Page 34 of Till Death

“You are a prize for me to win. Don’t you understand yet?”

I had no choice but to watch Amon take one slow step toward me after another. My being froze the longer he stared until it felt like I was encased in a block of ice. Amon came close enough to run a finger down my arm and goosebumps rose from the touch. I shivered. Even thinking about calling my light brought the pain to new and worsening levels. And yet blacking out was out of the question.

Amon would not allow it.

I flashed back to the moment I’d died, with Ed looming over me and choking the life out of me. I breathed this time. Air flowed freely through my lungs, and yet it was the same sense of being out of control of not only the situation but my own body.

Waiting for the ax to fall.

“Aw, there’s no need to be afraid. I really don’t want to hurt you. I simply want the chance to show you why it’s better for you to fight for us. The balance doesn’t need to be restored, Jade. The veil does not need to be mended. You’ll help to turn the tides in my favor,” he whispered.

Every word became a bolt of lightning through me.

He’d frozen me the same way he did the small contingent of Halflings. Easily. Without even breaking a sweat. Christ, what had I gotten myself into when I let Tamara send me down here?

Another mess, of course.

My throat worked but, no matter how hard I tried, Amon had complete control over me.

“Your powers, as I’ve stated, are greater than you think. And with me here to guide you, to train you, you’ll be able to use those powers.”

For you.

My expression must have darkened because Amon began to laugh again, his eyes flashing. They didn’t change color, the way the other higher level demons’ eyes did when they were angry, or when they let a bit of their true nature shine through. No, Amon had total and utter control over his eyes.

I wondered what lay beneath the surface of the form he’d chosen but didn’t want to pry too deeply. I’d probably be scarred for life.

“I will succeed where the rest of my brethren failed. They could not claim you because they were weak. Hank let you slip through his fingers multiple times because he thought there was no way you would ever choose differently. He thought you would always be available to help him. The big head, remember?” Amon tapped the side of his head.

I wanted to tell him that he was the one with a big head if he thought I’d help him, especially when he refused to give me a way to save Cole. As far as I was concerned, I was on no one’s side but my own. It might be selfish, and through the haze of fear I wondered if I’d lost my mind.

But terror was a hard thing to fight against and no matter how hard I tried, I could not. Amon refused to let me out of Hell.

He’d never let me go.

“This will all be over soon with your help,” he said soothingly. Going so far as to run his hand down my right cheek to wipe away the tears. Then, disgustingly, he lifted his thumb to his lips. “I can make sure your friends come out all right.”

He must have known that I knew the offer was a lie. He’d use whatever tactic he could to get me to agree with him, and the moment I did, it was all over.

I might be scared but scared doesn’t equal stupid.

This also felt remarkably like the time I’d been caught in the Fae’s web, paralyzed and unable to do anything to break the song’s spell. So….

I knew what to do. Drawing in a deep breath, I reached down for the last of my light. Once again it became a question of did I submit or did I go down swinging.

“Do you think your God will save you now?” Amon leaned even closer as he listened to the nuance of my mortal body breaking down. “Because as far as we are concerned, from here on out, God is dead. He will lose the war. He didn’t tell you? You and every other soul will bemine.”

CHAPTERTEN

Okay, so there really wasn’t a good way out of this situation.

Not even a little one, because without being able to call my light, or transform into my pure form, Amon had a tight grip on me. Like a tall, normal looking anaconda where you don’t realize the danger outright. I felt like I kinda walked into this one, though. With my damn eyes open and the rest of me cocky enough to think I’d escape without a scratch.

In and out of Hell,Jade?

Amon didn’t deserve my soul. And he didn’t deserve the souls of every other unsuspecting person or supernatural sucked into this game between him and Hank.

The invisible grip keeping me in place eased but didn’t fully let me go.

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