Page 25 of Death Match

“The veil…” he whispered, panic leaching into his tone. “The dimensions are close to meshing. We’re running out of time.”

That was what I had figured, too, but seeing how shaken up Eli was about it only amped up my own nerves.

Then I remembered how the other spirits hadn’t seen the anomaly right in front of them. Obviously, Sean and Cole couldn’t see it, either, or otherwise they would have been running out of the house by now.

“Why can we see it but no one else can?” I asked.

“Because we are higher beings and it is our job to protect the veil and all beings on either side of it,” he replied. “But, from the looks of it, I would say it won’t be too long before it is seen and felt by everyone.”

Not good.

“And what happens if the veil dissolves completely?” I asked.

“We need to get back to Heaven,” Eli said hurriedly. “You need to complete the Trials. We can’t wait any longer.”

As I watched the image of the bar in the afterlife become more visible with every passing second, paired with the panic in Eli’s tone, I couldn’t help but feel like he was right.

There was no more time to be afraid on my part. No more lollygagging around and making excuses. I had to stop putting it off. For everyone’s sakes.

It was now or never.

Apparently, when you’re an angel, you can cross through dimensions all on your own. With ease. But since I wasn’t my complete angel-self yet, we had to travel the hard way still.

The only way to get back to Heaven was through the elevator in Styx Corp. So that was our next stop.

After another weird push through the gooey membrane where the veil was the thinnest and a quick transportation portal trip, we stood in front of Styx Corp. once more. Not in the mood for another confrontation with Maryanne, I half dragged Eli past her desk and ignored all the insults she hurled at my turned back.

When we reached the elevator hallway, we strode to the very end and stopped in front of the one we knew would take us up. Eli touched the doors, and they instantly rolled open for us. We stepped inside.

As I waited for us to ascend, my stomach clenched with worry. Smithfield and Fairport couldn’t be the only places where the veil was so thin, the spirit and the living worlds were on the verge of colliding. The damage would have to be worldwide. Extensive. And like a selfish prick, I had been pushing off what I needed to do to fix it.

Had my actions—or lack of—hurt anyone? Could the veil even be repaired? From the looks of it, things were pretty bad. At this point, was there anything I could even do?

I wrapped my arms around myself, the weight of my responsibilities suddenly too great. If I knew what I knew now two weeks ago, I’d start the Trials immediately. No if, ands, or buts about it.

But Eli had tried to push me toward that, hadn’t he? Not hard—he didn’t want to pressure me—but he had reiterated how important it was I meet Michael and start things.

And like a fool, I had ignored him.

Even Michael had tried to tell me, and I’d blown him off, too.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Eli stepped out first, and then offered his hand for me. Still lost in my head, I took it and let him guide me out and toward the oasis at Heaven’s center.

I glanced down at my reflection in the magical waters, not liking the person who was looking back at me at the moment.

“You can talk to me, Jade.” Eli’s voice was gentle as his image appeared next to mine in the water. “About anything.”

“I know…” I muttered. But did I want to?

“Tell me what’s on your mind.”

I closed my eyes briefly and sucked in a breath, but the thought that I had screwed up so bad and couldn’t fix it made my entire body shake.

What had I done?

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, encasing me in warmth and security. It was such a human gesture from Eli, it took me by surprise at first, but I welcomed his effort to comfort me just the same. Normally I didn’t like being touched by other people like this—it was an awkward and strange gesture to me—but now I welcomed it. I needed it.

Just a little something to settle my nerves some.

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