Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) (13 page)

“
Why didn’t he say something? He said you attacked him
.”
Jacque moved to the sofa.

Bell strolled toward the bar
.“
The hell if I kno
w,
but I’m definitely gonna find out. Even if I have to kill him to do it
.
”

“
You’re not running off to chase that thing by yoursel
f
,
”
Bell’s brother replied.

“
Hold on. People can’t start running off to chase anything. My wedding is this weeken
d
,
”
Angel grumbled.

“
Are you seriously talking about your wedding when a friend is missing
?”
Bell’s anger trembled in her voice.

Angel’s face washed over with Bridezilla rage
.“
He’s your fucking friend. One you didn’t seem too interested in earlie
r,
when you rode off and left him here. S
o,
yea
h,
no one’s gonna jack up my wedding because your newest booty call has gone missing
.
”

Bell cleared the few feet between her and Ange
l,
focusing every ounce of energy on her target. She wanted to knock the smu
g,
holier-than-thou look off the Angel’s face. Angel dodged the first blow. Damn. How much Vamp Juice has she been drinking? Angel was introduced to the concoction of vegetable juice and vampire blood when she began her training in Hade
s,
as a part of her contract with Lucifer. The same one she brok
e,
landing her on the Devil’s Most Wanted list. The drink was used to help speed healing and increased strength in those not naturally gifted with those abilities.

Angel retaliated. Bell’s head jerked backwards as Angel snatched a handful of her hair. Shit. Bell unleashed her claws into the arm holding her hair.

“
You craz
y,
white bitch
!”
Angel shrieked.

Laurent hoisted Bell away from Angel in time to stop her foot from connecting with Angel’s knee. Jacque secured his shaking fiancé in the same
fashion. Bell wasn’t sure if Angel was trembling from anger or fear. In Bell’s mind it was fea
r,
because she planned to snap the silly human in half.

“
You to have to stop behaving this way. We have to stick together if we want to remain saf
e
,
”
Marie chastised the girls
.“
Ange
l,
I understand your wedding is important to yo
u,
but we cannot leave Bell’s friend out there by himself. If it’s the same creature you spoke about earlie
r,
he is in much trouble. I think it will be more than just Bell who will suffer if Sean does not return
.
”

“
Grand-mèr
e,
what are you talking about
?”
Angel huffed.
T
h
e
Vo
o
d
oo
Qu
e
e
n
s
m
i
l
e
d,
r
e
v
e
a
l
i
ng
s
t
r
a
i
g
h
t
,
wh
i
t
e
t
ee
t
h
.

“
All things show themselves in their own time. When we’re read
y,
we will know
.
”

Laurent loosened his grip around Bell’s waist
.“
Mari
e,
do you know where Sean is at
?
”

“
Not ye
t,
but soon. He’s not ready to be found
.
”

The whole room sighed in frustration.

Angel elbowed her way out of Jacque’s hold
.“
Alright. We have three days until the wedding. Find Lover Boy in tw
o,
so it doesn’t interfere with the most important day of my life. Got me
?”
Bridezilla stared Jacque down.

“
Got i
t,
bab
e
,
”
he responded quickly.

Marie turned to Bell
.“
You will find your friend when you find yourself. Go find your father. He’ll lead you to the answers
.
”

“
I have no clue where my father is. He was banished to the lower levels centuries ago
.
”

“
Ask your brother. He knows
.
”

Bell turned to Laurent
.“
You know where Father is
?
”

“
I’ve known for a while
.”
Her brother hung his head low.

Red bled into the whites of Bell’s eyes
.“
You knew all this time and didn’t tell me? Why
!
”

“
He doesn’t want you to see what’s become of him
.
”

Tears wells in her eyes. Bell stomped to the other side of the roo
m,
as far away from her brother as possible
.“
He didn’t love me enough to let me know he wasn’t lost forever
?
”

“
Love is a trickster. It makes us thin
k,
or d
o,
things
that
are contrary to our natural instincts
.”
Marie touched Bell’s arm softly
.“
When love shows you its fac
e,
you will have to decide whether you will believe its lies or unveil the truths it holds
.”

Marie and her goddamn cryptic speak. She knows Sean is Xavier. If she know
s,
then why help find him? And why send me to my father?

“
Because we all need him bac
k,
and you need your father
.”
Marie answered the unasked question and walked out of the room.

