And with that, Adam jumped off the big guy’s lap, bounced off the platform that contained the throne of bones (still so cool), and headed right toward the door that the yellow demon had run through.
He wasn’t terribly surprised to feel the heat emanating from the door, and he was fully braced for flames, rivers of blood, and maybe some pits filled with the screams of the anguished and suffering souls. He wasn’t particularly thrilled at the thought, but Minos definitely made up for some possible bad scenery, and Adam had gonewaytoo long without having anything resembling a good time.
Besides, he figured Mr. Big Sexy would protect him from whatever scariness was through the door. He could already hear Minos getting up and following behind him. Before he could stop Adam from heading into his home territory in some attempt to protect him, Adam raced a little faster through the door.
And stopped dead the minute he made it through.
Because…
“Are we in Florida?” Adam asked.
OK, so it obviously wasn’t Florida (although really, wouldn’t that explainsomuch??). But the heat and humidity felt the same. And the sky was like a beautiful sunset, although he realized maybe that was just its natural color. He was expecting a blood red sky or eternal darkness or something, and instead he got a pretty sunset sky filled with pinks and maroons and hints of purple and blue.
And he was pretty sure there were palm trees up ahead. And there were definitely condos. He had really been joking about the hell condo, but apparently he wasn’t too far off the mark.
“So you guys don’t live in caves or anything? No rivers of blood? Pits filled with the screams of the tortured? Waterfalls of fire?”
“This is the section where most demons live. Of course we don’t have the pits or rivers of blood here,” Minos replied. And Adam had absolutely no idea if he was kidding or not.
“So you totally do have a hell condo? Can we see it? I can’t wait to see your decorating taste!” Adam giggled a little at that. At the very least, it would be entertaining.
“I do not live in a ‘condo,’” Minos sniffed. Awww, had Adam offended Mr. Sexy Judge of the Damned? He tried not to smile at that. It was just so cute.
He knew it was probably a little weird that he thought everything a demon did was cute. Because Minos was super grumpy, but there was just something about him that made Adam trust him and want to tell him all his deepest secrets and desires. And he figured Minos had probably heard it all and nothing would shock him, and there was something really comforting in knowing that.
After all, didn’t everyone want someone they could bare their soul to? Someone who wouldn’t judge them? Someone who you could show the worst parts of yourself to, and they’d still look at you exactly the same? And, ironically, he didn’t think the Judge of the Damned would think any differently of him no matter what nonsense came out of his mouth. After all, like Ms. Bitchy “upstairs” had stated, he hadn’t done anythingtrulyterrible. Sure, he had some kinky fantasies and the occasional murderous thoughts, but the first was fun and the second was probably pretty normal (he wouldn’tactuallykill anyone). And if he was a somewhat neurotic, eternal optimist who was slightly obsessive and spilled every thought in his head, he got the impression that Minos wouldn't mind those things.
“Well, lead on to your not-condo, then,” Adam said, and he started walking. Because he figured the further he got from the door to hell the more likely it was that Minos wouldn’t drag him back out.
“I don’t think…” Minos started before trailing off. He was staring ahead where there were a few demons meandering about, some quite normal looking for demons (was that a briefcase in one’s hand?), while others looked fully demonic, complete with whips, chains, and possibly even a mace covered in gore. (Ewwww.)
But in the distance amongst the normal sized demons (most of them werenotas tall as Minos) was one who towered over the rest. He was stone grey, and the guy had actual, literal wings. Like pitch black, feathered, huge wings looming up over his shoulders. His hair was long and dark and he had a whip coiled around one arm. And Minos was staring straight at him. And the other demon was staring straight at… Adam.
Uh-oh.
Chapter6
Minos
Well shit.
Kushiel was about thelastdemon that Minos wanted to see right now. Because, first of all, a human was in Sheol, and humans were not supposed to be in this part of the underworld. They weren’t supposed to see where demons actually lived—it was supposed to be all lakes of blood and fire. Insert eye roll here. Listening to the screams of the damned got pretty boring after a few centuries, and although the lake of fire was actually kind of pretty, the rivers of blood were just boring. They were sluggishly slow, crossing them by boat always took forever, and the metallic, rotten smell just completed the unappealing picture.
It was hell, after all, so unappealing was kind of expected, and he planned to keep Adam far away from the pits. And the river. But some things were fun. The labyrinth was really his favorite part, and he thought Adam would find it amusing. That’s where the most devious punishments were carried out. It was satisfying to walk into an illusion where someone was being punished in a creative and personalized way. Everyone’s worst torture was different, and it was justice to see the truly evil people in the world suffering for their sins. If he remembered correctly, he even had someone eternally sitting through a teen pop concert surrounded by mean girls. Adam would love that.
Apparently Adam’s ability to go off on tangents was catching, because Minos realized he needed to focus on thenowproblem, not ruminate on hell’s more appealing aspects and what Adam would enjoy seeing. He also realized that apparently he had already made a decision—he was keeping Adam.
There was the crux of the issue, because demons did not just “keep” human souls in Sheol, and a large part of that problem was walking toward him right now. Because Kushiel’s job was also judgment and punishment, and Adam would most assuredly fall under his purview, not under Minos’. Kushiel got the good souls who felt like they ought to suffer, and Adam was a good soul. Kushiel had perfected this whole bdsm thing over the years with most of his souls, and the thought of Adam being dominated by Kushiel made Minos want to kill him. Slowly.
Which again brought up the fact that Adam shouldneverhave ended up in front of him. He didn’t know who had fucked up upstairs, but he had no doubt that at some point someone would realize the error, and then there would be nothing but problems.
Kushiel strutted closer, actually flaring his wings out a bit—such a show-off—and Minos took Adam’s hand in his and pulled the human partly behind him, shielding him with his body. Adam held onto his hand and placed his other hand on Minos’ back. He also seemed to sigh in a dreamy way while staring at Kushiel, which only pissed off Minos more. He’d had a taste of the human, and he was not handing him over.
“What do we have here, Judge of the Damned?” Kushiel asked, and yes, he was definitely fluffing his wings out. Using Minos’ formal title was definitely a power play, as well. The fucker.
“Why is the Rigid One ofGod, anAngelof Punishment, questioning the Judge of the Damned, an Infernal King of the Underworld? This is my domain, Kushiel. You are merely an occasional occupant amongst the damned. Or do you forget your place?”
Adam peeked around Minos at all the throwing around of titles, and Kushiel looked at him with interest. “I do not think this soul is yours, Judge of the Damned.”
