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We were falling, sinking, spinning, our insides churning outward in a soul-rending process that sank us deep into a horribleto pass out or die (I wasn&039;t sure which, and at that point, didn&039;t really care), the horror ended and I dropped to a yielding, warrunted the surface

I pushedunder my breath to Theo "Sorry about that Did I hurt you? What just happened? Who is that horrible h the wall? And just where the blistering inferno are we?"

"Ah There you are You lad that Theo made me put my bathrobe on The ot to our feet My jaw just about hit ht of him - he was one of the most beautiful men who&039;d ever walked the earth Theo was handso looks that sees to ly beautiful Dark blond, curly hair frah cheekbones, sculpted honey blond eyebrows, startlingly blue eyes, and full lips that quirked as I gawked

"You like this for a little twirl for me The rest of him was just as impressive as his face, but as he came closer, htened, and grew about a foot His brow broadened, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his jaw became more pronounced as his entire face morphed into that of another equally beautiful man "Or perhaps you like this one better?"

Theo&039;s ar co man in front of us was, but I didn&039;t like hiain, this tilittering grey eyes

Theo&039;s arhtened around me "You are Bael, I presume?"

My eyes widened This beautiful man was a demon lord, the first prince of Abaddon?

"I have that honor" The hed at as probably a horrified expression on o back to my normal Tuesday form"

He shifted back to the blond Adonis with no visible effort, turning to a large desk that sat behind him I looked quickly around us "This is hell?" I asked Theo in a whisper "I expected so the lines of pits of fire and a hail of brimstone"

"I detest the s a sheet of paper fro over it "And pits of fire make the fax machine act up Ah, yes, the matter of the demon Nefere"

We appeared to be in the office of an affluent businessman, the standard desk with computer, phone, and assorted office-type items behind the demon lord A comfy suede couch sat on one side of the roonificent floral bouquet It was everything one did not expect to find as the headquarters of thein hell

Not that I believed in hellor at least I didn&039;t before I foundbefore the head honcho

"It seems that you destroyed theoose bumps on my arms I looked away from him, unable to look into his eyes

He propped hi us to a couple of chairs that sat before it "Please, be coet anywhere near the beautiful, evil man

"We prefer to stand," Theo answered "I ad the demon&039;s form, but will point out that I did not summon it, and thus I can&039;t be held responsible for the destruction"

"The one who su to do with this situation" Bael frowned and looked at the paper again before setting it aside "I understood that the virtue na destroyed my demon&039;s form?"

"I didn&039;tto shift the bla on now! I a, and didn&039;t kno to control the power I will do better next tied her to destroy the deht to punish either of us, if there is to be punitive action, Ito precedence" Theo held Bael&039;s gaze steadily, not shying away froaze at all

"You wish toto punish a virtue," Bael said, tapping a finger to his chin while he eyed htly "It has been many centuries since I have had the opportunity to do so However, current politics ainst a denizen of the Court, thus I will accept your petition and recognize you as champion"

The ht as steel, relaxed I had no idea why he thought it was a good thing that he be punished in my place, but I wasn&039;t about to debate the point "You both assume too much I am wholly responsible for my actions, and if there is to be punishment, I will be the only one to incur it," I said fir at a spot just beyond Bael&039;s head

"Don&039;t be ridiculous, Portia," Theo growled in my ear "You are mortal still Punishment could kill you I am immortal There isn&039;t much he can do to me"

"If his punishued back in a whisper

"I didn&039;t say it won&039;t be bad He can&039;t killterms of the peace treaty between the Court and Abaddon Let me do this - it&039;s part of my job"

I opened my mouth to protest, but Bael interrupted

"The point is nized as your official representative, and to him the punish a sylowed sickly black "No shall I punish you? Taking a few years of your life are no use - you will not miss a few years in the several thousand you will live Physical pain, perhaps? A good old-fashioned rabbed the hand that held my waist Next to me, Theo stood silent and still

"No, I think that would be al at the time" Bael&039;s eyes narrowed "Nephilim are notoriously hard to punish, since their very lives are penance for the sins of their fathers Hmm Perhaps I could simply wipe away your memory?"

"You do, and you&039;ll have to answer to me," I said, driven to an unreasonable outspokenness by my irritation withbefore, and it galled nored my outburst as if it wasn&039;t worthy of his attention "You know, really, it&039;s a shame nephilim are protected under the treaty We have need of your kind in Abaddon"

Theo looked utterly bored I wanted to cheer at such a brave act in the face of the bad-ass demon lord "Punish ed when your de," Bael said, laughing, but the alittering, brittle blue lights, absolutely devoid of all e desperately to be away froaround hiht instincts kick in

Bael&039;s cold gaze flickered to me "It would be so much more fun with just the ladyah, well Another ti to make sure that doesn&039;t happen," I said,before turning back to Theo "As for you - I believe I have a solution to my quandary It is a bit extreme, but then, I&039;ve found that people learn so much better if the punishment is suitably harsh"

Theo&039;s body tensed next toclose to say in a voice filled with so much evil portent that I had to put , "I curse thee, Theondre North As you spend the centuries alone, shunned, and eht burst forth fro us until it blinded me Theo renched froht was all around us, brilliant, warm, and so wonderful, I wanted to ith joy at it

"Theo? Are you all - "

Asound that seemed to come from the soul I kneas Theo I thrashed ht "Stop hurting hi to the side where Theo had stood The light disappeared, leaving rowled behind me Before I could turn around to see who it was, I was picked up and thrown into a brick wall At least that&039;s what it felt like, but as I shook the stars froround, I realized that the deh the tear in the wall had evidently returned us the same way

Vision slowly returned to ht?" I crawled over to where Theo lay facedown on the floor next tobroken? Are you bleeding?"

Carefully, I pushed over Theo&039;s unresisting body until he lay on his back I quickly checked him over for injuries, but found none "Theo? I can&039;t find anything wrong with you What did the deht" His eyes opened slowly

I sucked in"Your eyesthey&039;re grey"

Theo frowned "Pardon?"

"Your eyes are grey They aren&039;t black anymore Here, I&039;ll show you" I helped him to his feet and opened the door to the wardrobe so he could see He stared at hiuish welling up inside hi point What exactly does that mean?"

"Salvation is found"

I raised raced his lips "It&039;s the nephili &039;fuck me!&039;"

"Ah I like your version better Why did Bael change your eyes?"

His jaw tightened "That is merely a side effect of the curse"