I heard a loud bang as Talon tackled Kyden to the ground. “Get the f**k off me,” he roared. “Nexi…”
I ran hard, made it quickly to the Council’s Foyer, slammed into the door for the portal, and grabbed the handle quickly as Talon shouted for Kyden to relax.
With a deep breath, I opened the door and instantly fell into a pit of darkness. The portal to the Otherworld was light, a bright flash. A Black Magic portal was hell, thick, a blackness that was bottomless, and eerie. I never felt alone when I was here. Damned souls seemed all around me.
Thankfully, it only lasted a second, before I hit the ground hard. I groaned, reaching back to rub my throbbing butt. “The way you all travel sucks,”
Magnus chuckled. “It takes time to get used to the power.”
I raised my head once again, a little taken aback at how normal he was. Very sleek indeed—his ripped body was decorated with a shiny pair of black dress slacks, and black dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves. The last time I’d seen him his black hair was slicked back—tonight it was nearly shaved to the scalp.
He grinned, his light brown eyes softened instantly as his lips curved perfectly with pearly whites resting behind.
This is the devil?
Magnus waved out with his arm. “Welcome to the Underworld, Nexi.”
A loud sharp bark of laughter escaped my mouth as I glanced out. “This is the Underworld?” I was expecting molten lava, not a gated community. “You’re kidding, right?”
Magnus shook his head, appeared to enjoy my amusement. “I told you before we are not caged underground.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” I grumbled. “I didn’t believe you.”
Magnus held out his hand, offering it to me. “Come.”
Being polite, I took his hand so he could help me to my feet, but I instantly released it—once again shocked at how warm he felt. I couldn’t sense an ounce of evil from him. As much as I tried to find a reason for that, I kept coming up blank.
One after another, we passed mansions that were lavishly decorated to the hilt with manicured lawns and million-dollar landscaping. There weren’t streets or anything that resembled a civilized Earthworld neighborhood. It was all grass with houses scattered around, in no real sense of order.
The lack of structure of it was unsettling for some reason. I couldn’t quite grasp why. It was just all types of wrong.
Magnus led me up a hill that was just past one of the mansions. A person in the window of the house caught my eye. My eyes narrowed, looked closer and there was a human smiling at me. Huh?
“Are there humans here?” I asked Magnus.
“No.” He smiled.
Confused, I looked back to the window. The person was gone. Creepy.
When we reached the top of the hill, a house stood before us, made of all glass. The entire inside was visible. There were three stories I could see from our angle. The living room on the bottom, kitchen on the second floor, and it looked like bedroom up above.
“This is home.” Magnus nodded toward the house.
I admired it in silence. No need to give a voice to how exquisite I thought the place was. Keeping this strictly business was ideal.
Magnus opened the door, and the second we stepped through, darkness washed over every part of me. I shivered and froze. This sense of normalcy was an illusion. I had to remember that.
He rested his hand on my lower back and gave me a little push forward. “You have the ability to sense dark beings. That is a gift not granted to many.” He examined me, looking a little awed. “You are safe here. I have given my word.”
Trust the Lord of Hell. Yeah right!
Down the hall to the right was the living room. Furnished with modern, sleek elements, everything was fresh and light. I laughed. The devil likes bright colors. Funny.
Magnus arched a brow at me. “Something amuses you?”
I shook my head before I walked over to the window and looked out to the Underworld. His home sat perfectly atop of the hill and it gave a full view of the world before me. At this elevation, I could see there was a pattern to the houses.
It was a symbol¯a pentagram. It was intricate, but it stood out to me, forced me to swallow back fear instantly.
“Lord, can I offer the witch a beverage?” a voice said behind me.
I jumped, startled, and spun around to see a lovely little thing smiling at me. She looked no older than twenty with long, honey wavy hair, skin like peaches and cream. If it wasn’t for her black eyes, she would have been your classic girl next door. There was a darkness to her eyes, though, that clearly made her anything but.
