Page 26 of Death Match

In his embrace, the words and feelings I had been holding back pushed their way up my throat, wanting release. Maybe Eli was right. Maybe I didn’t have to suffer alone.

When I finally let go of everything, it all exploded from my lips, unable to be held back anymore.

“What if I can’t fix the veil? What if I’ve missed my chance because I was too stupid to see how bad it really was? Have I doomed everyone? Kay, Laurence, Zach, Sean, Arianna—am I too late?”

Slowly, Eli let go of me and stepped to my side. Without saying a word, he touched the water in the pool. Like before, the liquid rippled and a picture appeared.

We stared down at a town’s center. From the clay and stone-constructed buildings, I assumed it was a place somewhere in the Middle East, but I couldn’t say for sure. The western hemisphere had been part of my jurisdiction when I was a reaper, and I hadn’t visited anywhere resembling this.

In the picture, the ground shook. Structures crumbled and people ran, shielding their heads with their arms as rocks rained down. That’s when something nearby exploded. A cloud of dust consumed the image in the water so that I could no longer see a thing except flickers of flames here and there.

I gasped in horror. It must have been bombs exploding. It was the only thing I could think of. And if that were true, that meant all those people who had been running for cover… Dead.

“What is this?” I croaked, my throat dry. “What are you showing me?”

Eli closed his eyes again and kept his hand in the water. The image started to change before my eyes.

I was now looking into a huge room full of people sitting in rows in front of sewing machines, mostly women dressed in rags and drenched in sweat. The garments they worked on though were elaborate, brightly colored, and expensive, but the women appeared malnourished and weak.

Again, the picture changed. A group of police officers shouted at a teen boy, their guns pointed at him. Even though he didn’t appear to be a threat of any kind and held up his hands in surrender, one of the officer’s guns fired, triggering the others to follow without hesitation.

The kid dropped to the ground in a heap. There was no way he’d survive that.

I screamed, my hand jutting to the water as if there were some way I could stop what was happening. The water just rippled from the disturbance.

When I yanked my wet fingers out, I glanced up at Eli, confused as to why he was showing me all these terrible things. He removed his hand, too, and the water cleared.

“The world is in chaos,” he said. “People are killing others over nothing more than fear. Fear of change. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what’s different. Their souls are full of hatred and anger, most of which they can’t even explain or understand. But that doesn’t stop them from doing the terrible things they’re doing.”

I blinked, taking in all he had said. “Is all that…” I swallowed roughly. “Is all that happening right now?”

He nodded. “And with every passing second, worse things are occurring in the world. The more demons cross over and interfere with the living, the more the balance will be tilted in their favor. The more corruption and death and hatred will spread.”

Hadn’t I told him about how I felt in hopes to get comfort in return? What kind of pep talk was this anyway?

“The living are impressionable. Especially humans. It doesn’t take much to sway them. But if left like this, they will surely destroy themselves. That is,ifthe apocalypse doesn’t wipe them out first.”

“Why are you telling me all this, Eli?” I asked, my chest tight. “Are you saying I was right? I’m too late?”

A small smile lifted the corner of his lips. “It’s never too late, Jade,” he said. “And they’ll never be too far gone for us not to try and save them. That’s what you used to tell me all the time.”

When that place in my mind tickled with recognition at Eli’s words, I concluded he had to be right.

Besides, it sounded like something I’d say.

Past Jade sure was wiser than I was, that was for sure.

Sucking in a deep breath, I straightened up and looked up at the Ascension building in front of me. It was time to meet with Michael again.

I was ready.

* * *

After walking inside,we found Michael already standing there, waiting. As if he knew exactly when I’d be back with my decision.

He turned to Eli first. “You found her,” he said. “Excellent.”

Eli nodded.

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