Page 119 of Death is My BFF

“All you need to know is I need my property, unscathed. I will not leave here tonight without her. Faith’s already attracted creatures to her essence, it’s only a matter of time before she gets herself killed.

Doesn’t help that she acts impulsively and trips over particles of dust.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“She doesn’t belong to you,” Aunt Sarah seethed, “and she certainly doesn’t belong tohim!”

“I’m afraid you can’t make claim to her anymore.” I could hear the cruel smirk hidden beneath Death’s black veil and blood pulsed in my ears in anticipation of his next words. “Only I control the Order of the Kiss of Death. See how my name is in the title? If Faith will not conform to me, then she will never see you, or her family, ever again. She would be officially rescinding our agreement, mymercifulact of life, and she would therefore fall dead to the ground.

That is my law, not Lucifer’s. And there is nothing you, nor any god or holy object, can do about it.”

I sucked in an unfulfilling breath. I would die if I didn’t go with him?

“When exactly were you going to tell methat?” I shouted at Death.

Death maneuvered his menacing scythe again so that it stood at his side. With a wave of his hand, the weapon evaporated away.

“Surely you didn’t think you’d deny my right to your soul, and then be sent on your merry way?”

“Your trustworthiness grows by the minute,” I spat.

“As does your attitude, little mortal,” he purred. “Maybe you should consider the fragile state of your soul and pay me some respect.”

“You’ll get my respect when you deserve it. So never.”

Death released a low hiss in my direction, and then his hooded head snapped toward my aunt. He made a small gesture with his gloved fingers. Dark wisps of matter wrapped around her hand and made her palm snap back, revealing a bottle clutched tight in her fingers.

My heart leapt to my throat as Aunt Sarah visibly strained against Death’s power. He snatched the bottle from her fingers and analyzed its contents.

“Well, well. You really were going to condemn me back to Hell.”

He clucked his tongue disapprovingly and dropped the bottle to the ground, crushing it underneath his heel. “Sarah, since you have made it abundantly clear you won’t be cooperating and will continue to get in my way, you’ll understand why I will now dragyouto Hell.

Feel free to take up your dissatisfaction of my methods with Lucifer.

I’m sure he’d love to reconnect with an ex.”

Before I could process thatlast part, a shadow dropped from the trees around us, and then another. I could see the outline of their huge bodies as they slinked toward us on all fours. I pressed against the railing as they approached the ride. There were two of them, brawny creatures with wide hunches and enormous clawed paws.

Iridescent eyes with striking shades of red, orange, and yellow, which flickered like flames in their irises. Their lips peeled back into snarls, long, ivory fangs like a wolf’s.

“Hell hounds,” Aunt Sarah said with horror, clutching my hand.

“Those are definitelynotdogs.” I backed away from the rail, reeling over what would happen to her if she were taken, what they would do to her in Hell. “Death, don’t do this. Please, if you have any compassion left in you—”

“I don’t,” he said, the tails of his cloak flogging the air as the wind kicked up. “Unless . . . ”

I looked to Aunt Sarah, and there wasn’t a flicker of fear in her face. I could see her mulling her options over, until she came to the same conclusion as mine. Slowly, she shook her head at me. “No.”

“I can stop this,” I said, squeezing her hand.

“No,no, you don’t understand, Faith.” Desperation misted her eyes. “You don’t know what you’re agreeing to—”

“Argh!”A bird plunged into the night and attacked Death, fluttered its wings violently around him. The raven from before.

Aunt Sarah and I huddled together, attuned to the massive hell hounds outside of the hayride, which had begun howling. With a terrifying snarl that was more intimidating than the hounds, Death made a lunge for the bird, but it moved with an unnatural speed and darted out of the way and rocketed toward the trees. Death snapped his head toward the retreating path of the animal and vanished into a black mist.

My aunt ripped her hand free from mine, her gaze set on the hell hounds. Her fingers curled into her palms, and now I had an overwhelming urge to stop her from doing whatever it was she was about to do.

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