Definitely not Hufflepuff in any way, shape, or form.
The pain in Darrak’s gut grew more intense and his throat suddenly felt tight. “Sounds… interesting. So what’s behind door number two?”
Theo nodded at the Void. “That.”
Darrak laughed, and it sounded sharp and unpleasant, even to himself. What was wrong with him? Why was he even giving this a second thought? He was a demon. They weren’t your friendly neighborhood superheroes that saved kids from fires and certain death. They caused fires. They killed. They maimed. And then they danced merrily among the carnage.
He definitely had memories of merry carnage dancing from his many years of existence.
So why wasn’t he dancing right now?
“Problem?” Theo asked.
“No. Of course not.”
“You should know this is a limited time offer.”
“How long do I have?”
“Ten minutes. No, actually make that nine minutes and six seconds.”
“So let me get this straight. I either agree to be a murderer and reaper of innocent human kids with shiny souls or I forfeit my entire existence and get sucked into that Void right there. Is that right?”
“You’re paying attention. I appreciate that. Makes things much simpler.”
“Awesome.”
Damn it. What was his problem? Anything was better than his own destruction. He felt the clock ticking down his remaining minutes. The fire in his gut was getting more intense. And the Void had some sort of strong pull on him — like a hellish vacuum cleaner — which was drawing him ever closer to his ultimate fate. He couldn’t seem to move away from the edge.
Unless he said the word, accepted this deal, then he was minutes away from being cast into the Void.
Kill kids for a living or allow himself to be destroyed forever.
He really wished there was a door number three.
TWENTY
This wasn’t good.
Eden had the best of intentions at marching out of the demon market and searching the surrounding area for Darrak, but she’d started going in circles. Just when she thought she’d found the end of the market, it was as if it folded back onto itself.
She could tell because they kept passing that dragon for sale, a thin, sickly-looking little green thing that coughed up a fireball every thirty seconds as if it had hiccups from Hell.
“It’s like some sort of a trap,” she said. “I don’t know what to do. And we’re running out of time.”
“Ask somebody.”
“Damn it, why did Lucas do this? Why didn’t he help me? I promised him my angel side. You’d think that might earn me a little help here.”
Andy kept pace with her, his large paws padding on the pavement as they continued to work their way through the thick crowd. Eden tried her best not to touch anyone directly.
“You know you’re talking about Lucifer like he’s just somebody who’s doing you a favor. But he’s not some guy who’s trying to help out, Eden. He’s… well, he’s him.” He sighed. “And I’m still convinced I’m dreaming.”
He was right, of course. Not about the dreaming, unfortunately, but about how she looked at Lucas. It showed in her continuing insistence to call him something other than what he was. She needed to face reality and clue in to the fact that he wasn’t trying to help anybody but himself. And she’d already agreed to give him what he wanted whether or not she found Darrak.
Lucas wasn’t a nice guy she could count on in her time of need. He was a self-involved fallen angel who wanted to go back to Heaven at any cost.
And that just made her mad.
He’d given her as little help as possible, without getting his hands dirty. And here she was. She had to stop being so damned uncertain and go after what she wanted.
“You’re right.”
“About what?”
“We need to ask for directions.” She pushed her fears away and approached the next demon she spotted who was in human form. He was tall and handsome with broad shoulders and dark hair.
For a split second, from behind, she could have sworn it was Darrak, and her breath caught.
But it wasn’t.
“Excuse me.” She caught his arm to slow him down and he looked at her curiously.
He cocked his head. “Let me guess. Succubus, right?”
“Me?” She swallowed. “You guessed it.”
“I can spot them a mile away. You’re too beautiful to be anything else.”
Andy groaned.
Great. Just what she needed right now. A pickup line from Hell.
The demon glanced at Andy. “Nice hellhound.”
“Thank you,” Eden said.
He reached his hand out to her. “The name’s Stefano.”
After a slight hesitation she shook his hand. He felt warm and human, even though she was sure he was anything but. “Eden.”
“What an adorably ironic name. Tell me, Eden, are you bearing delicious forbidden fruit?”
She cringed. “And this is Andy.”
Stefano released her hand after one more squeeze and glanced at the hellhound. “Are you protecting your mistress from any unwanted attention at the market today? Are you a good hellhound? Yes, you are!”
Andy growled, low in his throat. A line of drool slid off his jowls and dribbled to the ground.
“Not so friendly, is he?”
“You’re an incubus, aren’t you?” Eden said.
“How did you know?”
Good-looking and not too smart. Dead giveaway. “You remind me a little of somebody — somebody I’m looking for.”
“Name?”
She hesitated. “Darrak.”
He pursed his lips. “Never heard of him. If he doesn’t show up, I have a little bit of downtime. I’d love to get to know you better, Eden. You and your hound.”
“Is this loser for real?” Andy asked.
Luckily Eden was the only one who could hear him.
Stefano looked down at Andy with surprise. “Your hellhound talks?”
Okay, maybe Eden wasn’t the only one who could hear him.
“He’s, uh… special. Look, Stefano, I’m hoping you can help me with something very important—”
“A talking hellhound. That’s incredible!” He crouched down and braced his hands on his thighs. “Say something else, boy. Speak!”
Andy blinked. “I really don’t need this right now. But, woof.”
Eden had to take control of this situation again. “Do you know how to get to the Void from here?”
Stefano froze and slowly looked at her before rising back up to his six feet plus of height. “The Void.”
“Yes, it’s a place of endless nothing where demons go when they’re destroyed.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of what the Void is. I’m just wondering what a beautiful succubus like yourself and her talking hellhound would want with a place like that.”
Her stomach churned. “Forget it. Obviously you don’t know.”
“I don’t know precisely. But as soon as one leaves the safety of the market you’d be able to feel its pull. It’s not far from here.”
She felt the first pinprick of hope since she’d arrived. “How do I leave the market?”
“Wait a minute…” He was silent for a moment, studying her. “You’re not a succubus at all, are you? I was wrong.”
She didn’t like the look on his face. It was suspicious, searching, and the flirtatious friendliness from a minute ago was fading quickly.