"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear."

- Ambrose Redmoon

_____________________________

Adeline

The house phone rings as I walk into the house, Death at my heels. Picking up the phone I see my Dad's name.

"Hey Dad, how's Izzy."

"They are keeping her overnight. She needs stitches and bruises that need to be examined. They are checking for internal bleeding now." His voice cracks as he talks.

"Okay tell her I love her and Dad everything will be fine." I don't like hearing him like this.

"I know Addie, I love you. You know that right."

"Of course Dad."

"If you were ever in a problem you would tell me." A knot forms in my throat as I try to reassure him.

"Yeah Dad, always." I wipe away the tear that slides down my cheek.

"Okay, I'll call you when she's out. Don't forget to eat Addie."

"Kay, love you, bye."

"Bye." I press end. Tossing the phone on the counter with extra force than needed. It would break him, if anything ever happened to me. Izzy than me, he would wallow away like when Mom died, he only came back because he knew he had us two to take care of. I remember how he would silently cry in his room, holding her clothes. We were behind in rent, bill were past due, he tried hiding the mail from us but eleven year old me knew. I saw how it broke him, I can't put him through that again.

Death runs his hand down my back, trying to console me. I had forgotten he was here. "Please just go."

"I can feel your pain. Talk to me."

As if he deserved to know my pain and suffering. "You don't get to know, Death. Just because you saved me when I didn't ask you too doesn't mean I owe you anything."

He drops his hand, sighing behind me, "I will be back tomorrow. To finish where we left off."

"Whatever." I mutter.

"Adeline." He calls to me, wanting me to look at him, to let him in a place no one has seen not even my father.

"Go." After hearing nothing I turn to see him disappear, finally listening to me, for once.

Going into my room, I shut the door with a bang. He's so quick to think that I wanted this, he forgets that I didn't have a choice, he was the one who chose for me that day.

I pace my room, suddenly hating everything in it. Pictures of me and James everywhere, when things were simple, hugging, smiling, laughing.

Now he can't even look at me without quivering away, without knowing I tried killing him. How could he possibly ever trust me again, I don't even trust me?

I read the stupid, meaningless posters covering the walls, I just found out that the monsters people talk about are real, that demons exist, this shit covering the walls was just a reminder of that day I died, me along with everything else. A reminder that I was no longer human, a beacon of questions and what ifs, darting across my room I rip them all down. Tearing them apart, I scream, tossing everything off from my dresser. Glass breaks, splintering, crashing to the hardwood floor. Monsters are real and I was one of them.

Leaning down I push away the broken glass revealing a picture of my mom and me, taking it out of the broken picture frame I observe the photo. I was nine years old in this picture, remembering how my mom looked with her long brown hair smelling of lavender, she was holding me on her lap on a bench in our backyard, Dad was the one who took the photo, Isabella was beside my Dad I remember everything as if it were yesterday.

"I miss you." I let go of the ugly cry that escaped my lips, letting the tears fall.

Placing the picture back onto the dresser, I surveyed the damage, not caring that I broke half of my things.

"Meow." Glancing at the window, the grey cat was back sitting on my windowsill.

"Hey kitty. Where did you go?" Scratching behind her ears, I let her hop into my room. She jumps on my bed, lying down, stretching across my covers.

Shaking my head, I turn to clean the glass on the floor, picking up the big shards first. I guess this was the part that sucked, cleaning the mess you made.

"You know you should be careful with that."

Freezing, I whirl around to see a girl laying on my bed. I hear the glass fall from my hands, landing in front of me. "How did you get in here."

"You let me in silly." I hear soft purrs coming from the girl as she rolls around my bed.

Backing away slowly, I try to reach the door. "No way, I let a cat in!"

"Duh." She waves at her body, I watch as her eyes flash yellow. She giggles as she takes in my horrified expression. What the fuck. This just gets more freaking interesting doesn't it. A snake lady, a freaking troll looking thingy, and now catwomen.

"What are you?" I'm still itching for the door, she could be dangerous, I mean she was following me.

"A demon." She states, rolling her eyes as if I would know. "I've been cursed into a cat though. The form is cute, I like it for the most part but hey I've been given hundred upon thousands of years to get used to it."

"Right, so you've been spying on me, pretending to be some stray cat." This thing has slept in my bed.

She stands coming towards me. She's very beautiful, her eyes are a bright yellow, cat like slits as she stares intently at me. Dark, thick eyeliner shaped around her eyes, a dramatic look that only intensified her yellow eyes. She had a small pointed nose and high cheekbones, her lips were a soft pink, she was soft but exotic at the same time. Her short black hair and bangs were straight, gold braids peeking out, she had a gold chain on, a black pendant hanging from it with gold bangles on her wrist, dangling as she moved. Her nails were long, black and sharp, she was wearing black leather leggings, a silver chain like shirt, it clinged to her perfectly.

"My names Bastet," She bows, her arms extended behind her, "but you can call me Bast for short."

"Bast." I mutter.

"Yep." She pops the p. "I'm an old Egyptian legend, the goddess of seduction." She laughs, rattling on. "Just a demon, but they cursed me anyway that's why I turn into an Egyptian Mau, you know the cat."

"Right." I try walking to the door but she stops me.

"You don't have to be scared of me, I want to be your friend." She crosses her arms."There's not a lot of demons who are our age and you're new so that means more excitement." Her yellow eyes didn't lie, they gleamed bright with delight.

"Aren't you like hundreds of years old." Raising my eyebrows at her.

"Something like that but I came into this body, I don't age, don't want to."

"Okay but how do you know who I am."

