Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 147673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Laurent swallowed. Would a creature like this possibly judge or criticize him for making a request that his contemporaries would consider immoral? “A life in which I can freely satisfy my desire for men without repercussions?” He stood taller, squeezing his fingers on the scissors so hard it hurt. He was so, so sick of always being the servant, bound to someone, and now almost a slave or captive.
The creature watched him without blinking. “Yes.”
“A world in which I would not go blind?”
“Yes.”
Now came the hard part. “You would not give this freely. What do you want from me?”
“I do not demand your soul, mortal, if that’s what you’re asking,” said the creature, revealing its burning hot throat when it laughed. “I need a human to do my bidding for a short time. If you don’t fail, you will be free when accomplish your task. You will go to the Kings of Hell. You will find Beast and make sure he is in King’s house on the day he reaches the age of thirty and three. Make sure the King himself lives until then. Keep the details of your task secret from Beast.”
Laurent dropped the scissors in resignation. “I… I am a bookseller’s assistant. How can I have any power over a beast, or a king?”
The creature watched him in silence, as if weighing his words, but in the end, it extended its large hand, unfolding all five fingers that ended in sharp obsidian-like claws. “You have that power, Laurent. That is why I choose you.”
Laurent held out his hand despite the fear of being burned, despite the fear of even more indenture. Tonight he’d killed a vile man while attempting to ensure a better future for himself. Maybe this had been his destiny from the start? “I will find Beast, make sure he is where you want him on the day of his thirty third birthday, and I will not let King die. I will keep the details of my task secret from Beast.”
The creature crooked its head and leaned its massive body toward Laurent. Its heat was prominent, yet this time Laurent was not afraid to burn. When the large hand closed around his, it felt strangely similar to something hot wrapped in thin slices of bark. “And in exchange, I will make you free in a world where you can fulfil your desires for men without fearing the law. You will gain your sight back. You will be able to forge your own destiny. But if you fail, you will come back to this very room and suffer the consequences of what you’ve done. Kneel, Laurent.”
Laurent swallowed, but went to his knees without protest. With his head bowed, he watched the smoke slowly swirling from the floor beneath the creature’s paws. That was the last thing he noticed before a burning heat descended on the back of his neck, filling his head and his whole body.
He was in hell.
Chapter 4 - Laurent
Laurent’s whole body went from burning to cool in a split second. As if he had been dropped into a lake, but he didn’t choke on water when he opened his mouth in a desperate gasp for air.
He was on stable ground.
On a thick carpet.
He looked back, only to face his own blurry reflection in what was the tall mirror the devil used to enter the human world.
He was no longer in the cellar. The ceiling was taller, and a grand window to Laurent’s side let in enough light for him to survey the room, which was as huge as the Brecon market hall or a whole floor of a building, with no walls to divide the space. It could have been a chamber used for storage, but he spotted no dust, and the furnishings were organized in an orderly fashion.
A set of beds... or perhaps heavyset sofas was right in front of Laurent, covered in black leather and gathered around a table made of glass. Its sharp edges glinted in the faint light coming through the window, and Laurent stared at it, struck by the nonsense of using such an easily breakable material for the tabletop. Surely, it would crumble the moment one put a heavy cup on top.
He got up on shaky legs, taking in the room filled with furniture that had sharp edges poking at him from each side. This couldn’t possibly be hell though, could it? It felt far too tangible.
He turned around to face a painting of a naked dark-skinned woman who lay with her backside turned to the viewer with no allegorical explanation for the flesh on show. Just a beautiful woman in the sheets. Laurent stumbled back, struck by the audacity of such a shameless piece of art. Maybe this was hell after all.
He looked to the side when he noticed something stirring in the corner of his eye, only to spot another stark naked woman. This one was most definitely real, unless hell had moving sculptures. She groaned and rolled over to the side on a bed that could fit at least five people sleeping comfortably.