XXXVIII

I rushed to him, my hands lunging for the cuffs around his wrists, but when my fingers touched the chain, some sort of magic fired back at me. A surge of electricity rushed through me, and I fell to my knees, my teeth gnashing together.

"Cupcake."

My head jerked upward. Death looked down at me through half-open lids, his irises pinkish red with Layla's charm. "Hey," I said gently. "Hey, you're okay. I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to figure this out."

"Pretty." His eyes clung to my lips with a less intense version of Ace's goofy, lovestruck grin plastered on his fanged mouth.

My mouth tightened. "You've got to be kidding me." Glancing over my shoulder, I started brainstorming. How could I break Layla's spell on him?

Death tilted his head all the way down until his head flopped, blatantly staring down at my chest. "Yummy."

I grabbed his chin with my gloved hand and lifted his head up. "Death," I said extra sweetly as his tongue darted out to try to lick my thumb. "I know you're riding an empath demon fever, but I need you to focus and tell me how to get you free. Because that shock I got earlier? Yeah, that sucked."

"Yes," Death said.

"Yes?"

"Suck."

"That's it. You're freaking me the hell out." I pointed a finger gun at him like I had with Romeo and the empath twins and shut my eyes. "Lo siento!" I managed a tiny zap of light, which exploded on Death's pectoral.

Death snarled at the impact, his bare skin sizzling as his whole body spasmed. Plumes of red evaporated, swirling away from his eyes as his familiar mismatched green returned.

"Fuck!" His roar thundered around the room, and the lights flickered. He groaned in discomfort, catlike pupils tightening under the light above. "Faith? Ow! " He spasmed a little and tilted his head down to his chest. "You fried my nipple—" Realizing his hands were shackled, his features turned livid. He writhed in the restraints and yanked hard, his muscles bulging as he ground his fangs together.

"Death, stop. You have to calm down."

"Calm down? I'm chained to a ceiling !" He heaved himself up the chains with his upper body strength and yanked as hard as possible before dropping back down. Pure fright crossed his face, something I'd never seen in him. "I have to get out. I have to get out right now—"

"Death, you're okay. Everything is going to be okay. Focus on me."

His nostrils flared. He blinked hard, his chest pumping fast.

"How did I get here?" he demanded. "We were in the sigil room. We were in the sigil room, and now I'm here."

"You were enchanted by empath demons."

"Empath demons." His breathing eventually slowed until I could barely see his chest moving. "I remember that. Malphas was there. . . " He analyzed my face as he spoke, reading me. "What happened? Tell me what happened."

"Malphas stole the Book of the Dead ," I said in a hollow voice. "I thought there was a chance— like an idiot , I thought there was a chance he was . . . on our side somehow. But I was so wrong, and now he's in the other room with the reapers doing God knows what to them, and you're tied up, and I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do, Death! Everything is going wrong, and the universe is against us! Just please, please tell me what to do! You always know what to do!"

I expected some sort of explosive response. Death didn't seem at all surprised. He looked . . . cold, so cold.

"Death?" I whispered.

"I should never have brought you into this. Now I'm running out of time, and when I leave, you'll be stuck in this mess."

"You're not going to run out of time. I'm going to figure this out—"

"It's over," he said in a rough voice. "All my life. All my life, he's had it out for me. I was never good enough. No matter how hard I tried, I knew I wasn't the son he wanted." The deeply pained look in his eyes made me want to hold him close and never let go. "But I didn't think he'd actually . . . honestly . . . "

"Want you dead," I finished, feeling like my heart was breaking. "Death, you have to know, none of this is your fault."

"But it is. All the wrong choices I've made have led me to this."

"But they also led you to me," I said, and his eyes flicked to mine and held on for a significant moment. "I'm getting you out of here. One way or another."

"Look at me, Faith," Death said. He looked exhausted. Defeated. It hurt. It hurt too much to see the truth, and I fought back tears. "I'm strung up like an animal to be butchered. This isn't easy for me either."

"You're not going to be butchered. You're giving up. You said you wouldn't give up."

"I'm not giving up." It sounded like he didn't even believe himself. "I'm being realistic—what are you doing? Wait! "

I closed one eye as I aimed, tongue poking out as I fired a finger gun. A small beam of light bulleted forward and struck the manacle around Death's wrist. The light bounced off the metal and fired down at my foot. I jumped out of the way at the last second, nearly falling over in the process.

"Damn it!" I stomped my foot in frustration.

"Is this your new approach? Finger gunning your power?" His mouth lifted in a small grin. "And stomping your foot like a child?"

I wiped my sleeve over my eyes as I nodded. A foolish part of me had thought Death would have an answer for all of this.

His grin slowly fell. "Don't cry."

"This whole night, all I've wanted to do was help, but I haven't managed to do anything right without someone else's help."

"You can start by pulling the knife out of my back."

"Now is not the time to get figurative, Death."

"I'm being literal. There's a blade wedged in my lower back. I haven't been able to move my legs."

I rushed around to look at his back, gasped, and pointed a finger. "Holy cheese!"

"Holy cheese ?"

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because I'm not a little bitch." He managed a laugh, despite the situation. "And I kinda like the pain."

"Of course, you do." I reached forward to solve the problem at hand, then pulled my fingers back at the last second. "Can we please give Faith some instruction here? Faith didn't learn this in Death's boot camp."

"I'll make sure to add ‘third person panic attack' to the lesson board," Death growled. "First, take a deep breath."

I did.

"Rub your hands together nice and fast, so they're not too cold."

I rubbed my gloves together so vigorously it was like I was trying to start a campfire.

"Perfect," he said. "Now grip the hilt with both hands, firm but not too firm, and just . . . stroke it out, cupcake."

I flipped him off, and he burst into strident laughter.

I marched in place, anxious again. "All right, here we go. Here we go, I got this!"

"You're screaming."

"I got this," I whispered.

"Just pull the damn thing out of my spine."

"At least it's kind of cool-looking. It's got these weird designs on the hilt."

"Don't touch the blade!" Death suddenly roared.

I jumped back and clutched my chest, startled.

Death craned to look over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the blade. "It's my scythe. It can turn into a normal dagger. If you had touched it, you would have burned to ash. In a heartbeat."

"Shit," I said, pushing sweaty baby hairs away from my forehead with my hand.

"This was all a game to Ahrimad," Death said. "Leaving us both in this room, paralyzing me with the very weapon I was looking for all along."

Suddenly, I sensed we weren't alone. Fear shimmied down my spine as I slowly turned to investigate the room. The little hairs at the back of my neck rose at the sight of the six massive demons. They manifested with fanged mouths and snarled in unison from across the room. Burly frames, massive horns, giant fangs, and bat-like wings with translucent black membranes.

These must have been the high-level demons that were summoned by Ahrimad.

"Shit," Death muttered.

Layla came skipping barefoot through the wall, melting through it like a phantom.

Behind them, Malphas stormed in with Ace in his clutches. Death's chains rattled, his features sharpening into something else as his gaze laser-focused on his father.

Malphas had his hand wrapped around Ace's upper arm. He steered the warlock toward the front of the room. Ace's limp from his bad leg was more prominent than usual, and he was so delirious that Malphas practically had to carry him.

