Page 49 of Death Trap

“Do you mind if we make a quick stop first?” I asked quickly, my thoughts running away from me. “A friend of mine lives a couple of streets over, and I want to check in on her real quick.”

“Jade, remember, it’s easier for Azrael to find you here on this side of the veil since you are technically still one of his reapers.” Eli’s warning was loud and clear, but it didn’t change my mind.

“We’ll be quick,” I said. “And besides, Kay’s apartment is protected by spells.”

He threw me a sideways glance. “By a level one sorcerer.”

A chill skipped over my skin. I still wasn’t used to him knowing so much about my life and afterlife. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be.

“We’ll be fine,” I said. “Unless you want to bring Lisa to the other side without me, and I’ll meet you there.”

But that would be against the almighty Guardian Code, now wouldn’t it?

As predicted, he didn’t like that idea. “No. We’ll go with you.”

I grinned, pleased with myself. “Great. Let’s go, then.”

Turning on my heel, I walked across the street, toward Kay’s place. I didn’t get far before pausing and examining the street’s darkest corners. All seemed clear from what I could see, but with the Angel of Death and Halflings still on my tail, I felt better when both Lisa and Eli strolled up to my side.

I’d seen them both hold their own against a bunch of Halflings while in Hell. And besides, safer in numbers, right?

We walked on the crooked sidewalks and under the dim lights of the gas lamps to Chestnut. Because our first encounter with Xaver had left Kay’s shop in complete disarray, she had been able to claim it as a robbery on her insurance and get the money back to fix the place up. Thank goodness, too, because it had broken my heart to see my friend so upset after everything was destroyed. Years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears—gone in an instant. A place that had been a dream for her and her grandmother. And I had felt partly responsible.

Okay, mostly responsible. So, imagine my relief when I came to visit and all the glass had been replaced, the walls repainted the same soft yellow, and the counters and displays fixed. The only things that had been missing then were the tables, chairs, and some of the other dainty finishing touches that really made Oh! Kay’s a cheery and homey little bakery to visit.

Even though the shop was dark and the shades were all drawn, I couldn’t help but smile at the shop looking like its old self again. Above the store, where Kay’s apartment was, all the lights were on and the muted cry of a baby sounded.

Looks like Kay’s in for another sleepless night with that little one.

Waving Eli and Lisa over, I walked around the side alley to the apartment’s front door. I phased through it, climbed the stairs, and walked into Kay’s living room. She was there, facing away from me, holding little Zachary in her arms, and swaying side to side as he cried. She shushed him quietly, and soon his cries turned softer until they were coos.

My insides warmed at the sight of her holding such a precious little life close to her chest. Something that could have ended so badly turned out to be a true blessing in disguise. Because the demon cure had worked, Zach had been born completely normal. Not a speck of demon blood in him.

Well, I shouldn’t say completely normal because the baby was bound to be a supernatural of some kind, but whether he inherited his mother’s gift of communicating with the dead or his father’s spellcasting wouldn’t be known until he was a bit older. Sometimes not even until adolescence.

Still rocking Zach to sleep, Kay slowly turned around, and when she looked up and spotted me, her face drained of all its color.

“Dear God, Jade!” she whispered harshly but then glanced down to make sure she hadn’t disturbed the dozing baby. “You really have to stop sneaking up on me like that. You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, my tone low to match hers. Then I realized the baby couldn’t hear me and felt stupid. “Although I’m not quite sure what I can do to make the shock any less. I’m open to ideas, though.”

“I’ll get back to you on that,” she replied. “Let me just put Zach down in his crib, and I’ll come back out.”

I nodded as she walked down the small hallway and disappeared into one of the rooms.

Eli and Lisa entered the living room then. Eli strolled around the room, searching for any unseen threats, while Lisa stood near me, shaking her head at Eli’s bizarre, overprotective behavior.

“Is he always like this?” she asked as Eli peeked through one of the windows to the streets below.

“Pretty much,” I said. “He’s my security guard of sorts… It’s a long story.”

Kay came back into the living room, and when she spotted Eli and Lisa, she wrapped her arms around herself, unsure. “Uh, Jade. Who are they?”

“They’re with me,” I told her. “Don’t worry.”

Kay’s eyes lingered a little longer on Eli’s naked chest as he continued to pass from window to window. She leaned closer to me and lowered her voice. “Who is that? And why doesn’t he have a shirt on?”

“His name is Eli. He’s…”

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