Free Soul Conquered by Lisa Gail Green

saw her in earlier.
Something Keira would wear. Her hair’s arranged around her face in ringlets and
her eyes are rimmed in thick gold. She’s at a velvet-covered roulette table, hanging
all over this good-looking guy. He’s tall with a model face and has big muscles
I can see right through his sleeves. Damn. I trust Grace, but that’s not the
issue. It’s Lucifer I’m worried about. He’s up to something.
    “Time to ask Griffith what he knows?” I ask TT, who
stares back at me with big innocent eyes, like he hasn’t the foggiest idea.
    Well, that makes two of us.
    Maybe Mr. G will get mad and order me to stop helping
Grace. That would actually make things simpler, wouldn’t it? I could never stop
helping Grace. I’d rather join her in Hell than stay here and pretend to try
and forget her.

Chapter 9
    Noah
     
    “I’ve decided that since
Keira’s here, she may as well be useful. I’ve asked her to fix your school
records and the memories of your teachers and friends so that you have no
skeletons in your closet.” Lucifer swirls the amber liquid in his glass and
sniffs.
    I’m on the throne, bored out of my mind because he’s
sent Keira on this errand and has decided to babysit me in the meantime. Here I
thought I’d be threatening fire and destruction on the fucked-up part of the
world while demanding money and shit. Figures Antichrist duty would suck just
as bad as the rest of the whole afterlife setup. I mean, seriously? You put yourself
first in life, and what—you get set on fire in some pit for the rest of
forever?
    “There are two more days until Saturday.” I scratch at
the leather arm of the chair, carving lines in the fabric, which automatically
disappear in moments. Self-cleaning. A little OCD there, Lucifer?
    “Emily is all set to shoot the governor.” Lucifer
grins and takes a swig of his brandy or whatever.
    “Then I catch her. She takes the fall, and I become an
insta-hero.”
    “Remember when you make a public statement that you ‘just
knew you had to stop whoever the shooter was before they could hurt anyone
else.’ Be sad about the governor’s untimely demise while you’re at it.”
    “Yeah, so then I get some media attention. Then what?
We do it again? Aren’t people going to get suspicious that I’m always there on
time?”
    Lucifer snorts. “Only an idiot would use the same play
twice. Though, people aren’t as smart as you give them credit for, Noah. Once
you’re a household name and we get you appointed to a position, you’ll sort out
some corrupt politicians by having them invite you in on a deal, which you’ll
then realize is a scam against the citizens, so you make it public.”
    “Where do you find these corrupt politicians?” I ask.
“Not that it’s a rare breed, but who’s going to let me in on it?”
    “You’d be surprised who owes me a favor among the
living. It’s not as uncommon as you’d think for people to offer up their
eternal soul. I’m just picky about who I reply to.” He tosses back the
remainder of the glass and throws it up in the air, where it vanishes.
    I stand and stretch before starting to pace. I’m
getting sick of being stuck in my room with all these lessons. I’ve been
playing the good little Antichrist—at least ‘til I get a handle on what
Lucifer expects and what’s actual fact. But this is getting ridiculous. I’m
ready to go travel the world with Keira and do something. “So I rise
through politics. Then what? Does that make me president in eight years or
something?”
    Lucifer’s eyes slide back and forth, following my
movement, while the rest of him is perfectly still. I force down a shudder. Yes,
it’s creepy, but no matter how creepy he is, I have to remember I’m his mortal equal.
“In eight years I want you in control of the entire world. Presidency should
happen in three to four years.”
    “Wait. How? You want me to run for president in four
years? That’s crazy. Even for you.” I laugh, but it’s