Page 33 of Truth Revealed

They advanced on the two assailants, their feet whispering across the concrete. Hope got there first and tackled Deceit, leaving the one with the knife to Misery and Death.

They rolled on the ground for a moment before Hope gained the upper hand, cocked his fist back, and let it fly. It smashed into the side of Deceit’s face, who grunted in pain, before Hope repeated the action. And again, the smack of flesh on flesh was intoxicating.

It wasn’t often Hope let the negative side of his emotions out, but Dora’s fucking box, it felt good to release it.

A panicked curse and a concerned shout caught his attention, distracting him. When he turned his head, he couldn’t even comprehend what the blood and Betrayal’s limp body might mean. Misery hovered over his frame while Death fought and struggled with the other guy—a demon he didn’t recognize or care about in the moment. He was too focused on Misery’s blood-covered hands and where they pressed against Betrayal’s neck.

Fury rushed through him, a sense of hopelessness washed away his worry, and he turned back to Deceit with murder in his gaze, but it was too late. He’d been distracted for too long and that was the only reason Deceit got a hit in, but it was one that counted. It threw Hope off balance and he crashed back onto the floor, his head smacking against the concrete so hard he feared he’d seen stars. It took him longer than he was proud of to gain his bearings, and when he did, a panicked whispered chant nearby caught his attention.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” a murmured whisper repeated over and over, and Hope tried to shake off the dizziness, blinked dazedly, and tried to stand. He stumbled more than walked over to Misery, who knelt beside Betrayal.

Deceit and the other guy were gone, but Hope barely spared them a thought as he stared down at Betrayal. Relief instantly speared him when Betrayal blinked back, and he sank to the floor beside the two. Crashing to his knees, he put a hand on Misery’s shoulder as he applied pressure to the wound.

“Is it deep?” Hope asked, still shaking off the effects of the hit. He’d be fine in a half hour, time for the concussion he probably had to heal itself, but fuck, his head hurt.

“Not as bad as it could have been. It’ll heal at least,” Death, ever calm and collected, answered as he approached.

“Help me get him up,” Misery finally said, sadness and defeat in every cadence of his voice.

Fuck, was this going to send Misery spiraling?

Hope shook off his negative thoughts, again, and leaned down to prop an arm behind Betrayal’s shoulders. The other one went to his other side and with a grunt, Hope helped get him to a seated position. Blood covered his neck, shirt, and Misery’s hands, but upon further inspection, Hope noticed it was mostly a flesh wound.

“Thank fuck,” he hissed.

Betrayal slapped him on the shoulder and grimaced. “Woulda kicked your ass if I wasn’t almost killed.”

Just the thought of Betrayal dying sent a pang of hurt through Hope and he swallowed hard. “Don’t fucking joke, man. For a second I thought you were dead. Really dead.”

Decapitation was no joke.

A clang scraped across the concrete floor as Death stood, the wicked looking blade in his hand. “This wasn’t just supposed to be an ambush. They came here to kill one of us.”

“Not all of them,” Hope interjected, remembering the conversation he’d been privy to.

Death frowned at him, but motioned toward the exit. “We can talk more later. Let’s get out of here.”

Misery was suspiciously quiet, but helped Hope get Betrayal to his feet. It wasn’t until they were in the car, Misery cranked around in the driver’s seat and glaring, that he finally found his voice. Right after Betrayal made a suggestion.

“What do you mean she doesn’t need to know?” Misery practically yelled. “You were almost killed! For good!”

“I believe I was there, thanks. We can tell her, but we don’t have to tell her how close it was. You know she’ll freak the fuck out,” Betrayal rasped.

“Well, what do you expect us to do for the next, what? Two hours?”

Hope thought of the one thing everyone loved. “Pizza?” he suggested with a shrug. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving.”

Misery looked at him as if he’d grown three heads. Which, yeah, it was a little weird he was thinking about food when one of their own had almost literally lost his head, but… Hope was the peacekeeper and right then they needed peace. And pizza.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea,” Betrayal agreed and pointed at Hope. “Good thinking.”

“Uhm, hello! You’re covered in blood!” A vein throbbed in the middle of Misery’s forehead, and for half a second Hope wondered if the poor guy was going to stroke out.

“I have a turtleneck in the back,” Death offered. “It’ll be a little snug, but maybe everyone will think it’s a new fashion trend.”

“Oh my God. That’s it. I’m disowning all of you.” Tossing his hands up in the air, Misery faced the front and started the car, mumbling about irresponsibility and lying. “Daria is not going to be happy about this.”

Understatement of the century, Hope thought.