The skeleton earrings swung as she turned her head to face me. “Gabriel invited them.”
“My point exactly. Gabe is up to something.”
Keisha shot him a glance. “Probably.”
I looked around for Lucifer, hoping he’d shimmered in by now. There were plenty of supernaturals, but none that made my pulse speed up or my legs go weak at the sight of them. Where was he? Was he really blowing off Keisha’s party? Or was he avoiding me for some reason?
The song wound down and Zayfeer started a conga line to keep the momentum going. Liddy fell in behind him and four others followed suit. “So what's the big deal with Z? You said he was taking advantage of Liddy, but outside of that fact he's no candidate for Dancing with the Stars, I don't see a problem.”
“Just watch.”
The conga line wove around the room, passing us before disappearing into Keisha’s formal dining room. On the way by, Z winked at me and Liddy waved. Keisha motioned me to follow.
While Keisha’s formal dining room had a large table and chairs and a buffet the size of my car, it was not your typical household gathering space. She didn't host family dinners or holiday get-togethers here. She practiced voodoo and the space showed it.
The windows were draped with blood-red fabric. An ornate metal cross, a picture of Marie Laveau, a hexagram, and a Prayer for Atonement poster decorated the four walls. Skulls, chicken bones, half-melted candles and lighting sticks, feathers and coffin nails covered the buffet top. A basket of handmade voodoo dolls sat in one corner. A Book of Spells lay open on her raised altar.
Zayfeer’s group gathered at the large wooden table. All of them were smiling and laughing, but there was an anxiousness in their eyes. Like animals who sensed danger but were too stupid to run.
Liddy reassured them, going from one person to another and easing them into the chairs. Once they were all seated, they looked to Zayfeer.
I looked at Zayfeer too. Gave him my death glare. Liddy sidled up next to me and threw her arms around my neck in a bear hug. Whatever Z was up to, it couldn't be too bad. I hugged her back and watched the fallen angel mount the altar.
He spread his arms and his blue eyes flashed. “My friends, on this last day of the year, before the stroke of midnight, I want you to imagine your greatest desire.”
I leaned over to Liddy and whispered, “What is he doing?”
Her eyes never left his face, her cheeks flushed. “Giving them what they want most.”
Trepidation snaked its way up my spine. I recognized the pitch. I'd given it, literally, a thousand times. Well, almost a thousand. Technically, when I’d left Lucifer, I was one deal away from hitting the one thousand mark.
One small deal. “In exchange for what?”
Liddy turned her shining face toward me. Her innocent smile chilled me to the bone. “Their souls, of course.”
Chapter Sixteen – When She Was Bad
In case you’ve ever wondered, free will is an illusion.
At least in my world. Once upon a time, I gave the Devil my soul. I didn't sell it, mind you. I gave it freely. A few months ago, I’d gotten it back after tangoing with God, Gabriel and Cephiel. I was currently making decisions about witchcraft and my love life without fate or any kind of universal control.
And yet it seemed nothing had changed. I was hopelessly in love with Lucifer and fighting for my right to live my life however I wanted while the universe, God, His angels, and all kinds of demons connived to take away my choices.
“Just a minute, Zayfeer.” I didn't know what he was after, but there was no way I was going to allow him to steal souls. “What do you think you’re doing?”
An eerie light burned in his eyes, turning the blue orbs golden. His power clawed over my skin and made the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention. “What does it look like, Broker?”
Like you’re a freak. “Stealing human souls isn’t the way to redeem yourself from purgatory.”
He slid closer, invading my personal space. His magic chafed against mine. “Of course not. But getting you to sell them to Lucifer is.”
“Why would I do that?”
The golden eyes burned brighter. “If you don’t…” He brushed his fingers across my throat; let his gaze roam over my face. His voice lowered so only I could hear. “I’ll be forced to take Liddy’s soul. And Keisha’s. Maybe your sisters’ souls as well. What would you do, Broker, to stop from losing Mikayla and Emilia? The only family you have left.”
Mikayla wasn’t my sister, but that was a technicality. Liddy, Keisha and Mikayla were all like sisters to me, and while Emilia and I had our differences, she was my big sister and I loved her. After her ordeal with Gabriel, we’d formed a new bond. She’d once again become a big sister I could look up to.