Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(15)

“He’s just a minor demon, Grams,” I put in. “He’ll get in trouble over what I did if he doesn’t help me fix it.”

Laish got an amused look on his face. “A minor demon. Exactly.” He raised an eyebrow at Grams. “So are you satisfied?”

“Not nearly,” she snapped. “What assurance do I have that you’ll bring Gwendolyn back to me after she’s done closing that door? How do I know you won’t just toss her aside the minute the matter’s resolved?”

She had a point. I couldn’t help the shiver that went up my spine when I remembered those dark, slimy tentacles slithering over and over each other in the black depths of that vast pit. What if Laish simply decided to push me into the Abyss once he got my virginity and the door was closed? My power would be cut in half if he insisted that we have sex but even at full power, there was no way I would be able to escape that dark place. What if—?

My thoughts were cut off as Laish abruptly seemed to grow larger somehow, his ruby eyes burning like hot coals.

“Now you have truly angered me.” His voice was so quiet I could barely hear it but so intense it felt like a flame, burning me.

To Grams’ credit, she didn’t back down, despite Laish’s scary appearance.

“You don’t scare me, demon—I don’t care if I made you mad or not.” She poked a finger at his broad chest. “Answer the question. What promise can you give that I’ll believe? How do I know you’ll bring my precious girl back to me?”

Laish sighed and seemed to melt down to his normal size—which was still pretty freaking huge, to be honest. For a minor demon, he was certainly on the large and muscular side.

“If I say I will bring her back because she is precious to me too, you will not believe me,” he said. “And I cannot swear on my soul because—as you have pointed out—I do not have one. Likewise, I cannot swear on what I am—you have made it abundantly clear that you don’t trust me.” He raked a hand through his jet black hair—a very human gesture of frustration, I thought. “All I can do is swear on what I once was.”

“What were you?” I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity. If my knowledge of mythology was correct, some of the major demons had originated in Heaven before the fall. But the minor ones were supposed to have been born the moment Hell was created, appearing like toadstools springing up after the rain. Not a very pretty image but then, most minor demons aren’t very pretty themselves. Laish was a definite exception there.

“I was not always as you see me now,” he answered simply, still looking at my Grams. “I had honor once. Integrity. The capacity for love.”

“You did?” I wondered if this was all an act just to placate Grams. If so, he deserved a freaking Oscar for it—it was that convincing.

“I did.” Laish nodded at me briefly and then looked back at Grams. “For the sake of what I once was, I will keep your granddaughter safe and bring her back to you. No harm shall befall her that does not first go through me.”

“Is that right?” Grams still sounded skeptical. “You’re saying you’ll protect her with your life?”

Laish looked at her seriously. “Not a drop of Gwendolyn’s blood will fall unless every bit of my own has first been spilled. All right?”

Grams looked at him for a long moment and then, grudgingly, she nodded.

“All right. I guess I’ll trust you because that’s all I can do. But you’d just better bring her back. And I mean, bring her back intact.” She gave me a look when she said it that made me blush and look away. I knew exactly what she was talking about but I couldn’t make any promises. Especially not when I’d already agreed to let Laish take what Grams would call “liberties” the entire time we were in Hell.

“Very well.” He rose from the couch and inclined his head to me. “I’ll give you a day to get ready. I’ll be back for you at the stroke of midnight tomorrow. Be prepared.”

“The stroke of midnight? What am I—Cinderella?” I demanded. “Why midnight? Is it the only time you can get into Hell or what?”

“No,” he said mildly. “It just has such a nice, dramatic sound. After all, if you’re going to Hell, mon ange, you might as well go in style.” He gave me a devilish grin and before I could reply, he vanished in a puff of cinnamon smelling smoke.



Chapter Seven





Gwendolyn





“Now, have you got everything, child?” Grams looked at me anxiously.

“I think so.” I looked down at the bag she’d packed me. It was a plain leather satchel with a long shoulder strap I could wear across my body for security. Inside was a plain plastic water bottle—a Zephyrhills bottle to be exact, because that’s my favorite brand of spring water—as well as a faded plastic sandwich container. It was yellow and blue—an old Sponge Bob holder, left over from when Keisha was in grade school.


It always amazed me how Grams kept everything but in this case, I was glad. Sponge Bob’s cheerful, goofy face would remind me of home while I was traversing the seven circles of Hell.

“Now the bottle is spelled to never be empty,” Grams told me, even though she’d already said it twice before. “No matter how often you drink from it, you’ll still have clean, fresh water every time you put it to your lips.”