Page 27 of Death Match

Then his attention shifted to me. “Did you decide what you wanted to do, Jade? Start training or the Trials?”

“The Trials,” I replied bluntly. “Immediately.”

Michael’s brows rose in disbelief. “You sound so certain now. What changed your mind?”

“My trip to the living world showed me that I’ve wasted enough time already.”

Michael dipped his head in understanding. “Yes. Well, I suppose your unexpected excursion was worth it, then.” He held out his arms and gestured for me to step forward. I did, and he led me around the massive structure of earth and the solar system. “Come with me, and we’ll get this started.”

As he led me through the seemingly empty room, I peeked at Eli from over my shoulder and was relieved to see he was, indeed, following us.

“Don’t worry. I’m here,” he mouthed to me.

His nearness calmed me, and that fact alone made me pause. I’d gone from being creeped out by him watching me and annoyed by his constant hovering to wanting him there. Oh, how the tides had turned.

At the other end of the building, there were a set of escalators that went up and down to a second floor.

I chuckled nervously.

Escalators, huh? At least it wasn’t another elevator.

I’d had my fair share of those, for sure.

Michael stepped onto the going-up one with ease. The man navigated better than me, and Ihadmy sight. Eli and I followed behind him. As the escalator rose, the air around us changed. The pressure increased, pressing into me uncomfortably from all sides. This definitely wasn’t a normal escalator ride.

“What’s happening?” I said, but my voice sounded muddled when it hit my hears. I repeated my question a little louder, but Michael turned toward me and held up a finger, telling me to wait a moment. We were passing through something.

My ears popped, and then the strange feeling eased.

“We are passing through dimensions,” Michael said finally, his voice normal.

As we came to the crest, an archway came into view. We all stepped off the escalator and onto the small platform. The arch rose in front of us about eight feet tall. Silver smoke swirled in the entrance, obscuring the view of what lay on the other side.

“Is that it?” I asked, trying to peek around the billowing clouds with no luck. “The Trials?”

Michael nodded. “Beyond the arch. You just need to step through to begin.”

My anxiety skyrocketed, and my stomach turned. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do this suddenly.

But I had to. Ihadto. People’s lives and afterlives depended on it.

Come on, Jade. Suck it up.

I glanced at Eli. He must have read my nerves on my face because he reached for my hand. He gave me a determined look. He believed I could do it. And he knew me better than I knew myself, right?

At that moment, I was thankful for him. His presence, his touch, his confidence in me. It was just what I needed.

“All right. Is there anything else I need to know?” I asked Michael.

“We will be able to watch you throughout your challenges, but we will only be able to interact with you while you are in the center of the labyrinth,” he replied.

“Labyrinth?”

“Yes, the Trials will present themselves differently to everyone, but each Archangel will have to navigate their way through each task until the end. There will always be a neutral zone where me and the Guardian can communicate with them.”

A chill gripped me. “So, you’re telling me I will be like a lab rat? I’ll be chasing the cheese while you both study me?” I didn’t like the sound of that.

Eli’s head tilted, his brows knitted in confusion. He had no idea what I was talking about. Another living colloquialism he didn’t understand.

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