Descent (Kissed by Death) - Tara Fuller Page 0,51
then he was gone. I looked down at the blade in my fist. It felt wrong, sitting there snug between my fingers. In that moment I had no idea who I was supposed to be. Reaper. Angel. Just another lost soul. But I knew this much…I was his. And there was no way I was leaving him behind, no matter what I’d promised.
Chapter 18
Easton
I should have kissed her again.
I shouldn’t have. But I couldn’t stop the thought from snaking its way through my mind as I readied myself for whatever was in the hall, beating the door from its hinges. I’d pushed a bigger piece of furniture in front of the door last night, but it would only hold for so long. With Gwen looking up at me with big, clear eyes, her feelings for me shining bright as the sun…it had been nearly impossible to stop myself. To not lean down and capture the words on her lips, taste them, swallow them down. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against the door, shoving it all into the overpacked I-don’t-have-time-for-this-shit compartment in the back of my mind.
I clutched my blade and gripped the door handle. If Rok or one of his soul-eating minions thought they were going to collect Gwen, they had another think coming. I’d burn before I let that happen. I’d slaughter every demon from here to the portal before I let that happen. Damn the consequences. What were they going to do? Sentence me to Hell? Little late for that.
The next round of pounding began, and I jerked the door open, blade raised and ready. A tall, lanky body topped off with dirty-blond curls barreled into the room and caught himself on the dresser. My eyes widened in shock, and I dropped my blade.
“Jesus…”
“Close.” Scout looked up at me through a swollen eye and managed to smirk. “You want to shut that door? I went through Hell to get up here. Literally. Can’t promise some of it didn’t follow.”
I stepped into the hall and did a quick check before shutting the door behind me. I turned back to Scout, who was watching me with a serious expression. Scout never looked serious. That combined with the fact that he was here didn’t bode well for me. I holstered my blade, refusing to give in to the panic rattling my insides.
“Balthazar sent you,” I said.
He wiped blood from his lip with the back of his wrist and laughed. “No shit, Balthazar sent me. Can you think of another reason I’d haul my ass this deep into Hell?”
I let my head fall back against the door and closed my eyes. I should have been glad he was here. He could take Gwen back to where she belonged. It would be harder to find Tyler without her, but I could do it. At least I had a lead now. It should have felt like a relief. It didn’t. As much as I hated to admit it, walking away from her was going to be a new kind of Hell for me. I knew it’d be difficult, but with the idea staring me in the face, it felt impossible. I’d never had anyone make me feel the way Gwen did. I’d never had anyone make me….feel. Losing her meant going back into the dark, numb place I’d lived in for nearly five hundred years. I fought the urge to rub my chest where it ached.
“What are you even doing down here?” Scout asked. “Do you have any idea the kind of storm you’ve started up there? You vanish into thin air, abandon your duties, and run off with a freaking angel. You and I both know he never expected you to take her this far. He thought she’d be back by the end of the day.”
I opened my eyes and pinned him with a cold glare. “You know exactly what we’re doing down here.”
“The kid?” His brows knitted together. “You are risking everything for that freaking kid?”
“You mean the kid you left down here?” I snapped. “The kid that is going through unimaginable torture as we speak because of a mistake you made? Is that the kid you’re referring to, Scout?”
He swallowed, and his face paled under his bruises. Bruises he’d likely gotten as payment just to find us. Which meant someone else knew where we were, too, and I was guessing it wasn’t Rok. With the promise of me special delivering souls to his doorstep for the foreseeable future