Holly didn't waste any time, she shoved Quix back and knocked him onto his back as she held a hand against her lips.
"Please, don't do that again. I'm not a toy for you to mess with. You can't just do what you want to try to make me blush."
Quix raised himself on one elbow and grinned at her.
"But that's the fun of it. Ruby doesn't do anything but roll her eyes. You do all kinds of wonderful things for me. Your breath gets shallow and fast, your heart beats faster, your cheeks change color.
Holly must have fallen asleep, though she didn't even remember her eyes closing. There had been a loud bang, like glass shattering. Had that been part of her dream?On the end of the couch, Quix was snoring, hugging his braid as if it was a stuffed toy. Was this truly one of the people she had been running away from in terror for so long?She leaned forward as she watched him sleep. Was he faking it?"Are you done pouting yet?" hissed a voice behind her.
Eros's warmth was nice, but there was a point it became suffocating. Holly moved her friend to the middle of the couch where he whimpered for a moment before cuddling against Quix.She held back a chuckle. Even though she was still upset with him, she couldn't deny he was cute.What had woken her up? The sky was dark outside which normally meant she'd be in full running mode at this point.It was strange to not be running at all. Her Chasers were not what she had expected. Ruby was a f
"Fake?" Holly repeated. She didn't have the strength to try to free herself any longer. "All fake?""Every last one," Krim agreed. "This entire world has been created for you. To study you, to judge you.""Judge me?" Holly frowned. "I don't understand. Why am I being judged? By who?" how could she even ask questions? Her mind was still trying to comprehend what Krim had revealed. There was no way this entire world was fake, was there? None of it made sense.Krim picked up his pace as they got farther and farther away from the others. "Death can explain more if he feels like it. I don't know how much I should give away. I don't need to put myself in danger over this.""You said you'd tell me everything," Holly reminded. Inside, her world was spinning. None of this made sense. "Why would this world be created for me? Why? And who did it?""You want all those answers?" Krim twisted his neck to study her. "Then I need something from you. It's the only
Holly followed Death but as they traveled their surroundings blurred around them. Holly stopped but was tugged along by his grip on her. "What is this?" she whispered. Every step was taking them away from her friends, the only ones who might be able to save her from this awful choice of hers."You didn't think that I lived in that old shack, did you? I live wherever I want, and right now I'm taking you straight to my throne so we can talk." Death smirked. "I hope you don't give me what I want though, it's more fun when I hear screams and begs.""Throne?" Holly frowned. "I don't understand. Why would you have a throne? You're one of the four horsemen," she looked around. "Without a horse.""Nah, I've got a ride but have no reason to pull my baby out right now. You came to me willingly enough, so I let that escort of yours live. If you had denied me, you'd be drenched in his blood right now."Holly swallowed. "I don't understand any of this.""
Holly didn't know when the pain stopped. How could so much agony come from the tips of fingernails? But they had been like knives, slicing her skin, causing her blood to flow.But where had they gone now? The servant was gone without a word, and so was the master as well. Now it was just her alone and tied up. Was this a ruse on their part?"Holly," the whisper was close to her ear and she turned to meet Quix's eyes. "Stay quiet," he whispered as he went to work on her restraints. They popped off and he pulled her into his arms, closing his eyes as he willed them to travel.Nothing happened. They were still in the bowels of Death's trap.Holly sobbed."Don't worry," Quix whispered. "I have a plan."Holly didn't believe him. This had to be a trap. If she showed any sign of hope, it would slam down on her. The pain she had endured already was just the start. They were going to do so much more to her. "Leave me," she whispered. 
