Winged Reaper

by Shelley Russell Nolan

  ‘You’re too late. He’s gone.’

  My wings faltered and I dropped two feet before they steadied again. I forced myself to meet his cold gaze. ‘You’re lying, I’d know if he was dead.’

  Thin lips curled into a smirk. ‘Who said he was dead? He abandoned you. He and that ridiculous woman of his took the first plane out of here.’

  Though relieved Dad and Denise were okay, I hadn’t forgotten Malia’s threat to kill everyone I cared about. Whose death had I been called to witness?

  Grimm’s glacial glare settled on my wings. ‘Do you think masquerading as one of His kind will dissuade our Master from punishing you?’

  ‘He might be your master, but he will never be mine.’ I forced a cool smile to my lips. ‘I never thought I’d see the Grim Reaper reduced to a mere errand boy. But he no longer needs a right-hand man now he’s been reunited with Malia, and someone has to take Talaom’s place, right?’

  Grimm snarled and the nether supporting him in mid-air lashed out at me. My wings propelled me out of reach of the razor sharp tentacles while Grimm fought to regain control of his temper.

  ‘Be careful what you say, reaper. I still own you.’ He waved a hand and the Tr’lirians amassed behind him moved to the left. A young man dressed in shorts and a singlet, feet bare, dangled between two of them. His eyes were unfocused, blood obscuring his features, and he sagged in the grip of his captors.

  ‘Threatening the people you care about did not have the desired effect,’ said Grimm. ‘So instead we’ll kill random strangers on the hour, every hour. You won’t know who they are, you won’t be able to protect, hide or save them.’

  I shook my head. ‘What do you want from me?’

  ‘To see you suffer. To watch you drown yourself in guilt as you watch everyone around you die. You spurned our Master, and He is determined to make you pay dearly for that mistake. Only when all hope is extinguished, when every breath you take is a misery, will He allow you to crawl to Him and beg to be forgiven.’

  I closed my eyes, trying to block out the image of what my future would be like if I didn’t find a way to stop Almorthanos. I should have killed him when I had the chance, at the cemetery. If I’d finished what I’d started, ripped his soul out of his body as soon as Connor and the others had fled, maybe that would have been the end of it.

  Who was I kidding? Malia would never walk away if I killed her brother. She would raze Easton to the ground to get back at me. I would have to kill her as well, only then could I be assured no more innocent people would die. I pushed aside any doubt that I could follow through on my plan, and opened my eyes.

  ‘Please, no more. You don’t have to kill anyone else. I’ll do whatever Almorthanos wants. Just let him go.’ I waved a hand at the barely conscious young man. I hung my head, trying to look as meek as possible. Grimm had to believe I was well and truly cowed or I would never get close enough to Almorthanos and Malia to do what had to be done.

  ‘Tyler, Tyler, Tyler.’ He plastered on a fake smile. ‘You must be punished, broken, before you are fit to kneel at His feet. Only when I am assured you no longer pose a threat to our Master will you be allowed to grovel in His presence.’

  He waved a hand and one of the Tr’lirians behind him moved into position behind the unconscious man. ‘And your breaking starts now.’

  Before I could blink, the Tr’lirian rammed a sword into the young man’s back, killing him instantly.

  I cried out, stunned by the sudden violence, even as the compulsion to take his soul hit me. But Grimm was closer. He put his hands against the man’s chest and pulled, drawing the soul out of the lifeless body.

  The Tr’lirians let the empty body drop and I winced when it left the astral plane and hit the footpath with a stomach churning thud. Grimm raised the soul to his lips.

  To hell with being meek. I would not sit back and watch him devour another innocent soul. Not when I could do something about it.

  My wings propelled me forward and I stretched out a hand, desperate to touch the soul. My fingertips grazed it and I focussed on its song.

  The soul’s light expanded and Grimm thrust a hand in front of his eyes to ward off the glare. The soul started to ascend, gaining speed as it begun its journey towards rebirth. I wanted to do the same for the souls locked in the chain sustaining Grimm’s physical form but with my client’s soul released the draw of my physical body would pull me back to Chris’s penthouse.

