Page 68 of Endless Terrors
“Yes.” Roger didn’t go into detail, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, anyway. He bowed and said, “If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask. I am at your disposal.”
He paused, waiting for my response. I hesitated. It was another chance to ask all the questions I still had, but caution stopped me. This was the creature Lucifer trusted most, and Lucifer was a monster. Which meant that I couldn’t trust anything that came out of Roger’s mouth. And whatever questions I asked him would go right back to his master. So I just looked at the demon and said, “Thank you.”
He bowed a second time and closed the door, hardly making a sound. Thinking about the grime on my skin, and how good it would feel to shower, I turned toward the doorway Narfu had fled through. I could see the gleam of tile and light reflecting off a mirror. Of course there was a potentially violent lizard in the bathroom I needed to use. This was Hell, after all.
Tomorrow, I decided numbly. I’d shower tomorrow.
As I stood there, absorbing the room, the tower, all of it, it felt like a tsunami was crashing over me. A gigantic wave of sorrow and longing. I missed my family. I missed home, and it felt like I had never been farther away. The people I loved weren’t just across state lines, they were in another fucking world entirely, and I was alone. Truly, utterly alone.
Twice now, I had managed to collect myself. Twice now, I’d controlled the fear. I knew there wouldn’t be a third. Tears welled up in my eyes. Seeking any form of comfort, I lay down on the bed and curled myself into a tight ball. I didn’t let myself cry, not fully, but the blanket beneath my cheek became damp and cold. At one point, I started to shiver. Something stopped me from getting beneath the covers, though. Maybe it was the fact I was still covered in sweat and dust.
Time passed.
Eventually, I decided to risk checking the bathroom. I was desperate for a shower, and in the hour or two that I’d been here, I hadn’t heard a single sound come from that open doorway. Maybe ol’ Narfu had slipped through a window. One could only hope.
I let out a small breath and scooted off the bed. I stood there for a moment, listening closely. The silence rang in my ears. A dozen possible scenarios went through my head, but somehow I mustered enough courage to cross the room, walking on the tips of my feet. I reached the threshold of the bathroom and leaned forward, peering up first, because I’d seen plenty of horror movies and getting mauled by a giant reptile was not the way I wanted to go. The ceiling was made of smooth stone, and it was empty. My gaze darted around the rest of the bathroom. Relief expanded in my chest.
No lizards in sight.
There was a window, which explained where he’d gone, although that seemed too generous a term for what I was looking at. It was more of a tall, narrow opening in the stone wall. I turned my back on it and fixed my attention on the huge, glass-walled shower.
That’s good, I thought hopefully, moving toward it. At least there’s water here.
I didn’t waste any more time after that. Within a minute, I was naked and standing beneath a hot, gentle stream. I scrubbed my body until it was pink, using the bottle of soap on a shelf. It wasn’t labeled, but it had a pleasant, subtle scent, and the substance was the same as body washes I’d used in my world. Bubbles slid down my body and surrounded my feet.
At least another hour had passed by the time I emerged from the bathroom. As I adjusted the towel wrapped around my hair, I felt more like myself. Actually, it was the most normal I’d felt since waking up in this world, all those hours ago. Steam rolled past me, and I went into the closet. Lights turned on automatically as I passed the rows of clothing. There was so much, and I only had to examine a few items to confirm what I already knew—everything was in my size. Lucifer had prepared for this.
She’s promised to him.
The witch’s voice echoed through my head, and I wondered how long these clothes had been here. Days? Months? Even longer? Disturbed, I pulled on the softest-looking things I could find and left the closet in a rush. Then I paused on the threshold, realizing that I hadn’t bothered to do any exploring earlier. Sloppy. I needed to do better, if I actually planned to survive Hell and all the monsters that lived here. Including their master.
What if there was another way in and out of this room? My eyes went to the other side of the space, where the walls were covered in long, intricate tapestries woven with gold thread. I moved toward them, tugging the towel off my hair as I went and tossing it onto the bed. Once I got to the opposite corner, I started walking the length of the wall, pressing down on the tapestries. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, exactly, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if I didn’t examine every inch of this place. My palm pressed against something smooth and cold.
In an instant, I knew these weren’t wall tapestries—they were curtains. I found the edge of one and pulled it aside, listening to the rasp of hooks sliding along the pole.
On the other side of the glass, there was an atrium, of sorts. An open space, surrounded by windows that peered into other rooms. There weren’t any plants here, either, but like the rest of the devil’s city, there was an eerie beauty to it. The space was filled with what looked like a rock garden, complete with places to sit and a waterfall that came out of the far wall, crashing into a pool far below. It sent a white mist through the air.
Then I looked up, and my mind went blank.
Across the enormous space, standing in another room with a glass wall, was Lucifer himself.
A startled jolt went through me. I must’ve been crying longer than I thought, if the devil was back from his mysterious business. Luckily, he hadn’t noticed me yet, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to stare at him unobserved.
Lucifer was in his bedroom. The lighting was dim, the masculine space lit by two lamps and a fire that blazed from a massive, stone hearth. But the details of that hearth would have to wait, because I only had eyes for the male standing in front of it, his elbow propped against the mantel. He peered down into the flames, holding a drink in his other hand. He turned the glass absently. The dress slacks he’d been wearing were gone, along with that crisp white shirt. Instead, the devil wore no shirt at all. Firelight moved over his body, revealing ridges and swells of hard, carved strength. He wore gray sweatpants, slung low around his hips.
Desire lit in my belly, deep and low, hard and hot.
Then, without warning, Lucifer turned.
I froze as our eyes met. The Dark Prince sipped at the amber liquid in his glass and brazenly looked me up and down. When I saw that, a whisper of intuition crept through me. He knew I was here the entire time.
Before I could react, Lucifer raised his drink to me in a wordless salute. His expression made me think of his remark from our last conversation in the dreamscape. May the best player win.
An hour ago, I probably would’ve blanched, or maybe even bolted. But that shower had done wonders, and I wasn’t going to accept whatever fate Lucifer had in store for me. I’d fight tooth and nail to get back to my family. And if I failed, I’d try to take a pound of the devil’s flesh with me as I went.
I gave him a cold smile, extended my arm, and put up my middle finger.
I was still flicking him off as I stepped back and yanked the curtains shut.