“Demon, I take it?” I managed.
She laughed, and it sounded sweet. Her gaze moved to Magnus who nodded. “That’s right,” she answered.
“But you look so human.”
“We can take any form we choose. Magnus thought this form would comfort you. Do you like it?” She lit up, her smile looked every bit as sweet as a hot fudge sundae.
I snorted loudly. “Yeah, if I didn’t know what lies within you.”
Magnus chuckled. “Wine will do for now.”
I didn’t take my eyes off the demon as she left. Like I said, normalcy was an illusion—I had to stay on my toes. Nothing would be as it seemed here.
When she cleared the room and I found space to breathe, I asked Magnus, “Can you change forms?”
“No.” His voice had deepened. “Do you not approve of my look?”
I ran my gaze over him. He was pretty. “You look fine,” I said quickly, not wanting to give him the compliment, but not wanting to piss him off either.
He winked at me.
The demon came back in and handed me a glass of red wine. Hesitantly, I took it from her hand, being careful not touch her just in case she would possess me. The depths of her eyes made the need for alcohol quite appropriate. I desperately needed the help to relax and make it through this. I sniffed the wine—it smelled fine. My lips went around the glass and the warm liquid poured into my mouth. I almost sighed in pleasure. It was by far the best red wine I’d ever tasted. It wasn’t dry, but sweet.
“Alright.” I glanced at Magnus over the rim of my glass. “What do you want in return for Dante’s soul?”
He clucked at me, shaking his head. “So quick to start negotiations.” He waved me forward. “Please, come, sit.”
“I’m fine where I am.”
He nodded toward to the chair with a firm look. He wasn’t really giving me a choice. I grumbled something close to an obscenity in my head and went to join him.
As I sat, he said, “I was glad to hear you made your way home to the Otherworld after our last visit.”
“Visit?” I repeated.
“Encounter then. Does that suit you better?”
I nodded. Hell would freeze over before I would call meeting with Magnus ‘a visit’. To me, I’d rather lose a finger or two then be here now.
“The Patriarch came to you, did he not?” Magnus asked.
“He did,” I responded hesitantly. There was something to his tone—calculating.
“That joys me so. The Patriarch must have you in the highest regard to take such acts to ensure your safety.”
“He is honorable, through and through.” Again, he seemed way too interested in what he was saying. A sparkle lit his eye that made me uneasy and sent goose-bumps dancing along my skin.
Magnus’ smile was sly. “I thought you might feel that way about him.”
With those words, the light dawned on where he was going with this. “You took Dante on purpose, didn’t you?”
His smile grew.
Shivers rattled my bones. I jumped to my feet, enraged. “Why did you do that? What has Valor done to you?”
“It is not him I wanted—it was you.”
My brows rose, I suspected my expression was as stunned as I felt inside. “Huh?”
“I was informed of the current situation you find yourself in.” He took a sip of his wine, appearing completely at ease. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Zia was right. He was one sneaky bastard. He’d get his horns and pitch fork in me any way he could. “Which leads us to what you want with me.” I snapped.
His eyes burned, his lips formed a thin line. “I said we would not discuss that now.”
For the briefest of moments, he couldn’t hide his power, and it had me sinking back in my chair. I bit back the fear, and tightened my shaky hands against the wine glass. “Fine.” I surprised myself, my voice sounded stronger than I felt. “What do you want talk about?”
The anger in his eyes diminished, his face settled back to one of interest. “Tell me a bit about yourself.”
“Don’t you already know everything about me?” I retorted, surprised.
“Yes I do, but…” his eyes focused on my mouth, “I want to hear it from your lips.” Then, his gaze slowly met mine. “I thought this could be a good time to get to know each other.”
Get to know each other? Was he auditioning to be my new BFF? That was very unlikely. But what choice did I have? Just to get this over with I said, “Well, I was born…”