Page 49 of Flirting with Death

"It was so kind of you to make yourself available for capture. With the hunters’ men and the ruby, I will be unstoppable. That pesky prophecy can finally be destroyed." He believed every word he uttered, but he was missing one factor: Samantha was a trained killer, and he was planning on harming the people she loved. It wouldn't be the simple task he believed it would be.

I clenched my jaw tight as my arms turned to steel around Bellamy. Taila let out a yip and launched herself at the demon. He smacked her to the side, and she landed with a thud you wouldn't expect from a shadow.

Alastor stepped in front of Bellamy and me as though he had the power to stop whatever was going to happen and protect us. It was a gallant attempt, but we both knew he was defenseless without Cerberus, and they had somehow subdued the beast. We were going to lose.

"Run!" I shouted over the fighting. Brook, Lumi, and Tyler were close enough to the door that they could escape.

Lumi sized up the situation and then tugged on Brook, who latched onto Tyler dragging him with them. "We will come back." The mage laughed at Brook's promise, showing his rotten teeth.

"I look forward to it," he replied long after they were gone.

My shadows crept along the walls to me, ready to attack our captors. Flowers sprouted through the cracks of the warehouse floor, and the demon laughed, his eyes going to Alastor.

"A God with no power. Now that is interesting," he said with a chuckle. His body paced in front of us, hands clasped behind his back as his head stayed steady, staring at us. It was creepy as fuck. "Put the Prince down."

I gripped him tighter.

"Must I do everything myself?" His body pushed Alastor to the side as if he was nothing but a bothersome fly, and then he ripped Bellamy from my arms, dropping him to the ground, practically tearing my hand from my body. Then he backhanded me hard. I tasted the metal of copper fill my mouth as my head spun. "You will listen next time."

I spit the blood pooling in my mouth at his chest with a sneer. "If you think one slap will control me, you have the wrong demi-god."

Bellamy shifted at my feet, and I hazarded a look down. He was waking up. The demons in the room were making a mistake of relaxing now that they thought we were under control.

A bolt of electricity shot through me, and a scream rented the air from the pain. It was unexpected and brought me to my knees next to Bell. Alastor watched as the mage hit me with another bolt. Fuck. My eyes watered, and my body convulsed as if I had touched a live wire. If I was human, I'd be dead. When Alastor stepped forward like he would intervene, I shook my head at him. There was no reason for both of us to suffer. He had a higher chance of getting us out of this if he didn't get zapped too.

"Is that enough?" The mage's face was in mine, and I gagged from the smell of decay this close.

"I just have one question," I forced out through my bloody lips. "Is the power worth the stench?"

He answered by hitting me with another long shock, doubling me over and onto Bellamy.

"Is that a no?" I asked once it subsided. If Alastor didn't pick up on the fact I was distracting this crazy demon soon, I was going to be in really bad shape. I rolled off of Bellamy, my arms sprawled out against the cool cement at my back. I didn't have to fake the groan that erupted when I took a breath. He didn't give me a chance to take another before he sent another thread of power directly through me and into my heart.

When Alastor finally pulled out the knife he had shoved in his boot before we left, my eyes rolled back into my head. I felt Bellamy push out his power as he tried to control the demons in the room. I just hoped it was enough, because consciousness escaped me as the dark abyss claimed me.

CHAPTER 28

Raiden

This was the first time Samantha had been in my warehouse, my home away from home. She meandered around the large room, taking in my treasure pile full of items that I had taken over the years. I watched her, leaning against the counter, as she examined everything. When she leaned over and picked something up, I tensed slightly; what had she spotted?

Her fingers wrapped around one of my treasures, and she tugged out a framed piece of art. Her eyebrows creased as she looked at it, then she lifted her questioning gaze up to me. “Rai, this is mine from the third-grade art show. Why do you have it?”

I swallowed and scratched at my neck, my face most likely turning a bright shade of red under her inquisitive stare. I gave a half-hearted shrug as I dropped my eyes to the floor. “You made it.”

Her soft laugh closed the distance between us, and I dared to look back up at her. A smile pulled at her lips, and she put the art back where she found it. That was probably a good thing because if she took it, my dragon would demand I steal it back.

“That’s sweet,” she said.

Silence fell between us as she examined more of my treasure. It felt like I was baring a part of my soul to her, allowing her to see the things I couldn’t help taking.

She strolled back over and stopped next to my new sofa, the one I had to buy to replace the one I destroyed.

"This feels wrong. We should be there helping," she said, running her finger over the dark leather. "We left Ty there."

"He will be okay," I replied.

"We need to free the muse and eliminate the mage." She cracked her knuckles as she glanced at the door. "This just feels like the wrong move."

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