Soul Corrupted (11 page)

Keira

Like most teenage boys, Noah
can’t get enough sex. Fortunately, unlike most teenage boys, Noah is quite good
at it.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I’m a good teacher.

Predictably, though, he’s now hungry.

“Conjure me something good, babe. Like a stack of
hamburgers or something.”

I laugh at his eagerness. “I can’t conjure you
hamburgers, but I can take you out and get you anything you want. How about
steak?”

“Steak, huh? Sure. Take me somewhere expensive. And
get me some good liquor. Top-shelf.” He offers a hand and yanks me up on my
feet. I stretch like a cat, showing off my body before snapping on some new
clothes. I conjure him a suit a lot like the Boss’s favorite Armani pinstripe
and I choose a red, satin dress with a slit up the side and a plunging
neckline. Well, since it goes down past my stomach, it’s more like a plunging
navel-line.

“You like?” I ask, modeling for him.

“Hell yeah.”

I guide him outside, where my sleek, black Vette waits
along the street. Noah whistles, but I’m not sure if it’s for me, or the car.

“Wait, babe,” I say, using his pet word for me. “Why
don’t you drive?”

His eyes widen in anticipation as he hurries to the
driver’s side. I hesitate, but only for a moment before dropping the keys into
his palm.

He runs his hands over the leather wheel, eyes half-hooded
like he’s making love to it. I clear my throat. “It’s just a car. This is only
the beginning of what you can have now. The world is yours for the taking.”
Then I drape myself over him, settling a hand on his thigh as he drives so I
can whisper the directions in his ear.

We pull up at the closest steakhouse that meets my
standards, the kind of place that serves everything à la carte and puts your
napkin in your lap for you. If I’m going to be with Noah for awhile, I need to
teach him what’s worth asking for. A tray full of hamburgers? Seriously?

Be with Noah for awhile
… I tingle
at the thought of that. I’m enjoying his company more than I thought I would,
even judging by his looks. But who knows what Lucifer’s plans are for him? Now
that the deal’s technically off, the Boss may not want him to be a Demon at
all. Best not to get too attached.

I order a fine, aged Scotch for us. Noah downs it in
one gulp, trying not to cough, and orders a second. I cringe and show him how I
swirl and sniff and sip. “Savor it,” I say, licking my teeth suggestively.
“Sometimes things are better when you don’t rush them.”

He nods appreciatively and lets me order him a large
hunk of meat. “He wants it still mooing,” I say to the waitress, whose tip goes
down every time she wrinkles her nose at us.

“Tell me more about you,” I say when Noah gets halfway
through his steak and slows down a bit.

“What you see is what you get,” he says with a grin
that makes my heart lurch.

I wish Lucifer hadn’t put me through my past again. Now
I can’t stop thinking about my wasted life, searching for something
unobtainable. My stupid head is getting wistful. I detested the pain of hoping the
next man I picked would be
the
one
. I stab a piece of my
potatoes. All those years of learning to stifle my painful emotions nearly down
the sewer in a matter of hours. Well, I’m not letting that happen. Time to get
my shit together.

“What do you want to be?” I ask, forgoing the whole
‘when you grow up’ piece.

“It doesn’t matter,” he says, shoveling some more food
in his mouth. He has quite the metabolism. “I can do anything I want from now
on, right? And I have my whole life to enjoy it, so why rush to decide?”

Hmm. I consider this, then laugh to myself.

He stops, a forkful of bloody meat hanging in the air
between us. “What?”

“Nothing,” I say, shrugging and taking a sip of the Zinfandel
I ordered with our meals. I swirl the wine in my mouth before letting it slide
down my throat, waiting.

“That wasn’t ‘nothing.’ What did I say that was so
funny? I do get pretty much everything I could ever want, right? I mean, that
was the deal.” His voice rises, garnering a few looks from the other restaurant
goers.

“Yes, I believe the exact deal was for ‘sex, money,
power, and a free pass from the law.’ Sure, you can do anything you
want—but you don’t even know
what
that is. What will you do with
your money, power, and sex when you have nothing to care about and no one to
care about you? You’ll have nothing to spend money on, no one to overpower, no
one to love you back—you’ll be empty. You have to figure out what will
make you feel fulfilled and go for it, not just sit back and wait for
everything to magically come to you. The Devil isn’t about granting wishes.”

If Lucifer heard me encouraging him to think instead
of being another mindless yes-man, I’d be back in my last moments getting
murdered again—possibly on repeat for a few years. But I want Noah to be
more than the average, corruptible soul.

I want
Noah to be a Demon—the Demon I
hoped for and lost in Josh. You’d think there’d be more company in my
profession, but Lucifer’s been pretty lax on recruitment for the last century
or so. He compares good Demons to fine chocolate.
You can’t stomach just
anything once you’ve found that special flavor
.

