Page 139 of Death is My Ride or Die

Malphas nodded once. “You’ll need more men.”

Why did it suddenly seem like Malphas was aiding us?

Death stalked away toward another doorway, but Malphas slunk into his path. “You’re hardly prepared for what this room alone forebodes. The vast knowledge and capabilities of Ahrimad’s soul are unfathomable.”

“I know,” Death snarled. “He’s the first and only pureblood of his kind.”

“Which would make him a Prime,” Malphas continued. “The apex predator of his own species.” Malphas glanced at me in an odd manner, as if to try to gain my support, before returning his attention to Death. “You’re weak. Weaker than you’ve ever been. Your control over your other half is dwindling. Tonight is your last opportunity to get back to your full power. You need to keep it together, control your feelings, and request more men.”

“Get out of my head,” Death grated.

“I’m not in your head. I can sense this in other ways.”

“Why the hell are you giving me advice?”

“Because I’m your father.”

“You arenota father,” Death hissed. “You don’t give a shit about me, and you never have.”

Thunder crashed above us, the stained glass ceiling flashing with light. The sigil beneath Malphas and Death glowed red, plumes of smoke spiraling in the air around them. Both of their heads snapped back, their eyes matching the inflamed bloodred color of the sigil.

“Ohhhhh no,” I said, holding my palms up to protect my face from the heat of the sigil as it burst outward with a hiss.“Ohnonononono!”

“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t cast my soul into Limbo!” Death suddenly exploded. “You turned on your own family again, like the psychopath that you are!”

This was bad. This was really, really bad. As their anger rose, wind swirled around the space. I gripped a marble structure, my mind frantically racing to find a way to free them from whatever spell they were under.

“If you hadn’t been so hell-bent on defying me as a child,” Malphas roared in a fiery rage, “with your obsession with befriending the very mortals thatostracizeour kind, you would never have encountered Ahrimad to begin with!”

“I went into those woods in the first place toget away from you!” Death roared, and the sigil flickered angrily around the edges. “So I could cling to the sliver of normalcy that you left me as a child. Theonlything that kept me alive after what you did to my family was the damned immortality Ahrimad gave me.”

Malphas flinched at this, the red glow to his eyes faltering briefly with emotion. “You have no idea the sacrifices I made for you, Alexandru. I was trapped in the Underworld fortwo thousand years, while you’ve paraded around with Lucifer like a king.”

The two charged at each other, the sigil walls distorting their forms into shadows as the flames rose higher and surged outward again. I reeled back before I got burned. They would fight to the death like this if I couldn’t snap them out of it. However, I was worried that my light would absorb into the sigil like a sponge or make things worse.

Crawling on the ground, I found a fallen vase amongst the rubble on the floor. I wrapped a fist around the base and managed to climb up to my feet, the wind hurling my braid to the side as I chucked the vase at the sigil. Energy surged from my hand to the vase as it pitched from my palm, forming a grenade of sorts. It shattered into a million pieces on impact and exploded against the sigil. I shielded my eyes as a burst of energy ricocheted back at me, slamming me into the wall.

I blinked away black splotches, the storm calming. Malphas came into focus at the center of the sigil. He stood in a wide stance, staggering, his black eyes wide and crazed. A brutal slice from a talon marred his pale cheek. Oily black blood dripped down his neck to the floor as he looked down at his bare wrists. He no longer wore the cuffs that had bound his power.

And Death was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is he?” I demanded. “Where’s Death?”

Malphas’s coal-black eyes darted around the room, as if he’d woken from a dream.

“Damn it!” He crossed the sigil in a quick stride and dragged his dress shoe across the marking, smearing the lines. His lifted his palms out in front of him and commanded,“Revelare!”

My eyes widened at the sight of a feminine creature with bat-like wings who appeared from nothing at the center of the room. White hair framed a small face half covered by a silky scarf, drawing attention to her lustful gaze. Her small, ballerina-like figure was clothed in elaborate gold material that covered only her private parts.

“Oh,” I said, uncomfortable with her lack of clothing, “hello.”

“Don’t talk to it,” Malphas hissed, his livid gaze unwavering against the demon’s.

“Goodbye,” I said quickly.

“Goodbye, blue-eyed bimbo,” the creature purred in a thick accent.

Malphas stalked toward me. “Give me your sword.Now.”

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