Good Side of Sin (32 page)

Omega looked over his shoulder at him and grinned wickedly before looking back to Isaiah. “If the demon says it’s unlike Hell, I will only have to take him at his word. I’ve never been there myself.”

Thoros’ eyes dilated as he glared at the side of Omega’s face, but he made no comment. Everyone expected him to be good. And he was trying. He really, really was.

Josselyn’s arms tightened around him as she cleared her throat. Thoros drew in a calming breath and forced himself to relax, all the while thinking that if he were still a prince over the Syde of Lust this shithead would be begging for mercy by now. He didn’t need powers to hurt him, but Josselyn was here, and she had asked him not to start or finish a fight with G.I. Joe, because they “needed him”. Thoros rolled his eyes, thinking that he couldn’t wait for the moment the asshat wasn’t “needed” any longer.

“What about the people here? And the living conditions?” Isaiah asked, after passing a man in ragged clothing that was sitting on the side of the narrow pathway. The man didn’t say anything to Omega. He actually appeared to be avoiding eye contact with any of them. Thoros’ eyebrows drew down in thought, and then he looked back at Omega as Isaiah’s question was answered.

“It’s really not a bad place to spend eternity. Most people stay away from the city, trying to avoid the other guests here. They like being alone, because that way they only have to deal with their own fears.”

“I see,” Isaiah said, but it didn’t sound as if he actually did.

Omega nodded to the right at a magnificent gray and indigo colored castle sitting atop a tall mound. The grass surrounding it was greener than any Thoros had ever seen before.

“That is our destination. Queen Melina’s castle. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Thoros glanced in the direction Omega nodded to. The castle was exquisite in every way. He had seen many fine ones as a human, but none as perfect as this one. It was an illusion, though, he knew. He could see through the façade of it. It was a mouse trap, a prison of death, and they were the mice. His biggest fear was that Queen Melina was going to want something they would never be able to give her. Then they would be trapped here forever. His free hand came up to cover Josselyn’s linked fingers at his waist, and he felt a rush of panic shoot through him. He had to protect her.

“Yes, it is that,” Thoros said, and then finished the rest of his thought under his breath, “though most things that are beautiful are extremely dangerous.” Thoros looked nervously behind him at Ethan and Emma. They were staring, completely mesmerized by the beauty of the massive castle.

Now would be an opportune time to start praying,
Thoros thought.

I could tell Thoros was nervous. So was I. Even knowing Isaiah could read both our thoughts, he hadn’t seemed to notice our uneasiness. Actually, he appeared to be delighted that we were here and going to have a meet and greet with the Queen of Limbo. It may have only been an act for Omega, but he was damn good if that was the case. Hollywood would be happy to stumble across someone with such natural acting talent. He did already know Melina, so he knew what to expect, though it had been thousands of years since they had seen one another. I could not wrap my mind around that—thousands of years.

I drew in a deep breath and followed Isaiah through the large door of the palace.

The interior was even more beautiful than I had imagined. The overwhelming feeling that I was about to meet the one person that held the fate of Heaven and Earth in her hands slammed into me like a wrecking ball. Uneasiness surrounded my heart and the blood began to rush through my veins as I told myself there was no way I could complete this mission successfully. The world was about to end and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it!

I wasn’t used to feeling panic. I was well trained to control my emotions, but this was just too much. I wasn’t prepared for this sort of situation. Nobody was.

Thoros tugged me off to the right and I realized that I had been drifting in my thoughts—more like stressing. Omega had told us to wait in the front sitting room for him so he could announce our arrival to the queen.
Good, maybe this wouldn’t take as long as I had so dreaded it would,
I thought, and then sat beside Thoros on a very comfortable ruby red sofa.

We shared a silent look, and then he sighed and pulled me to him, placing his lips on my forehead. The anxiety I was feeling must have been written all over my face. He held me against him, trying to comfort me when he couldn’t even hide the uncertainty of what would happen in his own eyes. “It will be okay,” he whispered. “I refuse to believe otherwise.”