When Holly woke up, she was pressed against a half-naked chest. She didn't move as she blinked and tried to process just what was going on. She lifted her head and looked into Quix's sparkling eyes. "Hi?" she greeted."Hi," he responded with a lazy smile. He pulled her back against him and cuddled his nose into her hair. "I'm still sleepy and you smell great.""You said you wouldn't try anything," Holly growled at him as she fought to pull away."I'm not doing anything. Just holding you closer and enjoying that scent of yours. Maybe Ruby will have some competition if this keeps up." He chuckled down at her.Holly pushed against him to free herself and Quix's smile vanished in an instant to be replaced with a grimace. "Quix?" Holly froze. "Did I hurt you?""I'm still tender from yesterday's heroics. I'll be fine later. Man, Krim would laugh..." he frowned and shook his head. "Never mind. Ruby, she'd find this whole situation amusing."Holly d
"Dagon?" Holly whispered. She remembered that name and that voice."Are you really Dagon?"He nodded. "I am, and as I told you, I'm here to save you." He frowned at Quix. "First of all, I'll take care of that trash for you."Holly's arms came around Quix as she pulled him closer to her. "He's not trash, he saved me."Dagon stepped closer his eyes narrowing. "Saved you? Let me see you, take that cover off."Holly flushed and shook her head. "No way, I-"She was interrupted as Dagon took the corner of the blanket and swept it away leaving her huddling against Quix for warmth.Dagon's lip flared seeing the reaper's state of undress but if faded away as his eyes roamed over Holly. His dark blue eyes shimmered like the depths of the ocean as his fist clenched. "Those marks, tell me what happened to you, right now."Holly swallowed, she didn't even want to remember a single moment of that. "I was captured," she whispered
Eros grunted. "Still, even though your help will be appreciated, you know this is all your fault right? You're the cause of her being in danger in the first place."Dagon shook his head. "You can never just say thank you, can you? I'm not the one that betrayed her, one of her followers did that, or one of them pretending to be." He turned and surveyed the group. "If any of you are Krim, I am going to rip you in half, just know that.""Why do you have a problem with Krim?" Ruby demanded as she pushed the others out of the way. "Who are you even?"Dagon laughed. "Just one of the Hell Princes, are you sure you want to get on my bad side right now? I really don't want to have to deal with you reapers too much.""Hell Princes?" Ruby frowned. "Are you the one that Lust mentioned?""That would be me," Dagon bowed. "Dagon, Prince of Pestilence. It's why I created the seven sins.""Krim is the one that betrayed Holly," Quix growled out. He was still
Atropos landed in the middle of the group hitting the ground with a thump as she rolled to safety. The teenager righted herself and froze. "What?" she demanded as she faced the other two Fates. "Did you bring me back?""You were about to die. We couldn't allow that." Clothos responded with a nod of her head."Though you deserved to suffer for that," Lachesis added with a sneer. "You've messed up the tapestry. If we hadn't removed you when we did you would have been trapped inside without a chance for escape.""So you ripped me out?" Atropos rushed to the threads and ran her fingers over them. "Where's Holly?""Juniper has started her next life, her next battle. We helped transfer that tangled web over." Clothos' eyes narrowed. "I expect you to be appreciative of all the work we did. We managed to detach the Sin of Sloth from the tangle, and a few of the others but there are too many souls that got reborn with her."Atropos tugged at the tangl
The world shimmered around her like a bright shiny jewel and as she reached out, she realized she was underwater. She yelped as she reached for the surface kicking her legs behind her and froze. That didn't feel right. Holly craned her neck to look behind her. True, she had a lot of important things to worry about like what was going on, where were her loves ones, and where the hell her enemies went.But this was a bit more important at the moment.Holly had a tail. A shiny, shimmery, mermaid tail. She flapped it and watched as it flexed back and forth.What was going on now? She looked around trying to make sense out of everything but there was nothing around her but coral and fishes that darted about. Could she speak to them? "Hello?" she called.Mermaid princess she must not be for the animals just swam away from her leaving her all alone. Where was everyone? Was this another trick of Sloth's? But the Sin was nowhere to be seen."Com