Noah shakes his head, dropping his fork on the plate
with a clatter that makes me wince. “I’m supposed to believe you know what
you’re talking about? I may not know you too well, but, Demon or not, I think
it’s pretty obvious you haven’t figured out what’ll make you happy yet either, or
you’d be out going after it instead of hanging out with me.”

I don’t care that a couple more people have looked
around. Even if they heard, it’s not like they’ll believe I’m a real Demon,
anyway. But still, my chest squeezes tight and I feel my eyes burn red. Noah
settles back in his seat when he sees them.

I can’t let him know that what he said was right. I’m
not happy. I’m simply resigned—resigned to squeezing the most enjoyment I
can from the existence I’ve been granted because the only thing that would ever
make me happy is unattainable. No one’s given a shit about me since I was a
child, no matter what I do, so I stopped trusting a long time ago. If I was so unlovable
in life, I’m positive that finding someone to love me as a Demon is about as
likely as convincing Lucifer to give me a warm hug.

I cross my legs and lean back in my seat. “This is
about you. Do what you want, Noah Howard, but don’t sell yourself short. I’m
with you because that’s what I want for now. As for me, I know exactly what I’m
doing. And, by the way, I don’t bother advising just anyone. I’m not going to beg
or repeat. Is that clear?” The words come out low and soft. Whispers are far
more threatening than raised voices.

A mischievous twinkle lights his eyes and I strain not
to indicate how much my insides heat up in response. Mentally, I replace the
warm brown with red, just to see what that look would do for him as a Demon.
Don’t
get ahead of yourself, Keira.

I wait for a response, one perfectly arched eyebrow
challenging him to defy me. But he settles back in his chair and chews on
another piece of meat, watching me.

“A year ago,” he says finally, swallowing down another
way-too-big gulp of Scotch, “I would’ve fallen all over myself if someone like
you paid attention to me.”

I let the corners of my mouth twist upward ever so
slightly. So far, I approve.

“Your attention would have been all I wanted. I’m not
saying I don’t love your attention, but now that I’ve met Lucifer and know the
afterlife is real—something people spend their lives trying to figure out—”
he continues, leaning forward, elbows banging on the table, “I guess I’m having
trouble narrowing down what it is I want. It’s hard to choose something when
everything is there in front of you, waiting to be taken, you know?” Noah’s
eyes narrow. “Wait. Are you trying to get me to focus on one goal so Lucifer
doesn’t have to give me as much as he promised? Is this speech something you’re
supposed to tell me because you’re a Demon?”

My eyes burn again, as do my cheeks. I clip my words
as they come, trying not to lose it. I’m trying to tell him something important
and he thinks I’m playing him. “Yes, I work for Lucifer. Yes, I do his bidding.
But he did not tell me to say that. I still have a brain, you know.”

He gives me a perfect, white grin. “You are so hot
when you’re mad. Your eyes are glowing red, which is totally freaky, but it
makes me want you even more.”

“Oh, Noah.” Sweet as sugar, I rise and slip into his
lap, wrapping my arms around his neck and touching my mouth to his ear.

The waitress comes over before I can speak and I glamour
her to make sure no one bothers us before returning my attention to Noah. I let
my breath warm his ear and shift in his lap, pressing close to him with as much
skin as possible.

He’s frozen in place, breath speeding up. As moldable
as clay. Time for the next lesson on being a Demon.

“I want you, too,” I start, “but I don’t give myself
so completely to just anyone. I know what it was like for you before. I know
what it feels like to be underestimated, but instead of buying into it, use the
anger and mistrust to come up with better ways to get back at those people that
underestimated you.” I slide a palm over his chest, enjoying the feel of his heart
beating beneath his ribs. “Use what’s in that delicious mind of yours to
control those who would use you first. Drugs are a small-time project. Think
bigger. When you’re a Demon, you will have glamour and can do what I did just
now with the waitress. But, as a human, you can use your charm to manipulate
just as well. And that may be the most potent power there is. Try it.”

“What? Like now?” he asks, hand on my thigh.

“Call the waitress over and talk us out of paying the
bill. Don’t worry, I’m here if things don’t work out.” I nod encouragingly.

Noah clears his throat and calls the waitress over.
She returns the smile he gives her and I encourage him with a squeeze. “I have
a problem,” he whispers. “This is so embarrassing, but I seem to have forgotten
my wallet.” His pale skin burns red, lending credibility to his claim.

“Of course you did.” The waitress’ smile drops.

Noah draws a deep breath in and his eyes flash with
anger, but only for a moment.
Use that
, I silently will him.

Noah’s face becomes a mask of innocence. “Look, I’m
not trying to dine and ditch, obviously. I’m telling you the truth. What can I
do? How do I make it right?” He puts a hand on hers, fluttering those gorgeous
eyes of his. She shifts, unsure what to say, but I sense her wall crumbling.
That’s
right
—
turn it around on her
.

