Page 36 of Shadow of Death

Kicks stiffened beside me, and I looked up, searching for the source of his tension.

An older man walked in, immediately getting the entire room’s attention. Several people got to their feet to greet him. Even if there had been any doubt, the resemblance between father and sons was uncanny.

He scanned the room, pausing on Kicks. His expression froze, and I couldn’t get a read on whether he was happy, annoyed, or just shocked to see his son.

“Dad,” Varic said, walking over and patting him on his arm, breaking the attention off Kicks.

Him,Death said. I jerked toward her voice, not realizing she’d appeared.

She was pointing at Kicks’ father.

No.She couldn’t mean that.

But it made sense. She knew if Kicks came with me, and she didn’t provide any answers, we’d end up here.

I looked at Kicks, frozen.

Him,Death said.

I wasn’t budging, even as she stared at me, glaring, pointing in his direction.

No. Not Kicks’ father. I couldn’t be the person that killed him, no matter what he’d done.

Death moved to stand over Kicks.You either kill the father, or I take the son. He lives or dies depending upon what you do. Decide.

Kicks turned from watching his father to stare at me. “Pips, are you all right? What’s wrong?”

Choose,Death said.

There was no choice to ponder. It wasn’t going to be Kicks. Never. Not him, even if I had to hurt him to save him. If I had to make him hate me to save him, I didn’t care. No one touched him. I’d bargained for his life, and now it was time to pay the debt.

I looked at Kicks’ father and then back to Death, nodded, then stood. “I’m sorry,” I said to Kicks.

He was immediately on his feet. “Pips, what are you talking about? What’s going on?”

I walked, trying to put space between us, but he followed. Even with his father’s arrival drawing a lot of attention, heads were beginning to turn to us.

“Pips, what’s going on?” Kicks grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop.

He jerked and then fell, as if he’d grabbed a live wire. He was thrown, landing a few feet away, out cold.

I turned to Death.

He’s alive, and will remain that way as long as you hold up your end of the bargain,she said.

There was already yelling as people ran toward Kicks, trying to figure out what had just happened. They’d be coming for me in seconds, as soon as the shock cleared.

I used the confusion to get to Kicks’ father.

I stopped for a moment, realizing how bad this would be. Kicks was never going to forgive me for this.Never. But he’d be alive. That was all that mattered.

My eyes locked on to the man before me. He looked as if he were trying to place me, like he thought he should know me because of the brazen way I’d approached him. I grabbed his arm. I could’ve tried to kill him from afar, but I needed to make sure he died and no one else. Too much was riding on it.

What are you doing?Death screeched in my ear.

It was bad enough I had to kill this man. I wasn’t turning his death into the sideshow she wanted. I wasn’t dragging it out, having him plead for his life in front of his pack. I’d kill him, but I was doing it swiftly.

I could feel my power swell the second I laid hands on him. His eyes widened in shock, his body convulsing as the life left him. He crumpled to the ground, a sickly gray. It was over. There was no turning back now unless someone had the power to raise the dead, and I didn’t believe that was in Death’s wheelhouse.

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