Wicked Whispers by Bangs Nina

Author:Bangs, Nina [Bangs, Nina]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781101611784
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2012-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

10

Murmur drew in a deep breath. Ah, the sweet smell of home—dirt, dust, and despair. He’d forgotten the joy of gazing across the vast… nothingness. Gray, rocky ground as far as the eye could see under a solid gray sky. He couldn’t even spot where the horizon line was because sky and earth were the same color. Wow, how had he stayed away from this for so many centuries?

Damn, it was still as cold as Lucifer’s ass here. He controlled his urge to shiver. Never show weakness. A lesson his master had physically hammered into him shortly after his creation.

He turned off Asima’s music and whipped up something of his own, a sizzling song that crackled and popped in his mind, heating the air around him. He shared it with Ivy. She glanced up at him, surprised. He’d never told her that he could manipulate the environment with his music. Now she knew.

“Where are we?” Ivy moved close to him, her warmth reminding him of why he wanted to remain on the mortal plane.

“The Underworld. Klepoth’s illusions are nothing if not accurate.” Murmur glanced to where the other demon had found a boulder to sit on. Bastard.

Ganymede leaped up beside Klepoth. “Crap. You mean this is hell? Where’s the fire and brimstone? Where’re the red guys with horns, tails, and pitchforks? Where’s the big cheese?”

“This is it, cat. I’d rather spend eternity in your version.” Murmur didn’t even turn to look at Ganymede. He stared into the distance—hating, remembering. “You might do lots of hurting in your hell, but you’d never be alone. This”—he swept his arm to encompass the vastness of it all—“is true torture. Aloneness—cold and complete—forever.”

Chef George stared at Murmur, his mouth open and his eyes wide and staring. He’d dropped his spatula. He didn’t seem about to say anything anytime soon.

“See, now this is a big-ass disappointment.” Ganymede looked at Klepoth. “Yo, explain this shit to me.”

Klepoth shrugged. “I’m the demon of illusions. The Master wants me to convince Murmur to spend some quality time in the loving arms of his demon family so he can rediscover his roots. Hey, just doing my job.”

“Well, this sucks.” Ganymede narrowed his eyes. “Since you don’t need anyone but Murmur, why don’t you whip up an illusion of a sleazy dive with booze and lots of dancing girls? The rest of us will have a few drinks and wait this out. When you’re done, you can pop us out of your illusion.”

“And if I don’t?” Klepoth returned Ganymede’s stare.

“Then I’d be bored just standing around. And when I’m bored, I cause trouble.” Malice filled his feline eyes. “You seem like a powerful guy, so I assume I’d have to break a sweat to escape your illusion. Hey, I’m lazy. I don’t do hard. I’d just hang on the sidelines talking really loud and getting in the way while you tried to deliver your message to Murmur.”

Murmur felt anger thrumming through Klepoth, but he knew the other demon would have enough sense not to challenge the cat.

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