Page 116 of An Oath at Midnight

The wire released, and I fell to the floor. “Stay back,” I yelled at Ash.

Then my power collapsed, my magic drained. Ryan fell to the floor as well, then instantly jumped to his feet and ran at me. Pain overwhelmed me, every bit of strength I had, I’d used up. Ryan got to me first, dragging me off the floor, holding me in front of him, a knife to my throat.

“Stay back or I’ll slice her throat,” Ryan screamed.

“You’re already dead,” Bram snarled, about to shift, to turn into a shadow.

My mouth and the tips of my fingers were burning, I assumed from my injuries, but then the dark thing that Death had given me reared up, coming to life, and snapped its teeth, taking a bite. Ryan made a choking sound, then his hands loosened and released me. We both fell, hitting the ground hard.

He was dead, I could tell without looking. His soul…I felt it leave his body. Time stilled. Then Ryan’s soul stood, looking down at his body in horror, then at me, and I could see it all. His face twisted, and he took a step toward me—

A male…no, a monster, appeared out of nowhere. He grabbed Ryan. Ryan screamed and fought, but the hellish male subdued him easily. The monster paused then, looking at me. I couldn’t make out his face—I knew he had one, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see it. His head tilted to the side. A demon.

Then he gave me a nod and vanished, taking Ryan with him.

Lucifer’s own reaper, and he’d dragged Ryan to Hell. Somehow, I just knew that as well.

Then the room exploded back into action and Bram and Asher rushed for me.

I lifted my hands, scrambling back. “No, you have to stay back. You can’t touch me. No one can touch me.”

CHAPTER 29

Bram

Magnolia scrambled backward. “I mean it, stay away.”

Blood dripped from her torn mouth, her clothes had been cut off her body, more blood dripped from under her breasts, covering her ribs and stomach. She was huddled against the fucking wall, and she wanted me to stay back? She had to be confused? Or seeing things that weren’t there.

“It’s okay, Mags,” I said, my voice cracking. I took another step closer. “It’s me. You’re safe now.”

She shook her head. “Y-you need to listen to me.” She lifted her hands as if to ward me off. “Don’t come any closer.”

I froze in place. “What’s wrong with your hands, baby?” The tips of her fingers were black. “What the fuck did he do?”

She shook her head again. “N-not him. Not Ryan. Death. He…he made me a reaper.” More blood ran from her ruined lips. “Oh goddess, I’m a reaper.”

“You’re hallucinating or confused—”

“No.” She struggled to her feet, swaying in place and grabbing for the wall to hold herself up. “If you t-touch me, you will d-die, just like Ryan did.” Her entire body was trembling from pain, from shock. “I’m Death’s servant.”

* * *

Getting her out of that place and back to the tree house was fucking torture. Mags kept passing out, and I was forced to stand there and do fucking nothing. I was jumping out of my skin, my entire body aching to pick her up and hold her to me.

She’d wake, struggle a little farther across the room, then black out and fall again. She managed to pull my shirt on to cover herself, and Ash and I laid out a drop cloth. Mags finally crawled into it, and we carried her outside and got her in the car—then she passed the fuck out again.

When we got to the house, she insisted on climbing the fucking ladder to the tree house, terrified her mom or Else or one of her sisters would accidentally touch her.

Now she was in my bed, still out cold.

She’d been asleep for two days, and the longer she took to wake, the more out of control I felt. I didn’t exist without her. I was fucking nothing. I needed her to open her eyes and look at me.

Thank fuck Talon was able to hack into Ryan’s phone and track it.

My gaze traveled over her, down to her pale hand and black-tipped fingers. I wanted to take it in mine, to feel the warmth of her skin so fucking badly. But I couldn’t do that. Before she’d passed out again, she’d managed to fill me in on everything that had happened. Ryan had nearly killed her; he’d nearly taken her from me.

Then fucking Death had made her one of his reapers.