Page 92 of Death Trap

Therewas my friend. “I agree.”

“It’s the only way,” Simon said. “I’m sorry, Jade.”

“You can’t just hop into the afterlife, grab Benjamin, and chuck him out?”

“He’s out of Hell, so we’d have to Release him or put him back somehow,” Eli explained with a frown.

“That’s sounds good to me. Let’s do that,” I said.

“There isn’t time,” Simon replied. “Azrael will know how valuable Benjamin is to him. He’ll have him hidden somewhere remote, and searching will take time.”

“Time we don’t have,” Eli added.

“So, we have to Release me and pray I can come back.” I rubbed my eyes, a headache growing behind them. Risk my afterlife to possibly, maybe come back, only to confront and fight Azrael, the Angel of Death.

Sounded like the odds weren’t exactly in our favor here. Not in mine, at least.

But what other choice did I have, really?

Kay wrinkled her brow and frowned, and I tried to give her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry,” I told her in a soft whisper. “You were right before. I keep bringing this chaos into your life. It’s time I did something to stop it all.”

“Jade…”

If only she knew how much her friendship meant to me. How just knowing her had saved me from myself so many times in the past.

I’d do anything to protect her and the people she loved. Because, if I was to be completely honest with myself, I loved them, too.

“I’ll come back,” I said. “I’ll find a way.”

She leapt toward me, arms outstretched, but when she tried to wrap me in a hug, her body passed right through me.

When she realized there was no way for us to properly say goodbye, her eyes glistened.

“I’ll be back,” I repeated. Maybe to convince myself, too. I needed some reassurance, even knowing this really was our only option and our only chance to do this right.

Eli stepped toward Kay. As if reading my mind, he said, “Kay, do you still have those prayer beads? If anything goes astray here, remember all you need to do is say my name in a prayer. I’ll be able to hear you and come to help. Once Jade completes the Trials, you’ll be able to call on her, too.”

She sniffed. “Okay.”

I mouthed a silentthank youto Eli. He knew my biggest concern was for their safety. Especially if there was a way I couldn’t come back. Now, I could go forward knowing there was a safety net in place if Kay ever needed one.

After sucking in a deep breath with unneeded air, I let it all out in a very unladylike raspberry. “All right. Let’s get this party started.”

Eli gestured for Kay to back up. Her sniffling stirred Laurence awake, who instinctually grabbed the baby monitor and listened in. When he realized it was Kay who was upset, he scrambled to his feet and placed comforting hands on her shoulders. She leaned into him.

Simon stepped in front of me. He lifted his hand to my face, unable to prevent the sorrow from leaching into his expression.

“It’s okay, Simon. Either way, I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will,” he whispered faintly and for my ears only.

“Come back to me, Jade,” Eli said, apprehension wrinkling his brow, too. “Please.”

“I will.”

Simon’s hand began to shake as it hovered in front of my face, and for a second, I wondered if he was debating whether or not to go through with it.

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