Layla climbed onto the edge of a raised platform beside the portal and balanced on her knees on the edge. I thought she was reaching seductively toward Ace, but I realized it was toward Malphas as he came over to deposit the warlock into her care. Malphas shrugged Layla's advances off and jabbed a finger at Ace. Rolling her eyes, Layla turned her affections to Ace. She ran her hands all over his short white hair, smooshing his bruised and cut-up face with kisses.

Malphas pivoted sharply toward me and Death, his determined strides, paired with the chilling blackness webbing out from his onyx eyes, making my pulse spike. I took a protective backward step toward Death, and Malphas came to a sharp halt. He stood in a wide stance with his hands clasped behind his back, reminding me of a general.

"Faith Williams," announced a voice that made my blood curdle. At the head of the room, beside the portal, stood Ahrimad. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Ahrimad looked even worse than he had in my vision, but he was powerful. I could feel it on my skin as he crossed the room toward me, like a high-voltage power line looming closer. His eyes were a vibrant amber, blazing so brightly they seemed to flare like stars bursting in the dark.

"I feel congratulations are in order," Ahrimad continued, while I tried to maintain my cool under his frightening, piercing stare. "After making it through all those vampires and the twists and curves of this building, you also managed to break free of your confinements and free the warlock. I must say, I'm impressed. Especially because you're a woman."

Misogynist dick .

"It's hard kicking ass in between reapplying my lip gloss and changing my tampons, but I do my best."

Ahrimad's brows bowed inward. "I'm afraid you have referenced a word I do not understand in your language." He turned his head to the side, drawing my attention again to Death's father standing dutifully behind him. "What is tampons ?"

"Cotton devices females use for menstruation, my liege," Malphas answered.

My liege? I stared at Malphas in in puzzlement. Eyes arrowed straight ahead, he did not flinch or exhibit any signs of life. Like a robot.

"I am delighted all my guests are here," Ahrimad continued, drawing my attention back to him. He reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, and my whole body went rigid. "There is much we have to discuss."

I didn't have to see Death's face to know he was seething with rage throughout this entire exchange. A low growl unfurled from his throat like a warning. "Do not. Touch her."

"Or what?" Ahrimad asked, gently amused.

"Or I'll shred you to pieces with my teeth."

"You can try all you want to pull in the reins of your darkness," Ahrimad said. "But I know the truth. You never really had it under control. You never tapped into your full potential. Now it's closing in on you like a black hole. Soon your monster will take over. You'll be a creature of pure, animalistic instinct, and your power? It will be mine. Along with your soul."

Death's lips pulled back from his teeth as Ahrimad let go of me and moved closer to him.

"Are you frightened, Alexandru? You will be." Ahrimad reached behind Death and yanked the dagger from his spine. Death tensed and tightened his lips together.

The moment Ahrimad held the blade again, his soul became more solid in appearance. His complexion gained color, and his golden eyes flared to life.

Ahrimad pointed his hand at the brackets connecting Death's chains to the ceiling, snapping them off. Death dropped to the ground, landing perfectly balanced on the balls of his feet. Two menacing high-level demons caught the ends of his chains and kept him restrained.

Darkness nearly consumed Death's furious features, expelling off his shoulders in tendrils.

"You once used the mortals for their true purpose, Alexandru," Ahrimad began. "As your sustenance. Oh yes, I saw glimpses of the havoc you wreaked from the Underworld. But you've become too entrenched in the mortal world. It seems you're right back where you began. Back to that sad, pitiful, na?ve little boy who wanted to be loved." Ahrimad gestured vaguely in the air toward himself. "Bring the girl to me, Layla."

"Sure thing, honey bunny." Layla clutched my braid in a tight fist and hauled me to the front of the room.

As we walked, my gaze clung to the enormous portal, its mirror-like surface swaying back and forth like waves. We passed what appeared to be a broken marble structure at the center of the room that was a few feet tall and shaped like a circle. Something compelled me to peer over the rim of the marble wall as we went, and my stomach churned at the sight of blood filling the container to the brim.

Layla shoved me so that I smacked right into one of the terrifying demons holding Death's chains. The gruesomely ugly creature had skin made of scales. Orange heat glowed along the cracks of the scales like lava. As the demon glared down at me with its freaky, fiery eyes, I felt a little faint. Balanced between its lips like a cigarette was a chewed-off finger.

I shrunk back so that I stood flat against Death's chest. "At least we have a great view of your giant pool thing filled with more blood," I said, nodding toward it. "Ties in perfectly with the whole ‘teaming up with vampires' theme. Solid evil lair vibes all around. Although—and this is just my opinion—a hot tub would have been a much more welcoming piece of furniture."

"Because bubbles and jets of hot water firing up my ass is exactly what I need right now," Death seethed.

"I apologize that my lair does not reach your expectations, Faith Williams," Ahrimad said, linking arms with Layla as he came to stand before us. "I've had very little time to redecorate."

"Hiding in another realm like a coward must be quite time-consuming," Death hissed, his voice dripping with disdain. "You didn't even have time for a sandwich."

Ahrimad glanced down at his withering form. "It's nice you're finding humor in this, Alexandru, even as you're chained like a sacrificial lamb."

Death grinned, displaying a mouthful of fangs. "You seem bitter. Is it because you're so short?"

The massive demons on either side of Death boomed with laughter, and suddenly the whole room was laughing.

"Weaken him, Malphas," Ahrimad snarled. " Now. He's far too coherent."

All eyes were on Malphas. He'd betrayed us by stealing the Book of the Dead , and my heart sank at the notion that he'd also possibly killed the reapers.

Malphas's gaze flicked to Death, the haunting, blank look within its cold depths unsettling. He stepped toward Death like a summoned doom. Blackness webbed out from his onyx eyes as his sharp black nails reached toward his son, and Death's face shuddered. His fangs gnashed together as he held back a scream, his eyes flashing between mismatched green and black as his shoulders crumpled inward.

I looked between Malphas and Death, breathing raggedly, adrenaline pulsing through me. I didn't even know my power had triggered until I felt a spark of heat against my thigh and realized my fingertips were sparking.

Fearing for Death's safety, I started to raise my hand toward Malphas when Ahrimad appeared in front of me in a blur and grasped me around the throat in a vise grip. In my peripheral view, I saw Ace move to try to help me, but Layla stopped him with her razor-sharp claws aimed at his throat.

Blackness splotched around the edges of my vision. As I gasped for air, a sensation that I could only describe as wilting spread through my limbs. The light from my fingers flickered out as Ahrimad's fingers constricted around my throat.

"If I see even a flicker of that light again," he seethed, "I'll rip Death's heart out and make you watch."

Somehow, Death's heart being ripped out sounded less painful than whatever Malphas was doing to him. The tormented noises that tore from his throat communicated an agony unlike any other, like he was being eaten alive from the inside out.

"You need me," I grated, turning toward Ahrimad. "You need me or else you can't touch the Book of the Dead . If you kill him, I will do nothing for you!"

"I do believe this conversation is taking an interesting turn," Ahrimad said with a sadistic smile. "I'm going to have to be persuaded more than that."

