“Hey!” Edie brightened. “If I go with you, will I see my parents again?”
The reaper’s hand burned into Edie’s shoulder, but in the best possible way. “Maybe. You can’t know until you go.”
“I want to hug them again. Hear their voices.” Edie’s nose crinkled as she thought it over. “But I think I want to stay alive more.”
“That’s fine.” The proclamation didn’t seem to bother the other woman. “For now.”
Wow. The reaper’s phrasing…“Is that a threat?”
“Of course not.” Violet eyes. The woman had actualviolet eyes, like all those spunky kidnapped virgins in old-school romancenovels. “I haven’t hurt you, Edie, and I won’t. I’m just here to keep you company on your trip. When I saidfor now, I meant you might not have a choice much longer, and neither will I.”
Belinda was standing over them, her knife orange-tipped in the firelight.
“It’s getting harder to hold her.” Kip’s voice had turned hoarse. “I don’t…”
“Move aside.Move.”
That familiar voice of arrogant command washed over Edie, and she tried to beam happily up at Max as he strode toward her. She wasn’t sure her face was listening, though. It seemed to be snarling, not smiling.
Then he was stretching out on the ground next to her, tugging her into his arms, and embracing her so tightly she could feel it even through the odd numbness.
“Forgive me, ma puce,” he murmured. “You’re going to hate this. But it’s what I wanted, and it’s far preferable to living without you.”
“Skip the sweet nothings,” Sabrina snapped, because apparently she was here again too? Interesting. “There’s no time. Are you absolutely certain, vamp?”
“I’m certain.” He pressed a kiss to Edie’s temple. “Your survival gives my death all the meaning it requires, my Edie. If you wallow in guilt or consecrate your life to my memory, I swear I’ll figure out how to become a ghost and fucking haunt you. Don’t test me, human.”
“Max—” Sabrina sounded desperate.
“Do it, witch,” he told her, and hitched Edie closer. “Now.”
27
“I hope I have the power for this,” the witch muttered, and then everything got…weird.
Well, weirder.
Against Edie, Max abruptly turned stiff enough to snap a tendon, then jerked convulsively, as if he’d been struck by lightning. But it wasn’t even a cloudy night, so that didn’t make sense.
As he twitched and spasmed—was he okay?—the rage and clawing hunger in Edie’s belly faded, and faded some more, until it was entirely absent. Which was a relief, yes, but also odd and unexplainable.
At long last, Max finally relaxed again, his body limp. Good. He could use some rest after the long evening they’d all had.
Why everyone seemed to be crying, even Sabrina, Edie had absolutely no idea.
The reaper stood, smoothing out her pajamas. “Goodbye, Edie. I’ve been called to a different job, and I need to leave. I may or may not see you again, but if I do, I hope it’s not soon.”
And that was another odd thing.
Was Edie not dying anymore? And if she wasn’t, why not?
“But…” As Edie’s thoughts began to clear, sheer horror stopped her breath. “What the hells did he…”
No. No, he couldn’t have. He couldn’t have done this to her.
“Wait.” Desperately, she clutched at the hem of the reaper’s pajama pants. “Please tell me your next job isn’t Max.”
The woman’s smile was sad. “I can’t say. I’m sorry.”
