Page 34 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Underworld

“I don’t want to be here,” I say after I’ve eaten a bit and calmed down. “I want to go home. I want to find my friends.” I choke on the last word. Are they my friends? If so, why wouldn’t they have warned me? Why would they have just left me here?

A look of sympathy passes over his face. “I understand. Unfortunately, that’s impossible. You triggered the spell that traps you in the Underworld with me. I’m as powerless as you are to change it.”

I blink at him. I thought I was in for a fun Halloween party that got a little dirty. But he’s talking about alternate dimensions and spells and being the Lord of the Underworld. Which makes him…the literal devil?

Nope. I cannot process this.

“What spell? Magic isn’t real,” I protest, even though I witnessed him magic a whole bunch of people out of this club just minutes ago. I keep getting hung up on that. Everything he’ssaying is bonkers, but the fact that the door won’t let me out and he can evaporate people seems to suggest that there’s at least some truth to what he’s telling me, incomprehensible as it may seem. That and the magic food.

He apparently knows what I’m thinking. “Sweet Penny, everything I’ve told you is the absolute truth, I swear. I wasn’t aware that you didn’t know the rules. In fact, after what we experienced up in my booth, I thought you broke them on purpose. That for the first time ever, a human was choosing to stay with me.” His expression remains impassive, but I swear there’s the tiniest note of hurt in his voice.

My heart gives a pang. He’s the most attractive man I’ve ever met, and our chemistry could blow up a lab. Would I like to keep seeing him? Sure. Would I like to keep hooking up with him? Absolutely! Would I like him to be less lonely, if that’s what he’s telling me? Of course.

But would I willingly give up my life and my freedom to hang out in this club with him for the rest of my life? Um, not so much. The sex is spectacular, but nothing is good enoughto trap me in hell forever.

“Sorry, but I had no idea about the rules. And since that’s the case, can’t you make an exception this time and just let me go? We both know my ‘theft’ was a petty one at best.” ‘Stealing’ a kiss after he finger banged me in his private booth doesn’t really seem like it should count, especially considering that he fucked me six ways from Sunday afterward.

“I’m afraid I don’t have that power,” he says, his voice laced with regret. “I’m not the one who created the spell. That was courtesy of my mother.”

“Your mother?” Oh, good. Things are getting even weirder.

He nods. “A vengeance goddess who was quite angry on my behalf.”

Sure, yes. Naturally. Hell and magic weren’t enough. Potentially having sexwith the devilwasn’t enough. This Halloween shitshow is now bringing vengeance goddesses into the mix. “What does that even mean?” I finally ask.

He sighs. “It’s a long story, but here’s the short version. My father bound me to hell as its ruler as a punishment. Part of my job is to collect a quota of souls; if I fail, I face an even worse punishment. The kind only he can mete out.” He grimaces. “This can be a challenge, as I rely on damned souls to do this. My mother, furious at losing her only child to an…unpleasant, shall we say?...situation, cast a spell to assist me. Anyone who committed a sin in the club forfeited their soul to me. As you can imagine, it used to happen quite frequently.”

I raise my brows. “Anyonewho commits a sin? How are there not a hundred people here right now? How is not half the city trapped in your little dimension?” On any given night, the club must be ripe with lust, if nothing else.

He frowns. “It’s not little,” he mutters. After clearing his throat, he continues. “There are restrictions. The spell isn’t active every night. Just on special occasions, like holidays and masquerades. Also, not just anyone can get into the club, and Hell is even more exclusive than Purgatory. It only applies down here, and only a select few ever get this far. And third, a lot of my clientele are aware of the rules and are careful not to break them. It’s been quite a while since anyone was affected by the spell. You just got caught in a perfect storm, I’m afraid.”

Lucky me. “So it can’t be undone? I’m seriously just stuck here with you forever? As the Lord of the Underworld, you really aren’t powerful enough to set me free?”

“I’m extremely powerful, but I’m as bound by the spell as you are. My mother ensured it,” he says with a grimace. “As to your other question…” He purses his lips in thought. “Can it be undone? No. Circumvented…maybe.” I glance up at him, barely daring to hope, as he continues. “This has never been attempted before. I’ve never even shared this with anyone before.” He holds out his palm, and in a poof of flame, a parchment appears. In an old-fashioned scrawl, it says:

He who shall complete these challenges three, within a span of twelve hours, shall be granted return to the mortal plane:

Redo a mistake.

Undo a sin.

Outdo a demon.

The tiny granule of hope that had flared in my chest dies. These tasks are weird and impossible. What do they even mean? And in just twelve hours? Yeah, right.

I readthe parchment again and heave a sigh at the prospect of trying to attempt this nonsense. “Are there any additional rules or clarifications?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Not that I’m aware of. Except you have to do these things on your own. No asking for help.”

I roll my eyes. Who would I ask, anyway?

“Staying here wouldn’t be so bad, Penny,” he says. “You could rule the Underworld with me. It’s a fascinating place. Far more interesting than the mortal realm.” The look on his face is…vulnerable?

His offer actually sounds kind of intriguing, except for the fact that I’m not being given a choice. If I want to be co-ruler of hell, I should at least choose to do it, right? Not just fall into it like Alice falling in a hole.

Straightening my shoulders, I take a deep breath. Okay, I need to think. These tasks may be difficult, but I should at least try. What’s there to lose? Besides, if they were impossible, why would this option even exist? There must be some way to do this. So maybe I just need to think creatively.

I sip my Sprite and gnaw on the end of the straw. How does one undo a sin? Once a sin has occurred, how could it be undone? But it doesn’t say what kind of sin or that it has to be one I committed. So perhaps I can work with any sin?

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