Page 78 of Death Deals

“You should be resting, you know.” I didn’t need to look up to know Eli had joined me. An angel wouldn’t need downtime like the others. “Now that you’re partially alive, basic needs will apply to you again. Like sleep. Food.”

My stomach was twisted in knots as it was. The thought of putting anything in my mouth right now made bile rise.

“I can watch him,” he offered.

I peered up at him—this massive hunk of an angel with beige trousers on and no shirt. Leave him alone with Cole? What, so he could kill him to release me from the contract and claim that it was for the greater good? No, thank you.

Did I think Eli was capable of going against my trust? I wanted to say no, but he’d lied to me before to get me to Heaven. When it came to the bigger picture, loyalty came second. I’d learned that with him the hard way. The angelic “we sacrifice a few to save all” mentality… That wasn’t my style. Especially when the person he wanted to ax was one of my friends.

“No, I’m good,” I said to him. “Go about your angel business. Whatever that is.”

He sighed, his shoulders falling. Then, as if something had captured his attention, he turned to the right.

“Yes,” he said to the nothingness. “Only for a moment, though.”

I stared at him, confused. Who the heck was he talking to? “Uh—”

He shifted slightly, his body glimmering like gold. Holding his hand out, he touched something, something I couldn’t see, and the glow around him flickered.

I jumped to my feet.What in the world…

Slowly, the outline of a body formed under his hand. The distinct shape of a shaved head, slender shoulders, and an equally skinny frame. As more and more details faded into view, Eli’s color dimmed. I could do nothing but ogle, my mouth open in shock. It only took a few seconds, but suddenly a full person was standing there, and not just any person, either. It was Simon.

“Holy shit.” I stepped toward him, but he quickly threw up his hands to stop me.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Jade, but you mustn’t touch me. I’m not fully here on this plane, and if Elijah’s connection is severed, it may harm him.”

I shuffled back. “Okay… But how is this even happening right now.” I glanced at Eli whose eyes were closed in deep concentration.

“It’s temporary,” Simon said. “And a bit unstable, so I must be quick. Elijah is sharing his essences with me so you may see me and we can speak again.”

Eli could transfer some of his very essence—or whatever—into a spirit to make them visible in the living world? That was a thing?

Better question was, could I do that?

I was going to assume no since I’d failed my Ascension, and all the cool stuff only came if I’d succeeded.

“Because of the demon’s contract, you were hidden from everyone on the other side of the veil. Elijah came to me for help, but even I couldn’t track you,” he explained. Eli recruiting Simon to find me made sense. Since Simon was a komodo dragon shifter—a rare breed of shifter—he was an excellent tracker. If he couldn’t find me, that was serious. “It was as if the deal shielded you from us all. It had us all worried.”

Simon looked over at Cole, and his frown deepened. “Elijah also tells me you have the demon trapped. But he’s possessed a friend of yours.”

“Yeah, he’s in Cole.”

“The half-demon.”

I nodded.

“The one who was working for Azrael and tricked you.”

Again, I nodded but more stiffly this time. I had a feeling where this conversation was going. And if Simon and Eli had been talking to each other about things behind the scenes, then I knew whose side he was going to be on.

“You have a chance to break free of the deal, Jade,” he said.

Whoop, there it is.

Saw that coming a mile away.

Eli knew I respected Simon more than anyone else. He’d been my mentor since my death. One of the few people I could trust fully. So, who better to bring to change my mind?

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