Reaper Reborn

by Kel Carpenter

  “Doesn’t it, though? You like this one because you like arguing with him. Once that fades, you’ll get bored. You always do. It’s the curse of being an immortal.” She trailed her nails along the edge of the table. “Even if you do believe me, and we do manage to kill Death, and he hasn’t bored you in a few years, you won’t age. He will. And for a time, that might work. You’ve had your stints with old men over the eons. But they are mortal. If not by boredom then by death, you will eventually leave him and find another.”

  “Why are you so set on driving a wedge between him and I?” I asked her pointedly.

  Thana paused. Her neutral expression breaking into a smile. “You might be immortal, but you’ve lived as a mortal in this life. Losing him will be hard for a time, because of how attached you are. I’d rather save you that heartache.”

  “Mhmm,” I hummed, mocking her. “How kind.”

  Thana’s eyes narrowed. “It may not seem like a kindness to you in the moment, but trust me, Sister, better to leave him to his mortal existence now than to waste your immortal one mourning for a man you cannot have.”

  The men at the table were talking, and I knew I should be paying attention, but something about the catch in Thana’s voice had me riveted. This was a woman who’d clearly had her heart broken—stomped on, from the sound of it—and in her own, cold way, she was trying to protect me.

  Then something she said registered. “Why can’t I have him? If we control souls, what keeps me from helping Graves remain in this world . . .” Graves and I had the blood rite that tied us together. Not that Thana knew that. But to keep someone in this world, well, there was another I very much wanted to do that for. “For that matter,” I said with excitement as an idea took shape, “what’s keeping me from just sucking Shep back into this world the way Death does with his ghosts? If Death doesn’t need a new body to give souls physical form, why do we?”

  Thana was frowning, her brows dipping low over her eyes as she considered my question. “We are not Death, Salem.”

  “No, but you said together we are more powerful than Death. Powerful enough to defeat him. Maybe we could pull this off if we tried.”

  Her frown deepened. She was not a fan of my plan, that much was obvious. But what I didn’t understand was why.

  “You know the pack will never willingly hand over one of its members,” the gray-haired werewolf said, interrupting our ghostly debate.

  “And you know the Council will never accept that,” Graves said, his voice a perfect, matter-of-fact match to the wolf’s.

  The older wolf nodded, like he expected as much.

  Graves sighed. “Eli, you know I don’t agree with the decision. You also know I’m not a dumbass.” His eyes shifted to Randy, who was all but inhaling a box of pizza and paying zero attention.

  Eli and Graves shared an amused smile, but Graves’ fell as quickly as it appeared.

  “If I look out the window right now, am I going to see Gerard sneaking off?” Graves asked.

  Eli shrugged. “Could you blame him if he was?”

  “This is all so tedious,” Thana said beside me, starting to pace.

  Graves sighed. “Off the record? No. If it were me, I’d try to run. On the record? I can’t let that happen, Eli. You also know we aren’t the only two reapers out here. He’s not going to get far, and it will only make things worse for the pack.”

  Moving to the window, I glanced outside, but I didn’t notice any shadowy figures sneaking around.

  Graves sat back, his expression resigned. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

  Eli took a sip of something I was assuming was whisky, given the color and the massive ice cube sitting at the bottom of the glass. “We all have our parts to play, Reaper. The rest is up to fate.”

  Eli reached around behind him and pulled out a firearm.

  Aw fuck.

  11

  Martyr

  “Randy?” Graves said, his voice tight.

  Randy was a bit preoccupied. I hadn’t noticed before now because I wasn’t paying much attention myself.

  His hands shook. The glass of water he’d been holding toppled sideways. Water hit the hardwood floors as tremors racked his body. Randy collapsed sideways, shaking, but immobile.

  “You drugged him.” Graves’ tone was neutral. Apathetic. He didn’t act afraid or even concerned for his own life in the slightest. I mean, why would he? Not when Eli couldn’t kill him. At least not long-term.

