Epilogue

A few years later…

Lily

Sharkie huffed a bored sigh, spinning in her office chair with a bedazzled baseball bat lying across her lap like a safety bar on a carnival ride. “Cowards, all of them.”

“Wise cowards,” Lily said bemusedly, turning the page of her book.

“I’m going to have time to bedazzle myself at this rate.” Sharkie grimaced.

Lily grinned at her, a familiar rush of pride washing through her heart.

The years since she’d decided to stay had been wonderful. Thankfully, they hadn’t been perfect. After all, life wasn’t perfect, and the joy of living again was a precious gift that she savored every day.

Bel’s mental recovery from the war hadn’t been linear, and some days were still better than others, but he and the other warriors had pointedly banded together to support each other through all of it. Sometimes he would come up behind her at work, or home, or wherever she happened to be, wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her neck or hair, taking measured breaths until whatever nightmares he’d been battling eased their assault. But those moments were growing fewer and farther between. More often than not, he sought her out just to give her a kiss and smack her ass lovingly. She always kissed him back and pinched him in return.

Every moment with him was a balm to her soul, even when they were having a rare disagreement. She’d been terrified when they’d had their first moment at odds with each other that their patient, loving relationship would disappear and become a tumultuous battleground like her parents’ marriage. But those fears had been unfounded. They both respected and cared too much about each other and their relationship to speak to each other the way her parents had. They worked together to solve the problem instead of attacking each other. Then they had heated, mind-blowing sex to burn off any extra energy and celebrate the fact that they were “nailing the relationship thing”…and each other.

Being together was fun .

Sharkie had moved out a couple years prior, when she’d aged to fifteen or sixteen, and accepted the offer of her own Paradise right next to Lily’s. Ever the proud papa, Lucifer had personally come up to show it to her and give a house-warming gift. Her Paradise was a gorgeous, palatial aquarium, the likes of which would have been impossible to recreate in the mortal world. There was an abundance of sharks of course, all of them happy, healthy, and adoring of Sharkie. How she kept their names straight, Lily would never know, but she knew each shark by sight.

Lily had no idea where Lucifer had found an actual no-shit Megalodon, but Bruce was a seventy-foot-long present from the king of Hell, who glided through the vast expanse of the aquarium with languid grace. Sharkie cooingly described him as a water puppy, and had nearly given Lily a heart attack when she’d arrived to the aquarium just in time to watch Sharkie give the massive shark scritchies with a plastic leaf rake.

It had been the joy and honor of Lily’s existence to watch Sharkie grow up and find her voice. She marveled at the sheer brilliance that Sharkie, now a very young adult, displayed on a daily basis, and laughed until her stomach ached at her hilarious antics. Sharkie had ripped through her schooling with fierce glee, inhaling every drop of knowledge sent her way. She loved attending scientific presentations and debates at The Theater and paraphrasing them for Lily, Bel, and the demons at the gate.

When she’d matured enough to start an internship, as all demonic teenagers had to do as a part of their education, she’d skipped up to the Hellp Desk and made herself right at home. The desk had grown to accommodate her, bulging farther out of the wall in a larger semicircle and dividing itself in half with a small stone partition, just like in the drawings Zagan’s brother had made. Sharkie’s internship had turned into a passion, and the Hellp Desk was no longer Lily’s alone. She loved it.

Sharkie spun in another bored circle, tapping her fingers on the sparkly bat in a hectic rhythm.

“We need bait.”

“There’s waffles in the breakroom,” Lily said mildly.

Sharkie groaned.

Lily’s world went dark as a giant, warm hand covered her eyes, Bel’s familiar scent tickling her nose. From the orientation of his fingers, she knew it was his tattooed hand over her eyes.

“Which lover of mine is this?” she teased, tipping her head back. His hand moved with her to keep her blind.

“The really hot but not jealous one.”

