Page 77 of Death is My BFF

“I’ve aged impeccably well.”

I waited for the laughter to kick in, for cameramen to jump out, for David to slip up and give me a sign he was lying. But he was unsmiling and grave. I could feel the weight of the truth behind his words.

Centuries. He’d been stuck at the same age for centuries.Cool.

I’m attracted to another immortal dinosaur.

“If this is all true,” I said, “then why would you lie to me yesterday?”

“I was warned to stay away from you.”

“By who? Death?”

His gaze pierced through his sunglasses, answering my question.

Yes. “I had a target on my back two days ago, and so did you. Angels have been dropping like flies in New York. Now we know why.”

“Malphas,” I muttered.

He nodded tightly. “I hope you didn’t get close enough for an introduction.”

I pulled up my sleeve, where the demon’s bladelike talons had ripped into me. There was almost nothing visibly left of the gruesome wound. “Too close for comfort,” I said.

“Malphas gave you that?”

“No, one of his demons did,” I said, shoving down my sleeve to wrap my arms around myself. “I was attacked, and I would have died. Death . . . he saved my life.”

David flexed his hands. I could tell he wanted to press more on the situation, but he didn’t. “Has Death explained to you that Malphas is a demigod?”

“Oh, Death doesn’t tell me anything. It’s his thing.”

“Malphas is the son of Hades and a mortal,” David enlightened. “Hence, demigod. Two thousand years ago, he was destroyed by Death himself. Evidently, he’s been resurrected. I suspect it was Hades’s doing, or maybe his followers, since Malphas has worshippers, like any deity does. He is very, very dangerous, Faith. What you saw crash through my window was an archangel, a powerful guardian from the realm of Heaven that was infected by Malphas’s venom. I recognized the guardian as one of my other mentors. I’m thinking the guardian was a decoy because those demons entered the D&S Tower as soon as I was distracted. They went after you, and they went after me too. That’s why I couldn’t help you in the alleyway.”

“You’re an angel,” I stated, on the brink of a mental breakdown.

But I promised myself I would wait until I got home, so I could wrap myself in a fuzzy blanket with my two good friends, Ben & Jerry, and have a proper nervous collapse.

“I’m a Carrion Angel,” David said and bowed his head as if proclaiming the title was some sort of acknowledgment. “When we were notified that a dark entity had latched onto you, Devin and I tracked you down and tried to find a way to get closer to you.”

“Thomas’s party,” I said.

“And the car crash with Devin,” David said. “We needed to get closer to you and time was of the essence. When we realized what attached to you was the Angel of Death, things became a little . . . tricky. Death is virtually indestructible, unlike most of the dark entities we deal with. At first, Devin thought your situation was a mistake. A fluke in the system. Death has never latched onto a human before. And you seemed like a normal girl without any conceivable connection to the supernatural. Devin put you under my care to figure out what was so unique about you.”

“You only took an interest in me because of Death.” There was a painful lump in my throat. “The interview and the date were just a way to get information on me.”

“I’ll admit it may have started off that way, until I got to know you. You’re funny, kind, intelligent, and beautiful. In every way, my type.”

My heart drummed faster in my chest. “What about after we ate at the carnival?” I interrogated. Focusing on the details was the only way I could stay sane in this moment. “You were frozen. You weren’t breathing or anything. Death froze time, and you were affected by his power. Why were you affected?”

He blew out a frustrated breath. “It was a fleeting spell. Death is known to have a few tricks up his sleeve. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have taken you on that date, at least not without more reinforcements. I had no idea Death had communicated with you at the carnival, until you mentioned it to me yesterday. I wasn’t thinking clearly, only focused on getting you to trust me.”

When I didn’t say anything, David continued, “Death is stronger than I am. His power is unparalleled.” He didn’t seem too thrilled about admitting that last part. “I can’t interfere with his abilities because I’m a Light Angel. According to Seraph Law, Death takes precedence over Light Angels.”

For some reason, I believed him, but I put on my best poker face and pretended my opinion of him remained the same. “Who the heck made that stupid rule?”

“They’re called the Elders. The first Seraphs or angels to ever exist. Most of the rules they’ve created are outdated and unbreakable.

Whenever they try to adjust these laws, the balance between good and evil has always tipped, and never in their favor. Even a being as merciless as Death serves a purpose for humanity.”

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