My hand shoots out, swatting him away like the annoying bug he is, and for a moment, I think he’s taken the hint and buzzed off.
But then, a sharp sting explodes in my cheek.
I jerk back, some of the feeling returning to my limbs as I begin to struggle against the strong hands holding me steady.Squeezing my eyes shut, I shake my head, and then a sharp stinging explodes on the other cheek, and I curse, punching out blindly and hitting just air.
The hands release me, and I fall backward, rolling onto my side and curling around myself. There’s a heavy sigh and then more muttering before pain explodes in my guts as something solid strikes me in my midsection.
My eyes fly open, and I press my hands into the ground, pushing myself backward just as a booted foot comes forward again, missing me by not even an inch. Scurrying around, I manage to get to my feet so I’m squatting with my hands on the ground while I look up into the furious eyes of Cornelius.
Until now, I never really considered Cornelius’s sheer size, not having to think beyond his personable demeanor. But now, he seems foreboding, anger coming off of him in waves. As he closes the distance between us, I barely manage to throw myself out of the way as he attempts to kick me again.
“What the heck, Cornelius?” I yell. “Get away from me.”
“I warned you,” he seethes, standing over me menacingly. “I told you if you did something stupid, I’d kick your ass.”
I blink up at him, genuinely startled by this side of him. “But that’s not fair.”
His eyes narrow as he sneers, “Life’s not fair, Viv. But it has occurred to me that maybe you’re going to need a little nudge, so you’ll truly get it.”
“Seriously, Cornelius,” I sputter. “You can’t give me a fraction of the information I need and not be surprised when I inadvertently screw up.”
“She has a point,” Jacob offers helpfully from the sidelines, earning a dirty look from Cornelius as he retorts, “No one asked you.”
Jacob puts his hands up in front of him. “I’m aware, but maybe you should find out exactly what happened before the ass-kicking commences.”
Cornelius turns his glare back to me, stalking closer. “What happened?”
I barely manage to come to my feet and jump away before he’s on me again. I turn and parry, and then come to a stop with my hands raised defensively. “Give me a second.”
He stops short, and Jacob stands behind him, his hand on his shoulder. Cornelius spares him a slight glance and then turns his attention back to me as he repeats, “What the hell happened?”
Despair chokes me. My hands drop, my shoulders slump, and I bow my head as I whisper, “He’s gone.”
“What do you mean he’s gone?”
My shoulders lift, and I shake my head sadly. “She killed him. Gemma killed him.”
Cornelius doesn’t respond, and then he’s quiet for so long that I peek a glance at him to find he’s standing there with his eyebrows raised, looking annoyed. “Where’s his body?”
I frown and glance around. “What?”
Cornelius sighs heavily, but he appears no less angry as he says, “If he’s dead, then where the hell is his body?”
I blink at him, slightly confused. “I don’t know. She must have taken it.”
Cornelius glances at Jacob, who’s still standing beside him, and Jacob nods but says nothing. Cornelius turns back to me and shakes his head. “Demons don’t take the trash with them.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I’m saying,” he says softly, walking slowly toward me. “If she took him with her, that means he’s not dead.”
“But I can’t feel him? I can’t feel him like I felt him before.”
“Because he’s in a different realm,” Jacob explains. “That conniving little bitch used Zion to open a portal and then took him with her for insurance.”
Hope pulses inside me. A pained sob sneaks out, and I cover it with a cough, allowing a moment of relief to alleviate some of the residual panic. Then I blink, and Cornelius is right in front of me, glaring. “But why didn’t you do anything?”
“What was I supposed to do? All I could feel was him being ripped apart.”
