Chapter 19: Grim Situations

After Ianthe finished telling me about where Ajax was kept, I gripped her ice-cold blue hands. "A...are you certain?" I asked, sick with fear. My stomach was in shreds.

Ianthe nodded weakly. "D...do you still wish to proceed?"

I hesitated. "Will Lucifer help me if I ask him to?"

"Go on," Gadina said. "Let him know you want to break a prisoner free from one of the Underworld's cells. He's sure to help you."

"Okay! Stupid question," I raised my hands in surrender. "I'll go and do it myself. I'm sure I can."

"Go on," Gadina said. "Feel free to get caught and tortured for eternity."

"What do you want me to do, then?" I snapped.

"We're coming with you. But not today, Ma'am. Be logical."

I frowned. "You thought I was going to attempt a jailbreak today? Of course not, Gadina! I'm not that type of person. I always like to have a plan."

"Luckily you aren't like those stupid story characters, then," Gadina remarked. "Stupid story people are always very impulsive."

Ianthe was listening worriedly. "Ma'am, I don't think...it would be suicide."

The thing was, I knew it would. The minute I had heard the place where Ajax was imprisoned, I knew that going to save him wasn't possible. I had no powers. No weapons. I couldn't do anything. A seed of fear began to blossom in me.

Ianthe shut her eyes. "Ma'am, I want to go and help you. But there is someone else there, and she..."

She.

Horror sliced through me and realisation hit my heart. Missus. The boss who had abused Ianthe and Gadina.

Gadina stiffened. I could see she was beginning to close up, like stomata. "Please excuse me," She murmured, and ran to the door.

"Gad!" A rush of blue and both sisters were gone.

Despair filled me. This was an impossible task. Yet I was bound to Ajax, and I had to do it.

A soft knock, and when I called the person to come in, Lucifer entered. He looked at me. "Kayla, what's wrong?" He asked.

I summoned a confident smile. "Nothing. You?"

"A lot is wrong. I came to warn you to be careful," Lucifer muttered. I felt a pang in my heart. Lucifer was always so considerate, thinking of me first. How about himself? I looked closely at his hair. Some strands were tinted white at the ends. What had happened for him to be so stressed that his hair, the beautiful, luscious black hair, had turned white?

Lucifer ran a hand through his hair. A gesture I had never seen him do. "My brother has returned. He is extremely dangerous. He is currently locked up in the Dungeon of Wrath, but I sense his power growing, and any day soon, he might just escape. I am trying to keep him in, we all are. But I just...wanted you to be aware. To be careful of where you go from now on."

"The Dungeon of Wrath?" I asked. My heart started to pound.

"Yes," Lucifer said, not looking at me. "The place where the worst Underworld criminals are held. You should never go near it."

"What does your brother look like? Why is he so dangerous?"

Lucifer finally glanced at me. He inhaled deeply and held out a hand. A holographic image projected from his hand, in black and white. I sucked in a breath. "That's 303!" I shrieked. The escaped prisoner who had been in the same school bus as me and Grim and the granny and the baby!

"You know him?" Lucifer scowled.

"He was in my bus to the afterlife," I muttered. "Yeah, he was scary." It made sense now. Why I had been picked up by the Grim Reaper himself- it was because of 303, he had been there and was a big threat. No wonder Grim had seemed so distant and serious, too. He probably had been keeping 303 under control somehow, or was keeping an eye on him.

"Stay away from him, Kayla. I mean it. You must not do anything to get his attention or aggravate him. Do you understand?"

"Lucifer, I..." I stopped. "Yes. I understand."

Lucifer paced around the room, his cloak flying behind him as he walked. "My brother wants to destroy Heaven. He wants to rule the world. Simply put, those are his goals. He is a typical villain driven mad by greed, I suppose. Yet he is evil, and knows not to stop."

"Lucifer, are you going to be in danger?" I don't know what compelled me to ask that question. Certainly not because I was concerned or worried for Lucifer.

"Only time will tell. As for you, I would prefer you not to be in any danger at all," He returned. Lucifer nodded to me. "I will be gone now. I have matters to attend to."

