Flame & Fortune (Angels of Sojourn) Read online

  Flame

  & Fortune

  An Angels of Sojourn Novella

  JOYNELL SCHULTZ

  Copyright © 2018 Joynell Schultz

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 9781794592438 (print)

  WET DOG PRESS

  Cover by www.fantasybookdesign.com

  FLAME & FORTUNE

  One innocent little deed for the devil can’t be that bad.

  Lena Romano is in hell.

  Literally, working for the devil.

  She’s been there for over twenty years and isn’t good at her job. In fact, she was never good at much in the human world, either. When an opportunity to do a deed for the Unfortunate arises, giving her a chance to return to Earth and earn an Eternal Flame to make her existence tolerable, she takes it--never expecting to find love.

  Kieran Plugh is on a fast track to CEO status with a weakness for red-headed women. When Lena stumbles into his life, he can’t help but chase her, not knowing she’s on a mission straight from the Underground.

  THANK YOU

  As always, I wanted to thank you for picking up one of my stories. I am truly humbled you picked me in a sea of millions of other books. I appreciate it. I hope you enjoy Lena & Kieran’s story in Flame & Fortune.

  Grab some free stories in the Angels of Sojourn World:

  Link here: www.joynellschultz.com/subscribe

  BOOKS IN THE

  ANGELS OF SOJOURN SERIES

  These angels don’t have halos.

  Blood & Holy Water (Book 1)

  Fangs & Fairy Dust (Novella – Optional Book 1.25)

  Bitten (Short Story – Book 1.75 & free to newsletter subscribers)

  Fur & Feathers (Book 2)

  Flame & Fortune (Stand-alone Novella & Optional Book 2.5)

  Souls & Shadows (Book 3 – Coming 4/2019)

  Broken & Burnt (Stand-alone Novella)

  One Possible Future (Stand-alone Short Story)

  CONTENTS

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Other Books by Joynell Schultz

  About the Author

  Blood & Holy Water, Chapter 1

  Chapter 1

  LENA

  Contrary to popular belief, the Underworld, or hell as some call it, is cold. Real cold. No flames and fire, only a dark, icy wasteland where the winds howl and burn your skin.

  Lena Romano was all too familiar with this chill, since she had been in the Underworld for over twenty years. She no longer shivered and the numbness in her fingers, toes, and face had become her norm.

  Every day was the same. She made the long, tiring trip back and forth between the gatekeeper and the sea of souls, memorizing every little pebble and speck of dust along the barren, crimson landscape.

  Today, when the gatekeeper gave her the message that the Unfortunate wanted to speak with her, a soft tingling tickled her stomach and she couldn’t hide the smile from her face. After twenty-three years, today was different.

  “Be careful,” the gatekeeper had warned. “Even though the Unfortunate is the only angel cursed to tell the truth, he misdirects conversations by avoiding straight answers.”

  The Unfortunate had excused all her duties. Instead of escorting lost souls to the sea, she climbed the uneven rock staircase leading to the leader of the Underworld’s quarters.

  She hadn’t counted but had heard the staircase was made of over five-hundred steps. She stretched her nearly-useless dark wings for balance as she took each one.

  In front of a stone door at the top, she pulled her unruly, red hair off her face and twisted it in earnest at the nape of her neck. She rubbed her face, hoping to remove some dirt. Why was she summoned? She followed the rules, doing her job and nothing more. Perhaps that was the problem? Did the Unfortunate expect more? He had a reputation of ruthless punishment. Maybe her steps weren’t swift enough, or her directions to the lost souls not clear enough. Lena’s mouth grew dry as she continued to climb each step.

  The door disappeared, and the Unfortunate stood in the opening to a cavern in the rocks. His blond hair stood on end like it was frozen in place while his black robe hugged his tall, slender figure, accentuating his pencil-like body frame. The only thing about him that didn’t appear human were the crimson, feathery wings upon his back.

  “Lena. Come in.” His soft, fatherly voice welcomed her, but she knew he had the power to teeter her existence from barely tolerable to torturous.

  Lena stepped inside, clasping her hands and trying to calm her racing heart. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, she saw two souls, like herself, only they knelt on the stone floor. Their heads bowed and dark wings limp down their backs.

  “Did I come at the wrong time?” She couldn’t pull her eyes from the two kneeling men.

  “Your timing is fine. I was almost done here.” In a wave of the Unfortunate’s hand, the men looked up as their bodies shimmered. A scream erupted from one of their mouths that echoed in the Unfortunate’s home and made Lena want to cover her ears, but then, they both disappeared into nothing but a poof of smoke.

  Her chest tightened. “What was that?”

  “It was a shame, really. They’ll spend the rest of eternity in the Sea of Souls.”

  Lena’s heart raced, thinking of her daily routine. Had she done something wrong? Was she going to float aimlessly in the sea, forced to relive her crimes over and over again?

  The Unfortunate stepped closer. “You’ve been here twenty-three years now.”

  “I have.” Twenty-three years and sixteen days. Lena counted days by trips to gather lost souls. She had done this for eight-thousand fifty-one days. When you have nothing else to do, numbers become your friend…and enemy.

