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Authors: Juliann Whicker
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metal, so close to my head just made me mad instead of scared. I whipped my head around and glared at the stupid monster, somehow pushing it away from me, shoving it with all of my energy. It jerked before slowly dropping to the ground then backed away, shaking its distended maw as it went, one slow reluctant step at a time until it disappeared into the underbrush. As I stared at the creature, willing it to leave, the laughter stopped. When I turned around to throw the Nether out of the car I found myself alone, looking at Satan’s shadowy backseat.
I felt a wave of humiliation, that he would find me so afraid then leave, like he’d seen as much stupid as he could handle in one night and was off to find something more interesting to do. I sniffed, but even when I put my nose down on the leather, all I smelled was oil and leather with a touch of gunpowder and cigars—no Nether.
It was soon after that, I heard Satan’s rough mumble and Snowy’s irritated response as they came back to the car, Osmond holding a flare above his head that gave Snowy a greenish glow that managed to make her look otherworldly instead of sick. She looked at me and nodded while I waved, not quite ready to open the door and face her penetrating glance. She said something to Osmond where he stood holding the flare before she stomped over to her SUV, like her feet were very cold, got in, and proceeded to drive away. Osmond took a little longer, helping Satan in the trunk where I couldn’t see them and could only hear the sound of thumps and low voices before Osmond got in his truck then with headlights bouncing, left me in the dark with Satan.
Satan was soon in the driver’s seat, the sound of his door as it opened then shut loud in the mostly quiet woods.
“I expected to see more of a crowd when we got back,” he said companionably then he sniffed like he could smell something.
“A crowd? Of what?” I asked, thinking that I probably knew.
“Fear attracts darkness, so I thought you might be useful at gathering some things that are otherwise difficult to track down. Doesn’t matter though—good really that you aren’t afraid enough to be good bait.” He nodded his head; I could see it silhouetted by the headlights on the road.
“You used me as bait? What if a monster lured me out and ate me?”
He snorted as he looked over his shoulder at me. “You’re not stupid enough to get out and pet one of them, are you? Do you smell that?”
I scowled at him, unwilling to admit that, yeah, I was that stupid, but at the same time wanting to enlighten so that he wouldn’t put me into such dangerous circumstances again. “Cigars, or do you mean dried sweat and eu de Satan that you should market.”
“Nether,” he said, apparently ignoring my jibe. “Smells like Nether. Would that have anything to do with why you’re not scared?”
I glared at the back of his head, wishing I had something to hit him with. “Who in their right mind wouldn’t be scared of a Nether?”
“You, apparently.”
I exhaled as I tried to think of some way to not talk about the Nether. It was ridiculous that he wanted to talk about something that unpleasant for me when not him or either one of my parents would explain anything to me. There was no way I was going to explain how I’d accidently touched the immortal’s very naked chest when Satan didn’t tell me anything that I really should know.
“What do you know about Devlin and the stones and my trainer and why Devlin took my soul, and how long have you been going out into the scary woods with Snowy and Osmond? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? It would take some serious effort to kill you, but one teeny, tiny bullet hole and Osmond would die—permanently. Why don’t you want me to be trained, or is it just that you don’t like not knowing what Slide is doing? What is Slide doing?”
When I took a breath he cut in. “I don’t know anything about stones, or why Devlin took your soul, or
I felt a wave of humiliation, that he would find me so afraid then leave, like he’d seen as much stupid as he could handle in one night and was off to find something more interesting to do. I sniffed, but even when I put my nose down on the leather, all I smelled was oil and leather with a touch of gunpowder and cigars—no Nether.
It was soon after that, I heard Satan’s rough mumble and Snowy’s irritated response as they came back to the car, Osmond holding a flare above his head that gave Snowy a greenish glow that managed to make her look otherworldly instead of sick. She looked at me and nodded while I waved, not quite ready to open the door and face her penetrating glance. She said something to Osmond where he stood holding the flare before she stomped over to her SUV, like her feet were very cold, got in, and proceeded to drive away. Osmond took a little longer, helping Satan in the trunk where I couldn’t see them and could only hear the sound of thumps and low voices before Osmond got in his truck then with headlights bouncing, left me in the dark with Satan.
Satan was soon in the driver’s seat, the sound of his door as it opened then shut loud in the mostly quiet woods.
“I expected to see more of a crowd when we got back,” he said companionably then he sniffed like he could smell something.
“A crowd? Of what?” I asked, thinking that I probably knew.
“Fear attracts darkness, so I thought you might be useful at gathering some things that are otherwise difficult to track down. Doesn’t matter though—good really that you aren’t afraid enough to be good bait.” He nodded his head; I could see it silhouetted by the headlights on the road.
“You used me as bait? What if a monster lured me out and ate me?”
He snorted as he looked over his shoulder at me. “You’re not stupid enough to get out and pet one of them, are you? Do you smell that?”
I scowled at him, unwilling to admit that, yeah, I was that stupid, but at the same time wanting to enlighten so that he wouldn’t put me into such dangerous circumstances again. “Cigars, or do you mean dried sweat and eu de Satan that you should market.”
“Nether,” he said, apparently ignoring my jibe. “Smells like Nether. Would that have anything to do with why you’re not scared?”
I glared at the back of his head, wishing I had something to hit him with. “Who in their right mind wouldn’t be scared of a Nether?”
“You, apparently.”
I exhaled as I tried to think of some way to not talk about the Nether. It was ridiculous that he wanted to talk about something that unpleasant for me when not him or either one of my parents would explain anything to me. There was no way I was going to explain how I’d accidently touched the immortal’s very naked chest when Satan didn’t tell me anything that I really should know.
“What do you know about Devlin and the stones and my trainer and why Devlin took my soul, and how long have you been going out into the scary woods with Snowy and Osmond? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? It would take some serious effort to kill you, but one teeny, tiny bullet hole and Osmond would die—permanently. Why don’t you want me to be trained, or is it just that you don’t like not knowing what Slide is doing? What is Slide doing?”
When I took a breath he cut in. “I don’t know anything about stones, or why Devlin took your soul, or
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