Winged Reaper

by Shelley Russell Nolan

  Emily grimaced. ‘From what Dad didn’t say, I think he has bad memories from before Grandma and Grandad adopted him, but I still think it’s weird he never tried to find his sister. And it’s really sad the adoption people let them get split up. You and I could have grown up together instead of only just finding out about each other.’

  I let Emily’s words wash over me. It was surreal, looking at her, listening to her fill the silence that had enveloped the flat since Sarah’s death. She yawned, and I was helpless to stop myself from copying her as the late hour and little sleep hit me.

  Emily giggled. ‘That was cool, that we did that, like in sequence.’

  Eyes watering, I nodded. ‘Very cool, but I’m going to have to call it a night.’

  Her eyes dropped. ‘Of course. I’ll get out of your way, let you get some sleep.’ She stood and fished a mobile phone out of her jeans pocket. ‘I’ll just call a taxi and get them to take me to a motel.’ She hesitated, eyes hopeful. ‘Can I come back and see you tomorrow, I mean today, after you wake up?’

  ‘You don’t have to go, you can stay here if you want,’ I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

  Her eyes lit up. ‘Really? You don’t mind?’

  The sheer delight on her face made me feel better about my impromptu invitation. Maybe it would be good for me to not be alone my first night back in the flat.

  ‘Can’t have my new cousin staying in a motel when I have an empty bed. Only … it was Sarah’s room.’ My bottom lip wobbled as I said her name and Emily scooted over and put her hand on my shoulder.

  ‘It must be so hard for you, to lose your best friend like that. I can go to a motel if that would be easier on you, or I can sleep on the couch, whatever suits you best.’

  ‘I don’t want you to leave, or sleep on the couch. It will be good to have someone else in the flat with me.’ I stood and headed down the hallway, grabbing clean sheets out of the linen cupboard outside the bathroom, Emily at my heels. ‘All Sarah’s stuff is still in here,’ I said as I opened the door. ‘I haven’t had a chance to pack it up. I guess I’ll do it tomorrow, after her funeral.’

  I let out a slow breath, not looking forward to saying goodbye to Sarah forever, taking little comfort from knowing I carried her soul around with me in my necklace. After Andrew had killed Sarah, Grimm had gotten to her, turning her against me, telling her it was my fault she was dead. He’d taught her how to become a Wraith, reanimating her dead body, and sending her back to the flat to try to kill me. I’d had to reap her soul for the second time, ending her chance at rebirth, to stop him using her.

  ‘I’ll help you pack up her things, and I’d like to come to the funeral with you, too, if that’s okay.’

  Grateful for the distraction from my depressing train of thought, I gave Emily a watery smile. ‘Thank you, but you don’t have to. You didn’t even know Sarah.’

  ‘But I know you, now. Besides, we’re family and that’s what family is for.’

  I found it hard to reconcile her idea of family with the one I’d grown up with. My father looked down on me because I’d been born a girl, and my stepmother, Rhonda, blamed me for my eldest half-brother turning out to be a serial killer. Not exactly the kind of family who stuck together. I had no idea if Denise, Andrew’s mother, blamed me for what he’d done, but I guess I’d be finding out soon enough. Andrew was being laid to rest on Monday.

  At least, I hope he was laid to rest. I wouldn’t put it passed Grimm to turn Andrew into a Wraith and send him after me, although he’d need a recently dead body to stomp about in.

  Emily helped me change the sheets on Sarah’s bed, chatting to me the whole time, but I hardly heard a word she said. I was too busy picturing a stranger’s dead body chasing me, Andrew’s soul doing the driving. The image followed me as I said goodnight and sought my own bed, sure sleep would be long in coming, despite how tired I was.

  Nightmares were an occupational hazard since I became a reaper, and I had a horrible feeling matters were going to get even worse in the days to come.

  3

  The sheets were tangled around my legs when I woke. I fumbled into a sitting position before switching off my alarm. Nine o’clock. The last time I’d checked, before finally falling asleep, it had been four in the morning. The urge to hit the snooze button and crawl under the covers was strong, but Sarah’s funeral started in two hours and I needed every minute of it to steel myself for facing her family.

