A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

okay? What did she
say? She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Angel grabbed my hand and pulled me to our
dining table. She started piling steaks, mashed potatoes and vegetables on two
plates, then handed me one.
    “You must tell me everything, but wait
until it’s more quiet.” Angel nodded toward the curious faces staring at us.
    We ate in silence near the window
overlooking the woods. Angel finished first and got up to bring us coffee and
dessert. She insisted I eat up. “Trust me, you’ll need it. The people here don’t
sleep a lot. You can only keep up if you compensate with food and caffeine.” I
shot her a disbelieving look, but she didn’t seem to be joking.
    “Does she spend all her time in that dark
dungeon?” I whispered so the others wouldn’t hear us.
    “You mean Deidre?” Angel shook her head. “She
comes out every now and then to fulfill her duties.”
    “She seems very young, but the way she
speaks—”
    “It’s freaky, isn’t it?” Angel cut me off. “No
idea how old she really is, but legend is the Fates made her queen. She took
great care of me when I arrived here. She made everything easier to understand
and accept.”
    We finished our dessert and left, passing through
a narrow gate until we reached a corridor with several doors. Angel opened one
and entered, motioning me to follow.
    “This is where I live.” She peeled off her
jacket and threw it haphazardly over the back of a chair, then went about
pouring two glasses of water from a bottle on her dressing table, and handed me
one. “Water’s good for your skin. They’re all so beautiful. I’ll take whatever
little help I can get.”
    I sat on the chair and peered around. What
should I say? That she was pretty and special? I thought back to that fateful
night when I first met Clare. I felt the same way. With all the perfect
immortals around her, no wonder Angel’s self-confidence was non-existent. I
decided to change the subject. “You should be an interior designer with your
fantastic taste.”
    It wasn’t a lie. The room was bright and
spacious with white walls and a red carpet covering the marble floor. A large,
glass bookshelf was mounted over a long fireplace. On the opposite wall were a four-poster
bed and several blooming orange trees in flowerpots. It looked minimalist chic
and expensive, straight out of a magazine.
    “Thank you.” Angel beamed and took a sip of
her water as she pointed to a chair. I took a seat and placed my water on the
glass table. “Now, tell me what Deidre said. Are they going to train you?”
    “Looks like your wish was granted,” I said.
“I got a life sentence in Shadow Land, whatever this place is.”
    “Really?” Angel hugged me tight for a long
moment before letting go. “I did wish on the right star.”
    “Guess that makes one of us.”
    Angel shook her head. “No, you’ll love it
here. I promise I’ll help you adjust.”
    I recalled my encounter with Deidre. Angel
kept asking question, forcing me to repeat the exact conversation a few times.
    “I wish someone told me what to expect,” I
said.
    “It’d have spoilt their surprise moment. If
it wasn’t for that vampire, your fate would be a different one.”
    “Really? What is my fate?” I didn’t want to
hear any more gossip, not before I talked to Aidan and let him tell his side of
the story, but I couldn’t resist.
    Angel leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I
heard Devon and a few others talking after you arrived. They said if the
vampire finds you he’ll kill you.”
    “So, my fate is to die?” I smiled even
though fear choked me. Angel nodded, wide-eyed. I smirked. “Awesome.”
    She wasn’t telling me anything I hadn’t
heard from Devon but, coming from a girl I was slowly starting to trust, the
words seemed to carry more weight. Why would Aidan want to murder me when I
saved his life? He could’ve killed me plenty of times back at the house. Then
again, maybe he only kept me alive so he’d learn how to use my gift to reach
his precious Rebecca, after I stole the prize from right under his nose. A
thought struck me. Did he want to use me as a vessel, like when Patrick Swayze
jumped into Whoopi Goldberg’s body in the movie Ghost ? No guy would turn me into a zombie while Rebecca possessed my
body. I jumped at the knock on the door.
    “Your new room’s ready,” a girl said.
    “She’s in shock,” Angel said. “Can you come
back later?”
    The girl bowed and left. At the back of my
mind I