Page 65 of Death is My BFF

I’m neat with my extracurricular activities.”

“Neat!”There was a crash on the other line. He’d thrown something heavy. “Two months ago, you left four human bodies with their throats cut, hanging from their intestines in the middle of McDonald’s. And let’s not leave out the Guadalajara incident last year. Or the poisonous snakes on the plane? Real fucking original.”

“Burger King,” I corrected, a muscle in my jaw ticking. “It was at Burger King. They were all going to die anyway, and I was having a sugar low and the line was too long. You have to admit, leaving those cardboard crowns on their corpses was pure comedy.”

“A nice touch,” Lucifer seethed.

I scratched the stubble on my jaw. “You want to know who’s going on an angel-murdering spree in New York City? I’ll tell you.”

Tensing, I accidentally crushed my phone a little. “But you’re not going to like it.”

“Elaborate.”

“Malphas.” Just saying that name made my blood curl. “He’s alive.”

Lucifer was silent for a long stretch of time.“How?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Is it too much to ask for all my nemeses to take a permanent dirt nap for once?” Another migraine threatened to surface, and I massaged my temple. “I had a feeling I was being shadowed by someone last weekend. Thought I was being paranoid. Malphas knew about Faith, even before he met her. There must be rumors in Underworld of her soul being spared.”

“Shadow her with more of our Fallen.”

“Already on it.” On cue, four dark forms made themselves known on Faith’s roof. They perched on each corner of the house, monitoring their surroundings.

“Malphas’s underlings nearly took her away from me.” There was roaring in my ears at the memory, and my talons itched to be free.

Another small wave of hunger overtook me, and this time I smashed a frustrated palm into my throbbing temple. “One of his newborns marked her. I had to suck the venom out, so she didn’t turn. She clocked a demon in the nose, if you can imagine it.”

“She was able to see the demons even before they died,” Lucifer noted.

“Yes, although she hasn’t seen through any of my illusions yet. I wouldn’t put that ability past her either though. Her soul is transforming.” I ran a hand absently over my jaw. “I put up a nasty ward around her house and charmed her backpack. If anything supernatural tries to weasel its way into her home, or steps within an acre of that backpack, I’ll be notified.”

The other line went quiet again.

“Sounds like you’re going all out, kid.”

I tried to ignore the usual mockingkidmoniker but failed this time. “Of course, I am. The girl was almost taken.”

He didn’t press further. “We’re running out of time, Death.

You’rerunning out of time. My patience runs thin. Hurt her, torture her into complacency. Whatever it takes, get the job done.”

“You said you didn’t want me to harm her.” I couldn’t believe I was defending her safety.

“You have had plenty of opportunities to do this the humane way,” Lucifer said. “Do not disappoint me, or you’re grounded.”

“What?”

“That’s right, I’llgroundyou. Like a child. I’ll take away your ability to fly.”

I scratched at my stubble. “You can do that?”

He hung up.

Fuck. If Malphas somehow got his hands on Faith before Hell did, she was as good as dead. I knew what he was capable of more than anyone. But the thought of physically harming Faith or her family to get what I wanted was a line I felt conflicted about crossing.

Hunger clawed at my gut and the monster freed another menacing growl from my throat.

There had to be another way.

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