Page 6 of Death Match

“Without Ascending, you won’t be able to see everything as the rest of us see it. Once you complete the Trials, you will though.”

If I had a dollar every time that word came out of the man’s mouth, I could probablybribethe demons of Hell to stop the apocalypse orbuya new veil between the living and nonliving worlds.

Sheesh. Was there a way I could remove “Trials” from his vocabulary altogether?

I ground my teeth. “Can you at least give me an idea of what I’m supposed to be looking at?”

“It’s…” He paused, trying to find the right words. “Amazing.”

Wow, thanks for the visual there.

My shoulders slumped. The child-like wonder reflecting in his eyes made jealousy stir. I wanted to see whatever it is he was gawking at. Couldn’t exactly call that fair in my book. But whatever. I let it go.

Time to focus on the things I could see.

“What’s with the giant, spinning earth?” I asked and pointed to the thing. “Or do I need the Trials for that, too?”

Eli’s entire face lit up, and just like that, my hard little heart softened slightly. As frustrating as this all was, it was hard for me to stay aggravated that things weren’t working in my favor when he was so excited to share this world with me. Actually, it was kind of cute to see him like this.

I found myself smiling despite it all.

“Here, I’ll show you.” Gingerly, he took my hand and outstretched it toward the earth. He made one finger touch the nearest continent, which by the looks of it was one of the islands of Hawaii.

The New York City skyline blurred outside the windows and was soon replaced by the majestic ocean and volcanic views of the big island. I gasped at how vivid the picture was. I could even smell the salty air and feel the warmth of the midday sun streaming through the windows. In the distance, a rainbow appeared through the clouds.

Now that—that was amazing.

“Looks like you picked Honolua Bay in Maui,” Eli said, still smiling as his gaze swept past the windows. “Good choice.”

I retracted my hand and stared at the earth in front of us in awe. “So anywhere I touch…”

“We can visit, yes.”

I said nothing for a few minutes, still stunned at what I had just witnessed. Between this and the magic water pool, there were so many ways to peek into the living world. Observe it all from afar.

But that seemed to be the angels’ M.O., didn’t it? Look but don’t touch?

Seeing Kay and Zach in the shop and witnessing the breathtaking views of New York and Hawaii… It only made me want to cross through the veil even more. But I couldn’t. Not until the Trials were over.

How did Eli do this? It was torture. He might be okay with being confined to his little slice of Heaven, but I wasn’t.

“Everything okay, Jade?” Eli’s concerned tone yanked me from my thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Something’s upset you. Did I—”

“No, no. I’m okay.” I dismissed it like I usually did and forced my face to change. The smile suddenly plastered across my lips was a little too big to be believable. “Really.”

His look said he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t press. Good thing, too, because I didn’t feel like explaining right now. In times like this, I was thankful Eli and I had a history. He knew when to push for answers and when to let things go. That made it easier for me.

“Come on then.” Eli took my hand again and led me around the solar system to the other side. “Let’s meet Michael.”

To my surprise, when we rounded the corner, a man stood there, as striking and as beautiful as the one beside me. I stopped right on the spot.

“Meet me?” he said, his voice full with laughter. He held out his arms in greeting. “Well, here I am.”

Blond hair perfectly tossed on top of his head and blue eyes that could be confused for gray in the right light, Michael wasn’t only the Guardians and Archangels’ commander and chief, he was in competition with Eli for Heaven’s rendition of the movieMagic Mike. He was clean shaven with looks that could stop a freight train midtrack. Even more shocking was that he was half naked, wearing only a pair of slacks loosely on his hips. The same kind Eli had manifested when I had asked him to clothe his nakedness after we had first met.

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