Page 46 of Till Death

It was either save Kay or save her son; the impossible choice. I half wondered if I’d made the right choice even though I’d passed the Trial that day.

And this time, Kay wasn’t on a ledge. She stood trapped in the middle of a bridge in Hell, which almost felt worse. Because if we both dropped, I highly doubted we’d find anything below us to stop our fall. We’d be squished like little ants under the foot of a bully.

I opened my eyes and strained my blurry vision to keep her in sight.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said again. I really appreciated her concern for me but it was unnecessary.

“Why don’t I believe you?” I told her.

She chuckled. Chuckled! Considering her position, I might have been screaming instead.

“You never do. You always have to find things out for yourself.”

“You’re absolutely right.” Then I dropped my voice so as not to be overheard. “Damn you, Amon. This is bullshit and you know it.”

Surely he heard me and surely he didn’t care.

At last Kay’s shadowy outline stood directly in front of me and I blinked to force myself to refocus on her. Relief flooded me the moment I could touch her, running my hands over her to assess any injuries. The rope binding her arms to her side had little give.

“I’m so happy you’re here. I’m so sorry.” The words spilled out in a rush.

Wide, terror-filled eyes took me in.

“Stop. Okay? We’re going to get out of here. Just give me a minute to get these ropes loose for you,” I told her. “Is everything fine? Did he hurt you in any way?”

Kay shook her head. “I’m fine. A little shaken but fine. I wasn’t even sure what happened. One moment I went outside to check on Lawrence and the next thing I knew, everything went black. I guess that’s when Amon got me.”

My head pounded fiercely as I searched for a knot in the rope. Of course, there weren’t any. The binding surrounded her body in a seamless loop. My smile felt weak when I turned to her. “Don’t worry about anything. I’m going to make him pay for what he did. And at least I’m here now.”

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Bless this woman.

“I’m the one who gets to ask you that question, not the other way around.” I rubbed my forehead against a bit of pressure there. “Now hold still. I’m going to have to use my sword to get you out of here. I’m sure the blade will be able to cut through whatever enchantment he placed on you.”

And hope against hope Amon didn’t have a secondary spell ready to kick into place once I freed Kay. I refused to lose her.

I set my jaw and shot her an encouraging smile. Making sure to wipe any last trace of fear from my face. Time to hold it together for her. One step in front of the other, right? Only this next step involved dealing with demon spells at the expense of my friend’s life.

The bridge swayed underneath us as I called Bertha to my side. She materialized a second later and I had to adjust my stance to make sure the sudden weight didn’t tip us to the side.

“Don’t move,” I warned. “I don’t want to make a mistake and accidentally get you.”

Kay drew in a sharp breath. “I trust you. I’m fine.”

“You say that now…”

I touched the tip to the rope near the hem of Kay’s shirt, prepared to slice. The moment the blade and the fiber met, the rope reacted, tightening until my friend began to fight for air.

“Jade,” she gasped. “Whatever you’re doing, stop for a second. Okay?”

I stepped back way too quickly and stumbled, going down to my knees to avoid knocking Kay over. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Just…don’t try to cut anymore. Put the sword away.”

Well, shit. How did I get her freewithoutcutting?

I wondered if they reacted to angelic objects, or if this was another one of Amon’s tricks. Eli seemed positive this whole thing was nothing but a ploy to trap me. What if he was right and any choice I made to free Kay was already thought out, with Amon a step ahead.?

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