As usual, Lucifer disappeared. Feeling down, I decided to walk around in the palace. I had to familiarise myself with the place I was living in, so that I could easily escape if I needed to. In an emergency. So I emerged from my room and began to walk through the corridors. They were long, stretching for what seemed like miles, and golden paintings hung on the walls with every step I took. Servants rushed to and fro, some balancing objects, some holding letters.

Then I spotted a familiar figure ahead. The corridor was darker than the rest, but I was sure he was there. Grim!

I ran forward into the corridor. Darkness instantly swallowed me, and I could only see a faint grey shape ahead of me. My voice sounded small in the darkness. "G-grim?"

I took a step back. Bad idea. Backtrack. Now. I had to leave this spooky corridor. I turned around to run out when an invisible force shot me out of the corridor into the normal, lighted one I had been walking in earlier.

Black and red swirled in my vision and finally I could see clearly. Grim had whisked us to a balcony in the Palace overlooking Hell. It was a wonderful city below us, full of bustling activity. Wind raced through my hair. I smiled, forgetting my worries temporarily. Then I remembered who I was with and I turned on Grim.

"You're back," I said happily, which sounded kind of obvious when I said that.

His eyes didn't leave my face. "Yes. Don't wander into random corridors, Kayla."

"I saw you there. If not, I wouldn't have gone in, don't worry."

Grim frowned. His dark brows drew together which looked rather attractive, if I do say so myself. "There was a dark presence there. I was investigating it. Just don't, okay, Kay?"

"Why are you so serious suddenly?" I asked, leaning on the balcony railing.

He shut his eyes. "Nothing which concerns you."

"Grim, what aren't you telling me?" I asked.

"The truth," He stated simply.

"Jeez, I knew that," I said, rolling my eyes.

Grim allowed himself a tiny smile. He cocked his head and stared at me. "Yeah, you're so clever, huh, K?"

I nodded. "So tell me. Why are you in a difficult position?"

He patted my head. "Kay dear, Heaven and Hell might just go to war. Why wouldn't I be in a difficult position?"

He wasn't answering my question at all, and we both knew it. But I also sensed that Grim was feeling sad, and I didn't wish to press further. So I placed my hand over his (yes, I was also surprised at my boldness) and said "Do you want to go eat dinner now?"

Grim turned to me. "Are you asking me out on a date?" He grimmed- sorry, grinned.

No! I screamed internally. No way! You would reject me in two seconds flat if I asked you out!

Stupid me! Why did I have to ask anything?

I quickly removed my hand from his, but Grim caught my hand and winked at me, his playful self coming back. "Aw, Kay, don't play hard to get. Alright, we'll eat dinner together like you want to."

I blushed furiously. "Grim, you are so going to hell for this."

"Lady, I am in Hell," Grim said in a low voice. The tone he used made my stomach go crazy again, but I figured my stomach was just empty.

Oh, who was I kidding. Grim had made me really flustered.

Grim pulled me closer to him. "Okay, let's go on a romantic date, Kay."

*EXTRA*

Lucifer: (sulking in a corner)

Author: Lucifer, come here. It's rude not to greet the readers.

Lucifer: (turns away and faces the wall)

*Enter Grim and Kayla*

Grim: Kay, how do you like being the main character? And also, what do you think of the last line of this chapter?

Kayla: I don't know. (glances at Lucifer, who's ears are pricked up) Nice, I guess.

Grim: Hey, Lucifer, my man! Come here. How do you like not showing up in the second half of this chapter? 

Lucifer: (scowling darkly) What is there to like about not showing up? I was under the impression that I was to be the lead of the story, but I feel marginalised right now. As you modern people say, I feel much like a third wheel.

Kayla: Wait, Lucifer-

Grim: Hey, Luci, don't feel so bad about being a third wheel. I'm sure there are other people who want you. *whispers: lies make people feel better. Don't tell Luci no one wants him.

Lucifer: I can hear you...

*Sounds of scuffling and yelling, mostly Grim screaming*

Author(smiling too brightly) : Okay! That's it! Byeee!

*The lights dim.*

Author: stop fighting!

Hello, hope that kind of entertained you. I just felt like doing something like that. Don't know why. Please vote and comment. Thank you:)