Page 48 of Till Death

I tried to figure out a way out of this mess, my mind circling and coming up with nothing. But I stepped wrong and the board beneath my boot cracked. My stomach flipped and my heart jolted up to my throat to choke me. I stumbled back, grabbing onto the ropes for dear life. The rest of my insides pitched.

Close call. Way too close.

My head still ached like crazy and felt worse the longer I stared down at the two dangling pieces of wood.

Infernal Trials…

Okay, lightbulb moment.

If Heaven-made objects didn’t work, then what about Hell made? Because this whole thing was Hell’s construct. It was worth a shot. Dropping down, I grabbed hold of the nearest piece of broken board and tugged, ignoring the ominous prickle going up and down my spine.

“What are you doing?” Kay asked.

“I’m going with another one of my crazy ideas,” I said. “You know me. Just have to see if this will work.”

The bridge began to shake once again so I bore down, tugging at the plank. I planted my boots as I pulled and used my own weight to my advantage.

The thing stuck fast and it took all of my strength just to get it to wiggle.

“Be careful.”

I nodded, pushing the rest of my fear aside. Thishadto work. I was out of options otherwise. Hope fluttered in my chest when I managed to get a single side worked free. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I came to my feet with the piece in hand.

“This is it,” I told Kay. “This has got to be it.” I clutched the wood to my chest and approached her carefully, seeing the way she squeezed her eyes shut like she didn’t believe me.

The edges of the wood were jagged enough to be able to slice. Or so I hoped. Crossing my metaphorical fingers for a miracle, I got to work. For a few moments I couldn’t even think about what we’d do once I got her free. My insides twisted into knots. What if the wood wasn’t sharp enough? What if the rope really was made of iron?

I wouldn’t put it past Amon to trick me like that. Disgusting hell creatures indeed. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t exactly like the rest of them. They were all alike in their terrible, blackened souls.

Eventually, the rope began to fray.

The small sliver of hope inside of me began to grow until it pulsated. I worked faster, hacking at the rope until the entire bottom row became undone.

“You did it.” Kay groaned. She took a deep breath and filled her lungs at last.

Sighing in relief, I dropped the piece of wood and began to pull at the binds with nearly numb fingers.

“Almost there!”

With trembling hands, I finally freed her from the rope. The last bits fell away and I immediately set to work on the manacles at her feet. I never been any good at picking a lock, but I like to think I’d learned a thing or two along this journey. Especially spending so much time with Cole.

Although my hands shook, eventually I got the lock to click and freed Kay. First order of business?

I dragged her against me for a hug, locking my arms around her, our chests heaving and my heart beating fast enough to make me lightheaded. I’d never really been one for hugs, but it seemed Kay was the exception. I smiled against her skin. Thrilled to have her in front of me. We weren’t safe. We were so far from safe I couldn’t think about it. But she was alive.

Her calm presence almost always helped soothe the raging beast inside of me. Today, I knew I wouldn’t find the same sense of peace, but at least I had her with me.

“This isn’t your fault,” she told me immediately. “Okay? I don’t want you blaming yourself.”

I already shook my head. “Too late. I know this is because of me. He would never have had a way to you if I hadn’t left the back door open. That’s what he said, right? The door was only there because I put it there.”

Even with the veil in tatters, Amon wouldn’t have had Kay in his sights. We’d actually given him a direct route to the people we loved the most.

“We were sloppy and dealing with a creature we didn’t prepare enough to deal with,” Kay argued. “It doesn’t matter in the long run. Now, let’s get out of here.”

She laced our fingers together for a brief moment, squeezing.

Kay didn’t blame me. I still couldn’t believe it, and shock joined the war of emotions battling inside of me. How did she not? She was in this position becauseI’dbeen the sloppy one. Not her.

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