Page 29 of Shadows of the Soul

The curtains twitched in the living room window.Head back in the game, Cora. Rescue your aunt, then devise a plan to win over the pack which doesn’t involve fighting half of them to prove you are worthy.Being with me had its disadvantages beyond our different species. There were things that hunted me, things that would bring a world of trouble to Hudson’s doorstep if they scented my true heritage.

The front door swung open, revealing a dark and gloomy hallway. That wasn’t ominous at all. No one was there to greet me. It could be the house welcoming me, but I didn’t feel the presence that normally enveloped me like a warm hug, which meant the house was hiding its nature.Hmm, what are you up to?

I stepped over the threshold, and a sense of utter dread consumed me. My knees wobbled, but I straightened my spine and stalked inside, the front door slamming closed behind me. I swung a left through the archway, finding the sunken living area empty of anything living or dead. I edged around the room and passed through the kitchen. A soft glow drew me toward the dining room. My shoulders tensed with the unknown situation I was walking into. I felt the reassuring weight of the nulling potion in my pocket and strode through the open door.

My gaze snagged on the ominous being occupying the chair at the end of the table. Dressed in a smart suit with one leg thrown over his knee, to anyone else he might appear to be a charming man, with sharp cheekbones and ebony hair cut into a fashionable short style. He exuded power and instilled an awareness in your molecules that recognized the predator in the room. To me, however, he was family.

“Shit,” I muttered. “What are the odds?”

“Indeed, take a seat, Cora. We have much to discuss.”

And just like that, on an early October evening, I found myself seated opposite the devil himself. Perhaps I should play the lottery today?

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Whomever said ‘better the devil you know’ clearly did not know the actual devil.

“I’m honored, Lucifer, but there’s no need for the pomp and circumstance. You could have phoned for a catch up or made a house call.”

That better be a sarcastic nickname for the nasty you are facing, Cora Roberts,Hudson pushed into my mind. Oh shit. Of course he could hear me all the way out here, and now I had the pack’s suspicious head of security and the Terror of Tennessee listening to my secrets. I considered ripping the necklace off.

Don’t you dare, I will come barreling into that house before the clasp breaks.

Lucifer’s glacial blue eyes bored into mine. “You have been successful at warding yourself from me, from my kind. It proved impossible to even locate your general area. Kudos to you, Cora, I’m impressed with your resourcefulness, but that meant I needed to be creative to get your attention. And with no lover to speak of, I took the next best thing—your family.”

“She better not be hurt.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Or else?”

He wasn’t threatening me. He was curious. Would I let my beast out of the box to save my aunt? “I am here alone, as you requested. You can let her go.”

He smiled. It wasn’t pleasant; it was terrifying, speaking of pain and promised violence. “Bring her in,” he demanded. Two people entered through the back door, each with an arm around the waist of my aunt. She sagged between them as her feet trailed on the floor. She acted the part well, but my aunt was far from incapacitated. The King of Hell should know better than to underestimate a Roberts woman.

They dropped Dayna on the window seat. The guy to the left built like a beanpole with straw hair turned and folded his arms, while the auburn-haired stout woman to the right sat next to Dayna and turned to me and Lucifer.

“Your demons are wearing the locals,” I stated. “You went to the trouble of possession. What gives?”

He flicked a hand in their direction, dismissing them. “They did a little recon for me, picked out the best aunt to get your attention.”

I snorted. “Most vulnerable you mean.”

“I don’t get my hands dirty unless I need to.” Oh, don’t I know it? The fate of the human souls who resided in those bodies wasn’t certain. The demons could slaughter the soul on their way out, or they could simply leave. Few demons bothered visiting Earth, because of the enormous surge of power needed for a successful possession. If they messed up, they might end up stuck in purgatory. Given the rarity of possession, most supernaturals believed demons couldn’t even walk the Earth. Some doubted their existence altogether, and that’s the way Lucifer liked it. How could you defend against an evil you never knew existed? I knew better. I’d experienced firsthand the horrors Hell produced.

“You wanted me, and here I am. Now what?”

“I want access to your naughty little back door.”

That better not be a metaphor,Hudson growled in my mind.

Ew, gross.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stated. He couldn’t know. I’d only figured out my personal alternate dimension was a doorway to heaven a few months ago.

“You owe me. Don’t play coy, Cora. Feigning innocence doesn’t suit you,” Lucifer stated with a slow smirk. He totally knew. Fuck.

I glanced at Dayna. She winked at me from underneath the tangle of her hair. “I don’t want to discuss this in front of anyone.”

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