“You can’t do dishes if that’s what you’re thinking;
there are health codes. Doesn’t your girlfriend here have any money?”

“Nowhere to put it,” I say, batting my eyelashes.

“Please, ma’am. My dad’s gonna kill me when he finds
out,” Noah continues, “I can tell you’re a nice person. Hasn’t anything like
this happened to you before?”

She hesitates again, but he waits.

“Oh, fine. I’ll tell them your steak was overcooked
and there was a hair in your drink. They’ll let me take it all off the bill.
But don’t you even think about showing up here again without money.” She waves
a finger at him and winks as she walks away.

I cuddle closer, nuzzling his neck and working my way
up again to his earlobe. “Think of the mountains you could climb by using persuasion,
Noah. Positions you could claim in which you cannot be ignored. I’m talking president.
King.”

“It’s just a meal,” he says, but I hear the hunger
behind his words…the possibilities that dance in his mind.

“It’s just the beginning,” I whisper.

His hand cups the side of my leg and I smile over his
ear. “But never forget that no matter who you are, I am capable of doing many
horrible things to you if you doubt me.” I pat his cheek and slip off him and
back into my own seat, dropping my napkin back in my lap.

He shakes his head a little, eyes clouded from all the
good liquor and my speech. “I believe you, Keira. I like how you think. King,
huh? Maybe one day. But in the immediate future…you mentioned you want me, too.”
He wiggles his eyebrows and I feel a smile curl my lips.

I run the tip of my finger over the edge of my
wineglass as it fills automatically. “Remember what I said. I’m giving you a
rare gift here—I don’t have to give you advice. But for some reason, for
you
,
I did. So don’t make me regret it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Josh

I spend most of my time with
Lucy. That way, I can avoid Mr. Griffith and stay clear of Grace for fear I’ll
be too weak to keep up my end of the bargain. I’m doing it for her, but every
fiber of my being wants to beg for her forgiveness. Not having her with me—even
though I know it’s temporary—is like not having my right arm.

The only time I leave Lucy’s is when Ms. Alvarez is
over. I can’t stand her, nor do I want her to know I’m around. So when she
shows up, I pay a visit to Noah and Keira, who’s always with him. I need to
keep on top of that situation, too. I might have already saved him once, but if
he screws up again because of her, it could all be for nothing.

I can’t reveal myself to Noah. I wouldn’t mind being
forbidden from visiting Earth, but I won’t risk Grace losing visiting rights
with her family.

Keira, though, is another story. I can bug her as much
as I want. So I do.

“I’m going to take a shower, babe,” Noah says,
slipping out of bed. The second I hear the water running in the bathroom down
the hall, I appear at the end of the bed, arms folded across my chest.

Keira barely acknowledges me and simply stretches and
yawns.

“What are you planning?” I ask, getting right to the
point.

She pushes some hair from her face and grins. “No
plan. Just enjoying the screw-pportunity.”

 “Bullshit. What’s Lucifer’s game? Why Noah? Is
it really all to torture Grace?”

“The Boss doesn’t tell me all his plans,” Keira says.
“But yeah, it could be about Grace. He doesn’t enjoy being made a fool. I’ve
never seen it happen before.”

“She didn’t do what she did to make a fool out of
anyone. It wasn’t even about him,” I say.

“In his mind, it’s always about him.” Keira stands up
and pulls on jeans that are so tight I’m amazed she can get them on so easily,
and a cutoff shirt that reveals her pierced navel.

“Okay, fine. But he got his revenge: I broke up with
Grace. So why are you here? There are plenty of other guys for you to screw.”

Keira shrugs. “Maybe I like this one. Is that so hard
to believe?”

“Yes.”

We stare at each other a long time.

“Look,” Keira says, sitting back on the edge of the
bed. “I don’t care about your feelings, or Gracie’s.”

So far, so true.

“But I do know Noah is special.” She actually bites
back a smile as she tucks more stubborn hair behind an ear. I notice she’s
wearing it longer than she used to, closer to chin length. “I like being around
him. I like teaching him things. I want more for him than becoming just another
soul in Hell. So, don’t worry—and leave us alone.”

I let out a single, bitter laugh. “So, I’m supposed to
buy that you have Noah’s best interests at heart and leave him in your care?”

Keira fidgets, mussing the bed sheets even more than
they already are. “I never said our idea of his best interests are the same, but
you pretty much got it. Don’t you have anything better to do than bother me? Or
is Heaven that boring without your girlfriend?”

“I’d like nothing better than to leave you alone. But
that’s not going to happen as long as you’re in Grace’s family’s house. So
unless you want my company, I suggest you find someone else to teach.” I lean
forward over Keira’s face, a fist on the mattress on either side of her. I want
her to know how serious I am.

