Free Hell's Gift by K. S. Haigwood

The black hilt of a dagger was sticking out of the center of my chest.
    I could feel myself drowning in my blood. My lungs were filling with the thick liquid I had only recently acquired in my body. The intense burning was only getting worse. Breathing became impossible, and I began to panic. I fought to free my hands from the straps imprisoning me, but only succeeded in moving the knife deeper within the cavity of my chest, tearing and ripping my insides to shreds.
    The blade was in my heart. I could feel each pump of my heart around the steel. I could also tell the muscle was failing. Would I actually die? Could a person die in Hell? Where would I go? I worried again. Surely not Heaven. She wouldn’t have been so eager to send me packing to the good side, even if they would have me back.
    My blurred vision focused on Death and the sly smile that was creeping across her face. “You, bitch,” I said.
    The last thing I remember was watching her hand reach to retrieve the dagger from my breast.

Chapter 10
    Malcolm
    “I’ve got to do something,” Josselyn said through her tears as she tore from the room in a mad dash toward Isaiah’s chambers.
    Malcolm caught up with her quickly, grabbing her around the waist and holding her to his unyielding body. Her feather-like hits and kicks weren’t affecting him at all.
    “Stop, Jossel.” When she didn’t comply, Malcolm squeezed her a little tighter to him. “I said, stop!” The wails turned to soft whimpers. He turned her around and pulled her to his chest, gently rubbing his fingers over her blonde locks as she cried.
    “What is this nonsense? You know you can’t barge into the archangel’s chambers and tell him what we’ve done. It is extremely difficult for me to keep the guardians from knowing what we’re doing to help Rhyan. I can’t imagine they would be happy with us after Isaiah has already instructed you to stay out of it, that it is too dangerous to help him.”
    He pushed her away so he could look at her tear-streaked face. Her lids were closed and trembling as they leaked clear drops of sadness.
    She’s beautiful, Malcolm thought. He would’ve given almost anything to be the one to make her smile again, but sadly he feared he wasn’t the angel she saw holding her when she closed her eyes. He framed her face in the palms of his hands and wiped the new tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs as she fought to catch her breath.
    “Open your eyes and look at me, Josselyn,” Malcolm pleaded, but dreaded what he would see in their depths. He prayed he was wrong in assuming what her reasons were for saving Rhyan.
    Her lashes fluttered open like the wings of a butterfly, and behind them in her brown eyes was the answer he wasn’t looking for.
    Malcolm released her and took a step back. His breathing was erratic as he dropped his gaze and placed his hands on his hips. He knew this wasn’t going to end well for her, and he was certain the odds were not going to be in his favor, either.
    “Don’t do this to yourself, Jossel—”
    Fire blazed in her glare. “I’m not doing—”
    Malcolm’s head shot up to look at her again. “Don’t tell me you’re not in love with him! I can see it…” He ran his hand over his face and forced calm into his voice before finishing his thought. “…I can see it in your eyes,” he finished in a pained tone.
    She turned on her heel and began to stalk off. “I don’t have time for this.”
    “He can’t love you. He has found his soulmate, Josselyn.” Malcolm watched as she stopped in her tracks, and then as her body began to shake.
    She turned back to him with fresh tears in her eyes and shook her head. “It’s not true. You didn’t tell him that when he was—”
    “Because he has to realize it on his own. If I had told him everything I knew, he would have given up or maybe he would never accept it, which would give him a permanent spot in Hell. I couldn’t take that chance and still expect him to