Page 60 of Till Death

“What do you mean, the balance is shifting?” His words reminded me of something I’d heard, but what? Exhaustion had my neurons firing too slowly for me to make the connection.

“I mean that the veil has begun to restore itself and I can only guess that it is due to your actions. The number of Halflings has diminished, the balance is shifting, and here you are. It is no coincidence.”

Double whammy.

“So you’re not going to lecture me about going to Hell? Multiple times?” I said with a toothy smile.

“What exactly did you do down there in Hell? Besides bring back another soul to be saved.” Simon would not press if I decided to tell him a tale. Except I found myself happy to tell him the truth.

I started at the beginning and made my way through the most recent fight with Lust and Pride. I told him how Tamara had gotten us there and back with the ancient words. And I told him about Cole.

Simon remained silent through the story until I reached the end.

“If it meant several more sin demons taken out of the picture, then how could I lecture you on the means?” he replied easily. Although I noticed several new creases on his forehead. “With such powerful demons gone, there is less work for us out here, and a brighter future ahead.”

“What a way to catch a glimpse of that silver lining.”

“Although…”

I froze when Simon glanced over his shoulder at Cole in the other room, my dread seeping deeper into my skin.

“I never would have thought he’d have the strength or the energy to hold out against the change. He’s done more than anyone thought of him, really. But he doesn’t have much time left.”

My face fell. Tell me something I didn’t know.

“He’s still in there,” I insisted. “And yeah, of course he’s stronger than you realized. I wouldn’t love him otherwise.” Okay, it was a lie, I definitely would still love Cole. But his strength was a big reason why. No matter what he’d done for a living, or how many times he’d lied to me, no one understood me the way he did.

My mentor held out a hand to me and I stared at it for a hot minute like it would somehow morph into a snake and bite me.

“There are no sides anymore,” Simon said softly when I finally rested my palm on his. Already uncomfortable with the odd contact. “We just do the best we can for the people we care about and we hope it’s enough.”

“So you’re not going to lecture me about not putting Cole out of his misery either?” I shot a glare over to Eli, who hadn’t uncrossed his arms yet. He still looked ready to burst into fight mode at any moment. “You wouldn’t be the first one, and I’m sure you wouldn’t be the last, either.”

Now my gaze drifted over to Cole inside the demon trap, crouched over and panting. More animal, more demon, thananythinghuman at this point.

“If you love him, Jade, then he’s worthy, and I will personally do the best I can to help you. To help him. Because why else are we fighting?” Simon wanted to know.

“For our lives,” I corrected. Although this whole experience had certainly solidified the once confusing feelings I had for the man. Er, Halfling. “We fight for our lives. I have to say, if this is your version of a pep talk, it’s not really inspiring.”

Simon huffed out a chuckle. “I wasn’t going for inspiration. More of a truthful kind of chat between friends. Sometimes the truth hurts. And sometimes the truth is just whatever you need to hear at the moment.”

I marinated on his words. “And what is it you think I need to hear right now?” I asked.

“I think you need to hear that you’re doing the right thing and you’re doing a great job.”

“What?” I laughed right in Simon’s face and he blinked at me. “You must be kidding. I’m floundering. I’m drowning. I’m taking everyone down with me. I got Michael killed, or hadn’t you heard? He died because of me.”

Simon shuffled me toward a chair and physically pushed me down. At this point, the pain in my leg was nothing but a distant memory, like my body had adjusted to the constant low-level agony. “You’re doing the best you can and I’m not going to blow any more sunshine up your rear.”

“Oh, so forceful.”

“Not forceful enough,” he countered.

It felt like old times. This was the man who’d trained me to become a reaper, and I always feared I’d let him down because I wasn’t like the rest of them. I had a real hard time crossing souls over, and Simon had never held it against me no matter how many times I got in trouble. Or how many times I got him in trouble.

“Why are you here?” I asked. “Not that I’m unhappy to see you, but it seems a little strange to think you came all this way for a little pep talk.”

Holy shit. He hadn’t, had he? It seemed a little farfetched, and no matter how happy I was to see him, I had to know.

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