Chapter 16

Through curls of sensual fog, he stepped down, careful not to make any noise. The moist wind drifted brazenly over him in a movement that felt like gentle foreplay. He was about to enter a bedroom when he saw a bright, glowing, ghost-like figure the color of a tombstone. His appearance was that of a skeletal angel, his wings ribbed with thin, clattering bones. His eye sockets, blazing like red-hot coals taken from the furnaces of Hell, were looking out of a skull that sat atop a thin neck. His deathly appearance seemed almost illusory.

“You will come no further, Judas.”

“You,” Judas hissed. “Let me pass. You have no dominion here.”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken. She has called for me, opening the door.”

“You’re lying. She called for you weeks ago, not now.”

“She wasn’t ready then. Now she is. Now I can take her with almost no effort.”

“I’m here to prevent such a disaster. It is not time, Death, and I assure you, if you try to take her, you will have me to contend with.”