Page 74 of Death Trap

“That’s the one thing I really miss in the afterlife. No pain.” Benjamin smiled, as if we were sharing some kind of understood joke. “My damn feet and knees… They’re killer.”

Maybe it was because I was so close to what I wanted, impatience bounced through me at his common chitchat and friendly gestures.

He must have sensed my tension because he readjusted himself on the cushions and said, “Forgive me. It’s been such a long time since I’ve had visitors or have seen anyone at all. That is, besides Azrael.” He rolled his eyes. “And he’s about as kind and talkative as a dead fish.”

“Azrael’s been here?” I asked, talking over him.

“Yes. He comes here every once in a while to check on me and make sure I’mcomfortable.Whatever that means.”

I glanced at Tamara, who sat there silently, fiddling with her nails, pretending not to be listening but was doing just that. Her closed-lipped smile showed her amusement.

“Did he put you here?” I asked. “You were supposed to be Released after reaping me, not put in Hell.”

Benjamin glanced at the door, suddenly very nervous. When Azrael didn’t come bursting through, he sighed. “He did.”

“Why?”

“He never told me, but I’m assuming it was to keep me out of reach,” he said.

“Out of reach…”

“Of you, Jade. Or anyone who came searching for answers about you.”

Tamara’s gaze flicked my way. I could also read her mind from her expression. What was so special about me?

I don’t know, Tamara. I’m trying to figure that one out myself.

“That’s what I don’t understand. What’s his obsession with me? Why keep me in the dark?” I asked.

“You’re the only one who can stop him and what he’s been working so hard to accomplish behind the scenes. For centuries.”

“And what’s that?” Tamara finally chimed in.

“He wants to start the end of times. The apocalypse,” Benjamin said firmly. “Hell on earth. Demons running the show in all dimensions, with him leading the charge as the new commander in chief. And you’re the very person who can stop him.”

“Me?” I stepped back. Eli had told me this before, but the shock didn’t lessen hearing it again. “I don’t understand. What’s so great about me?”

Benjamin opened his mouth, but Tamara piped in. “How do you know all this? Are we expected to believe this Azrael character—the one you say makes as much conversation as a dead fish—just told you this out of the blue?”

Tamara’s natural distrust in people had come in handy. She was absolutely right. I hadn’t even caught that.

He blinked rapidly, trying to recover from her aggressive questions. “I wasn’t going to go to Hell without some kind of explanation. I needed to know why.”

When she looked at me again, disbelief flashed in her eyes. She wasn’t buying it.

I wasn’t sure I was either.

“It was all part of his plot, you know. Even reaping you when I did. He ordered me to do it,” he went on. “If I complied, instead of Releasing me, he’d bring me here and make sure I was taken care of for the rest of my afterlife. Or at least until he began to run things the way he wanted to after the war.”

“And you agreed? To all of it?” I asked, growing angry.

Azrael was looking more and more like a two-headed snake instead of an Angel of Death. And I had worked under him willingly, even respected him. Had he ever sent me to reap souls based on his own agenda? Just thinking about the possibility enraged me.

Wasn’t there someone above his head overlooking his decisions? I know Eli had said God had gone missing, but still… Was there anyone else who could have seen what Azrael was doing and stopped him?

Guess not. That was clear in him succeeding in his plan this far.

“You have to understand,” he went on. “I didn’t really have much of a choice, did I? I could turn him down and get Released, or I could go along with it and stay here for the rest of my afterlife. The only thing is that it does get a bit lonely…”

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