Immortal Rider (LD2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

smoothed a thin film of the greasy medicine over an abrasion on Arik’s chest. Tavin’s healing ability always tapped out before he could get to all the minor injuries. “Betraying this contract means an extremely long, painful death and possible eternal torment.”
    “Sort of like what I’m going through?” Arik muttered.
    “Pretty much.”
    Arik glared. “Okay, so if you’re an assassin, why are you healing me?”
    “Your captors paid a shit-ton of money for my services, whether that be killing or healing.”
    “So you’d kill me if they asked you to?”
    “Yep.”
    Nice. “Look, if you’ll pass on a message—” Arik shut up at the sound of approaching footsteps.
    Tavin stepped away as two ugly-ass motherfuckers stopped at the cell door. Six-inch claws wrapped around the steel bars. Arik’s pulse leaped. He never knew if the demons were going to torture him, feed him, or merely taunt him.
    “Human scum,” the tallest one said, the tusks protruding from his lower jaw dripping saliva. “We’re going to discuss your last meal.”
    Well, this couldn’t be good. Arik rolled his shoulder in a nonchalant shrug, even though his heart was going ballistic.
    “Last meal? How about surf-and-turf, medium-rare on the steak, fettuccine alfredo, and those amazing garliccheese biscuits from Red Lobster? Could I get a Harp, too? Cold, though, not that room temperature crap they like in Ireland.”
    Two sets of humorless black eyes stared back at him. “Your choice is putrefied meat with maggots or fish skin.”
    “Awesome.” Arik tapped his chin, appearing to consider his options. “Hmm… gross or really gross. Tough decision. I’ll go with gross.”
    The shorter ugly-ass motherfucker clicked his claws in agitation. “Which is?”
    “Fish skin. Yum.” But hey, if it wasn’t rotten, it would actually be the best thing he’d eaten down here, so things weren’t all bad. And it sounded like they were actually going to kill him. He doubted it would be a quick death, but it couldn’t be worse than anything they’d already done to him.
    The beasts spoke to each other in a language Arik didn’t understand, until about the tenth word, when his translation ability kicked in. They were discussing how much to tell him about how he’d die. They were also speculating about what would happen to his body afterward. Would they be allowed to eat him, or would his corpse be preserved and displayed somewhere? Maybe his body would be dumped outside of a hellmouth for his colleagues to find.
    Right, okay, so Arik didn’t like any of those options.
    He watched the two demons lumber away and wondered if prayers could reach Heaven from here. “Whatcha think, Tav? Is my death going to be quick or slow?”
    “Slow, definitely.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I figured.” Maybe this one time, Arik wouldn’t have minded a little white lie. He ran hishand up and down his chest, wincing at the feel of his rib cage. He’d lost so much weight down here. He’d tried to keep some muscle by doing pushups and sit-ups when he could, but scrounging up the energy wasn’t easy. “At least it’ll be over soon, I guess.”
    “Don’t look so relieved, human.” Tavin stared at him, his eyes somber. “Death isn’t a good thing.”
    “Spend a day in my shoes—you know, if I had them—and you’ll change your mind.”
    The Sem heaved the duffel over his shoulder. “That’s not what I mean. For you, it’s not an escape.”
    Man, demons and their tendency to circle an issue. “Straight shoot it, Tav. What are you saying?”
    “I’m saying that when a human dies here in Sheoul, his soul is trapped. You can’t get out, and the most vile demons in existence will be able to torture you for all eternity. And trust me, what they’ve done to you so far is nothing compared to what they will do to your soul. You think you’re in pain now? Just wait until you’re dead. The soul is much more sensitive than the physical body.”
    More