Descent (Kissed by Death) - Tara Fuller Page 0,40

there wasn’t ever time for kissing. My father died when I was young. After that, there was only time for work. And after they took my mother, my sisters…there was only time for my vendetta.”

“What about after?” she said. “You haven’t ever kissed anyone like that? Down here?”

I closed my eyes, jaw clenched tight, trying to forget all over again. “Not by choice.”

“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered.

“For what?”

“I’m sorry my father can’t see how good you are,” she said. “I’m sorry he sends you to this place. You deserve so much more.”

I hesitantly looked down to meet her gaze. The kindness and wonder there made my throat burn, made my heart slam against my ribs hard enough to leave a bruise. No one had ever looked at me like that. Not in life. Not in death. She placed a hand over my heart as if she was happy just to feel it beat.

A blood-curdling scream shattered the moment between us, and Gwen tensed in my arms, her body bowing against mine as if she were in pain. The crowd erupted, fueled by the fresh round of torture being administered behind the bar. Shadow demons slipped out of the corners, hissing and fighting for the flesh the demon in front was tossing into the crowd.

“I don’t like this place. W-we should leave,” Gwen whispered, trembling. “Now.”

“Not until I find a safe place for you.”

“I don’t want a safe place,” she whispered. “I just want to find Tyler, and I want to get out of here.”

“The furnace could blow again at any minute.” I lowered my voice and looked around to make sure no one was listening. “If I don’t have you somewhere safe, you’re going to burn, Red. Not just burn. You’ll melt. And it will be the worst moment of your existence. If I let that happen to you, it will be the worst moment of my existence. So I need you to trust me right now. Okay?”

Her face paled and she nodded, gripping my hand. “Okay.”

Smoothing back the damp hair clinging to the side of her face, I took a deep breath, knowing it was time to move. “Okay.”

I did a quick scan of the room, finding that most of the eyes on us had strayed to more interesting prey. Pulling away from Gwen’s soothing warmth, I guided her toward the bar where a demon stood, watching us, machete in hand. He was a monstrous heap of mismatched body parts, stitched together into a terrifying imitation of a human. A growl reverberated from his wide chest, and someone whimpered at his feet behind the bar. Rok. Son of a bitch. It had to be him working the bar tonight.

Fire lit his eyes as he slid his filmy white gaze over Gwen. He licked his lips and motioned for us to come closer.

“Selling?” His voice was low and loud, rolling across the bar like an avalanche as it rattled empty glasses. I pushed Gwen behind me, out of his line of sight, and he frowned.

“No,” I said, sliding my blade out and setting it on the bar between us. “Buying.”

“You owe me a soul, reaper,” he growled. “Last time I checked you were in the business of delivering.”

“The next one I bring down is all yours, handsome,” I said. “But this one is off-limits.”

His nostrils flared, and he scratched his chin with the bloody blade in his fist, clearly not happy that the little slice of Heaven I’d waltzed in with was off the menu.

“Fine. What can I get you?” he finally asked. “Leg? Arm? I think there is an ear left on this one.”

“Oh, God…no!” A deep voice screamed from behind the bar. “Not again. Please, not again.”

Rok chuckled and raised his machete as the soul dissolved into sobs. Gwen whimpered into my back, balling my shirt into her fists. She was feeling his fear. His pain. What would she feel when his limbs were being hacked off two feet from where she stood?

“No!” I put my palm out and his cold gaze narrowed on me. “I mean…that’s not why I’m here. I need a room. Off the grid.”

He looked at the soul beneath him and shrugged, tossing his machete onto the bar. I kept one eye on the bloodstained blade, knowing if he decided to turn on us, it would be the first thing he’d reach for. If he did that, he’d be serving his own limbs on the menu tonight.

“Why do you need a room?” He eyed