The Road To Hell Part 32

"You chose to be here."

"I was manipulated into making the choice."

Michael stared at me, dark thoughts flashing behind those emerald eyes. "You are a s.l.u.t who tempts mortals with l.u.s.t."

And He was an egotistical schmuck, but I didn't say so. Look at that-I had better manners than the King of h.e.l.l. Wonders would never cease. "My entertainment keeps mortals from acting on that l.u.s.t, Lord. And You know it. You can't judge humanity by its dreams. You can't condemn them for their fantasies. Only their actions, Lord."

"Intentions matter, little wh.o.r.e."

"Maybe," I said. "But actions matter more."

He sniffed his derision. "Your actions speak for you. You ran away."

"I couldn't stay here as a Nightmare," I replied, "scaring mortals with no greater purpose."

"It was your role."

"It wasn't the right one. I was meant to be a Seducer, not a Frightener."

He looked at me the way a Bengal tiger watches a deer. "And I was meant for greater things than the Abyss, little wh.o.r.e. Yet here I am."

Oh, spare me the pity parade. I folded my arms across my chest. "I'm sorry that your feathers got singed. Maybe You're content to sit back and sulk about it. Me, I couldn't be shoe-horned into doing something for all time that I despised." Thinking of how Meg had allowed herself to be punished, I said, "Some, when given a choice, will choose duty over desire. But some won't. I chose not to. If You choose to stay in a role You despise, don't blame anyone but Yourself for it."

"Blame." A smile flitted across those red-stained lips-bruised cherries on bone china. "Perhaps I blame you for embarra.s.sing Me."

"You can't hurt me any worse than You already have. My soul is clean. You have to let me go," I said, the realization breaking over me like the sunrise. "You have to send me back."

Our gazes locked, green on green. Hatred sparkled in His eyes, as pure as His white flesh. "I will see you here, half-breed. Mark my words. We're not finished, you and I. Now get out of My realm."

With that, Michael banished me from h.e.l.l.

Chapter 22.

Limbo/Paul's Apartment Through the grayness of nothing: "Jezebel."

Sire?

"I know you listened."

I tried, Sire. But I heard something that He didn't say.

"No, Jezebel. You heard what He wanted to say, but couldn't."

I tried to play the piper, Sire. But He didn't dance.

Laughter, and the feeling of a hand stroking my cheek.

"No, Jezebel. It was He who was the piper, although He didn't know it. When the wolf plays piper for the lamb, the dog will hear the music and will chase the wolf away."

You knew that Meg would save me, Sire?

"And what makes you think that you did not save yourself?"

I couldn't think of a blessed thing to say to that.

A feathery kiss upon my brow. And then: "I don't intend on seeing you again until it's the proper time."

Yes, Sire.

"Farewell, Jezebel."

The gray gave way to swirls of color- -and I opened my eyes to find myself staring up at Angel's upside-down face. She frowned at me, which was really a smile, and her warm voice announced, "She is here."

She? Oh. That would be me. The former demon, former living, former dead...

Oh, f.u.c.k it. I was who I was. Whether Jezebel or Jesse Harris, I was me.

Whatever that meant.

Sounds of scuffling, then Daun's face peered over Angel's shoulder, his golden eyes gleaming. "Look at that, a mortal of her word. Welcome back, babes."

Someone took my hand, and even though I couldn't see him from this angle, I knew that Paul was holding me tight. "Love," he said, his voice br.i.m.m.i.n.g with joy, "you've really come back. You've come home."

I smiled at him, at all of them. "Hi."

Mental note: Work on better opening lines.

When I tried to sit up, Angel pressed her hands down on my shoulders, kept me pinned. I said, "Let me up, will you?"

"You need to take it slow," she said. "You've been dead for hours. That's going to take a while to shake off."

"I'll take vitamins in the morning. Please, let me up."

Sighing, she helped prop me up. Then Paul scooped me into his strong arms, crushed me in an embrace. Hugging him back, I breathed in his smell-oh, bless me, it was so nice to be breathing again-taking in the heady mix of musk and sweat and gunmetal that was all Paul.

My love.

"Thank G.o.d you've come back," he whispered.

I didn't think G.o.d had anything to do with it, but far be it from me to ruin the moment. "I told you I'd see you soon."

Gripping my shoulders, he broke the embrace, gently pushing me away from his body to glare at me. "You had some d.a.m.n nerve doing what you did."