“What if one day is not enough for her?” I whispered. “I begged the Council to allow me to offer her more. I mean, I would do it to be able to see you again, but I would
want
more. What do we do if she wants more? What if she doesn’t want to see him at all? She has the advantage. We can’t get out of here unless she lets us out. Thoros—”

I jerked when someone touched my shoulder and quickly looked up to see Aries and Emma standing behind the sofa. Aries had her eyes closed—not that it mattered, she couldn’t see anyway. She reached out and placed two fingers to each side of my head, in the center of my temples. “What—ahh…”

I heard Thoros’ worried voice asking her what she had done to me, but she didn’t reply. Whatever she had done felt amazing. I was relaxed, carefree and sleepy. I covered my mouth with my hand as a yawn escaped.

At that moment, Isaiah’s voice echoed through my mind.
“Worrying about things you can’t help is a waste of time, Josselyn. Think back to your training. Do not crowd your mind with unnecessary clutter. It will cloud your mind, and when you need to come up with a plan you will be unable to. Let it go. It will work out. You’ll see.”

I nodded and felt Aries’ touch leave me.

I recognized the sound of quick footsteps on a stone floor, but I couldn’t find the will to care much about why they were so swiftly approaching.

Thoros stood first and held out his hand to help me to my feet. At first I thought he was being ridiculous, but when I tried to stand unassisted, the room swam in front of my eyes, and the soft sofa was there to catch me when I collapsed.

Without laughing, he offered his hand again. I took it and let him help me stand at his side. The look on his face told me he wasn’t at all comfortable with what Aries had done to me. That made one of us. I felt great.

“Is she all right?” I heard Omega’s voice, but I didn’t have the energy to respond right away.

Thoros wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me upright and molded to the side of his body. I was so tired. I leaned my head against Thoros’ chest and drooled on his shirt, but he didn’t seem to care. That was good, because I really couldn’t help it.

“She will be fine—I hope,” Thoros said in a clipped tone.

“She will be after she rests awhile,” Aries said. “She was already so anxious, and I knew of the news you were bringing us. It would have only made her condition worse.”

I thought mildly. News? Should I be upset about something?

“You already know of what I came to tell you?” Omega said.

I couldn’t lift my eyelids to check out his astonished expression, but I could hear it in his voice.

“Yes, I do,” Aries said. “The queen told you she would meet us at the masquerade ball, thrown in honor of our visit, and that you are to show us to our rooms to get rested up and refreshed for tonight’s festivities.”

We are going to a ball? I love balls!

There was a long moment of silence and I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, but then Omega snapped me back awake with his voice. My eyes jerked open to focus on him, but I still felt dizzy and nauseous at the sudden movement.

“What are you?” he demanded, and then looked to Thoros with an accusing stare. “What have you brought with you through the gates of Limbo? Queen Melina will have your heads for this!”

Thoros shrugged. “We are immortal—”

“Well, then you can be immortal with no head!” Omega shouted.

I heard Ethan clear his throat and realized at that moment he hadn’t said much the whole time we’d been in Limbo.
I should be paying more attention to him. I can only imagine what’s going through his head. He must be so afraid.
I was almost certain the weirdest things he’d ever encountered had all happened in the last day or so.
I am such a horrible leader! And look, I am the only one freaking out about being here! Jesus, help me.

“Um… we aren’t all immortal. I kind of like my head where it is—”

“Please,” Isaiah said quietly, but the authority in his voice caught the attention of everyone and the room fell silent. “I think we all need a moment of rest. I know the last few days are beginning to wear on me. If you’ll show me to my quarters, Omega, I will bid you farewell until the ball.” He gave a hint of a smile. “I’m sure Melina still remembers what my measurements are.”

Measurements?
I thought, and then felt an arm behind my knees as my feet were swept from the floor.

I opened one eye and then hurriedly shoved myself into a sitting position. I had been lying in a strange bed in a beautiful room I had never seen before. Furthermore, I didn’t recall walking into it.

As I sat there nearly panicked, a low sound came from the other side of me. I whirled around and let out a breath of relief, my right hand coming up to cover my rapidly beating heart. It was Thoros, snoring softly beside me in the enormous feather-down bed.

