Page 145 of When Death Whispers

“Shut up.” I roll my shoulders, the tension crackling down my spine. I don’t do patience. I don’t do subtlety. But Parker is on the other side of this tangled nightmare, and if I have to swallow my pride and cooperate with a mortal idiot, so be it.

“What do you suggest?” he asks cautiously.

“Calm,” I say, like the word burns on my tongue. “We move slowly, calmly—boring as hell. If aggression and fear strengthen it, maybe the opposite weakens it.”

Hudson looks skeptical. “You think that’ll actually work?”

I grit my teeth, stepping closer to the thorned barrier, deliberately forcing the agitation out of my posture. It goes against every instinct, every nerve screaming at me to lash out, but instead, I take a slow, steady breath.

The vines hesitate.

Not retreating, exactly—but not growing, either.

Hudson sees it too, eyes widening slightly. “Holy shit. You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” I mutter. “Now shut up and channel your inner houseplant.”

He snorts softly, clearly amused, but obeys—forcing himself to stand still beside me, his breaths growing steadier, quieter. The barrier shudders slightly, confused, uncertain.

We inch forward together, a careful, agonizingly slow step at a time. My claws itch, begging to tear through, but I hold myself in check. Hudson follows suit, every tense muscle in his body visibly straining under forced calm.

We inch forward, a step at a time. The vines recoil slightly, curling back—not in surrender, but in confusion. But it’s slow as hell, and patience has never been my virtue. I growl under my breath.

“Steady,” Hudson murmurs quietly. “Think happy thoughts.”

My lips twitch before I can stop them. “I swear if you start singing kumbaya, I’ll rip your throat out myself.”

He gives me a tired smirk. “Yeah, yeah. Calmly rip it out, right?”

Despite myself, my mouth twitches into something suspiciously like a smile.

With agonizing slowness, the vines finally begin to retreat, curling away from our forced calm, their aggression dimming. It’s working. Painfully, frustratingly—but it’s fucking working.

The path forward emerges gradually, revealing the massive tree at the center of the clearing, veins of pulsing pink power wrapping it like chains. Parker’s in there. Close enough to sense. Close enough to taste.

Hudson exhales heavily, shoulders slumping with relief. “Guess cooperation isn’t so bad after all, huh?”

I scoff, flexing my claws, relieved to feel the familiar aggression flow freely again. “Don’t get sentimental. We’re not friends.”

He shakes his head, stepping forward with renewed energy. “Whatever you say,nightmare.”

He uses the nickname those other two demons had for me, probably hoping it’s an insult, but joke’s on him. I actuallyama nightmare demon. They were merely stating my purpose—a common practice among demons.

As we approach the towering tree ahead, the Evergloom trembles beneath our feet. I tense, readying myself, Hudson instantly alert beside me.

A pulse of pink light flares from the tree—blinding, radiant. Parker’s scream splits the air.

Calm officially abandoned, I snarl and lunge forward, Hudson right on my heels, patience forgotten as we rush headlong toward her cry.

Fuck subtlety—Parker needs us now.

54

Human sustenance.

I must find more.

My Snow Pea seemed satisfied enough with the odd assortment I gathered, yet her fragile human form continued protesting—quite loudly, in fact.

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