I stood in the open space and wondered what I was going to do. The building Ashby and I owned had a top floor loft apartment that had been our home for decades. The tall ceiling, exposed piping, and old wooden beams now felt sterile and distant since she’d moved all her furniture and decorations out of the apartment.
Staring at the oversized fireplace, I was trying to decide between two paintings. One of them was a simple abstract black and gray ocean scene. The other boasted a giant demon dropping coins into the hands of naked females. It was supposed to be Mammon, the demon of greed. But my sire looked nothing like the masculine figure in the painting. We’d always laugh about how humans thought demons could only be male and enjoyed proving them wrong any chance we got. Ashby and I had torn up city after city, seducing and collecting souls of men without even breaking a sweat.
I settled on the demon painting and maneuvered it onto the hook Ashby left behind. The reds and browns complimented the wood in the apartment and I was proud of myself for making my first independent decorating choice in…well, in decades. On to the furniture next. After sliding and shoving the couch, end tables, and other decorative pieces around over and over, the place was starting to feel like home again. I’d been so wrapped up in my job, I hadn’t notice the sun rose until a sharp glare of light caught me in the eye. It was reflecting off the mirror next to the front door, so I walked toward it with the intent to readjust.
However, as I approached, I quickly noticed the light wasn’t coming from just the sun. There, in the middle of my reflection, was a different face staring back at me. “Son of a bitch,” I breathed when it caught me off guard.
“Oh, Bella. Don’t be so crass.” The man, or woman, smirked. Echo, my sire’s secretary, had changed up her look. Instead of the drag queen, big hair and overdone makeup, he/she now donned black eyeliner, a spiked hairdo, and a dark suit. The only feminine thing about Echo was the bright red lipstick. Even his voice sounded deeper.
“You shouldn’t just show up unannounced,” I shouted into the mirror.
“Relax, baby. You didn’t give me a chance to call you.”
“You were blinding me.”
Echo flicked his hand. “Oh, please. That was the sun.” Pretending to file his nails, he continued with a nonchalant attitude. “Mammon needs to see you.”
“I’m on vacation.”
Echo huffed a laugh, forcing me to respond.
“What? I am. Don’t you remember that Ashby got married?”
“That was yesterday, hon.” Echo held up his hand and pressed a button on the headphone in his ear. “No, I don’t care what he says. His payment was due last week. Stick him in the rack. Stretch him a little and see if he suddenly remembers where he put the gold.” Echo sighed and then looked back at me. “Sorry about that. Now, where were we?”
“I was telling you how I’m on a break—”
“Oh, right. Yeah, so no. You’re not. Ashby got married yesterday and Mammon has a job for you.”
“Seriously?” I was fully aware of how whiny I sounded but I didn’t care.
“Meet her within the hour, or else,” Echo said with a lilt in his voice.
“Or else what? Hello? Echo?” The only image staring back at me was my own face. “Bastard,” I mumbled, wondering if Echo could still see the portal but was just acting like he’d closed the space.
So, Mammon has a job for me. Fitting, I suppose. She would know that I’d be a little lost not having my sister here anymore. She also knew me well enough to understand that I’d rather be out there collecting souls instead of wallowing in my own self-pity.
“Fine, mother,” I grumbled to myself, heading into my bathroom to get dressed. A few minutes later, I’d put on my leather pants, the matching red sweater that showed an inch of skin along my stomach, and the knee-high boots I loved to wear on the job. The bright red lip stick complemented the look, and after one more approving glance in the mirror, I closed my eyes and focused on Mammon.
When I landed on the sidewalk, I immediately recognized her location today. The Dragon King Chinese restaurant was one of her favorites. The aroma of soy sauce, fried rice, and steak filled my nose and made my stomach growl. Chinese wasn’t a favorite dish of mine, but these guys really knew their stuff. I dusted off my black leather jacket and tucked it under my arm. Nights in the city were starting to cool down and I had a feeling this was going to be a job that took several hours to complete.
As I opened the front door to the restaurant, all noise stopped. Every single patron looked up and stared while every single employee dropped their gaze as I sauntered by. They knew exactly who I was yet they never knew if it was their turn or not.
“Relax boys,” I cooed. “You’re safe today.” Waving to those I passed, I walked through the kitchen and tried a few bites of shrimp. No one was going to stop me because everyone was afraid of what might happen to them if they did.
Behind the store room and before the back exit was a stairway leading down into the building’s basement. Mammon liked to do her business underground—she said she felt more at home that way. Dark, damp, and glowing with candles, she’d yet to fully grasp on to modern technology. At the bottom of the stairs sat her two hounds. A mix of human dogs and demon spawn, the two beasts hated almost everything that walked by them.
But they’d always loved me. Crouching to my knee, I kissed Ivan on the snout first. “Hello, my friend,” I said as he licked my nose. “Are you behaving yourself today?”
Tore whimpered until I swiveled on my knees and rubbed behind his ears. Their sleek black fur and elongated heads reminded me of a Doberman, but they were the size of Great Dane and had the bite of a wolf. Tore pushed his face against mine. “Such a snuggle buddy,” I cooed at the gorgeous beast. I’d once asked Mammon to make me a hound of my own, but she’d refused, saying something about patience and time.
