Page 72 of Endless Terrors
I leaned back, frowning. The spell had ended, and the faces in the water were gone.
“It isn’t enough,” I said.
Lucifer looked unsurprised. “It has to be. If my word had no value, no one would bother making deals with me.”
Right. The devil and his deals. My jaw clenched, and I pushed myself up. Roger wanted me to believe his master cared for my well-being, and yet it was one of Lucifer’s deals that had caused more harm than anything I’d ever been through.
At the same moment I had the thought, I realized that I was looking at the knife in Lucifer’s hand. The edge was still stained with his blood. Whatever it was made of, he was vulnerable to that blade. It could cut him. Suddenly I was imagining it. Getting close to him. Seducing him. Grabbing for that knife.
Time slowed.
Stick to the plan, Fortuna, a voice inside me urged.
I blinked, and my thoughts cleared. The plan. Yes. I’d confirmed that Damon was alive and well. Now I needed to complete Savannah’s spell and get my ass back home. Trying to stab the devil was definitely not on that list, and it was pure delusion to think that I’d succeed where hundreds, probably thousands, before me had failed. He was an original angel, for chrissakes.
I let out a breath and walked away from the pool, stopping once I could no longer see the water. Beyond the windows around us, I could see glimpses of sky. There were more clouds than last time I’d been conscious, and when I saw that, hope went off inside me.
“Looks like rain,” I murmured, wondering how much it would take to trigger Savannah’s spell. A single drop on my skin? Standing beneath the downpour?
I felt Lucifer looking at me. “There is no rain in Hell, my lady.”
“There has to be,” I blurted, my stomach sinking. “I mean, this is a big world, right? There must be rain somewhere.”
Lucifer didn’t respond. His eyes were intent on my face, and in an instant, I knew I’d made a mistake. He could see how upset I was. How much I cared. I turned away to regain my composure, and my mind raced. If Lucifer was telling the truth, it meant that I had no way of getting home. Not without his help, at least. Revealing my dilemma to him would probably result in another deal that would entrap me further, or bring around the end of the world. It was a toss-up, really.
Okay, so I couldn’t tell Lucifer. That gave me three weeks to find some rain or figure out another way home. Magic existed in Hell, I’d seen it. And magic seemed to respond to me.
The only problem was Lucifer. I had to buy myself enough time to leave this tower alone, and search the city for a miracle. But he seemed determined to be a gracious host.
I needed to drive him away, I decided.
I’d barely finished the thought when Lucifer asked, “Would you like a tour of the tower?”
“No.” My lip curled. “I don’t know what your game is, and I don’t care. I’m not playing. I don’t want anything to do with you. You may put on a good show, but I see you—I see past the pretty face. You’re still the same prince that rebelled against your daddy and lost. You’re trapped in a cage, and you call it your kingdom. All because you can’t bear the truth.”
When I stopped, Lucifer was silent, and I noticed the slightest movement in his jaw. A shadow, like a muscle had flexed. There, I thought. I’d finally gotten to him. Fortuna, one. Lucifer, zero.
I waited for his response, my heartbeat slightly uneven. It didn’t seem likely that many people got to mock the devil and survive it.
“I am not the only one who turns a blind eye,” Lucifer said. I expected his voice to be hard, cold, but he spoke to me softly now. Almost as if he … pitied me. There was sadness in his eyes.
I bristled, and I opened my mouth to demand what that meant. Then I caught myself, realizing I’d nearly played right into his hands. This was how the devil wove his web. This was how he manipulated and warped people’s minds.
Little did he know that he was the one getting outsmarted now. I would play Lucifer’s game, and I’d do it better.
“Stay out of my dreams tonight,” I said calmly, raising my gaze to his. “Or you’ll learn what it really means to meet a Nightmare.”
With that, I turned and left the atrium. I felt Lucifer watching me the entire time, but I didn’t look back.
Fortuna, two. Lucifer, zero.
The next time I woke, there was a demon in my room.
I didn’t shoot upright, which was my first instinct. Instead, I forced my body to remain still and follow the creature with my eyes. It was the same one that had been here before. What had Roger called him? Narfu, that was it. I watched his movements, warily at first, but as the seconds went by, my unease began to fade. The giant lizard appeared to be … cleaning. He was delicate about it, too. The towel I’d used last night had fallen onto the floor, and Narfu retrieved it with the tips of his claws. When he straightened, I noticed there was a collar around his neck. It was thick, and made of some sort of metal. There was dried blood around the edges.
Narfu began folding the towel with surprising dexterity. While he was distracted, I slid my legs to the side of the bed, moving slowly. Narfu’s head jerked upright, and he froze, still holding the towel.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, daring to move closer. “I just want to look at the collar.”