Death dropped to his knees under his father's torment, his eyes rolling back into his head.

"I'll give you anything you want! I'll make a deal!"

The words had sputtered out in a frantic effort to save Death.

Ahrimad's burning golden eyes snapped to mine.

Malphas finally let up on his son. Death inhaled a large gasp of air. Like he'd been drowning, like it was instinctive to breathe, even when he didn't need to. Death bowed against the ground, silently quaking.

"A deal, you say?" Ahrimad tapped his chin. "What an attractive notion. I suppose I can weave something else fun into tonight's plans. In order to use the Book of the Dead to restore my soul into a proper vessel, I will need a corpse strong enough to contain my power for a long length of time. The warlock has ways to extend his lifespan, but at the end of the day, his blood runs red. He is therefore disposable to me."

"Lovely," Ace muttered.

"You need a corpse that can maintain your soul," I elucidated. My heart flipped. Death was one of those possibilities.

"Death's curse is already deteriorating his mind," Ahrimad said with an unsettling madness in his own grin. "He's entering a weakened state, which makes him susceptible to me. And though he is an abomination, we do share similar abilities. Why, he'd be the easy option tonight. At least for a few centuries, until his young corpse deteriorates. But, in all honesty, Faith, I'd prefer to keep my old vessel. That body has, unfortunately, long deteriorated, but I can bring it back. I'll need some assistance from forbidden spells to do so. Spells found only in the Book of the Dead .

"Another pressing issue is my tether to the mortal world," Ahrimad continued, looking down at the supernatural dagger in his hand. Death's scythe. "I'm bound to the blade, just like Death. This is no ordinary weapon, you see. It's a blade created by Hades, god of the Underworld. And to finally release my soul from it, I will need a second spell. One to revitalize my corpse and make it strong enough to maintain my soul. Another spell to lift my curse from this blade. That is all that I require of you."

"Spells of that magnitude could end in utter devastation," Ace chimed in, flinching away from Layla as she unbuttoned his torn shirt and glided her hand over his smooth chest. "Surely a creature of innate impartiality wouldn't want to upset the balance between good and evil?"

"My only ties to this world are the mortals from which I feed," Ahrimad answered coldly. "Without my curse, I won't need the mortals anymore. I can wander anywhere I please without my infinite hunger driving me back to this decrepit realm." He turned to me. "I will strike a deal with you, Faith Williams. If you retrieve the spells I require from the Book of the Dead , I will leave this realm, and you will never see or hear from me again. I will give Death back the blade, thus recovering his strength, and all will be well again."

Death released a frightening growl as he regained consciousness. I hardly recognized his face it was so otherworldly. The man that I'd fallen for had waned away and left behind the irredeemable monster again. I feared he would be lost forever at any moment.

Ahrimad walked a slow path around me and stood at my back. "You can feel what he's becoming," he whispered at my ear. "Would you be able to live with yourself if you let him succumb to his monster?"

My chest tightened. The portal crackled behind Ace and Layla, and I could feel it on my skin like electric pulses through the air. This was my decision and mine alone.

"If I do this, you'll let Ace go too," I said tightly. "And once that portal closes, you'll be on the other side."

"Deal." Ahrimad braced his hands against the vat of blood before him. "Layla, my dear, come here."

Layla abandoned her games with Ace and slid seductively across the floor. Her eyes playfully slid toward Malphas as she passed him.

Layla cuddled up against Ahrimad's cloak with a small smile. "Yes, Master?"

"You are a true loyal servant, Layla." Ahrimad's long fingers drifted down the curve of her cheek, and she leaned into his touch. "I'm afraid a traditional blood sacrifice of a high-level demon is imperative for the dark spells I seek."

Layla's eyes widened. "I— what? "

Malphas suddenly came up behind Layla and snatched her by the back of the neck, securing her in place.

"No, no, no !" Layla's screams were horrifying, the anticipation of what was about to happen rattling my bones. " Malphas! Malphas!" She tore her head toward Ahrimad. "You lying bastard, you promised to free me!"

"You will be free," Ahrimad said with a chilling smile.

Malphas grabbed Layla's exposed throat and tore . Tore her throat straight out. An involuntary scream escaped my mouth. Layla gurgled out a choked sob. She fought, writhed, her hand reaching back and her talon-like nails clipping Malphas in the cheek, but it was no use. Malphas restrained her arm behind her back, her blood spilling like a river along the floor.

"Dump her," Ahrimad said once the empath's body stilled.

Malphas lifted Layla's limp body and carried her to the marble vat at the center of the room. He lowered her into it until her body disappeared. The blackness webbing out across his features withered back into his eyes as he looked down into the marble container. I'd almost missed the flicker of emotion that danced across his face. Disgust. Malphas wasn't proud of what he'd done.

I couldn't shake this feeling. My intuition told me I'd missed something. Malphas still had a greater part in all of this. And yet, here he was, obedient to Ahrimad. Doing his dirty work. Why? What had Ahrimad guaranteed him? What was he holding over his head?

Malphas's black eyes swept up and caught mine in what felt like a surreptitious moment before the blank void slid back over his pale features, and he returned to his station with his hands clasped behind his back.

"I have done unspeakable things in this world that have left me entrenched in sin, but my greatest offence is my most painful secret. A secret that I will take to the grave. You must discover these answers on your own."

A cold chill of fear slipped down my spine, and suddenly it all made a little more sense.

"I know how you did it," I announced to Ahrimad's retreating frame.

Ahrimad faced me, cocking his head. "Dear child, I haven't the faintest clue what you are talking about."

"Malphas was the one who freed you from the Underworld. But he didn't do it to spite Death, did he? No . . . " I straightened my back, conviction strengthening my voice. "He's been your slave this entire time. You made Malphas free you that night. You keep making him do your dirty work because you have something over him. I bet . . . it's a secret he must take to the grave."

A slow grin tilted Ahrimad's lips. "You clever , clever girl. From the moment Malphas was freed from the Underworld, he was in contact with me, where my soul was trapped. He offered to bring me back too. In order for him to free me, I needed the purest of sacrifices, and Malphas needed to throw Death a little . . . off-kilter. Distract him. And what better than a disastrous family reunion?"

"You're the reason Malphas went after me," I speculated.

"That's not possible," Death hissed, seemingly alert. The demons gripped his chains tighter, as if anticipating him lashing out.

Ahrimad ran his finger over the edge of his dagger, laughing like there was some joke we'd all missed. "You know, I really should thank you, Faith Williams. I hadn't a clue Malphas had arrived here until I ran into you in the hallway in Ace's corpse and you mentioned that he had entered the mausoleum with you. Malphas was supposed to be in another realm, establishing my army of Forsaken like a good pet. Now I know to keep him on a much shorter leash."

"You said your scythe was created by Hades," I said, trying to piece this all together. "He punished you, didn't he? That's why you were imprisoned in the otherworld."

"I was born with an endless hunger for mortals," Ahrimad explained. "Let's say it got a little . . . out of hand. Hades tried to control my violence so I wouldn't tarnish his neutrality. I would reap the souls of the living for his kingdom and skim off their souls for sustenance. I was young and na?ve. Naturally, I rebelled, and when Hades confined me to my prison in that mirror, I doubt he planned on freeing me."