  “He’s going to take a little nap while you and I have a chat.”

  “Well, well, now this is getting interesting,” Thana said.

  “This isn’t going to end well. You have to know that,” Graves said, trying to reason with him.

  “You’re going to make a call,” Eli replied, ignoring his words entirely. “To your buddies out there. Let them know I’ve got you right here at gunpoint.”

  Graves frowned. “Gerard might get away, but that won’t stop them from coming down on you.”

  “I know.”

  Now it was my turn to frown.

  “I don’t think he deserves execution, but that kid is a killer, Eli. You know that as well as I do. He’s not innocent in this, and he’s sure as hell not worth you going down for.”

  Eli chuckled. It didn’t sound evil or malicious or maniacal. It sounded . . . like a regular guy having a regular conversation. “I know what he did, Graves. I know everything. Including the role your own brother played in this entire fiasco—a fact that has been magically left out, courtesy of your dad. He and I had a deal, you see. My wolf gets to live, and the public doesn’t have to know his own son was a fucking psycho.”

  Stone would have shown more expression than Graves did at that little revelation.

  “And my brother was executed for his crimes.”

  “You see, that’s just it, though. The reapers have decided what happens to the rest of us for as long as anyone can remember. It wasn’t your father’s or anyone else’s choice to decide what happened to James. That should have been done by the Council. But once again, the reapers took matters into their own hands. Just like you did with Gerard’s older brother.”

  I was only a few seconds from popping into existence right there and showing this asshole the other end of my boot, but his words stopped me cold.

  Even behind his mask of indifference, a look crossed Graves’ face. It was fleeting, but there.

  And in that split second, I knew. Eli wasn’t lying.

  “I don’t blame you, Graves. You’re a product of the world you’ve grown up in. I, and all other members of the Council, allowed your father to do these things off the books in return for small courtesies that were nothing compared to the crimes committed against our people. I am the reason Gerard’s brother died and never got justice. I am the reason he was filled with so much anger, and I will not allow him to be executed for it.”

  “This is going to start a war,” Graves said eventually.

  “It already has,” Eli replied. “Now make the call. No sudden moves—and if you so much as think to reach for your gun—I’ll shoot you.”

  Graves pulled his cell out of his pocket and hit a button without taking his eyes off of the wolf holding the gun.

  “Sam? We have a situation.” Graves fell silent for a beat before adding, “Randy’s been poisoned, and there’s an angry wolf with a gun pointed right at me.” He paused again. “Eli’s, yeah.” Then he hung up. “They’re on their way, just like you wanted.”

  Eli gave Graves a slow, easy smile. “Good, good. Had things gone differently, you and I might have been friends or, at the very least, allies. As things stand, can’t say I hate you. Can’t say I like you much either,” he added, his smile lifting higher on one side.

  “You just going to stand here and watch this guy kill your boyfriend? No judgment if you are. Good riddance, but you know . . . apathy seems more like my thing than yours,” Thana said.

  I shot her a quick glare. “Of course I’m not j
ust going to stand here and wait for him to die, but if I just pop into existence, I might startle the guy enough he accidentally pulls the trigger.”

  “So use that to your advantage. Maybe he’ll shoot you. It could be like a win-win. Your boyfriend lives, and you get to power up.”

  The metallic click as he cocked the gun told me I was out of time. Without a second thought, I launched myself at the wolf, coming back onto their plane in time to tackle him.

  The gun went off with a loud crack, and I hissed in pain as a bullet grazed my arm.

  “What the fuck?” Eli cried out, grunting as we slammed into the floor.

  “Salem?” Graves asked, more confused than anything.

  “Uh, surprise,” I said, pushing myself up off a dazed Eli.

  He blinked up at me before scowling. “One reaper or two, doesn’t matter to me. I won’t let you take me alive.”

  He lifted the gun, aiming it straight at my face.

  I didn’t think; I just kicked out, breaking his wrist with the force of the blow and sending the gun flying from his hand. “How about no one has to die?”

