The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,147

people around me were all human. Approximately two dozen of them, and most weren’t moving. No, they weren't laid out like they were dead. They simply sat in place or huddled together in small groups. A few of them watched me, but everything about the way they stood made it clear they were scared of me.

Out of habit, I looked down to see why, and my eyes landed on my red robe. The one Sam had designed for me to play the part of Lady Death. In other words, all of these people were looking at the female version of the Grim Reaper.

As I walked towards the most aware of the group, I reached up to push my hood back. "Can you hear me?" I asked.

The girl squeaked and jumped back, while the guy she stood beside pushed his body in front of hers. "I won’t let you take her," he told me.

"Yeah, you’re probably freaking out right about now, huh?" I asked. "What did they tell you?"

"The angel said we died, and we're about to be sorted." This came from one of the people sitting with his knees hugged against his chest.

I tilted my head back and groaned. "Of course they did," I grumbled. "And all you saw were angels, right? So, of course, you believe them. How many of you know who I am?" My words were pitched to carry to the people around me.

"Are you the Angel of Death?" The girl asked.

"Close enough," I assured her. "I'm the Grim Reaper. The problem is that everyone in here is a mistake. That's why they brought you here." I was now making this up as I went along. "I was sent to help you get back to your bodies so that you don't die before your time."

"What about the light?" Someone asked.

"The light here?" I asked.

He stood up and turned to face me. "No, I mean the light we’re supposed to see if we want to go to heaven."

"You only see it when you're really dead." I hoped that was what he wanted to hear. "The problem is that a group of fallen angels have been trying to steal good souls. None of you will remember any of this when you wake up. All you'll know is that not every angel is good. And the ones who show themselves on Earth are the bad ones. Now -"

I didn't get the chance to finish my impromptu speech, because at least six angels stepped into the corridor around me. One of them was Gabriel.

"Hello, Muse," he said, opening his wings to show them off. "I will not let you take them. They deserve to go to heaven."

"You know, it doesn't really matter what you call it. Stealing souls is not God's will. I'm here to stop you." And I slapped my hand against my forearm and breathed Lucifer's name. "Don't worry, I can play this game the same way you can," I assured Gabriel.

He just scoffed at me. "Guess you haven't tested the wards yet. You, Muse, can't get through. I know your seal, and I made them to hold your entire legion."

"Oh, you made it?" I asked, because that was a useful piece of information.

Gabriel's response came in the form of aether, thrown at me like a lightning bolt. I didn't have a chance to dodge, so I caught it. The moment my hand closed on it, I felt the burn, but simply pulled it into myself out of habit. Mostly because I didn't know what else to do. But from the look on his face, I realized that wasn't supposed to happen.

Unfortunately, his attack had given the others just enough time to create their sprites. Three of the damned things were thrown at me from different directions. I tried to handle what I could, shoving the closest to the Vesdar - Daemin corridor. The second I dispelled with a wave of my hand. The third was too fast, though. It slammed into my back, and then simply bounced off.

Then a group of blue butterflies swarmed over me. "Sia!" Luke yelled, letting me know he was here.

"I found the stolen people," I yelled at him. "Help me send these pricks back home."

"Gladly," Luke said.

Because his butterflies were doing a damn good job of tearing up the angels. One of them pushed, sliding through the veil on his own to escape the punishment. Another one screamed when the butterfly sank its impossible teeth into him. As fast as I could, I