“Well, that doesn’t narrow it down at all. Is it the sweaty gym one? The demonic metalhead one? The cuddly one? The one who cheats in Invaders ? The one easily distracted by lingerie?”

“The one with a sexy voice, who’s into redheads but not in a creepy way,” Bel rumbled. She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Oh good, I love that one.”

“He loves you too, and also happens to be fantastic in bed,” Bel went on.

“And the storage closet apparently,” Sharkie muttered darkly.

Lily’s cheeks went warm. It was true, as she’d found out several times. Though she could have sworn they’d pushed something against the door, Sharkie had walked in on them a time or two.

“Dad, you’re scaring the idiots away,” Sharkie said plaintively.

Bel laughed an apology, pulling his hand away from Lily’s eyes and easing into the spare chair they kept behind the desk for friends and family who stopped by. He was deliciously casual in his black pants and boots, with an old sleeveless AC/DC shirt draped over his powerful torso. A thin, scraggly braid hung behind his ear, clearly his younger sister’s work. Her heart squeezed happily.

They’d decided to wait a bit before trying to grow their family, much to Sharkie’s chagrin. Bel wanted to get his head put back together for his own sake, but also for the sake of any kids they might add to the mix. And Lily had wanted to settle into deification and her new life, as well as savor all the precious moments that eternity had to offer them. They’d talked about getting married, but, for the same reasons, they’d decided to wait. Though Lily had caught Bel staring at her empty ring finger—and she at his—more than a few times. Their claim on each other was permanent, but there was growing, primal need to throw a huge party, stand in front of the Universe, and make vows she’d heard and dreamed of her entire life.

Lily kissed him lightly. “What are you up to?”

“I was up on Two for a little therapy session, figured I’d stop by and see my favorite of Hell’s Belles.” He grinned, pointing at his shirt. “Get it?”

“Jingle-jingle,” Sharkie drawled, making jazz hands as she spun.

“No, like b-e-l-l-e, which is French for ‘beauty’ or something. I looked it up before I came here.”

“Ah, that’s actually kinda cool. Did you have a good session?” Sharkie asked, stopping the spin of her chair by dragging her scuffed sneaker on the ground.

“Yeah, nothing too intense, just a little mental tune up.”

“Swaggity.” Sharkie nodded.

Sharkie had spent plenty of time on Levels Two and One, talking with professionals to work through some of the more snarled and painful parts of her trauma. Lily had gone down too, grateful to have someone impartial to talk to and offer a different perspective. It was odd to struggle with guilt for being so happy, but after so long fighting for survival, she supposed it made a bit of sense.

Bel’s hand caught hers, tangling their fingers together and bringing the back of her hand up to his lips. Their easy physical affection lit her up every time, even though it had drawn the ire of more than a few souls at the Hellp Desk, as well as the cheerful teasing of some of their friends. Asmodeus had absolutely no room to talk, but that didn’t stop him.

Lev, shockingly, hadn’t said a word about it. Sure, he still sent regular memos about “cessation of all workplace fornication,” but he’d never so much as looked twice at them when they’d leaned into each other or given each other chaste kisses. She used to suspect that it was guilt over the stress he’d caused with his little announcement, or that he probably felt like he owed her for saving his life from whatever Greg had been about to do to him that day. But, eventually, Lily came to the conclusion that it was just their unique little friendship that had relaxed Lev a little.

The tiniest bit.

Her regular double-spaced reports—which admittedly were often the same paper with a few scant details changed—helped her stay in his good graces.

“Any luck on the hunt?” Bel asked, silver eyes gleaming.

“Alas, the bat remains bedazzled and unbloodied,” Sharkie said with her usual sardonic flair. “But if this doesn’t pick up soon, I’ve got a plan to change that.”

“If it involves Level Nine, I’d steer clear for a bit. Greg is in a mood,” Bel told her.

Lily gave a tiny shudder. When Greg was in a mood, things got bloody. Creatively, viciously bloody. For whatever reason, recently, his moods had been more frequent and long-lasting.

