But Lilliana’s love had changed Azagoth, and with it, his realm.
Now, when Cat strolled outside the palace, the grounds and buildings surrounding it teemed with life, from the lush grass, leafy green trees, and sparkling water, to rabbits, birds, and even the occasional fox or deer.
Smiling, she put down her feathered duster and headed from Azagoth’s pool room toward the mansion’s entrance, and as she rounded a corner, she collided with a body.
A huge, muscular body.
Hades.
An instant, hot tingle pricked her skin as she leaped backward, crashing into something behind her. She heard something break, but at the moment, it didn’t matter.
This was the first time she’d touched Hades. The first time her ability to sense good and evil as a physical symptom on the surface of her skin had triggered. At least, it was the first time with Hades.
She’d always suspected he’d give off an intense blast of evil, but she hadn’t expected the evil to be tempered by a ribbon of goodness. She also hadn’t expected to be so...aroused by the vibes he gave off. Then again, merely looking at him aroused her, so why wouldn’t touching him do the same?
He stood there, bare-chested and wearing a skin-tight pair of silver pants that showed every ropey muscle and presented that impressive bulge at his groin like a gift. Criminy, he might as well be naked. She wished he was naked.
“E-excuse me,” she squeaked.
He looked down at her, one corner of his perfect mouth tipped up in a half-smile. Which was a first. Everyone seemed to get smiles but her.
“You broke Seth.”
She blinked. “What?”
He nodded at something behind her. She turned and gasped in horror at the black, waxy hand lying on the floor and the now-handless statue next to it. “Oh, shit. Azagoth is going to be pissed.”
This was his Hall of Souls, a giant room filled with mounted skulls and fountains that ran with blood. It was also where people who did especially vile things––or who made Azagoth really angry––were turned into tortured statues. Inside, they were still alive, screaming for all eternity. And she’d just given one an amputation that must be agonizing.
She scrambled to replace the hand, but Hades just laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Seth was a demon who passed himself off as an Egyptian god back in the day. He tortured and killed thousands of children. He deserves worse than anything Azagoth or you could do to him.”
She stared at the statue, the naked body twisted in whatever agony Azagoth put him through before turning him to stone, his mouth open in a perpetual scream.
“Children?”
“Children.”
Sick bastard. She dropped the hand, grabbed Seth’s tiny penis, and snapped it off. “I hope he’s feeling that.”
Hades’s booming laughter echoed around the chamber, and she swore the crimson liquid in the center fountain stopped flowing for a heartbeat. “I’ll bet you just made every poor stiff in here fear you more than Azagoth. Awesome.”
She dropped the nasty appendage next to the hand. “Yeah, well, I’d probably better find some Superglue before he notices.”
Hades nudged the pieces with his boot. “I’ll take care of it. I’m the one who ran into you, and besides, I live for this kind of thing.”
The note of mischief that crept into his voice made her suspicious, and she narrowed her eyes at him. “What have you got up your sleeve? You know, if you had sleeves.”
“Don’t worry,” he said with impish delight, “I know what to do with a cock.” He shifted his gaze to her, giving her a roguish once-over that heated her skin even more than touching him had. “So, what’s got you in so much of a hurry? Hot date?”
Flustered, because this was the first time he’d spoken to her like she wasn’t diseased, she stood there like an idiot before finally blurting, “I heard a bird.”
He looked at her like she was daft. “And that’s significant...why?”
Heat flooded her face. She must be as red as a Sora demon’s butt. “They have wings.” Geez, could she sound any dumber? “I guess I miss mine.”
“If you miss them that much, you could just enter Sheoul.” Massive black, leathery wings sprouted from his back and stretched high enough to brush the ceiling. Blue veins that matched his hair extended from the tips to where they disappeared behind his shoulders, and now that his wings were visible, the veining appeared under his skin, as well. It was as if he were a marble statue come to life.
Cat’s breath caught in her throat as she took in his magnificence. He’d transformed, and for the first time, she could see why the demons in the Inner Sanctum would kneel before him.