Infernal Games by Jenna Wolfhart

19

The uptown address ended up being way uptown, past the point I’d ever travelled during my four short months in the city. Inwood felt more like an entirely separate borough rather than the northern tip of the island. A different kind of energy pulsed against my skin as we strode down the quiet streets.

It was calm and peaceful. Children were playing in a nearby park, and the shorter buildings provided an unobstructed view of the sky. We came to a stop outside of a red-brick building that stretched across most of the block. A sidewalk tunnelled between two matching sections, leading to a door with a pristine green awning. It looked like something on a postcard.

The normality of it all caused my skin to prickle. By this point, I would have been more relaxed about something visibly creepy. Like an abandoned warehouse or a basement apartment.

The safer it felt, the more wrong it seemed.

“You sure a demon who worships Lucifer lives here?” I whispered as we strode toward the revolving door. “This looks like a place for very human humans with Netflix subscriptions, screaming babies and, dishwashers.”

Az cracked a smile, despite the potential danger that loomed before us. “Dishwashers?”

“Well, yes. Doesn’t this look like the kind of building that has dishwashers in the apartments?”

“I can’t say I’ve ever thought much about the characteristics of dishwasher apartments.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course you haven’t. I bet you’ve had access to dishwashers your entire life. Those of us without piles of money don’t always get them.”

“There are no dishwashers in Hell, Mia,” he murmured.

“Oh.” Right. Good point. And now he was hours—or moments—away from being dragged back to that place. I had no idea what to imagine when it came to Hell. I’d asked Az to describe it to me a few times, but his expression always darkened and he walked away. Memories of that life clearly haunted him. None of the demons wanted to go back. The only thing I knew was that there was a lot of fire there.

And zero dishwashers.

We stopped outside the door, and Az jammed his thumb against every single buzzer. There were about fifty of them in total. At least a dozen irritated voices blasted through the tinny speaker.

Who is this?

What do you want?

You just woke up my baby!

Finally, the door buzzed as an unsuspecting fool let us in without confirming we belonged here. Az and I minced inside. Well, I minced. Az strolled along with his hands slung into his pockets, unbothered and calm. My heart was practically beating a hole in my chest, and I had to rub my palms against my jeans repeatedly.

“We should have brought the others,” I whispered as the overhead fluorescent bulb flickered, like something straight out of a horror movie.

“I’m the strongest,” he said firmly. “And they’re doing the more dangerous deed. They need the numbers going up against two fallen angels.”

He was right. But I would have felt a little better with some backup like Phenex. All he’d have to do was punch a wall, and he’d get someone talking. Together, he and Az would terrify anyone.

At the end of the hallway, we found some stairs. No elevator in sight. As we climbed up to the fourth floor, I huffed out a breath.

“Maybe I was wrong,” I said, our footsteps echoing against the concrete steps. “If they’re making the top floor walk up six flights of stairs, they aren’t putting dishwashers in all the units. Very tricky of them, you know. I bet they rent more units by making the outside look a lot nicer than the inside. Sure, you’d find out when you viewed the place, but I still bet it makes a difference.”

“Mia,” Az murmured with a smile.

“What?”

“Calm down. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He stopped me in the middle of the fifth flight of stairs and pushed me back against the rough wall. An unexpected gasp popped out of my mouth. He leaned in close, dragging his lips against my neck. A blast of heat burned through me, momentarily drowning out the fear.

“Nothing will happen to you,” he growled out, his eyes flashing. “Whatever we’re about to face, they’d have to kill me first before I’d ever let them get to you. And I’m pretty fucking hard to kill.”

“But that’s what I’m afraid of,” I whispered back. “I know you’ll protect me, Az. But I don’t want you to lose you in the process.”

His lips twisted into a wicked smile. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, Mia. And I’m not sure I want you to see it.”

My heart pounded, and I swallowed hard. “If it means you survive, then I absolutely do want to see it.”

I wouldn’t lie and pretend I didn’t feel the teensiest bit of fear. Not of him. I knew he’d never harm me. I could see the truth of it in his eyes. But I also knew that he’d held back. He’d kept the worst of his demonic side hidden from me. And he’d told me himself that he’d done terrible things. Most of that had been in his past, but not all of it.

He curled a finger against my cheek and searched my eyes. I knew he could scent my fear and unease, but maybe he could also smell the wild desperation. If he had to go a bit demony inside this apartment to protect us both, then so be it.

“You might not like what you see,” he said. “You might never look at me this way again.”

I reached up and tangled my hands in his hair. “Az. I want you to do whatever it takes.”

With a nod, he brushed his lips against mine. And then we were off, charging up the rest of the stairs. We reached the sixth floor and pressed out into the carpeted hallway. It stank a bit, like old socks and cat piss.

Appearances can certainly be deceiving. The outside had given off the aura of a well-kept, peaceful apartment building. But the interior was a mess. The lights flickered. Stains splattered the walls. The ragged carpet needed to be replaced at least ten years ago.

“Definitely no dishwashers,” I muttered.

When we reached the right door, Az gave me one last glance before giving it a light knock. As we waited, adrenaline surged through my veins, making me feel like my skin was going to bounce right off my bones. I’d never been more on edge in my life, and that was saying something. This was nothing compared to stage fright or the nerves before a big speech in class.

It was the unknown of it all. Neither one of us had any idea what was on the other side of that door.