Death's catlike eyes radiated. "Sounds like you're the son he never wanted."

"Oh, yes," Ahrimad said. "Hades is my father, after all. Our father." His sudden pause left an unnerving feeling in the air. "Isn't that right, Malphas?"

"Ho-ly shit," Ace blurted, beating me to it.

"You're brothers," Death said in a flat, detached voice.

" Half ," Ahrimad corrected, clasping his hands behind his back. "Malphas's mother was a different mortal whore. Speaking of mortal whores, Malphas and I would never even have crossed paths had it not been for his wife. Phoebe, wasn't it?" He sighed, gazing out into oblivion as if reminiscing over a beautiful memory. "I suppose it would be a shame for us all to part ways without absolving the feeble innocents in this room. Do you want to tell this lovely story, Malphas, or shall I?"

Malphas's features were so warped with stifled rage that he looked almost unrecognizable. "You do love the sound of your own voice."

"Once upon a time," Ahrimad began with a dramatic turn toward his audience, "Malphas Cruscellio died on the battlefield with our father's DNA in his mortal body. He would have been reborn into a demigod and come back to life once his corpse was buried. However, Phoebe, his young bride, didn't know that. Neither did Malphas, who knew nothing of his biological father.

"Phoebe tried every spell she could find to bring Malphas back to life. She even merged his heart with a raven's. Running out of time, she turned down a dark path. She went to the woods and prayed. Prayed to every god, prayed to anyone that would listen to her desperate, pathetic little sobs. Now, here's the hilarious part." Ahrimad held Malphas's eyes for a prolonged moment. " I answered her prayer. I helped her resurrect Malphas. When he rose, Phoebe realized he was different. Of course, he was. When I brought Malphas back to life, I stole his soul. Oops.

"Bringing Malphas back to life came at a price," Ahrimad said, a coy smile playing on his lips now. "One life taken for another returned. Now, being the decent brother-in-law that I am, all Phoebe had to do was never use black magic again, and the life taken would not be hers . However, if she did use the magic, she would succumb to a madness unlike any other. And if Malphas wanted his soul back, all he had to do . . . was free me. Free me from the otherworld in which I was trapped throughout all of this. But he didn't, did you, Malphas? You kept me imprisoned in that mirror under the willow tree. Now, the details of what happened next are a little fuzzy . . . "

"We'll all turn to ash and bones by the time this little fable of yours is finished," Death hissed.

"Ah, I remember now," Ahrimad continued, relishing in the spotlight. "Throughout all of this, Phoebe had been pregnant with their little half-mortal atrocity of a son. Once he aged, I drew the boy into the woods to free me. Because of you , Malphas. Because you were afraid of me. Afraid of what else I would do to your family if you released me. But you found out exactly what I was capable of, didn't you? Now your son had a bleak future for freeing me, and you were as soulless and cruel as ever.

"Poor Alexandru had a difficult boyhood." Ahrimad walked a slow circle around Death and the high-level demons on either side of him. "One day, he couldn't take the pressure anymore. He killed himself. How sad. And to think, his own mother had to discover the horrifying scene. The deal was done. One life taken, for another returned."

I was sick to my stomach.

"You can finish the rest, Malphas," Ahrimad said, sounding bored. "I'm sure Death is dying to know how the lovely story ends."

Malphas refused at first, defiance in his onyx eyes and visible restraint in his jaw and neck. But he ultimately succumbed to Ahrimad's command. "I was away, traveling, and your mother used black magic to resurrect you on her own."

"When I said to tell him the rest," Ahrimad snarled at Malphas, his voice slipping into something monstrous as he bared his fangs in a malicious smirk, "you know what I meant."

Malphas's hands clenched at his sides. "I won't."

"And why is that, I wonder?" Ahrimad asked, feigning sympathy.

Malphas grated his teeth. "Because it will destroy him."

Death yanked at his chains with a hiss. "The fuck it will, old man. I already know what you did next. I was there."

"No, you don't," Malphas said. "You remember what I wanted you to remember."

Death stared back at his father, motionless.

"Your mother wouldn't let you die," Malphas said after a long stretch of silence. "She used the blackest of magic, and this time, it worked. But the consequences were instantaneous. She became seriously ill. Bedridden for weeks, though we hid the true reason from you. In those weeks, I saw glimpses of rage, violence, hate in a woman who had embodied selflessness and love. I thought we were losing her. Then, one day, she was fine. It was a miracle. The dark side to her had vanished entirely.

"You fell in love with the mortal Annona," Malphas continued, and Death visibly flinched. "When your mother found out about Annona's pregnancy, she tried to convince me to bring her into our home. She was so excited about having a grandchild. She loved babies. But I was so furious with you. You'd disobeyed me by being with a mortal, you'd risked our exposure to outsiders. So I renounced you and your unborn child. Your mother and I fought for weeks. It drove you and her out of our home.

"For months, I lived in solitude. I wanted to mend things with you both, but my pride kept getting in the way. One night, I had this . . . terrible feeling in my gut. It was nightfall, and I rushed to your home on horseback. As soon as I entered the front door, I heard screaming. Annona shouting for help. Ahrimad's power had gained full possession of your mother, and she was in a . . . rage. She killed Annona, ripped into her womb . . . You were crying, horrified, confused. I could only imagine what you'd witnessed. Your mother saw you like that, and she fought with everything she had. A glimpse of her came through, and she begged me to save her from herself. She begged me to kill her before she hurt anyone else. When I hesitated, the madness controlled her again. Then she lunged for you , and I . . . "

Malphas bowed his head, his eyes tightly closed.

"I did what I had to do," he said with finality. "I couldn't stomach the idea of you remembering your mother in those final moments. She was never the monster in your life. I was. I thought if you knew the truth, if you knew that your mother resurrecting you had triggered Ahrimad's deal, you'd hurt yourself again. Blaming me for their deaths meant you'd live. Live to seek vengeance. Your mind was fragile—you were in shock—and I changed your memory. I made you believe it me who killed all three of them."

"And then your son went and killed you and died in the arena with me to become an eternal god of death," Ahrimad interrupted chirpily. "Wow. Your parenting skills are unmatched, Malphas."

"No," Death said, his voice breaking. "No, no . I was there. I saw you kill all three of them. You're lying. You're lying because that's what you fucking do. That's all you know!"

"Show him, Malphas," Ahrimad commanded.

Blackness spread from Malphas's cold eyes, but the raw emotion staining his features remained. "Yes, my liege."

Malphas made a small motion with his hand, and Death's head snapped back.

Death swayed on his feet like he might fall, his eyes wandering all around the room. He dropped to one knee, and then the other. His head hung forward, his arms restrained by the high-level demons. My heart clenched at the sorrow glistening his eyes as he looked up at Malphas. "How could you?"

"I wanted to tell you," Malphas said. "I tried to tell you, I—"

"Two thousand years," Death whispered in a rough, hollow voice. "Two thousand years!"

