Reaper

by Laura Greenwood

  I pulled him towards me again, intending to reinitiate a kiss, but Than stopped all that by leaning his forehead against mine, his eyes boring into me, as if he could see my soul. Stop it, Anima. Now really wasn’t the time for thinking about souls and stuff like that. I could save that for my alone time.

  We moved together, the only sounds our panting, and the patter of the water on the shower screen. Thinking became difficult and all I wanted was to explode from the tension building up inside me. Tension that was far more intense than it ever had been before, whether I’d been on my own or with one of the Demons I’d blackmailed. Than was in a league of his own, though I probably shouldn’t tell him that, it’d only go to his head. And I couldn’t be dealing with that…unless it went to the other head.

  I raked my nails down his back, not knowing how else to let out the feelings inside. I was almost there, it was so close, but not quite within reach, and Than quaking beneath my fingers suggested he was close too. My back was slammed against the cold wall, which was grounding me slightly, but even that wouldn’t help me soon.

  He captured my lips with his, pressing a searing kiss to them. I responded hungrily. This wasn’t going to be enough. We were going to have to do this again. And again. And again.

  Sparks formed before my eyes as my world exploded. Completely spent, we collapsed against each other at the bottom of the shower, the water finally touching me and cleaning off the grime of the day. I’d forgotten about that bit until now. Funny how sex erases everything.

  Seven

  I stretched out on the bed, hitting the warm body beside me and sighed. Maybe it was foolish for us still to be in the house I’d lived in for months. Alright, it was definitely foolish. But we’d been too tired to do much other than crawl into bed. Okay, that was a lie. We’d done plenty more than just crawl into bed, but after that there was no moving.

  I was aching all over, and not all of it in the good way, though there was definitely some of that going on. Instead it was the kind of ache that only came from fighting a load of Demons…oh wait, that’s exactly what I’d done. Stupid Chesca and her weird vendetta against me. What had I ever done to her? As far as I knew, she hadn’t even known my name until a couple of days ago. Okay, so I had no real way of knowing that. Maybe she’s known of my existence since I was a baby, but that’s hardly the point. I only vaguely knew of her from things other Demons had said, and unless one of the Demons I’d spent time with before told her my name, then she had no reason to know. And if one of those Demons had told…well they’d have burst into flames, or some shit like that. I wasn’t really all that sure what happened when a Demon broke an oath, but Lindsay said it wasn’t doable.

  “Nim, what’s wrong?” Than asked in a sleepy sounding voice.

  “Nothing,” I murmured, settling myself so that my back was pressed to his hard chest, and his arm was draped around me, at the perfect angle for me to see his tattoos in all their glory. At that moment, they were dark and still, and I gave in to the urge I always seemed to have when I saw them, and began to trace them with my fingertips. I wasn’t really sure what I was hoping to achieve by doing it, but it was good to give in, and from Than’s deepening breaths, I wasn’t the only one feeling something as a result.

  “Nim,” he said, his voice low and full with promise. Like the night before, hearing my shortened name was actually kind of nice. A complete about turn, but then, maybe it was because I was just realising it’d never been meant mockingly, but rather affectionately. It was a weird thought.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, allowing amusement to fill my voice.

  “If you keep doing that, you’re going to regret it.” He was almost growling, which was quite a feat given that he was a Reaper, not some kind of shifter. Of which I was pretty glad to be honest. If he was a shifter, then he wouldn’t even be able to see me.

  “You can feel that?”

  “Well you are touching me.” It was his turn to sound amused, though there was still the darker, sexier edge to his voice. Hmm, interesting. I was really affecting him then. That was good to know.

  “Not what I meant,” I huffed. He chuckled softly, but I could still feel it reverberating through his chest. I could get used to that.

  “I know it wasn’t. But yes, I can feel it. It’s like you’re touching my powers,” he said. I waited for the normal pang of sadness and frustration that normally accompanied me remembering my own lack of powers, but it didn’t come. Odd. But I’d go with it. Maybe it was just a result of the lazy sated feeling that came with lying in bed after a night of hot sex.

