A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

Prologue

 
    It’s said people can sense their imminent
death. Maybe they hear death’s song in the wind. Or the earth stops turning for
a second, mourning those who are yet to pass. I spotted none of the signs when
I dragged my tired body through the Otherworld, waiting for the winged demon
guardians to pick me up and drop me back on the threshold to the world of the
living.
    It was a shiny object, beckoning to me from
under a bush, that lured me into the killer’s trap. As I bent down and pushed
my arm into the thicket, a sharp pain pierced my skin and teeth cut into my
bone. I choked on my breath, my scream barely finding its way out of my throat.
Panic rose inside me, followed by a sense of dread. I was trapped. Even if the
immortals heard me, they couldn’t help me.
    Blinded by fear, I pulled and kicked at the
snarling creature peering out of the ground, all skin and bones and red,
tangled hair. She was female, no doubt, but the way she tore through skin and
muscles, slurping my blood, resembled no human being.
    Somewhere behind me, wings fluttered.
    “Get the fire demons, Octavius .
Turn that thing into burned toast,” someone yelled. In spite of my panic, I
smiled as I recognized Cass’s voice inside my head.
    Fire engulfed us, bathing the semi-darkness
in a fiery glow. The creature screeched, but didn’t let go of my aching arm. If
not even Cass’s angels and demons could scare it, nothing would.
    My vision blurred, my strength waning. I
could feel my blood pouring out of me in a long, constant flow until I thought
I was floating. From the edge of my consciousness, I realized a black, winged
demon had appeared by my side. A thick flame scorched my skin. I cried out in
pain, the scream hurting my ears. My eyes rolled back in their sockets. The
creature hissed, the slurping continued.
    Something caressed my cheeks, its touch
light as a feather. My breath came shallow, and my heart slowed down in my
chest. I hung onto consciousness until I realized the stabbing pain was
subsiding, so I let myself fall into oblivion, eager to escape.
    But I gather I’m not making much sense, so
I shall start from the beginning. This is how I entered Aidan’s deadly,
paranormal world.

Chapter 1

 
    The cab came to a screeching halt. I
lurched forward in the backseat and dropped the phone I’d been fumbling with in
the hope to get through to my brother.
    “I thought only London had a reputation for
bad drivers,” I muttered.
    “ Ye’ll have to
get out now,” the driver said.
    “I’m sorry, what?” I glanced out the window
at the dense trees to both sides of the forsaken road, then back at the driver.
Surely, this wasn’t where I had asked him to take me?
    “I said, ye need to get out now, lassie.”
    I stuffed my cell phone back into my
over-spilling handbag and glared at the man’s hooded eyes in the rear-view
mirror. “I’m paying you to take me all the way up there.” I pointed up the
winding country lane.
    The driver shrugged. “I’m ‘ fraid I can’t, lass. ‘Tis too
dark now and I don’t want to be here at this time of day.”
    I cringed at his Scottish accent. I didn’t
understand half of what he said. “It’s only seven.”
    He shrugged. “ ‘Tis all dark.”
    “What’s the deal? Do cab drivers turn into
pumpkins once it’s dusk? You should’ve told me at the airport.”
    The driver averted his gaze. “ Ye’re paying me for driving, not answering questions.”
    Grabbing my handbag I opened the door. No
point in arguing with him because it seemed like a lost cause already. A chilly
wind ruffled my hair and turned my skin into goose bumps. This was freezing
Scotland. Why hadn’t I thought of wearing a coat instead of locking it up with
all the other stuff? “Oh, for crying out loud.” I knocked on the driver’s
window and waited for him to roll it down. “Are you helping with the luggage or
what?” He just stared back at me and shrugged. “What is it then, yes or no?” He
turned away, his eyes scanning the forest around us as if he expected someone
with an axe to jump out any minute.
    “I don’t believe this,” I mumbled, opening
the car boot and pulling out my suitcase, a big, ugly thing my brother Dallas
gave me as a graduation gift. The thick plastic carcass was already heavy as
hell. With my clothes and books in there, I could barely lift it. I hurled it
up and let it fall to the ground with a loud thud, almost hitting my booted
feet. This wasn’t my