  “I imagine you’re quite cold.” The Unfortunate’s breath caused a plume of steam when mixing with the freezing air.

  “I am.” Cold was an understatement. Unlike the Unfortunate, her words did not cause her breath to be seen. She craved warmth more than anything else. More than she had craved love or money as a human. Each day she spent in the Underworld, her human needs lessened to a point where survival of the cold was all that mattered.

  “Why have you never crawled up these steps and begged for salvation or demise?”

  She had twice, when she could no longer take the freezing wasteland of boredom, but she chickened out, convincing herself she deserved punishment for what she had done. Both times, she turned around before even making it half-way. “This is where I belong.”

  The Unfortunate raised a light eyebrow and smiled, showing his perfect teeth, before he sat upon a chair carved of rock. “This is where you were sent.” He crossed a leg and folded his hands upon his knee. “I need a favor, and you’re the perfect person to complete it.”

  A favor for the Unfortunate? A shiver raced up her spine, and she wrapped her arms around her body, pulling her black robe tighter. What evil task would she be asked to do?

  The Unfortunate held out his hand and a plume of fire danced in his palm. Lena stepped forward, feeling the warmth. “If you succeed in my quest, I will reward you with the ability to create Eternal Flame.” He extinguished the fire and leaned forward. “Lena, you never have to be cold again.”

  Fire. Warmth. Memories of the sunshine, a hug, and her warm comfy bed when she
was human filled her mind, but the sting of her skin brought her back to the present. “Yes. I’ll do your task.” Her stomach knotted, realizing she’d trade her soul for a moment of warmth. What if she failed? “I mean…what is your request?” Lena was getting ahead of herself. The warmth caused a lapse in her judgment. She wouldn’t do anything to earn that fire. What if the Unfortunate asked her to hurt someone or…kill? She swallowed, thinking of all the damage she had done when she had been human and the few stories the gatekeeper had told her about the souls down here in the Underworld.

  “All I need you to do is go to the human world and have a nice dinner with a man named Kieran Plugh. Distract him as long as possible.”

  “Why? Distract him from what?”

  “Distract him from his life for a little bit. Keep him out of trouble.”

  Out of trouble? That’s not what she was expecting from the Unfortunate. “I don’t understand.”

  The Unfortunate turned over his hand and a flame slowly grew from his palm, sending enough warmth to Lena to make her crave more. “If you need more explanation, perhaps you are not ready for this task.”

  She bit her lip. If all she needed to do to warm up was have dinner with a man, she’d take that opportunity. Keeping a man out of trouble was nothing terrible. Her long, red hair loosened from her knot and fell over her face as she nodded.

  The Unfortunate leaned forward. “Oh, you’ll be perfect. Kieran has a weakness for redheads.”

  With a wave of the Unfortunate’s hand, Lena was out of her black robe and into a tight, blue dress. She lifted her hands, feeling her hair smoothed out and tied back. She twisted to see her dark wings had disappeared.

  “There.” The Unfortunate leaned against the stone chair. “You’re perfect for him. Remember, all you need to do is distract him for as long as possible today. Sit down, and I’ll tell you how to do it.”

  The room warmed, and Lena couldn’t help beaming. She had been frozen for so long, that the warmth was all she could focus on. As she thawed, the Unfortunate laid out the plan, but she struggled to listen. She held her eyes open and focused the best she could, but, for the first time in twenty-three years, her body no longer hurt from the cold.

  KIERAN

  Kieran sat at his desk, loosening his tie. He arrowed down on the spreadsheet on his computer screen and double checked the line entries. He had never heard of the company YABF Industries and had to make sure he spelled the acronym right. He turned to the internet, researching this company through Google, the Better Business Bureau, and other government resources, but couldn’t find information.

  The problem: his company, Gen Power Systems, had been paying an invoice from YABF Industries weekly for the past six months or more, totaling nearly a quarter million dollars and there was no indication what for. All categories were coded as simply a miscellaneous expense.

  On top of this, this morning his boss had given him bad news: the charity the company sponsored, Grief Relief, would be closing. Gen Power Systems had been in the red for months and had to cut its loses.

  Kieran found the news hard to believe. Being the Director of Sales, he knew how many new clients he had brought in. How could these accounts not lead to a profit?

  That’s why he had turned to the numbers. He logged into the accounting software and tediously went through each expense, looking for any opportunity to save money and fund Grief Relief.

  That’s when he found the huge expense filed under Miscellaneous. He opened the line items to discover payments to YABF Industries.

  He checked and rechecked his numbers with the same outcome. The payments to YABF Industries totaled more than what they gave to Grief Relief. He also noted that they stopped funding Grief Relief three months ago.

  Why hadn’t anyone told him?

  Being upper management, Kieran was always told these secrets well before the rest of the company. Why keep it a secret from him until a day before the announcement?

  A knock sounded on his door. “Kieran?”

