Page 28 of Till Death

Or maybe it was my imagination putting those emotions on him. Then again, he was a demon, and from past experience I knew they didn’t have hearts. They were only here to further their own agendas.

I needed to wrap this up. Desperate, I pushed the blade closer, watching his skin shift under the pressure.

“What do you mean, youwish? Do it! You’re his father. He’s in this position because of you. If anyone can help him, it’s you. You have to know a way.”

Amon held his arms out to his sides, practically inviting me to pierce him through like a shrimp over a grill. And for an Archangel on the edge, like me, it was an invitation I wanted to accept. I wondered if he bled like a normal demon or not.

“It’s not in my power to do so. My apologies.”

“Funny, you really don’t sound apologetic.”

He harrumphed. “It’s never been one of my specialties, no. I assure you, there are quite a few other things to which I greatly excel.”

“Focus, please!” I demanded.

“Well, like I said, it is not in my power to change him back. Once the process has begun, it’s only a matter of time before the change is complete and the demon takes over entirely. Whatever is left of the human blood in his system will simply succumb to the superior genetics of his demon half.”

Amon sounded way too calm for my liking.

“And his soul?”

What would happen to that?

“His soul will be lost as every other Halfling soul is lost during the transformation. There is no afterlife for those like Cole, I’m sorry to say. Even if his soul were to somehow miraculously remain intact, his actions after the change most assuredly damn him to Hell.” Amon’s smile stretched tight. “My hands are tied. Metaphorically speaking.”

“But you…you aren’t like the other demons. You have control over yourself. You’re a shapeshifter.” I gestured toward him with my free hand. “That has to mean something. You’re different.”

At last, the pieces clicked together and I saw the whole puzzle in a flash of inspiration. It was a lightbulb moment for me, not one of my prouder times, but finally everything made sense.

Oh. Oh, my God. Literally.

Stomach sinking, I stared at Amon before slowly lowering my sword.

“You’re like Hank.” I stumbled over the sentence, arm shaking to the point where I almost lost my grip on Bertha and let her drop. “You’re the same kind of creature.”

Shock turned to anger a split-second later and snapped through me. Fueled by Cole’s growls coming from my left. I narrowed my eyes at Amon.

“I am,” he answered firmly. Funny how the name didn’t phase him. Almost as though he knew who I was talking about. “It runs in the family.” His expression turned solemn. “It is troublesome that you had to be caught up in all of this. You truly are a unique specimen. I can see why Monnie wanted you so badly. Together we’d make exquisite progeny.”

“Why would I want to damn any children of mine tothiskind of torment?” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “I’d have to be insane. You have no heart.”

“I have a heart.” And damn if I didn’t detect a note of turmoil in his words. “Unfortunately for me, there is an order to things. A balance that must be kept. I have no control over how my progeny decide to act on their baser instincts. Am I not cursed too? To watch every child of mine succumb to the inferno?”

“Now you’re starting to sound a little too much like someone else I know.” I rolled my eyes.

“Like I said, it runs in the family.”

Things went ungodly quiet as the tension thickened. I stared at the light curls around Amon’s face, and although he didn’t look a thing like Hank, something inside of me clicked. A little too late, true, but they both shared an odd familiarity to me. Once again, recognition surged to the forefront the longer I stared at the demon.

They were both shapeshifters. They were both hiding out and ignoring their responsibilities.

Oh yeah. It made perfect sense on multiple levels and I wanted to smack myself for not realizing the connection before, when Amon first showed me his ability to shapeshift.

Almost as though he’d been putting a carrot in front of my face and I was too dense to notice.

And you know what? Fuck them both for the mess they’d gotten us into, using the world like their own personal gameboard.

“I should have guessed,” I forced myself to say slowly. As though unconcerned with the huge revelation. “Because you’re both assholes.”

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