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“Tell her the good part,” Lysandra purred, clapping her two human hands. A smug smile curled up her full, luscious lips, which were covered in a thick, red gloss. The color reminded me of a blood clot or an open wound. “Go on, Gabe. Tell her why you’re stuck here… with me.”
He bit his lip. “I—I’m a soul stealer.”
Lysandra scuttled over with a little giggle and then began to pull my cage down to the floor. I avoided her gaze, keeping my eyes locked on Gabe.
“What’s that?” I said, knitting my brows together.
“When someone dies, a reaper goes Topside to escort their soul to Limbo, or at least that’s how it’s supposed to happen,” he explained sadly. I could tell he didn’t relish telling me about his job. “A soul stealer is a thief. We take the soul before the reaper can. Some sell it at the slave markets, and some work for private owners. My souls are for Lysandra. They work the vineyards and fertilize the fruit.”
“Only damned souls, though, right?” I said, the full horror of what he was saying not quite registering.
“No,” he said sadly, though he continued to meet my gaze. At least he wasn’t shying away from what he’d done. “We take anything, even those who should go to Heaven. We curse them to life down here.”
I clapped my hand over my mouth. The idea that someone could do everything they could to live a good life and then be reduced to fertilizer was awful.
“Why? Why would you agree to work for her? You’re… I thought you were better than this,” I said, gritting my teeth. I was doing everything I could to keep my tears and emotions at bay. I refused to let Lysandra see any weakness in me.
“I told you I wasn’t good, Marnie,” Gabriel said, almost pleading. “I hung around… I hung around as long as I could and waited for my momma’s soul. I thought we might go to Heaven together, but…”
“Bored now.” Lysandra sighed theatrically. “Let’s cut to the chase. This momma’s boy here decided to wait for her. She was snatched up by a soul stealer, and this Sensitive Sally just couldn’t take it. A soul stealer can only take one soul at a time, so he made a deal. His soul for hers. Momma went to Heaven, and Baby Gabey came down here with me.”
Gabe swallowed thickly. “A lifetime of servitude in exchange for my mother’s soul.” He glared up at the spider woman. “I’d do it again, too.”
She lifted his chin up with one black-lacquered finger. It almost looked like she might kiss him, and I felt a bitter tidal wave of jealousy and anger flow through me.
“Don’t think I won’t snatch her back if I have to,” she warned. “Nobody likes someone who goes back on a deal, Gabe, and I think knowing about her husband’s and son’s little hobbies might make her status in Heaven murky. There are still some strings I could pull.”
“You wouldn’t—” he said, his eyes flaming with anger. “She had no choice. She was just as much of a victim as those other women were.”
“Heaven isn’t exactly known for dealing in gray concepts, dear. It can be black and white. You’re lucky they didn’t decide she was an accessory,” Lysandra said, her lips curling into a wicked smile. “I can easily point that out, and the Guard would be more than happy to find her unfit.”
“Stop it!” I snapped. Lysandra’s gaze shifted to me. “Enough. I get that Gabe’s your little toy, but what the hell does this have to do with me? Why am I here? I never died. I wasn’t stolen… I—”
Lysandra cut me off with a laugh. “Why, dear, that’s the juiciest part of all! You know, Gabe and I had a little business meeting about how living souls might just be the ticket, and wouldn’t you know… he had the perfect one in mind! One that just so happened to live in his old house. You know, he’s nostalgic… so he likes to visit from time to time. He must have taken a liking to you.” Her eyes scanned down my body. “Though Satan knows why. I’m not too impressed.”
“No, it’s… not like that,” Gabe protested, his eyes wide and feral. “She’s making it sound like I wanted to take you. It… It was Beck. I saw how he treated you. I thought if I took him, your life would be better—”
“Gabe,” I said, my voice flat, though my head was a hurricane of emotion. “Are you the reason I’m here?”
He tried to crawl forward on his knees, even though his hands were still bound behind his back. “Listen, please, Marnie. I—I didn’t mean to. I thought it was Beck. Those boots… You were on his side of the bed…”
“You are the reason I am in Hell?!” I snapped, my voice breaking finally as I yelled. It felt good to yell, to release something inside of me. “Hell, Gabriel! You could have told me instead of pretending to be some sort of hero who stumbled upon me like a fucking damsel in distress. I trusted you!” I practically spat the last words out, glaring down at him.
“I meant what I said,” he pleaded. “I wanted to get you home. I wanted to make it right.”
Lysandra tsked. “All those dead girls, hmm, Baby Gabey? Still trying to make it all right for mummy and daddy and everyone else. The girl’s right. You’ve got a bit of a savior complex.”
Lysandra’s long fingers wrapped around the bars of my cage and pulled me closer. She peered in at me hungrily as a wicked grin spread across her face. Now I was finally beside Gabe, close enough to smell what was once his comforting scent. His body was a live wire, shaking and tense and thrumming with pent-up emotion. His face was a mask of sorrow.
One of Lysandra’s chitinous legs slipped through my bars and poked me on the fleshy part of my upper thigh. “Too bad that savior complex didn’t save anyone. I won’t be letting a tender morsel like you go.”
Gabe’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing. “What?”
He looked at me, and my heart broke. It had already been aching, but now it felt pulverized. He just held so much pain in his gaze, pain for me, for him, for his whole fucked-up life. And, as much as I hated how he’d lied to me, I saw how he never even stood a chance in this world or any other.
He ripped his gaze away, and I watched a tear roll down his cheek. It traveled down his cheekbone, leaving a shock of color in its wake. I gasped and clapped my hand over my mouth as I realized what was happening. Gabe’s single tear had washed away his mask, revealing a sliver of the man below.
17
