A kid flinched, as if I’d kick him for getting in my way. He had a round face, darkened with dirt and bruises, and stood no taller than my waist. I doubted he was older than six.
It was the first child I’d seen, and after the conversation with Grant, it shook me all the more.
The kid lifted his arm to ward off a hit. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said, reaching down to help him to his feet. “You okay?”
He brushed off his legs, as if that did anything about the layers of filth caked to him. “Fine. I didn’t mean to get in your way, though. Really sorry.” His gaze flited to the side.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” He went to take off, but I shifted into his way.
“Wait a minute. Are you running from something?”
The kid paused, trading his weight from one foot to the other. “See…”
Grant caught my arm and leaned in. “He isn’t a kid, Ava.”
“Look at him. He’s scared.”
Grant shook his head. “You don’t know what hell is like.”
I remembered that man who had nearly killed me, the way he’d held that machete. “I’m a quick learner, and I’ve had a few lessons taught to me.”
“Nothing here is what it looks like.”
“So you’ll just turn your back on a child?”
“If he’s here, then he isn’t as innocent as he looks.”
I stared back at the boy, but try as I might, I couldn’t see any evil in him.
He looked back, then cowered when Grant met his gaze. “I don’t want any trouble,” he swore. “I’ll go.”
Before I could stop him, he scurried off, leaving me facing Grant, my hands on my hips. “How do you know he didn’t need help?”
“Because kids don’t get sent to hell, Ava.”
“And spirits look like they do when they die.” I thought about the twisted forms I’d seen and amended my statement. “Except when they’re here in hell, where they look worse after a while. They don’t turn into sweet-looking kids, though.”
“Ava,” he started to say, but I shrugged off his hand.
“We should get to the rooms.”
He let out a long sigh, one that said he didn’t appreciate my dodging of the conversation, but I didn’t care. Turnabout was fair play, and Grant had kept plenty from me.
I didn’t owe him anything.
The hotel this time was a far cry from the small inn we’d stayed at before. It reminded me of something that would fit in in the living world, a tall building that stretched up into the sky with flat glass windows across the front. Still, without regular electricity, it held the same orange and green glow that lit everything else.
Hunter waved us over from the counter, and I pushed past Grant, eager to put him out of my mind. Funny that these men could annoy me so much one moment, and I could worry about them the next.
It infuriated me.
“Rooms will be ready in an hour or two,” Hunter said.
“That long?”
“Do you really want them to skimp when it comes to cleaning rooms here?”
Fair point.
“What are we supposed to do until then?”
“Take your friend to a show,” the woman behind the desk said, her gaze locked on Hunter like she might cross the barrier and mount him there.
Hunter snorted. “I don’t think that’s really her speed.”
“Well, the ballroom is open. It’s early, so there isn’t much activity, but maybe that’s more her style.”
The way she said style irked me, as if I couldn’t hang with them. I was tempted to tell her I’d escaped a man who wanted to use me as plant fertilizer, that I’d scared off those beasts that guarded the fields.
A sharp pain to my side had me turning to find that Hunter had pinched me to keep me quiet.
Probably for the best. No need to be advertising that I’d been a target, or they might decide to figure out why.
“Sounds good. I’ll just head in there,” Hunter said.
“Mella is serving,” the woman called as Hunter ushered me away. “And I’ll be off in a few hours if you want both of us to help you christen your room.”
I turned, ready to give that woman a piece of my mind—her sharp teeth and claws be damned—but Hunter pulled at me to keep me moving.
“I like your jealousy, shadow-girl, but maybe keep it in your pants?”
“Why? Because I’ll get my ass kicked by her?”
“Hardly. I wouldn’t let her lay a finger on you.” The declaration was oddly sweet. Sure, I didn’t want to be a damsel in distress, but the protective nature charmed me.
At least, until he added, “Because then I’d have to fight a shit load of people.”
“You like fighting,” I reminded him.
“I do, but see, I want to strip you down and enjoy every last inch of your sexy little body, and I’d really prefer not to have to waste energy on anyone else before then.”
His words seared me, made my breath short. I’d had sex with Kase and Troy not that long before, and yet I felt entirely up for his plan.
Then again, I usually felt up for whatever Hunter suggested. He was easy and safe in a strange way. He didn’t have that many hang-ups, didn’t want me to be anything I wasn’t. It was refreshing and relaxing and easy.
The ballroom was large and spacious, with a stage at the back, tables set in the middle and booths at the sides. The red flames flickered over chandeliers, casting the entire room in an orange glow. A few of the tables and booths were occupied, but most of the room was empty.
“I never figured there’d be ballrooms in hell.” I sat in the booth Hunter pushed me toward.
“Trust me, all men knew there’d be ball dancing in hell,” Troy answered, his face pinched into tight lines. No doubt he was thinking back to some traumatic time he’d been forced into the activity by a woman.
“Hell is as boring a place as any. Worse, really, because there aren’t ever
