A Touch of Death

by Marissa Dobson

  “First I believe there’s something we need to address about Lucifer.” Death slid his arm around her waist and guided her back to the building.

  Chapter Six

  Once again night had fallen over Crystal Falls when Jael finally woke, her protector Death reclining on a chair next to her bed dozing. She thought back on all the changes in the last few days. She’d gone from an average single woman with a job she loved, to being a Grim Reaper aiding in the search for a murderer. Spirits lingering around her waiting for the killer to be caught and the threat of the killer escalating his tactics to brutal level had her uneasy. If the pattern continued, the murderer would be out searching for his next victim. She pushed off the covers, unable to lay there while a woman was being hunted like prey.

  Death’s eyelids popped open. Fully awake, he stretched out his legs. “Cleg called, there’s an appointment for you the day after tomorrow at eleven with the sketch artist. They had to bring one in from another police department, and that’s the soonest they can get one.”

  “I can’t just sit here doing nothing.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed, careful to avoid him.

  “What are you planning to do? You can’t go driving around Johnsonville Road trying to find this lunatic.”

  Running off halfcocked searching Johnsonville Road hadn’t actually occurred to her, and if she was honest she had no idea what she could do to help. But sitting still wasn’t an option either. There was no way she wanted to stand over another dead body, or have another spirit arrive with the same story as the others. She had a duty to stop him, to bring justice to the spirits who depended on her.

  “I’ll call Cleg, see if there’s anything I can do.”

  “He’s sleeping. Working round the clock has taken its toll on him. Give him a few hours. Crystal Falls Police have extra manpower on Johnsonville Road. Every able body is searching for the killer. There is nothing you can do but put yourself in danger, and I won’t have that.”

  “Fine, then let’s discuss what Nathan meant when he said you needed to tell me the whole story.” With the Devil showing up on the stoop of her building, she’d forgotten about it until now.

  He leaned back against the chair, watching her intently. “Prophecy says there will be a Grim Reaper that is my other half. We were divided by our enemies when I was brought into this world. When the two halves come together, they’ll make a team like no other. They’ll join together to conquer the ever growing afterlife population, and she’ll become his right-hand to defeat him.”

  She wondered if the bottom would ever stop falling out of her world. It seemed like there was one surprise after another. One wave slamming into her after another until she felt like she would drown. “Him?”

  “Who do you think it is?”

  “I have no idea, Death. If I knew, why would I ask?” The annoyance peaked through her words.

  “The Devil.”

  His short statement filled her with so many emotions she couldn’t put her finger on one. Unease, anger, excitement, and more rolled in the pit of her stomach with those two little words. Her body shook to her very core, thinking of what it would entail to bring down the Devil himself.

  “You’ve got to be kidding?”

  “No. Hell is a place for the worst of the worst—the true demons. But he also sinks his claws into many that don’t deserve his wrath. He leads them astray days before their death, giving them no time to repent, to make right their sins. He’s building an army and the only chance of defeating him is when I find my true Grim Reaper.”

  She swallowed the lump forming in her throat, but it was near impossible. Her heart pounded frantically in her chest. Her palms were damp with sweat. “Am I the one?”

  “Kochanie, only you can make that decision.” He placed his hand on her knee. “There’s a strong connection between us, one I’ve never experienced with a charge before, but in the end it’s you who has to decide. It can’t be forced upon you, nor taken back once you’ve committed. All I ask is you give us a chance. Come to my world and let us explore what could be between us. You’ll find the answers to everything you need to know to truly understand what is happening beyond the spirits you help.”

  His touch boiled the blood running through her veins. In spite of trying to remain calm, her nerves got the best of her as a burst of laughter escaped her lips. “I see ghosts, for Pete’s sake, and that’s far from being a good fit for any meaningful relationship. No wonder Mom never really dated after…” The words caught in her throat. If she was the Grim Reaper of the prophecy, then she was expected to defeat her father.

  “There’s no fault with seeing the dead.”

  “If the Devil is defeated, what does that mean for Cleg?”

  “Cleg has to forge his own path. He has options open to him, but you cannot interfere with them. It must be his decision. There are two likely options for him. He can take his place with your father at any time, obeying the laws already in place, or he can join us to defeat Lucifer. If Lucifer is defeated, Hell can be run as Cleg sees fit, or he can forgo his destiny to run the underworld. His decisions will have to be made in time, and like you once his choices are made, it cannot be undone.” His fingers teased along the top of her hand, rolling over the mountains of her knuckles. “Your father believes he can sway you over to the dark side as well, giving him both twins and therefore having more control over the earth, spirits, and Heaven. He won’t give up, he’ll send his demons after you if he must. We need to work on your abilities so when that happens you’re ready.”

  “This is all so much. How will I know if I’m the one?”

  “Come to my world and see all I tell you for yourself. It will give you a chance to understand everything before choosing your path.”

  Going away with him was slightly tempting, but what of the issues she had at hand. To see his world would be an eye-opening experience and a way to learn more, but should she give into the temptation? “You believe I’m the Grim Reaper, your other half, don’t you?”

  “Kochanie, regardless of the connection between us, or my beliefs, it is your decision. I am not to force myself and my world onto you.”

