Page 8 of Absolved In Death

Desmond trying to kill me not once, but twice?Attempted unaliving is our weird little polycule’s way of saying ‘I love you’.

Ares, Bash, Zaz, and Desmond betraying me?Water under the bridge–forgiven.

At least this hellscape was more creative than the others. It ground my gears to no end, but it still didn’t torture me enough. I knelt on the floor naked with my forehead touching a cold tiled floor and a collar around my neck. The attached leash was held by Red.

If Quelier thought me being naked and on my knees was embarrassing, he grossly underestimated what it was like being in a poly relationship with five men, especially when one was a dom with a sadistic streak and another was obsessed with nudity.

What tortured me was how stiff my bones were from holding this position for so long. And how depressed and angry Red’s vitriol made me.

“You think they’re worth saving?” Red’s gravelly voice sounded just like it had when he pretended to be a patron at the jazz lounge. “Humans and paranormals are all aimless, worthless cogs in a big machine. They’re so stupid, they deserve to get trampled on. It’s survival of the fittest, and I plan on culling the herd when I take over. Everyone will know true sorrow and suffering!”

I had no doubt he’d do much worse than that. He would erase everything we knew and loved about the world and turn it into a military state to carry out his bidding.

“Hell will spread to all four realms, and when the dust settles, I will reshape us. Put the strongest magical beings on top again, where they belong. The weak have no place in my world, and neither do the Morningstars. You’ll all suffer a fate worse than death.”

I metaphorically held my chin high, reminding myself that no matter what it took, I’d escape this place. These Hellscapes weren’t real. Nothing said or done here could actually hurt me.

It was only a matter of time before I found a way to save us all.

“Do you have anything to say, usurper? Any words to defend yourself before I make you suffer a million painful deaths for eternity?”

I had ignored him every time he had asked a question, denying him the satisfaction of getting under my skin. This time, I responded.

“You’re not real. This is a waste of time, because no matter how hard you try to break me, you’re only making me stronger,” I shouted. “You’re honing the weapon that will save the realms, kill you, and reshape the world into what it was always meant to be—a place foreveryone.”

Slow clapping from behind me got my attention. The invisible forces holding me in this position faded, and I sat up. Quelier stood before me in Red’s place.

“Bestie, you are hard core! Nothing rattles you, does it?” His strawberry blond was slicked back and he wore a blue suit with a stark white dress shirt.

I glared at him, refusing to answer. Once I realized asking him to release us wouldn’t work the first time he visited, I stopped talking to him because ignoring him got under his skin.

He sighed as he snapped his fingers. A soft baby-pink terry cloth robe wrapped around me. He sat next to me, and put his ever present tablet on his lap.

“I’ve been stuck in Pit 13 for ages. I knew of Red, but didn’t realize he planned on doing all this fucked up shit. Is he as dangerous as your psyche makes him out to be?”

“Yes, genius, I tried to tell you that.” He winced at the venom in my voice.

“Does he really plan to do all of that?”

“Yes, weren’t you listening on the plane? He’s probably taking over earth right now. And he may already have parts of the Fourth Realm. The entire magical community and humans alike are in danger. And we can’t do anything because we’re stuck here.”

“We…You’d take me with you?” he asked with hope in his voice.

This was the first time he entertained the idea of us leaving this literal Hellhole. If taking him with us was our ticket out of here, so be it. Michael and Lucifer could adult-up and get along with him. He obviously possessed a good deal of power, and his Fae magic set him apart from everyone else.

It would be nice to have a personal assistant who could keep me organized. Someone who could make sense of the random things Lucifer shoved into my daily schedule…

“Yes, of course. I’d love to have you on the team, either as my personal assistant or in another role that suits you.”

“Hmmm, that does sound tempting…” he mused, a far off, dreamy look on his face. “I have no clue how we’d get out of here, and there are some things I have to tell you in the spirit of full disclosure.”

“Go on.” I sat up a little straighter.Please don’t say you’re in love with me or something, the guys will not hesitate to kill you, and we need to get out of here.

“Have you noticed how few Fae there are on Earth? Most of my kind resides in the Fourth Realm.” I nodded so he knew I was listening. “I was exiled for crimes committed against the Crown. Being sent here was supposed to be a punishment…but it ended up being centuries of vacations, fun, and more trouble than I know what to do with.”

His wide, slightly off center grin over the mere thought of causing trouble was another reason I firmly believed he was a fellow brat. Only we got that excited over chaos.

“What did you do, since we’re being honest?”

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