Page 6 of Till Death

I frowned. “You’re really not going to tell me anything?”

He just gestured for me to follow him before stepping off into the empty nothingness of the Void. I did as he asked but not without a healthy dose of resentment. “Jade, your stubbornness is something I’ve always loved about you. Your stubbornness and your big heart. You are willing to do whatever it takes for the people you love, even when it is impossible to save them. There are not many with your grit, or your integrity.”

“If you tell me it’s too late for Cole and that I need to give up one more time, I swear, I’ll—” What? What did I swear? Because I definitely couldn’t fight God, and I did not want to make an enemy out of the most powerful being in creation. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t leave this place.

“There are more important things for you to think about than a single soul. The greater good, as I told you before,” Hank said, making sure to emphasize the last bit. He kept walking, but the strange sensation of his eyes on me was unshakable.

And funny. He didn’t seem quite as nonchalant about the whole thing as he’d appeared during our last conversation.Good, I thought, with no small amount of satisfaction. Because I was pissed off. And I wasn’t about to hide the expression, either.

“Maybe, if someone stepped in, things would be different. And I refuse to let him go without at least trying to fight for him. I made Cole a promise,” I said. “I’m going to keep it no matter what.”

This whole thing grated on my nerves. We were wasting time with these games of his. He needed to just give me a goddamn straight answer for once.

He’d sworn an oath not to interfere directly, which I got, but honestly I still wanted to strangle him.

“It’s a dangerous path you seek,” he offered instead. “Dangerous and foolish and impossible.”

“I thought you already said how much you admire my stubbornness. You should know I’m not about to give up on Cole after what he sacrificed for me. Besides, there had to be a reason you brought me here. We can consider it an exchange for information.”

Hank whirled around, his eyes wide. “I brought you here to keep you safe. You would have been overwhelmed by the Halflings and unable to perform your duties at the front line if I hadn’t pulled you out when I did.”

“Why am I so damn important?” I snarled, unlocking my knees like I prepared to rush him. “Say it. I need to hear you give me a specific reason why I’m the one who is supposed to lead the fight. And don’t give me any more bullshit about being the first Archangel because we both know I’m not the type you bargained for. Especially not since I lost my memories.”

Hank stared, gaze hardening until I wanted to squirm underneath the scrutiny. “For all I am able to see,” he finally came out with, “I never would have imagined you’d fall for the Halfling.”

Notwhat I wanted or expected him to say.

He refused to answer me, and I couldn’t say I was surprised.

Still…

“Let me see if I can break it down for you,Hank. You refuse to help out with the war.” I ticked the reasons for my bad attitude off on my fingers. “You refuse to help me save Cole’s soul. You refuse to answer any of my questions. You refuse to get involved in theworld you created, and now you drag me here for a talk where you hold all the cards and I stand here like an asshole. Sure. This is great.”

“Jade, I—”

“Save it,” I interrupted. Screw this little walk of his, too. I was done with it.

I’d already been wrong once, when I thought I could come to the Void, convince him to help us, and put an end to the fighting before it even began. Him bringing me here was nothing but a waste of my time. Period. Full stop.

Fury had me spitting out every last word. “I’ll leave you with this. A final parting word. How about you go fuck yourself? I’m done with this, and I’m done with you.”

I closed my eyes and screamed at my inner light to somehow get me the fuck out of here. I wasn’t even sure if it would work like that, but when I opened my eyes, the whiteness of the Void was fading all around me, including Hank’s youthful—and now stunned—expression.

Maybe he helped me cross through, or maybe it was the power of my pure, unadulterated fury—who knew—but whatever it was, it worked because I was suddenly facing brick-faced buildings, gas lamps, and cobblestone streets.

I was back in Fairport. Right smack in the middle of utter chaos.

Halflings, still too many to count, covered the area, fighting anyone who dared face them. Their grotesque forms and twisted faces reminded me of the Hell awaiting Cole because—according to some almighty deity—I wasn’t meant to save him.

Bullshit.I’d find a way to get to him. I’d find a way to get him back, even if it meant trading my soul to Amon in exchange for his.

But I’d think about that later. There was still too much death and destruction happening on this plane, and seeing the wreckage and continuing clash with the creatures, guilt spun in my gut. I should’ve never left them in this mess in the first place. Even for Cole.

“I’m not that special, Jade,”I could hear his voice in my head.“Don’t be an idiot.”

Okay, the last part may have been partly my subconsciousness too, but still. I needed to help my friends first. I’d figure out the Cole fiasco after.

I drew in a deep breath and waited for my eyes to fully adjust from the Void’s blinding whiteness before summoning Bertha into my hand again. Just when I was about to jump into the fray, a blast of heat singed my eyebrows, and when I rolled over on my side on instinct, I saw a spellcaster I didn’t know with her hands out in front of her and fire flowing from her palms. The blast had the Halfling she fought blasted into two very messy pieces. To my right, a vampire was ripping the jaw off another monster. Its tar-like blood sprayed across his shirt and face before collapsing at his feet.

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