The Reaper (S E Rise's The Fade series Book 1)

by S E Rise

  Who am I kidding…of course I wanted to find out what it was.

  Well Brin that’s kind of a hard one to answer….

  I don’t think I’m a serial killer…not in the malevolent and sadistic definition of it…and technically they are already dead or dying.

  Don’t take too long to answer.

  “Nope, I am not a serial killer…”

  Damn it, I put a double negative in there. This actually had me saying I am a serial killer. Brin arched an amused eyebrow, because apparently she caught the way I had said it as well.

  “Ok I see what happened there. I am not a Serial Killer. I’m just a guy interested in taking you out for a cup of coffee and getting to know you.” I added a sincere smile while I said it and hoped she wouldn’t see through that as well or be able to at least hear it in my words.

  This might be more challenging that I thought.

  Blind? I wasn’t expecting that.

  Am I a serial killer?

  No, I just reap the souls of the dead and dying. No biggie…

  “Well, it looks like we have ourselves a coffee date.” The smile on her face told me she wasn’t quite sure how this was going to go either. That was okay though.

  She doesn’t act like she is blind. That’s what is throwing me off. Nothing about her screams to me that she is actually blind.

  “Let me close up shop here and…” She began and the chime of her ring tone made her smile falter and I suddenly got a feeling that things were about to get complicated.

  “One second I have to get this…” She turned away from me and answered the call.

  “Hi Dad, what’s up?” I politely gave her room and privacy, moved across to the front window and tried to fill in the missing side of the information.

  “Oh God…” she started and the emotion in those two words provided me with the rest of the story. You don’t do this job as long as I have and not recognize that tone.

  Someone was dead or dying; someone close to her.

  “Ok, I’ll be there soon.” She said and turned to face me and the sadness in her face finished the story for me. “Love you too.” She pressed the icon to end the call and I tried to hide my disappointment.

  “Oh my God, Jack, I am so sorry but…”

  “It’s ok…That did not sound like a good conversation. I’m sorry…”

  “My grandfather is really sick and my dad thinks well you know. Anyway, he wants me to come over there. I’m sorry but I have to take a rain check.” As she said the words, she pulled off her work apron, gathered her purse and cell phone and reached under the counter and pulled out what I assumed were the keys to the door. I was more than sure she wasn’t going to be driving anywhere but I’m not sure it was safe to assume anything with this remarkable woman.

  “Damn, I’m sorry …of course. Don’t even worry yourself about that. Do you need me to call you a cab?” I offered but she was already making the call to the cab company.

  “Thank you.” She said I grabbed up my sandwich as she followed and she shut off the lights.

  Chapter Seven

  She had stepped into the cab and I closed the door behind her. Though it had ended quickly, I had to say that it went rather well. Unfortunately, she was called away for a family emergency but I couldn’t be disappointed by that. It was just bad timing.

  I thought about stepping into the Fade, heading over to Ginger’s and having a drink or two. I hadn’t been there in a week or so and I needed the down time. I could catch up on my sleep as well. Time ran differently in the Fade. Eight hours over there was only about four hours over here. If you worked it right you could catch up on all the sleep you ever needed.

  That of course could be turned around on you as well. You could work your ass for days within the Fade and have to return here to take care of things and find yourself exhausted.

  The first step towards freedom fell and landed with the pain of hell and the driving compulsion taking hold me. Duty called and I turned with the other step in the direction I needed to go. It was unexpected but then they usually were. I pushed my hands deep into my jacket pockets and gave into it. I didn’t need to hurry, there was time.

  Chapter Eight

  I stopped in the next night, waited for the last customer to leave and jingled the door as if I had just entered.

  “Hello.” I said and hoped it sounded right.

  “Hey there, you didn’t have to do that you know.” She said and I waited for her to elaborate. I didn’t need to tell her I had been watching her for the last ten minute if I didn’t have to. “Jingle the bells, I could tell you were here.”

  Both surprised and curious, I contained both. “And, how in the world could you tell that?”

  She smiled, touched the tip of her nose and acted like it wasn’t a big deal.

  “The nose knows.”

  “So I stink, is that what you’re saying?” I added a tone of humor to the question and relaxed my smile. I hadn’t really thought about what my own personal scent in quite awhile. Of course I bathed regularly but that only took care of so much.

  “Yeah, you do, but in a good sort of way. I mean you smell good to me, it’s just different. Everybody smells different but yours is kind of unique.”

  “How so?”

  ‘I’ve never met anyone that smells like brimstone and cinnamon before, so, now you know.”

  “Interesting.”

  Chapter Nine

  “So, can I cash in that rain check? I’m off tomorrow so…how about two o’clock?”

  “Sure. That sounds great.”

  “You’re not a vampire are you? I only ask because I’ve only seen you at night and well I know how sensitive those guys are to sunlight.”

  “I will be the one sparkling and wearing SPF 150.”

  “Then as long as the sun block doesn’t stink we have a date.” That’s how we had ended our short conversation last night and now it was a half an hour after two and I couldn’t get enough of this woman.

  I cannot believe she is blind.

