Chapter Thirty-Eight: Quix's Past

The walls closed in on her, and Holly stared straight into those oh-so-very-red-eyes of Lucifer. "I can't do that," she whispered. All she could think about was having a tryst with this man, no this devil. And doing that would not be worth giving up everything else. These couldn't be her thoughts.

"This is the fastest way for me to consume that soul of yours, the one that keeps bringing you problems. It will be stripped away like flesh from bone."

The hairs on Holly's arms rose at the words. Just the idea of what he was saying sent a shiver through her and she backed up on the bed. There was nowhere to run here. This was all his domain. Maybe this hadn't been the smartest choice she'd ever made, but it had been a desperate one.

He followed after her. Looking effortless as he pinned her between his arms and stared deep into her eyes. "Your power will make you forever my Queen. I'm going to use it to break that yoke that binds you to destiny. You'll be free to live your life, and never worry about my children or the sins again. "

It's not that she wasn't tempted. Holly was. But at the thought of this man on top of her, doing the things that she only wanted Quix to do, she shivered. "You said there was another way?" she demanded.

"Not any way that I care to follow," he replied as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Give yourself to me freely, Holly. I'll break your chains, it will be the end of this journey you've suffered so many times through. All those women that came before you, let them have peace."

His palm glided over her cheek as he leaned closer to her. Holly winced and turned away. No, her earlier instinct was right. This had been a horrible mistake. "I have to go," she whispered as she pushed against his chest.

"You're turning this offer down?" He asked his voice soft. "Are you sure that's what you wish to do?"

Holly swallowed but nodded. "I don't want to hurt any of the people I've come to love."

"You'd rather just hurt yourself as you throw yourself again and again against the ropes that bind you. I could snap them, all I need is for you to say yes." She shook her head and his eyes narrowed. "Very well. Excuse me for a moment, I have some punishment to dole out. I hope you won't mind me leaving the portal open so you can see justice being served."

He moved away from her and snapped his fingers. A black void appeared in the center of the wall and Death looked up from his own wall he was chained to. As Lucifer strode toward him, Holly winced and did her best to look away. She'd never seen someone so terrified at the sight of another.

And then the screams began.

She took a pillow and crammed it over her ears as she sought to escape but each was higher-pitched and longer than the last. Lucifer turned back to smile at her. "If you want me to stop, let me know. He's going to be punished for trying to harm you, my Queen."

His words were gentle, but his actions were not. He threw his hand back and a black whip with nails and glass embedded appeared in his hand. With a single flourish of his whip, the screams got so loud that the pillow wasn't close to stopping the cries. The devil's eyes were glittering as he smiled.

Holly bit back a sob. "Please, stop," she whimpered. Despite what Death had done to her, what he'd tried to do to her. "I can't take it anymore."

Lucifer paused and frowned. "He tried to take your life. This is his punishment, not yours. Do not weep for one such as this."

"You want my life too," Holly pointed out as she hugged the pillow to her chest. "Wouldn't stripping my soul be the same?"

"No," the whip disappeared from his hand and he stalked toward her. "I would not be hurting you. You are far too precious. If I came across far too aggressive, I apologize. I merely wish for you to give me your power so I can put it to use."

Death chuckled a raspy snort. "You continue to lie to her? Even now? Just admit you plan to devour her. Just like I was going to do. Were you even going to grant her wish?" He turned his head and coughed and whimpered against the bonds.

"I promised her. You know I do not go back on the promises I make. Contrary to what they say, I am not the Prince of Lies. If she gives her power to me, I will have the ability to destroy the Fates and those they have caught in their wheel."

Destroy the Fates? "You can't do that," Holly shook her head. "I can't let you do that. Atropos is my friend."

"Some friend," he turned to her and left Death behind. "You call the one that helped seal your soul to this destiny a friend?"

"It was a mistake."

"A mistake that you were forced to purify yourself day after day and to consume more power than your body could handle. A mistake that you were sent to like a soldier time and time again to a new life anywhere a sin wakes up."

Holly scooted back on the bed until her back met the headboard. "If they didn't the sins would have destroyed the world so many times over."

Lucifer chuckled. "That's truly what you believe. You are so wrong, my Queen. The Fates are part of the ones that punished you to live life after life because of something your mother did. Allow me to break the chains, let me free you."

Holly looked away. "No," she repeated. "All I want, the only life I want is to be with Quix."

Death chuckled from his position on the wall. "You want to be with a dead man?" he demanded.

"Quix is more than that," Holly pointed out. "He's sweet and gentle-"

"And a killer," Lucifer added.

"He's not," Holly said as she looked between the two. But there was something off with the way Death smiled at her. "He's not," she repeated.

"His name isn't really Quix," Death spat out.

"I suppose I'll allow it," Lucifer nodded to Death and the chains unraveled from him and the man fell to the ground. "However, if you attack her, you know that I will not show mercy."

Death nodded. "His real name," he continued as he shuffled forward out of the dungeon and into the room. "his real name is Raymond, Ray for short."

"Ray?" Holly tested the word out. It sounded off to her. "He'll always be Quix to me."

Death chuckled. As he moved the wounds he''d suffered healed. "His story is quite sad you know. I could tell it all to you."

Lucifer frowned. "What are you planning, Death?"

"After a punishment like that do you really think I am planning on defying you? Not without backup, I am not stupid." He continued to move toward Holy as she stared at him. "He gave up everything to help his lover move on."

A punch to the gut would have been kinder. Holly let out a puff of air. She should have known that she wasn't the only one in his life. He had a real life before becoming what he was. "Does she even know?" she whispered. And despite what he'd done, he could never remember her.

Death chuckled again. "Why would I allow something like that? Quix was an excellent employee. He would do anything and everything I needed, including killing anyone I told him to. He's taken many souls."

"He's never wanted to," Holly defended. "Quix isn't blood-thirsty like that."

"Oh?" Death smiled at her. "Let me show you some of his first acquisitions. Then you can tell me if you believe in him as much as you do now. He's not who you think he is, and not fit for you either."

"I don't want to hear anymore." Holly turned away. "Quix is Quix, and nothing you say will change that."

"Then, let me show you," Death snapped his fingers and a globe appeared in his hands. Inside it was Quix wielding his scythe, and killing as he strode through a crowd. There was no pause, there was nothing but a deep laugh coming from the man she knew so well.

"Quix," Holly whispered as she reached out. This couldn't be him. But the eyes that sparkled as he reaped the souls, those were his.

"See? He's not as black and white as you like to think about him. You might as well give up on that happy ending. He's a reaper. He'll never be able to settle down with you and have a happy life, not without help in any case."

"You're trying to convince me to take his deal?" Holly demanded as she looked from Death to the now smirking Lucifer. "Why?"

Death shrugged. "Because being punished hurts, and I'm not going to be winning by myself. Why not align myself with the most powerful person at the moment? Besides, it won't hurt, just give in."