  It had been hard enough the day after she’d been murdered, knowing her distraught parents thought we’d still been best friends. They’d had no idea I’d caught her in bed with my now ex-boyfriend, Logan.

  I stumbled out of my room and entered the bathroom. Splashing cold water on my face, I gazed into the mirror, expecting to see my reddened and puffy eyes.

  My mother stared back at me.

  Was I dreaming?

  I pinched myself on the forearm, blinking to clear my vision.

  Mum was still there, peering out at me, mouthing words I could not hear. I put my hand on the mirror and her image moved closer, becoming sharper. A whisper of sound teased my ears, then became words that brought back the guilt and horror of finding out I’d sacrificed her soul for the man who’d killed her.

  ‘Help me, Tyler, please, help me.’

  ‘Mum … I’m so sorry.’ Tears poured down my face. Her hand came up and she placed it against mine, the cold glass cutting me off from her touch.

  ‘I don’t have long, so you must listen carefully. You weakened Grimm, making it possible for me to contact you, but it won’t take him long to recover. You must get me out of here before that happens. The things he’ll do to me …’ her voice cracked, ‘I can’t take any more. It hurts so much.’ She shuddered and covered her face with her hands.

  I shook my head. ‘I don’t know how?’

  ‘There must be a way. That reaper Grimm was searching for, he got away. Ask him how he did it. It’s my only hope. Please, Tyler, before it’s too late.’

  I opened my mouth, about to tell her how Chris had gained his second chance at life, but didn’t speak. I couldn’t take the chance that Grimm would find out and use it to free Almorthanos. Besides, duplicating Chris’s resurrection required the death of a person related to the soul. There had to be a way to free Mum that wouldn’t need anyone else to die.

  ‘I’ll do what I can, I promise.’

  ‘Hurry, Tyler,’ she said, her shape blurring, ‘there isn’t much time.’ She disappeared completely. I kept my hand on the mirror, sobbing, willing her to return.

  ‘Are you okay, Tyler? Is there anything I can do?’ Emily asked through the closed door.

  I scrubbed my eyes and took a deep breath before I answered. ‘I’ll be okay, thanks. I just need a minute.’

  ‘All right, but I’m here if you need me.’

  I avoided looking at the mirror as I composed myself before exiting the bathroom. I walked into the kitchen, not sure if I was ready to face Emily but in desperate need of coffee.

  I froze when I spotted her. She was wearing the same pyjamas as me, making me feel like I’d entered one of those crazy mirror exhibitions at the show where you saw endless reflections of yourself.

  Emily laughed, and I blinked to clear my head.

  ‘I guess here’s all the proof we need,’ she said. ‘We must be related. No DNA test required.’

  I frowned. ‘Do you want to do a DNA test?’

  She shook her head. ‘We’re family, I’m one hundred percent sure of it. I don’t need a stupid test to prove we’re cousins.’

  Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. ‘But if that’s what you need, to be sure, I’ll do it. I don’t want to do anything that will make you unhappy, or send me away, even though I am terrified of needles.’ She shuddered but lifted her chin, eyes determined. ‘I’ll let them jab me a hundred times if that’s what you want.’

  ‘Wouldn’t want to turn you into a pin cushion. Besides, I don’t need a DN
A test to tell me we’re related either.’ If by some bizarre coincidence my mum wasn’t the baby sister her dad had mentioned, her resemblance to Malia meant we must be related in some way. I thought about mentioning that both of us were dead ringers for my mum as well, and my smile dipped. Okay, not ready to go there.

  I turned away and busied myself by filling the kettle and setting it to boil. ‘Coffee?’

  ‘Yes, please.’

  I made us both a cup of coffee, stirring two heaped teaspoons of sugar into mine. I took a fortifying sip, welcoming both the shot of caffeine and the sugar burst as I surveyed the meagre contents of the fridge and pantry. It had been over a week since Sarah and I had gone shopping for groceries and I’d been lucky the milk for our coffee had still been in date.

  ‘How does toast sound?’ I pulled a loaf of bread out of the freezer and pried four slices out of the packet, laying them on a tea towel to defrost.

