VI

In one swift motion, Death drew me to him. The air fizzled, currents of rippling energy crackling against my bare skin like static electricity. A popular, mellow electronic R&B song blared around us. It was as if we'd entered another world, burst through an invisible fishbowl in the ballroom, and were now at a club instead of at a fancy party. Couples around us were pressed against one another, grinding sensually.

"Not what you expected?" Death asked as a feral grin spread across Ace's face.

"I thought this would be a ballroom dance."

"It is. The hex has to settle in, become acquainted with you." Death closed the space between us with one smooth stride and seized my waist. I froze. Heat splayed through me as his fingers spread down the small of my back. "Relax," he whispered at my ear, guiding my hips into a sway. "Play with me. Let go."

"I shouldn't be doing this with you."

"That's what makes it fun." His breath was a hot caress against my ear as his fingers smoothed over the exposed skin of my back. Where I was quivering and unsure, he was steady, confident. The air around us vibrated, and the sensual beat of the music pulsed through my body, leaving a heavy lust in its wake.

With lowered eyelids, I moved rhythmically in place. Death pulled back slightly and watched with the warlock's violet eyes.

"And now, feel free to gather around for the Eternal Ballet of the Seraph," Devin Star announced. Death watched Devin like a hawk as he descended the stairs and headed to the dance floor.

"He's joining the performance," Death said.

Which would make it much more difficult for us to speak to him.

The music shifted to classical, and we shifted with it. My movements gradually slowed, as did my rampant hormones, but the hex remained, pulsing in my veins like liquid fire. Everyone in the middle of the floor maneuvered into a formation.

While Death was distracted, trying to spot Devin again on the floor, I homed in on a man who wore a silver mask that covered most of his face. He stood like a statue at the far end of the ballroom, hidden amongst other guests who were trying to get a better view of the spectacle. When he caught my gaze, he stared back for a prolonged length of time, then turned, melting into the crowd.

What the hell?

Applause drew my attention elsewhere. There was an upheaval of praise from the seated guests as couples twirled around the dance floor with elegance and grace. Women were occasionally flung into the air and hung there by tendrils of colored light, as if abandoned by gravity. My jaw went slack.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of being tossed two feet into the air?" Death taunted, his fingers grazing the back of my tulle skirt as he guided us into formation.

"If my feet lift so much as one inch off the ground . . . "

His smile was slight and close-lipped. "It wouldn't be so bad with me. I've had wings for hundreds of years."

I snorted. "Why make dramatic exits into black mist if you have wings? Trying to one-up Dracula?"

"I manifest when I'm not traveling long distances. Like I've said, an angel's wings are considered an intimate part of their body. I choose to conceal mine."

"How come? Because they're the size of buffalo wings?"

He grunted something vile under his breath.

"My wings are scaled to fit the rest of me," he hissed.

"You seem defensive. You know what they say about the size of a guy's wings."

Like a taunted animal unleashed from its cage, Death snatched my left hand with his right and yanked me closer by the small of my back with his left. Captured.

"Careful, cupcake," he rasped at my ear. "Once I have my corpse back, I can make you eat your words."

For a second, I was rendered speechless by the sinful thrill his threat brought me. My knees jiggled as I placed a stiff hand on his shoulder. In heels, I was nearly level with Ace's six-foot height. Staring into the warlock's violet eyes, I imagined what this moment would have been like if Death were in his own body. His broad shoulders, the strength of his hands, the loom of his menacing height. This was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. Now I had a lot more nerves and a lot more uncertainty about putting myself through this night.

"Devin," Death said, indicating he'd found him in the crowd with a nod of his chin. "He's right ahead of us." As we neared the back of Devin's flawless tuxedo, I investigated his blond partner. Her body type and facial structure were nearly identical to my aunt's. However, it wasn't her.

"We have to briefly break out of the hex to get to them," Death said. "Hold on tight." I held on to him for dear life as he yanked us against the force of the hex. The air whipped painfully against my skin, as if we were going against the ocean tide. We flowed back into the dance beside Devin and his partner.

Devin's sapphire gaze slid to us in puzzlement.

"Hey, Grandpa," Death greeted with phony cheerfulness. "It's your favorite"—we spun—"Fallen angel," he finished. "Thanks for answering your damn phone." We spun again. "I lost my body in a corn maze two hours from here. I had to possess Ace to get to you."

Devin's eyes widened. They clung to Death, even as he twirled with his date. "Death?" The muscles in his face constricted with anger. "How?"

"Malphas used black magic to trap my soul in Limbo. All the Light Angels that he's killed? They were sacrifices. To bring back Ahrimad. It worked, and now Ahrimad has my scythe . He could very well show up tonight to crash the party."

"You're joking," Devin snarled. "He has your scythe? Your scythe —?"

"Where the hell is my aunt?" I demanded, seizing the moment.

"This is Faith, by the way," Death said, nodding to me. "She's under an illusion and knows about the whole Lucifer thing."

Devin Star kept his icy stare drilled into Death's. "You're weak. How long can you stay in this body?"

"Not long."

Devin's expression darkened to a calm fury. "Stay in the hex until I return, or you'll screw up the dance and draw attention to yourselves. I'll send Fallen to find your corpse and begin evacuating guests immediately."