"Which part?"

"All of them. Especially seducing me, then slipping your magic bracelet on me when my guard was down." He lifted his hand, showed me the golden Rope clinging to his wrist.

"If I remember correctly," I said, "you were the one who asked if it was time for us to kiss and make up."

"That was because you worked your wiles on me. And not just any wiles. Demon wiles. What's a mortal supposed to do in the face of demon wiles?"

More than the smile on his lips, I saw his love for me shining in his eyes, stars swimming in the ocean. "So now you believe that I really was a succubus?"

"Well," he said dryly, "seeing you with hooves and red skin was a h.e.l.l of an argument."

Heh. "And you're okay with that?"

"Let me think for a minute. Yes." He lifted my chin in his hand, stared deep into my eyes. "I love you, Jesse Harris. Jezebel. Whatever name you want. We can figure out the whole difference in religion thing as we go."

"You know," I said, "I don't really have a religion."

"Jess."

"More like a world view."

"Jess."

"But it's pretty adaptable..."

"Jess. Now would be a good time to kiss me."

"You bet."

We sealed our lips together and kissed as if our souls depended on it.

"Hey," Daun said, "bets on whether the foreplay's longer than the actual f.u.c.king?"

Angel cleared her throat. "My Lord, perhaps we should let them be?"

"Be what? Hot and bothered? Me, I want to watch."

Sighing, Paul ended the kiss. "More later."

"Aw," Daun said, "what's the matter, Shoulders? You're not into exhibitionism?"

Paul shot Daun a look. "Last I heard, this was my apartment. Why don't you give us a little privacy?"

"You're the one about to ravage her on the sofa," Daun said with a shrug. "If you were a gentleman, you'd take her to the bedroom. If you're going to do her here, least you can do is let us watch."

Hold the phone. I said to Paul, "You can see Daun?" In his true form, the incubus should have been invisible to Paul, his words nothing more than a tickle in Paul's mind.

"If he's the thing that looks like a satyr," said Paul, "then yeah, I see him."

"'Thing,'" Daun said, grinning. "I like that. You trying to b.u.t.ter me up, Shoulders?"

c.r.a.p, c.r.a.p, c.r.a.p. I could handle the paranormal s.h.i.t; seeing auras (sometimes) and being threatened by malefic ent.i.ties (frequently) sort of went with the territory. But Paul was human. Normal. A mouth breather. He wasn't supposed to get hit with stuff like this. My head started an impromptu bongo jam session, so I rubbed the bridge of my nose. No help. Welcome to Migraine Country.

"And I see there's something different about the blonde next to you," Paul said.

I glanced at the cherub, who was blinking prettily. Even utterly confused, she was stunning. b.i.t.c.h. I said, "You mean, besides how her legs basically start at her chin?"

"Jesse Harris," Angel said primly, "my limbs are all proportioned quite evenly."

Bless me, at least she was still stupid. That made me grin.

"And I see the sorority girl," Paul said, "sitting in the easy chair in the corner."

Sorority girl?

Following where Paul pointed, I saw Meg curled up in the overstuffed chair, her legs tucked daintily beneath her, her white toga resplendent. Her long brown hair framed her face in ringlets. She blew me a kiss, then grinned wickedly.

"Really," Meg said, batting her lashes. "Don't let us stop you. Pretend we're not here."

Daun waggled his brows. "Better yet, you guys take requests?"

Next to me on the sofa, Angel blushed.

"Right," I said, my head throbbing. "Anyone want a drink?"

There's something rather surreal about having coffee with someone powerful enough to erase your existence with a thought.

"Milk?"

Meg made a face.

"Yeah," I said, "I know. Me too. But the humans seem to like it."

"Now, if you were stocked up on the blood of innocents, then I'd take you up on it."

"Sorry, fresh out. I think you need to get that at a health food store."

From the living room we heard Daun guffaw. "Sure," the incubus said, "you could make her meow. But did you really turn her into a cat? lean do that."

"You know," Paul said with a sigh, "I was quoting from a movie."

"What, so now there was no girl? Or no cat?"

Meg and I exchanged a look. She said, "Should we tell the angel to join us?"

Shaking my head, I stirred more sugar into my coffee. "Someone's got to keep those two from p.i.s.sing on the carpet."

"Do men really do that?"