Page 86 of A Bond in Flames

“Okay.” She smiled shakily. “But before you leave, I have something for you. Something you need to take home with you.”

Half an hour later, I was watching Jasmine’s car drive away and walking into Oldwood Forest. “Stay hidden,” I said to Hemy.

I wasn’t sure if Death’s protection would still work, so I gripped my knife tight. I heard demons, saw several, but they didn’t see me. Either he was expecting me, or he was hoping I’d come. I let that fill me with hope; I needed it, especially after our last encounter in my dreams.

When I walked into the clearing, a demon was sitting there, leaning against a tree near the pile of rocks and boulders that would form the gateway to Limbo. He was playing with his phone, snickering at whatever he was doing.

He didn’t look up, didn’t see me. With Death’s protection surrounding me still, I should be able to walk right up, open it, and walk through, and he wouldn’t be any the wiser. I’d seen demons here before—this wasn’t unusual—but still I approached cautiously, watching him closely.

The demon, apart from the greenish tinge to his skin, looked fairly humanoid. He tapped something out on his phone with a grin. Still, he gave no sign that he saw me at all. He couldn’t; Death had made sure of it. I don’t know why I was feeling so anxious. Maybe because I was so close to being back with Death and Marigold that I was terrified something would go wrong.

I made a slice in my palm and lifted my hand to drip my blood onto the rocks and boulders that would form the gateway.

One moment, the demon was by the tree; the next, he’d grabbed my wrist and shoved something cold and hard onto one of my fingers. My blood hit the boulders a moment later, and I yelled the words to open the gate as I swiped my blade at him.

He released my wrist and shoved my hand away, backing up with a smirk. “A gift from Nox.”

The gateway opened behind me as I looked down at the tarnished gold band now on my hand and watched in horror as it turned liquid and swirled around my finger, sinking into my flesh, into bone. I screamed as pain shot up my arm.

“Have fun,” the demon said before he slammed his foot into my stomach, pushing me through the gateway.

I fell through, hitting the path hard. Cold immediately seeped into me, through me. I lay there, looking around. Something wasn’t right. The forest smelled dank, like decay; the air was heavy with it. Mossy strands hung from the trees, and the feeling of dread and sorrow was so thick, it took everything in me not to curl in a ball and give in to it, to sob from the hopelessness that sank deeper inside me. This was what I felt when I first met Death; this was what radiated from him and twisted inside me when I’d first come here. For months, I’d felt this—but somehow, it was worse now, so much worse.

Get up. He needs you.

It physically hurt to move, but somehow, I pulled myself off the ground and got to my feet. Scanning the area, I realized this wasn’t the path I usually walked along. This wasn’t the way back to Death. I was somewhere else. In Limbo, but somewhere I’d never been before.

My finger throbbed, blood oozing from around the dull gold embedded in my flesh. Shaking out my hand, I grabbed my hunting knife from the ground beside me. Nox, the evil bitch, was the reason I died the first time. She’d stolen our daughter, and then her demons had killed me on her order. I forced myself to walk. Whatever she had in store for me, I would not let her win, not this time. The path ahead seemed endless, and I walked faster, faster, then broke into a run.

I ran and ran for so long, my legs were close to giving out, but I never got anywhere. The same trees, the same path—it all remained the same. I was getting nowhere. Panting, I stopped, looking around me.

Death always warned me to stay on the skull path. Nox wanted me to stray from it. She wasn’t giving me any other choice. The goddess was dangerous, especially when she felt threatened, which meant I was close. I was close to breaking whatever curse she had on Death, and she wanted me gone for good.

Well, she wasn’t going to win. I would not die, not this time, and I wouldn’t abandon Death, not ever again.

Gripping my knife tight, I did the only thing I could. I stepped off the path—

And into a cottage.

The forest was gone, and I was in a room… filled with dolls.

Stumbling back, I knocked one off the shelf. What the actual fuck was this? Everything was pink and frilly, and there were dolls, weird leather-looking dolls, in different colored, lacy dresses covering every surface. Hemy wriggled against me through the bag. “Don’t move. Stay where you are until I tell you to come out,” I whispered.

He stilled immediately, doing as I said.

The door opened, and a man walked in. He was huge, dressed in dirty jeans and a grungy navy-and-black flannel shirt like a lumberjack. His gaze sliced to me, eyes widening.

I held up my hands. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure how I got here—”

“Who are you? Why are you with my babies?” he said, eyeing me suspiciously. “You can’t have them,” he yelled. “You can’t have them!”

CHAPTER28

Death

I’d waitedat the gateway for fucking hours, feet rooted to the ground, willing it to open, for Zinnia to walk through.

But she hadn’t come.

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