"Nothing can go wrong now," quipped Death dryly.

Famous last words.

We shifted away from Lucifer, sliding across the dance floor in rhythm with the music, and that's when the nausea hit me. It scaled up my throat in a foreboding purge as powerful emotions hit me full force. Rage. Revenge. Kill them all . My knees gave out, and I scarcely avoided vomiting. Had Death not held me up, I would have collapsed.

"What's wrong?" Death demanded, our bodies still forcibly moving to the hex. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," I panted out, gaining back strength. "We have to stop. We have to stop right now."

Death's face scrunched up in a fleeting wave of pain. " Can't ," he growled. "I don't have enough energy left to remove us from the hex. We have to wait until the end of the song." He winced again, nostrils flaring.

"Is Ace kicking you out?"

"That's the main issue, yes." He twirled me roughly around and pulled our bodies closer as the dance continued. "We might have another problem on our hands." His breathing was labored now. "Ever since I left my body in Limbo, I've been able to feel my corpse. A weak but distant connection. That connection just got a lot stronger. My corpse is closer."

"Devin's Fallen recovered it already?"

He shook his head once, eyes unfocused. "No, no, this feels strange. You're right. Something is wrong."

A chill shot down my spine. "Are you telling me that your corpse has moved? By itself ?"

"Not by itself. Someone else would have to control it." He dipped me, mimicking the remaining couples around us. Frustration tightened his features as he picked me back up. "I'm essentially a brain-dead corpse without my soul. Theoretically, for a brief amount of time, while my soul is traveling between Earth and Limbo, someone could summon my corpse and take control of it. Like a puppet."

"What?" I half-screamed. "You knew this could happen, and you're just telling me now?"

"It was the worst-case scenario."

Horror struck me at a sudden realization. Maybe Malphas or Ahrimad had control over Death's corpse. In this room full of people.

"Our illusions," Death panted. "I can't . . . hold them much longer." All at once, his eyes rolled back into his head, and the hex rippled around us, forcing us to continue moving. My hands shot out. I grabbed the warlock's frame and held on with all my strength, fighting against the current of magic spiraling around us as Death fought to hold on to his host. He was losing this battle. Blood trickled from Ace's nose as he suffered a wild seizure.

"Death! Death, you have to hold on! Don't leave me, you idiot!" I grabbed him and shook him hard. "Ace, if you can hear me, let Death stay a little longer! Ace, please! Please! "

Ace's violet eyes flipped down, and Death's soul remained.

"Get Devin," he gasped out. " Now . He'll protect you."

He was leaning heavily on me. We were forced to keep moving in the dance, and I felt a prickling sensation on my neck. I rapidly scanned our surroundings, the hex digging into my back like sharp knives as I fought against it.

The room blurred, spinning, like I was briefly viewing the world from a carousel, until I locked onto two glowing amber eyes rimmed by black charcoal. Black markings scored his neck, and he wore a draped cloak. Death's cloak. My blood ran cold.

Ahrimad.

Watching us. Watching this disaster from the outer ring of the dance floor. And smiling. He can see through our illusions .

The chandelier flickered above us.

A blast of energy tore us apart, and I was swept away in the disorienting energy of this vicious, evil dance.

A pair of large, powerful hands caught me from behind and steadied me. Something sharp on the pointer finger prodded at my skin.

With my back to my new partner, we rocked to the beat. Practically hyperventilating at this point, I tried to find Ace's body, but once more, he was nowhere to be seen. I was possessed by the music again. Trapped.

With all my might, I hurled myself out of the rhythm, but my partner seized my body from behind again and pulled me back into the sway. The music shifted in intensity, and so did we. The song decelerated as my partner spun me into a dip.

The music had stopped. A woman released a shrill, hair-raising scream.

The dance floor was upside down as I remained arched back, held in an elegant pose. I felt the heat of my partner's lips brush the exposed skin of my cleavage, and reality slammed into focus.

"What the fu—!" Jerking into awareness that I'd been held under a trance, I lifted my head to my chest to view my partner and froze. The man with the silver mask. His eyes were down, fixed on my collarbone, and he inhaled. Faded lines of intricate tattoos snaked up his neck and curved up the sides of his face, just like Ahrimad's. Stubble carved his sharp jaw. Two lip rings pierced his bottom lip.

It can't be . . .

The hair lifted on the nape of my neck. Slowly, as if frozen in time, I turned my head to the side. Past guests exiting the ballroom in a frenzied panic, I saw Devin Star. He was spread out inelegantly on a wrecked table, as if his entire body had been hurled into it. He released a frightening growl and rolled onto his side, clutching at the torn fabric of his shirt, his red tuxedo stained with black liquid. His blood. Three deep lacerations disfigured the side of his face. Bronze skin stitched itself together and transformed to unnatural reddish gray serpent scales, revealing the devilish creature beneath.

Nearby stood Ace, bracing his hands on another table to keep himself upright. Beads of crimson fell from his nose, while his left arm, violently marred by claw marks as well, dripped blood onto the floor. His expression was vicious and Death-like as his wild gaze tore across the ballroom and locked onto mine. Pure dread ripped across his pale features.

My heart jackhammered. The creature that had me in its clutches released a deep, throaty growl.

I knew that growl all too well.

Death's corpse.

"Oh, great."