Page 6 of Death Wish

I smirked. Poking fun at Maryanne was the only upside to being called back to Styx so often. Don’t let the gray hair and sweet grandmother façade fool you, either. The woman was a viper.

“Let’s see if you’re still wearing that grin after your meeting with Azrael.” She hooked a thumb toward the hallway to the right. “He’s been waiting.”

All my bravado died in an instant. I really needed to stop getting myself in trouble like this. How many more times was Azrael going to give me another chance? It was very possible that I could be about to walk into his office only to be given the axe and Released.

Apprehension bubbled up as I started toward the elevators.

I didn’t need to look back at Maryanne to know she was enjoying my sudden silence. I was sure I’d hear about it again once I came back down.

If I came back down, that is.

The hall was long and slender. Elevators lined the walls on both sides, all going to different departments and afterlife dimensions. My destination was the gold one at the very end.

There was no need to press the up or down button. As soon as I got close, the gold doors opened, and I stepped inside. When they closed again, the small space filled with soft jazz music.

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I wondered if he picked the music just to fuck with me.

The elevator never moved. At least there was no feeling of movement either upwards or down, but the journey itself only took a few seconds. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened again into a giant office. I stepped out. Three walls of floor-to-ceiling windows revealed pale blue skies and passing clouds, as if Azrael’s office was floating in the sky.

Speaking of the man, I spotted Azrael on one of the red couches at the far end of the room. Like he always did, he wore a high-quality charcoal grey suit, looking more like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company than the Angel of Death. No wings or halo in sight. If he did have those cliché angel features, I wasn’t privileged to see them.

My coworker, Simon, was standing beside him, looking grave in his black on black attire. Like the other reapers at Styx, he was more traditional in his clothing choice than I was.

“Jade.” Azrael’s booming tone made me jump the way it always did. He wasn’t reprimanding me or anything—not yet, anyway—but there was a power to his voice that struck me right in the gut. More than a boss scolding an insubordinate employee. As if my subconscious sensed how dangerous he could be if he wanted.

As an angel, he was on a completely different level than I was used to. He was a celestial being, after all, one of the highest and most powerful spirits in existence. Not being at least a little scared of him would be stupid.

“Come. Sit.”

Both orders. Ones I knew better than to not listen to. I sat in one of the oversized chairs opposite his stiffly.

Azrael gave me another one of his wolfish smiles, which only heightened my nerves.

“You’re starting to make this a habit, Jade,” he said, leaning back. He draped an arm over the back of the couch. “If I didn’t know better, I’d start to think you are disregarding rules on purpose.”

“I do enjoy our talks,” I said. The sarcasm dripping off my words was too obvious, and I scolded myself.

Keep your mouth shut, Jade. Don’t be an idiot. You’re in enough trouble as it is.

Simon shot me a warning look, but Azrael just laughed.

One of his perfectly manicured nails tapped the dimple in the middle of his chin. “They are entertaining, aren’t they?” he mused.

Unsure if he was joking or not, I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep my sharp tongue at bay.

There was a moment of uneasy silence. During it, I wondered why Simon had been called to this meeting, too. He hadn’t been at the other ones. Were they going to throw me back into some kind of training again? Another six months?

“I’m sure you know why I summoned you here,” Azrael said.

Trick question. But did I play dumb or answer it truthfully?

The way Azrael’s gaze bore into mine told me his earlier playfulness was a ruse. He really wasn’t in the mood.

The truth it was, then.

“I have a pretty good idea,” I said. “Did the dirtbag snitch on me?”

Simon gasped, his horror clear on his face.

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