Free Burned by J.A. Cipriano

“But since I’m a nice guy, I’ll make you a deal.” He knelt down beside me and ran one long, dark finger across my blackened arm. “Tell me who gave you this, and I’ll tell you precisely which of my minions had them.”
    Before I could respond, a blinding flare of agony exploded across my brain, reducing the entire world into splinters of indescribable torture. My hearing shattered into a sharp, ringing whine, and the taste of blood filled my mouth as I was forcibly pulled backward across the floor. The bindings holding me against the chair melted away into bits of molten plastic, but I barely felt it burning my flesh as I hit the wall hard enough for nearly every bone in my body to snap, crackle, and pop.
    “Well, isn’t this interesting,” Baal said, a curious look on his face as I was dragged up the wall and onto the ceiling by some unseen force. “Seems like you’ve got friends in high places.”
    Golden light flared, shrouding my vision in a haze I couldn’t see past moments before everything went completely dark.

Chapter 12
    “Mac, wake up!” Ricky cried, shaking me violently. My eyes shot open. She was hunched over me with both of her hands on the collar of my trench coat. We were somehow back in the bathroom of the laundromat. Where had Baal gone, and how did I get back here?
    “Ricky, be careful,” I said, trying to get to my feet, but I succeeded only in stumbling into her. “Baal is here. He pulled me through the mirror.”
    “Yeah, about that,” Danton said from the doorway of the bathroom. “After Gabe threw you out of Heaven, I made him help us track you down.”
    “By made, he means begged like a little girl,” Ricky said, burying her head into my neck while her hands wrapped around me. Things inside me strained under the pressure. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered into my ear. “I’m not sure what I’d have done if we couldn’t get you back.” The relief in her voice made me never want to make her worry about me again.
    “Yes, well, anyway, after demanding in a very undignified way, Gabriel got off his angelic ass and saw you’d been captured by Baal. Since that went against our plans for the demon, Gabe yanked you out.” He shot me an apologetic grin. “It probably hurt a bit.”
    “Does everything involving your brand of power involve untold amounts of agony?” I muttered, glad there was a good reason why I’d been pulled away from Baal. Part of me had worried it’d been something more sinister, although I wasn’t sure what would be more sinister. Lucifer needing another person for his personal tea party?
    “Sooner or later, you’ll learn it’s all pain and sacrifice,” Danton replied with a shrug. “It’s probably why angels have the tendency to behave like dicks.”
    I waved off the comment as Ricky loosened her bear hug enough for me to breathe normally. “Don’t suppose you’ve learned anything useful.”
    “No.” Ricky shook her head. “The angel was about as helpful as a snow cone in a blizzard.”
    “Awesome,” I muttered, gritting my teeth in frustration. I wasn’t sure how Gabe had saved me from Baal’s clutches, but would it have been too much to get a little 411 on the demon’s whereabouts? It didn’t seem like it would be. I shut my eyes and tried to get past my sudden anger. It didn’t work. “Like always, I guess I’m doing all the heavy lifting. I mean, it makes sense since I have fucking amnesia, but you know, whatever.”
    Danton sighed and gestured at me with one hand. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, Mac. It isn’t like we’re all just pawns for your amusement. People have shit to do. There are powers that be.”
    “If that’s your way of apologizing for being totally useless, I accept. Besides, we both know if this was my story, I’d have way better one-liners,” I said, reaching down and taking Ricky’s hand so we could leave the bathroom.
    All and all, I felt like I’d spent way too much time in