“You can’t kill me,” she spit. “I’ve already tried it a dozen times myself and I keep coming back to life in this wretched place.” She turned her furious gaze on me. “Do you see what they’ve done to me?” She pointed at her face and hair. “I can’t die, but I won’t heal either! They’ve taken my magic and my power and this is all your fault.” She pounded forward, swinging her arms, only to be scooped up by Rourke again and tossed back. “You horrid mongrel, you made sure I’d rot in this place for an eternity. This was your plan all along!”
I brushed off my jumpsuit. “This had nothing to do with me, Selene. You kidnapped my mate, almost killed my friend, and then tried to kill me. You deserved everything you received and then some.” I clapped my hands together. “And don’t forget, I wasn’t the one who suggested you sell your soul to the demons. You did that all on your own. What did you think was going to happen? That Hell would be all unicorns and rainbows? The penance you’re serving is what you justly deserve, brought on by yourself.”
She deserved more, since she was still breathing. Rourke hadn’t relayed to me the horrors of what had happened when she’d captured him, but I knew it had been bad. When I’d found him, he’d been eviscerated. It pained me to even call up the memory.
“The Prince sounded like he finished you back there,” Ray helpfully added. “How’d you manage to slip away and recover?”
Selene shot him a malicious gaze. “He did kill me. But I told you, I always come back.”
Lili stepped forward. “That is not typical,” she said. “If the Prince of Hell kills you in the Underworld it is a true death… most of the time. It’s completely unusual for anyone to survive, especially after so many attempts.”
“Most of the time?” Tyler commented. “If you don’t die a true death, then what can possibly happen to you?”
Before the demoness could answer, I replied, “It seems some demons have a half death. Instead of going to the unknown, they go to the Sholls.” I eyed Selene. “When a demon dies a half death, they come back as their serpent selves. They call them wyverns.”
“I’m clearly no demon, and I’m not an undercover serpent,” Selene sniffed in her haughty tone. “But they can’t kill me and I know the real reason: it’s because I’m a goddess.” She looked accusingly at me. “You couldn’t take that away from me when you sent me here. A goddess doesn’t just simply lose her godhood, she survives.”
I took a step toward her. “But you’re completely changed. Your power is vastly diminished to the point of almost nothing and you’re not healing. You’ve become something else. Maybe you belong in the Sholls. At least there you’d be safe from further demon abuse, and the wyverns are nasty, but they can’t kill you.” She appeared aghast at the suggestion, but I ignored her and turned to Lili. “If we took her to the Sholls can she get back out herself?”
Lili studied the former goddess for a moment. “Perhaps, through a portal, but why would she want to? Her life right now in the Underworld is far worse than it would be in the Sholls.”
“Is there more to the plane than what we saw?” I asked. “Is the Sholls big?”
“Of course,” the demoness replied. “It’s as big as the Underworld. The wyverns occupy the city, but there are likely… other areas which can be utilized. To tell you the truth, no one knows. A demon doesn’t go willingly to the Sholls. I have ventured there, but have never taken the time to scout anything out.”
“Then that’s the perfect place for her,” I concluded. “As long as there are no portals to other planes there.”
“There are not,” Lili said. “The Sholls is tucked inside the Underworld, like the middle floor of a house. Any way you go, the exit is through Hell first.”
“Wait a minute,” Tyler said, shaking his head. “If we let Selene off the hook and send her to this place, won’t she just be plotting her revenge from a safer place? That doesn’t sound right after what she put us through.”
“Tyler,” I said. “Did you hear what Selene just told us? We can’t kill her. The Prince of Hell can’t kill her. I’d much rather put her someplace where she can’t do any real damage and can’t escape, rather than risk the possibility of her getting back to our plane from here.” I turned to peer closer at Selene. “But she’s not going to retaliate once she gets there, she’s going to settle in and make a life for herself.” I wasn’t going to describe the Sholls in detail.
It wouldn’t be a pretty life, it would just be one with less torture.
“And why wouldn’t I plot my revenge?” Selene asked, hands going to her hips. “It will be my life’s quest to get off this wretched plane and have my retribution. Nothing will change that.”
I took a step closer. “No you won’t.”
“Like hell I won’t,” she insisted, snarling at me.
“Nope,” I said. “Because you’re going to swear an oath to us you won’t. And for helping you escape this ongoing torture, you will forswear your revenge on us. Plus”—I rolled my eyes—“it’s not exactly revenge when you’re the one who started it. This is all on you. Keeping that in your mind would be incredibly helpful.”
“I will swear no such oath,” she snapped. “I refuse to stay in this hellhole and you can’t force me to say the words.”
“Selene,” I explained as patiently as I could, “we’re talking about giving you a gift, and in return you will help us defeat anything we encounter on the way. The Sholls is actually the perfect place for you.” I waved a hand in front of her unhealed face and shaved hair. “You should be able to start a new life… in a cave somewhere… we know how you love them. But if you stay here you will be killed again and again and subsequently come back again and again.” Exasperation leaked around my voice. “And it wouldn’t hurt you to take some time out to figure out why you’re such a stone-cold witch.” Before she could interject, I put my hand up. “And, really, it’s the only option you’ve got so stop arguing.”
“Jessica is right,” Lili offered. “You infuriate the Prince and your very nature makes you highly uncooperative. No one can discipline you adequately, and since you cannot die, you will get no relief in Hell. It will continue to be… hell. It’s my guess that you haven’t seen the worst of our tortures yet or you would not be opposed to leaving. I would choose the Sholls over the Underworld if I were not welcome here. It’s a gift to get such an opportunity.”
Rourke crossed his ample arms over his chest, matching my stance. “Why are we standing here making deals with her? She needs to suffer for what she did to us. Daily. I say we give her back to the guards. Or tie her up here and let her be found.” His eyes yielded a kaleidoscope of emotion; likely he was remembering what he’d gone through under her ministrations.
The man had a point.
“If we could kill her, I would agree with you,” I answered. “But if the Prince can’t, I don’t think we’ll be successful. The Sholls is no picnic, believe me. She will have a hard time carving out a place for herself, but she will be out of our hair with no chance of escape.”
Ray stepped in. “What if I took her soul? She might die then.”
Selene stamped her foot, reiterating how childish she’d always been. She was the quintessential supernatural who’d never grown up. “You can’t make decisions for me when I’m standing right here.” Her fists were balled. She was infuriated she had no power, and she knew that if she struck against us, it would be futile. But if she could’ve, she would’ve blasted us all without a second thought. “I will not let any of you manipulate me like this.”