AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Call the cops,” the woman instructed, closing the door. She grabbed a set of keys on a retractable lanyard at her belt with a zwip and used one to lock the doors of the Grand Ballroom.
“What are you doing?” the young man asked, starting to panic.
“Are you kidding? She’s obviously dangerous! She could be a terrorist for all we know. What if she’s planted bombs in the building or something? Now call the damn cops while I lock the other doors. We need to keep her contained.” She took off, heading in the direction of the staff corridor.
Swallowing hard, the young man pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed 9-1-1.
* * *
The Soul Dealerhad no problem blocking her punches or her kicks, and Bunny was getting thoroughly pissed off. She had just dodged one of his attacks when Death finally managed to push through the crowd and reach them.
“Leave her alone,” he growled, glaring at the Soul Dealer.
The Soul Dealer frowned, but his smirk belied his amusement.
“I don't think so,” he told Death, his tone almost pitying. “I think I'll take you both on. A little bonus, in addition to your pendant.” He grinned, his gaze flicking to Bunny. “Soon I’ll have yours, too.”
Of course. The Soul Dealer had somehow taken Death’s pendant when they’d been in Hell.
He was the reason Death couldn’t undertake any of his duties. He was the reason millions of souls were rotting inside their vessels, creating opportunities for demon infestation. Why hadn’t she put two and two together earlier?
Bunny narrowed her eyes as they circled around one another, each waiting for the other to strike first.
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Bunny growled, feinting a kick. The Soul Dealer started to weave, not realizing Bunny had bluffed him. She waited for him to move into her path, then swung her right hook and connected with his nose.
He reeled backwards, shock on his face as he lifted a hand to gingerly touch the blood that oozed from his nose.
In the middle of the battle, someone else screamed. It was full of such anguish, it wrenched at Bunny’s heart, and it wasn’t until she heard the tail end of the wail that she recognized it belonged to the cherub.
The look she directed at the Soul Dealer was full of pure hatred.
“Just give me your pendant,” he reasoned, as if she could believe him. “And I’ll call off the horde.”
“You will never have my pendant,” she spat back, her face registering her disgust.
“Shame,” he sighed. “I’ll just have to hit you where it’ll hurt, then.”
With that, he forewent any further use of physical violence. Instead, he lifted his hands in Death’s direction, unleashing a thick stream of black malicious shadow.
Bunny had no idea what it’d do to him. And she didn’t intend to find out.
“No!” she cried, taking three huge running steps before launching herself into the air in Death’s direction. She collided with him a split-second before the shadow magic did, knocking him out of harm’s way.
But they didn’t stop there.
The pair of them continued falling, until they landed on a sponge-like, mist-filled surface. Bunny groaned at having sustained further damage, but Death didn’t need her recovery time. He stood up immediately, looking around to ward off any further threat. Seeing none, he blinked and then offered Bunny his hand.
“What happened?” he asked, helping her up and taking in the vast openness of the space they had found themselves in. “What is this place?”
“It’s the Between,” Bunny said, confused. “It’s where we go when we’re doing our jobs. To get from one place to another.” She looked down to see her moonstone pendant was glowing a pure milky white. “My pendant must have brought us both here, somehow.”
“I…” Death looked off into the distance, craning his neck to see the faint twinkling of stars that existed between the realms. “I think I remember it.”
Bunny turned to look at Death, her eyes wide. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he said, walking toward her slowly. “I think I remember—”
He never got to share whatever was starting to come back to him. The light in Bunny’s pendant flickered and then dimmed, before brightening again. She reached out to take Death’s hand just as the light went out completely, and they were sucked back out of the Between.