The events of the day—or night—came rushing back at me and I had to lie back down to keep the dizzy feeling from consuming me. Aries had done something to me to force me to relax. I was thankful for it. I owed her big time. And to keep her from having to do it again, I had to get a hold of myself and not let my emotions get ahead of what was important: saving Heaven and Earth. I had to talk to the queen! How had I ended up in a bed with Thoros? Not that I was at all complaining, but the reality that Lucifer was winning this round of good versus evil was staring us all in the face.

“You awake?” Thoros said as his long, lean limbs stretched and reached out for me.

I let him pull me against his solid chest. He was warm and I allowed myself a moment to relish the fact that he was mine.

“What happened after I passed out?”

I felt his cheek move against the top of my head as he shook his head. “Nothing much. Melina refused to see us until the party.” He kissed my forehead and snuggled me closer. His steady breathing let me know he was only moments away from drifting back into the land of nod. Something was bothering me, though. I had done a good job of ignoring it, but now it was nagging at me and needed to be addressed.

“Thoros?”

“Hmmm?”

“When I was in front of the archangels asking to do this mission, Isaiah didn’t want me to do it. He said that I didn’t know what I was risking or something of the sort. I remember you saying something similar.” I felt him stiffen, but he didn’t say anything. “You said you didn’t think I have what it takes to come here to get Malcolm. That I wouldn’t be able to do what was necessary to save him. What did you mean?”

It was a while before he gave any sort of sign that he had even heard me, and when he did it was only a small chuckle. A chuckle that, to me, sounded forced and, to be honest, fake as hell. My bullshit-O-meter jumped into the red zone, and I waited for the lie that would roll off his tongue.

“That was nothing. I was only trying to get you worked up. I knew if I told you that you couldn’t do something it would only make you that much more determined to prove me wrong. See how well it worked?”

I moved out of his embrace so I could look up at his face. He was smirking, but I still didn’t feel confident that he wasn’t lying to me.

“Promise me that there isn’t something else I should know, Thoros. If you are hiding something—”

He placed a finger over my lips, cutting my sentence short, and shook his head. “I promise—”

A few short knocks came at the door. It opened, and in walked a petite teenage girl without waiting to be invited. Her hair was nearly white blonde and cut extremely short except for a long strip in the front that was pushed to the side, covering a third of her face, including her left eye. The style was odd indeed, but it somehow seemed to fit the sharp angles of her nose and jaw line perfectly. She turned and looked at us, her one hazel eye focusing on me and then lighting up with excitement as her magenta lips curved into a full smile.

“Get up! Get up!” the girl said in a chipper tone. “You’ll not want to be late for the ball and the meeting with the queen. I must say, she seems very eager to meet all of you. Disappointing her with your tardiness would be very rude, and not to mention very stupid on your part.”

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline, but I didn’t waste any more time lying in bed. I threw back the soft fabric of the bedspread and followed the girl into the enormous bathroom to see what was draped over her arms.

“I’m Trish, and I’m here to, um… fix you.”

“Josselyn. It’s a pleasure,” I mumbled, but my eyes weren’t focused on her.

The blood red object my eyes had been following with silent interest turned out to be fabric. Lots and lots of sheer and chiffon fabric. My mouth fell open as she stopped to hang the hanger on a hook, and then stood back and let me get my first good look at what was draped from it. It was a dress. And not only was it a dress, but it was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen in my entire existence, at least up close. Tiny iridescent stones sparkled from the bodice and I took a step forward so I could reach out and touch one of them.

A gasp escaped my throat and my fingers shot to my mouth. I cut my eyes over to look at Trish. “Are these…” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. It seemed too farfetched an idea.

She smiled, but only nodded as a response before turning and placing a large square case on the vanity. After unlatching it, she opened the top to reveal a portable salon in a box, and began to take out hair dryers, curling rollers and flat irons, brushes, picks, mascaras, eye shadows, powders and lip glosses. I suddenly felt faint and put my hand on the wall to steady my swaying body.