Abducted Read online

Transport? What Transport? Instinctively, I began backing away from the haunted mirror to Hell but then the swirling started again. And this time there was a wind that went with it.

  A sucking, howling wind that dragged at me, pulling me towards the mirror.

  “Help!” I screamed, or tried to scream, anyway. My voice was lost in the vortex as I was pulled closer and closer to the mirror.

  My feet left the floor and I put out my hands, trying to stop my forward momentum. My phone clattered into the sink and I could hear Leah and Charlotte shouting on the other end of it but their voices seemed tiny and distant.

  My hand connected to the mirror…and sank into it. I gasped in fear as I saw first my hand and then my whole arm swallowed up in the swirling psychedelic colors. My other hand and arm followed and suddenly the mirror was right in front of my face.

  And then I felt myself getting sucked in completely. Lauder, Lauder and Associates disappeared and the last thing I heard was my two best friends frantically screaming my name.

  Then…nothing.

  Who knew the gateway to Hell was located in the employees’ bathroom?

  Chapter Two

  Zoe

  At first I couldn’t see anything but a hazy rainbow—maybe the after effects of the psychedelic bathroom-mirror-portal-thing I’d been sucked into. Then the swirling colors faded and I found I was looking up into five faces—at least, I thought they were faces. They certainly weren’t human faces though, that was for sure. Maybe they were demons? That would make sense although they didn’t look like any demons I had ever seen. Also, the floor I was lying on was cold—like freezing. Wasn’t Hell supposed to be hot?

  I blinked groggily and had a blurred impression of dull silver metal walls surrounding me.

  “Where am I? Is this Hell?” I croaked.

  “The Pure One wakes,” one of them announced in the high, piping tones I recognized as the Disney character voice I’d heard before. Great, I’d been dragged into the afterlife by the demon version of Bambi. Or something that sounded like Bambi, anyway—it sure as Hell (pardon the pun) didn’t look like him. None of them did.

  Ten bulging purple eyeballs on long stalks studied me with apparent interest. The eyes were connected to long, slender blue bodies that looked like some mad scientist had decided to grow three foot long earthworms and dye them indigo. They weren’t completely worm-like though—they each had multiple pairs of arms with long, claw-like fingers.

  Fingers that were currently reaching for me.

  “No…no!” I gasped, trying to roll away from them. “Get away from me!”

  “Be cautious! The Pure One is agitated!” Bambi squeaked and the worm-like demon creatures slithered hurriedly out of my way, obviously not too eager to be squished into worm pâté.

  Suddenly, I saw the Devil again. He leaned over me and I froze at once, startled to see his handsome, horned face staring at me upside down.

  “Be still,” he commanded. “Tazaxx doesn’t take damaged goods and I’ve already spent most of my reserves buying your ridiculously expensive hide. I can’t afford another Pure One.”

  “Another what?” I demanded, trying to sit up.

  “At least you look the part,” he remarked, his golden eyes roving over my body. “Those curves—Gods, no wonder the Ancient Ones wanted your pitiful little planet protected. You’d have been raided eons ago if every female on your world looks like you.”

  “I…my…what?” The way he was looking at me made me feel naked. Then I looked down and realized I was. I was completely nude—butt-nekked to borrow a phrase from my very Southern grandma.

  Not only was I naked, I was lying there on display like some kind of pale freckled, red-headed buffet for the Devil and all his minions to feast on. Well, if he was the Devil. Some of what he’d been saying had penetrated my foggy brain and I was beginning to have my doubts about that, despite the red skin, golden eyes, and horns.

  I had no doubt about covering myself, though. I pulled my knees up to my chest and crossed my ankles tight. I own my curves but I’m still shy about showing them off in the nude—especially to a Devil-looking man who had just dragged my ass through a mirror and was eyeing me like I was some kind of Victoria’s Secret angel sent just for him.

  “There’s no need to hide yourself,” he remarked sarcastically. “I’ve already seen it all—you’ll be most pleasing to Tazaxx. To any male, for that matter.”

  “What are you talking about?” I demanded, lifting my chin.

  He seemed awfully tall and big but maybe that was just because I was huddled on the ground and he was looming over me.

  “Are you the Devil? And is this Hell?” I asked, needing to make sure. “Because if it is, I swear I didn’t mean to take those socks. If you’ll just return me to my home I promise I’ll dig them out of my sock drawer and take them back right away. I’ll pay double what they cost—triple even.”

  The Devil frowned at me, his luscious, cruel lips twisting with the expression. Which raised yet another question—was the Devil supposed to be hot? I mean, in the sexy sense—not the actual temperature sense like all of Hell was supposed to be hot. Oh God, I was rambling, even to myself. I was in so much trouble here…

  “What is she talking about?” he asked someone I couldn’t see. “She’s not making any sense.” He stabbed a finger at one of the blue worm-like creatures. “You told me the transfer process wouldn’t hurt her mental ability. I need a perfect specimen. Tazaxx won’t trade for an idiot—not even a fucking gorgeous one.”

  “I believe, Master, that the female is referring to an Earth religion,” a crisp voice that put me in mind of a proper English butler, stated. “The religion says that those who do evil are sent to a region called ‘Hell’ after death to pay for their sins. There they are persecuted by a fallen deity who torments them forever in a lake of fire.”

  “I would hardly call shoplifting socks ‘evil’,” I protested. “I mean, wrong, yes but evil—no. At least, not enough to get dragged down to Hell. Which I’m guessing this is not?” I added hopefully.

  The Devil—(or not-Devil? Now I didn’t know what to call him)—rumbled laughter.

  “No, little Pure One, this is not your Hell. Look around—do you see any lake of fire?”

  “N-no,” I admitted.

  “Then what would make you think this is your version of damnation?” he asked, his deep voice sounding genuinely confused.

  “I believe, Master, that would be due to your…ahem horns,” the proper butler voice said.

  I looked around—where was that voice coming from? There appeared to be a tiny golden insect sitting on the not-Devil’s broad shoulder. But could such a tiny thing speak?

  “My horns? You have a problem with my horns?” The look on his chiseled features darkened—the amused expression sliding away from his handsome face. His cat-eyes glowed an even more brilliant gold for a moment and he seemed to get even bigger somehow. His skin got even redder and the scowl on his face made him look absolutely terrifying.

  I gave a little squeak and scooted away from him as well as I could. Unfortunately, my bare butt seemed frozen to the cold metal floor so I didn’t get too far. What I wouldn’t give for some panties—even some big old cotton granny panties would do. In fact, they would be great—they would help me slide instead of sticking to the damn floor! Okay, my mind was going on a tangent again. This was bad. Really bad.

  Calm down, Zoe, I told myself. Keep it together, girl. It’s going to be okay. This is probably just a bad dream. A really, really vivid nightmare and you’re going to wake up any minute.

  I hoped, anyway.

  “Master, I could be wrong, but if I read the elevated heart rate and respiration of the female correctly, I believe you are frightening her,” the proper voice said. “Quite badly in fact.”

  “H-he’s right,” I whispered, trying to make my voice sound normal and failing abysmally. “Y-you’re scaring the ever-loving crap out o