Hell Inc. (10 page)

 When
I finally awoke, I wished that I hadn't. There was an incessant
pounding in the back of my head, and when I reached questioning
fingers to tangle in my hair, they came away caked with dried blood.
I sat up slowly, propped by my elbows and waited for the spinning to
stop. I was tucked into my bed, and upon further inspection, I
realized that someone had stripped me of all but my bra and
underwear. But who? I looked over the edge of my bed and found the
sphinx lying comfortably on my area rug. “Um.” At the
sound of my voice, it looked up at me and smiled.

“What
is more precious than all the gold in Egypt?” it asked me and
sat up, trotting out of my room. Its body was far too large to pass
through a normal doorway, but as it approached, the opening shifted
to accommodate it. It was a bizarre twisting of space that
threatened to turn my headache into a migraine. I rubbed my weary
eyes and squeezed them shut for a moment. When I opened them, the
doorway had thankfully shifted back to normal. I'd seen it before,
true, but it never got any easier.

“Christ,
I could use a drink,” I groaned, wondering briefly if this
whole wishing thing was going to be the straw the broke the camel's
back and turn me into an alcoholic. As I was attempting to swing my
legs out of bed, Levie entered the room followed by the sphinx. I
closed my eyes to avoid more awkward dimension twisting and opened
them to find the demon standing directly in front of me, frowning.

“What,
may I ask, do you think that you are doing, you stupid girl?” I
looked up at him and shrugged. Even that little bit of movement
created white spots in my vision.

“Getting
up, I think. Why do you care anyway?” Levie said nothing, just
moved out of my way. That's when I remembered that I wasn't wearing
much. I threw myself back under the covers and gasped as a wave of
dizziness hit me. I felt like I was going to pass out again. “How
did I get here? Who undressed me?” I choked out.

“I
did, of course. Who else did you expect? That ...
man
... from the museum I suppose.” At this, Levie's
usual scowl deepened into something more sinister.
What does he
have against Terrence?
I
wondered.
He doesn't even know him.

“You
undressed me?” The very thought of Levie carrying me, passed
out, to my apartment and taking off all of my clothes sort of freaked
me out. He had every chance to take an advantage. How would I even
know? “You didn't ... you didn't ... you know. Did
you?” I squeaked. If the look on his face was anything to go
by, the mere thought of touching me horrified him.

“Are
you suggesting that I would need to take advantage of a helpless
woman to satisfy myself?” Levie puffed out his chest like some
sort of rooster or male peacock and glared threateningly at me. “Do
you not think that I could have a woman fairly if I so chose? Do I
appear hideous to your eyes?” I decided not to say anything
more; it didn't appear that there was an answer I could give that
would satisfy us both. At least now I was fairly confident that he
hadn't touched me more than necessary. Watching the sphinx look from
me to Levie doubly reassured me. And besides, he wasn't really that
kind of guy, was he?

“Why
did you help me out?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Wouldn't it be better for you if I died now rather than later?
Then you could go home.” A look of irritation crossed Levie's
features before he pursed his lips and looked down his nose at me.

“If
you had died, there would have been complications as you have not
received you third wish; it's a violation of our contract. Besides,
since it would have been your mother who would have caused your
death, I would be even worse off than I am now. Uncle Lucifer
considers it my fault that you made that horrid wish in the first
place. If it were to kill you prematurely, it would not be question
of the rack or the pits: it would be the river.” I wasn't
exactly sure what 'the river' was, but I was pretty sure I didn't
want to ask. I fought down a small stab of disappointment that his
motives weren't more knight-like. You know the kind, save the pretty
maiden for the sake of chivalry? Not that I was into that (I wasn't,
really), but I sighed anyway. Oh, well. Guys like that didn't
really exist. I was old enough to have figured that one out by now.

But
wait. The other pair of arms, the ones that had pulled my mother off
of me. Who? I looked up at Levie and wondered if he would tell me.
Before I had a chance to ask, the phone rang. Levie snorted and
turned away, as if offended by the sound. I answered it anyway.
“Hello?” I asked, hoping to high hell that it wasn't my
mother. I didn't know if I ever wanted to speak to her again.

“Ginger?”
The voice on the other end was pleasant but not all that familiar. “I
told him you should probably go to a hospital, but he refused, and I
wasn't sure what he would do to you if I argued with him. I've never
really met a demon before.” Aha. The other pair of arms.
Terrence. I knew it. I couldn't help the grin that split my face.
He called just as I was thinking about him. Maybe we're
psychically connected or something?

“That
was probably a smart idea,” I said, glancing at Levie and then
cupping a hand around my mouth. “He's kind of a temperamental
asshole.” Terrence laughed, and I felt the butterflies take off
in the pit of my stomach again.

“Well,
I'm glad to hear that you're okay. I was really worried. Are you
sure you're still going to meet us at the restaurant tomorrow? I'm
sure the crew would understand if I explained.” I was just as
sure that 'the crew' wouldn't, but I didn't really care what they
thought.

“Yeah,
I'll be fine. I'm just a little dizzy.” I remembered the dried
blood that was matted into my hair. “And in need of a shower.”
I could almost feel the smile that I heard next in his voice.

“Well,
take care Ginger Malloy, and I will see you at two tomorrow, if
that's alright?” I wished that we were meeting for a more
pleasant reason but hey, I was going to take what I could get and not
complain. I'd been waiting a long time for a lunch date with the
Queen Bee.

“Sounds
good, Terrence,” I replied, noticing the angry movements that
Levie was making with his wings as he pointedly looked everywhere
around the room but at me and the phone. I was about to say good-bye
and hang up when Terrence spoke again.