“Who showed up on Nine?” she asked.

Bel shrugged. “No one, but beyond the general weirdness with him lately, Asmodeus borrowed Greg’s bolt cutters and never gave them back.”

“Oh, so he’s pissy pissy,” Sharkie said.

Bel grimaced. “Hence, if you’re going to break in the bat, go to Level Eight. Choose life.”

“No thanks, I’m never reincarnating.” Sharkie grinned. “But I’ll take the tip about Level Eight though.” She stood, leaning the bat against her shoulder. “I’m gonna get some of those waffles. Want some?”

Bel declined, and she sauntered away to the breakroom, striking up a conversation with a newer gate demon as she went.

“How goes your hunt?” Bel asked, stroking his thumb up the side of her wrist.

Lily wrinkled her nose, tipping her head from side to side in a wishy-washy gesture.

She and Sharkie had discussed growing the Hellp Desk even further by adding more people, but so far, no one had been willing or crazy enough to spend even a moment of their Afterlife dealing with a wide range of Hell-bound souls. Lily explained that, unlike customer service, talking back and calling bullshit was not only allowed, but encouraged. It hadn’t changed any minds. Surprisingly, that seemed to be a bigger stumbling block for people than the fact that they would possibly be viewing soul files for some of the worst people to ever exist.

That was what she and Sharkie struggled the most with, and she’d warned Sharkie about it before she let her anywhere near dealing with souls. The images and details of the soul files faded away, but, like a flash of light, sometimes there was a hazy afterimage of the flash for a while. Some days they both went home quiet, or Sharkie would roll her chair over and ask for a hug with no further explanation. Those hugs were a lifeline for Lily too. On those days, she threw herself into living a little more. She savored every bite of food, every glimpse of art and beauty, every note of music. She kissed Bel a little longer, a little hungrier, and held him a little tighter when they curled together in bed.

And yet, despite sharing all that during her pitch for a trainee, people still were more worried about the pseudo-customer service aspect of the job than anything else. Go figure.

“Sharkie and I remain the only resident badasses of the Hellp Desk,” she said.

“Mm, bummer. You’ll find the right one eventually, and then the whole Universe will tremble in fear and awe,” Bel teased with a grin.

“If I want the Universe to tremble in fear and awe, I’ll wear cute outfit and skip my coffee in the morning.”

“I said ‘fear and awe’ not ‘blind terror and drooling over your pretty ass.’”

Lily smirked, arching an eyebrow. “What else can that silver tongue of yours do?”

She knew full damn well what that tongue of his could do. It had done it to her that morning as a wake-up call.

Bel was the picture of smugness as he leaned forward. Her heart sped up in anticipation of one of his delicious kisses, but he merely brushed a featherlight kiss on the tip of her nose and stood.

“Guess you’ll have to wait and find out,” he said airily, though his eyes smoldered. He kissed her fingers before releasing her hand. “See you at home, princess.”

Lily scowled halfheartedly at him as he turned to go before movement caught the corner of her eye. A dazed-looking man shuffled towards the desk, taking his time moving across the glowing floor.

Her heart skipped when Bel’s hand wrapped around her throat from behind, tilting her face up for him to plant a searing, upside down kiss to her mouth, the little spikes on his chin grazing her cheek. As he pulled away, she nipped at his nose, and he gave a baritone squeak that made her laugh. Bel ambled away then, tail swishing lazily behind him, wings held effortlessly against his back.

Mine, Lily thought warmly before turning her attention back to the man, who finally approached the desk.

His file appeared just as he came to a stop in front of her, Level Seven stamped boldly across the top of the first page. Lily quickly sifted through the opening lines. She and Sharkie had begun to develop more elaborate and ridiculous opening statements as a way to entertain themselves, when appropriate.