  Eli let out a garbled scream, cradling his broken wrist against his chest. “You fucking reaper bitch.”

  “Yeah yeah, heard that one before. Be more original.”

  “Salem, what are you doing here?” Graves asked, blood dripping down from the graze on his arm.

  “Saving your ass. You’re welcome, by the way.”

  Graves stared at me. “You’ve been keeping secrets.”

  I raised a brow. “For like . . . five hours.”

  “You and I are having a talk when we get out of here.”

  Thana popped into being beside me. “You two talk too much. What are you doing standing around? That guy just tried to kill you. Twice. Why is he still alive?”

  Graves’ eyes went wide as he looked from me to my twin. “You brought her with you? What was this, a fucking field trip?”

  Eli was groaning below us as he tried to roll onto his stomach and start crawling for his weapon. I stepped on his injured arm. “Not so fast, buddy.”

  “Salem,” Graves said again. His voice hard. “Why the fuck is Thana here?”

  “We’re hanging out,” I said, looking between him and the injured werewolf I was pinning to the ground with my boot. Even James had a higher pain tolerance than this dude. He really should have thought twice before trying to bring down the reapers on him. “I figured I could kill two birds with one stone.”

  “You’re not supposed to be here,” Graves said.

  “Yeah, well, look how that would have turned out for you if I wasn’t.” I pressed my lips together, giving him a pointed look.

  A gun shot rang out.

  I froze.

  She did not just—

  “You should spend more time with your aunt. Lady of action, that one is,” Thana said, tossing the gun.

  Graves caught it in one hand. “You just killed a man,” he said.

  Across the room, a ghost popped up.

  He looked confused for a moment, taking in the scene, and then his own dead body.

  Thana shrugged. “He wanted to die anyway.”

  “Just because he wanted to die doesn’t mean we just—”

  “What? Kill him?” my twin responded, then let out a harsh chuckle. “Newsflash, reaper boy. He knew about Salem and me. Since you two are so insistent on pretending she’s only a reaper, it was the only way. Besides. He tried to kill you. While I don’t think you’re good for my sister, you do seem to have her attention for the moment, and being mortal and all . . . well, ghosts don’t make for good fuck buddies.” Thana turned and walked past us both, the heels of her boots clicking against the wooden floor. She leaned forward and lifted one of the blinds to glance through the window.

  “We need to go,” I said.

  Graves looked from her to me, a sliver of shock slipping through his mask.

  “Salem, she just—”

  “I know what she did,” I snapped. “And while I don’t agree with it, she’s right. He’s dead, and I can’t lie for shit, so we need to get out of here. Not make this any worse than it already is.”

  “You could put him back,” Graves said quietly. Blue fire shone in his eyes as he stared at me.

  “I could,” I said slowly, then looked away. “But where would that get us? He’ll run his mouth and word will get out about what I am. What if it makes everything worse?”

  Graves’ jaw clenched. “Then we deal with it.”

  “I—” I paused, searching for words I was struggling to find, but knew they wouldn’t come. I glanced at Thana, and she merely shrugged.

  “Put him back or not, the choice is yours.”

  I knew right then that this was a test. By killing him, she forced my hand. Either I put his soul back and he tells the whole supernatural world my secret, or I leave him dead and prove just how far I’ll go.

  Icy anger filled me.

  This was all a game to her.

  And now I was left with the choice of deciding whether Eli should stay dead or not.

  Except I was out of time.

  “I’m not an idiot. I may not remember who I used to be, and maybe she was a callous bitch—but I’m not playing these games with you. You may be my sister, but who I am now is not okay with this.” I motioned to the dead body. “If this is your way of trying to show me who you are so I don’t choose Death, you’re doing a piss-poor job.”

  “Salem, I—” She choked up, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

  “Save it,” I growled.

  The tears dried instantly. “You need to make some choices, Sister. You may not see it this way, but I was trying to help.”

  “I don’t need this kind of help.”

