Page 26 of Mortis

The human immediately tensed. His hand began to withdraw. Without thinking, I caught it. Carefully. Very carefully. The image of the crumpled brass door handle flashed through my mind, and nausea twisted my stomach. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to let go. I’d never been this close to another living being that I hadn’t intended to kill.

I wasn’t ready for it to end.

“I stopped Him,” I added quickly, and to my relief, the tension left his hand.

More surprisingly, he didn’t pull away.

“We made another bargain. I offered to find flesh that would satisfy Him from a source that was already deceased. A meal that didn’t require murder.”

“Oh!” Understanding brightened his face, and he grinned. “Like a vegetarian.”

I stared down at him blankly.

“Meat is murder?” he offered. “No?”

When I continued staring, he sighed and rolled his eyes. “Never mind. Continue.”

Right.

“If I failed to satisfy Him, I would allow Him to take control permanently.”

The human’s eyes widened. “What? But what happens to . . .” He gestured vaguely at me. “You?”

I shrugged. “He would consume my essence. My half of our soul. This part of me would simply cease to exist.”

The warmth vanished as the human stepped backwards, pulling his hand free.

I immediately missed it.

“What the fuck?” His anger returned so suddenly it caught me off guard.

Yet this felt different from before.

He wasn’t angry at me.

He was angry for me.

The realisation settled somewhere warm inside my chest. No one had ever been angry on my behalf before.

I found that I liked it.

“Was there a deadline?” he demanded, waving his hands about. “On your deal, I mean.”

“Yes.”

“When is it?”

“He gave me until dawn.”

The human froze. His gaze flicked towards the clock mounted on the wall, then back to me. Something hardened in his expression. He straightened his shoulders, set his jaw, and marched directly towards me. Before I could react, a finger jabbed into my abdomen. I stared down at him, and he stared right back.

For such a small mortal, he possessed a remarkable amount of fury.

“Let me talk to Him.”

4

TEDDY