Page 24 of Death Wish

After we made sure Kay woke from her fainting spell and Andre gave her some water and a bit of food, Cole and I left the club. Despite my protests, Kay promised me she was okay. That was enough for Cole, but for me? I’d touch and kill every single one of those vamps if they decided to make a snack out of my friend.

Released or not. I didn’t care.

Panic clawed at my insides. Realistically, she could have passed out from shock. Or, it could have been the demon baby she was carrying.

Stop. Let’s not sign her death certificate yet.

There was a chance she was fine, right? Maybe Xaver hadn’t gotten a chance to…

Acid coiled in the pit of my stomach, telling me I knew the truth deep down. Lying to myself wouldn’t help anything.

Was there any way to tell if she was definitely carrying a demon’s baby? Some kind of supernatural pregnancy test or something?

“Why did Andre think Kay was pregnant?” I asked Cole as we walked back into the storm. “It was as if he knew it right away.”

Cole hunched his shoulders as the rain pelted him. “It’s probably something to do with her blood. He might be able to smell it on her.”

“Like a dog?”

He snorted a laugh. “Even for a vamp, Andre definitely can be a bitch.”

As Cole climbed into the driver’s seat of his Jeep, I searched the street for a private, covered place to draw the spirit door and cross over. I had so much to do next; it was overwhelming. First, I had to get back to Styx Corp. and tell Azrael what was going on with the spirits and demons. I couldn’t forget the mistake of Cole being labeled as a reaping assignment without being close to dead. He’d want to know that, too.

More importantly, I had to find out whatever I could about demons and their offspring. If Kay really was impregnated with a half-demon baby, there had to be a way for us to reverse or stop it. Like I had told Cole, I didn’t know much about demons besides the basics, but even I knew demons were too powerful, even as babies. Mothers weren’t known to survive the births.

Of course, death didn’t scare me. I was used to it by now. But Kay was my friend, the only one I had made after crossing over myself. She was the only connection I had to the living world besides my job, and I didn’t want to lose that.

Did that sound selfish? Yes. But it was true. I had to figure out a way to save her from this. I owed her that much.

After a few minutes, I realized Cole’s Jeep was still parked in the same spot. He rolled down the window and stared at me.

“Are you getting in?” he asked.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Our dealings were done—at least for now. Kay was temporarily safe from the demon, Xaver, in the vampire club.

Cole shrugged. “I just figured you wanted to find a way to save your friend.”

“I do,” I replied. “Of course. That’s why I’m heading back to Styx to find out all I can about it.”

“Styx?” His brows knitted together in confusion.

I froze. I had just released the name of something critical to the spirit world and unknown to the living one, and the censor hadn’t morphed my words again to hide it.

Not a good sign. I would have to mention that to Azrael, too.

“Er—I should go.” Reflexively, I grabbed the tablet out of my back pocket. I must have had dozens of messages from Azrael or his secretary, Maryanne.

But when I checked the screen for the familiar flashing light in the corner, all I found was darkness. No notification bubbles or lights anywhere.

I frowned.

After pressing the new Contacts tab on the menu bar, I found Azrael’s face first on the list. I clicked the green call button and waited.

A soft ringing sounded.

It rang and rang, but the screen stayed black.

“Everything okay?” Cole was suddenly by my side, and his closeness made me jump back.

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