Suddenly, the mirror-like surface of the portal oscillated and swelled with a loud crack. A new ripple shimmied across its surface. Ace, who stood closest to it, backed away, whereas Ahrimad gazed curiously at it. His amber eyes snapped to mine.

"Time to find me those spells." His hand wrapped around mine, and I grew taut with fear.

Ahrimad dragged me to the front of the room. One of the high-level demons now guarded Ace. He looked over at me and gave me a small nod as we passed, which I didn't quite understand. Ahrimad led me up a few steps onto a small stage. Death watched me like a hawk, his mismatched green eyes dark and cold.

"You promised," he said so softly I had to read his lips. I knew he was talking about putting me before him.

"I lied," I whispered.

Ahrimad stopped at the top of the stairs, and I realized that was as close as he could stand to what lay on the podium. My heart beat like a battle drum and my scalp prickled as I saw the full-size Book of the Dead on the marble stand.

"H-how will I know what to look for?"

"The Book of the Dead knows what we seek," Ahrimad said.

The rippling portal beside the stage seemed to ring louder, and I shut my eyes the moment my fingers touched the leathery cover. Then something I'd never expected happened. Nothing. My stomach churned at the immediate thought that this wasn't the Book of the Dead . With trembling fingers, I brushed the sides of the thick manuscript, a unique fold in the page catching my attention. I held the fold and opened to that page slowly.

Noise stilled as I read the handwritten note inside. The only words on the entire page.

Let there be light.

A frown creased my eyebrows.

"What did you see?" Ahrimad roared, startling me. He moved to stand behind me like one of Death's shadows, and my whole body locked up. I slid my palm carefully over the page and collected the note. "Do not waste my precious time!"

"I-I saw a glimpse of what you desire most," I said, cowering away from him. "But there's—there's some sort of block."

"A block?" Ahrimad's eyes narrowed. "I see. Perhaps you need some motivation, then? Malphas, I'm bored. Torture your son."

It happened so fast. Blackness webbed out from the raven demigod's entire face, his pale features devoid of emotion. Death's whole body locked up again. Obsidian curls sprawled over his forehead as he tilted his head up, jaw clenched, glaring defiantly back at Malphas. "Don't do it, Faith!" Death bellowed. "Don't let him win!"

"Better hurry," Ahrimad taunted. "Death's looking a little feral, isn't he?"

"You said you wouldn't kill him!" I cried.

"Technically, he's already dead." Ahrimad flashed his fangs. "Semantics are a funny thing, Ms. Williams. Better hurry."

There had to be a way out of this. But I couldn't focus .

"I said, continue , Malphas!" Ahrimad barked.

"His mind barriers are wide open," Malphas said. "If I continue, he will be unconscious in seconds."

"It appears your son has given up. Quite the strong warrior you bred."

Malphas's face tightened. "Hades banished you to that mirror because you were an obligation."

Ahrimad stared at Malphas with a frighteningly calm rage. He descended from the stage. "What did you say to me?"

"I said, you're a nuisance to Hades. He said it to me himself when I met him in the Underworld. P.S., that's dad code for he wishes he wore a condom."

My vision strobed in and out as Ahrimad disappeared and reappeared before Malphas. He clutched Malphas by the throat, and Death lurched forward in his chains. "Soulless fucking bird! I'm going to crush your heart in my bare hand!"

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "I need more time!"

Ahrimad's head snapped over his shoulder, darkness consuming his amber irises. "Dear girl, the last thing we all have tonight is time."

Ahrimad grabbed Malphas by the throat. Panic overworked my lungs as I breathed in and out faster and faster, my whole body shaking uncontrollably. I glanced over at the rippling portal, and it hit me.

"Hey, Nuisance !"

Ahrimad turned sharply away from Malphas and faced me, massive fangs filling a mouth that belonged to a distorted, evil creature of death.

"Lights out, bitch."

Power surged up my forearm like liquid fire, white light seeping through my knuckles and consuming my entire hand. I hurled my fist toward the portal, a scream tearing free from my throat as I fired everything I had into the rippling surface. The portal trembled violently against my chaos, glowing a blinding white until it finally detonated with a sonic boom, cracking the mirror with a mighty force.

The portal spewed out energy in violent gusts. A windstorm unlike any other hurled around the room, nearly knocking me off the stage as its vortex of fury swept across the mausoleum.

"Your Book of the Dead isn't salvageable!" Malphas shouted as his braids tossed to the side from the wind. "While you were busy with your obsession with destroying my son, I hid your precious tome and replaced it with a red herring. Do what you want with my soul. Without that book, you're done. There is no corpse in this room or anywhere else in the universe that will withstand your vexatious soul."

Ahrimad's expression hardened, his head trembling with rage, and a cruel smile turned up the corners of his bloodied mouth. His arm rose, his fingers flexing as the scythe appeared in his hand. Designs appeared along the staff, rippling symbols, as Ahrimad's otherworldly eyes pulsed with light. "You are all sentenced to death."

Death's chest heaved fast; his eyes went wide. Shadows pulsed from his frame and slid over the ground, consuming his space. His whole body shuddered uncontrollably as he visibly tried to keep something at bay.

And he lost.

Shadow expelled from Death's skin like inky tendrils in the air, blotting out the light in shapeless terrors. They coiled around the high-level demons beside him like vipers. The demons' screams suffocated as the darkness crawled down their throats. Death yanked one of his chained arms inward, pulling the demon toward him, ripping its throat out with his fangs and slicing the rest of its thick neck away with a vicious swipe of his talons. His feet kicked up off the ground as he punted the headless corpse away. He launched back into the air in a blur, his chain wrapping around the other demon's neck as he took him down and strangled him to death.

Wind hurled around Ahrimad like a twister, cocooning the original Grim Reaper, imprisoning him in thick magic. Ace moved fast and threw out his hand, and the hurling energy spiraled out of control in blacks and reds. Ahrimad was imprisoned in a blustery mass of pure chaos that Ace kept together with his two hands.

"How long will that hold?" Malphas demanded.

The warlock's back foot slid across the ground until he replanted himself. "Not long enough!"

The remaining high-level demons suddenly snapped into focus. Their snarls turned on us.

One of the demons materialized in front of Malphas. It lunged for him and took a swipe with its deadly paws, but Malphas evaporated like a mirage. The creature staggered back in confusion, gripping Malphas's shirt in its meaty hand.

Malphas rematerialized behind the monster, furious. "That was my favorite silk shirt." His hand shot out, blackness expelling from his eyes. The creature gripped its own skin with razor-sharp claws and began tearing at the scaly flesh covering its face, howls unleashing from its throat.

A monstrous howl thundered through the room. A grin lined Death's mouth, like a lunatic wanting in on the grisly war. His mismatched green eyes glowed against the dusky hue of his skin. His jaw flexed, veins engorging in his angular face. Fangs lengthened into knives, filling his mouth in a nightmarish image as his jaw unhinged and an animalistic roar ripped free from his throat.

"That can't be good," I muttered.

Ace had seized the opportunity in the chaos to attack the demon guarding him. Swirls of violet magic permeated the air as the creature burst into flame on Ace's command. Another creature gripped Ace by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

"I hate my liiiiiife!" I sprinted at full speed, pushing off the stage as I leapt and slammed my fist forward into the monster's face, the force of my punch taking the creature down to the floor.