Rolling her cat eyes at me she says, "Every demon senses another demon. You're young you don't know how to yet. In time though."

Maybe I can use catwomen, somehow, "You can teach me things."

"Of course." She flashed me a smile, tiny fangs were showing making her look like a vampire.

"So teach me." I match her, crossing my arms over my chest. "If you say you can."

"Slow your roll Succubus. If you don't believe me that's fine, I don't have to prove myself to you." She turns her head away, is that what I look like when I don't want to do something.

"Fine, but if you're willing to help, tell me something." She waves her hand telling me to continue. "Do you know Death." I watch her closely, taking in her expression to see if she lies.

"Everyone knows who Death is Adeline but I'm sure that's not what you asked. I don't work under Death, he has no control over me. I do however work for Lucifer."

Before I could thank her the craziest idea crossed my mind, "Does he tolerate visitors?" I mean this is Lucifer, the devil who could kill me in seconds but I had to at least try.

She bites her nails as she speaks, muffling her words, "Yeah, I mean if you set one up with him, I'm pretty sure it can be arranged." She stops, "You want to meet with him don't you."

"Yeah, I do." I swallowed back the fear of meeting the devil himself.

"Adeline, honestly you should ask Death first." I cut her off. "Why would I ever do that." She sits on my bed, exhaling. "You are apart of his jurisdiction, he technically, well he, made you. So you belong to him."

I attempt to devour what she has said, he owns me. So he wasn't lying when he first spoke to me about being his. "How do I work around it than, you have to know Bast."

Her small fangs bite her lower lip as she thinks, "I can summon you, that way when we get there, you technically had no choice. Naturally though Lucifer will not be happy that I broke their law, I will surely be punished but I don't mind."

"Are you crazy, no. I will not risk you being punished, whatever the consequences." I don't know her but I'm not willing to vet anyone hurt for me.

"The only real punishment he will grant me is not being able to fast travel for awhile. I'm in his good graces though so it won't last long." Well how interesting, you can be in the devil's good graces.

"Are you sure about this Bast." I didn't know her, she didn't know me and I wouldn't count her as a friend just yet.

"On one condition." Everyone and their damn conditions.

"What?"

"You need to tell me why you need to see him. No one just goes around asking for Lucifer."

"I want to know if he can undo what I've become, what Death has done."

She looked surprised, "Why?" She was confused too.

I sighed, pushing back my hair, "I don't want this, never asked for it, he was the one who did this to me. I should have gotten a say that day I died but I didn't."

She takes a step toward me, "Would you have chosen death?"

I wonder if I was given the choice, to live or die, would I have chosen to die. "I think so."

She laughs, "There is no think so in a demon world Adeline, you either take what was given or don't, sometimes in cases like yours you don't get to choose. To be honest though, I think you would have chosen to live, not for your own sake but for your family's."

I shrug, "I guess I'll never know so can you take me."

She narrows her eyes contemplating what I said for a few seconds. "Okay fine, just one more question for you."

I didn't want to hear her try and persuade me otherwise but she was willing to do this for me, "Ask away."

She takes a step toward me, "If the only way to undo what has been done, is to kill you will you do it."

I look away from her, afraid that she might see right through me, "I never thought that it would kill me. This world that I was thrown into was filled with magic wardrobes and healers who could mend broken bodies. I thought maybe someone could undo what has been done."

"Not all of us are given a second chance, I think yours was given when you died."

I don't answer her, how could I answer something like that, she has lived thousands of years and here I was complaining about living. I shook my head, no this wasn't living, I was something that shouldn't exist.

"When did you want to do this."

I met her gaze, "I thought you didn't want to help."

"Never said that I wouldn't Adeline."

"Can we possibly go now?"

She shrugged, lifting her small claws,"Sure I'll be right back I need to collect a few things first. Don't go anywhere and clean up this mess, no more tantrums for the human."

Rolling my eyes, I got to cleaning. She left in seconds and didn't return for quite some time, I could grow to like her. She wasn't that easy to talk to, with all her second chances and the foreboding stuff but she will have to do.

"Now this is how it works."

I nearly took her head off with the broom, "Shit Bast, you scared me."

"Pish posh. So I will be there when you arrive but first I will need your hair." She came up to me yanking out a few strands. "Ow."

"Then I will summon you, don't fight it though. I don't want to have to do it over again."

I looked at her as if she were crazy, she talks like she was a six year old who just had a whole cake to herself and now she was on a serious sugar high.

"Okay. I'll just wait here then."

She shook her head, "Yep, see you in a bit."She turned to leave then seemed to forget something. "Almost forgot." She scratched me, my blood now in her nails.

"Bast! Ow!" Was she crazy.

"Sorry I need this," she waved her fingers at me. "Now I'm leaving."

I had a feeling she was going to get me killed, I finished cleaning and washing the cut, she could have rabies for all I knew.

I was laying in my bed when I felt the pull, it was like receiving a phone call but your phone was on the other side of the room and you wanted to get there yourself but someone was going to do it for you. Closing my eyes I let her take me to the underworld. Maybe he had a house too, I crossed my fingers.

Gasping I felt myself fall, landing on the hard ground, I searched the dark lit room. "Bast." I called out.

"No beautiful." I heard the voice but no one behind it.

"Who's there?"

That someone laughed cynically. He suddenly stepped out, a man in a white suit, his face held a smile but it wasn't a pleasant one. "Lucifer, young succubus."

••••••••••••••

Don't forget to comment until your hearts content, vote like no tomorrow, and follow to receive updates on this very book.

I will try and update as frequently as possible.

Until next time,

-Ash

Xoxoxo