THIRTY-TWO

The Duke of Hell

According to Mimi’s internal clock, it had been almost a month since they had arrived in the underworld, and since then nothing had changed, nothing had happened. She did not understand what Kingsley wanted from her—it looked like the answer was nothing, and her ego was suffering a terrible beating. Oliver was increasingly restless, and if they stayed any longer they would never find their way back to the surface.

They would get used to the air down here; their souls would begin to mesh with the fabric of the place. It was time to go.

Mimi swallowed her pride and made an appointment with the consigliere’s office so she could have time alone with Kingsley. She lived in his home but he was never there, and he never sought her company. She was tired of being a neglected houseguest. If he didn’t want to talk about it, then she would.

She could not play the waiting game any longer. There was the Coven to think about; she had responsibilities to the larger community and not only to the indulgences of her heart. She did not know what to expect anymore, and if Kingsley did not feel the same about her, well then—she would just have to deal.

Kingsley sat behind a long ebony table. He looked amused to see her when she entered. “How formal of you, Force. I’ve got to admit when I saw your name on the calendar I was taken aback. If you’d wanted to talk to me, I am down the hall,” he said as he rested his long legs on the edge of the desk and put his hands behind his head. He rocked back in his chair, infuriatingly casual as usual.

“Right,” Mimi said, sitting rigidly across from him. “Except you’re never home.”

“Hell’s a big place. I’m busy,” he said. “What’s on your mind?”

Now that she had his attention, she faltered. She’d re-hearsed her lines that morning, determined to lay the truth on the table; but “I love you” seemed too forward to open with, while “How do you feel about me?” too weak. She couldn’t tell him what she felt, not with him smirking at her like that. It was just too humiliating, and even though she had sworn to herself not to let her conceit or his insouciance get in the way of declaring her love, she abruptly decided that he was simply not worth it. This was a joke. All this time she’d imagined that he had suffered greatly, that he had missed her, and that he would greet her arrival with the open arms that liberated cit-izens showered upon conquering heroes. Nothing could have been further from reality. She stood up from her chair. “You know what, you’re right. This is ridiculous. I’m wasting your time.”

Kingsley leaned forward, almost falling off his chair and losing that cocky demeanor for a moment. He righted himself, but kept his feet planted on the ground instead of swinging them onto his desk again. “Hold on, now. Before you go, I’ve got a question.”

She remained standing, waiting for him to speak.

“What are you doing here, really?” he asked. “In the underworld, I mean.”

Mimi scoffed. She glared at him. “What kind of a question is that? What do you mean what am I doing here? What does it look like? What did you think? Of course I came for you.”

He looked confused. “For me? How so?” He tapped a finger on his cheek.

She loathed him. Did he really mean to humiliate her like this? He had always been aloof, but never cruel. He had a wicked sense of humor, but he was never mean. Fine. If he wanted her to spell it out, she would give him the satisfaction.

At least it meant he would have to listen to what she had to say. “I mean… I missed you. I wanted to see you again. I came here for you. You know, so we could…” She hesitated, as a lump had formed in her throat and tears had sprung to her eyes—mostly because he was looking at her with so much hostility she couldn’t bear it. “It doesn’t matter now. I mean, it’s obvious you don’t…” She could not continue and made abruptly for the door.

Kingsley jumped from his seat and put a hand on her arm to keep her from escaping. His eyes were narrowed to slits, and his face was angry. “Hold on a sec. I thought you were here for the Coven. I know what’s happening up there; thought maybe you needed something from the dead’s kingdom. But you want me to believe you’re not here for any reason other than… What d’you mean, all this… was for me?”

Mimi wanted to die of embarrassment. Kingsley was star-ing at her as if he’d never heard of something so stupid. There were so many things unsaid in their relationship—if you could call it that—and it was glaringly obvious that while she considered him the love of her life, in his view she was merely some chick he’d hooked up with a couple of times. The dis-crepancy was so large it was painful to learn she had lived under a misguided illusion all along. She’d spent the last year trying to get him back, and now this. “Yes. It was all for you.

Happy?”

“But why?” he asked, still mystified.

“To rescue you.”

To his credit, he didn’t laugh at her. His forehead furrowed. “It’s no small task to travel beyond the seventh. Surely you’ve got a more substantial reason for your journey. Why not be honest about your agenda? You always have a trick or two up your sleeve. What is it? What do you really want from the underworld? maybe I can help.”

Mimi shook her head. She’d told him everything and he didn’t believe her. For a moment she was too shocked to reply.

Finally she said, “I don’t know what I can say that will make you believe that I’m here for you and only you.” Her lower lip began to tremble. She didn’t know what was worse, that she had told him the truth, or that he did not believe her.

Kingsley sighed and raked a hand through his dark hair.

“I thought our former friendship would mean you’d be honest with me.”

“I am being honest.”

“So the great Azrael travels to the Kingdom of the Dead for love? Is that it?” His lips curled into a sneer. “That’s why you were going to bond with Abbadon, right? Because of your great love for me?”

Mimi slapped him hard in the face. “You bastard. I came here for you. You know what, I don’t care anymore. Rot in Hell.”

Kingsley smiled and wiped his mouth with his shirt cuff.

“Now, that’s the Azrael I remember.”