Cael released Donn. “So you ended things between us?”
“I didn’t want to give you up, Cael, but I don’t see any other way.” Donn began walking again. Tears gathered in his eyes. “I just don’t know what to do about all this.”
“Maybe we can figure it out. Together. Maybe we can start again instead of dancing around each other.” Cael held out his hand, but doubt lingered in Cael’s gaze that Donn would do anything differently.
Donn eyed Cael’s hand as if it were a death snake, poised to strike. “I do not dance, Reaper.”
Cael wiggled his fingers. “Maybe not, but I recall a time or two when we had fun.”
The corner of Donn’s mouth lifted in a smile. He put his hand in Cael’s. “As do I.”
Their way of arguing with each other was super weird and a little sweet. It was an argument that solved nothing, and they both knew it. Donn wouldn’t give in, and Cael hadn’t really expected him to. The handholding was a truce of sorts, but a temporary one.
“If you would just bring Phin to me, I’m sure we could reach some sort of agreement.” I was willing to compromise, as long as I didn’t have to be without Phin. I would never let him out of my sight again.
“I am not hiding him. He is hiding on his own, from you.”
I chuckled. “Nice try.”
“Donnie, you’re scaring him. And the others, too.” Cael had a point. That was the crux of the problem. He was scaring people who didn’t deserve to be afraid.
Donn sighed. “The boy at the bakery is a witch. He’s using magic to hide. Not even my demons can find him.”
“Fine. Then tell your demons to stop looking for him.” I would find him faster without the demons’ threat.
“I won’t do that, but I will make you a promise. I won’t send another beloved to Tech Duinn unless I believe they deserve it.”
“How do we know you’ll be fair?” Donn had never lied. Not once. Still, trust had gone out the window the second he sent Phin and me to Tech Duinn.
Donn smiled. “You’ll have to trust me.”
“He’ll keep his promise.” Yeah, Cael was definitely the Donnie Death whisperer. Thank fuck for that.
Donn rolled his eyes. “Fine. Yes.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Phin
Demons surrounded us, shadowy beings passing by within inches of where we stood. There was no sound except for my heart beating into overdrive.
“Feet hurt,” Hale whispered as he sank to the ground. Cameron and I joined him. We sat in a circle, holding hands as if we were playing a children’s game, though none of us made a sound. Then Hale’s stomach growled at him, demanding food. Except there was nothing to eat in the Between.
Two shadowy figures passed us. I could almost feel them touching me. They were so close that their legs brushed my back. I held my breath until they were far enough away. Even after I started breathing again, it was uneven. Fear still gripped me, but hope also settled into my bones. Maybe the demons wouldn’t find us.
Cameron leaned into me. “Do you think they’ve left?”
“I don’t know. But Ossy will come. He’ll find us. He’ll take us back to the farm.” He would. There was no way he’d leave me. Not for any reason.
“What if he doesn’t?” Cameron was a down-to-earth person. He wasn’t necessarily the glass-half-empty type. It was more about trust, as if someone had let him down in the past.
“He will.” Not that Ossy had a good track record. He’d come for me at the Soul Management Bureau. He’d saved me then and would save me again. I had to believe it, because anything less would make me doubt everything we had.
“Explain the Soul Management Bureau to me,” Cameron whispered.
“Donn’s former receptionist approached me.” Hale put a finger to his lips and looked up as if someone had written the answers on the ceiling. “I think it was about forty-three years ago. I accepted the job, which made me immortal. Everybody in the Soul Management Bureau is immortal, not just me.”
Cameron’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”