“Hi, welcome to Hell, this is the Hellp Desk, where I might be built like a frog that stood up and put pants on, but I can still kick your ass. How can I help you today?” Lily managed to say with a straight face. A boy had told her that in middle school once, and it had been so ridiculous that she’d never forgotten it.

“I’m…here?”

“Yep.”

“I wasn’t supposed to actually die though. I was supposed to almost die and that would have solved everything.”

Not entirely understanding but inferring enough to avoid touching his file, Lily arched an eyebrow. “Well, good news, bad news time: Good news is whatever you were worried about, you no longer need to worry about. Bad news is, well, the obvious.” She waved a casual hand at their surroundings.

“That’s…stupid.” The dazed expression faded with each blink, replaced with a cold shrewdness.

“Not nearly as stupid as getting yourself killed trying to avoid consequences for actions you did and knew you shouldn’t be doing. Anything else?”

“Bitch.”

“Bless you.” Lily set his file in the basket and watched it disappear.

He stomped away, revealing a timid-looking woman in an oversized red hoodie. Her brown eyes were wide, and she had medium-length dark hair framing a heart-shaped face with full lips and level brows. She looked solemn in a way that didn’t seem natural, but more like a habit.

Lily wanted to make her laugh, or at least crack the facade before she sent her down to Level One or Two or wherever she was supposed to go. She seriously doubted that the woman would go any lower than that.

“Hi, welcome to Hell, this is the Hellp Desk, where both the ‘welcome’ and the ‘Hellp’ part of that statement are up for debate. What can I do for you?” Lily asked cheerfully.

“Hi,” the woman said in a soft voice, trying for a smile, “I just need you to tell me where to go, I, um…got lost.”

Lily’s hand just started to lift off the desk but paused an inch above the surface. There was no file. She didn’t belong there.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Lily said slowly, staring at the soul in confusion. “I don’t have a file for you.”

“I should be here. Really.” The woman fidgeted a bit, tucking a hand inside her long sleeve. “I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to make it anywhere good when I got to the, um, lobby thing, so I just decided to come straight down here. Besides,” she added with an attempt at brightness, waving a hand tightly, “I’m from Florida, so I’m used to the heat already.”

Comprehension dawned, along with a strange sense of déjà vu. If anyone could relate to sending themself to Hell, it would be Lily—and Sharkie—but Lily hadn’t made her trip with the genuine belief that she belonged there. At one point in her life, sure, but not by the time she’d arrived. This was different. Deeper. Like Sharkie on her first day, except this soul was a full-grown adult, and a chat with Luci was not going to remedy her deep-set beliefs that she needed to be here.

Fucking great, Lils. Way to joke around with the sweet little trauma bean.

“If you really belonged down here, you wouldn’t have been able to just wander around. You have options,” Lily said gently, suddenly intensely focused on keeping this soul from suffering any more than Lily suspected she already had.

“I mean, maybe. Someday.” The woman shrugged but it did nothing to hide the fact that she was wilting into herself. “But I’m not…I’m not comfortable assuming that I, um, deserve that…just yet.”

A wry smile tugged at Lily’s lips. It took a certain amount of guts to send yourself to Hell, even if it was a decision fueled by trauma. She wanted to help her. Sometimes people just needed…a chance.

“I get that. It’s a process we all have to go through in our own time,” Lily said, smiling gently at her. “In the meantime, would you like a job? I’ve been looking for a trainee. We can get you set up with a room on Level One if you like.”

“Really?” The first hint of a true smile ghosted across the young woman’s face. “I can work down here?”

I think you can.

“Yeah, it can be pretty fun, actually. There’s a good amount of emotional labor involved, but you get to mouth off to morons all day. Plus, the demons are big sweeties; they help keep an eye on us. You’re more than welcome to give it a try, but you don’t have to commit.”

A tentative, tiny smile curved the woman’s full lips. “I’d like that.”

“Excellent.” Lily beamed, holding out her hand, and making plans. “I’m Lily.”

The woman shook her hand, a little light entering her eyes. “Penny.”