  Thana lifted one delicate shoulder and shrugged. “We’ll see.”

  She morphed into her spirit form and then disappeared entirely.

  I stormed over to Eli’s ghost, not wasting the precious few seconds I had left. “If I give you a second chance, what are you going to do with it?”

  Eli stared at me, his lips lifted in an apologetic smile, the corners of eyes creasing slightly. “Whatever I have to in order to keep my people safe.”

  Regret sat heavy in my stomach. “I’m sorry, Graves.” I turned to face him, pleading with my eyes for him to forgive me. “I can’t bring him back. His intentions might be honorable, but it will be disastrous, and not just for the reapers. We stand a better chance of keeping the peace without him.”

  Graves’ face was stormy, his eyes twin bolts of lightning. “What’s done is done now, Salem. Just . . . get out of here. I’ll deal with this mess and come find you afterward.”

  The sound of footsteps racing up the stairs filled the silence between us, and I pulled myself back, willing myself into the spirit realm just as the door to Eli’s house flew open and reapers stormed in.

  I let myself stay there unseen long enough for Graves to show his brothers the gun. I watched as his lips formed the words ‘self-defense’ and then I pulled myself away.

  It was my mess he was cleaning up, and it wasn’t sitting well with me. For the first time since learning I was a Daughter of Death, I felt the true burden of my power. Who was I to decide whether someone deserved to live or die? I was hardly the poster child for good decision-making. If anything, I was the exact opposite.

  Eli wasn’t James. His death wasn’t some kind of cosmic justice. I’d been given a choice, and there was no obvious right answer.

  But not choosing wasn’t an option, and now I had to deal with the fallout.

  12

  One-Woman Show

  “Say something.”

  I stared at Tamsin as she opened and closed her mouth. The third time she shook her head and blew out a breath.

  “You lead the craziest life out of anyone I know, and I live with sex vampires.”

  I cracked a grin, absentmindedly reaching out and patting the bed, checking for more cupcakes. Only empty wrappers a
nd colored lingerie came up. I groaned. Where was the food when I needed it?

  “You think it’ll ever slow down?” I asked her, flopping back on her king-sized bed. The fluorescent light glared down on me, and I wrinkled my nose. I’d never noticed things like that before, but it covered everything in a hazy film.

  “I mean, doesn’t life usually?” Tam asked. I couldn’t see her, but I could imagine her sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at me with amusement.

  “For normal people.” I frowned. “They grow up and settle down, have a couple of kids, and grow old together . . .” I said, my voice trailing off.

  That would never be me. I hadn’t thought much about it since finding out I was immortal, not just long-lived like most of the supes. Truly immortal. Which means even if I wanted to die one day, I couldn’t. It was a strange thing, and oddly morbid, given I was talking about living and dying for once.

  “That’s one road,” Tam said. I heard her shuffling around, and then her head popped up. She climbed onto the bed next to me. “But it’s not the only one. This isn’t the eighteen-hundreds anymore. You don’t have to get married. You don’t have to have kids, you don’t have to do anything. You can choose who you want to be.”

  “All within Farrow’s Square.”

  She nodded, a sad smile dotting her lips as she repeated, “All within Farrow’s Square.”

  “Maybe Farrow’s Square is the problem,” I said. “My life has always been kind of complicated, but things weren’t crazy until I came home.”

  “Do you regret it?” she asked without judgment.

  “No.” I twisted my lips. “If anything, I wish I came back sooner. Or never left. Things might have happened differently then . . . but I can’t change the past.”

  “Nope,” Tamsin agreed. “You can’t, but you can decide on your future. Fix things with Graves. Deal with your semi-psychotic twin. Bring back your much more reasonable twin. Those are things you can do.”

  “Assuming Death doesn’t just kill everyone,” I griped.

  Tamsin’s lips pressed together. She put on a good face, but I could tell that part was bothering her. “Well, there is that. Assuming you even wanted to kill Thana, though, could you? Is there a way to truly kill your kind?”