  “What does that do?”

  “No idea, I’ve never felt it before.”

  Well that had me feeling kind of satisfied. I was under no illusions that Than hadn’t slept with women before. He’d probably had his choice of Angels, Demons and Reapers falling at his feet. But to learn that I was making him feel something that none of them had? Yep, that had me feeling pretty damn good.

  “It’s not going to cause a reaping is it?” I asked. I mean theoretically, I couldn’t be reaped anyway. But I didn’t want to test that out. Knowing my luck, I would be the only Reaper that could be reaped.

  “I doubt it. They’re still black.” He half-shrugged, or at least he did as far as lying on a bed would allow, and stroked my stomach lightly with his hand, sending shivers through me, even as warmth unfurled inside me. Conflicting feelings, but that’s just what he did to me. “Nim?”

  “Hmm?” My eyes were half closed, enjoying the touch of skin against skin. I thought about turning to face him, but knew that the moment I did that, talking would be over, and as much as I wanted things to get physical again, I was also curious about what he was thinking.

  “Why does it feel like I’m touching your powers?” My eyes flew fully open, and this time I did turn to face him. His eyes bored into mine, a sincerity and caring there unlike any that I’d ever seen before. I propped myself up on my elbow, and Than fell flat on his back. Staring up at me, with the sheet twisted around his waist and his abs on show to the world. Well not the world per say. Just me. And I could get used to the view. Even if he was asking a serious question.

  “I don’t have any powers. You know that.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “They tested,” I muttered the words quietly, trying not to think about the tests they’d done. None of it had been painful, but it had been emotionally draining having so many people yelling at me day in, day out, as they tried to work out what was wrong with me and how to fix it. I was almost relieved when they’d given up.

  “I can feel something,” he insisted.

  “I doubt it. They’d have noticed by now if I had any. You saw my pathetic attempt at a reaping.” I watched his face as he clearly thought back to the old woman’s death, and the reaping he’d had to do for me. He frowned, coming to the same conclusion I had years ago: I really didn’t have powers. It sucked, but it was fact.

  “They could be wrong.”

  “I doubt it,” I repeated. He opened his mouth, then shut it again, as if trying to come up with an argument to convince me. Well, he had to know that wasn’t going to happen. In this case, I was right, he was wrong. I wasn’t saying that was always going to be the case, I mean everyone had to be wrong at some point, and maybe I’d even admit it after a couple of months, but just not in this one. I was a Reaper who couldn’t reap. I had no powers. It sucked. There was nothing that could be done about it. I was used to it, but could see how it might take Than more time to get used to. After all, if what was between us lasted, then I couldn’t exactly see many people back home welcoming the match with open arms. They’d probably worry that we’d have kids, and I’d produce more defunct Reapers.

  Seeing that he was about to argue again, I leaned forward and kissed him, distracting us both from the complex thoughts that were no doubt swirling around his head much as they were around mine. He kissed me back instantly, and pulled me closer with a firm hand on the nape of my neck,
as he pulled the sheet away from our bodies. I went to him willingly, pleased that the serious moment was over, and that it was time for more fun.

  Eight

  Late afternoon sun streamed through the window. Wait, that couldn’t be right. It had been morning just moments before. Hmm. Odd. I guess I must have been even more exhausted than I thought. Sex and violence would do that to a woman. Mmm. Sex. I could go again.

  I turned myself in the bed, expecting to see Than lying next to me, but found nothing. I sat bolt upright, looking around the room frantically and hoping that Than was just lurking somewhere. Or in the shower. Mmm, the shower. If he was there then I could go join him again.

  I swung my legs around, my bare feet hitting the smooth wooden floor of the house I’d been staying in. We really should leave, but we kept getting distracted. I padded towards the bathroom, finding it odd that I couldn’t hear the water running. Maybe Than wasn’t in there at all.

