Holidays Are Hell Esther Egg Hunt (7 page)

Luc roared in frustration as Esther was ripped from his grip. When she’d opened the bushes, she’d broken the circle that was keeping her safe. The high-pitched, terror-stricken sound of her screaming brought him tearing through the hedge behind her.

“Briathos!” Luc threw himself on the first gargoyle, dragging it off Esther. He flung the thing away, sending it soaring through the air and into the circle, where the monster screeched in horror as its thick hide melted under the protections he’d woven into the circle.

Luc turned, his heart breaking in his chest. Esther had stopped screaming, a terrible sign. She was buried under slavering gargoyles, and all he could see were her feet. Her small sneakers twisted as the monsters ripped at her, her silence even more terrifying than her screaming had been. Luc roared in rage and fear, lunging toward the creatures.

He flared up and grabbed the first ’goyle, wrapping it in a crushing grip as his fire burned into the howling creature. When it went limp he flung it away and grabbed another. As he dragged the gargoyle off Esther he sobbed.

She was a torn, bloody mess on the ground, her pretty eyes staring blankly skyward in death. Even while Luc grieved over the way she’d died, he knew her soul form would appear soon, and he needed to finish off the monsters before it did.

If the dark creatures extinguished her soul form, Esther would be gone forever.

The last gargoyle chewed noisily on Esther’s body as Luc ripped it free, flinging it over the bushes to die a horrible death.

Luc knelt beside Esther’s body, gathering it close. “I’m sorry, Esther Egg. I should have stopped you.”

White light flared behind Luc but he didn’t look up. “You took your damn time, Bri.”

“If you are intent on doing this thing, I had preparations to make.”

Luc looked up, tears blurring his vision. “You’ll do it?”

“I’ll attempt to, yes.”

Luc lowered his head, pulling Esther closer. He’d never get the sight of those monsters chewing on her lifeless body out of his mind. What a horrible way to go.

“Luc?”

He looked up as Briathos stepped between them to hide Esther’s bloodied corpse from her soul form. “Esther Mooring, I am Briathos, your guardian angel. I’ve come to carry you into the light.”

Luc placed her body behind a bush and stood, forcing his features into a mask of indifference. He nearly lost his resolve when he looked upon Esther’s beautiful, confused face. “Go with Bri, Esther Egg. He’ll take good care of you.”

She blinked, frowning. “What? Why, Luc? Shouldn’t you be taking me before the assembly?”

“No. I’m not going to let them torture you anymore. In Heaven you’ll be safe and free from the ugly cycle they’ve put you through.”

Briathos wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come, child. Heaven awaits.”

The ground rumbled, and they all looked toward the horizon, where the sky had turned black and roiled with clouds. “The assembly’s coming. You should get going, Bri.” Luc avoided Esther’s gaze, not willing to see the hurt and confusion there.

Esther grabbed the angel’s hand. “No! We can’t leave and let them punish him.”

“Go, Esther!”

She shook her head, stepping away from Bri. “I won’t leave you to take my punishment, Luc. I refuse.”

Luc panicked. “Esther, be reasonable…”

“Don’t tell me to be reasonable. I thought you and I were partners. But you made plans without me. Plans to send me away. That’s bullshit, Luc. Don’t you even care what I want?”

Instead of answering, Luc looked at his friend. “Make her go with you, Bri.”

The guardian stared at Luc for a long moment, his expression thoughtful. Finally he shook his head and stepped back. “Nay. It’s enough that we are stretching the bonds by altering her contract without legal means. I’ll not take her to Heaven against her will.”

A tree branch snapped by on a roiling wind, hitting the bushes and spearing through. Leaves and dust spun as the wind picked up, bringing with it the sour stench of sulfur. The dark clouds in the distance had grown until they almost touched the ground.

“Esther, quit screwing around. The assembly is almost here. If you thought your situation was dire before, they’ll make sure it’s much worse now that you’ve run. They’ll need to make an example of you, honey.”

She bit her lip, watching as, one after another, the assembly judges stepped from the roiling clouds and strode toward her. Her stomach twisted in fear. The judges looked pissed. She was pretty sure they’d never been forced to come to the Earthly plane to fetch a soul before.