  He heard Frederick’s voice. Kieran pried his eyes from his computer and lost his breath. He saw the gorgeous red-haired woman beside his boss. He scrambled to his feet, nearly knocking his leather chair over. His hands rubbed the wrinkles out of his light blue dress shirt and tightened his tie again. “Yes. Hi. What can I do for you?”

  Fred crossed the room with the woman close behind. Kieran couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was lean and taller than average, but her high heels made her almost eye-to-eye with him at nearly six-foot tall. Her legs were bare and a creamy white. When he smiled at her, she flashed him a grin that had to be more seductive than she intended.

  “Kieran, this is Lena Romano. She’s another reporter here to get the story about Grief Relief before it hits mainstream tomorrow.”

  Kieran shook her cold, delicate hand for a few seconds too long. He smiled and gently laughed as he put his hand into his pocket.

  Frederick stepped aside, taking in the way Kieran looked at Lena. “I was hoping you had the afternoon free to talk business with Ms. Romano.” Fred leaned toward Kieran. He turned his voice to a whisper, “I may have promised Ms. Romano Gen Power Systems would wine and dine her.”

  Lena laughed, a raspy, yet soft, beautiful sound. “I don’t need to be wined and dined, but I do have the evening free.” There was that seductive smile again.

  Was Fred setting him up? They had been friends before he became Kieran’s boss. They had both been directors, but Frederick was ready for a promotion when Kieran was not. Next time, he wouldn’t pass it up. Despite this competition, their friendship continued.

  Frederick flashed Kieran a knowing smile. “I’m sure Kieran will take great care of you. I hope you don’t mind the change of plans. The Missus has me picking out a new car tonight, and I don’t want to disappoint her.”

  Lena smiled. “I don’t mind at all.” Her gaze seemed to caress Kieran, floating from his face to his shoulders and chest, passing all the way to the floor. An excited tingle ran through his body, settling in his core.

  As Frederick turned, Kieran glanced at his computer, remembering the abnormality he found regarding the presumed factitious company, and the halt of payments to Grief Relief earlier than he was told. “Fred, I just have one issue I’m dealing with. Do you have a few minutes this afternoon to look into something?”

  “Yeah, I can make time. What’s going on?”

  “Could you see what you could dig up on a company called YABF Industries? We’ve been paying them, and I can’t find any information on them.” Kieran didn’t ask Fred for much help, so he knew his request would be taken seriously. With that problem off his chest, he could focus on the woman in the deep blue dress with fiery red hair.

  As soon as Fred left, Kieran smiled at Lena. “Shall we discuss this over a drink?”

  Lena laughed. “It’s only three.”

  “Oh, come on. Let’s go somewhere more comfortable to talk business. I spend enough time here every week. Besides, I’m supposed to wine and dine you.”

  She cast her eyes down, her long red eyelashes casting light grey shadows beneath them. She was shy—Kieran found it charming.

  On the way to the elevator, Kieran’s chest tingled with excitement. This was not a date, but it was the closest thing he’d had to one in a long time.

  Chapter 2

  LENA

  Kieran led Lena to Gen Power Systems’ underground parking garage and to a mid-sized black SUV parked near the elevator. The vehicle beeped, and Kieran opened the passenger door, motioning Lena to enter.

  She smiled at his gentlemanly gesture and slipped inside. Many things from the human world filled her thoughts day in and day out while in the Underworld, but she had to admit, she was overwhelmed. She didn’t say much, but ensured she wore the sweetest, most gentle expression. When they had stepped off the elevator, the buzzing of the overhead lights and the rows of cars made Lena’s world spin. She grabbed Kieran’s elbow, lacing her arm in his for support.

/>   He seemed to like it, so she kept her grip.

  Distract him had been the Unfortunate’s request, and she would to the best of her ability. The longer she distracted him, the longer she could stay on Earth with the bright, yellow sun and warm air. The warmth of Kieran’s arm had been better than anything so far. It wasn’t until they touched that she realized how lonely she had been.

  Kieran started the engine, and as he backed up, he gave her a glance. “What newspaper do you work at?”

  “Newspaper?”

  “Or are you in television? Radio? I never asked.”

  “No. I don’t work for any of those.” The Unfortunate gave her everything she needed for a successful cover story. “I’m just starting a freelance business. I gather quotes and write articles, selling the stories to whatever media is interested: newspapers, magazines, TV, or radio.”

  “What information are you looking for?” Kieran drove up a ramp and pulled onto a busy street.

  Outside the parking structure’s artificial light, the warm sun shone. The sun passing through the SUV’s windows felt nearly unbearably warm upon her skin, and she loved it.

  She laid back and smiled, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her face, arms, and the skin showing on her legs. She pictured the rays giving her energy, and she was more content than she ever remembered.

  “Lena?”

  Her eyes sprung open. She had fallen asleep. Despite how tired she was in the Underworld, it had been twenty-three years since she last napped. Kieran’s vehicle was now parked outside a building in a downtown area. Cafe Paris was written on an awning overhanging an oversized glass door. How long had she slept? She looked at Kieran, embarrassed. “I—I’m sorry. It was just so warm in here and—”