Quickly sitting up on top of the wriggling monster, I realized two things. One, my supercool outfit that Romeo had given me was definitely fire-retardant. And two, my fist was currently embedded in the monster's face, and I couldn't get my fingers out of his brain.

"Ew, ew, ew ! Rewind, rewind!"

Two hands gripped my shoulders from behind and tore me and my hand away from the monster. Malphas. He brought his sword—my sword—down into the creature's skull, killing it. Another demon came at him, and he executed it in an effortless whirl of silver.

"The containment spell won't hold Ahrimad for much longer," Ace said, limping heavily to stand beside me. He turned his head to Malphas with an accusing look. "Where is the Book of the Dead ?"

"I tossed the damned thing into the portal."

Ace's eyes widened. "You're serious ? I don't buy for one moment that you would throw one of the most powerful artifacts in the world carelessly into a portal!"

"Believe it, wizard," Malphas grinned. "Want it for yourself, do you? By all means, go for a dive and fetch it in the Unknown."

Ace growled out something nasty in a foreign language and lifted his hand up to his ear with a readied command, magic uncurling into his palm, but I grabbed his forearm.

Suddenly, two more demons manifested around us. Malphas took on one by himself, and Ace and I took on the other. Light sparked from my fist as I connected with the demon's hand coming down, my other fist uppercutting as I slammed it into its gut. Ace finished it off with an incantation, and I pivoted around to face Malphas.

"What'd you do to the reapers?" I demanded.

"All you have to know is they're alive, and they'll recover."

"Great, that doesn't sound ominous or anything!"

Ace staggered to us, panting, and splattered with blood. "Let's all focus on the current issue at hand, shall we?" He jabbed a finger across the room to Death, who happened to be punting a demon head soccer-style into a wall.

"We'll need your help to get him to resurface," Malphas said to me. "He's still in there, Faith."

"And how do I do that? Kiss him on his big, fanged, covered-in-demon-gore mouth and snap him out of it?"

"Do what you did on the roof," Malphas said as he thrust his sword backward under his armpit and into a creature coming up behind him. He pulled the blade out and turned to slice off its head before pivoting back around without breaking a sweat. "Try not to get your face eaten off, though, yeah?"

Ace scoffed, his eyes glowing white as he shouted a command at another demon, bringing it to its knees. "Can we be serious right now?"

"Agreed," I said firmly. "We need to work together. I don't know if you've noticed, but we're kinda the Dream Team." I motioned to Ace and Malphas. "Or at least you two are, and I intermittently come in clutch." Then I stuck my hand out in the middle of the three of us for an epic huddle break. "On three: ‘Get Death's pruner back!'"

Malphas looked at Ace. "What is wrong with her?"

"So many things," Ace said with a shake of his head. "I will work to keep Ahrimad contained with another cocoon of magic. Long enough for you, Weirdo, and the rest of the Scooby gang to euthanize Grandpa Time."

"That was funny," Malphas admitted with a stiff, soldier-like nod. "Funnier than what Weirdo said." He put his hand forward. "I'll break on that."

I unenthusiastically broke with them, realizing my new nickname had become "Weirdo."

"Wait, ma chérie ," Ace said, clutching my hand. His eyes carefully searched mine, and I could see the hesitation as he chose his next words. "See you on the other side."

A small drop of dread landed in my stomach, as I didn't quite know what he meant by that.

Just then, a demon manifested behind Ace, hulking and seething. It threw out its massive arm and shoved Ace into the hard marble floor. With little time to react, I tried to punch my fist forward at the creature, as I'd been doing, but no light fired.

I shook out my hand, panic rising as the creature opened its jaws in a howl, putrid saliva dancing between its fangs. "Dude. Breath mint."

Darkness spread like an aura from behind the beast, and its whole body jerked. Death stood behind it with his fist gripping its bloody backbone.

What had seemed like Death saving me from certain death turned into a nightmare once he looked down at me with a feral, empty look in his eyes.

"Cupcake," I said, trembling.

Death dropped the spine in his hand with a low, predatory noise. I stumbled over my feet as he stalked toward me, his movements so fast they blurred in my vision.

Suddenly, a massive piece of marble hurled into Death's side, knocking him slightly off-balance. A roar unleashed from his mouth as Malphas manifested and drew his sword.

"Can't let you kill your girlfriend, son. She's goofy, but I rather like her."

"Liar!" Death hissed.

Death lunged for Malphas, swiping out his claws at a speed that Malphas barely evaded.

"I know there's a lot you're processing," Malphas said. "Don't give up because of me. Giving up means that Ahrimad wins."

Another swipe of deadly talons forced Malphas to fight back as he disappeared and reappeared behind Death. His sword sliced into the back of Death's legs, nearly bringing him to his knees. Faltering, but refusing to fall, Death released another thunderous roar.

"Remember who you are!" Malphas shouted. "You're in control!"

Death straightened to his full height, towering over Malphas. "Murderer . . . "

Shadows twisted down Malphas's blade and ripped the weapon straight out of his hand. Death moved his head sharply to the side, and the shadows punched into Malphas's torso, slamming him into the ground.

A shoe bounced off Death's head. Ace's shoe. Death's horned head snapped toward him, and he snarled. His feet launched into the air as he pounced off the ground, landing in front of the warlock like a monstrous cat. Ace crawled backward along the ground, clutching at his shoulder, which he'd landed on, his face tight with pain as he tried to pick himself up. Death plucked him up by the shirt like he weighed nothing, pinning him to the wall as his long, black fingers gripped Ace's jaw. The fast drum of my heart pounded my vision as I watched, frozen. Deadly fangs elongated—

"Cowabunga!" I leapt onto Death's massive back, grabbing two fistfuls of his hair and yanking his skull backward. Darkness flashed in front of me as Death abruptly transported, taking me with him. I choked on my breath as we reappeared elsewhere in the room.

Death landed on all fours. Shadows manifested in front of me like vipers trying to latch on to my limbs. My fingertips ignited with white light as I smacked them away like gnats. Death's clawed hand reached back to grab my thigh and rip me off his back. I shrieked, tugging at his hair again, and he had the same knee-jerk reaction. We vanished and reappeared forty feet away from our previous spot.

"Onward!" I bellowed, pointing toward a demon.

"What the . . . fuck?" Death growled. " Faith—?"

I yanked on his hair. We vanished, and he landed not so gracefully this time but caught himself. " Stop that."

"Looks like pulling your hair resurfaced you. You're back!"

"And with barely any of my luscious locks left," Death huffed.

From the side, a demon charged at us.

"Left!" I shrieked.

Death dodged out of the way, intercepting the blade-like nails of the demon. The demon lashed out again, but Death's hand was faster. Hard muscle tore as Death ripped into the creature's torso with his claws. Another hard swipe of his deadly hand and the creature's throat was cut clean through.

I laughed hysterically against his neck. "That was so awesome ! And sick ! I think I'm in shock!" I clicked my heels against his side. "Yeehaw!"

Four more demons manifested in front of us.