  Pushing past the door, I found exactly what I suspected. Nothing. Which wasn’t good. Not good in the slightest. I pivoted on the balls of my feet, still expecting to find Than somewhere in the room, yet he wasn’t about. What if he’d left me? After the night we’d had, and the morning, I didn’t think that he’d just abandon me. No. I refused to accept it. Damn it, when did I become such a girl? Mooning over a man was so not me.

  “Chesca sends her regards.” At the sound of Lindsay’s voice, I spun on my heels again, finding her perched on my windowsill a bored look on her face. “I thought I told you to move,” she added, standing up straighter.

  “I got distracted,” I mumbled.

  “Yes. The other Reaper.” She didn’t sound impressed. Can’t say I blamed her. Hanging around to have sex when I had a Demon Queen after me probably wasn’t my best idea.

  “Do you know where he is?” I asked, both hoping and dreading that she’d say yes. On the one hand, I really did want to find Than, especially if he’d left me. Payback would be exacted. On the other, if Lindsay did know, then that wasn’t going to be good for him. Not. At. All.

  “Yes.”

  “Will you tell me?” I asked as sweetly as possible, trying not to let my impatience colour my tone.

  “If we make a deal,” she replied. I frowned at her. Lindsay had never wanted a deal with me before. I’d thought she was my friend, yet this didn’t seem right.

  “Why?”

  “Humour me.”

  “Fine,” I responded. “What’s the deal?”

  “I’ll tell you where Thanatos is, if you promise to never mention my name to Chesca in any context.” Well that was unexpected.

  “I’d never do that anyway.”

  “Maybe not on purpose. But she has her ways. If you agree to this, then you won’t have to think about breaking it. You won’t be able to.”

  “Unless Than isn’t where you say he is,” I muttered.

  “True. But I don’t want to lie to you, Anima. I’m doing this to protect you,” she said, still sounding a little too nonchalant for my liking.

  “To protect yourself more like.” I followed my words with a bitter chuckle. I wasn’t naïve enough to fall for that one.

  “Someone has to. This protects us both.”

  “Very well. I agree.” I picked up one of my daggers, from where it’d fallen the night before, and wiped it off on the bed sheet. Didn’t want to go getting Demon goo in my bloodstream now, did I? In one quick motion, I cut the palm of my hand, letting the blood well up. Stupid Demons and their need to seal deals in blood. Just a handshake would be a lot cleaner. But no. Blood it was.

  I held my hand out to Lindsay, who appeared to have taken one of her sharpened nails to her hand. She pressed her palm against mine, and a slight searing sensation went through my palm. It wasn’t painful, just uncomfortable. But I didn’t flinch. It’s not like this was the first time I’d made a deal with a Demon.

  After the deal was sealed, I took a step back and met her gaze head on. “Where is he?” The look on her face said it all and dread began to pool in my stomach. The grim look on her face wasn’t helping either.

  “Where do you think?”

  “I don’t know, Lindsay. Otherwise I wouldn’t have made a fucking deal with you to find out.” Yep. I was fast running out of patience. “Where is he?”

  “He’s in Hell.”

  Oh. Shit.

  Nine

  How to get to Hell in one simple step: don’t. It was a seriously bad idea, people had been telling me that for years. Yet here I was, trying to figure out how to get there. Stupid man. If he hadn’t gone and gotten himself kidnapped, then I wouldn’t need to find a way to Hell. Lindsay was no help either. She decided to disappear straight after our deal was sealed. Should have made a second one with her. Not sure exactly what I had to offer a Demon, but maybe then I’d have known how to get to Than.

  Which raised another question. How had he managed to get kidnapped, from my bed, without me noticing? That seemed odd to say the least, especially as I didn’t think he’d go without putting up at least a little bit of a fight, which would have woken me up. Plus, I was the one they wanted, so why not take me straight off? It was all very strange.