She glanced at the angel, wondering if she could stand living an eternity without being with Luc. The celestial creature stared back, a spark in one eye as if they shared a secret. Esther blinked, a thought occurring. She suddenly knew what they would do. Allowing a small smile to lift the corners of her lips, she shook her head. “I don’t need to go with Bri. I have an idea, Luc.”

“Esther!” Luc glared at her, obviously frustrated by her refusal to do as he asked.

Tension twisted between them. Esther put her hands on her hips and glared back.

The wind picked up, and a hunk of metal slammed into Esther. She exclaimed in pain and rubbed her thigh. Luc took a step closer. “They’re almost here, Esther. You’re running out of time.”

She held his gaze. “Do you trust me, Luc?”

He closed his eyes, no doubt remembering when he’d asked her the very same thing. Finally, he sucked in a breath and nodded.

“Good. Just go along with what we say.” She looked at Briathos and he nodded. Esther stepped closer to the guardian and turned to face the approaching devils.

The five devils moved with an arduous, nearly shuffling gait, their heavy, clawed feet seemingly unaccustomed to walking over distance. Their long, arrow-shaped tails trailed behind them, snapping with anger. The devils’ white horns glowed against the charcoal gray bank of clouds that followed, seeming to spark as lightning speared the air. The chief judge was in the center, literally, of the storm. Larger than the others by a head and using his pitchfork as a walking stick, the chief was like the lead goose in a wedge, pointed directly at Esther.

As they grew closer, Esther realized the rumbling noise she’d thought was the storm was coming from the angry judges. It grew louder with every foot of space they closed between them and their prey. The black cloud in the distance erupted in several spots, and a dozen winged creatures shot from the bank.

Esther sucked in a horrified breath as she recognized them.

“Demons.” Luc stepped closer to Esther, grabbing her hand in silent support.

Bringing a Hell-like heat with them, the judges moved to a spot about ten yards from the defiant trio and stopped, their craggy, red countenances lifting to look at Briathos. The chief’s tail snapped and his pitchfork groaned under his clawed grip. “You have no business here, light one. Leave.”

Silvery light flared around Esther but the angel didn’t say anything. She knew that was her cue. “It is up to me whether he has business here or not.”

The chief turned his gaze slowly to her, clearly showing his disdain. His wide mouth twisted. “Shut up, supplicant. You’ve caused enough trouble. You and your disloyal lover will die a million horrible deaths for this.”

The air around them grew hotter by the moment. Esther resisted the urge to rub sweat off her face and breathed shallowly to avoid pulling the super-heated air into her lungs. “Sorry, I don’t think you have control anymore. This is Briathos. He’s my guardian angel. You see, I’ve signed a contract with him to go to Heaven.”

The chief judge threw back his head and roared. His pitchfork shot fire in a thick stream into the sky, and the demons hanging in the air above them gave off a screeching sound that made Esther’s knees weaken. Her legs buckled out from under her but Luc grabbed her arm, holding her up.

Luc lifted an eyebrow at the judge. “Sir, this is your fault. If you hadn’t tortured her, Esther would have never run. She didn’t do anything to deserve the treatment you’ve subjected her to.”

Smoke still billowing from the prongs of his fork, the chief judge took a step forward, pointing a claw at Esther. “She deserved everything she got and more.”

Briathos spread his wings, his silver light pulsing. “You are a stupid creature, Theris. The girl is not responsible for your embarrassment over Easter. Your master failed to draw the first son to your environs with feelings of hate and revenge. No amount of torturing this girl will remedy that. And for your refusal to recognize that, you have now lost a treasured soul.”

The judge snapped a look at Esther; his beady black eyes, like marbles from Hell, flashed with rage. “Your contract with her is null and void, guardian. She signed a contract with me first. The initial contract holds precedence over any subsequent ones.”

Esther gasped, fear sliding through her at his words. She turned to Briathos. “Is that true?”

Though the guardian didn’t respond, his handsome face clearly showed doubt. Bile rose into Esther’s mouth. Her hands shook as she lifted them to cover her face. “Shit.”

Luc stepped forward. “You’re wrong, sir.”

The lesser judges growled, their teeth snapping.

The chief crashed his pitchfork into the earth again to silence them. He spoke to Luc through gritted teeth. “Is that so, PD?”

