Soul Corrupted (19 page)

Grace

The bubble deposits me at the
coffeehouse. I find a fair amount of money in my pocket, so I order a latte and
take a seat to wait while trying to control the quaking in my hands. I knew I’d
be thrown from Heaven. I made the decision consciously, but the reality is
still setting in. I’m barely a sip into my coffee when the bells on the door
jingle and I look up to see
him
walk in.

Lucifer’s the same as I remember: tall, confident,
with salt-and-pepper hair and a tan. He’s wearing an expensive suit and is
immaculately groomed, kind of like a fancy car salesman or an ambulance-chasing
lawyer. I snigger at my thought as he pulls out a chair to join me.

“Amused?” he asks, with a grin. “Glad to see you in
good spirits, my dear.”

“Are you?” I ask, casually sipping my drink. At least
I hope it looks casual. “I thought you might be upset. That’s how you looked
last time we were together. Just to clear the air, though, sorry to have left.
I had no idea I was going back to Heaven.”

“Blood under the bridge,” he says, grinning even
wider.

I gulp some more coffee.

“So you found the rules upstairs to be too
suffocating, yes?” he asks, leaning forward like I’m the only thing in the
world he’s interested in.

“You could say that.” I remember standing on stage in
the North Farmington High auditorium while he gave me a choice: join him as a
Demon or accept an eternity of torture. He didn’t like my choice then, but this
time he’s lucky—there’s something I want and I’m ready to bargain.

“Exactly. You know, that’s also what started me on the
road to Hell, so to speak. I questioned everything The Man Himself decided. He
may have created me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t think for myself. I guess
you could say I have daddy issues. Like a certain ex-demon we both know.”

“You got your revenge,” I say, swirling my cup. “I’m not
welcome back in Heaven.”

“Yes. You’re mine now. But see, that’s the thing,” he
says, leaning in. “You’re only half of what I need. I want the set, Grace. I
captured the queen, yes, but I need the king now, or I may just have a
stalemate.”

“Funny, I feel more like a pawn than a queen.”

Lucifer laughs. “I like you, Grace. You’ll make a fine
Demon.”

My stomach turns and I push away my coffee.

“Your first job is to seduce Josh. You still love him,
yes?”

“Yes—but you seem to be missing something. I
haven’t agreed to be a Demon.”

“Excuse me?” Lucifer’s eyes light dangerously. “Don’t
test me, Grace.”

“Last time you offered me something in return. Visitation
with my family. I want something else this time.”

“You
want
something?”

I cower back, but force out my words. I have to be
strong. “I want a guarantee that I’ll have free access to my brother.”

Lucifer’s friendly face melds into one so hard and
full of hate, blue flames spark in the blood-red background of his eyes. I
shudder, but try to hold my ground. If he’s upset, then I’m on the right track.
“No more Mr. Nice Devil. You turned down your one shot last time. You do what
I
say now, Grace. You’re mine.”

“I didn’t do what Michael Griffith said. Now I’m here.
What happens if I don’t do what you say?” I challenge.

I wish I hadn’t. Searing pain slices through my chest,
stealing my breath and folding me over onto the table. My vision blanks and my
head buzzes and swells inside until I think my eyes will pop. Then I’m left
breathing hard, leaning on the table, the buzz of conversation louder than I
remember.

“Or worse. That’s just an example.” Lucifer snags my
coffee and drinks, licking his lips when he’s done.

“No,” I say, bracing myself for the next onslaught.

“What did you say?” Lucifer asks, as though he
actually misheard me.

“I said no, I won’t do it. I won’t be a Demon. Not
unless you agree to my terms. You can torture me all you want. You’ll find I’m
not the typical soul you can manipulate.”

My voice is strong, but truthfully, I don’t know if I
can handle it. Now that I know what Josh went through firsthand I feel silly
having assumed he had much of a choice. It was far more horrible than I’d ever
imagined, but I have to do this.

Lucifer cocks his head to the side, sizing me up. “You
will never have free access to Noah.”

I hold back a gasp and Lucifer smiles as he sends one
more blinding shot of pain through my chest.

“But, oh, you will visit your brother…only you’ll wish
you hadn’t. You see, I always win. I warn you, Grace, you’ll think Keira’s a
puppy in comparison when I’m done with you.”

The idea terrifies me, but I can’t picture ever
becoming that horrible, even after a hundred years of torture. I’ve barely had
the thought before more unendurable pain pulls me to the table. I can’t breath.
I can’t see.

“So you are my Demon, yes?”

The pain vanishes after what feels like an eternity
and Lucifer waits, sipping on my coffee.

I nod.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now, Demon Grace, let’s
try this again. Your first job is to what?” He leans forward across the table,
placing a hand on mine. Fire spreads up my arm. I writhe, trying to free
myself, but his grip is iron.

“Seduce Josh,” I hiss, and he lets go.

“Good. And you will complete this task with what?”

I swallow, unable to take any more as I rub my
blistered wrist. How is it no one else in the coffee shop has so much as
glanced at us?

Lucifer’s eyes light with more unmistakable, blue
flame, and I cower.

“Enthusiasm?” I guess. I’m filled with humiliation for
having given in to the pain so easily.

The flames flicker out and he relaxes back in his seat
with a chuckle. “Nice word choice.”