  A half hour stretched to an hour and she asked if I wanted another coffee. I had a hell of a time getting the first one and actually ended up stealing the coffee from the lady ahead of me in line. She didn’t notice and when the Barista actually did she simply forgot about it, looked for the cup of coffee and decided to make the lady another and I walked away with a nasty tasting latte. I poured some sugar in it and found a table I was comfortable with.

  I watched as Brin walked in, listened for a moment and proceeded to the counter.

  “Hi Brin, the usual?” The Barista asked, she smiled and said yes. So she has been here before, of course she has, it’s her neighborhood.

  I let a small group cross in front of me and then made my way over to her. She received her coffee, turned in my direction and smiled.

  “Hello Jack.”

  “Impressive.” I said and lead her back to my table.

  We started off with small talk and then she started telling me how her grandfather was doing. The conversation was natural and I felt some of my internal barriers coming down. I couldn’t help it; she had that effect on me. She was a marvelous conversationalist and I found myself easily telling her things that I normally wouldn’t have talked about. I am fascinated by her though. I simply cannot tell that she is blind. I am actually beginning to obsess over it.

  I have to say something.

  “Brin, I’m sorry and this might seem rude but…I am blown away at how well adapted you are. I simply cannot tell that you are blind. Is that rude of me?”

  She gives him a wry smile, she has heard this before and has an answer prepared for him.

  “Nope, you’re not being rude. It’s okay.” She reached across the table and unerringly found his hand. “I don’t mind explaining if you don’t mind me telling you I have superpowers.”

  “I don’t mind at all.”

  When she was a little girl she was in an accident and she lost her sight. It had happened almost two d
ecades ago. Over time she had developed her other senses so that she can use a variation of echo location.

  “Like Bats do?”

  “Exactly, I hear the noises around me as they come in contact with things; my mind registers them, filters them and paints a picture for me in my head. Not a perfect picture of course but enough for me to function in everyday life.”

  “That’s pretty damn impressive.”

  “Well what’s a girl to do right?”

  I smiled and she took control of the conversation again.

  “Now don’t go asking me to go jogging or anything because that would be a disaster.”

  “Deal.”

  “Besides, I have an appointment with an eye specialist soon and I have high hopes for this one.” She added and then continued to tell me what she knew about him. How he was the leading expert in this and that and I absorbed every word of it. She captivated me. The way her mouth and lips moved and formed with each word. Her pink tongue as it darted in and out. The blue of her eyes as it tore in to my soul. She must have felt me falling beneath her spell because she paused.

  “You okay there Jack?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sorry about that. I just get going and I just rattle on and on.” She finished and looked embarrassed at her loss of control.

  “Not at all, I am simply captivated by you.” I said and she bit her lower lip. She liked that I could tell.

  “You are one smooth talker there aren’t you Jack?”

  “I am.”

  “And a man of few words. Ok then…tell me about yourself Jack, where you are from? Is that the hint of an accent I detect?”

  I started to open my mouth and abruptly closed it. Her phone rang then and I recognized the tone. She asked for a minute.

  I politely found something else to set my attention on. No one in the café seemed to find it weird that we were just hanging out together. Why would it be weird right? A blind girl talking to someone that they can’t remember seeing.

  “Sorry, that was my Dad again. He isn’t handling this very well.”

  “It’s okay, I totally understand. It’s hard losing someone we love. Let alone watching them leave this world and there is nothing you can do about it. Death seems like it steals the best from the one’s we love but maybe it is quite the opposite. I kind of see it as maybe Death is setting them free to make the journey to a better place.”

  She was moved by my words and I wondered if I had said too much.

  “That’s a beautiful way to look at it. Thank you for that. I’m sorry to cut out on you Jack but I want to go check in on my Dad.”

  “Not at all.”

  She wanted to say something more but I could tell she wasn’t sure how to say it. I took the initiative instead.

  “Would you like to do this again?” I said and tried to make it sound better. “I mean, see me again. Hang out or do something?” It sounded horrible and I struggled with every word. I really did suck at this.

  She smiled at my struggle and decided to intercede and take control once again.

  “I would like that very much…” her hand reached out and gently touched my face. “I hope you don’t mind, I want to feel what you look like. It will help me paint a mental picture of you.”

  “Not at all.” I said and could not remember the last time I had been touched so intimately.

  “Clean shaven, I like that.” Her thumb slid across and touched my lips as I smiled. “You have a nice mouth… a strong mouth.”

  For a moment I thought she meant to kiss me, she then ran her hands up to my hair and delicately ran her fingers through its thickness. I was enjoying this immensely.

  “Mmmm….I like a man with hair.” As she bent down to me across the table, she sunk her fingers in deeper and her blouse opened enough to give me a very good view of her ample cleavage.

  “Are you looking down my shirt, Jack?” she asked and her fingers tightened their grip.

  “Yes.”

  “Good”

  She made me look into her eyes. The way she looked at me…She isn’t blind.

  “I am not a shy woman Jack; I am not a delicate flower.”

  I was falling into those deep blue pools, mesmerized by her scent and her words.

