Demonic and Deserted (Eternally Yours Book 4) by Tara West

throat. The elevator was moving much faster, almost as if the invisible cord that tethered us to the top had been severed.
    There were all kinds of grinding sounds going on outside, making me feel as if we were stuck in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean. When the elevator stopped moving and the lights flickered on, the girls’ screams were nearly deafening. I looked at the walls, which were coated in black widow spiders the size of my palm.
    “Nobody panic,” Cam said in an even tone that left no room for refusal. “Everyone back out slowly.”
    Cam and I waited at the back of the elevator. Though I had no gun to defend myself, I did have a pair of nun chucks stashed in my back pocket. Ash had given them to me for my birthday.  They were black and slick and signed by dead Bruce Lee, who’d come up with a genius idea to sell them in exchange for credits so he could move up from level six, which he’d been stuck on for almost twenty years. 
    “What the hell?” O’Connor barked at Cam. 
    I threw a glance over my shoulder at the familiar marble tiles. “We’re back in the pyramid?” My tone was laced with disbelief. Though the floors seemed similar, there was something different about the place.
    When a little furry creature with a Hitler moustache fell from the ceiling, squawking and jumping up and down, I knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore. 
    After everyone else had filed out, the spiders stopped at the threshold. They probably didn’t like the idea of getting squished by two sliding hunks of metal. When Cam and I disembarked, I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. I completely lost my balance, falling against Melanie. She called for help, and Cam lifted me off her. I gawked at him in stunned silence, then at my leg, which was severed from the knee down. If Cam hadn’t held me, I would’ve toppled over head first. Why had my old war amputation reappeared after I’d healed my leg using the Nephilim’s holy water?
    The elevator doors slammed shut with a taunting squeal and shot back into the sky. 
    “We’ve been tricked,” Cam said in disbelief. “Listen to me.” Cam fixed us each with a stern look. “Don’t drink the wine or the water.”
    “Why not?” I asked. I got the feeling he didn’t want us to bathe in it, either. I was going to need water to treat my leg injury.
    Cam’s mouth clamped into a firm line. “The water stirs jealousy and desire, and the wine is tainted with the Devil’s blood. If you see a siren, cover your ears and order her to leave.” He wagged a finger at me. “Don’t let her talk to you, and for heaven’s sake, don’t let her sing to you.” He grabbed my shoulder, a look of desperation in his eyes before he handed me off like a hot potato to O’Connor. “Forgive me, friend,” Cam pleaded before he spread his wings, clutched his star, and shot up into the air, disappearing into the darkness.
    Well, that was just fucking great. I was stuck at the bottom of Hell without the protection of a guardian angel, I was missing half a leg, and the local water source was tainted. What else could go wrong?
    “Welcome to sub-level thirteen, my honored guests. I will be your host during your stay at my hotel.”
    Sub-level thirteen? The bottom of hell?
    A lean, tall man with oily skin and an even oiler smile was staring directly at me. Two ram horns wrapped around the crown that sat askew on his head. I was shocked to see his legs ended in hooves. A warning siren blared in my mind—The Dark One.
    “I think you’ve made a mistake,” I piped up, though my throat was so tight with fear, and my leg throbbed with such intensity, I was surprised I could speak at all. 
    He steepled his fingers and rocked on his heels. “Oh no, I meant to bring you here.” He frowned and glared at O’Connor and the priestesses. “Are there no Archangels among you?” he asked me.
    “No, he is in Heaven,” I answered, praying Cam reached our friends before they tried to come down.