The Cassandra Palmer Collection: Short Stories & Novellas by Chance Karen

Author:Chance, Karen [Chance, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
Amazon: B085T9F91W
Goodreads: 52911558
Published: 2020-03-10T07:00:00+00:00

* * *

Rian screamed, Cassie cursed, and someone kicked Casanova in the head. That last was Rosier, who had leapt into the hole after them, even as Casanova hauled the damned girl against his side, preparing to jump back up. But they were falling too fast, the rock rushing by in a blur, the square of slightly less dark above their heads rapidly diminishing as his feet struggled for purchase on nothing more than—

Than a solid piece of perforated metal.

He stared at it for a split second, uncomprehending. It was dull gray, except for splotches of rust and bits of red soil that were flying up to hit him in the face. It suddenly dawned on him that they were on some type of platform—it was too kind to call it an elevator—that was plunging with wild but possibly not life-threatening speed into the heart of the mountain.

Which would have been quite a relief if their passenger wasn’t about to murder them all.

“Why are you just standing there?” Cassie yelled, as Rosier got unsteadily back to his feet.

This is it, Casanova thought blankly. He was going to die. He was going to die hearing that voice bellowing at him, and the knowledge that she would probably swiftly follow him into the hereafter was exactly no consolation at all.

“Where do you go if you die in Hell?” he wondered aloud, only to have her sink those tacky pink nails into him.

“Do something!”

“What would you suggest?” Casanova demanded.

“Beat him up!”

“Demon lord,” he pointed out, and Rosier grinned.

“Not now! He can’t use magic!”

“Like hell he can’t!” Casanova had bruises that said otherwise.

“Not in here!” she said furiously. “Rian said—”

Casanova didn’t get to hear what wisdom his demon might have imparted, because Rosier took that moment to spring across the platform and take a swing at his head. Which, for a being as powerful as he was supposed to be, seemed a little clumsy. Casanova ducked with vampire speed and glanced at the girl.

“Can’t use magic?” he asked. She shook her head frantically, as the demon snarled and spun on a dime, coming back at Casanova.

Who calmly punched a hole through his face.

Or, at least, he would have, had the creature been human. The blow didn’t appear to have had the same effect in this instance, although it did send him flying back against a rusted support beam. Casanova couldn’t be sure, because they were moving too swiftly, but he rather thought that particular beam might have a Rosier-shaped dent from now on.

But the demon shook it off and staggered back into the middle of the platform, glaring and holding his jaw. “Bastard,” he snarled.

“Vampire,” Casanova smiled and spread his hands.

So Rosier kicked him in the kidney.

Casanova gasped and thought about throwing up, while the girl grabbed a lever on the floor of the contraption and gave it a jerk. The platform shuddered, jolting them all and throwing the demon off his pale gray Prada loafers. Nice, Casanova thought, before picking him up by the lapels and shoving him into the side of the now even more briskly streaming rock face.

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