Descent (Kissed by Death) - Tara Fuller Page 0,26
the more reason to get this pointless rescue mission over with. The sooner I could put worlds between us, the better.
She dropped her outstretched hand and followed me up the ash-laden pathway to the smoking mouth of the mountain. Heat curled around us, beckoning, tempting. Sweat rolled down the side of my temple, and I raised my shoulder to wipe it away. I could hear Gwen struggling beside me, her breaths heavy, but I didn’t stop. If she couldn’t handle this, she’d never make it inside.
I ducked my head and shoved the soul into the cave ahead of me. My hand reached out behind me, searching blindly for Gwen. When her smooth fingers slid into mine, I fought the urge to tug away. Touching her like this felt too right…too wrong. I forced myself to squeeze her hand and ignore the strange sensation throbbing in my chest. What I felt didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I didn’t lose her.
At the gates, slimy fingers curled around the bars, and claws scraped the walls inside. No Ava. No Seline. Good. I didn’t think I could handle a twisted family reunion right now. A pair of red eyes peered out from a dark hood and the metal gate creaked as it slid open.
“Drop-off?” a low voice growled from under the hood. The red eyes slid Gwen’s way, their depths sparking with want. Somewhere in the dark, demons cackled and snapped their teeth. I reeled Gwen in to my side and slid my arm around her waist, fingers clamping down on her hip to keep her in place. She may not belong to me, but it needed to look like she did if we had a chance in hell of getting in and out of the underworld in one piece. She jumped at the sudden contact between us, but quickly followed my lead, slipping her fingers into my belt loops and holding on tight.
“Going a little deeper with this one, boys,” I said. “Maybe I’ll have something for you next go-around.”
I moved to slide past them when a clawed hand reached out to stop me.
Damn it…
The sharp point caught in the edge of Gwen’s corset and ripped the fabric an inch, just enough to spy a sliver of otherworldly golden skin underneath. A growl rumbled in my chest, and he pulled his hand away.
“We could take her off your hands,” he hissed. “This skin…it’s too clean. Could use a little damage.”
I could see it then, in the hungry gleam of his eyes. He wasn’t going to let us pass. Not unless I handed Gwen over. She was too pure. Too sweet. Down here, her scent was an unmistakable, irresistible force. Hell was going to rain fire on us, but I didn’t have another choice.
I ripped my scythe from its holster and shoved the hooded demon back against the wall. I slid my blade along his throat, exerting just enough pressure for a thin line of black blood to appear along his scaly red skin.
“You really want to tangle with me today?” I growled. “She’s a new recruit. That means off-limits.”
His mouth spread into a grin, and metal fangs gleamed from the shadow of his face. “You think that means something here? It never stopped us with you, reaper. Looks to me like she needs to be broken in. We had so much fun with you. And look at you now. Big bad reaper…”
Behind me, the demons lurking in the dark went into a frenzy, laughing hysterically. The scrape of claws inched closer. He was right. In the beginning, it hadn’t stopped them from torturing me. At recruitment, I’d been nothing but a helpless, freshly reaped eighteen-year-old kid. A broken soul whose only disappointment had been that an afterlife actually existed. With every soul I delivered, another brand of torture had awaited me. They’d broken me, ripped me limb from limb, violated me in every way, then stitched me back together and returned me to the world for more souls. The thought of them touching Gwen like that turned my vision red. I swallowed the rage burning my throat. I wasn’t a helpless boy anymore. I might still look the same, but I’d had nearly five hundred years to learn how to deal with these assholes.
“You know what…you’re right.” I grinned, drinking in the spark of fear that reflected in his eyes. “Thank you for the reminder. I’ve been meaning to pay you back for the warm introduction.”
I pulled back my elbow and