"Hold on tight, cupcake."

My stomach lurched as Death jumped to his feet and straightened his legs, launching his massive frame off the ground before they could grab him. He leapt onto the wall beside us, talons penetrating the marble wall as he anchored to it and climbed higher. The demons launched into the wall after us in a less graceful fashion, their terrifying roars reminding me of the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park as their clumsy climb upward ripped out pieces of marble; none of them could seem to hold themselves up. They backed away from the wall, snarling at Death.

"Admit it," I said, feeling dizzy as I looked down at the drop. "You wanted to show off."

Death turned his head over his shoulder and grinned. "You do have your legs around my waist."

A screech escaped my mouth as Death dove backward off the wall, the world arching upside down. He landed on all fours and reached back, grabbing onto the belt loop of my pants. He dropped me to the ground in one smooth motion before slinking up the length of me. "Stay," he whispered. His feet gripped the ground as he sprang somewhere over my head, the sound of a gory fight out of my line of sight.

When I tried to sit up, my limbs wouldn't work. I suddenly felt pinned, as though trapped in a sleep paralysis dream. Stay . . .

Ahrimad stood facing the portal, the surface undulating like waves in a violent sea. Something was terribly wrong: the portal whirled with chaos, but I wasn't afraid. I felt only rage, and so did he. Ahrimad turned toward me, silently roaring, his golden eyes flaring. The skin of his face pressed rapidly tighter against his skull, tautening with fury as his scythe swung out toward me, the portal slowly rippling closed behind him like an iris. Blood sprayed my vision. My blood. Pain exploded in my abdomen, cleaving through me—

The marble room was falling apart. The ceiling cracked above me as my chest heaved with adrenaline from the revelation of what I'd seen. What I'd felt.

Taloned hands yanked me out of the way before a piece of marble came crashing down onto me. Death pulled me to my feet, his frame enormous and sleek with blood and sweat.

Ace stood with his hands outstretched toward Ahrimad and the twisting wind that concealed him, visibly straining. Suddenly, a massive bolt of darkness sliced through the vortex of air. Ace stumbled back, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion as Ahrimad ripped free from the containment spell.

Ahrimad swung out his scythe, energy firing out from the movement and rippling the air in a crescent shape around him. Ace and Malphas were the closest to him and were hit hard, their bodies tossed back onto the stage and sent rolling. More chunks of marble fell away from the ceiling as bits and pieces of the room disintegrated from the damage done.

Ahrimad kept coming as he swung out his scythe. Time seemed to slow as his sharp features strobed back and forth between a humanoid face and something otherworldly and alien. His blade arced another crescent in the air with a cruel gleam of silver, and this time I was hit by his shadow. Darkness wrapped around my limbs and slammed me down to the floor, where I was pinned by shadow.

"Faith!" Death moved toward me, but a cobalt wall of fire erupted between us, forming a large circle around Death and Ahrimad. Death jumped back, clutching his hand as the seared scent of flesh permeated the air.

"Kneel." Ahrimad raised his scythe again but didn't swing it. Through the flames, I watched Death's muscles tighten, the tendons in his neck straining. "You don't have the strength to fight me."

Death fell to his knees in anguish, in defeat, in obedience. Ahrimad's long, bony fingers gripped Death by the skull. I felt my whole world come crashing down, and I couldn't move . The harder I fought to be free, the tighter the shadow coiled around me. Tears poured from my eyes, and I sobbed, forced to watch what played out before me.

Ahrimad's lips peeled back in a fiendish grin, and his scythe vanished from his side, refashioning itself as a dagger.

"They think what you seek is true death, Alexandru, but I know better. For only you and I know the truth." Ahrimad held the dagger out, and Death's entire affect changed, black markings lighting up white against his obsidian skin like ancient encryptions. Panic broadened his catlike eyes, and he tried to move away, but Ahrimad pierced his nails into Death's throat and held him still. "The blade from which you reap is the key to your demise too. Yet you've chosen life all this time. I do appreciate the pitiful irony."

Then he stabbed Death in the heart, the sickening crunch like a sharp pierce to my own.

"DEATH!"

Death's body lurched on impact, veins protruding in his face, his eyes wide. His hand shot out on instinct, talons ripping into Ahrimad's arm.

A cruel smile turned up Ahrimad's sinister mouth. "May you never see the light again, my nephew."

With final hard nudge of Ahrimad's powerful hand, the blade plunged home.

Breaking free from Ahrimad's hold on my limbs felt like knives cutting into all parts of me. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else mattered but getting free as white blinded my vision.

Shadows hissed and retreated from my light, and I could feel Ahrimad's hold on me weakening. A scream tore from my throat as I battled against the darkness until a part of it gave way from my hand, and I was able to fire the light at my legs. The shadows withered away, and I shoved the rest off me. I was free. I was free, and I was on my feet. Sprinting hard toward the blue firewall separating me from Death, I dropped to my knees and shielded my face, the flames burning away the sleeves of my fire-retardant clothes as I slid into the ring of fire.

My lungs tightened at the sight of Death writhing on the ground. Ahrimad yanked the dagger from Death's heart, but the ghost of the handle remained embedded in his chest, pulsing with shadows.

Ahrimad gazed up from Death to me in calm astonishment. "No mortal can move through the flames of the Underworld."

"You talk way too much," I seethed.

I punched the air toward Ahrimad, chucking my power at him like a spear. Ahrimad easily deflected it with his scythe, as though it were a fly. I watched the stream of my light hit the marble wall beside the portal and eat into it like acid.

Another idea came to me.

A moment too late, as Ahrimad manifested directly in front of me, smashing my hand with his before I could ignite again. Bone snapped as my whole hand crumpled. Black splotched my vision as he shoved me back the ground. I screamed in agony, crawling backward, the rippling waves of the portal growing louder behind Ahrimad.

Ahrimad laughed as he loomed over me, his black robes billowing out. "You have prevented me from creating a new vessel, but you have not stopped my army. My Forsaken are waiting in the Unknown. At my command, they will devour your little realm from the inside out. Too bad you will not be alive to witness the massacre."

Fire raced down my forearm. My left arm hurled out toward Ahrimad with a violence I had never known. Ahrimad held out a hand at the last second to shield himself, his eyes glowing bright as he reacted fast. Too fast. Too fast to focus on precision as he ricocheted the power of my light directly into the rippling portal beside him.

The portal soaked up my energy again, marble cracking on either side of it as a black void formed at the center like an impending doom. Ahrimad's eyes widened. The rippling portal broadened, vacillating, as if it were unable to contain itself. As if it would explode.

A piece of the ceiling came down beside me, the blue flames around us disintegrating. My eyes rapidly searched the ground for Death, but he was gone. He was gone, and I couldn't even process what could have happened to him. I leapt to my feet, forcing myself to turn and run. I ran as hard as I could, with the instinct to survive. A high-pitched whistle pierced the air, the sound carrying to me and painting a clear picture of the portal exploding, forcing a surge of energy back out.

