Page 271 of Castings & Curses

Every ounce of feminism in my body wanted to argue with him, to light into him with a “you don’t talk to me that way,” but something in my bones told me that wouldn’t be wise, and it wasn’t because Endor was a six-foot, tattooed dream of a man with dark eyes that could probably bring a woman to her knees.

No.

No, my instincts told me it was something else.

Something deeper, something… more.

I should be afraid of this man who is demanding I follow him, who is undoubtedly taking me home to his murder pad.

But what choice do I have?

I could keep walking, maybe try to find his girlfriend?

Maybe she could be of more help?

My stomach turns at the idea when I remember how she looked at me: with fire in her eyes like she wanted to ruin me but decided not to. Probably didn’t want tall, dark and handsome to witness her wrath or something.

The elevator finally dinged on the floor, and Endor waved me in. “I believe it’s ladies first, right?” he said with a crooked smile, and I realized I’d completely dissociated.

“Oh, uh… yeah. Thanks, I guess,” I said as I slowly stepped into the elevator. The inside walls were all red velvet, and the buttons black with gold numbers, mirroring the look of the door I’d opened that read HAD.

Endor slides in not a moment too soon, the doors closing on us, and suddenly I feel hot from my head to my toes. I don’t look at him, that weird feeling in my stomach keeping my feet bolted to the floor.

“There is no temporary housing in Hell,” he says matter of factly.

Hell?

That’s enough to make me turn my head.

I thought I was in Heaven…

“I thought I was in Heaven?” I ask, confused.

Endor doesn’t look at me. “I’m afraid not,” he says plainly, before running a hand through his hair and sighing. “Though your paperwork looks… different. There are some things I’d like to look into, perhaps you may provide me with the details and we can get this all sorted out.”

I nod, at a loss for what else to do. “Uh huh. Sure.”

Endor turns to me, raising an eyebrow. “I will not harm you, Mercy. You are safe with me, right now.”

He says the words like they are nothing, and I know I should believe him. But the way my stomach flips, the way my blood heats under his gaze, the way goosebumps rise on my skin tells me that I am the furthest thing from safe.

But I have no other options, so I do the only thing I can think of.

I pray.

I pray to God or whatever angels can hear me that I make it until morning, and then I pray that I will find peace wherever it is I am going.

CHAPTER7

Endor

The unwavering braveryMercy displayed earlier in my office seems to have disintegrated.

Of course, when you first see Hell in all its glory, that is to be expected. The desert-like ground, the glowing rocks and lava pits, the god-forsaken heat. It’s a lot to take in. Never mind the demons or creatures prowling about. Hell spawn come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and of course, species. Basically, a variety of everything.

Hell is home to more than just demons and darkened souls, after all.

“Stay close to me,” I say as I come up beside her, whispering in her ear.

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