Page 2 of Fragile Facade

But he’s the hellhound nipping at my heels to herd me there faster.

He’s fucking relentless.

He kicks my side so hard I buckle and sink into the sludgy mud. I hold my breath, my lungs already screaming, letting myself sink even more, the pond hugging me into its silky embrace.

The hug ends too soon when he straddles my legs, pinning me down with his strong body. He’s not stronger than me, but I like wicked games, and they’re even more fun when he thinks he’s winning.

Grabbing the front of my shirt, he pulls me up until my face is out of the shallow water. “You think this is funny?” he asks, grey eyes stormy and amused. “How close were you?”

I cough up sooty muck and water. “Not close enough.”

“One foot in the grave?”

“One foot in Hell, the other lifted to take the last step.” I cough harder. “Wanna walk there with me?”

His grin is disgusting because it’s full of all that death, desire, and despair I war with daily. It’s a cumulation of everything I feel, displayed so perfectly in a smirk, made better when his tattooed arm comes up to push back his dark hair, amplifying the image of him. “Oh, we aren’t walking there. We’re running. You think you can outsmart death?”

I laugh because it feels good. The warm water laps against my skin and regulates my body temperature. I love attention, and I have all of his, so I keep laughing. “So far.”

“Alright, Ghost. Fuck the bargain with our brothers. Here’s the new deal.”

“I don’t make deals.”

“Here’s the deal,” he repeats. “Whenever you tempt Death, I’ll tempt her harder by pushing you straight to her. If you want to defy this curse, I’m going to defyyou. Wanna see how hard you can push back without dying? Fine. Do it. But I’m going to press you until you finally learn that you aren’t as powerful as you think you are. However close to Death you get, I’ll take you one step closer. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll have both feet in the grave, half your soul in Hell, and you’ll be so beaten down that you won’t be strong enough to resist it anymore. You won’t be able to laugh in her face.”

I suck in a breath before he pushes me underwater, holding me down until I’m half dead. My eyes bulge and my hearing muffles. When my lips pop open to tell himno dealand that he’s delusional if he thinks he’s stronger than I am, nothing comes out. No air. No words. Nothing. Water fills me. Riot tilts my head until one ear comes out of the water, but not my mouth to breathe.

“And when you’re right there, finally ready to die for real, you’ll submit to me and admit that I’m stronger than you are. That I win.”

Fuck that. I want to laugh again, but I’m too dead to try.

Riot smiles down at me, one of those cocky, sure-of-himself grins that means he’ll let me die right now if I don’t accept this deal. I’m not ready to fully die. I haven’t proven myself enough yet. I’m half there, losing air and unable to think clearly through the fog taking over my mind.It’s not atrue deathI’m after yet—it’s that one or two second precipice between.

“You tempt death. I tempt you. When I win, you admit I win. Agree. Blink.”

I’m so close now. The shrouding shadows and all the hellions are coming back. The water is comfortable and the muck is hugging me tenderly, drowning me in warmth. Death is a she, I just know it, and when I meet her and she brings me a true death, I want to leave this fucked up world even more fucked up than it was when I arrived in it.

“Agree. Blink.” He pushes down on my already still chest.

A flash of Remi flits through my mind and I try to shake it free. He’s got Krypt. He’s fine. This is the closest I’ve ever been to the afterlife, and I’m not pulling back now. I’m ready to laugh in the face of Death.

“Blink!”

But I can’t laugh because there’s no more energy to laugh.

“Blink!”

Blackness takes over and all I see are the shrinking grey spots of his intense eyes and the look in them that proves he hates me so beautifully.

Don’t blink. Don’t blink. We’re so close, don’t blink.

Remi. Selena. Remi. Selena.

Riot. Riot. Riot.

I suffocate on memories instead of water, trying to block them out so I can step on the doorstep of Death’s lair and slam the door back in her face. I’m knocking, but she’s not answering. She’s laughing at me. Mocking me for trying to defy her.

I’ll be back, you crafty bitch.