Page 137 of Death is My Ride or Die

My mouth parted in a small gasp, so he kissed me, stealing away the rest of my breath A touch of pure, unrelenting fire that melted me to the core. He lifted me off the ground, and I hiked my legs up around his waist, capturing his mouth again. His hands were rough weapons carefully cradling my waist. His fingers climbed underneath the tight fabric of my armor to clutch the bare skin of my lower back. The sweet and minty taste of his tongue. The masculine scent of him, his darkness flying all around us, unpredictable and merciless like the man who wielded it.

Suddenly, Death dropped me to my feet with a strangled noise. He went down on his knees, writhing in agony. The sharp prickles of claws penetrating my brain overcame me, and I went down with him.

“Well, that was rather easy,” proclaimed a raspy voice. Through the blurring, debilitating agony, I saw Malphas Cruscellio with his hands clasped behind his back. “Awkward timing, though, I will admit. Perhaps there will be blessed water inside to douse my eyes with?”

“Yousonofabitch—” Death tried to lunge for his father, and I watched the veins in his face and neck engorge as he went down on all fours. Panic slammed into me, but I couldn’t move.

“Do not bother, Alexandru,” Malphas said coldly. “You are severely out of practice against me, but I remember your mind inside and out.” The raven demigod stretched a pale hand toward me. “Faith. I’m to escort you into the mausoleum. Shall we?”

His power let up on my mind, my whole body shaking from the aftermath. I thought fast, my mind whirling as I leapt into action. I fired my light quickly from my free palm. Malphas cursed as it burned through his pant leg, and that was when I unhooked a pair of cuffs from my belt and slammed one onto Malphas’s right wrist.

“What the—?” Malphas’s arm went limp at his side. He glared accusingly up at me, blackness webbing from his eyes. Pain exploded in my skull. I could feel his power trying to stab its way into my mind, but I kept shoving back in an internal battle of tug-of-war. His jaw set. Right when I thought he might win, I lunged forward with everything I had and shackled his other hand to the cuffs, binding his hands together.

“We shall not,” I growled.

Freed from Malphas, Death leapt up from the ground in a blur. “I’m going to rip you in fucking half—”

“Stop!” I screamed, throwing myself between them. “He’s subdued, Death. Look.” I passed Death the leash attached to Malphas’s cuffs—the same ones I’d subdued Duncan with. “We can use him as bait.”

Death froze, his eyes still wild with anger as he processed the idea.

Malphas sighed. “This is a severe waste of your time—”

“Shut up,” Death snarled. Then he handed me Malphas’s leash. “You want to walk the dog, or should I?”

XXXVI

The mausoleum was trashed. Condom wrappers, crack pipes, and other paraphernalia littered the ground. Between that garbage, rot and decay filled the cracks of once elaborate tiles. Graffiti symbols arched wildly across the marble walls like scars.

Mausoleums were notorious for their meticulously clean appearance. The fact that this place was so ruined made me feel sad. I imagined the thousands of bodies crammed like sardines throughout this castle-like structure and became furious that this was what had become of the dead’s sanctuary.

Malphas walked ahead of us, the line of his leash coiled tightly around my hand. He moved with a swagger, like he didn’t have a care in the world, whereas Death was practically foaming at the mouth.Nothing says family reunion quite like an estranged homicidal demigod father and his hybrid monster son coming together.

“So,” I began, attempting to break the incredibly uncomfortable silence. “This probably isn’t the time, but I’ve always wondered . . . Do you guys ever pee?”

Neither of them responded.

I wouldn’t let this go. “Because I haven’t seen a single immortal drink a whole glass of water.”

Death slowly inhaled through his nose, as if he wanted to duct tape my mouth shut and bind my hands together before tossing me helplessly into the ocean. Either that or he’d gotten bored with being undead and had taken a random mortal-like breath.

I shuffled a little faster to walk beside Malphas. It wasn’t like he could do much to hurt me.

“Dehydration is a silent killer, you know.”

Malphas gave me a strong “go away” side-eye. “We don’t need water to nourish our bodies,” he replied, surprisingly answering my first question. “If we consume water or mortal food, then yes, we’d have to use the restroom afterward.”

“Interesting,” I said, tapping my chin. “Very interesting. Even number two?”

Death hooked a finger into the pocket of my pants and yanked me back to walk beside him. Malphas’s steps faltered a little as his line cut short.

Cut it out, Death mouthed, his eyes beseeching me to stop.

Then Malphas held up a hand, and we did stop. He turned his head over his shoulder and nodded to Death.

Frowning at what appeared to be a signal, Death stalked forward and shifted into predator mode. He slowly slid two swords out from the sheaths at his back. Powerful muscles tensed as he slunk past us to glide into the shadows. He pressed up against the wall beside an archway, his brilliant mismatched green eyes the only indication that he was there. He closed them and blended perfectly into the dark like an assassin.

Two vampires in armor rounded the hallway. Malphas moved to stand in front of me.

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