Page 66 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

As Kicks leaned a shoulder against the wall, staring at me like he wanted to ravage me, it didn’t feel so stupid.

Our eyes met, and I could feel my body coming alive, barely paying attention to what the woman was doing—until she started making more humming noises.

The prickling feeling on my skin stopped for a moment. The pause didn’t last long before it began again, only stopping a few seconds later.

“Is something wrong?” I tried to catch a glimpse of her over my shoulder.

“It won’t take,” she said, as if it were my fault. “What aren’t you telling me?” She put down her needle tool.

“Try again,” Kicks said, crossing the room toward us. “I’ll pay you double.”

I gasped. “No. That’s too much,” I said.

It didn’t matter, as she wasn’t having any of it.She was on her feet, pointing at the door. “You lied to me. Get out.”

“Try again.” Kicks wouldn’t budge.

“Can you please try again?” I asked, my hunch telling me pleading was going to go farther with this woman, at least if her glare in Kicks’ direction meant anything.

She turned that glare on me. “There is only one thing that would stop me from applying the block, and that is a connection to Death herself.”

“Is there something I can do? Have you seen this before?” She knew Death was female, as if she’d also seen her or talked to her. I was ready to get on my knees and beg her for information if that was what it took.

“If Death singles you out, there is nothing that can break that connection,” she said. “That is all I know. That is all I was taught. Now please. Go. I do not want that kind of attention in my life.” She pointed toward the door again, looking as if she’d try to manhandle us out if needed.

Giving her the slightest nod, I took a step toward the door. I wouldn’t damn anyone else to my hell.

I stopped beside Kicks. “She tried. We have to go. She can’t fix this.”

I should’ve been more disappointed, but there was one upside. His life wouldn’t be cut short for me.

He hesitated for only a second before looking at me. “Okay.”

We walked out of the place as a gust of air kicked up, carrying an unusual chill. Death was here. The darkness inside me pulsed at her nearness. The dogs who’d been lying on the ground around the house whimpered and ran off.

Kicks looked at me as if he sensed something amiss as well but couldn’t pinpoint the cause.

I shook my head, silently asking him to not press the subject.

Death appeared right beside me. “Did you really think that would work? I’d have killed her before she could do anything, even if she were capable.”

I couldn’t speak. I didn’t want to alert him to her presence, unsure of how that would go, so I stared at her silently.

“You think what is happening is wrong,” she said. “You’re scared of what you might become, but I know this is the way. You’ll be happy once it’s done.”

The way to what? Damnation? To become something so unholy I feared to be near others? I hadn’t lied to Kicks. I’d fight, but it looked like a losing battle. If I was a betting woman, I’d put my money on her.

He stopped the bike a little bit later, after we were a safe distance away. I got off, knowing neither of us had a plan for what we’d do next.

Grabbing my canteen, I headed toward the river. Thirst didn’t drive me so much as a craving for a moment alone to get a hold of my thoughts.

“I can see you losing hope. You can’t give up,” Kicks said, following me.

I could hear the agitation in his voice. I got it. He wanted to fix me. He still thought there was a way. There wasn’t. How could he fight the forces at work when he couldn’t even see them? No one could, only me, and I was at a loss.

He didn’t understand. Letting me walk away was the optimistic end point. Killing me might be a safer bet, but he wouldn’t do it. Even if he was willing, she wouldn’t let him. She needed me and was going to use me whether I was willing or not, and damn anyone who got in her way.

“She’s changing me. It started with Zetti. It wasn’t much of anything, just this hint of emptiness in my chest. I thought it was all in my head. Then it grew a little more with the next death. It does something to me in a way I can’t explain. It feels like it’s eating away at who I am.” I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling the shift inside me that I couldn’t stop. “I don’t understand it, but I can feel this different energy growing in me every time she does it. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before I’m no longer me.”

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