Descent (Kissed by Death) - Tara Fuller Page 0,23

He moved like a shadow in the night as he swept through the door. My gaze caught on a body slumped over in the corner, a needle still stuck in its arm. Dread settled in my chest, heavy and dark, like nothing I’d ever felt before. The despair in that room was like a poison fog, repelling everything inside me.

“You okay, Red?” Easton’s raspy voice broke the spell. I tore my gaze away from the body and blinked away the horror.

“Y-yes.”

“It’s not too late to turn back,” he said, grabbing hold of the top of the doorframe and leaning out to look me in the eye. “We can forget all about this. You can go back to butterfly kisses and rainbows.”

The darkness curled around him like a second skin, and the serpent tattoo on his neck writhed impatiently. It enveloped him until I couldn’t tell where his pain ended and the pain within the room began. This was his world. He was this world. And this was the only chance I’d ever get to pull him from it. After this mission to save Tyler was said and done, Father would put me back in my box, and Easton would be left out in the world. Unattainable and free. He deserved salvation. A salvation I could give him.

“And what about you?” I asked. “What do you go back to?”

His eyes narrowed on me. He released the doorframe, letting his arms fall to his sides. “I go back to doing what I do best. This.” He waved at the utter destruction around him. “I go back to being alone.”

The hollow pain in his eyes wouldn’t let me walk away. However impossible it seemed…I had to try. Filled with determination, I stepped forward and brushed past him to enter the room.

“I’m ready,” I said.

Easton looked skeptical, but finally gave in and crossed the dark room. After jerking his scythe from his belt, he knelt down beside the body and inhaled a deep breath. His violet eyes flared. He winced, tilting his head to the side as if he were listening.

“This is our guy,” he said, flatly, staring down at the body before lifting his gaze back to me. “I’m going to have to move fast once he’s out.”

I nodded, trying to appear braver than I felt. Easton stood, abruptly, and sighed. “Damn it, Red…I can’t take you down there like that.”

“Like what?” I looked over my white robe and frowned. I’d never worn anything else, never looked different for a single day since my creation. And I’d never heard anyone complain before. “How should I look?”

He stepped forward and held his arms out. “Like me. You want every filthy demon that crosses your path to be afraid of you. You can’t go to Hell looking like something on the dessert menu.”

“How do you expect me to accomplish that? I don’t exactly have access to a reaper uniform.”

“Close your eyes and imagine it,” he said. “You’re an angel, Gwen. Your powers are a hell of a lot stronger than mine. You can look however you want. You say you want to play with death? Dress the part.”

I reached out and laid a hand on Easton’s chest. He tensed. “Red…”

“Just…let me,” I said, as my fingers explored the feel of his black shirt, the muscles underneath. When my hand started to sink into vapor, I lifted my eyes to his and raised a brow. “Afraid of an angel?”

He glowered down at me, and in an instant he was corporeal beneath my hand. I tested the sturdy fabric of his duster. “Why the coat? Isn’t it hot in Hell?”

“Hot is an understatement.” His voice sounded unsteady. “It’s good to have the protection.”

“Why would you need the protection?” My hand slid inside the heavy coat and found a hard, cut chest underneath. Easton grabbed my wrist and his lungs heaved with unneeded breath.

“Because once you cross into the underworld…you’re flesh.”

I looked up at him with wide eyes. I would know what it felt like to have a body? How was that even possible? He released my hand to jerk his duster back into place.

“Wipe that look off your face, Red,” he said, his tone disapproving. “It’s not a good thing. Hurry up and change. We need to move.”

Easton raised his blade above his head. I turned away, using my need to change as an excuse to skip the horrific scene of another soul being ripped from its flesh. I closed my eyes, blocking out the awful ripping