The hinges creaked as the sagging door swung open. A face peered out at us, wrinkled and small. I cocked my head as I stared at the little old lady who stood before us. She was stooped over, like an invisible weight squatted on her shoulders. Her gold-rimmed glasses matched her necklace, and coils of white frizzed around her heart-shaped face.

Um...

This was the demon?

“I’m sorry.” Az stepped back, confusion in his voice. “We must have the wrong address. Apologies for disturbing you so late at night.”

Her rattling voice whispered out at us. “Who were you looking for, son?”

Son. I bit back a smile. If she only knew Asmodeus was centuries older than she was.

“A woman named...” Az glanced down at the paper in his hands. “Rebecca Reynolds.”

“I’m Rebecca Reynolds,” the old woman said.

Oh. Hmm. This was getting stranger by the moment. A little slice of fear shimmied its way into my heart as Az tried to make sense of it all. Eisheth had been the one to give him the name and address. She’d been on Lucifer’s side since the beginning. My heart began to pound harder in my chest. Was this another one of his tricks? Could we have walked straight into another trap?

Az turned to me. “This is the Rebecca Reynolds. Eisheth must have gotten the addresses mixed up somehow.”

“You know Eisheth?” the old woman asked.

Az’s eyes sharped on her face. All the blood inside my veins stilled. “Forgive my confusion, but...I must ask. Do you know what Eisheth is?”

“Oh, yes.” Rebecca bobbed her head. “Vampire. Quite vicious when she wants to be.”

Shadows rippled across Az’s arms as he stepped forward. “But you are...”

“Human?” The old woman smiled, and for the first time since she’d opened the door, something about her face looked off. Like the lines of her nose didn’t match. My stomach twisted with unease. “I’m not human, Asmodeus, and I know why you’re here. You want the thing that Lucifer asked me to hide for him.”

Nerves jangled my belly. Rebecca wasn’t human, so then what was she?

Az stormed forward and slammed his hand against the door. It rattled on its hinges, and it shot wide open to reveal a hoarder’s den. The entire surface of the floor hid beneath towers of junk. Glittering trinkets. Mounds of clothes with the tags still attached. Tattered books and a random assortment of electronics. The walls were covered in framed photos. Floor to ceiling. Wall to wall. There wasn’t even an inch of space left untouched.

And the thing we wanted was somewhere in the midst of all this. No wonder Lucifer had wanted to hide it here.

“You’re welcome to take a look,” she said with a sweet smile, motioning toward the disaster.

I didn’t really know what to say at this point. What other choice did we have?

Az gave a nod and stepped inside. I followed him. Rebecca closed the door behind us and darted through the mess as if she’d done it a thousand times before. When she reached an arched doorframe leading into the kitchen, she paused where she precariously perched on a teetering pile of cardboard boxes with the dexterity and balance of an Olympic gymnast.

Definitely not human.

“Would either of you like a cup of coffee or tea?”

“No, thanks,” Az grumbled.

Her watery blue eyes turned toward me. “And you, dear?”

Coffee was the last thing I wanted right now, but it would be good to get rid of her for a few moments. At this point, we had a bit more information, but it wasn’t much. There was an object we needed to find. Somehow, that held all the answers. Lucifer had gone to a lot of trouble to hide it from us, and we would never find it without knowing what it was.

“Sure,” I said. “Cream and sugar.”

Might as well drown the taste of the brown water as much as possible. Not that I had any intention of consuming anything that came out of that kitchen. I refused to go down in the fourth quarter from some poisonous coffee. I’d made that mistake once. Never touch something an enemy supernatural tries to offer you.

Or you might end up bound and gagged in the middle of a demon seal, ready for sacrifice.

After she’d bustled into her kitchen, I whirled to Az and hissed my words. “What the hell do we do now?”

“We find the thing,” he said gruffly.

I folded my arms. “And what is the thing?”

His lips flattened as he gazed around at the mess. “Something in this room.”

“Yep. You’re right. That’s very helpful.” I twisted toward the sound of boiling water, frowning. “What do you think she is?”

“She’s what Eisheth said she is,” he murmured back. “A demon. She’s been hidden by a scent and appearance glamor. It’s likely how she’s been able to collect all this stuff. No one looks twice at an old woman hobbling around.”

“Do you think she’s powerful?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“I think she is far more deadly than she looks. But I also think she has no plans to fight us unless we get too close to the object she’s hiding.”

“So, we just need to poke around until she gets angry.”

Az’s lips twisted, his expression darkening. “Are you sure you meant what you said outside?”

“About you doing your worst?” My heart pounded. “You know I did...why?”

“It would take weeks to sort through all this stuff, and she knows it.” Az reached behind his back and withdrew a sword that I had not seen until now. He’d kept it hidden, doused in his shadows. I swallowed hard. I remembered that sword. He’d named it Abaddon, and apparently, it had a mind of its own.

“Step back, Mia,” he warned in a low growl. The sword flickered in response.

“Yep. Got it.” I dove behind the sofa just as Rebecca Reynolds bustled out of her kitchen with two steaming mugs of coffee. A part of me felt guilty. She reminded me of my grandmother. Her sweet little face. That watery smile. The way she held the mugs as if they were struggle.

“Oh, I see. This is how we’re going to play.” She cackled and threw the mugs at my face.