“Daughter, you have finally arrived.” Mammon sat behind a large desk in a makeshift office space. The fake wood walls created an air of sophistication, yet there was no escaping the scent of mold and dampness in this underground lair of hers.
“Sire,” I said with a nod. Echo stood behind Mammon with a clipboard in his hands and a scowl on his face. Tapping the pen against the metal clip, the pinging sound reverberated between us. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Something you’d like to say, Echo.”
He pinched his lipstick-donned lips together and kept his mouth shut.
Mammon laughed. “Echo and I had a bet. And he’s just mad that he lost.” She held out her hand, not even bothering to turn around. Echo pulled out some type of coin from his pocket and placed it in her outstretch palm. “Thank you.”
Mammon had her shorter, red hair slicked back with some type of shiny mousse. Even sitting down, I could see that she wore her trademark duster and stiletto boots. She’d been into the punk rock décor for the last two decades. I wondered when she would move on to something else, but for now, she seemed to be content with wearing attire from the nineteen eighties.
“Did you bet against me, Echo?” I jeered.
He shrugged and set the clipboard in front of Mammon. “This is the one Ashby failed to collect.”
“What?” I asked in surprise. Stepping forward, I tried to see the information in front of my sire. But she not-so-discretely placed her hand on top of the paper and stared up at me.
“Your sister neglected many of her duties the past several weeks,” Mammon started.
“Well, she was planning a wedding.”
With a laugh, Mammon tsked. “No excuse. She’s lucky I don’t punish her.”
“Really?” I whispered.
“Her loyalties should be with me. Not that human.”
I rubbed my forehead, anticipating the headache that would be coming next. “I agree. But Ashby is one of your best collectors. Just give her a chance to take a little break. She’ll come back. I promise.”
“Are you willing to bet your life on it?” Mammon’s smirk let me know this was a test. She didn’t care about Ashby, she wanted to see where my loyalties were.
“Yes, I am,” I said.
“Hmm…” Mammon scribbled something on the paper and then handed it to me. “He’s escaped us several times. I need you to bring him home.”
Looking down at the name and birthdate, I shook my head. “An old man?”
Echo and Mammon shared a look I didn’t care for—as though I was the only one not in on some big secret. Glaring at the lesser demon, I flashed a wicked smirk his way when he caught my eyes.
“Children.” Mammon said with a flick of her wrist. “Behave.”
“She started it,” Echo said and I laughed. Stupid Under.
“This old man sold his soul to me decades ago, yet has avoided Death somehow,” Mammon continued. “For the past several weeks, I have sent collectors after him, but not one has come back with his soul.”
“Why?” I asked, finally intrigued.
Mammon tilted her head and shrugged. “We think he’s got a protector.”
“Like an angel?” I asked in surprise.
“I’m not sure,” Mammon admitted. “Regardless, his time is up.” She stared at me until I felt the pull of her power. “You won’t let him get away, right Arabella?”
“No,” I whispered.
“Here, take this.” Echo stepped out from behind the desk and handed me a small knife.
Flipping it around in my hand, I admired the finely carved blade with old writings etched into the handle. “What is this?”
“A gift from Lucifer,” Mammon said, a hint of remorse dancing across her face. “It will help you against the protector.”
“I can’t kill an angel. Only an archdemon can do that.”
Mammon smiled at me like a child. “Of course. But that blade will give you the time you need to pull Otis Redmond’s soul into the underground where it belongs.”
“Okay…” Confused at her words, I did my best to stuff them away and focus on the task at hand.
“Here is the address.” Mammon motioned for Echo to bring the paper to me. “You have twelve hours.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Mammon shook her head. We were done talking and I wasn’t going to get anymore of my questions answered. Something didn’t feel right about this collection, but it wasn’t my job to second guess my sire. She’d created me to be a Soul Snatcher. It was all I knew and it was what I was good it.
Stopping to get a quick pet of the hounds, I waited until they finished their licks to walk back up the stairs. Pushing through the old wood door that lead into the kitchen, the aroma of the restaurant slammed into me again. The chefs in the back spoke to me in Mandarin, talking very fast and offering me everything they could think of. Refusing a bite of puffer fish, I instead kissed one of them on the cheek and patted another on the shoulder. Had I been human, I may have cared about their fear and tried to ease their worry.
But I wasn’t human and I didn’t care that they were afraid. They should be afraid. Even though the shifters revealed themselves a few months ago, these pitiful creatures had no idea where the real danger was. Hell was real and it was nothing to laugh about.
I stepped out onto the street, already early afternoon, and let the sun beams warm me up. I missed the heat of below. My trips consisted of only brief visits to deliver my bounty, and even after several centuries of topside living, my inner demon still craved the warmth and comfort of my birthplace.
Unfolding the paper, I studied the information. His shop was in SoHo, so I closed my eyes and focused on the energy stream that would help take me there. “Okay, Otis Redmond. Time to pay the piper.”