Page 39 of Death Trap

Like he’d done before, Eli began to mouth the countdown.

Three…two…one…

Right on cue, he threw open the door, and together, we went inside.

Like the two other rooms, this one was completely dark. The light from the hallway spilled inside, illuminating a woman sitting in the middle of the floor, her knees tucked to her chest in the fetal position. She faced away from us, her graying hair hanging loose.

Strands of gray were a good sign, right? Seemed like she could be in the age range of Wyatt’s wife.

The moment my boot made the slightest squeaking sound against the black floor, she tilted her head to the side. If I’d known better, I’d even say she’d heard it.

Nah. Impossible.

The other women hadn’t acknowledged us at all when we had entered their Hells. They had no clue we were even there and had been in almost a trance-like state, lost in their own torture. Maybe I’d been mistaken. My eyes could have just been playing tricks on me.

Eli stopped suddenly.

“What?” I asked him, voice low.

“Did you notice there’s nothing else here? No form of torture, like the water tank or pit?”

I glanced around the dark room, finding nothing other than the curled-up woman on the floor. “Yeah… Maybe her Hell is isolation?”

“Or maybe my Hell is demons constantly thinking it’s funny to drop in and talk to each other like I’m not here.”

I froze as the woman’s harsh voice echoed all around the empty room. She lifted her head and untucked her body, spinning to face us at the same time. The point to her nose, the shape of her face, the curve to her chin—it was as if I were staring at Sean with longer, grayer hair.

And with quick wit like that, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind this was the Lisa we were looking for.

“What do you want this time?” she snapped. She even had Sean’s eyes, the only difference being that hers had seen a lot more shit in her time than her son. The intensity to her stare said it all.

“We aren’t demons,” Eli said in his normal, mild manner. “I am Elijah, a Guardian. And this is Jade, a…” The censor silenced his next word, so he changed it to, “A reaper.”

“Right.” She climbed to her feet. Wearing cargo pants, a short-sleeved shirt, and a vest covered in even more pockets than her pants, she looked like she was ready to go on safari with Steve Irwin. Not the outfit I’d expect for sitting alone in Hell.

“Do you guys have anything better to do besides bother an old lady? It’s a bit pathetic.”

When Lisa’s skeptical gaze skipped over Eli and found me, she paused. “Wait, you said your name was Jade?” She tested the name on her tongue for a second. “But…but…I know you.”

That threw me for a loop. “You do?”

She took a step toward me. “Yeah… At least I think so.”

We stared at each other in silence. I’d never seen this woman before that I knew of, but that didn’t mean anything anymore, did it? Everything before my death was a mystery, so who knew if we had crossed paths at one time? But still…if she were telling the truth, it was an odd coincidence, especially since I had just met Wyatt and Sean a few months ago during the whole Xaver debacle.

“But I have been stuck here for God knows how long. So, I may be losing it,” she added after a moment and waved her hand dismissively. Then, she looked at Eli. “Who did you say you were again?”

“Elijah. I’m a Guardian.”

She turned to me again. “Am I supposed to know what that is?”

“Short version—he’s an angel,” I replied, but then Eli shot me a look, making me quickly add, “Sort of.”

Her eyes widened. “An angel? Is this some kind of joke? I swear, if you’re both demons and think this is—”

“We’re not,” Eli said sharply. His face twisted in disgust. Of course being an angel accused of being a demon was offensive.

“Then why are you here?” Lisa asked, still defensive and skeptical.

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