Infernal Games by Jenna Wolfhart

17

Fuck Lucifer. Fuck his game. I would not play it anymore. To Hell with it.

I threw open the door and stormed onto the sidewalk, my blazing hair a tornado around my head. Az was halfway down the block, striding forward with his hands tucked into his pockets. A cry of alarm got stuck in my throat like a rough boulder. There he was.

I cleared my throat. “Az!”

He stiffened. His hands fisted by his sides, and his steps didn’t slow.

Heart twisting, I jogged after him. “Az, wait. You have to hear me out. I know this sounds cliche, but that literally wasn’t what it looked like.”

He finally stopped and twisted toward me. Pain flickered in his eyes, so harsh and raw that it sliced through me like a knife. “I know what I saw. I thought he wouldn’t be able to get into your head the way he has, but I was wrong.”

I stepped toward him, crinkling my brows. “Get into my head? Trust me. That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

His gaze swept across me. “You’re saying he hasn’t been suggestive to you?”

“Suggestive?” I shrugged. “Sure. He’s suggested that if I don’t do what he wants, he’ll rip apart everything I know and love. With lots and lots of violence.”

The pain in his eyes vanished, replaced by the flames of vicious anger. His hands fisted, and when he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. “He threatened you?”

“Very much so, Az. Why else would I have gone on a date with him? It definitely wasn’t because I want to spend any kind of time with him.”

He sighed. “I should have known. And the kiss?”

I pressed my lips together. “He forced it.”

Venomous anger bounced off his skin, transforming into swirling shadows. He strode toward me with a determined set to his jaw. When he finally reached me, he swept me up into his arms. I was crushed against his muscular chest. Relief loosened the tight grip that stress had on my body. I leaned against him, breathing him in. The fiery scent was so strong, I swore smoke filled my head.

“I see we’ve given up.” Lucifer strode up behind us with his arms clasped behind his back. “Time to wave your little white flag of defeat?”

Az pushed me behind him, squaring off against his King. The two demons glared at each other in the middle of the busy sidewalk while I held on to the back of Az’s shirt. I didn’t really like hiding, but...Az was the demon, not me.

“Sansa is mine. I’m claiming her.”

Lucifer laughed. “Of course you do. You must have a new thing for redheads. I hear Mia had quite the mane herself.”

“What can I say,” Az said flatly. “I like fire.”

Lucifer leaned sideways and gave me a little wave. “Darling, why didn’t you tell me you have feelings for our dear Asmodeus? Why agree to go on a date with me? Trying to make him jealous?”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice,” I muttered.

“True.” His smile dropped. “It’s odd, isn’t it?”

“What’s odd?” Az growled.

“Has no one else noticed the sky tonight?” He folded his arms as he tipped back his head to stare up at the clouds.

I shifted on my feet. This felt like another one of his little traps. Probably a good idea to ignore him. Following his gaze would give him exactly what he wanted. But my curiosity couldn’t contain itself. What was in the sky? Rolling my eyes at own damn self, I looked up.

The sky was black. Beneath the glow of the city, it was impossible to see any stars. The only visible light in the sky was the—

Realization slammed into me. I stumbled back, my hand pressed to my lips. The only light in the sky was the full moon.

Sansa was supposed to be a werewolf.

I should not be out tonight. Not in this form, anyway.

Now, this. This was the real checkmate.

Az pressed his back against me. Shadows whorled around us, hiding us within the darkness of his demonic energy. Several humans stumbled to a stop to gape, but Lucifer didn’t look at all phased. If anything, an evil, eager glint was in his eyes. We’d walked right into his elaborate trap. Not one, but two snags to trip us up. And we’d fallen over both of them.

How had we not seen this coming?

“Mia McNally.” Lucifer rose his voice to be heard over the roar of Az’s pulsing shadows. “I have waited a very long time to finally meet you.”

“I don’t know what any of that means,” I shouted back.

Heart thundering in my chest, I gripped Az’s arms. He kept his back against me as we slowly edged down the sidewalk, away from Lucifer.

“You are so unlike what I expected,” he called back, still smiling.

“Az, what’s he talking about?” I hissed. “Why has he waited a long time to meet me?”

“I don’t know, Mia,” he murmured. “But we have to get you out of here before he gets his hands on you. I won’t let him take you to Hell.”

“He doesn’t seem very concerned that we’re walking away from him.”

“No.” Az shook his head. “He doesn’t.”

Az slowed to a stop. So I did, too. Whatever he did, I would shadow him. Not that I didn’t think I could protect myself...I mean, who was I kidding? As much as I prided myself on being strong as hell, what exactly could I do to stop Lucifer from whisking me away to Hell?

I needed magic. Or something. And I didn’t have it.

“Hold on to my shoulders.” The urgency in Az’s voice sent a tremor down my spine. I peered around him to spy Lucifer conversing with none other than Lars and his vampire buddies, who had appeared at precisely the worse moment. Just like I’d expected. He was gesturing in our direction. Excitement flickered across the vampires’ faces.

I had a pretty good idea what was about to happen. Lucifer was siccing some vampires on us. Great.

“Az,” I warned, turning back toward him.

His powerful black wings shot from his back, nearly slamming into my face. Fear throttled my heart. Before I could talk myself out of it, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and clung on to his neck. He pushed off the ground without a warning, and a cry ripped from my throat.

Gasps and screams peppered the air as he soared away from the streets. There was no telling how many humans had seen us, and I didn’t even care. We were breaking supernatural laws, but how could that matter when we were already on the run from the King of Hell?

Lucifer didn’t follow us. When I craned my head over my shoulder to catch sight of him down below, I found him watching us with detached curiosity. Arms folded, head cocked. The vampires were shouting and punching their fists in the air, but Lucifer looked completely unfazed.

The game was over. We’d lost. So why was he letting us escape?