Page 16 of Death Deals

To keep up with the distraction, I spilled my guts. At least with what I thought was necessary to make our coming fight easier. The Trials, Monnie’s sneaky dealings and how he ripped me from Heaven right before I fully Ascended, and my time limit…

Andre was quiet for most of it, poking in with questions now and then. When I brought up the apocalypse, he didn’t freak like I’d expected. Surprisingly, he sighed, as if the news wasn’t news at all.

“Your Medium friend’s little demon problem should have clued me into that sooner,” he said. “Demons on earth without the solstice? The balance is off.”

I nodded. “When you first saw me at Red, I had no idea just how bad everything was. Including the thinness of the veil between the life and the afterlife dimensions. It’s only getting worse.”

“Suddenly the feud between my kind doesn’t seem so bad,” he mused.

“I know what you mean.” All the problems I had as a reaper looked like chump change next to the apocalypse.

Andre pulled out the bottle of red wine that’d been put on ice for us and two glasses. When I shook my head, he poured himself some and took a sip. “You have quite an exciting life, Blackwell,” he said.

“Afterlife,” I corrected. “My life before this was exciting for an entirely different reason.”

He sighed and took another sip. “Yes, I suppose I could say the same, too.”

“Tell me,” I said, wondering just how much he’d be willing to say. “Who was Andre DeMonte before Fairport and Red?”

“You mean before I was a vampire,” he replied.

I nodded.

He grew quiet, his gaze focusing in on the red liquid in his glass. He swirled it around a few times instead of answering.

Had I hit a nerve?

After another full minute of tense waiting, he said, “You don’t know much about my kind, so I’ll tell you this. We don’t speak about our lives before the awakening. To us, that person died and a new one was reborn in their place, so we never look back. It’s inconsiderate to even ask such a question.”

I held up my hands in surrender. “Okay. Got it. I won’t ask it again.”

“Good.” He drained the rest of the wine and set the glass down. Then, the car stopped and a screen flashed awake on the door beside Andre. He pressed the image of a phone and a man’s voice sounded.

“Sir, we’re here,” he said

“Thank you,” Andre replied before pressing the screen again to shut it off.

I started to move toward the door, but he was quick to stop me. “Another thing I must stress to you before we continue,” he began. “Do not reveal yourself to the Perezes. Or when we’re with the Omaris. Only if it’s absolutely needed.”

“Oh?” Limit the use of my power? The only thing I had to protect myself if things went south? Even without my Ascension and at its low capacity, it still packed a punch. Hm, I wasn’t so sure I could follow this one. “And why’s that?”

“It may change their mind about going forward with our agreement.”

“By knowing I’m an Archangel?” Why? I didn’t get it.

“You’re a rare commodity, Blackwell. Your blood is powerful. They may try to call everything off on the minor chance of killing me and claiming you as their own. Harnessing your light gift as a weapon to use against the other families. Or keep you as a blood slave to drink from and enhance their own abilities.”

Like Cassandra had suggested they do to me.

“Who and what you are could catapult a family to the top,” he said. “Don’t think for a second they won’t jump at such a prime opportunity.”

I still wasn’t sure Andre wasn’t going to do just that very thing, either. I couldn’t let my guard down around these vamps.

A shadow moved outside my window—the driver—and the door swung open. I got out. An inch of snow coated the ground, and the air was cold enough to sting. In my normal tank and jeans, I wrapped my arms around myself, my entire body shivering immediately.

Something heavy and warm pressed against my shoulders, and when I turned around, I saw Andre there, standing in just a collared dress shirt and pants. The scent of his masculine cologne enveloped me, and I realized then that he’d given me his suit jacket.

More car doors slammed as the three other service vehicles let out their passengers—the Perezes and the rest of the DeMontes.

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