Devilish Deal by Jenna Wolfhart

28

Just before we were set to go on stage, I ducked into a doorframe and watched the other girls go. Priyanka gave me a nod and a thumbs up before disappearing into the club. The thumping bass pounded against my feet. This was it. The moment I’d been waiting for all day. My heart thundered so hard in my chest, I could feel the aftershocks in my neck.

With a deep breath, I pushed out the back door and turned my feet west. The warehouse was only two avenues over, near the piers. My footsteps echoed through the quiet streets, and the closer I grew to the river, the fewer pedestrians I passed.

Az was in the sky, watching me. The rest of the demons were waiting inside the warehouse. They were with me every step of the way, even if I couldn’t see them. As long as I remembered I wasn’t alone, I could do this.

For Serena.

I stopped on the street corner and gazed across the avenue at the nondescript warehouse that squatted on the next block. Banks of windows were blacked out, and rust splashed across the metal rolling doors. Tipping back my head, I took note of the roof, just in case. It was four stories high and flat on the top. A good place for Az to land.

A crack beneath the doors spilled dim light onto the pavement. With a deep breath, I pulled it up, wincing as the metal screeched into the night. I stepped inside just as the door crashed down behind me. Flickering florescent bulbs barely illuminated the expansive space. The entire place was empty, except for a few plastic sheets that hung from the ceiling, blocking my view of the far left corner.

My heartbeat picked up speed. There was nothing in here. No place for the Legion to hide.

Where the hell are they?

Sweat beaded on my brow. If they couldn’t find somewhere to wait for me, they would have come back to the club to warn me, right? They wouldn’t have just let me wander into a killer’s warehouse all alone with no backup.

But what if something had happened? What if they hadn’t been able to get to me in time?

I took a step back toward the door.

“Mia,” a familiar voice drawled from behind the plastic sheets. Frowning, I whipped toward it and narrowed my eyes, trying to make out the vague form through the sheer material. Was that one of the Legion? I recognized his voice, but…no. It definitely wasn’t Caim or Phenex. Maybe Valac? I hadn’t spoken to him much.

The sheet rippled as the man pushed it aside. Noah stepped into the warehouse wearing black sweats and zero glasses. His green eyes gleamed beneath the overhead bulbs. Confusion pounded against my skull as I stared at him. Wait. Why was he here? Had he gotten a note from the killer, too?

Shit. He probably had no idea what he’d just walked into.

“Noah,” I said, rushing across the floor. “You need to get out of here. Now.”

A smile flashed across his face. “I’m surprised you were actually brave enough to show. You’ve run from everything else in your life. I thought you’d run from this, too. A pity, almost, that you chose guts this one time. You’d be better off if you’d fled.”

My lungs rattled as I gaped at him. Thoughts flicked through my mind almost too fast for me to comprehend them. Noah wasn’t here because the killer had lured him into his trap. He was here because…

“You can’t be,” I breathed as I took a step back. “Not you. You’re just…you’re human.”

He was a nerdy coffee-addict hipster who had swept my best friend off her feet.

Chuckling, he reached behind his back and pulled out a very, very sharp knife. The florescent light gleamed against the serrated edge. Specks of blood clung to the metal. I swallowed down a hard lump in my throat.

“I was shocked when Serena’s useless roommate walked right through Infernal’s doors without any trouble at all. At first, it annoyed me, Mia. But then I saw it for the opportunity it was.” He flipped the knife in his hands. “You would finally give me what I have wanted for decades. A way to find out exactly what Asmodeus and his Legion are up to in his fucking club.”

My heart thumped. “Seems a little over the top, don’t you think? You could probably just ask him.”

Sneering, he edged a little closer. “Asmodeus would never tell me a goddamn thing. Don’t you know who the hell I am?”

“Um. Actually? No.” I shrugged, trying my best to appear nonchalant. I needed to keep him talking long enough for the Legion to get here. And then we’d grab Serena and go. Was he keeping her behind that plastic sheet?

“My name is Raphael,” he growled.

I blinked at him. “Like the ninja turtle?”

“No.” He fisted his hands, and anger poured off his body in waves. “Like the fallen angel. How could you have never heard of me? Don’t they teach you humans about us in church?”

“I’ve only been a few times, and I never really paid attention.” I folded my arms and lifted an eyebrow. Somehow, my body remained far more calm than my mind did. Inside, I was screaming to run. “So, tell me. What’s your plan here? You’re going to give me Serena, and in exchange, I give myself up to you. And then what? How does that tell you what’s going on inside the club?”

A wolfish smile flashed across his face. “You’ll see. Az will arrive any minute now. He won’t be able to help himself. I sent the Legion off on a wild goose chase, and he’ll soon realize you’re facing the killer alone.”

Realization pounded through my veins. “You want him to show up.”

“Now you’re beginning to understand.”

“But why? I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “If he’s the one you wanted all this time, why do all this? You had a chance to face him in the alley. Why’d you run?”

He scowled. “That was Michael. Not me.”