  “If you want something from me Jack, you need to take it.” She finished by pressing her lips against mine, her tongue tasted like mint and strawberries. I felt her breath searching for my soul. It has been a long time since I have been kissed by a woman, by a mortal one anyway. There is a fire within Mortals that the long lived or immortal do not have. They once did I’m sure but the fire inside us has dwindled to a mere spark. That’s why they hold such an attraction for us.

  She pulled her lips from me, hesitated and thought about returning.

  “You take it like that Jack, just like that.” She brushed her hands through her hair, composed herself and then reached across to her purse and pulled out her cell.

  “There is something about you that I like…I would like very much to figure out what that is…”

  I tried not to adjust the stiffness I felt in my slacks and waited for her to continue.

  “Call me right now. Here is my number.”

  I pulled out my phone and dialed in the digits as she said them. Her phone suddenly rang in the tone of an old fashioned telephone. She adjusted the tone by speaking into the phone. Once satisfied she returned her focus once more to me.

  “Got it, I gave you a personalized ring tone so that I will know when it is you calling.”

  “Perfect.” I stood, as politeness requires and realized for the first time just how much taller I was than her.

  “Call me.” She grabbed up her purse, corrected her direction and orientation and headed for the entrance. I watched the sway of her hips and jeans. They too were mesmerizing.

  Without looking back she called out aloud to me.

  ”You better be looking at my ass Jack. These are my good jeans.”

  “I am.”

  “Good.”

  That was unexpected. I looked around the coffee shop and wondered if anyone thought she had been taking to herself.

  Oh well.

  She certainly does talk a lot.

  I like that.

  He words came back to me.

  “Besides, I have an appointment with an eye specialist soon and I have high hopes for this one.”

  A specialist to fix her blindness.

  Well shit that could cause some problems.

  Chapter Ten

  So I called her…

  “A next day call…hmm you really must have liked my good jeans.”

  I gave a little laugh and she continued.

  ‘Because you do know you are breaking all the modern day rules of courtship…”

  “I do now…”

  “Well, I will forgive you your total lack and disregard of the rules and continue as if it never happened. So what do you want to do today?”

  “Well I was thinking…that if you weren’t too busy we could...”

  And with our rapidly developing relationship our attraction to each other grew fierce. She worked at the deli, took care of her father and dying grandfather. I reaped at least a dozen or so people that week and was lucky enough to juggle my time with her around them.

  The moment was racing towards us. The moment when we would need some place private to go. I could not take her to my place because I kept a room at Ginger’s Hotel, The Elixir, in the Fade.

  When the time came it didn’t quite turn out as I had expected.

  Chapter Eleven

  We sat at a table and I wondered at the lack of customers. She had made us a couple sandwiches and I expected the afternoon rush to be fighting for room. I glanced at the open and closed sign and saw it was flipped to open.

  “Kind of slow today.” I said though I had already reaped five souls in the last three hours.

  “Little bit.” She let her leg stretch out and lay across my thigh. She was being kind of flirty and
I liked it. As if on cue the bells above the door jingled and I turned to see who would dare to intrude upon us. He made eye contact with me and he waited for me to go to him. He was the size of a boy, two small horns sprouted from the top of his head and he wore Nike’s over his cloven hooves.

  “It’s for me.” I said, disentangled myself from her and met the Pan at half the distance.

  “Hey Jimmy, how goes it?” I had known Jimmy for many years and it didn’t take him long to set his eye’s upon Brin.

  “Wow Jack, she is smoking hot.”

  “Ok buddy, do you have a message for me or did you just come by here to ogle my girl?” I said and he tried to pull himself back from the distraction. Pan’s were notorious for their romantic endeavors as many a poet has told tales about.

  “Sorry, here. It’s from the Marshal.” He said handed me the message and took the moment to look around me towards Brin. He waggled his little goat eyebrows at her. She couldn’t see him so she didn’t react. I gave him his tip and he seemed about to try harder for Brin’s attention. I leaned down and whispered to him that she was blind. He threw back his head and smiled. That meant it wasn’t his fault that she hadn’t noticed him. He turned and trotted out the door.

  “Who was your little friend?” she asked.

  “He’s a messenger boy.”

  “Oh…why does he smell like a goat farm?” She asked and I wasn’t quite sure how to answer that…

  The note was from Wyatt.

  I pulled it open and the words were not what I was expecting.

  Crowley is dead and missing his eyes. Wyatt

  That’s all the note said but it was enough.

  Chapter Twelve

  I should have known better than to tempt fate.

  I stepped out of the passage way and into the shadow alley, trash and debris littered the walk way but not enough to hinder ones passage. This part of the city had once been shiny and new but as the world progresses things begin to break down. Whether it’s from age or economic decline all things lose the brightness of their colors.

  I rounded the corner and found my destination waiting for me across the street. A brown multi story assisted living facility awaited me and I didn’t bother reading the name of the place. I had been here many times over the years and it had changed owners a half a dozen times. It would change names again so why bother. These kinds of places could be hit or miss on the levels of care and professionalism. The last time I had been here I found the place in good repair, the doctors, nurses and orderly staff were conscientious and caring and it was clean.