by J. L. Weil
Mason was so screwed. It wasn’t even funny. And this night could finally come to an end. “He possessed Jensen,” I hissed.
Mason laughed, pissing off a very powerful reaper. It would be the end for Mason. “You shouldn’t intervene, reaper. This is between me and Em.”
Talon’s lips curled, his muscles flexed from his barely contained anger. “And you should kiss my ass.”
I couldn’t stop the smirk. Talon had style. I’d give him that.
Mason’s gaze snapped to mine. “Smart, Em. Calling in for reinforcements. You went for the big dog too, Hell’s favorite reaper.”
“Enough of the games. It’s time to go.” Talon produced a portal in Jensen’s room.
Neither of us expected Mason to be eager to go through the portal and face his fate, but he was the first to disappear into the swirling cloud.
“Shit,” Talon muttered and dove toward Mason.
Something was wrong.
Would this nightmare never end?
I went right behind Talon, jumping through the portal. The other side was definitely not Hell. We stood in the high school gymnasium. The lights were off, and my footsteps clattered alongside Talon’s. “What happened?” The portal should have taken us to Hell, and unless the goddess had redecorated, something had gone wrong.
Talon scowled, eyes scanning the dark corners of the large rectangular room. “I don’t know.”
My gaze snapped to the door. “There.” I pointed to the right. Mason, still possessing Jensen’s body, made his way to the exit.
“Mason!” Talon called. His scythe was fully extended, the runes glowing on both him and death’s weapon.
Mason stopped dead in his tracks, looked over his shoulder, and his gaze slid to me. His lips grew wide and expressive, twisted into a sneer. Then the bastard took off, bolting through the double doors down the hallway.
Ugh.
Dark souls sucked.
Talon and I took off after him, giving chase. “We need to break the possession link.”
“I know,” Talon deadpanned.
Of course, he did.
My hands curled into fists, and I could feel my nails digging into my skin. On autopilot, I stopped thinking and gave in to the reaper within me. Together Talon and I burst through the back door of the school that opened up into the teachers’ parking lot. A hot wind kicked up, scattering fallen leaves over the ground. They swirled in the air around us in a confetti of oranges, yellows, and reds.
I raised a brow at Talon. “Where did he go?”
He shrugged. “Not far. I can still sense him.”
The parking lot sat empty and dark. None of the streetlights were on. Talon and I dropped back into the shadows. My stomach tied into knots, and my heart pulsed in my throat. The longer he possessed Jensen, the more damage he could do.
We needed to find him. Pronto.
Each second that went by, fury built inside me. “When we find him, just promise me you’ll be careful with Jensen. He is innocent in all of this.”
Talon and I moved to the center of the lot, standing back to back. “You’ve been asking for a lot of promises lately.”
I rolled my eyes. I would take that as a yes. “Mason!” I called. “My patience is rapidly diminishing.”
“Do you think that is actually going to work?” Talon mumbled behind me.
A blur appeared in my peripheral vision, and my gaze flew to the edge of the building. Everything happened so fast. What felt like a tanker slammed into my chest, sending me on my ass and knocking the air from my lungs.
This wasn’t going as planned.
I sat there stunned for a few seconds, my sight blurry and my ears ringing. Cursing, I shot to my feet, eyes zeroing in on Mason.
Talon had him pinned against the building, his feet dangling off the ground. “Stop wasting my time, Mason.” Talon’s cold gaze drifted over Mason. At least Talon had kept his promise. He hadn’t hurt Jensen’s body in any way.
Yet.
I marched right up to Mason, my hand itching to bitch slap him so hard that he ended up in Hell. “Get out of his body. Now!” My teeth ground together.
Mason laughed, a distorted and gut-churning sound. “You think because you wield a dagger that you can use it against me? It hasn’t worked yet.” Mason’s chin dipped, and a dark strand of hair fell over his eye.
My muscles quivered. “I’m done talking. How about I wipe that smug, condescending smirk off your dead lips and give you a one-way ticket to Hell?”
“I’ve another suggestion for what you could do with my lips.” Mason blew a kiss in my direction.
Talon had reached his patience limit. “You leave me no choice.” He was going to remove Mason forcefully. This wouldn’t be pretty, for either Mason or Jensen.
Dammit.
“You always were a hothead,” Mason rasped.
Talon’s grip tightened around Mason’s throat, cutting off any other smart remarks he might have said, but it did the job.
Mason separated from Jensen, head and chest first—a mass of dark, ominous shadows. Jensen fell backward, the back of his head hitting the ground. I winced. He would have one hell of a lump. I didn’t even want to think about all the other aftereffects of Mason’s possession. One task at a time.
Mason stepped away from Jensen’s unconscious body, and I swallowed, trying not to let my gaze linger on Jensen. If I was going to save him, I needed to disperse Mason first.
I took a step to the side while Talon had Mason’s attention. The last place any soul wanted to be was between two reapers.
Two more steps to the left and I’d be—
Oops.
The dark soul immediately noticed his predicament. Swirling in angry circles above us, he dived, and I knew he would try to get back into Jensen. There was no way in seven kinds of Hell I would let that happen.
Talon gave me a look, and it sent me into motion. Time for action—dual action.
Holding onto my anger, I launched forward and spun to my left. I swung with my dagger, but the space where Mason had stood was empty. Adrenaline kicked in as my eyes scanned the parking lot, waiting for the dark soul to reappear. The moment he did, I flung out my dagger the same time Talon did, creating a double portal to Hell on either side of Mason. Twin gray masses appeared out of thin air, like smoke or a dark cloud. They tumbled in circles, churning faster and faster. “There’s nowhere to run,” I sneered, feeling pretty smug. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment for twenty years.”
