Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66383 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66383 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Viper presses the blade a little harder against my neck, and blood wells with the sting until it drips on the floor.
Grim looks away.
Max is still shouting, only now with more vigor.
And the next thing I know… I’m gone.
There is no longer a knife at my neck, and I’m not on the floor looking up at the only two men in my life that have ever meant everything to me.
I’m surrounded by blackness. Is this death? Did he manage to kill me? I just don’t know.
I move my arms, and a small sigh leaves me at the realization that I am once again in control of my body.
Managing to stand, I check around the all-black room. I can’t see where it starts or where it ends. It’s as if the room is a circle.
“Talia.” I recognize the voice straight away. Turning around, Lucifer is standing there. He steps closer and runs a finger over my neck. It’s then I realize the wound is healed.
“You let another bleed you?” he says, shaking his head.
“I didn’t let him.”
“Another is not permitted to have our blood, let alone bleed us.”
“I couldn’t move,” I argue.
“But you could, could you not?” he asks, his head dropping to the side as he watches me. “You are still alive, after all.”
“I’m alive?” I ask, looking around.
“Yes, my dear, this is not Hell. I’m not sure you are ready for that yet.”
“He drugged me,” I tell him.
“With something made here. Now, tell me, daughter, whose child are you?” He lays his hand on my shoulder. “Stop letting it hold you back, and start using that knowledge to fight.” My hand goes to my neck, and Lucifer nods. “Because if you don’t, I will. And you will not like the outcome if I have to come.” His red eyes shine brightly before he disappears.
When I blink again, I’m standing on the other side of the barrier that burned the wolf.
I look up to see a confused Viper—yeah, that makes two of us. He takes something from Alan. It looks like a gun, which he shoots through the barrier at the door and hits Max with. Max pulls out a needle and lets it drop to the floor. I watch in shock as he becomes weaker and stumbles to the side. Viper removes the barrier that was holding him inside, and Max falls through the doorway. Grim takes the opportunity to step out and disappear. The barrier that is holding me back is still in place, and Viper starts swearing and cursing at me because Grim has gotten away.
“Call him back.” He lifts Max’s head from the floor and places the same blade that is coated with my blood against his neck. “Call him back, or I’ll slice his throat.”
“Why?” I ask. My eyes locked on Max, if he hurts him…
Max’s eyes close, and I see him fighting to stay awake.
“I want my family back. It’s what I’ve always wanted. The Angel of Death can do that,” he screams. “Now… call. Him. Back.”
“No.” I touch the barrier and expect it to burn me, but it doesn’t. My hand goes straight through it. I smile as I realize I can step through, and it won’t hurt me.
Viper appears as shocked as I feel, his white eyes wide and his father shaking his head at me.
“He won’t come back,” I tell Viper. He smiles.
“If I’m going to die, do you really think I will make it easy?” he states, confusing me.
Alan runs at me, and I lift my hand and reach for him but he pushes a needle into my skin, I shake it off fast before my hand touches him, I start draining his power. And I keep draining until I feel every bit of his power leave his body. He drops to the floor at my feet, and his head hits hard, knocking him out cold. The rush hits me immediately, but I can’t stop.
I need Max.
As I start toward him, Viper smiles.
And in the next instant, the very same knife that made me bleed slices through Max’s neck.
Shock hits me first.
Did he just…
He did.
Max drops to the floor face-first into a pool of his blood. I watch for a moment as it grows bigger, then I turn my gaze on Viper.
Does he think he will get out of this alive for hurting someone I love, not just someone, my Max. That is unacceptable. In more ways then one.
“You are the Devil’s daughter,” he says, eyes wide. I catch my reflection and see that my eyes are glowing red. I can’t move, but I know what I want. I want my hands around Viper’s neck, want to feel the life leave him. I summon him closer, and he is pulled by a force so strong that not even he himself can stop it. The second his neck is in my hands, I smile.