Page 14 of Death is My Ride or Die

“I see.” It scrunched up its nose, which could only be described as a more terrifying cousin of a muzzle. “You’re approaching your cyclic bleed. What species are you?”

Fingers pinched my arm. Death dragged my chair closer to him. “Thank God,” I breathed. “That thing just asked about my—”

Death cupped my jaw and slanted his mouth possessively over mine. The caress deepened as his tongue parted my lips, edging inside. Blind pleasure shuddered through me, and a soft moan escaped from my throat. When his hand glided over my bare back, reality crashed into me, and I shoved him away.

“What was that for?” I exclaimed.

A flicker of amusement rippled over the warlock’s features. “Keep your voice down,” he cautioned as our waiter appeared out of thin air to place our requested drinks in front of us. In my peripheral vision, the creature I’d been speaking to turned its attention elsewhere. “You were speaking to a species of chupacabra, and he scented your next period. I laid my claim before he tried to sample a taste.”

Ew. Thank God Death had intervened, but if he expected a thank you, he wasn’t getting one. I adjusted the silky straps of my dress instead. My lips were swollen and claimed all right, but not to the extent they had been the night he’d kissed me in my bedroom.I need to stop thinking about that kiss.

The lights dimmed.

At the head of the ballroom, past paparazzi and guests I now knew weren’t all human, Devin Star stood on a sleek stage. He looked like a god amongst golden spotlights, sporting a bloodred tuxedo.

“Good evening,” Devin said in a booming voice. Any noise in the room halted immediately. “And thank you all for joining me on this monumental night.”

V

“I am Devin Star, president of D&S Enterprises,” Devin began, as if everyone on the whole planet didn’t already know who he was. “Every year, we host events at the tower to raise money for various charitable organizations and give back to my beautiful city and its citizens . . . ”

“Why aren’t we trying to find Ahrimad or Malphas?” I asked Death, tuning out Devin’s speech. “Shouldn’t they be here?”

“Again, I’m trying to avoid any unwanted attention,” Death replied through tight lips, his attention focused on the stage. He wore an impenetrable expression. “Before we do anything, we need to wait until people start walking around, or for the entertainment to begin. I can remain in this body for about three more hours.”

I played nervously with the layers of my dress. Three hours. That seemed like a decent amount of time. “When will the entertainment begin?”

“Once the guests are done eating. When the show ends, I’m going to try to draw Devin out of the room to tell him what’s going on. I don’t want to spark a commotion in the ballroom.”

I tuned back in to Devin Star’s speech.

“This year, our annual Halloween ball is going to be slightly different,” Devin was saying, “as the organization you have graciously donated to tonight is my own. I am thrilled to celebrate the launch of our new youth art program, Painting Pioneers. For the past year, I have been working rigorously on this project with my son, David, to give underprivileged children in New York City a creative outlet to cope with various mental health concerns. Unfortunately, my son is under the weather and could not make it tonight, but we are botheternallygrateful for your support for our cause . . . ”

Then Devin grinned, a beautiful display of straight white teeth and sparkling sapphire eyes. At that moment, half of the audience erupted into thunderous laughter. The other half, the human half, seemed to have missed the hidden punchline.

“Devil’s horns!” exclaimed one of the neatly dressed “men” at our table. He was one of the creatures I’d seen earlier, except now he wore an illusion of a handsome human man. Nausea built up in my belly at the memory of the vile thing beneath. “This is funnier than last year’s event. Look at all these brainwashed air-breathers around us. Do they honestly think the Stars care about the mortal youth?”

“Do you think Devin’s doing a satanic sacrifice this year?” the woman who had requested the witch’s brew with two eye garnishes asked. When I concentrated on her, I saw the creature beneath again. “That was delightful last year!”

“For legal reasons, I don’t believe they can this year,” the first man answered. “Damn Heaven and their new rules for public displays of sacrifice. Good thing I still have a juicy video on my phone from last year of Death ripping out that mortal man’s heart and hurling it into the crowd. I was so close to catching it.Hi-larious!”

I glared over at Death, who wore the smuggest expression.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I hissed. “Mortal sacrifices?And now you’re manipulating children in this bogus art program—?”

I stilled as Death gripped my leg under the table in a firm grasp. “Keep it down,” he warned in a low voice. “It’s a real program. There needs to be an element of trust for us to manipulate mortals, and children aren’t our main target audience. As for the sacrifices . . . let’s just say the mortals who get an invite to these eventsdeserveto be my playthings.”

“Wow, you’re a real hero,” I said sarcastically. “More like you and Lucifer find any loophole you can to go about your psychotic ways unpunished.”

He arched a mischievous brow like I’d hit the nail on the head. “I don’t give a fuck if I’m punished, cupcake. It doesn’t get worse for me than it already is.”

I was rendered speechless.I can’t believe I keep making out with this guy.

Devin Star stepped off the stage to chat with a few guests. To the world, he was dazzling, beautiful, angelic. To me, he was just another monster with a gorgeous veneer over the truth. The longer I stared at Devin, the more my vision narrowed, until it was just me and him in the room, and that’s when his façade wavered.

Devin’s features sharpened as he turned his head to the side, his charming mouth working with words I could no longer hear. The spotlights reflected off patterns beneath his skin, which resembled reptilian scales. His skin shimmered, changing from a golden bronze to a ghoulish reddish gray. His fingers lengthened, sharpening into talons as massive horns gradually sprouted from his skull. The captivating sapphire eyes the entire world was in love with now held the ruthless, wicked intentions of a sinister creature. The rest of his illusion broke free at once, revealing the venomous Fallen angel Lucifer. When Devin glanced to his left and smiled at the woman in a business suit beside him, his countenance was no longer charming. His smile was an evil, chilling display of razor-sharp teeth that dared anyone to challenge him.

Death gripped the back of my chair. “You see him, don’t you?” He’d been watching me the entire time. “You see past his illusion of Devin Star.”

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