“Oh,
and Ginger ... I wasn't sure what to do with your mother so I
just let her run away. I hope that was okay? I can't help but feel
responsible for interrupting your lunch.” It really didn't
matter to me what had caused her to act like that. It was horrible,
not to mention just plain weird. The most tragic part about all of it
was that even in her worst drugged state, she'd never tried to hurt
me like that. I think I was beginning to understand what the Devil
and Levie were worried about. What if I had accidentally wished for
a boyfriend? I shivered.

“No,
it wasn't your fault and thanks for letting her go. Don't give it
another thought, okay? I'll see you tomorrow, and I'll bring the
sphinx. Good night.” I hung up before he had another chance to
speak and let out a deep sigh. Levie snorted again, and I wondered
what his problem with Terrence was. “Why do you hate him so
much?” Levie stalked towards the doorway as if he hadn't even
heard me but stopped before he reached it and turned back around.

“I
hate all humans. I merely find that one in particular to be an
ungracious fop.” It sounded like a load of crap to me, but I
let him continue his predator walk out of the room and looked back at
the sphinx.

“Is
he this weird because he's a demon?” I asked, and the sphinx
merely blinked. “Or because he's a man?” It couldn't even
come up with a riddle to answer that one so I shrugged off the
overall feeling of irritation at his attitude and continued on my
quest to get out of bed and crawl into the shower. The sphinx watched
me carefully as I stumbled over to my dresser and opened the top
drawer. I rummaged around blindly, trying to blink away the last of
my vision spots until I found a comfy T-shirt and some pajama pants.
Both faded, both oversized, both
comfy
.

The
steam and water felt fantastic on the rest of my body, but my head
still ached, especially when I shampooed the blood out of my hair. I
lingered long after I'd finished, washing until the water ran cold
then dressed in the pajamas and ventured into the living room to see
what Levie was up to.

He
was sitting crossed legged on the couch reading a romance novel.
Surprise, surprise. What else did he ever do? He ignored me, also
not unusual, so I went over and sat next to him on the couch. The
sphinx followed me in and curled up into a ball near the kitchen
doorway, releasing a contented sigh and closing his eyes.

“Why
do you like those things so much?” I asked, examining the cover
which featured a tall, hairy man wearing a loin cloth and a blond
woman passed out in his arms. “Is it the sex parts you like or
the romance?” Levie adjusted the spectacles he only wore when
reading and licked a finger. He turned the page and kept reading. I
puffed my cheeks out and settled into the couch cushions. “You
just don't seem like the type that would read that kind of stuff,”
I explained needlessly. Still, no reaction. Fleetingly, I wondered
what he would do if I grabbed the book from his hand and threw it
across the room. It seemed silly, even to me, but for some reason,
his lack of attention was even more annoying than his insults. “I
wonder where my mother is now. She always just crashed with other
druggies. Now that she isn't one, where would she stay?” Levie
sighed and removed his glasses, folded the book closed, and laid one
on top of the other on the coffee table.

“Human,”
he said, slowly. “Since I first met you,” he leaned
towards me, and I bit my lip as he placed a hand on the couch between
my thighs to steady himself. “I haven't had one moment of peace
to read my ...
erotica
...
as
you so lovingly phrased it at our first meeting. Now this book,”
he gestured at the novel with his other hand. “Is a new copy of
the one your incompetency caused me to ruin previously. What I want
from you,” he purred, and I gasped as he ran his nails down my
throat. “Is for you to either shut your mouth or,” Levie
leaned forward even further and placed his lips a hair's breadth away
from mine. “Use it for something more productive.” The
gap between us closed, and he pressed his lips firmly against mine,
pushing my mouth open with his tongue. So surprised was I, that I
forgot to protest and sat there, unmoving. My heart was racing
furiously as my brain tried to remind me that the bastard had just
insulted me and deserved to be shoved back and slapped across his
pretty, little face.

Suddenly,
Levie pulled away, a smug look in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.
“If you really must know, I like romance
and
sex.”
He said the word like it was a smoldering piece of charcoal resting
on his tongue. It made the hair on my arms stand on end. “Now,
run along and let me be. I want to finish the scene where the
cunning villain seduces the pretty yet unfortunately, rather
dim-witted heroine. And I must finish it quickly as I need to rest
because there is no doubt that I cannot leave you alone for even a
minute.” Then he dismissed me, just like that. I sure as hell
hoped that the reference to the heroine had nothing to do with me or
I might have decided to castrate him in his sleep. I still said
nothing as he picked up his glasses and book and resumed reading.
What could I say? Score one for Levie, zero for Ginger? I should have
known better than to let him get to me like that. Suddenly, an idea
struck. It might work or it might not, but I had to give it a try.
A girl could only take so much, and I thought I'd taken more than my
fair share.

“Oh,
Levie,” I whispered, scooting forward and pressing my breasts
against his arm. He looked at me, smugness and male confidence
written all over his face. “I just want you to know that since
the first moment I met you,” I reached down between his legs,
my hand over the bulge in his pants. “I've wanted to do this.”
I slammed my fist down as hard as I could, effectively punching him
right in the nuts.

Levie
dropped his book and doubled over, grunting in pain. I jerked away
before he could retaliate and ran to my room. I paused in the
doorway and watched him, sweat beading on his forehead as he cupped
his crotch tenderly. “Levie, darling,” I cooed sweetly
and tried to suppress the satisfied grin that wanted to take over my
face as he stared daggers at me. “You really shouldn't touch a
woman without her permission.” I waved at him and shut the door
behind me, laughing.