She started to cry, realizing that her shitty life was doomed to go on. For a short while she sat there sobbing and wondering what she had done in a previous life to deserve such misery.
“Well, there’s no reason to sit here and feel sorry for myself.”
Carol swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got up. The second her feet touched the ground, everything around her shifted. The darkness seemed to blow away like dust, revealing a forest. But it wasn’t the kind of forest that reminded her of fairy tales from her childhood. Carol looked around.
There was very little color, although she was certain that the structures around her were actual trees. However, they were trees that looked charred and lifeless. Her feet sank into the cold black soil beneath her.
In front of her, the forest only got darker and more desolate. She knew better than to venture deeper into it. Her breath caught when she turned around. Before her, replacing the walls and bed of her room, was a vast, mountainous landscape. All around her, differing shades of gray and granite gave the surroundings a despairing look. A touch of red and orange tinted the sky. However, it wasn’t enough to brighten up the scenery.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but black and dark-green forest separated by tall, jagged, stretches of pillar-like structures. A huge mountain range extended for several miles in the distance. From her vantage point, she could see dim lights coming from what she assumed were houses. It was so bleary that she found it hard to discern natural stone structures from actual architecture. On one side of a mountain were several brighter lights—that had to be a small town, or possibly a city?
She had no way of knowing how far away she was from what appeared to be civilization. When she looked down, she realized she was standing near the edge of a cliff. Below her she saw two parallel rivers. The water was black and thick and looked like crude oil. Maybe it was.
Above her was an endless gray sky with lighter and darker gray clouds that swirled like the eyes of hurricanes in the air. Lightning suddenly streaked across them, and she saw a huge serpent that looked like a winged snake soar across the sky. Her heart beat faster when realization finally hit her.
She brought her hand to her mouth and stared out at the strange, bleak world she had been sent to. The suicide had worked. I’m in Hell! Just as the thought finally registered in her shocked brain, she heard a man’s voice.
“Carol, there you are.”
She turned around. Standing with a perfect, white, ear-to-ear smile was the hottest guy she had ever seen. Her shock level tripled and she had to blink several times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.
The fact that she would think the handsome stranger was a hallucination, when she’d woken up in Hell, was ludicrous. Despite her state of dismay, she nearly laughed at the unfortunate circumstance. And to think she’d actually been trying to get away from all the forlornness.
Nevertheless, there was a gorgeous guy standing about a foot from her, hands on his narrow hips, big smile and a very welcoming expression. Damn, look at that body. From the top of his dark-haired head to the tips of his silver-toed cowboy boots, he was too perfect to be anything but a figment of her wildest fantasies.
His face was perfect masculinity. Black eyes were framed by thick lashes that would make any woman envious. The rest of his features were just too attractive to be real. Only the romance novel cover models on her favorite books were close to looking that good.
Oh yep, she was definitely hallucinating. But I’m in Hell… Why would she be allowed to conjure up the epitome of her man-fantasy?
He was nearly a foot taller than her, which would place him at about six four or five. The tight black T-shirt he wore did little to hide the amazing muscled physique underneath. Her mouth started to water. Really, she thought. I’m in Hell and gawking at a…a… Wait, what was she looking at, for real?
Demon's Christmas Carol by Emma Paul
Christmas is the worst time of year for a demon to find damned souls. For Mikhail it sucks even more, since he isn’t really a soul-collector. Playing a prank on the Grim Reaper got him demoted, and he’s desperate to pay off his debt and get his old job back.
Carol Olsen has had it. Her life has been filled with nothing but bad luck and misery. So, she decides that the world would be better off without her. However, what she doesn’t expect is to wind up in an afterlife where she meets the one person who can make her feel alive again. If only Mikhail didn’t want her to go back to her miserable life!
Carol Olsen has had it. Her life has been filled with nothing but bad luck and misery. So, she decides that the world would be better off without her. However, what she doesn’t expect is to wind up in an afterlife where she meets the one person who can make her feel alive again. If only Mikhail didn’t want her to go back to her miserable life!
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