  Nothing happened.

  I could feel my body, would have no trouble finding my way to it with my eyes closed. But instead of being dragged back whether I was ready to go or not, I got the feeling I could stay in the astral plane for as long as I wanted. Not that I wanted to, with my present company.

  Before I could flee, the Tr’lirians had formed a ring around Grimm and me.

  Crap!

  I could hear sirens getting closer by the second, but they wouldn’t do me any good.

  I had to go on the attack.

  ‘Back off, now, or I’ll rip the souls out of every last one of you.’ I stared at each of the Tr’lirians in turn, ignoring Grimm for the moment.

  ‘We’re immortal, bitch. You can’t touch us,’ one of them said, though I noticed a few shared uncertain glances.

  ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Wings or no wings, you all have a soul.’ I held out my hands, palms up and curled my fingers over as if I held two of their souls.

  ‘I can take them and I can crush them just like that.’ I clenched my hands into fists. ‘And there’s nothing you could do to stop me.’

  ‘She’s bluffing,’ said Grimm. ‘Not even I can take a Tr’lirian’s soul if they still have their wings.’ He turned to me, tendrils of nether creeping my way. ‘I’m going to enjoy this.’

  ‘Stay back. I’m warning you.’ I pointed at Grimm.

  ‘I don’t have a soul, and I’m not using a mirror. So nothing is going to stop me from rending your soul into thousands of pieces. And this time there won’t be any surprise resurrection.’ His outstretched hands became skeletal as the Tr’lirians crowded in closer, giving me no avenue of escape.

  I put my hands out to ward him off, and the nether lashed them aside. ‘Wait, you said Almorthanos wants to punish me. He can’t do that if I’m dead.’

  He barked out a harsh laugh. ‘Alive or dead, you will serve him, and every second of your service will be spent in the worst torment I can devise.’

  The relish in his voice made me shudder. This was it. He was going to kill me and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

  Unless…

  I sent my awareness into his body, searching for the anchor point for the chain of souls he fed on to increase his psychic energy. I could feel them, hear their cries, my astral form vibrating as it responded to the depths of their torment as Grimm wrung every last ounce of life out of them. The chain pulsed as dead souls flaked away and new ones were added to bolster his strength.

  At the same time, Grimm wrapped skeletal fingers around my throat and pain tore through my astral form. Agony lanced through me and I could feel myself growing insubstantial, fading away as Grimm leeched out my psychic energy.

  I didn’t try to fight him. I closed my eyes, stifling my screams as I followed the link between us.

  There, just below his sternum, energy swirled. I forced my arms to move and latched on to Grimm and tried to wrench the chain away from him.

  He snarled and tightened his grip on my throat as we wrestled for control of the souls he’d enslaved. He fought to pull in more of their power while I did everything I could to block his access. I didn’t want to touch the power I could feel simmering through the chain, though it sung to me in an even more seductive tone than Almorthanos’s soul had.

  So much power. The ecstasy it promised set every inch of me quivering. But I refused to give in. To do so, to take the power these souls contained, would make me no better than Grimm. A monster.

  Grimm’s nether mist lashed out at me, razor tips cu
tting into my astral form, and I could feel my consciousness wavering. But I couldn’t stop. If I gave in, if I released my hold on the end of the chain where it joined Grimm’s body, I would be lost.

  Dim shouts filled the air around me, the Tr’lirians unable to ‘see’ what was happening, aware I was in a fight for my life with the Grim Reaper. He had morphed into his true form, no longer able to sustain the illusion of humanity. His cloak billowed around us, the edge cutting just as sharp as the mist.

  I whimpered. I couldn’t hold on. He was too strong, my grip on the end of the chain weakening. Grimm let go of my neck to pry at my fingers, forcing me to let go. He smiled, a cruel smile that promised an eternity of pain.

  I was going to die, for good this time.

  Then, with the lightest of touches, a lost soul settled onto my right shoulder. It was immediately joined by a second on my right. I held out my arms and soon I was covered in lost souls, their flickering lights bolstering my spirits as I waited for Grimm to end it.