  “I’ll go, but not until whoever is hunting women is caught.” While her actions might be insane, Jael had to know what her future held. Was she the Grim Reaper destined to be with Death, or was there another reaper yet to be born to be Death’s fate? A twinge of jealousy sank through her at the thought of another with Death.

  “Very well, then since you’re awake let’s work on your abilities. Once you figure out what calls them you should be fine.”

  “What abilities do I have?”

  “The electricity ball you’ve already discovered. That isn’t so much a power of the Grim Reaper, more of one from your heritage, and in time there could be more that develop from your father’s blood in you. Ones from your mother are more in tune with the grave. You can travel to Thanatos, or straddle it to make yourself invisible as we did last night. You can stop time, wink out of the place you are and appear in another place. The Grim Reaper has the power to take lives and give life to anyone it chooses. However, when a life is resurrected, a life must end.” Death listed off the powers making Jael feel slightly overwhelmed.

  How would she handle all of them, not to mention others that might appear because of her tainted blood? What confused Jael was how her mother could mix with the Devil, the one man she had to have known the Grim Reaper and Death would eventually eliminate. Or was that her reason? Did the Grim Reaper who was destined to complete the tasks need the abilities of the Devil himself to do so?

  “My mother knew the prophecy of you and your other half, correct?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “I’m trying to understand why she would sleep with him.” Jael pulled her legs up under her.

  “She fell in love with him before she knew what he was. He’s the deceiver. You should not blame Ann for it.” He laid his hand over hers. “Let’s see if we can get your abilitie
s under control. The electricity ball, when you brought that to hand what were you feeling?”

  “Anger. He’s trying to divide Cleg and I when we’ve always been a team, that makes me angry. He tried to scare me with his threats, it only made me angrier that he would resort to that. Threaten me or mine and I’ll fight like a bear woken from hibernation. It’s not a way to get me to do what he wanted.” The rage returned with such force the ball of electricity appeared in her palm, bigger and brighter than before.

  “Excellent. Your rage is manifested in the ball of electricity.” He stood from the chair, pulling her off the bed in one smooth motion. “Come, kochanie, let’s work on your capability to touch Thanatos.”

  Standing, she reached out with her other hand, laying it over his heart. The pattern of heartbeats under her fingers intensified from her touch. “Calling me that leads me to believe you suspect I’m your other half, or why else call me your darling?”

  “It could be a term of endearment I use with all Grim Reapers.”

  “It’s not.” She wasn’t sure how she knew but it was almost as though she could taste the lie on her tongue. “You know I’m the one, don’t you?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I believe. In the end it’s you that must make the decision.”

  * * *

  After hours of extensive training on how to control her powers, Jael was exhausted. Muscles she didn’t even know she had hurt. She sat by the coffee machine, impatiently waiting for it to finish brewing, when she heard a key turn in the lock of the front door. Knowing it was either Cleg or Gemma, she didn’t move from her perch.

  Gemma’s heels clattered against the hard wood floors as she made her way up the small hallway that led to the open condo. “Jael, get your lazy bones out of bed…”

  “In here.” She yawned.

  “This place is so dark, how can you see anything?” Gemma flicked the light switch on, shining light into the kitchen.

  “Hey, I was enjoying the view. It’s not often I’m home to take advantage of the view, all the lights of Crystal Falls twinkling below.” She squinted from the blinding light. When she was able to focus again without seeing white spots, her eyes went wide, finding her best friend standing next to the kitchen bar looking like a bad girl gone wild, with a touch of classy hooker thrown in. “What the hell?”

  “All five lights our little town has.” Gemma raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at her.

  Gemma was being slightly dramatic but not by much. Crystal Falls didn’t even have a stop light. The cozy town was her home and she loved the view so much she’d purchased the building. There were lights that lined the river and park area, not to mention the ones on each side of Main Street.

  “Was there something you wanted, Miss Hooker?”

  “It’s for the Halloween Ball next month. I wanted to try it out while Jaz was working so he didn’t get a sneak peek. You don’t like it?” Gemma frowned.

  “It’s not that…” Jael tried to wrap her mind around the outfit. Her friend was the girl next door, with long, brown hair and a sleek body, but here she stood in a red and black mini skirt with a slit clear up her thigh. Black fishnet stockings, red boots with black lacings to her knees, and a sheer blouse half-buttoned finished the outfit. Her hair was curled and fluffed, and the black eyeliner drew attention to her eyes before the bright red lipstick caught Jael’s attention. Wow!

  “It’s so different than anything I expected. You look great.” Girl, you have nerves of steel to go anywhere dressed like that.

  “Jaz is going as a cop and well, I thought I’d dress this way so he can arrest me.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  “You better be careful or you’ll end up in steel handcuffs and they won’t be Jaz’s. Does he know you’re going as a hooker?” The coffee was finally done. She opened the cupboard door for two mugs.

  “No. It’s a surprise. I can’t wait to see his face. You don’t think it’s over the top do you?”

