Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
Valory
Endor’s body shook against mine, a tortured sob escaping his throat.
Before death, I would have laughed if you told me demons could cry. Because I’d been told that evil didn’t feel. It had no heart. It had no soul.
But I felt every shake of his chest. I heard every gasp he tried to hide as he watched Miles give up his soul.
I knew Mercy could not see the demon in front of her. Because this was not solely her memory. Her consciousness was fading, and all she could see was Miles.
She reached for him, one hand held by his, the other falling too short to touch his face.
I felt her pain, her ache, like an echo of my own.
He was bleeding so much, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
There was nothing to use as a tourniquet, and even if there was...
He was trapped beneath metal and his seat. The seat belt itself was restraining his leg, cutting off his circulation.
His face was pale as the demon knelt before him, offering him his cell phone.
The lifeline.
It was an accident, but Mercy blamed herself.
“Miles, stay with me...” Her voice cracked as she pulled herself closer to him, scooting across broken glass.
The phone in his free hand lit up as he stared into her eyes, breathing one word.
Yes.
She pulled him close, her quivering lips grazing over his.
It was painful to watch.
The moment he gave up his soul.
The moment she prayed to God to save him.
But Miles could not be saved, because there was no soul left to save.
Yet, despite Hell’s claim on him, he had not passed.
Which meant, like Mercy... he was alive still.
Somewhere in this vast world, Miles still lived, disconnected from his body.
They were bound in death, Mercedes and Miles.
They were bound beyond death.
Endor buried his face in my hair, his fangs grazing my neck as a sob escaped him.
“He is bound to Hell,” I whispered.
Endor cursed.
“But he is still alive. He can still be saved,” I whispered.
“Valory...” Endor’s voice vibrated on my skin. “It is impossible, it?—”
I turned to see Endor’s dark eyes glistening with tears.
It was both a beautiful sight and an aching sight, to see him cry.
To see him bare his soul.
Because I knew for certain, Endor had a soul.
I could see it in his tears, feel it in his touch.
His desire.
I refused to believe we were so different. Our differences were defined by appearance and circumstance.
Not by the measure of who we were beneath our flesh and bone.
“No, it isn’t impossible,” I told him, remembering my mantra in the darkest moments of my life.
I reached to wipe the tears from his eyes, knowing the answer.
I suppose I’d always known the answer. The way out of the darkness.
“You just have to have faith.”
Endor grabbed my hand, his gaze flashing back at the memory we’d been thrust into.
Miles nearly collapsed as their kiss broke. He clutched his phone to his chest, before pushing her away. Toward his broken window.
It took all his strength to do so.
His fingers tapped 911 and he pressed his phone to her palm.
“Go...” he said.
“Miles... no... I’m not leaving you here...”
Mercy let out a deep cough, her sobs coming harder. She grasped at him but he pushed her away.
“Go, Mercedes! Please...”
He pushed her with all his might, shoving her through the broken glass as sirens blared in the distance.