Demons Prefer Blondes (Demons Unleashed #1)(88)

Lamia’s mouth slithered into a creepy smile. Lucy cringed inwardly.

“It’s not customary for the bride to talk to the groom before the wedding, anyway.” She brushed her finger over her lips, shushing Lucy with a soft hiss. “Yes, I have her…”

Yeah, Lucy should’ve figured she was the bride. It made perfect sense. After all, these demons were pretty backward as it was. So she was supposed to be Belial’s meek little wife, barefoot and pregnant in his hellish kitchen? She had news for him.

“Actually, the rules state a groom can’t see his bride before the wedding. No rules about talking to her.” Lucy made her best attempt at a friendly smile.

“So what happens when Belial and I say ‘I do’?” If it was anything like Hollywood theatrics, the Earth would split, emitting flames and bursts of lava into the air. “Do I get a T-shirt that says ‘I married Belial and all I got was this lousy T-shirt’?”

Lamia ripped the phone from her ear. “Silly girl. Your banter will get you nowhere. If you must know, Belial takes ownership of everything in your possession.”

Sucked to be Belial, since the chest was actually Serah’s. “I’ve got bad news for you, girl.”

“Oh?” she asked, her lips quirking up with delight. “About the chest belonging to your friend? It was easy to convince her to gift it to you. It’s yours now, darling.”

Her heart plummeted. They hurt Serah. They would die. “What the hell did you do to her?”

“A little torture never hurt anyone. She was stronger than I expected.”

Lucy gritted her teeth. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“Nothing that can’t be reversed… with a little surgery.”

Cuffs clanking as she struggled with her hands, Lucy growled—deep and guttural. “Bitch.”

“One of Belial’s hired assassins kidnapped her and the chimp, and delivered them to me.” Her jaw clenched and her red eyes flickered. “Your friend put up a good fight. The assassin, however, did not.”

“Good for Serah.”

“Larissa took care of the assassin, not Serah. I can’t have too many people knowing our plans.”

“She’s your tool.”

Lamia shrugged. “She enjoys it, though. See.” She craned Larissa’s head around to face Lucy. A calm, almost sweet smile, crept across her face. Such a masochist.

Hell, next right, emblazoned in reflective tape, caught Lucy’s eye.

With that, Lamia cracked her head up. “Oh goody. We’re almost there.”

“I hate to tell you, but you still have at least another hour to go until you reach Hell.” Yes, it was the exit, but Lamia failed to realize that the road to Hell—pun absolutely intended—was a bunch of backwoods county roads and highways. If she was lucky, Lamia would take a wrong turn and end up in Climax—Michigan, that is—instead. One could only hope.

Grinding her finger into her phone, she punched buttons. “ Lovely! I enjoy a scenic trip every so often.”

“Hope your suspension doesn’t mind.”

“Pardon me?”

“Michigan… country roads… Winter. Do the math.” And, as if to illustrate her point, the car rumbled over an icy chunk of asphalt, sending her head into the ceiling—again!

Her only satisfaction was watching Lamia’s head crash against the ceiling too. “Devil’s balls! How much further until we reach Hell?”

“As I said earlier, another hour or so,” Lucy replied with a nonchalant shrug. “You’ll be disappointed. Hell is a hole.”

“Belial is quite confident it’ll work for our purposes.” The red flashed around the irises of her eyes. “Try all you want to dissuade me, my dear. It won’t work. I’m almost as powerful as your father.”

“But not quite.”

“Belial has promised me more power.” A sinister smirk crept across her lips. “And then I’ll take over your father’s kingdom.”

“You’re such a tool.”

“A tool? Me? I think not.”

Lucy shrugged. “Whatever, lady. Belial is only concerned with Belial. I could tell just from looking at him.”

“We’ll see.”

Yep, she knew one thing. Larissa was an extension of Lamia, the biggest tool of them all.





Chapter 25


Pain, grinding and throbbing, shot through his entire body. Eyes squeezed shut, he groaned. But nothing was as painful as the sight of Lamia and that bitch Larissa manhandling Lucy’s body. If only he had just an ounce of strength. He could’ve saved her. Immortality came with some drawbacks. Instead of death, pain plagued your body until your wounds healed.

The metallic tang of blood curled along his tongue. These wounds cut deep, just barely missing his heart. It would take at least a day for him to properly heal without treatment.

Treatment. Kalli, his mind screamed.

Digging into his pocket, he fished for the phone. Blood pooled around him, thick and crimson. It was a miracle he remained conscious.

Fingers slipping on buttons, he pushed the button to dial Kalli. Another miracle. She was the last person he called.

“Hello?”

“Kalli,” he sputtered out.