Fourth Debt
Page 31

I tensed, waiting for another argument, for more curses.
But V’s black eyes met mine, mirroring my unspoken begging for his help. He had the power to save, not only the man I loved, but both our futures, too.
Finally, he slouched. “If I help you, you’ll keep my sister safe? You’ll make sure this ends?”
Jaz held a fist over her heart. “You have my ultimate word. Keep my brothers alive and I swear to you this will all be in the past.”
Vaughn closed the distance between them, his eyes lingering on Jasmine’s chair. With slight hesitation, he held out his hand. “In that case. We have a deal.”
Jaz blinked back tears as she dropped the gun and placed her hand in his. “Thank you. A thousand times, thank you.”
I didn’t want to interrupt the sudden tender moment, but my heartbeat was a clock, striking the passing minutes with terror.
He’s alive.
He’s alive.
It’s time to go.
“What next?” I whispered.
Jaz smiled softly. “Vaughn and I have a date in the crypt.”
V looked at her blankly.
Jaz held up the key, rolling herself toward the door. “This is our last chance.”
“What is?” I ghosted forward, drawn by the anticipation of hope and righteousness.
She slipped the key into the lock. “Our last chance to rescue Kestrel and Jethro and get them to the hospital before they die.”
“NO. NOT LIKE that, dammit.”
“Hush it, woman. I think I know how to work a cutting torch.”
“No, you obviously don’t. You don’t have the valve open for the acetylene.”
A curse, a scrape, then a loud hiss.
Images of writhing snakes and striking cobras filled my cloud-riddled mind. What the fuck? Had I finally left Earth and plummeted to hell where reptiles and dragons waited for my demise?
Something bright and fierce sliced through the darkness.
I flinched.
Yep, definitely hell.
They’re waiting for me.
Heat from their fire-breathing mouths battled away the penetrating cold.
“Now you have too much. Mix it with the oxygen, you moron.”
“Moron? Keep name-calling to a minimum. Otherwise, you’ll have to find another donkey to help.”
“Just—let me.” Shuffling sounded, followed by another gust of heat and light.
The voices echoed as if they drifted through chasms of water and rubble. Female and male—husk and lilt.
Since when do dragons talk?
“How the fuck did you get this thing down here, anyway?” The hissing grew louder, sparks lighting up the dimness behind my eyes.
“A friend put it here. The only thing we had on the estate that would open the lock.”
“Never heard of a fucking key?”
More light. More hissing.
“He made a mistake. He closed the door to keep them safe, not realising there was only one key.”
“And you didn’t feel like using it? Too easy? Wanted to go the James Bond route?”
A curse followed by a rain of sparks brighter than any firework.
“Shut it. For your information, it wasn’t possible to get it.”
“Why? Dear ole dad has it?”
A squeaking, followed by another blast of heat. The girl growled, “Yes.”
“I’ve never known anyone so under the thumb of their old man.”
A pause followed by a loud curse. “That’s what you get for talking about things you don’t understand. Now, shut up. Get the mixture right. And get my brothers out of there before I hit you again.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re evil?”
“All the time. Now do what I say.”
Their talking ceased, replaced with the lullaby of fire and burning.
I lost track of reality and life. I wasn’t human anymore. I wasn’t pain or death.
I was just…time.
No sensation or memories. No hardships or heartaches. Only time ticking past unwanted and unseen.
I was nothing, no one…gone.
“God’s sake. Pick me up again. I’ll freaking do it.”
“I’m doing it, woman! How many fucking times do I need to tell you that?”
“You’re not going fast enough.”
The yellow light turned white with power, beckoning me forward, promising a better existence than the one I endured.
I wanted to reach for it, squinting in my mind as the light grew larger, brighter, inhaling me into its orb.
I’d never seen something so pure—as if I stared at the nucleus of the sun or the entrance to heaven.
Am I worthy of paradise, after all?
“Hurry. We need to leave.”
“Woman, give me a damn moment, okay?”
The light supernovaed. Hissing increased in decibels until it echoed in my teeth. Electricity sparked in my muscles, slowly bringing me back to life. I tried to move, to see what beast hissed so loudly, but my body was no longer mine to command. It was weak and broken and past listening to such requests.
My foggy mind wouldn’t focus; wisps of thoughts and flickers of images all faded with every failing heartbeat.
I didn’t know why I continued to cling to whatever semblance of life I had.
This was no life.
This was just damnation.
“Shit, it’s not cutting.”
“I know it’s not freaking cutting. You’ve got the ratio wrong!”
“If you’re such a fucking know-it-all, you fix it.”