“Michael?” I started to ask, but then stopped. “Oh. There’s two of you.”

“Four,” he corrected. “Though we don’t claim Gabriel or Suriel as ours. They want different things than we do.”

I arched a brow. “Care to explain?”

“Gabriel and Suriel both want to save humanity from Hell.” His eyes glittered as he took another step closer. “Michael and I, on the other hand, have seen the light. Lucifer needs to win this game, and I’ll do anything it takes to ensure it. That means killing Asmodeus, his Legion, and anyone who sides with him. Just like all those other supernaturals out there who are trying to save souls. Lucifer doesn’t know what the Legion have been doing, but I do. And I intend to prove it tonight. When Asmodeus comes to rescue you.”

All the blood rushed from my face. Of course this wasn’t about me. It never had been. It was about something far greater. The future of humanity, of this world. Az had been careful, but he’d still caught the notice of his enemies. Noah and Michael had been killing any supernatural that sided with him. And if Az showed up tonight and was unable to stop Noah…erm, Rafael…the fallen angels would take this information straight to Lucifer.

That couldn’t happen.

So, how exactly was I going to save Serena, save my own damn self, and stop this crazy angel guy from running to the King of Evil?

I’ll tell you how. I had no fucking clue.

The door thundered open and Az ducked inside. The moment he saw me, he crossed the floor and threw himself in front of me. His entire body trembled as he glared at the fallen angel who stood before us, ripples of shadows flooding off his skin.

“Mia, get out of here,” he said in a low growl that sent skitters of fear—and maybe a little bit of desire—down my back. He sounded like he wanted to rip Noah’s head off. That probably wasn’t far off the mark. The only way out of this was for him to take his heart.

“Not so fast,” Noah-Rafael said, fisting his hands. “You and Mia have signed a contract, have you not?”

Az tensed. “What the hell does that have to do with anything, Rafael?”

Rafael smiled. “Mia, tell Asmodeus that you are breaking your end of the contract. You will no longer fulfill your duties.”

“What? No,” I shot back.

“Don’t do it, Mia,” Az warned, edging further in front of me.

“Mia,” Rafael said. “If you don’t do what I say, I will kill Serena. Michael has her behind that sheet. Do as I say, or she will die.”

I swallowed hard, horror pounding like a drum against the back of my head. My eyes swam as I stared at the angel’s glittering smile. So much anger. So much hate. No wonder he’d been kicked out of the afterlife. And now, he wanted me to break my deal.

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what that meant. If I broke the deal, I’d lose my soul.

With a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes. Serena needed me to do this. She’d die if I didn’t. I had no idea what would happen next, but it didn’t matter. Not when her life was on the line.

“Mia, don’t,” Az said, his voice rising to a shout.

“I break my end of the deal,” I whispered.

My entire body tensed as I waited for something to happen. The horrible excruciating moments stretched by. When at least five minutes had passed, I cracked open one eye. Az stood before me, his hands hanging heavily by his sides.

“Is that it?” I asked with a frown. “I thought something would happen.”

Rafael’s vicious chuckle echoed off the warehouse walls. “Something should have happened, Mia McNally. If you’d actually made a deal with a demon.”

“We did make a deal,” Az muttered. “I ripped it up.”

Rafael stepped closer, narrowing his eyes. “To save her soul. You decided you didn’t want to risk losing her to Lucifer, and so you destroyed your contract. Because you aren’t who you once were, are you, Asmodeus? You’ve become something else. Something far too mortal.”

A growl erupted from Az’s lips. My heartbeat flickered in my neck as I glanced back and forth between them. I wasn’t entirely sure how to take this news, but that didn’t matter right now. I needed to get to Serena before Rafael ordered his angel friend to kill her.

Az launched toward Rafael just as the heavy warehouse doors flung wide. The Legion rushed across the floor, shouting in anger as they raised their swords high. I took one second to gape at five sword-wielding demons before throwing myself toward the plastic sheet at the back of the warehouse.

Rafael was so busy focusing on Az that he didn’t notice me.

My feet thundered against the concrete floor. When I reached the sheet, I threw it to the side and fell to my knees beside a bound Serena. The other angel was nowhere to be seen, but I didn’t dare stick around and wait for him to return. With a grunt, I wound my arms around her trembling body and dragged her back into the warehouse.

She peered up at me with bleary eyes. Her face was beet red, and her hair hung in messy clumps around her shoulders. But she was alive, and she wasn’t bleeding. Thank god.

“Serena.” I knelt beside her and got to work on the knots around her wrists, ignoring the total chaos raging on behind us. “Are you okay?”

She yelled against the sock in her mouth. Heart hurtling into my throat, I whirled just in time to see Rafael rush toward us with anger flashing in his eyes. I braced myself, wishing I had a damn sword myself.

Az slammed into Rafael’s back with a roar, knocking him down onto the concrete. Rafael rolled onto his back and launched a kick into Az’s chest, but Az leapt to the side just in time.

Rafael panted as he glared at the Prince of Hell. And then he vanished into mist.