The Flames that Engulfed Us

Chapter 49: I'm Poo to Your New Shoes

I kept my arms around Lincoln as he just stared blankly at Mr. Devil and the glowing void that was behind him. C.C. didn't move either. The Devil looked at us.

"After you," he smiled, and suddenly I wished Lincoln wasn't holding me, so I could at least try to kill him. I only leaned further into Lincoln. Even if I had the chance, I probably wouldn't.

"I'm not taking her into that," Lincoln stated, sounding so brave at that moment, his voice sounding so much calmer than his thudding heart.

"It's not your choice. After you."

"I can't take her in there and live with myself."

"Lincoln," I murmured, "it'll all be fine. Go."

"No. Sky, if you get hurt..."

"I'd rather it be me than you."

"After you," the Devil hissed.

Lincoln looked down at me, and I hoped my eyes weren't as panicked as I felt. They must not have been because he gulped and moved forwards. The light showed on his face, giving him a warm glow, and then I felt the warmth as we were in it.

Another step and all I could see was a huge room with sweeping stairs and wooden banisters. It was all much too fancy for us, but C.C. came through the glow and then the Devil. C.C. looked out of place too, but the Devil's crisp suit and fake smile made him fit perfectly.

Lincoln seemed just as uncomfortable with the richness of all the portraits that hung on the walls and the floor that seemed to valuable to step on. As I looked around, it occurred to me that there weren't any windows.

That was a bad sign. There weren't any doors that looked like they lead outside either. The Devil was in his element.

"Since you're in my house, I suppose I should try to be a reasonable host. I suppose you two Souls are hungry?"

Crap. I had left my backpack. The Devil started walking, and C.C. and Lincoln had a momentary pause before they followed him. Maybe it's immature, but I enjoyed not having to walk. I enjoyed the way I was always against Lincoln.

We came to a room that had sofas, fancier than couches, and a table just big enough for the four of us. Pastries and delicacies filled it.

The Devil waved his hand and the chairs all slid out. "Sit."

Lincoln carefully set me down in one chair and took the chair to the right of me. C.C. was on my left and the Devil was across from me. I uneasily put my hands, rope and all on the table.

"Go ahead. The food isn't poisoned."

Lincoln cautiously reached for a muffin, taking a slow bite of it. I could see it in his eyes that the food was good, but he wouldn't say anything about it. I knew him well enough to know that.

"I don't know what to do with you, Skylar. I don't know what to do with any of you. You're making my perfect system a mess."

"We could just leave and never bother you again," I suggested seriously.

He laughed. "You want to what? Be immortal or a ghost or something. Ghosts are a pain and immortals almost always end up begging me to come back."

"How are ghosts a pain?"

"The upset a delicate balance between life and death, and my sister gets mad when I infringe on her precious little human lives."

"You have a sister?" I asked, interested.

"I have a family just like you do. My sister's in charge of life, and I'm in charge of death. We're not on great terms ever since that whole fiasco. She's mad that Mother took my side. Father took her side, but he's too pacifist for anything."

"Who are your parents?"

"You call them Mother Nature and the Man of the Sea."

"What was the fiasco?"

"You're nosey. I suggest you work on fixing that."

"I'll get around to it." I groaned, looking at Lincoln who was watching the Devil carefully.

"What's your sister's name?"

"When she interacts with humans, she calls herself Lily."

"You say it like humans are something disgusting."

"They are. Can't stand them. She loves them. She's always going on about 'humans this.' 'Humans that.' I don't get it."

"So, it's something about that that she's mad at you for?"

"Oh, a half-century ago, she decided she wanted to live as a human. Fell in love with a guy. I didn't realize she was pregnant when I, well, took him out of the picture we'll say."

"You killed him?"

"No. I caused him to die. There's a difference."

"You killed him," Lincoln repeated.

"No. You humans are all so touchy."

"Well, we are disgusting."

"I agree." He nodded.

"So, you killed the father of your sister's baby. What happened after that?"

"Nothing that matters to you."

"I'm nosey. It does matter to me."

"I despise you."

"I get it. I'm the poo to your new shoe. But you've got me interested."

Lincoln looked at me. "Yes, I called myself poo in front of an entity that is in control of death. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I honestly love you so much."

"So, you've said. I love you too." Then I looked at the Devil. "Seriously, what happened?"

"Souls, are you done eating?"

"Yeah," C.C. mumbled. He hadn't touched anything on the table.

The Devil stood up abruptly and walked briskly towards me. He pulled me out of my seat. "You seem like by somebody's standards, you're a nice girl," he snapped, "but I have no obligation to you."

I stumbled after him as he pulled me from the room, Lincoln immediately following. The Devil shoved me into him, and Lincoln caught me flawlessly, hugging me into him. I looked at the Devil, and I didn't regret anything.

"There's a room for you at the top of the stairs. The first one on the right."

He spun around, his face flaring with anger. I'd accidentally pried into something. I needed to know more. Lincoln looked at me, and we both started to move up the sweeping staircase. Lincoln followed the directions, leading us both to a room that made my breath catch.

It was the same beautiful wood, but it had a domed ceiling with spirals painted on it. The bed looked so soft. Lincoln let the door shut behind us, and we both looked back as it locked. Oh, locked in a room with my boyfriend and a king-sized bed. What a shame.

The mood of the whole room made me feel—cuddly. I flopped on the bed, sitting up. Lincoln went to an ornate desk in the corner and pulled out a pair of scissors.

"Sky," he whispered, sitting next to me, "let me see the rope."

He carefully sawed through with the scissors, the rope eventually snapping. He unwound it from my wrists, smiling up at me.

"There's no windows," he said, looking around.

"No. Lincoln, I'm so glad we're here together. I need you."

"I need you too," he whispered, his arms wrapping around me.

"Do you remember our first date?"

"How could I forget?"

"Didn't it seem like there was magic in the air?"

"There's always magic in the air when you're around."

"I doubt that."

He chuckled. "I missed this."