  Emily put her mug on the table. ‘Let me make breakfast. I love to cook and, I hope you don’t mind, I checked out what was in the fridge earlier and you have everything I need to make omelettes. They are my breakfast specialty and you won’t regret it.’

  I opened my mouth to say no, appetite non-existent, but the pleading look on her face had me nodding instead. ‘An omelette sounds great.’

  In no time at all Emily served me a plate with a light and fluffy omelette and she’d even managed to make the toast look fancy, with trimmed edges and cut into triangles.

  ‘Hmm. This is delicious.’ I took another bite, washing it down with the fresh coffee she placed at my elbow.

  Emily sat across from me and talked non-stop, telling me about her family and starting out as a veterinarian. While she talked, I ate and sipped and before I knew it my plate was empty and my second cup of coffee gone.

  Emily stood and collected my dirty dishes, carrying them over to the sink.

  ‘You cooked, I’ll clean up,’ I said.

  ‘No, I’ll take care of it. I’m the one that made the mess. Getting to stay here with you, help you out, is more than I hoped for by showing up unannounced on your doorstep.’

  ‘Like you said, that’s what family is for.’

  She jumped forward and hugged me, the squelch of the wet cloth connecting with my back making me wince and her jump back.

  ‘Oh my God, I’m sorry. I’ll wash it for you, or give you mine if you want, after I wash them of course.’

  ‘Emily, chill out,’ I said with a smile. She grinned back at me, still looking sheepish. ‘It’s fine. I needed to get dressed anyway.’

  She nodded, keeping silent, and I left her to her dishes and headed for my room. The smile on my face died as I contemplated what I would wear to say goodbye to Sarah. We’d been friends since kindergarten, had been inseparable until last week. It didn’t seem possible that she was gone forever.

  After selecting a black skirt and a dark purple blouse, Sarah’s favourite colour, I headed into the bathroom to apply my makeup. Mum didn’t appear, and I was both disappointed and relieved. Guilt over not saving her warred with not wanting to be reminded of how badly I’d failed. But I pushed that aside to concentrate on hiding the dark circles under my eyes.

  I was straightening a slight wave out of my hair when Emily joined me in the bathroom and placed a small makeup bag on the bench.

  I blinked to dispel tears before they ruined all my hard work. Sarah and I had often shared the bathroom. But with Emily chattering on constantly, appearing to speak about whatever popped into her head, it was hard not to stay in the present. I was thankful for her sudden arrival in my life. With her at my side Sarah’s funeral would be that little bit more bearable, I hoped.

  4

  I wiped my hands on my skirt and looked around the crematorium’s car park. Connor’s car was two bays down and Dad’s 4WD was on the other side of it.

  ‘Are you ready for this?’

  I managed a nod for Emily, a smile beyond me. Then I made my way to the spacious chapel with large glass doors along both sides. A small crowd lingered in the front entrance, while others were waiting inside the chapel. A couple of the reporters from the Easton Chronicle were already seated, as well as Anne Porteous, mine and Sarah’s boss in the Classified’s office.

  Greg Curtis, the sports reporter, gave me a wave. He sat next to Moira Rutherford, who would have the unenviable task of reporting on the funeral. News was news, no matter who it happened to.

  I didn’t recognise many of the people gathered, although I had met a lot of Sarah’s relatives over the years. Her parents sat in the front row on the left, but I wasn’t ready to approach them. First I had to face my own family.

  Dad, sweat darkening his blonde hair and his large belly barely contained by his old sports jacket, stood beside wife number three, Rhonda. Her face, as she watched us walk over, was anything but inviting. Connor, on the other hand, wore a huge grin.

  ‘This is Emily Wilson, my new cousin. Emily, this is my father, my stepmother Rhonda, and my half-brother Connor.’

  Emily smiled and held out her hand. ‘Lovely to meet you all. I can’t tell you how happy I was to find out I had a cousin.’

  Dad sniffed and turned his back on us. Rhonda, long brown hair slicked back in a bun, crossed her arms in front of her chest and frowned down her nose at Emily. Connor stepped forward, ignoring Emily’s out-stretched hand, and enveloped her in a hug.

  ‘Welcome to the family, Cuz,’ he said as he lifted Emily off her toes.

