Page 78 of Till Death

Taking the opportunity, he blipped me out of the Void. The scenery around me changed and instead of whiteness, instead of fog and a dim sky overhead, he sent me straight down to Hell.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

My footsteps echoed through the twisting turns of the shadowy hallway and with each one, I clenched my jaw a little harder. Not hard enough to shatter my teeth but I’d give myself some killer grindage issues if I were actually alive.

My blood heated a little more with each step until it threatened to boil over and burn anything it touched.

This ended now.

I’d steal whatever chance Hank gave me to right this last insult and come out on top with Cole as my prize. If I was dead but not dead, and if I was basically a mortal spirit with no powers left, I’d still use whatever was left of me to give Amon the what for.

I knew exactly where to find him, too.

At this point, I’d bet my afterlife he wasn’t with his demon generals doing a damage report. He’d be in his office gloating and waiting for me. He knew we had some unfinished business.

The hallway twisted and turned and the stone walls seemed to absorb every ounce of light.

“Amon!” I sang out. “Where are you?”

No answer.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

No goons this time. Somehow I knew it, like I knew where to go. This last fight was for us alone.

“You can stop trotting like you’re trying to win a marathon, Miss Blackwell. I’m right here. There is no more need to disturb the peace,” he called back to me.

The hallway ended and opened up into a large granite chamber with the same average looking Joe standing in the center. He projected this harmless air. Golden, like he preferred to spend his spare time in a tanning bed, his watch with gems replaced by something platinum with diamonds around the rim to match the cufflinks on his overly starched white shirt, he stood with both feet planted wide.

“There you are,” he said.

Holding my arms out to the side, I dipped in a mock curtsey. I stared into his brown eyes and hoped the venom showed in mine. Calm and handsome, he offered me a generous half-smile before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his tailored pants.

“Ah, so youwereexpecting me,” I said as I mimicked his posture.

“Not myself alone,” Amon answered with a chuckle. “There are two of us here. It seems my prodigal son has found his way home again. It also seems misery enjoys company. The wait wasn’t quite as lonely as it might have been without him.”

Amon shifted aside and gestured behind him gameshow host style.

Cole stepped out of the shadow of his father and my stomach swirled, attacked, and then plummeted through the soles of my feet. If I’d been alive I would have upchucked on the spot. This was him in the flesh, I knew it as surely as anything else. Not another mirage or illusion.

I didn’t say his name out loud. I didn’t call either of them by their names, yet focused entirely on Amon’s smile and tuned out the rest of the room.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to figure out the truth or not. I’d hoped to prod you along with my warriors and even then, you resisted. Stubborn to the end,” he scolded with a twinkle in his eyes. “I figured you’d be a lot quicker on the uptake, however. Especially when I practically placed the answer in your lap.”

“Thank you for the glowing compliments,” I replied with forced ease. “Perhaps you should also thank your brother, because he’s the one who got me here on the expressway. Otherwise I might not have managed. You know, since I’m so resistant to everything.”

His expression soured for a moment before the smile resumed its place on his lips. Amon had known this entire time where we would end up. Face-to-face for the last time, and the finality of this moment should have made an impact on me.

It did not.

“I should have known he’d have something to do with my wait. I’d naturally thought you’d end up right back here upon your death,” he continued.

Honestly, so had I.

The rip in the veil cast muted light on the planes of his face, although I no longer saw Fairport behind him. In fact, the longer I watched, the less I saw, until it disappeared entirely in a ripple of multicolored light. There and gone.

I really had accomplished what I’d set out to do. Balance restored.

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