Page 83 of Death Match

For a split second, the elfish-looking demon face flickered across his human host’s, reminding me that the man in front of me wasn’t really a man at all. Just a mask for the creature that lurked underneath.

“That’s right,” he said, his voice deepening and becoming more ominous. “You’remine.”

“I thought we discussed this before. I’m not looking for a demon sugar daddy, and I won’t be anytime soon.” Even though my words were firm, I took a step back, the need to run shooting from the neurons in my brain to the muscles in my feet in a millisecond. Something in the way he’d said it made my anxiety peak.

Another step back, but when the back of my legs hit another tombstone, I froze in place.

“What’s wrong, Jade? I thought you’d be excited to hear the news.” Monnie hopped off from his sitting place and grabbed his cane in one swift motion. The jewels on his rings shimmered as they reflected my power’s light as he sauntered closer to me. “You and I—I always thought we had a bit of chemistry. I mean, that kiss…you remember it, don’t you? I, for one, can’t forget it.” He licked his lips to prove his point.

I made a disgusted grunt at that.

“That kiss was nothing.” I moved around the tombstone, never taking my eyes off him. I don’t know why, but my gut was telling me I needed to put as much space between us as possible. “It was my payment for our deal. That’s all—”

He continued to follow me, his movements graceful and precise, despite the darkness of the night. “Uh ah. You see, that’s where you’re wrong. That kiss was something. It was your metaphorical signature on the dotted line.” He laughed. “Has no one up there told you how demon deals work, Jade?”

I kept backpedaling, doing my best to maneuver around the stones and divots in the grass blindly.

When I didn’t answer him, he tsked at the situation, as if he was disappointed to hear such news. “I guess not, hm? What a pity.”

When he finally stopped walking toward me, I stopped, too.

“Here, let me help you,” he said. “You wanted information about your friend and my brother, Xaver, remember? I asked for a kiss, which you gave willingly. That kiss just sealed the deal. Giving a demon a kiss surrenders your soul.”

I gaped, shocked.

“You’re mine, Jade Blackwell, to do with as I please.” Monnie readjusted the cuffs of his jacket and smoothed his lapel. “And I do like toplease.”

Bile rose from the pits of my stomach. I didn’t want to believe what he was saying, but why else had I experienced so much pain when the Ascension began? It was as if the power was being rejected, unable to fully grab on. Was it because my soul was no longer mine? It’d been tainted by Monnie and this deal I had no idea I had made? Was that why I hadn’t been able to get my memories restored, too?

Every question ignited a flame of anger within me. Monnie had tricked me—claimed my soul without my consent—with a kiss I had mistaken as something innocent. Maybe it was part of some pervy fantasy of his. Who knew? But if I’d known what I was really giving up, I would have never agreed.

And he knew that. That’s why he did it the way he had.

“You lying, treacherous snake,” I spat, rage causing me to shake all over.

Monnie placed a hand on his chest and feigned surprise. “I am many things, but I am not a liar.”

“What do you call this, then?”

He shrugged, unmoved by my outburst. “I may omit some details every now and again, but I never lie.”

I snorted.

Annoyance flashed across his face. “Everything I’ve ever told you has been with a hundred percent honesty. Most of the time, I gave you more than you even asked for. Warning you about the war? Giving you an escape out of Hell? Telling you who your little Halfling boyfriend’s demon father was? How easily you forget my generosity.”

“Generosity?” I shot. “I think we have different definitions of the word.”

There had to be a way out of this so-called deal. I had no idea what that could be at the moment, but I’d find a way. Eli would know. Or Michael. I just had to get back to Heaven and let them know what had happened. They’d be able to help.

From the way Monnie’s grin widened, I had a feeling this conversation was going exactly as he’d hoped. “You’re so easy to read, Jade. I can practically see your thoughts on your face as you think them. And so you know, as the terms per our agreement, since you have not fully Ascended and your soul is claimed, your little Guardian pet won’t be able to find you. Actually, none of those flying fairies will be able to find you or contact you. Oh, and of course, you won’t be able to cross over again. Not until your soul is collected, that is.”

“Collected.”

“By me. Yes. And brought to Hell.”

My temples ached. I pried my clenched jaw open. My power’s light ebbed and flowed from my fists as my anger pushed closer and closer to the surface.

Monnie eyed my hands. Even though he tried to keep his worry off his expression, I could read it in his red-eyed gaze. It was clear in the way he stared, alert and careful.

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