  Emily, cheeks flushed, laughed as he set her back on her feet. ‘Thank you, Connor. I just wish I was meeting you all on a happier day.’

  ‘Any day is happy when there’s a pretty girl around,’ he said, blue eyes twinkling, looking particularly handsome in his stylish suit and tie.

  I elbowed him in the side. ‘She’s our cousin. Behave.’ The deepening flush in Emily’s cheeks from Connor’s flirting had me frowning even more than Rhonda.

  ‘Actually, I don’t think we are related,’ said Emily. ‘Not technically. Tyler’s mum was my aunt, so that makes us cousins. But you have a different mum, so we wouldn’t be cousins, unless you can have a step-cousin.’

  ‘I hardly think this is the time or the place to be concerning ourselves with who is related to whom,’ said Rhonda in frosty tones.

  Emily’s face fell. ‘Of course, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.’

  I glared at Rhonda, while patting Emily’s shoulder. ‘You didn’t, Emily. It’s fine.’

  Connor grinned. ‘Of course it’s fine. Cousin or not, this family could do with some fresh blood.’

  ‘Connor.’ Rhonda grabbed his arm. ‘It’s time we took a seat.’ She pulled him along with her and Dad as they entered the chapel.

  I gave Emily another pat. ‘Sorry. My family isn’t exactly user friendly.’

  She braved a smile. ‘That’s okay. I guess springing a new cousin on them at a funeral wasn’t the best idea. Maybe I should wait in the car.’

  ‘No way.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Honestly, this is going to be hard for me, saying goodbye to Sarah. I really appreciate you being here, for support.’

  ‘Of course.’ It was her turn to give me a pat. ‘We do this together.’

  I gave a nod, tears blurring my vision. We started to walk into the chapel but someone took hold of my arm and pulled me to one side. I looked up and met Chris’s eyes. Dressed in a smart blue suit, the white sling on his left arm replaced with a more stylish black number, he looked impossibly handsome. Not that I cared.

  ‘Tyler, we need to talk.’

  I glared at him. ‘I’m not interested in anything you have to say.’ I tugged my arm free and walked back to Emily, ushering her into the chapel ahead of me. Most of the seats had been taken but the last row on the right was empty.

  ‘Oh my God,’ she said in a whisper as we sat down. ‘That was Chris Bradbury. He is even more gorgeous in person than he is on television, and in the magazines. And that deep voice. Wow, talk about sexy. I
can’t believe you know him.’

  I leaned in close and hissed in her ear. ‘Shush. Now is not the time.’

  ‘Sorry,’ she whispered back, giving me a sheepish grin.

  Someone sat down on the other side of me and I tensed, sure it would be Chris. I twisted around to tell him to get lost, and heaved a sigh of relief when I met Sam’s hazel gaze. He gave me a nod and then looked over at Emily, eyebrows raised.

  The undertaker requested everyone stand and I gave Sam a shrug. I’d have to explain Emily’s arrival later. Now I had to watch as Sarah’s coffin was carried down the aisle, a photo of her beaming face nestled amongst two large arrangements of purple and white flowers on the top.

  Tears streamed down my face and I swayed as grief over losing my best friend hit me all over again. Sam slid an arm around my back, holding me steady until it was time to sit down. He covered my left hand with his, thumb forming soothing circles on my wrist.

  At the first words, describing Sarah and her zest for life, I leaned into Sam’s side. The warmth of the body pressed into mine was the only thing keeping me from sobbing uncontrollably as Sarah’s father delivered the eulogy for his only child. The grief etched on his face, the broken words, and the heartbreaking pauses as he sought to control his crying so he could finish his speech, it was all too much.

  I closed my eyes and rested my head on Sam’s shoulder, blocking everything out as I focused on the feel of his suit beneath my cheek and the way his shoulder rose and fell with each breath he took.

  Sam nudged me some time later and helped me stand as Sarah’s sobbing parents were led down the aisle. He continued to hold my hand as we waited for the front rows of mourners to exit the chapel and congregate in the front entrance. We were the last to walk out. I reluctantly released Sam’s hand as I made my way over to where Sarah’s parents stood accepting the condolences of those who had come to witness their daughter’s farewell.