Lucas ran his index finger over the edge of her desk as if looking for dust. He probably wouldn’t be disappointed. “Well… that wasn’t exactly what you just agreed to.”

“What?”

“Remember, Eden, the wording is important. I don’t have the ability to snatch Darrak right out of the Void. Nor do I have any desire of going anywhere near that place. It’s very dangerous there, even for me. No, what I said was that I could offer you a chance to save him.”

Fury rose inside her. “You asshole. You tricked me.”

“Not a trick. It’s not my fault your head is not in the game.”

“A chance? That’s it?”

“Yes. I will grant you entrance to the Netherworld. Mortals, even if they’re witches or nephilim, or both, are still vulnerable there. Without my permission you would burn up the moment you entered my kingdom. But tonight I’ll let you in so you can seek your demon at the very edge of his ultimate doom.”

She swallowed hard. “You’re sending me to Hell.”

“You don’t have to go at all, if you don’t want to. However, I should warn you, our deal holds no matter what your decision is. I will, however, ensure your safety and your child’s safety… but Darrak, well, he’s the wild card in this scenario. No money-back guarantee.”

Her nausea came back in full force, but she tried to ignore it. “Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll go.”

“Just one more thing. You need a guide.” He smiled down at Andy. “Would you be willing to protect your lovely business partner tonight? She needs someone who cares about her. I don’t think I’d trust anyone else to help her in this quest.”

“Andy, wait…” Eden began.

But Andy barked.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Lucas held out his hand. Andy walked over toward him and Lucas grasped either side of his head. The next moment, dark light slid along Andy’s werewolf form and he whined.

Eden grabbed Lucas’s arm. “Stop it! You’re hurting him!”

Lucas shook his head. “He’s fine. Better than ever, in fact.”

Andy looked different now. His fur had quickly changed to become black, short, and wiry. He was at least fifty pounds heavier than he’d been before. And his eyes were now red, with slits for pupils more like those of a cat. He looked like a cross between an otherworldly black panther and a Rottweiler.

Eden gasped. “What did you do to him?”

“Consider it an upgrade.” Lucas stood up and brushed his hands off on the front of his pants. “He was a werewolf. Now he’s a hellhound. They’re the best guides in the Netherworld.”

Eden stared with fear at the muscular black monster that bared its sharp teeth at her.

Christ on a cracker!” a voice proclaimed in her head, but the hellhound’s lips didn’t move. “I need a drink!”

Her mouth dropped open. “Andy, I can hear you. How… how can I hear you?”

“You can hear him because he’s the first and only werehellhound. Now, you best get going. He’ll return to his human form at dawn, and he won’t survive more than a couple seconds if you’re still in the Netherworld.” Lucas’s smile returned. “Again, you’re welcome.”

Eden hadn’t said thank you. She wasn’t prepared to say it yet, not with the heavy price tag associated with this literal deal with the devil.

Lucas walked toward the door and pushed it open.

“Wait!” Eden called after him. “How do I get there? Is there a gateway nearby?”

“You won’t need one. You already have the keys to my kingdom at your disposal. Darrak’s ultimate fate is in your hands now, and I suggest you don’t delay. I’ll be in touch soon to collect on our bargain. Good night, Eden.”

Before she could say another word, he left the office. She ran to the doorway and scanned the dark parking lot, but Lucas was nowhere to be seen.

Feeling completely stunned, Eden looked down at Andy the werehellhound.

“Don’t look at me,” he said, or thought, or however he was able to communicate with her. “I have no idea how to get there. Was that really Lucifer? He looked so… normal. Quite frankly, I’m really hoping this is all just a crazy dream.”

This was no dream.

“Keys to the kingdom,” she whispered, wracking her brain for the answer.

But then it came to her. Of course that was what Lucas had meant. What else?

She grabbed her coat and slid her hand into the pocket, pulling out the silver bracelet Lucas had given to her — the one he’d meant for her to put on Brenda that would have taken her to a job interview in Hell. She stared at the chain in stunned silence, feeling resolve fill her.

There was no time for regret or second thoughts. Now was the time for action.

She eyed Andy. “Are you ready?”

He cocked his head and stared up at her with those spooky red eyes. “I expect to wake up in my warm bed any moment. But until that happens, let’s go get your boyfriend and hope for the best.”

Eden had agreed to go to Hell itself to rescue the demon she loved. Hoping for the best sounded a bit presumptuous. “Fine. Let’s do this.”

She grabbed hold of Andy and slipped the chain over her wrist.

SIXTEEN

“Last call, demon. You want another drink, or what?”

Darrak raised his head off the hard wooden bar where he’d dozed off for a moment and eyed the empty shot glass in front of him. “No, no more.”

Where was he?

He glanced to his left around the dim interior of the empty bar. Looked like something out of an eighties sitcom. There was a lot of wood paneling and vinyl. Definitely the Netherworld, though. He ran a hand through his hair to check himself. No horns. He was in human form. At the moment, anyway.

He didn’t remember how he’d gotten here. Usually when he went to bars they were in the human world, not here. Why bother? Drunk humans were way more fun to play with than drunk demons.

Strange.

He wondered how long he’d been out. He’d had one hell of a dream — a long epiclike dream full of adventure and danger and… huh. It was already slipping away.

He wished he could write it off as nothing, but two things troubled him deeply.

First, demons didn’t dream.

Second, demons didn’t sleep.

It didn’t take a genius to notice that something was strange about that.

Maybe it wasn’t sleep. Maybe he’d just zoned out for a while. Yeah, that had to be it.

Funny, though. It had felt different than zoning.

“You sure you don’t want one last drink?”

He looked to his right to see his friend Theo sitting there, which struck Darrak as odd — on top of everything else — but he wasn’t sure why. He and Theo always hung out like this when business didn’t have to come first.

“Why did you let me drink so much?”

“Because it’s fun.”

Darrak eyed him. “You know, it feels like I haven’t seen you for a while.”

“Me?” Theo pointed at himself. “You really have had too much to drink, haven’t you?”

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