“Airis, wait…” But it was too late.
Everything went white.
Chapter Seven
Sam
Frustration. It was the kind of feeling that filled you up, made your skin feel tight, like it was stretching to the point of bursting.
I had been so close.
So close to escaping. To being free. So close, yet so very far away.
I lay on the dirty hard floor, ignoring the aching in my ribs and knee. At least my knee was healing enough that I could put weight on it. I would need to be mobile for the next time.
Because next time there would be no stopping me.
After being tossed back into this hole, Beelzebub stormed up the stairs and silence descended once more. But as I lay there berating myself, there came a noise. Muffled, but still I heard it. I glanced over at the doorway leading to the steps, realizing that whatever it was came from upstairs.
Beelzebub was still here.
A loud shatter sounded and there was a heavy thump on the floor above. Clearly, he wasn’t alone. I moved toward the doorway of my cell, toward the sounds. My hearing was still good. Maybe I could find out what was going on.
“You dare challenge me!” Beelzebub roared. Well, it wasn’t loud, but I heard it so clearly I knew he had to be yelling. Which, really, wasn’t new for him. He had two tones: loud and extremely loud.
All the better to hear him.
Someone else spoke, but at a much lower tone, and I couldn’t make out the words.
“Where is it?” Beelzebub demanded.
Again, I only heard the muffled voice in response. But judging from the sounds of shattering objects, I knew whatever was said did not make Beelzebub very happy.
“You will do as you are told. You have no choice,” he demanded.
“I don’t have it.” I strained and was able to hear.
“You have twelve hours. Or the deal is off.”
I wasn’t surprised Beelzebub had a deal with someone. He probably had a million deals. There were so many desperate people out there that his power and false promises were probably very enticing. Still, I wondered what this deal was for.
“And if you betray me, you’ll end up chained to the floor of hell to be fed on for all eternity!” He laughed like the idea thrilled him. Which, I’m sure it did.
Chained to the floor of hell? Fed on for all eternity? That was a new one. It made me realize we knew next to nothing about hell and the other dealings that went on down here. Maybe it was time we looked beyond the scope of the horror that plagued us.
I was ashamed to admit that I never thought anything could be worse.
It wasn’t the first time I would be wrong.
My attention was caught once more by the muffled voice of another. I strained to hear through the thick granite walls.
“Go, now! The opportunity is now! The next time I see you, it better be done!”
More loud thumps and a few more shattering sounds echoed; then everything fell quiet once more.
I leaned back against the wall, and for once, I was grateful I was trapped in here. Maybe that was preferable to being chained to the floor of hell.
Heven
“Riley!” I yelled. “Riley!”
When I got back to the spot where I left Riley, he wasn’t there. I ran to the car and peered in the windows, wondering where he went. Did he take my sudden disappearance as a chance to run off? Did he decide helping Sam wasn’t worth his time? The interior of the car was clearly empty and I turned away, rushing to the line of trees. I ran right into something solid and warm. I would have fallen, but strong arms grabbed me by the shoulders and steadied me.
“Are you all right?” Riley asked. His face was smooth as usual, but his eyes betrayed him. There was a hint of that silver in them and his fingers bit into my arms a bit too much for me to believe he was unaffected by my disappearance.
“I’m fine. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
I didn’t think calling an admitted killer a liar was smart, so I let that one go. I glanced down at his hands holding me and he let go, but he didn’t move away.
“I was in the InBetween with Airis. I told you about her.” He nodded and I continued. “She just wanted to talk to me.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
“No. Usually, I call her.”
“What did she want?”
“Nothing.”
He lifted a thick brow. I wasn’t about to get into it with him on the side of the road. Besides, I wasn’t even sure what I thought of it yet.
“Are you ready?” I didn’t wait for him to respond, but began jogging ahead. Now, more than ever, I needed to run. I wasn’t worried I wouldn’t make the seven miles anymore. I would. I had plenty of stress and anxiety to keep me going.
Riley fell into step with ease. “Relax your shoulders,” he instructed. “You’re too tense.”
I wanted to laugh. Instead, I did what he suggested. He didn’t say anything more and I was grateful. My mind was too distracted to hold a conversation. Had Airis been warning me about working with Riley? Out of the corner of my eye, I looked at him. There was a lot of evidence that said he wasn’t to be trusted, that he was dangerous and unreliable.
But I didn’t feel that way.
I trusted him.
What did she mean by turning from my path? She almost made it seem like I should turn my back on Sam and leave him there. That didn’t seem very godly to me. How could she turn her back on someone who had risked everything for her cause?
I stumbled on a rock but righted myself and kept right on running. In fact, I pushed harder.
Airis talked a lot about those who would seek to turn me from my path. She warned me of people who weren’t to be trusted.
What if one of those people was her?
*
When we hit the parking lot, I stopped running. My lungs burned and my legs felt like Jell-O, but I made it and that was all that mattered. I was still worried about my little visit with Airis and what it all meant, but the run drained the worst of my anxiety. For that, I was grateful.
Riley walked beside me and I had to strain to even hear him breathing. “Are you even winded? Was that not hard for you at all?”
He smiled. He had the kind of smile that was arrogant and self-assured. Stubble lined his jaw and I wondered how often he had to shave because his hair was so dark. I doubted he cared when he shaved and only did it when he felt like it. He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who cared what people thought. In fact, it probably amused him when people didn’t approve. He noticed my stare and grinned wider. I dropped my eyes.