Luc stood tall, his grip on Esther’s hand gentle despite the tension snapping in the air. “Yes, sir. Your contract is for Esther’s first death. She died again today, on Easter, I might add. She is no longer a Good Friday soul and…” he grinned at Esther, “…her contract with the guardian is tied to this death, not her previous one, so it is solid. She belongs to the light now.”

The chief thought about Luc’s statement for a long moment, his sharp, yellow teeth grinding together, and then roared his displeasure. He whipped around, screaming to the creatures in the sky, “Kill them all!”

The demons screeched again and then speared downward, heading straight for Esther and Luc.

Blinding white light burst outward, bleaching the black sky in light and causing the dark creatures shooting toward them to pull back with a shriek, covering their eyes with their wings before turning and flying away, toward the roiling black clouds in the distance.

The judge roared his rage, pointing his pitchfork at the retreating demons and sending fire into the sky. Several of the demons writhed under his assault and fell to the ground in flames.

“Wait!”

The judge spun around, pointing his pitchfork at Esther. Luc stepped in front of her and flamed out, taking the judge’s fiery assault himself and jerking violently under its power.

Esther screamed and Briathos flung out a hand, knocking the pitchfork from the chief’s hand.

The red-faced judge advanced on Briathos, claws bared. “How dare you!”

Bri seemed unconcerned. “Shut up and listen to the girl. She has a proposition for you.”

Though his form shuddered under a nearly uncontrollable anger, the chief judge of the assembly turned his beady gaze to Esther. She swallowed hard but stepped forward. “I’ll tear up my contract with the guardian and return to Hell with you, telling everyone you subdued me when I attempted to run. But there are some conditions.”

The chief held her gaze for a long moment and then sighed. “Why can’t anybody just succumb to fiery injustice anymore? There are always stupid, damn conditions. Evil just isn’t what it used to be.”

Luc wrapped an arm around Esther. “Yeah, we all long for the good old days, sir.”

“Cover your eyes,” Luc told her. “Promise me you won’t peek.”

Esther laughed. “I’m in Hell. Will you really believe me if I promise?”

Luc scooped her up in his arms and she squealed.

“There will be punishments if you lie.”

“Ooh, I can’t wait.” She giggled. As a door slammed back and the sweet scent of flowers touched her senses, Esther was tempted to split her fingers and peek. But she resisted, just barely. “Why won’t you tell me where you’re taking me?”

“Because it’s a surprise.”

Luc threw her into the air and she screamed, laughing as she hit a soft mattress. Her eyes shot open and she looked around at the familiar spot. “The cabin?”

Luc’s smile transformed his handsome face. “I had it recreated here, on Perdigo. You officially have a place to call your own.”

“I can’t believe it.” Esther caressed the fur coverlet beneath her, reveling in its remembered softness. The table beside the bed held a large vase of flowers and a silver ice bucket with a bottle. “It’s perfect, Luc. This is the sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me.” Tears sprang into her eyes, surprising her. Her heart was filled with joy, but his thoughtful gift had her completely undone.

Luc reached for the bottle of champagne on the nightstand. “You deserve your own home, surrounded by people who want to be your friends. Which reminds me -- a woman named Alice lives next door. She said you knew her.”

Esther grinned. “I do. She was nice to me.” She sat up, reaching for the glass of bubbly he’d poured her. Taking a sip, she closed her eyes and moaned at the taste. “Delicious.” When she opened her eyes again, she slanted him a look. “Correction though --
we
deserve a place of
our
own.”

Luc tapped her glass with his own. “I thought you’d never ask. In fact, I’ve already filled up half the closet with my stuff.”

“Half!” Esther shrieked. “We’ll need a bigger closet, then.”

“For what? All you have is a backpack.”

She glared playfully. “I have boxes… somewhere.”

“Don’t count on that. The chief was pretty pissed when you told him he couldn’t punish either of us for running away. He probably had them thrown into the fiery pits.”

Esther shrugged. “He’s an asshole.” She sipped thoughtfully then glanced at him. “How could you possibly have filled up half of the closet when you burn all your clothes away every five minutes.”

Luc laughed. “Only when I’m with you, Esther Egg.”

“Aw, you say the sweetest things.” Esther patted the bed and Luc joined her, stretching his long legs out and resting his shoulders against the heavy, wooden headboard.