricks to keep that psycho away."

My nails dig into my palms until my skin burned. "I don't believe it.

How is she still alive? None of this makes sense. She died in that fire."

"Aidan believes she didn't."

Losing Dallas scared me to death, but I needed to keep a clear head here. Aidan was wrong. "It must be someone else because Dad's demons turned her into roast beef."

"You're probably right. We don't know." Amber grabbed my hand and leaned closer, her gaze connecting with mine. "That's why we need to stay here until Aidan finds out what's going on."

"Then you'd better put the necromancer in you to good use." I paused and squeezed her hand. "Dallas's natural charm must run in the family. You'll be an instant hit with viewers."

Her laugher rang through the air like a chime. "I like your style."

"Do we have a deal?"

She shook my outstretched hand. "Deal."

I spent another five minutes engaged in small talk, then left with the promise to send someone over tomorrow so she could work on her script. Of course she had to have a cocky comeback line.

"I thought reality shows were unscripted."

"You don't really believe that? Reality is an illusion. Do you watch
The Hills
? Trust me, all reality shows are scripted...and some very, very bad." I knew because I had stalked most of these so-called stars, but Amber needn't know that.

"Hmm. Guess you learn something new everyday." Taking me by surprise, she leaned to air-kiss me on the cheek. I waved goodbye and shut the door. Had I just tamed the dragon and she was about to welcome me into the family? Maybe Dallas was the charming one, but it seemed like I wasn't bad either.

Theo's house was situated on the other side of Distros. I didn't want to waste my time walking through the woods, so I programmed her name into my phone and beamed myself on her porch.

She was sitting on the cold wooden floor again, her blonde hair swaying in the wind.

"Hello," I said, taking two hesitant steps, lest I scare her.

She looked up, confused, and for a moment I doubted she remembered me. Then a tiny flame of recognition flickered in her pale, blue eyes.

"Cass," she whispered, holding out her hand.

I grabbed it tight and sat down next to her. "Listen, there's something you need to do for me." She nodded, so I continued, "I know a necromancer who can reach your sister, but you'll have to trust me."

Her eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. "Are we running away from here?"

I shook my head. "Let's just say, we're on temporary leave."

"I'm in," she said, taking me by surprise.

"You don't want to know what's involved?"

She smiled. "I prayed for a chance to warn Sofia before dying.

You don't look like us, so you must be one of the guards, or maybe you're my guardian angel. I don't care. I'd do anything to have my last wish fulfilled."

"Thank you." I pressed her skinny body to my chest whispering,

"If you do a good job your sister will be safe."

What are you doing?
Pinky hissed.
You can't promise that
because you're not allowed to intervene.