CHAPTER TEN

Fangs pierced his leg. Searing bolts of pain ripped into his calf and flashed down to the sole of his foot. Xavier forced his hands around the thing’s nec
k,
cementing his iron grip into its flesh. Once the beast went lim
p,
he loosened his fingers from his attacker’s neck. He brought his free leg down on the creature’s hea
d,
and stompe
d,
until it no longer moved.

When Xavier glanced around for his blad
e,
he realized they were no longer in the alley by the club.
Fuck! What the hell do they tell women in those self-defense classes? Oh yeah. Don’t allow the attacker to take you to another location. Much easier when the kidnapper doesn’t teleport. Where the hell am I?

He scanned the area for a weapon. Somethin
g,
anythin
g,
he could use against the captor. The stench of burn
t,
rotting flesh permeated the air. The ground crumbled beneath his touc
h,
charred from the heat radiating from every surface. A glowing vortex of molten lava flowed viciously a few feet from where Xavier sat.

Amongst the debri
s,
Xavier scooped up a broken limb. He impaled the jagged edge into the monster’s ear. It winced in agony and shrank back into a nearby pile of scattered bones. Xavier dragged himself over to a large boulde
r,
regretting his action as the flesh of his palm melted against the stone. Rolling awa
y,
he crawled to the lone speck of green dotting this desolate landscape.

Yellow eyes followed his every move. Xavier studied his opponent. A hunger lingered in his expression. As it removed the branch stuck in its ea
r,
a sinister growl resonated from behind the fallen tree over the ridge. Xavier recognized the soun
d,
and so did his opponent. Forgetting about the stabbing ache in his hand and shooting up his le
g,
Xavier forced himself off the ground.

Fucking Hell Hound
s,
the discarded mutts of Hades. Whoever bought Lucifer pets should be chained to the bottom of one of the tar pits. It started with four cute puppies. Then a little inbreeding. Some genetic alterations. Once they became a mutant mes
s,
Lucifer unleashed the pack into the Burning Forest. No
w,
these fucked-up mongrels were a menace to everyone in Hades.

He didn’t have the energy or the strength to fight both the grizzly-beast and the mutts. To his benefi
t,
the dogs attacked his attacker first. It was a large pac
k,
nin
e,
maybe ten dogs. These animals had mutated even further than the ones Xavier had encountered in the pas
t,
their razor-sharp teeth larger. A hard armor-like shell replaced their fur.

Xavier seized the opportunity to escape. He sprinted up the
fi
e
r
y
r
i
v
e
r’s
shoreline . The primitive grunts of the dog
s,
mingled with the painful cries of their victi
m,
forced his wounded leg out of Xavier’s head. He continued to run until agony and weariness convinced him to stop. He had no idea where he was or how much distance he put between him and his adversaries.

Lungs burning with the taste of sulfu
r,
Xavier rested with his hands on his knee
s,
gasping for air. As far as he could see lay a scorched wasteland. He was surprised anything actually survived in this hellhole. He wondered what level of Hades he was in. The intense temperature and concentration of sulfur gases suggested it was much lower than he’d ever traveled before.

A large reddish-orange rock formation protruded from black vegetation about a mile ahead. He journeyed in that direction. Within a few minute
s,
he reached the cliff. He found a small cav
e,
figuring he could rest until he regained his strength and healed. He hoped he put enough distance between him and the hungry pack. From his assessment of this lan
d,
he and the grizzly-beast were probably the first real meat those dogs had seen in some time.

The temperature drop in the cave was a w
e
l
c
o
m
e
change. Once his eyes adjusted to the darknes
s,
Xavier spotted a small pool of water at the far end. He went to the pond and lowered himself at the edge. Although the water was war
m,
the liquid refreshed him as he splashed his face. He cupped his hand
s,
filling them with water. He smelled the brown liqui
d,
and then drank. It washed the dust and sulfur down his throat. Although the flavor was horrendou
s,
the relief was heavenly.

Xavier checked the wound on his le
g,
happy to find it almost healed. He sat back and released the tension with a deep exhale. Exhaustion seeped in. He needed slee
p,
but feared what he might
a
w
a
ken to. An unsettling quiet crept across the warm rock floo
r,
no nois
e,
not even the wind. He leaned against the hard damp wall of the cav
e,
keeping guard over the openin
g,
even though his eyes were heavy.