  But he did nothing, a look of incomprehension on his face as he stared at the souls adorning my arms. More souls filled the air around me, forcing the Tr’lirians to retreat, creating a space where Grimm and I faced each other, each of us connected to souls but in vastly different ways.

  Aether seeped into my astral form, freely given, replacing that which Grimm had torn out of me. Feeling stronger than I ever had, I reached out and touched the chain linking Grimm to the Underworld and it started to dissolve, freeing the souls trapped within it.

  As each soul was released it joined the flock hovering around me and I smiled at the look of horror on Grimm’s face as his form began to lose integrity.

  ‘No. That’s impossible. You can’t … I’m the only one who can control them.’

  ‘You don’t control them. You use them. But I’m going to set them free.’

  I started touching the souls nearest to me, their light a glorious affirmation as they were finally able to continue their journey towards rebirth.

  Grimm was almost translucent now, nether swirling around him, trying to keep his form intact.

  ‘No more souls are going to die to feed your filthy habit, Grimm. If you ever come back to the physical plane I will be waiting, and I will find a way to destroy you.’

  Grimm’s form was so indistinct I could barely make him out at all, but there was no mistaking the hatred in his voice as he said, ‘you will regret this, Tyler Morgan. I will see you pay for what you have done.’ Then he was gone.

  I kept my expression cold as I faced the Tr’lirians he left behind. ‘If one more person dies on Almorthanos’s orders then so does he, and you will all die alongside him. You saw what I’m capable of. Your immortality won’t protect you.’

  ‘You don’t scare us,’ said the one who had sneered at me before. ‘You may have gotten the better of Grimm, but you are no match for our Master.’

  Damn. So much for my bluff.

  They circled in closer, their wings buffeting me. But I did not have to face them alone. The lost souls swirled around me, forming a ring of aether, going faster and faster until I could no longer see the Tr’lirians. But I could hear them as they attempted to force their way through the ethereal barrier. Several minutes passed before cursing petered out and the souls slowed, many of them breaking away to float in the air in front of me.

  The Tr’lirians were gone. With a smile of thanks I reached out to the soul closest to me, intending to send it and its companions on their way to rebirth, but it darted out of reach. The rest soon joined it and as a group they flew a short distance away and then stopped. One flew back, circling me twice before it joined the others.

  I got the hint and flitted over to them. They took up positions around me, a silent glowing escort, as I spread my wings wide and headed back to my physical body.

  They left as I slipped through the ceiling of the penthouse. After I reconnected with my body I sat up and looked over at Sam and Chris, who were seated side by side at the dining table, a laptop open in front of them.

  My smile wobbled as I stood up and Sam shot to his feet. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Grimm was waiting for me with a whole bunch of Almorthanos’s Tr’lirians. You were right, before, when you said Almorthanos would never give up. We have to stop him, now, before more innocent people die.’

  ‘It’s already begun.’ Sam gestured at the laptop, his expression bleak, and I sucked in a breath as Chris spun it around so I could see what was on the screen.

  ‘Oh no.’ I covered my mouth with one hand as I hurried to the table and watched the film clip that signalled the end of the world as I knew it.

  34

  The footage was shaky, blurred, but there was no mistaking the terror on the faces of the people being marched into the largest pavilion at the Easton Showgrounds. Armed guards urged their captives along with hard shoves or by brandishing weapons. Men, women, children, they stumbled along, many crying, all of them casting fearful glances at the guards.

  The screen went blank, remaining that way for a few seconds before words appeared; words that filled me with dread.

  ‘He’s going to kill them all if I don’t hand myself in.’

  Sam spun me around to face him. ‘That is not happening. I lost you once. I am not standing by and watching you die a second time.’

  I gazed into his hazel eyes, read his determination to keep me alive. ‘We can’t stop him on our own. We need Cade and his men.’

  He held me for a moment longer and then let go before scooping his keys up off the table. ‘You and Bradbury should go out to Killian’s compound. Talk to Cade, tell him this has to end, today.’

  ‘What about you?’

