Page 122 of Half Dead

Feeling heartened, I waved to the crows. “Thank you, friends.”

The crows made a deep chortling sound that nearly drowned out the alarm on my phone. I switched it off.

“It’s time,” I said, realizing too late how ominous the statement sounded.

West’s brow furrowed. “No Lucifer?”

“Knowing him, he’s trying to win on a technicality. I’d better get started.”

“Wait.” Cupping my face in his hands, Kane’s lips ghosted mine. “No matter what happens, no matter what Lucifer tries to pull, remember that I love you, and I’ll see you on the other side.”

The other side. There were multiple interpretations of his promise, but only one that would make me happy.

“I love you, too,” I said, ignoring the pressure building behind my eyes. “More than you can ever know.”

With a lump in my throat, I turned and entered the void.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

That naive hopethat there would be no third trial was extinguished by a hissing sound. I looked down to see a snake slither past my feet. Lucifer probably assumed the presence of a snake would throw me off balance.

Joke’s on you, buddy. Should’ve sent a mouse to do the devil’s work.

The snake paused a few paces ahead and twisted his head to regard me.

“Oh, I get it now. You’re my guide for this tour.” Lucifer’s absence was curious. What could be more important than this moment? If the odds were in my favor, it was his final chance to gloat.

The snake hissed, regaining my attention. “I’m coming. No need to bully me.”

I followed the snake’s undulating body to another branch of the tunnel, careful to remain a couple steps behind. I didn’t want the creature to stop abruptly and accidentally crush him under the weight of my boot.

My surroundings grew darker, although I was still able to see the writhing outline of my serpentine guide. I keptwaiting to arrive at a doorway or an entry point of some kind. None was forthcoming. As we progressed, I lost all sense of space. The hissing stopped, and I realized I could no longer see the snake. Slowly, I extended a hand, but the tunnel wall wasn’t within reach.

I called to the snake and listened for a response. Silence covered me like a heavy cloak. The air was perfectly still.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flicker of movement. I turned toward it, only to see an unrecognizable shadow, quickly joined by another one. The shadows multiplied, stretched, and twisted. They crowded me as though they intended to suffocate me, despite their weightlessness. This was true darkness, a place where the tiniest flicker of light was swallowed whole.

“Is this the best you’ve got?” I taunted. “I’m the goddess of freakin’ darkness.”

The shapes melted into one. It rose and widened until it towered over me. A prickling sensation crawled along my spine that kicked my senses up a notch to high alert.

Light filtered into the darkness to reveal a familiar scene, one I had experienced during an intimate moment with Kane. One I’d hoped to never witness again.

His worst nightmare.

The demon was pinned to the side of a mountain. His skin was drenched in so much blood that he looked like he’d been painted red.

I fought to control my breathing. “This isn’t real,” I reassured myself.Kane is safe.

Nightmare Kane’s eyes opened at the sound of my voice. Sorrow flooded his gaze as he looked at me. “You did this to me.”

“Never,” I shouted.

“You should have walked away,” he said, struggling tospeak through the pain. “I was safe. Happy. He never would have found me if it wasn’t for you.”

I was momentarily confused, until I remembered the demon that I’d begged Kane to release. Canto. The smaller demon had discovered Kane’s whereabouts. Josie had warned us that, by letting Canto go, her boss was signing his death warrant, but Kane didn’t listen to her.

He’d listened to me.

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