  Breathing in the sweet, vanilla scent filling the kitchen, she stared at Gemma. “You’re definitely over the top.” Jael pointed at Gemma’s perky bosom peeking out of the top of the blouse. “No, you look great. Halloween is a time to step out of one’s comfort zone and be daring.”

  The Halloween Ball the fire department staged was the second biggest celebration the city of Crystal Falls held each year, only to be beaten by the Christmas Festival. The whole town rallied together for the celebration, and best of all, everyone got into the spirit by dressing up. The ball wasn’t just for the children of Crystal Falls, it was actually more for the adults. Though many children attended the ball, their party was on a different night—one that was more kid friendly, after the town’s trick-or-treat night. Next month marked the tenth annual ball and Halloween itself. Until Jael was thrown head first into the world of Death and serial killers, she had looked forward to the event.

  Thoughts of the ball disappointed her, so she tried to push it aside. She wasn’t going to mention to Gemma that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to go. If there wasn’t some spirit looming around waiting for her help, there was the whole situation with Nathan. Was it fair to go to the Halloween Ball with him when she might be destined to be Death’s other half? It felt too much like leading him on, even if he hadn’t shown much interest in her in the first place.

  Gemma climbed onto the bar stool and crossed her legs, sending the slit in the skirt higher than Jael thought possible. Gemma’s leg swung to an unheard beat as she destroyed the precious coffee with loads of hazelnut creamer. “What are you going as?”

  Jael leaned against the counter, chuckling. “I’m going as the Grim Reaper. It was Nathan’s idea.”

  Coffee sprayed from between Gemma’s lips. “Stepping out of the closest?” She teased. “Ever since you found out and broke the news to me, I thought you would want to keep the fact that you’re the Grim Reaper under wraps.”

  “I do. Who’s going to know? Everyone will think I’m just dressed for Halloween. It’s perfect.”

  “Perfect until a ghost shows up.”

  Her friend’s words hit the nail on the head.

  “Since Mom passed away, Death and spirits occupy all my free time, but I hope this ball will give me a break. Maybe I can work something out with Death and he can keep the spirits away for a precious few hours. Even the Grim Reaper needs a day off, right?”

  “If anyone deserves a ghost break, it’s definitely you. What about Nathan, what’s he going as?”

  “Nathan will be a dead hospital patient that I’m here to collect.”

  “Morbid, especially for you, but I love it.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin and sipped her diluted coffee. “How are you dealing with the whole situation? Is Death still bothering you?”

  “I still can’t believe I’m the Grim Reaper, but dealing with Death daily sure brings reality home. Every time I see him, it sinks in even more.” She was careful not to say Death’s name too loud. Whenever she said his name aloud, he’d appear, and she didn’t need him here now. This was her first break from him since her powers manifested. All she wanted to do was enjoy a nice cup of coffee and a moment of peace.

  “You told me Death was irresistibly good looking, so it can’t be that bad.”

  Irresistible was the understatement of the century. Death was a god, with cheekbones that were chiseled from stone and piercing sapphire eyes sparkling with hints of silver that would draw anyone woman’s attention if she could see him. He had an unnatural fascination with black clothing, but then again maybe it added to the portrayal of death. At least he didn’t wear one of those long black cloaks.

  As if conjured from thought, Death appeared behind Gemma. His six-foot-five build seemed imposing next to her. “We need to talk now.”

  Damn it, what does he want? Jael raised her eyebrow, hoping Gemma wouldn’t sense his presence. Ever since she had described Death’s haunting magnetism to Gemma, her friend despised the fact she couldn’t see him.

  Thankfully before Jael had
to make an excuse to get rid of Gemma, she rose from the chair and placed her coffee mug in the sink. “I need to change and get some shopping done. I’m glad you’re going to the ball with Nathan. We’ll have a blast.”

  Chapter Seven

  Jael leaned against the counter, coffee mug in hand, waiting for Death to explain the urgency. His brows were knitted together almost as if he was worried about something.

  “What’s happening?”

  “I’m not sure the killer is human. I believe it might be one of your father’s demons on the loose.” He moved across the kitchen in a blur, swinging the refrigerator open and grabbing a beer she kept on hand for visitors.

  “What? Wouldn’t a demon just kill, not skin them? The women described him, and there’s nothing demonic about his looks.”

  “A Pishacha is a flesh eating demon. They have the power to assume different forms at will, or even become invisible. It is possible the Pishacha has possessed a human to do these crimes.” Death tossed the beer can in the trash and took a long swig. “Whichever it is, he’s taking the flesh to eat. It’s highly unusual, normally they’d just eat it on the victim.”

  “I’ve got to let Cleg know.” She sat her coffee on the counter, and strolled toward the door.

  Death caught her arm as she moved past him. “Use your power.”

  “I don’t know…” Worries of appearing inside an object freaked her out. It wasn’t hard to step out of it because she was still invisible when she reappeared, until she was sure the coast was clear, but it still felt uncomfortable.

  “Take my hand, I’ll make sure you don’t end up in the bedside table or anything,” he teased, holding out his hand to her.

  She slipped her hand into his, knowing he’d keep her safe. Instead of holding her hand, he pulled her close, pressing her along the length of her body. His arms around her waist, he stared into her eyes.