Page 39 of Lourdes & the Mafia
It’s darkness incarnate, the power radiating even through the drapes.
“There’s a portal in here?” I ask, skeptical to believe this demon. So why did I even come with her in the first place? Oh yeah, because she grabbed me and flew out of the window like a freaking maniac. I had little choice in the matter. But now that I’m here I might as well investigate.
“Behind the curtains.” The demon points. “You’ll find your portal there.”
I’m almost afraid to move the curtains aside. I’m afraid that if I do, I’ll find a monster looking back at me. Or the mouth of a dragon draped open, ready to swallow me in one bite.
Anything can happen in hell, right?
I glance sharply at her. “Why are you helping me?” I ask.
I’m no idiot. This is ademon. She’s not going to help me for free. Even if she didn’t let me ask before, I know she wants something in exchange for this. Everyone always wants something in exchange for something else. This world is about give and take.
To pretend otherwise just means she’s a fool or a liar.
The demon’s long, slender legs begin swallowing up space back and forth across Ramiel’s room. Her legs are shapely, her body is muscular, and when she turns, I notice there’s a tail protruding out from below her tailbone, slithering down on the ground with a forked end. She’s naked, and the reddish light of hell from outside shines in against her grayish-red skin. She looks malevolent in this light, and when she smiles it’s to reveal sharp teeth that I didn’t notice before.
“Maybe I like to help out wayward humans,” she says sneakily.
It’s a load of caca and I know it.
“Yeah, right.” My eyes roll.
Her smile widens and her yellow eyes flick over my body. I suddenly feel very naked in the flimsy little piece I’m wearing.
As if she can see my discomfort, her eyes rove over my body, intensely scrutinizing every little detail about me. It’s an odd stare to be captured in and I don’t dare move, out of fear of what she might do, of how she might strike.
“You’re afraid,” the she-demon concludes.
I scrunch my nose in her direction. “Well, fucking obviously, I’m afraid. Where I’m from people don’t really look like you.”
Sure there are werewolves, vampires, witches, and a whole manner of supernatural creatures. They live among humans, and humans know of their existence. It’s really not that big a deal. But demons… they’re built different.
“Is it the fingers?” She twiddles said fingers. She has four, each one with an extra joint. Each one tipped with a sharp talon.
Sure, let’s go with that.
She huffs sarcastically and saunters over to a curtain on the far side of the wall. With a hard yank, she pulls it to reveal a portal on the other side.
It’s a large, circular glowing mirror. The surface is shining silver, and when I step towards it, it shows my wind-blown reflection.
I can feel magic pulsing from it. The closer I am, the hotter it feels, even though the surface looks cold and frosted over.
“All you have to do is step inside.” The she-demon steps away from the portal herself.
Sus as fuck, if you ask me.
“Why don’t you go through it first?”
“Demons aren’t allowed in the human world. Sometimes they escape through rips in the fabric, but that is why the hellhounds go up and drag them back down here.”
I don’t trust her. I mean besides the obvious, she’s a demon. Aren’t they evil by nature? This portal could lead me to any number of unknown locations.
She could be sending me to my death…
I step away from it slowly, only to bump into the she-demon. I jolt in surprise. When did she get behind me?
I go to move away, but her hands clamp on my shoulders, black talons digging into my skin.
