Pandora's Box - Eve Newton Page 0,35
you the facts. The omens have already fallen and will continue to fall while we remain here together. If Famine or Death arrives…”
“Stop!” I say, putting up my hand. “If Roberta knows about this now, she will make sure they don’t come here. I do not believe that she is the mastermind behind wanting to destroy Hell. Why would she? She runs this place more than I do.”
“I tend to agree, but who can really know for sure?” he asks.
I pause as something he said sinks in. “What do you mean the omens have already fallen?”
“The snow,” he says. “I think it occurred because Xavi arrived here while I was still in residence.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “That happened because Shax left.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” he says mildly.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Fuck’s sake,” I mutter. “Anything else?” I yell at both of them. “Do either of you have any more bad news to give me? Anyone? Any-fucking-one?” I scream into the empty sin bin turning in a circle.
As my luck would currently have it, a creature steps out of the shadows, a dead Griffin flung over his shoulder. “Actually, Ma’am. I do.”
“FUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKK!” My roar echoes around the residence, bringing one and all to me. I kick the chair that I’m next to, sending it flying off and nearly smacking Killian in the head on its way to the other side of the room. “Fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck!” I snarl as the creature comes closer. “Start talking.”
Chapter 18
Shax
I take a deep breath. Sid has just left my head again after I told him to tell Annabelle to stay away. I have a plan that will get myself out of this disaster, for which I have only myself to thank. Perhaps, also Luc. If Belle does open that box, I will kill him for real for doing this to me.
“Asshole,” I mutter.
I watch Vazna closely. He is talking in hushed tones to two more Angels that have shown up and are just as arrogant and irritating as Vazna is. I know that I don’t want to be associated with them. The ‘Angel’ part of me goes very firmly hand-in-hand with the ‘Dark’ part. I accept who I am, and it is like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. The sorrow of what happened to Shadow settles back down though and until I can get back to Hell and find out for sure what happened to her, I can’t think about it much. It hurts and I don’t want to hurt anymore.
“I’ll destroy the box,” I call out during a pause in their conversation.
Vazna hesitates in turning around to face me.
“I’ll destroy the box, but you let me go back to my sister,” I add, just so that the deal laid out is clear.
“What changed your mind?” Vazna asks.
I sigh. “Look, I don’t really give a shit one way or the other. Annabelle hasn’t arrived to save me so that kind of tells me all I need to know about her loyalty,” I drawl, hoping that I sound convincing. “It’s not my fight. I just want to go back to Hell, find Shadow and live my life.”
“The female has swayed your decision,” he states knowingly. “I knew that using her would make you see sense. Very good, Shax. We have a deal.”
The clap of thunder and strike of lightning does nothing to soothe my unease about how simple that was.
I gulp, hoping that I have the capacity to execute this stupid plan. I have never suffered from inferiority before. Not even with Annabelle. I always knew that she was better than me, stronger, faster, huge destiny and all that. I’ve never wanted any of that. The thought of her responsibility, that her life isn’t really her own, makes me shudder and pity her. Okay, well, not pity her, she would kill me on the spot if she thought that, but it’s close. I certainly don’t want to be her.
Vazna approaches me slowly. He scrutinizes my face, probably to see if he can see any signs of deception. It’s not difficult for me to keep a bland expression on my face. I think it’s my natural reaction to anything. He must decide that he can trust me as he waves his hand and releases me from the cage he put me in. Either that or he is waiting for me to run.
I don’t run.
Running would be foolish.
I walk steadily forward, my eyes on the box that is just hovering there on a cloud,