Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
It seemed innocuous. Gray had given her the necklace. He wouldn’t have given her something that could hurt her. She was already wearing it. I’d seen it on her earlier today. She seemed attached to it, which was actually weird for Kelsey. She wasn’t a designer-jewelry kind of girl. Oh, she could get attached to clothing, but more like boots she’d worn in or a leather jacket that fit just right. Weapons. She was really attached to weapons.
“Have you found a vessel?” Something about the conversation was making me antsy, but I wanted choices, and my friends didn’t seem big on giving me those.
My question seemed to throw her for a moment, and then her expression smoothed and she smiled my way. “Yes. I’ve spoken to one of the house maids. She’s willing to serve me in this way. Once I’m out of the realm, I can take a corporeal form.”
I wasn’t sure how that was possible if she was truly the spirit of the house, but then I wasn’t an expert on Hell plane magic. I really had been a witch who dealt with Earth magic. What did I know that I should question a creature who’d likely seen the millennia come and go?
“How close are you?” We were waiting to see what happened with Lucifer, but I had zero doubt Kelsey would want to get back to the Earth plane as soon as she possibly could.
If they got me back to Frelsi, they would continue to look for my soul, and I would have no choice but to sit and wait.
“I’ve already made the fake collar.” She gestured to a workbench. In the low light, I saw she’d been working on a piece of jewelry that replicated the collar around my throat. “When I’ve perfected the spell to break the one binding your magic, we’ll switch to this collar. Lady Sloane will take the Eye of Night to Lucifer’s realm, soak up the right magic, and we’ll be able to leave this place forever. Think about it. No one will ever bind you again. You’ll be free, and you won’t have to feel the pain that wracked you before, the pain your friends seem to want to inflict on you.”
No pain. No remorse. I could feel nothing.
You will be nothing.
I shut that down. I wanted the choice. “I’ll make sure she’s wearing the necklace.”
The house’s lips curled up. “Excellent. Then you should be on your way. They’ll be looking for you soon.”
I left the lair behind, my mind whirling with the possibilities.
* * * *
Kelsey
I looked down at Crizzelo, who shrank back as though waiting for a blow. I only wanted an answer. She’d breezed into the dining room with a big letter in her hand a couple of minutes before, and that letter had rocked my world. “What do you mean we have to be ready in two hours?”
She held the note in her shaking hand. She’d gone from happiness to fear in a heartbeat. “It is all here, Lady Sloane. It is detailed in the missive sent by Lord Lucifer. It just arrived. I ran as hard as I could to bring it to you in a timely manner.”
That wasn’t the answer I wanted. I wanted her to say “Hey, you’ve been invited to Lord Lucifer’s, and you’ve got a couple of days to figure it all out.”
That wasn’t how the Lord of Hell worked.
My son looked up from his late lunch. “What’s it say, Mom?”
Trent sat across from him. Gray and I had walked in to greet them and Evan when Crizzelo entered stage left with the news that fucked my day over.
“I think that’s our invite to Lucifer’s dinner party,” Trent said with a grim expression on his face. “Two hours’ notice?”
He’d been looking Gray’s way when he asked that question. Gray sighed. “He likes to do that. We’re lucky we have two hours. He tends to like to pull people out of time and space when he’s ready to talk. I know it sounds ridiculous, but this is a polite request from him.”
If he had his way, he would be able to pull my husband away any time he liked. If Gray signed another contract, I wouldn’t ever know when he would be forced to work for the Lord of Hell.
Evan sat back. Unlike the two men she was sitting with, Evan’s plate was light. Nothing but some fruit and a small salad. I’d noticed she’d been avoiding meat. When we ate together, she tended to offer up her portion to Fen, who wolfed it down. “Well, I’m going to go and make sure we all have enough anti-persuasion charms. I’ll check on Dean. Maybe I should stay with him.”
That was another part of the missive that disturbed me. “We’re supposed to bring him. Lucifer claims he can heal him if the negotiations go well.”