My blisters fade into nothing and he drains my cup.

“Go get me another,” he says, holding out the paper
cup and shaking it in my face. “I like this flavor. Oh, and don’t pay for it
this time.”

I swallow back the tears threatening to fall and
snatch the cup as I stand to obey. He grabs my wrist again, and though I feel
no burning, my heart beats double-time.

“It’s respectful to answer when I give you a command.
And I thought you knew manners.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t call me ‘sir.’ It makes me feel old.” He lets
go. “Call me Lucifer. Or Boss—I like that one. I’m so glad we had this
chat, Grace. I feel like we truly understand each other now.”

Keira

I anxiously pace the length of
Lucifer’s throne room. If he comes back empty-handed, then I managed to
convince Grace to stay in Heaven—but it also means I’ll be punished. The
thought doesn’t scare me as much as it used to. I always survive.

“Keira!” Lucifer calls with a jubilant voice and I
turn slowly, afraid of what I’ll find.

Behind Lucifer stands Grace. Not the Grace I know, but
some red-eyed, slumped version of her. She’s dressed far too much like me, with
a low-cut, frilly, ivory blouse and an obscenely short, flowery skirt. It’s clear
Lucifer gave it to her to showcase her Mary Sue personality while making her
feel like a slut—and for the first time in a long time I feel no fear or
loathing, but pure
anger
toward the Boss. Do I really care about Grace’s
feelings? Danger signs flash in my head and I push away the emotions as best I
can while I stand before Lucifer. What the Hell is wrong with me?

“I believe you’ve met,” Lucifer says, guiding Grace toward
me with an arm around her shoulder. She cringes, but steps forward.

“Where’s Josh?” I ask. Surely he followed his one true
love back to Hell.

“He will be joining us soon,” Lucifer says calmly, but
I see the fire in his eyes. He’s angry, so he must know what I’ve done. I’m suddenly
furious at Grace for becoming a Demon. If she hadn’t, the Boss’ punishment would
be tolerable.

“In fact, that’s our dear, little Grace’s first
assignment as a Demon. She’s going to seduce the love of her life and we can
finally be one big, happy family. Isn’t that right, dear?”

“Yes, Boss,” Grace mutters.

“Off you go, then,” Lucifer says and Grace disappears
as he waves a hand over her.

“And as for you, dear, dear Keira.”

I back away and nearly trip over the ottoman, certain
he knows I’ve betrayed him. “You seem to have almost everything you want. Congratulations,
Boss.”

“Why, thank you,” Lucifer says, back to his calm
demeanor. “Come here, please.”

I obey immediately.

“I see your finger is healed,” Lucifer says, leaning
in and filling my nostrils with the scent of sickeningly sweet cologne.

I nod, unable to speak.

“Grace told me quite a lot. The girl is quite a talker
with enough convincing. She filled me in on a very interesting little detail
about you and Noah. I hardly believe it to be true, but then you
were
crying when I found you in the cemetery. I’d like to assume it was a lie and
you said it to convince her you’re on her side. But just in case, I think it would
be better if you stay away from our Antichrist indefinitely.”

I swallow hard. “Of course, Lucifer. He means nothing
to me,” I say, but inside my mind is spinning.

If Grace is going to seduce Josh, then there’ll be no
one left upstairs to help Noah. And Lucifer’s forbid me from seeing him again.
Ever.

For the first time in my life, prayer is my only
option. Too bad I can’t set foot in a church.

I am one screwed Demon.

Josh

I wish I could see into Hell
with the screen in my room. But when I try all I get are meaningless, spinning
colors.

I need a plan. I have to be smart about this for once,
and not go rushing in until I know what I’m doing. One thing is crystal clear:
Mr. Griffith won’t help. I thought he’d find a way to fix things, but after
five straight minutes of begging he would only say he wants to focus on finding
and training new greeters to deal with the coming influx of souls. I refuse to
give up though. There has to be a way to save Grace and Noah. There’s always a
loophole. They said no one had ever gone from Hell to Heaven before, but I
managed it. And if I can do that, I can do this.

So, first step: I need to stop acting like old Demon
Josh. No more taking the easy way out. No more avoiding the hard stuff. Every
fiber in my being wants to rush down and beat the crap out of Lucifer, but not
only is that impossible, it’s Demon Josh’s way of thinking. If I’m going to
save Grace, it isn’t going to be through brute force.

I’m going to have to learn to behave like an Angel.

I lean back into the overstuffed seat and
absentmindedly stroke Tommy Two’s warm body. What would Grace do? She’d scoff
and tell me to relax and be myself. To let other people help and share the
burden. To start paying attention to their ideas and let people in. The thought
makes me smile.

I could use some help, but Mr. Griffith’s out. So
who’s left that I can trust?

“See you in a bit, boy,” I tell Tommy Two, who
whimpers in response.

I head through the star-filled halls with one
destination in mind: Shona’s door. I hesitate before knocking, though. Opening
up to someone else—someone besides Grace—isn’t easy, even now.
Let
other people help
, I remind myself. Hopefully she’ll agree and won’t slam
the door in my face.

The door opens and Shona peers out, brows raised above
her glasses in a silent question. I take a deep breath.

“What do you know about the end of the world?”

Dying
for more Josh and Grace?

Don’t
make a deal with the Devil.

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Of Demons
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