Deals with the Devil (PA #1)

Chapter 25

Travel by portal is disorienting. The farther you want to go, the longer you'll be stuck in a space that might as well be a black hole. Aptly named the Inbetween, this common form of interdimensional travel is usually done with eyes closed and mouth shut. 

There's no real way to describe the eerie sensation of being watched that crawls over your skin as your body is transported to its intended destination. It's almost like swimming in a pool of sharks, the way you never know where danger lurks.

I've only used portal travel once, and it was to the outermost ring of Hell, so the whole experience wasn't that terrible. This time, however, I swear I'm stuck in the Inbetween for days on end as my body hurls itself through countless miles of nothingness. Finally, with a jarring stop, my feet are planted on solid ground.

Earth is a lot colder than I expected. That's my first thought about my homeworld. An observation on the weather—a benign topic people reach for when they have nothing else to talk about. But, seriously, the temperature in Hell fluctuates between warm and scorching, so the crisp air and gentle breeze of Earth are unique sensations.

"You can open your eyes now, Willow," Killian calls out.

I hear a quick thump before Eli hisses, "Let her take her time, jackass. She's having a moment."

His response is drowned out by the whoosh of air that escapes me as I open the eyes I forgot were closed. My first glimpse of Earth is...disappointing, to say the least. We appear to be in an abandoned graveyard, rife with tombstones, plaques, and towering statues of unfamiliar figures.

The grass beneath my feet is brown and patchy, and the surrounding trees look nearly dead. Clearly neglected, the cemetery holds a certain hopelessness and desperation to it that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The pink sky is beautiful though, with the sun just beginning its upward journey in the early morning hour.

"Are we in Japan?" I ask, noticing the Japanese script that covers the closest tombstones.

Elizabeth shakes her head and points her finger to the collection of gray and brown buildings in the distance. "That's the Los Angeles skyline. I recognize it from my research in preparation for today."

Killian speaks up before I can ask a more pressing question. "Research? Is that what we're calling spending hours watching trashy reality TV?"

"The Hills is not trashy, it's a classic! And it has lots of useful info," Eli defends.

Arms crossed, he taunts, "Oh, yeah? Like what? How to get drunk and have sex with random people?"

Copying his movement, she says, "No, like how you should always prioritize your female friendships over your relationships with douchey men. How you should never change yourself for a man. Things like that."

Although I am a fan of the show, I'm not sure that those are the key lessons depicted. It's not really important right now, though. I cut in, "Okay, but why are we in a cemetery?"

"Because it's almost always empty," Lucifer answers, practically materializing out of thin air and scaring the crap out of me. He ignores my squeak of surprise and continues speaking. "It was either this or Murphy Ranch, but that place is haunted and I have no patience for the spirits of evil humans that I don't get to torture."

I guess I'm grateful for his thoughtfulness. "So, this place doesn't have any ghosts. That's good, I wouldn't want to run into any witches."

"Where there are spirits, witches soon follow," Killian says, parroting a lesson one of our tutors always hammered into our skulls.

Eli uncrosses her arms and leans against the nearest gravestone. "Huh. I always thought that was a drinking thing. Like, all witches are alcoholics looking for their next glass of whiskey. So, if you bring the booze, you better get ready for the bitches. I mean, witches. Well, they both mean the same thing, honestly."