Lucifer’s Daughter(39)

When he"d reached the halfway mark in the street, I saw a shimmer as a portal materialized and a bunch of demons stepped out to form a ring around Auric. I immediately recognized the distinctive marks of Azazel, and my heart stuttered to a stop. I pounded on the window and screamed in rage as the demons dove on Auric and pulled his arms behind his back, the coffee splashing to the ground. As a compliment to his prowess, they also threw a noose around his neck, the leash end held by Azazel, a soon-to-be-very-sorry demon. Azazel yanked on the leash, choking my beloved; Auric fell to his knees and they bound his arms behind his back. I saw his tortured face look up at the window, and I knew he saw me. I saw him mouth, “I love you,” and something else which I would have bet anything on was something along the lines of “Don"t you dare save me.” Like I"d listen.

Azazel, seeing Auric ignore him, glanced up at the window where I watched, and I saw him sneer, then wave. With another shimmer, the demons disappeared into another portal, taking Auric with them and leaving me alone with my rage. I also felt something I"d never experienced before–utter fear for another person.

I knew Auric"s capture was a ploy to get to me. Well, I intended to reward them with what they wanted, because I bet they didn"t know about my new kick-ass powers. But they would really soon, and I"d make them sorry they"d ever disturbed a hair on Auric"s head.

New dilemma, though. I needed to get to Hell, and unlike most demons, being a human–albeit a not-so-ordinary one--I couldn"t just open a portal there. I"d need a demon to bring me over.

I found sound clothes appropriate for the pit and threw them on the bed before digging out the phone that connected directly to Hades and my dad.

Phone hugged between my chin and shoulder, I hopped into a pair of black briefs.

After a few rings, a recording came on. “Sorry, but all the lines to Hell are currently busy. Your call is unfortunately not important to us, and we will not be keeping you in queue. Call back again at your own peril.” Cackling, maniacal laughter sounded, followed by a click.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and frowned at it. That had never happened before. If I couldn"t get in touch with my dad, then how would I get to the pit and save my love?

While I finished dressing, I made a mental list of beings I knew who could open a portal. Bambi made the top of my list, and being my closest sister, I figured she"d be my best bet.

I dialed her number, and the phone rang and rang; I almost hung up before her voicemail picked up. The recording sounded rushed. “Gone back home to deal with some trouble. Hope I"ll make it back. And little lamb, if this is you, do not, I repeat do not follow.”

The message did not have a beep at the end, and instead hung me up. Suddenly afraid, but needing to be sure, I called all the minions and relatives of Hell I knew in the area. One after another their phones either didn"t answer or I got strange messages implying trouble back home.



What was going on? Had the coup my father scoffed at actually managed to cause some damage?

Was my dad in danger? Even suckier, everybody else seemed to have been called back to Hell; everyone, that is, except me.

No fair. I could kick ass with the best of them. I resented the fact that my possible mortality made them think I couldn"t help. That they just expected me to stay home, while everybody else did their part.

And what about Auric? He needed me, too. In fact, I wondered if perhaps his kidnapping might be tied into the whole situation going on back home in the pit.

I needed to find out more, but I"d run out of people to call. If only I had the power to open a portal myself.

I sat down on my couch, dejected. And to think I"d dressed in my combat best: skin-tight black leggings, a black sleeveless tee which hugged my torso, and black running shoes–all fire retardant, of course.

I wanted to cry, but that wouldn"t help Auric. I needed to keep my wits about me. There had to be something or someone I"d missed that could get me to Hades. Determined to go through my phone book again, I hopped up from couch and happened to notice the crack I"d made in the wall when I"d shoved Auric into it by accident the previous day with my newfound power.

I felt kind of bad about that, in retrospect. Although, at the time, I hadn"t known about my new super-duper powers.

I smacked myself in the forehead. Ow! Rubbing my sore head, I mused.

Maybe I didn"t need anyone to open a portal for me. The problem before had always been power-related. I now had power, lots of it. I could feel it coursing under my skin.

Why not use it? I"d seen portals opened my entire life, surely I could imitate.