Infernal Games by Jenna Wolfhart

32

I’d never run faster in my life. Arms pumping, heart racing, I soared down the tunnel with an invisible wind at my back. Adrenaline surged through my veins, giving me a boost I sorely needed.

I’d used Az’s power against Lucifer.

It had worked!

When I reached the fork in the tunnel, I swung a right. My boots pounded the ground like thunder. I stumbled into the torture room and spun onward to the stairs. I had no idea how I’d gotten Az’s ring to work a second time so quickly, but I wasn’t done with it yet. By sheer force of will, I was going to make that damn ring listen to me.

I threw myself up the stairs. Fingers clutching the ring, I squeezed my eyes and focused with all the strength and determination in my soul. Power rumbled beneath my skin. Slowly than last time but still very much there. It bubbled through my pores and shot toward the door and—

A hand gripped my arm. It pulled me back. The ground vanished from beneath my feet, and darkness consumed me.

I think I screamed, but it was impossible to tell. The darkness was absolute, like an infinity of nothingness. Sorrow filled my soul as I tried to make sense of it. It was like the world no longer existed anymore. I no longer existed.

And then everything shuddered back into place.

My feet hit ground. The darkness poofed away. Sights and sounds roared around me, filling my head with static. I blinked, vision clearing. I was standing in the goddamn hellgate room.

Rafael stepped away from me and brushed his hands against his jeans. I shot him a glare. “You used your weird shadowy magic to teleport me. Didn’t you?”

“If you hadn’t tried to escape, it wouldn’t have been necessary,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

All I could do was stare at him. It still unnerved me, seeing him like this. Once, I’d thought he was a boring, slightly insufferable hipster who loved coffee and my best friend. Now he was the dick who’d tried to kill me. More than once. And he’d been successful with dozens of others.

“What did you do with Serena?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Serena is fine. We didn’t want any werewolves making things more complicated. You should thank me. Normally, I would have just killed her.” He shrugged. “I took her and the fae to her apartment in Brooklyn. By the time she gets here again, we’ll all be long gone.”

The hellgate shimmered before us, casting eerie orange hues upon the stone walls. “Because you’re taking me to Hell.”

“That’s the idea.”

“But why?”

“You’ll have to ask him.” Rafael turned toward the tunnel entrance as Lucifer approached. He strolled toward us with his hands slung into his pockets and a slightly annoyed expression on his face.

Looked like I hadn’t done any permanent damage. That was a shame.

“Nice try, Mia,” Lucifer said easily as he joined us by the gate. “I didn’t expect you to be so bold. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

I bent my knees and sliced the stake toward him.

He stepped back, arching a brow. “Lars was right about your feistiness. Do you not have any idea who it is you’re trying to fight?”

“Yes,” I hissed, feeling a bit feral. “The King of Hell.”

“And what exactly do you think you’re going to do with that?”

“I mean, the first thought that pops into my mind is that I want to shove it right into your face. But I figure the heart is better. Or maybe your neck. That way I can separate your head from your body and bury you thousands of miles apart.”

“I see Az has been sharing our secrets,” Lucifer said with an ease that made my head spin. The least he could do was look a little bit nervous.

“It sounds to me like you’re not willing to fight me.” I shot him a smile that matched his own. “Are you scared of the angry human?”

He rolled his eyes. “Please. Your little act is tiresome. I know you don’t really want to fight me.”

“Actually, I do.” I inched a little closer, wafting my scent toward him. “Take a sniff and tell me I’m not dying for a fight.”

Lucifer’s lips flatlined. He huffed out a sigh of annoyance. But I knew I had him hooked. With a roll of his eyes, he sniffed. And then his gaze sharpened on my face. “Interesting. Most humans would run screaming in the other direction when faced with the hellgate.”

“I’m not really a human,” I said. “And nothing you can do will ever make me run screaming.”

His smile widened. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to prove you wrong, Mia McNally.” He held out his hand toward Rafael. “My sword.”

My heart stopped. “Wait a minute. No swords.”

“You have a weapon.” He nodded at the stake. “It’s only fair if I have one as well.”

Shit.I took a step back.

Rafael reached behind him and pulled a sword out of thin air. He passed it to Lucifer, grinning. I wet my lips and tried not to panic when he slid the weapon from its scabbard. It was massive. At least as tall as me and almost as wide. I’d never seen anything like it before, and I was pretty sure it could chop down an entire tree in one blow.

It had to weigh at least a hundred pounds.

He wouldn’t even have to stab me with it. One tap on the head, and I’d be out.

I was in way over my head.

Squaring my shoulders, I lifted my stake—that now looked tiny—before me. Lucifer spun the sword in his hands, whistling an eerie tune that sounded horrifyingly familiar. It sounded like death and pain and fear. The melody dug into my skin and stayed there.

I shook my head to block it out. He was trying to unnerve me, and it was working. And I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

The bastard.

He flipped his sword. I angled my stake. And then he swung. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The sword arced through the air, hurtling right toward my throat. A scream ripped from the very depths of me as my life flashed before my eyes.

Az. Me. Then and now.

The memories filled my mind until it was all I could see.

With a roar, Lucifer swung the blade up toward the ceiling just a second before it would have sliced my head clean off my body. The sword tumbled out of his hands and clattered across the stone floor. It slid through the hellgate and vanished from the cave.

I gaped at him, my chest heaving.

I’d been two seconds away from death, and then—

He’d saved me?

“What was that?” I whispered. “Why did you stop yourself?”

Lucifer’s face hardened. “You’re mistaken.”

“No.” I shook my head and stepped toward him. “That sword was about to go right through my throat. You stopped it.”

Lucifer growled, fisting his hands. Rafael had slowly started inching away, almost as though he feared what would happen next. The King of Hell had clearly spared me. But why? None of this made any sense. He’d killed me in a past life, and he’d had it out for me ever since.

There was something I was missing. Memories were still lost to me. Lucifer wanted to keep me away from Az, but he wasn’t willing to kill me. He needed me for something else.

And I refused to give him the chance.

With a roar, I lunged toward him with my stake raised. His lips parted. I slammed the weapon into his chest. It sliced through his clothes and burrowed into his chest. Blood poured from the wound, painting my hands.

Swallowing hard, I released my grip.

His hands latched around mine, holding me there. His eyes lit with fire. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“You’ve given me no other choice,” I spat into his face. “This has to end. Here and now. I’m no longer going to play your stupid games. I’m done being your pawn, your plaything. This is my life, the only one I have left after you took the last one from me. And I’m going to live it the way I want.”

Tears poured down my face. I hadn’t realized how much pain and anger had built inside of me. It was desperate to get out.

Lucifer tipped back his head and laughed. His hands still clutched around mine, he yanked the stake out of his chest and shoved me back. Heart pounding, I stumbled away as his skin shuddered back into place, as smooth and unmarked as if I’d never stabbed him.

“I am the King of Hell.” He stalked toward me. “You cannot harm me, Mia McNally.”

I spun on my heels to run, but his hands latched onto my arms before I could even make it a single step. He threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing at all and darted through the cavern at a speed that could rival the sun.

He dropped me on the floor beside the gate. Tears burning my eyes, I tried to crawl away, but he grabbed my feet and tugged me back.

My scream was the last thing I heard as he dragged me into Hell.

* * *

Demons After Dark: Covenant concludes in…

Wicked Oath

(Demons After Dark: Covenant, Book Three)

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