Her face darkens and her eyes flash red, but I don’t
budge.

“You’re not my boss. You don’t get to decide what I
do. Besides, Noah wants me here. He understands me better than you ever did.”
She bites her lip like she didn’t mean to say that.

Could she actually want Noah? I narrow my eyes. “You’re
right about one thing—I never understood you. And I don’t trust you.
Especially with Grace’s brother.”

The water turns off and we glare at each other for a
minute.

“You better get out of here, Joshy,” she says. “Unless
you want to watch. I wouldn’t blame you.”

“I’ve seen enough of you to last a lifetime, Keira.” I
back up. “Just know that if you seriously care about Noah, the best thing you
could do for him is leave him alone.”

*
* *

“Josh, what’s the worst thing
you’ve ever done?” Lucy asks the moment I enter her room. She sits up
straighter on the bed and tucks her book behind her.

“Hello to you, too,” I say, pulling up her flowered, purple
desk chair.

“Fine. Whatever, don’t tell me. It doesn’t matter. But
you said it was pretty bad, right?”

“Yeah. It was bad.” I close my eyes and press my
fingers into my forehead between them, trying to erase the most painful memory
of Grace’s face—not before my car hit her, but when Keira informed her
I’d knowingly made her fall from Heaven. The accident that killed her was
mostly Ms. Alvarez. The decision to sleep with Grace without telling her what
would happen? That was all me.

“How did it feel?” she asks. “When it happened?”

I fight off the blush that comes with the memory of
being with Grace, our bodies entwined. “It was amazing.” I focus on Lucy’s
inquisitive face and add, “At the time.”

She nods, tapping her chin with a finger while her gray
eye roves over me again and again. “And later?”

“It sucked,” I say honestly. “I would do anything to
take it back, but it’s impossible.”

“Let’s go back to the part when you were excited about
it.” Her face is eager. Young. But her earnest hope that we can talk about the
pleasure in hurting someone else disgusts me. It’s like Cam all over again—but
this time, I can say how I really feel.

“Doing what you want is easier than doing what’s
right, but it’s nowhere near as rewarding in the long run. What’s with the
twenty questions, Luce?”

 “I want to know if I’m a freak.”

Her answer forces me to my feet. Her good eye swims
with unshed tears and it’s the first I’ve seen her show any kind of remorse. I
have to seize this moment. I just hope I don’t blow it. If only Grace were
here.

“You can’t help your feelings,” I say carefully. “I’d
say it’s a good thing you’re worried about it, though. It means you’re normal.”
I sit next to her and put an arm around her, pulling her into my side. She
could use the support and I could use a break from that eye.

She sniffles. “She says it’s normal to be drawn to
those kinds of things. She’s been teaching me about different massacres
throughout history and she noticed how interested I am in them.”

“Ms. Alvarez?” I ask to make absolutely sure.

She nods against my side and plays with the edge of
her sweatshirt. “She said something else, too. She said if I do something to ‘satiate
my urges,’ which is such a weird way to put it, then I’ll feel better. Less
obsessed. More relaxed. More sure of my purpose.”

“I see.” If I were still a Demon, my eyes would be
scarlet and I’d be snarling at the evil bitch for interfering in this confused
girl’s life. “Well, I thought we’d already established how creepy that lady
is.”

Lucy laughs, jiggling against my side. She doesn’t
move her head from my chest, though. I’m starting to wonder if it was such a
good idea to make physical contact. But I stay put because I sense this is a
crucial moment.

“She is awful. But she’s right. I want to hurt people.”

“Lucy—” I start, pulse speeding up in
anticipation of what she may say.

“I know, you just told me what I want isn’t okay,” she
says, pulling back just enough to look up at me. “But what if the person I want
to hurt is bad?”

I swallow, not trusting my words at this moment. She
continues anyway.

“The person I want to hurt is the worst person I know.
You hate her, too.” Lucy gets up on her knees and throws her arms around my
neck.

I stay perfectly still, wishing I could freeze time
and come back once I’ve thought of the right thing to say to stop this.

“I’ve been thinking about what went wrong with my
spell when I tried it on my dad. I used a spell from my book.” She whispers the
secret like it’s something special between us. “I think I was scared and that’s
why it stopped. But if it’s someone horrible—someone like Ms. Alvarez—I
won’t be so scared.”

“Lucy,” I grasp her hands firmly and hold her at arm’s
length to make sure she pays attention. “If you were afraid, it’s because you didn’t
want to hurt your dad and because you knew it was wrong.”

“Exactly.” She smiles and slides off the bed, skipping
toward the door. “I’m glad you understand, Josh. It has to be someone
deserving. And no one I know deserves it more than her.”