Page 101 of Death Wish

Oh no, Cole… Why did you use it?

Cole tilted his head to study me. Curious.

“Grab her!” Xaver’s command shook me to my very core. “Bring her to me!”

Cole didn’t move. Only stared at me, brows rising as if he were considering his options.

Okay. That was a good sign. Maybe he wasn’t completely gone yet.

“Cole, don’t. It’s me. Jade,” I said, hating that I was actually pleading with him now. “You’re still in there. I know you are. You need to listen to me.”

Still, he just watched me, his red eyes searching my face for something familiar.

“He’s gone, Jade,” Sean shouted as he whipped a Halfling with the back of his gun, sending it reeling back. “He’s one of them now.”

“No!”

He couldn’t be. Not yet.

I wasn’t ready to have to kill him, too.

“Cole, listen to me,” I said with more vigor. “We need you here to fight. We need you—”

He charged me.

Oh no.

My first thought was to turn and run. So that was what I did, spinning around and bolting as fast as I could to the trailer. But the idea must have come a second too late because Cole was on my heels immediately. When his body slammed into mine, we were propelled forward, rolling and tumbling. Every one of my wounds screamed, but it was nothing compared to my heart, which was pounding at an unnatural rate.

I twisted and thrashed against Cole’s hold, which clamped down on my wrists instantly. His knees pinned me down as he straddled my middle. Trying to buck him off did nothing. He was too strong like this, and all I could do was stare up at his eyes and wonder if the Cole I knew was still reachable inside him. Somewhere.

“Cole…please.” I struggled against him, but his grip bruised. My only option was to wriggle my hand free somehow and use one of my gifts. Either the reaper’s death touch or the white light.

Both could bring his death.

I didn’t want to kill him, no matter what I had said before. Not to mention the white light would leave me weak. Then Xaver could easily take me to Hell without a fight.

It looked like I didn’t have a choice. I would have to take my chances with the light power and pray I had enough energy to continue fighting afterward.

Reaching deep down, I found the power buzzing inside me, as if it had been patiently waiting for release. I didn’t have to do much to pull it out; it sprang to the surface with ease. Raw energy crackled across my knuckles.

“I’m sorry, Cole,” I whispered as my fingers began to illuminate.

“Don’t.” Cole’s voice was quick and sharp, and it took me a second to realize what he had said. “Not yet.”

I blinked. “Cole?”

He gave a small shake of his head. His eyes flashed from red to calming blue and back again.

“You need to strike him with your power where he’s the weakest,” he continued, his voice feather light. “It’s the only thing that can kill him.”

Letting the power settle again, I nodded, understanding. If Cole was telling the truth, then I would only have one chance at this.

A warning niggled at the back of my head that this might just be a lie. A way to get me to Xaver quietly and without a fight. But what other choice did I have? I had to trust him.

“Get up,” Cole said.

When he shifted his weight off me, I hurried to my feet. He clutched my wrist, careful not to touch my palm. He tugged me across the yard, the remaining Halflings creating a walkway for us as we passed through. They snarled and snapped their jaws at us. I threw them dirty looks.

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