A strangled cry woke Xavier from his sleep. He didn’t realize he had nodded off. How long he was out? Surveying the cav
e,
he examined his surroundings. The once amber sky outside had turned black. Something shifted in the back of the cav
e,
drawing his attention. His pursuer survived the dogs and had once again come for him.

They sat silently in the dark for what seemed an eternit
y,
each summing up the other. Xavier assumed the creature was hurt. Why else would it not have already attacked? He strategized his next move. Xavier had no idea what weapons this animal picked up along the way.
Must be careful.

The strange beast lurked in the corne
r,
watching
.“
How many lives have you ruined
?”
The question came out of nowhere.

Xavier scoffed
.“
You have to care to remember
.
”

“
How does one become such a monster? Uncarin
g,
unfeeling
.
”

“
What the fuck are you talking about? Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re as much a beast as I am. What the fuck are you anyway
?
”

“
Not only ruthles
s,
but stupi
d,
too. What you look like on the outside does not make one a monstrosity. It’s what they carry within themselves. Would you feel more comfortable if I looked like you
?”
The creature shifted into a human form and wiped the blood oozing from its ear. He stood as tall as Xavie
r,
well over six feet. He had a stocky build with broad shoulders. His light brown complexion had a coppery hue. In its human for
m,
the creature looked oddly familiar.

“
I could give a shit what you look like. I just need you to stop fucking with me. I got no problems with you
.”
Xavier searched the darkness for anything he could use to protect himself.

“
My people came to this dimension so long ag
o,
I can’t remember what was actually here. Our world was destroyed by the evil and chaos of Lucifer. He turned my people against one another. We were not as socialized or sophisticated as the humans. We did not have a Higher Power to balance the mayhem your uncleunleashed. I found a way to escap
e,
a way to save
myself
and my mate. I made a deal with the Devi
l,
became a part of his court. Somehow Lucifer managed to save six of us from destruction. The strongest of our warriors joined forces with him. I was the only one whose mate survived. And for this I paid the ultimate sacrifice. I lost her to your merciless blade
.”
His voice faded in the distance. A small whimper escaped his lips.

Xavier wasn’t sure if the sound was due to the creature’s injuries or the pain of its lost mate. Sadl
y,
he had no memory of this female or the killing. They were faceless messages on his Smartphon
e,
dollars in his account. If at all possibl
e,
he attempted to conduct his executions from afa
r,
more like a snipe
r,
than the personal touch of a serial killer. In some case
s,
this wasn’t possible. But even in those instance
s,
Xavier ended life swiftly with minimal pain. Only those who really pissed him off got his special treatment. Torture was an ar
t,
and Xavier was a master.

He rocked back on his heels
.“
Br
o,
I don’t know who your female was. If I killed he
r,
it wasn’t personal. If I got the contrac
t,
then she was high on the priority list and big dollars were offered. Not many refer to Lucifer to me. Only a few in the Underworld realized Jacque and I are brothers. I’ve never announced Leviathan as my fathe
r,
so no one would link Lucifer as my uncle. But you seem to know a lot about my lineage. Who are you
?
”

“
Her name was Lailoni. She had been my mate for two millennia. Her heart was pure. She never harmed anyone. She was never the contract. It was me you hunted. It was me who double crossed Lucifer. But when you came for m
e,
I wasn’t there. Lailoni refused to give you my location. For tha
t,
she had to die. For tha
t,
I will take a life for a life
.
”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. That female!
Xavier gazed into the dar
k,
motionless pond
.“
Wel
l,
she loved you. I remember now. I wanted to walk awa
y,
but Luc had to have his answer. Whatever you did really pissed him the fuck off
.
”

“
He doesn’t like those smarter than him. When I send you
b
ac
k
t
o
L
u
c
,
m
a
ke
s
u
r
e
h
e
k
n
o
ws
I
w
i
ll
c
o
m
e
f
o
r
h
im
n
e
x
t
.
”

“
And who should I tell him is coming for him
?
”

“
Ziz
.
”

Xavier stare
d,
speechles
s,
an air demo
n,
one of the Crown Princes of Hell. A fucking O
G,
an original gangste
r,
as the humans would call them. This contract was going to shit fast. He wished he had stayed dead.