  ‘I’ve got to go down to the station, see if I can do anything to help on their end. I was just waiting for you to get back. They’ve called in the Special Emergency Response Team to help deal with the situation but with Tr’lirians involved that won’t be enough.’

  I clutched his arm. ‘What? No. You can’t leave. It’s not safe.’

  He just smiled and touched my cheek. ‘Hey, how many times do I have to tell you, I’m not that easy to kill?’

  ‘Malia doesn’t want you dead. She wants you …’ I couldn’t say it.

  ‘It doesn’t matter what she wants. No way it is ever going to happen.’

  I shook my head, sure that if he walked out the door I would never see him again, not ready to say goodbye. ‘Come with us to the compound. The cops suspended you. You don’t owe them anything.’

  ‘Tyler, you know I can’t do that. This is my town, my job. I need to make sure SERT knows what they’re dealing with. They’re expecting terrorists, not armed assailants with wings who can zip in and out of the astral plane.’

  I wrapped my arms around my middle, understanding his reasoning but still not ready to give in. ‘Sam, please. If anything were to happen to you …’ I swallowed heavily.

  He cupped my cheek. Love shone in his eyes, and a promise I knew could never be fulfilled even if we did manage to take down Almorthanos. Not as long as I was in the wrong body. His head dipped and I averted my face so his lips brushed off my cheek.

  ‘Be careful. If Malia gets her hands on you, she won’t give you up a second time.’

  Brow furrowed, Sam scanned my face. I attempted a smile and lifted my chin. ‘Meet us at the compound as soon as you can.’ For a long moment he just stared at me, eyes intent on mine, but finally he gave a nod and strode out of the apartment.

  I sniffled, breathing ragged, and side stepped Chris’s attempt to hug me. ‘We don’t have time for this. We need to get to the compound.’

  ‘Tyler, stop. What’s wrong?’

  I pointed at the laptop. ‘You saw the film clip. You know what’s wrong.’

  His lips thinned. ‘I meant what is wrong with you and Lockwood. For a woman who claims to be in love with him, you were doing a good job of avoiding him just then.’

  I averted my eyes. ‘It’s nothing. Everything is fine
. Can we please go?’

  ‘The hell everything’s fine.’ He grabbed my arm. ‘Tell me what’s going on.’

  I sighed. ‘It’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand.’

  ‘Try me.’

  I gave another sigh. ‘This isn’t my body. It’s Emily’s.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘It was Emily’s body. Now it’s yours.’

  ‘I can’t see it that way. It’s different for you. You were dead for twenty-five years, and you didn’t know the original Chris Bradbury. Emily was my cousin, and I’m the reason she’s dead. I can’t be in her body, kissing Sam. It’s not right.’

  His expression softened. ‘I know it’s hard. You just have to give it more time.’

  I shook my head. ‘No amount of time is going to make this feel right. I should be the one who is dead, not Emily. To have Sam touch me, knowing it is her body he’s touching, it’s obscene. I can’t let that happen. I won’t.’

  ‘You can’t think like that.’ He took me by the shoulders and gazed deep into my eyes. ‘You can have everything you ever wanted, even Lockwood,’ he said with a grimace, ‘if he truly is who you want to be with, just don’t give up. It will get better.’

  I nodded, averting my eyes once again. I didn’t want it to get better. I wanted it to stop. But that couldn’t happen until after everyone I cared about was safe from Almorthanos and Malia.

  I moved away from Chris and got out my phone. ‘I’ll call Connor and get him and Rhonda to meet us at the compound. We need to stick together.’

  ‘Tyler?’

  I finally looked at him, forcing a smile. ‘Now’s not the time. We have a war to win.’

  He gave a slow nod, though I could tell from the stubborn set of his mouth he was not going to let this go. But he remained silent for the drive out to Greenlakes. The front gate was guarded, and twice as many men as before patrolled the grounds. We were ushered into the main building without ceremony, and Killian waited for us in the same room as last time. He sat behind a large desk strewn with papers, a bandage wrapped around the top of his left arm and a large bruise decorating one side of his face. He stood when he saw us, showing no sign his injuries pained him.