Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(12)

“Fine. So I didn’t shut the door. I thought I did, though,” she said earnestly. “I could have sworn I did.”

“In that you were wrong. The Hellspawn came for you because you let it—you opened a way for it. You were careless and now you must pay—and all your loved ones will pay with you.”

“Why do you keep saying that? Why should it want to kill the people I love?” she demanded.

I frowned at her. “As to why it wants to kill those you love, the Hellspawn will seek to inflict maximum pain and suffering on its victim before it finally hunts them down and kills them. The fear and anguish spices the meat, giving it just the right flavor. Or so I am told.”

“You’re sick,” she flared. “And lying. It was coming for me. I’m the one it almost took!”

“Because you were in your grandmother’s room. It was going to take her first,” I pointed out.

She put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my God… how did it even get in here in the first place? Grams has every single door and window covered in the strongest protection spells.”

“You may have noticed that it used neither a door nor a window,” I said dryly. “It tunneled in from beneath, neatly avoiding your human magic.”

Gwendolyn looked so ill I felt sorry for her—not that I would show it. She would never learn if I allowed myself to show too much compassion.

“But if it was coming for Grams…”

“It was. And I promise you, Gwendolyn, that it will hunt down everyone you love. Is there someone besides your grandmother that you hold dear?”


Her face went pale. “Keisha,” she murmured.

“I’m sorry, who?” I leaned forward, inclining my head toward her.

“No one.” She shook her head tightly. “All right, I get it—this thing is after me and everyone I love. So what can I do about it?”

“Nothing.” I shrugged, as though I didn’t care.

“Nothing?” She stared at me, her eyes wide and incredulous. “Nothing?”

I gave her a slow smile.

“I am afraid not. Not by yourself, anyway.”





* * * * *

Gwendolyn

I lifted my chin and glared at Laish defiantly. “That’s bullshit. I opened the door, I’ll just go close it.”

Laish frowned. “You are not so foolish as to believe it will be that simple, Gwendolyn. Opening a door onto the Abyss is relatively easy—it can be done in spirit form, as you did the night you dragged your friend back from the afterlife. Closing it again, however…” He shook his head. “Is quite a different matter.”

“All right,” I said grudgingly. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy. But if I opened it, I should be able to close it. Right?”

“Not in spirit form.” Laish leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and stared at me intently. “The only way you can close the door completely is to go through the seven circles of Hell as you are now, in your corporeal form, and physically close it.”

I stared at him blankly. Was he crazy?

“But I can’t do that. You know I can’t do that. It’s dangerous enough going through the Shadow Lands and up to the Great Barrier. If I go past that and into Hell itself, I’ll get stuck there forever.”

Laish sat back, that annoying smirk playing around the corner of his luscious mouth. “Only if you go alone and unescorted.”

I was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this. “What are you saying?”

“It is more what I am offering,” he corrected. “And what I am offering is to take you through the seven circles to the very edge of the Abyss. I will keep you safe and be certain you are not molested.”

I put a hand on my hip. “In return for what? And don’t play innocent with me, Laish. You and I both know that demons don’t give anything for free.”

“You wound me, mon ange. Do you really believe me to be so usurious?”

“I believe you’ll take what you can get,” I said grimly. “The question is, am I willing to give it.”

“No, Gwendolyn.” Laish spoke quietly but his eyes gleamed in the dim lamp light. “The question is, what price will you pay to keep your loved ones safe from the evil you have brought upon them? What price can you put on love? Some might say no sum is high enough.” He shrugged. “Of course, those that speak such foolishness have human emotions which I, fortunately, am not burdened with.”

I felt my mouth go dry. “What do you want?” I managed to ask. “The rights to my eternal soul? Are we going to strike some kind of Faustian bargain here?”

Laish laughed, a low, rumbling sound that might have been pleasant to hear under other circumstances. Now I found it incredibly annoying.

“Not at all, mon ange. Contrary to popular belief, not every being who lives in Hell is bent on collecting souls. I have no interest in or use for your celestial spirit.”

“What then?” I demanded, though in my heart, I already knew what he was going to say.

His eyes burned like fire. “It is not your soul I crave but your innocence—that rare flower you keep to yourself, unsullied and unplucked by any up until now.”

“Well isn’t that a fancy way of saying you want to sleep with me,” I said flatly. “I already told you, Laish—I’m not giving it up for you.”