Page 78 of Death Trap

He was the Angel of Death after all.

Maybe I had misheard it. That was possible.

“Good girl.” Azrael grinned his terrifying Cheshire cat fromAlice in Wonderlandsmile. His words, though, made my blood boil. “Now, you’ll be staying here, in this wonderful apartment I set up for Ben, until I come back for you when everything is said and done. Shouldn’t take too long. Maybe a millennium to really get things the way I like it. And Ben and I are going to get started.”

“You’re not leaving us here,” Tamara said.

Azrael’s fiery gaze snapped her way. “Would you prefer I throw you in the pits with the demons to rip you apart and skip rope with your entrails, witch?”

Tamara swallowed her response.

“You’re lucky I’m letting you stay here, so I suggest you take it with a smile.”

Just for good measure, Tamara gave him one that read “Fuck off.”

When Azrael beckoned Ben over, he hurried to his side. Together, they walked to the door.

“Time to go. Enjoy your stay,” Azrael said.

Ben opened the door for him, and Azrael waltzed through, throwing me one last warning glare over his shoulder before the door slammed and they disappeared.

Tamara rushed to it and threw it open again. Endless blackness stretched out before us. The bridge was gone.

She banged the door closed again and spun around. “You worked for that bastard?” she asked. “How did you survive it?”

I shrugged. “He’s very intimidating, if you haven’t noticed.”

“If he’s an angel, then I’m glad I worked with dark magic and demons in my life,” she said. “Did you see his face? I’d say he may have been an angel before, but not so much anymore.”

“Why do you say that?” I rubbed the back of my neck. My muscles were rock hard back there.

I wonder why.

“I’ve worked with a lot of evil assholes in my day,” she replied, “and I can spot them out a mile away. Azrael’s been corrupted. Which isn’t surprising, with all his nefarious dealings. I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s been kicked out of Heaven or wherever those flying ballerinas live.”

“It’d make sense why he wants to restructure the afterlife.”

Tamara walked around the apartment, briefly disappearing into the kitchen area and what I thought was a hallway. When she came back, anger flared in her expression.

“All fake. There’s nothing but blackness beyond those doorways,” she said.

Shit.

“I hope you have a plan because I’m not staying here in this living room for eternity.”

I sighed. “Like Azrael said, it could be worse. This is cushy living compared to where you could be.”

She shook her shoulders to expel a chill. “You’re right. And you’re the reason we’re here. I don’t understand. Why didn’t he just kill you if you’re such a burden to him?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing, honestly.” After walking around the coffee table, she plopped onto the sofa. “Maybe he can’t.”

“What do you mean? He’s the Angel of Death. And if anyone—dead or alive—can still cease to exist, like he said, I certainly can.”

“I’m not sure. But it’s the only thing that makes sense. Why keep you around? Even when you were working for him?”

I had thought the same thing.

“It would also explain why he needed to come up with this long and convoluted scheme to trap you down here,” she went on.

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