Without a second thought, I sent the beam from my dagger straight at Mason’s soul, capturing him. “Rot in Hell,” I said, throwing the dark soul who’d tormented me for years into the tunnel. I watched in utter relief as the dark soul got sucked in.
“I’ll take it from here. You’ve got a mortal to save.” Talon winked, and a moment later he followed Mason through the portal.
Chapter 12
Jensen!
I ran across the parking lot to where he lay on the pavement, kneeling beside him. Gingerly, I rolled him over onto his back, and he groaned as I gently caressed his cheek. A pool of sticky blood surrounded his head, flowing over the concrete.
Tears tracked down my face, mixing with dirt and blood. “I would spend an eternity suffering in Hell to save you,” I whispered, pressing my damp cheek to his.
Under my palm, his heartbeat wavered.
My heart was torn, my brain scrambled. If I runed Jensen with healing runes, he would be immortal. His life had already been saved more times than destiny allowed. Even if he somehow survived and got the medical attention he needed, the possession would work its dark magic. Jensen would never be the same.
Looking down into Jensen’s pale face, I didn’t have the willpower to let him go. Not now. We’d only just really found each other, been able to be together. How could I let him go? I exhaled, and the pain in my chest eased a tiny bit. I’d made my choice, and I would live with the consequences, just as Jensen would live.
I wouldn’t a
llow Mason to take him from me—to win.
My dagger was in my hand before I let myself think about my actions. I inhaled one long breath of balmy air and drew the healing rune on his skin. It glowed, and all I could do was sit there and dwell on what I had done.
I was turning out to be the crappiest girlfriend of the year.
As an immortal, Jensen would self-heal—his cells having the ability to rejuvenate—and it would stop the aging process. It would change his life, and I only prayed he could forgive me one day.
I slowly lifted my head. “Jensen?”
He lay still, staring up into the starless night, eyes blinking furiously. “Why am I outside?”
A shaky laugh of relief escaped my mouth. “You’re going to be okay.”
“I had a horrible nightmare. That dark soul possessed me.” His eyes watched as my face went sober. “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”
I shook my head.
“Explains why I’m lying on the ground outside of my old high school. Did you heal me?”
I nodded, a fresh bout of tears rolling down my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. I’m not strong enough.”
“Why are you sorry?” He swiped the dampness off the side of my face.
“You’ve been marked with runes too many times. You’ll be immortal.”
“Why does that make you sad?”
I drew in a deep breath, calming my emotions. “I never wanted this life for you. It’s not an easy life, living forever.”
“But we’ll be together.”
I smiled through the tears, pressing my lips softly to his. “We will.”
He struggled to his feet, his color back. “You ready to go home?”
Home. For the first time I let myself consider staying in Sterling. I never thought it would be an option, and I’d spent the last twenty plus months avoiding it. A whole new life awaited in front of me, one I’d only ever dreamed about. Happiness swarmed inside me. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t bring a car.”
I grinned. “You’ll learn to love portals.”
His hands framed my face. “I love you.”
Jensen’s eyes ensnared mine, and my heart toppled. “I’ve waited forever to hear those words.” I pressed my cheek to his. “I love you.”
His arms came around me.
I wrapped mine around his waist and squeezed, afraid to let go. Indulging in the moment, I buried my face into his neck and inhaled. I must have gotten overzealous, because he winced. I quickly let go and pulled back. “Oh, sorry.”
He laughed. And man, did I love the sound. Rich. Deep. “I’m kidding.” His fingers brushed my hair behind my ears. “It’s going to take a lot more than a dark soul to keep me down.”
“Ugh. Don’t ever mention the words ‘dark soul’ again.”
In a few days, Jensen would go back to school after making a miraculous recovery from a bout of mono, and I would be by his side for as long as my job allowed it. While he received a higher education, I escorted souls. We made it work.
In the evenings, I helped him understand what it meant to be immortal and the sacrifices that came with it. But my actions wouldn’t go unnoticed or unpunished. There would be a day when I would have to answer for what I did—breaking a sacred law.
The general population was still unaware that immortals, souls, reapers, and a bunch of other beings walked among them, but the difference was now Jensen was one of them.
I tried not to think about Mason, and for the first time in a decade, I no longer looked over my shoulder or wondered when the dark soul would pop up. He was gone, and life went on.
But life was a thousand times better.
I’d found love—a luxury I thought I’d never have.
THE END
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Read more by J. L. Weil
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(Full series completed – Teen Paranormal Romance)
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LUMINESCENCE TRILOGY
(Full series completed – Teen Paranormal Romance)
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Amethyst Tears
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(Full series completed – Teen Paranormal Romance)
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(Teen Dystopian Romance)
Slumber
Entangled
Forsaken
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(Teen Paranormal Romance)
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Storm Shift
Flame Shift
Time Shift
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Spirit Shift
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(Teen Paranormal Romance)
Falling Deep
Ascending Darkness
SINGLE NOVELS
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Casting Dreams
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About the Author
J.L. Weil is a USA TODAY Bestselling author of teen & new adult paranormal romance, fantasy, and urban fantasy books about spunky, smart mouth girls who always wind up in dire situations. For every sassy girl, there is an equally mouthwatering, overprotective guy.
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