  Unless…no. I couldn’t think about that. It led to possibilities I didn’t really want to consider. Like Chesca needing someone else to bring me to her because she couldn’t take me herself. Which just raised even more questions really, but I was getting used to not having any answers. And it wasn’t like it made any difference anyway. I was going after Than whether I really wanted to or not. It was kind off my fault he got kidnapped in the first place. Idiot.

  I guess one way to get there would be to die. Except I didn’t actually know how to do that. Yet another gap in the knowledge they give to young Reapers. But it did give me one idea. All I needed to do was find someone who was about to die. Well, and was about to go to Hell. Guess it was time for me to find myself a dying murderer.

  Ten

  The alley was dark. Though I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. I’d come here to find someone that had done bad things. But also, someone whose life was about to be snuffed out. The man had taken some finding, and some bribing, but it was worth it. He might not realise it yet, but he was about to die. Couldn’t say I felt particularly bad about that, he’d killed four women and was about to try and kill the fifth.

  Really, most of me was just worried about what I knew I had to do now. A.k.a. trying something that supposedly couldn’t be done. Luckily, I’d read about it in a book while I was still a trainee Reaper. The only potential issue was my lack of reaping powers might make it more difficult to actually pull off. Especially considering that it was something that might not be possible anyway.

  So long as I got out of the way before the Reaper assigned to the man arrived, it would be fine. Whether that was disappearing into the depths of Hell, or just running away, it would be far worse to be caught trying to reap.

  I tried not to watch as the man attacked the blonde woman in front of him. I couldn’t watch, otherwise I’d just try to interfere, and I wasn’t even able to do that. Even if it wasn’t already banned by the higher-ups. All the stupid rules, I’d have thought they’d have the answers to my problems. But no, they just left me be as an anomaly.

  A scream followed by a grunt pulled me from my inner wallowing. Huh, turns out I could tune out murder. Who knew?

  I closed the gap between me and the now dying man, trying to concentrate on his soul. I couldn’t say I’d ever tried it this way before. Normally I just focused on trying to funnel it down the path it needed to go, and failing, not trying to latch on like I was now. It was sticky, and made me feel like the colour black. Yes, not a feeling, I knew that, but it was just that way to me. Obviously, this was what happened when someone turned a bit evil.

  There was a slight ripping noise, and the man’s soul detached from his body, with me touching it. Well, not physically touching it, more like vibing with it. I didn’t think any Reaper had actually tried this befor
e, so no one had thought up a word for it.

  A slight sucking sensation pulled on me, and my stomach twisted into knots. Eurgh. This was going to be one of those then? Figured. But I supposed getting to Hell shouldn’t be easy. The man’s soul started to move, and I was dragged along behind it. I couldn’t see the path ahead of us, but something told me it was going to be twisty, and if I hadn’t been holding onto the soul, I wouldn’t be able to make it. Why didn’t the Demons just build a sodding door? It would make life so much easier. Or why they didn’t just allow other people to pop in and out like they did.

  I squeezed my eyes tight, not able to keep the contents of my stomach down if I kept them open, and I really didn’t want to find out what happened if I threw up while travelling between dimensions. Or levels. Or whatever on earth they were. Why were Reapers so damned secretive? They didn’t even tell other Reapers about how things worked. The gaps in my knowledge were getting ridiculous and it was a wonder I’d managed to stay alive this long.

  After what felt like an age, the soul started to slow, and I ended up falling flat on my ass. On a hard-stone floor, no less. At least it wasn’t cold.

  There was a tugging at my hands, and I opened my eyes, seeing the sticky soul trying to pull away, and yes, I was right. The soul was black. Though maybe souls were all black? I’d never seen a good one to compare. Elijah would know, but I doubted I’d run into the angel in Hell. They only had one kind here: Fallen.

  I released the soul, and watched as it whizzed around, before heading down what seemed to be a path to the left. Actually, now I’d looked around, there seemed to be several paths about. I made a mental note not to follow the black soul, I doubted I wanted to see what happened to the damned. Maybe I’d pick the one on the far right, the one as far away from the real depths of Hell as possible.