Holly winced as her eyes met Krim's. Flashes of what the man had done to her, what he'd subjected her to ricocheted through her brain. "Why are we fighting?" she demanded of Sloth. "We could do this battle all day. This isn't solving anything.""You're the one seeking to eradicate me and my family," Sloth replied in a hiss. "Why should I ever stop fighting you? You think you're the good guy because you've been told that over and over? What makes it true?""Enough," Eros interrupted as he strode toward the other side. Holly watched him go but an ache blossomed in her chest and she reached out to him."Shouldn't you be keeping your attention on the fight?" Demanded Krim. "You wouldn't want to lose another reaper, would you?" he questioned as he summoned his own scythe and gestured at Quix. "That one would hurt a lot more than Ruby. You forgot about her so fast.""I didn't forget!" Holly almost howled the words. "You're wrong!"Krim threw his he
Holly screamed was far too simple a line for the chaos that exploded in her soul. Another friend ripped away. She'd had enough. As the endless howl escaped her lips, the world around her wavered and shimmered like she had been tossed into a hot environment. Still, the screams didn't stop.Her power flared inside of her and then everything was thrown into rewind. The world went backward outside of her bubble. Second by second time rewound itself and there, Ruby was alive again! Wait, if she could save Ruby, that meant if she pushed harder she could get Atropos back as well and take away Death's power.Their eyes met and Holly smiled as she reached out. Their fingers brushed against each other, almost enough to grab on, but just short of it. Holly reached out as far as she could go, her fingertips grazing Atropos. The Fate smiled at before shaking her head and the world around Holly exploded.How long she sat there in the dark she wasn't sure. Time had
Holly's heart pounded in her chest. They had slipped away, but for how long? They couldn't keep this up. She could still see her friend's eyes before that monster had eaten her. All she wanted to do was throw herself down on the ground and sob. Atropos hadn't deserved that kind of death, no one did."I won't let anything happen to you," Angel promised. "Don't worry, okay? I promise. I've always protected you, and I always will." He stared into her eyes and Holly's pulse raced. What was with her that even Angel could bring about that kind of response? But as she looked at him, the way everything about him was self-confident, she believed him."Except that time you weren't even here yet," Eros pointed out with a snort. His eyes narrowing at the other in a silent challenge. Holly hid her wince. She didn't need Angel, she had Eros. Eros was the one that was always at her side, always helping her. He had been her protector. There was no need for her to soften up
Last as long as she could? As Holly awoke those words continued to ring in her head. As much warmth as seeing those ladies caused they were practically useless. What kind of advice was that? At least she was alone for the moment. No one else was in the room with her, though it remained inescapable.Holly stared at her hands. Should she try to use her power? Reverse this room to a time when there was a way out? Would they be able to feel it if she did that? She winced. What if she only made things worse? But, again, what choice did she have? It was only a matter of time before he came for her answer and she was well aware he would not be impressed by it.She closed her eyes as she willed herself the strength to do what she must. No matter what happened it was time to fight once more. Her eyes snapped open, and she focused on everything she had. The whiteness n the room flickered as she forced the time back."Now, that's an interesting trick."She jerked as
"Willow?" Holly parroted. "You're-""A vampire?" Willow nodded. "I am. It is a choice that I made, not one forced upon me.""But why?" Holly demanded. "Didn't you like being a human?"Willow snorted. "The majority of my human life was nothing but pain and torture. The best time I had in my life was once I gave myself over to becoming a being that could not be used so readily anymore. With this life, I was able to spend it with those that I loved."
Give in? Holly shook her head. There was no way she'd ever do that. It didn't matter if Quix had a checkered past, or had another lover. Though, that one hurt more than she'd expected. For now, though, she needed time. Time to plan, and time to breathe.Luci was staring into her eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes tight to escape the heat from his gaze. "I need to rest, can I please think about it?""As you wish," he agreed. "But, when morning comes and you wake, I will have your answer, Holly. And I hope for your sake that you decide to do the right thing."
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.