Even in dreams. I guess the realm didn’t matter. Scum was scum, regardless of where they materialized.
My body stiffened as he approached in long easy strides. Everything around us was black. There were no definite walls or boundaries, just fluid darkness. As he sauntered toward me, it was like he was walking on air, floating. I glanced down at my Converses and tried not to freak out. There was nothing holding me up, keeping me grounded, and I had to remind myself that this wasn’t real. Alastair had the power to control my dreams, but I knew I should still be able to shatter them.
At this moment, his games were the last thing on my mind.
“I want my mom,” I demanded in a voice so much steadier than I felt and with more conviction than I thought I had.
He popped in front of me. “I can see where you get your perseverance. It’s…enduring for a time, but then it becomes downright bothersome.” He gripped my chin in one hand, holding me with his shiny eyes. “And my dear, I am not in the mood to be tampered with.”
That made two of us. Jerking my jaw out of his grasp, I closed my eyes. Big mistake. The screams of a million souls erupted in my head, and just as quickly, my eyes flew back open. I was not in the mood to let some d-bag from Hell bully me. “Can we just get straight to the point? What do you want? And don’t blow any smoke up my butt.”
He arched a brow similar to Chase’s, but it lacked the most charming part—the silver hoop. “I’ve made my intentions very clear, and I so hoped we could get off on the right foot. It’s a pity it had to come to such dire measures. I had really hoped to spare your mom. She has such spirit.”
The mention of Mom and the implication that she had fought him made me see red. I really wanted to wrap my small hands around his neck and squeeze until his black eyes popped. My teeth ground together as I threatened in a tight voice. “If you harmed one freckle on her face—”
“I don’t think you are in a position to make threats. You really don’t have any other choice but to give me what I seek.”
Blackmail, is what he meant. “Just say where and when.” My temper was so past reasoning that I didn’t know what I had agreed to until it was too late. But even after I realized what happened, I knew that I wouldn’t have changed the outcome.
Chase was going to kill me, but I had to do whatever it took to save her. I owed it to her. She never would have been in this situation if it weren’t for me. Mom spent her life looking out for me, protecting me, giving me the best she could. It was my turn to return the favor.
“You’re eyes…” he started to say.
Here we go again.
Why was everyone so fascinated with my eyes?
“If you even think about telling me that they are glowing or doing some other kind of freakish trick, I’ll—”
Christ. I honestly didn’t know what I would do. I had nothing to threaten him with. He had me by the lady balls.
His sooty eyes laughed at me.
Asshole.
He took a step forward. “I was only going to say that you are ready.” He had no problem constantly invading my personal space. It was disconcerting.
Ready for what? “Do you get off on being cryptic for shits and giggles?” I asked feeling spiteful.
He laughed, a booming, deep-in-the-belly laugh.
Ookay. I wasn’t even trying to be funny. I was thinking this demon dude had a warped sense of humor. Nonetheless, a shudder ran down my spine.
“I am very much looking forward to our undertaking.”
That word undertaking made me nervous. “Are you going to tell me why you need me?” I prodded, sounding bitter.
A dark gleam sparkled in his twisted expression. “All in due time, but it is going to blow the universe into a new era.”
That sounded…God-forsaken awful.
“Tomorrow night,” he continued. “I will return your caregiver to the place of your death.”
I assumed he meant my mom. She would have a fit if she heard anyone refer to her as a caregiver.
Alastair’s thin lips leered into a grin that made my skin itch. “There is a powerful energy that marks the ground where you took your last breath, a thinning veil between Earth and Hell. It is there we shall meet.”
Grotesquely poetic.
“Unharmed?” I asked. You can never be too careful with underworld dealings. I knew I was going to get screwed somehow. Hopefully Mom would be safe before then, so it didn’t hurt to double—triple check.
His expression was neither warm nor cold. Not what I would call very reassuring. “Unharmed. You have my word.”
I gave him the stink-eye. “Your word doesn’t mean crap to me.”
He shrugged his shoulders smugly, knowing he had me in the palm of his scaly hand. “What choice do you really have, love? Oh, and before I forget, you must come alone. I am sure you understand. We can’t have any complications getting in the way.”
Meaning Chase.
“How do you expect me to ditch the boyfriend? We’re kind of joined at the hip.” Pun intended.
“Not my problem. And if you cross me, sweetie, I will make it sure this time you stay dead.”