The Devil's Dreamcatcher Read Online Free PDF Page B

his face with the edge of his tunic.
    â€œA while longer, I’m afraid, Prince Alfarin,” replies Septimus. “There has been a grievous breach in security in the master’s private chambers. The HBI and Sir’s own private security team are currently scouring the central business district for that which has been taken.”
    â€œSomeone stole something from The Devil?” I ask incredulously. “Only someone insane would try that.”
    â€œThis is Hell, Miss Pallister. So yes, I would say chances are likely that the person or persons involved are almost certainly insane.”
    â€œHELL IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO STAY EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE. FAILURE TO COMPLY IS UNWISE. HELL IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. . . .”
    â€œIs there any way we can turn that thing off, boss?” asks Mitchell. He looks as if he’s going to hurl—and then he does.
    â€œActually, I find it quite comforting,” says Elinor. She is sipping from another glass of water. “Yer voice is very soothing, Mr. Septimus, sir.”
    â€œWhy, thank you, Miss Powell,” replies Septimus. “Now, can I trust Team DEVIL to not go . . . wandering? It is vitally important that the four of you remain here. There may be creatures roaming the corridors over the next few hours that no decent devil should meet.”
    â€œMy axe and I will guard the door, Lord Septimus,” announces Alfarin. He has more color in his face than the rest of us put together. “No one will go out, no one will get in.”
    â€œThen I place my faith in you, Prince Alfarin, and my first intern, once he stops vomiting pizza,” says Septimus, grimacing at Mitchell. He then turns to Elinor and me. “Ladies, as it is in death as well as in life, you are both in charge, of course.”
    â€œWill you come back?” I ask.
    â€œYou have my word, Miss Pallister.”
    â€œHELL IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO STAY EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE. FAILURE TO COMPLY IS UNWISE. HELL IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. . . .”
    â€œHave ye ever known Hell to be in lockdown before, Alfarin?” asks Elinor. Septimus has gone and she’s on her knees, cleaning up the large pool of blood under the light by the door. I take a deep breath and go to help her.
    â€œOnly once in my time here,” replies Alfarin. “It was in 1348. The bubonic plague was eating away at the living in medieval England. Millions of devils arrived in Hell after Up There closed the gates. There were so many that the Black Death came with them.”
    â€œBut devils can’t die again,” I say. “So what was the problem if the Black Death came to Hell?”
    â€œRemember, the dead in Hell can still feel pain and suffering, Medusa,” Alfarin says. “That was one of the edicts of the Highers. When the Black Death came here, devils erupted in pustulating boils. Hell went into lockdown while the affected devils were being treated. But many devils disappeared around that time, taken away, it is said, to be experimented on.”
    â€œThat’s awful!” exclaims Elinor.
    â€œOperation H,” mutters Mitchell. “Oh, no . . .”
    â€œWhat?” I ask.
    Mitchell shakes his head. “Nothing, ignore me.”
    But I know when someone is hiding something. I remember hearing The Devil talking about an Operation H when I was waiting for my interview.
    â€œDo ye think the same thing is happening now?”
    â€œNo,” I reply. “Septimus said something has been taken from The Devil’s private chambers. I wonder what it is.”
    â€œHELL IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO STAY EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE. FAILURE TO COMPLY IS UNWISE. HELL IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. . . .”
    This time, the sound of something vibrating on a hard surface follows Septimus’s message. A red glow lights up the office, and for a moment I think the