I turned back, and a swarm of rippling air was hurtling toward me. I had little time react as the unforgiving force from the portal swept me away in its vicious wave. I went airborne, arcing high toward the ceiling. My arms swung helplessly in the air, gravity plunging me face down, the ground coming in fast. My arms shot forward at the last second to shield my head, bracing for a fatal impact that never came.

Ringing. My eardrums ringing. The thought crossed my mind that I had in fact died, but my breath was so loud, and my whole chest pulsated to the hard beat of my heart. Warm wetness dripped from my ears and down the tip of my nose. I slowly opened my eyes, watching my blood collecting into a puddle beneath my face. Strands of damp black hair that had escaped my braid aimed down at the floor. I realized I was suspended off the ground. Levitating. My fists were both healed, locked tight on either side of me and ignited with white electricity.

I dropped the short distance to the ground, catching myself on my hands. As I stood with wobbly legs, my vision swam. Everything still felt heavy, bruised, broken, but I was alive with adrenaline. Through the smoke and debris in the air, I stumbled over the rubble, my hands searching frantically.

The ringing in my ears grew louder as I followed a path not covered by debris and made my away around a fallen marble pillar. My eyes made a stronger effort to focus as I saw that rippling mirror again, its surface tunneling like an endless void.

"Death? Death!" My eyes swept over the ground, and I stepped over large pieces of debris. The ceiling of the room was almost completely destroyed, and I could see up into the floor above. When I gazed down, thick, black liquid coated the floor. Death's blood. My fingers curled into my palm, my whole body shaking with fury as my throat tightened.

"My destined night, gone. You . . . ruined . . . everything ."

I turned slowly to find Ahrimad facing the portal.

"The night yields to no one," Ahrimad murmured bitterly. "The day breaks on, and death is unmoved. And yet, I have been thwarted by life . . . "

The portal swirled with chaos, but I wasn't afraid. I saw rage, and so did he. Ahrimad turned toward me, and the sight of his face made my blood curdle. The skin of his face was translucent, the skeleton of an otherworldly creature glaring back at me.

Ahrimad's eyes radiated a wrathful gold. "You will pay for what you have done!"

His arm swung out, the portal rippling closed behind him like an iris. I remembered my vision of my blood spraying, my abdomen splitting open as the scythe buried into me. Right before the blade could come down and seal the fate I'd foreseen, shadows piled in front of me like an armored wall as Death manifested between me and Ahrimad. His taloned hands shot out and gripped the staff of Ahrimad's scythe, their faces close as he met him in a deadlock.

"Over my dead body," Death seethed.

Death ripped the scythe straight from Ahrimad's grasp, kicking him back toward the portal. The markings along the staff kindled to life as the staff rotated over Death's head. Intricate groupings of lines developed over its massive silvery blade, matching the dark tattoos curling down Death's neck. His long fingers gripped the staff again as it turned over, and he carved the air in front of him. Ahrimad's eyes widened as he split completely in half. Another quick, clean movement of Death's blade and Ahrimad was decapitated. His translucent body evaporated into a dark essence before he even hit the ground and then evaporated altogether.

A heaviness expanded in my core as I stared at the spot where Ahrimad once stood, uncertain if he would return again. "Is he …?"

"He's gone," Death said in a solemn voice.

"We did it. We really did it." I rubbed my hand over my forehead, a rush of emotions flooding over me. "We have to help the others. We have to—"

Death's scythe fell to the ground, the clatter snapping me into reality.

It wasn't over.

Death swayed on his feet, his body tipping. Adrenaline took over, and I hurried forward, wrapping my arms around his torso. But he was too heavy. He was a deadweight, and we both went down to the floor.

"Death? Death!"

Everything felt muted, frozen, pained, my palms resting on his chest as I hovered over him. The phantom of Ahrimad's dagger remained protruding from Death's heart. Shadows pulsed from the handle, the surrounding skin rapidly losing heat, leaving behind a growing coldness beneath my palms that I'd never known.

"No . . . no ."

When I reached to pull the dagger out, my fingers went right through the handle. I tried again and again until a hand weakly clutched mine. A hand I didn't recognize. A man's hand. A normal hand, one without any markings.

Everything in me trembled as my eyes finally rose to his face. His face. I felt gutted. Death's features were thinning, sickly, just like Ahrimad's. I hardly recognized him, except for his mismatched green eyes. They were too large, too dim against his colorless complexion.

"You're going to be okay," I said, because it was all I could say. "I'm going to get you help. We're going to figure this out—"

But when I tried to get up, Death's hand tightened around mine. "Stay," he said weakly. "Just stay."

"I don't understand." Even when I knew the truth, even when I stared him right in the face, my mind didn't want to believe it. "I don't understand. We won. We won , and I was supposed to save you."

"It's not your job to save me."

"No," I choked out, tears welling in my eyes. " No , this isn't happening. How can this happen? You're Death . You're not allowed to die. I don't give you permission." I held on to his hand for dear life. "What will I do without you?"

Death's eyes were half open now, his smile sad. "You can write a book about how sexy I am."

I laughed, even as I cried.

"All this time," Death began, "I thought I wanted to die. You showed me I wanted to live." His eyes gleamed with tears. "I want to live."

In front of us, the portal sputtered to life, electric currents flying and charging the air. Death's whole body quaked beneath my hands, his throat convulsing. I gripped his head and tried to keep him still, but I felt so helpless. The seizing eventually stopped, his eyes opening tiredly.

"Eternal return," he said faintly. "I was afraid to let you in and then lose you. If you only knew . . . "

I held his limp hand tighter. "I'm here. You've always had me."

Black dripped from the corners of his mouth, pooling onto the marble floor. I watched, horrified, as the roots of Death's hair slowly began to turn blond beneath my fingertips.

"Forgive me. I love you, Faith."

A sudden blast detonated from the portal. It crashed into my body, and I rolled back onto the floor, my side slamming into a fallen mass of marble. The sensation of being pushed turned into a pull as my fingers clung to the marble beside me, and I held on for dear life. I turned to look back toward Death, but he was gone again. My mind scrambled to understand. A piece of fallen marble skidded across the floor, tossed into the deep void, and I knew what had happened. His body had been pulled into the threshold, into the Unknown. By the time I figured it out, the portal's energy had waned until it was a mere sliver of rippling life in a normal mirror.

Everything pulsed around the edges, the world muting to nothing as I stood before the dying portal. Broken, enraged, robbed.

This couldn't be the end.

In the shattered reflective surface, my eyes flamed white as I slowly raised my hands on either side of me. I called upon every ounce of power I had left. It answered, releasing from my hands in the form of a chaos I'd yet to master. A chaos that nearly exhausted me, until I thought of him. Until I remembered what we'd senselessly lost. I willed the light to grip the thinning remains of the portal, anchoring the sides of the narrow gateway. The weight of the portal grew heavier, threatening to collapse and crush me alive.

"I need you to choose you over me," Death's voice replayed in my head.

I couldn't keep that promise.

Tears poured down my face, and a roar unleashed from my throat as white light exploded all around me. I pulled my hands wider apart, and the portal broadened, reopening halfway.

My arms fell.

I took off in a hard sprint, casting all fear aside as the rippling void narrowed fast.

I jumped through to the other side with the fading thought that this was my destiny.