Why would that thought hurt? He didn’t know if he knew any dragons. He didn’t think he did. Did he? Did he know this dragon?
Another pang.
“What’s that look for?” she asked, reaching out and putting her hand on his chest.
He looked down at the bronze skin of her hand on his black robes and sucked in a breath.
Had anyone truly touched him before? Perhaps in his first life, but in this one? He couldn’t remember. Maybe when he had been passed out. He could vaguely remember someone touching his brow. Had it been her? Or had it just been a dream, his imagination conjuring what he wanted?
“What’s wrong?” she asked again, and he swallowed hard.
“Nothing. I’m not sure.”
“It can’t be nothing if you’re looking like that.”
“I don’t know, I just have this weird feeling when I think about that dragon. It’s like I should know who you’re talking about. As if I might know who he is.”
Eva nodded as if that made sense. Did it? “Well, my friend knows a lot of people. Perhaps he knew you in your first life.”
“I don’t like not knowing. The fact that I don’t even know my name or anything about who I was…” He paused. “I remember I was a bear.”
Her eyes widened. “A bear?”
“Yes, a grizzly, I think. I can’t truly tell with the animal prowling inside me. Reaper told me that it would take time for the shifter that I was to show up again.”
“So, you lost both of your halves when you died?”
He nodded. “I don’t like that I died at all, but I can’t go back and change that.”
“You have a second chance at life, though,” she said quickly.
“If this is life. Am I truly alive? Or am I here just to reap souls.”
“That is a very heavy question that perhaps we can’t answer. Maybe my friend can. Now, let’s get you out of here, just in case the other banshees get any ideas.”
He went on alert, glaring over her head. “Would they hurt you?” he asked, his voice low.
She shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. “No, they’re not going to hurt me, but they may hurt you. Mostly because they would likely take killing or reaping the soul of one of their own very personally.” She paused, and he looked down at her. “I would take it personally too, so I’m going to thank you again for not reaping right away.”
“I’m not going to reap your soul. You’re my mate.” He frowned. “And you’re not dead. And, apparently, I can only reap those who are.”
“That’s good to know.” She sighed. “However, we do have a problem.”
He froze. “What?”
“I can’t transport myself like other banshees.” She shrugged. “It’s a quirk. I have to take the long way from realm to realm. So, unless you know how to transport more than one person, it’s going to take us a while to get to the human realm.”
“I don’t know how to do that. We’ll walk together. Or drive or whatever we need to.”
“That’s good because we’ll want to figure this all out fast before whoever is actually coming to kill me arrives.”
“I’m not going to let that happen.”
“Good, because I don’t want it to happen.”
She held out her hand, and he looked down at it, wondering why she was so patient with him, so caring already. “We can do this, Ashen. We’re going to find the answers.”
“I hope so. Because it’s the not knowing that hurts the most.” And then he slid his hand over hers and squeezed.
She grinned, and they were off.
The realms weren’t situated logically. In fact, many of the realms were haphazardly placed next to each other, pressed against one another, or even on top of one another in some cases. Unless you had a portal, a magical spell, or an inherent gift to transport from one realm to another, you couldn’t easily just go from one place to the next. And, unfortunately, the banshee realm was in a far distant part of the universe compared to the human realm. Ashen had a feeling that only the hell realm, and maybe even the reaper realm, was farther away.
If it had just been him, he would’ve transported. However, Eva couldn’t, so they were going to do this the slow way. And that meant traversing through other realms, and hopefully not setting off any wards or getting caught. There were traveling portals that could get you from one side of the realm to the other, and they allowed free passage as long as there was a treaty in place between the realms. But it got complicated and a little scary for some quickly. Add in the fact that Ashen only knew part of that from what he had read during this training and couldn’t remember all of the intricacies and politics in each realm, and he realized that he was going to have to rely on Eva for a lot.
“What is the nearest realm to the banshees?” Ashen asked as they made their way to the end of the hilly area where a portal to the next realm would be.
“That would be the leprechaun realm.”
He frowned, wondering if he had ever known a leprechaun. He’d had to, right? That familiar pain slid through him, but he ignored it. He hated that he couldn’t remember his old life.
“And, after that?” he asked, looking around.
“After that, it’ll be the dragon realm, and then a few others. But, thankfully, the road from portal to portal on this end is quite short. If you stay on the portal road, you’re not technically trespassing.”
“That’s always good.”
“Well, I would hope so. Because I don’t really want to end up in a territorial battle or war right now.”
“I don’t either.”
“Especially because most people don’t know that reapers exist. It’s going to take all day for us to travel, but we’ll make it,” she said quickly.
“And then we’ll figure out exactly what to do,” Ashen said.
They made their way through the portal, the magic clinging to his skin. The bear who lay dormant within him started to shift, slowly waking up and stretching.
He rubbed his chest over his heart, wondering what would happen if the bear indeed came back.
Could a reaper shift? Reaper hadn’t been too helpful with that question earlier, but Ashen hoped he could take his other form. He missed his bear, even if he didn’t quite remember what it felt like to shift. But it still felt as if he had lost a part of himself.
“We’re here, at least in the first realm,” Eva said beside him. He looked around, his eyes wide.
“Wow,” he said, his voice a whisper.
“Yeah, the leprechauns don’t really do anything halfway, do they?”
She wasn’t joking. There were literal rainbows crisscrossed over the air, and it looked as if that was what they used as roads. Everything was green, and there were gold pillars everywhere. It looked like a box of that children’s cereal had exploded all over the realm. He couldn’t quite keep his eyes on any one thing because it almost hurt to look at it.
“This isn’t my favorite place, even though I know a couple of leprechauns who are amazing. They don’t live here, though.”
She said the words quietly, and Ashen held back a smile. He hadn’t even realized that he was going to smile, and his face hurt a little doing so, but he liked it.
Eva was funny. His mate was fun.
Mate.
If he were the person he had been before, he knew, unequivocally knew, that this would be what he wanted. To find his mate, and to find that chance for happiness. But he wasn’t that person. And he didn’t know what he wanted now. He only knew that he had a feeling that Eva was it.
“Okay, this next portal’s quick, so we don’t have to stay here too long.”
They went from portal to portal, walking hours in between realms.
They passed others, but nobody really bothered them.
He was grateful that nobody really gave him a second look because he didn’t want others to know precisely who or what he was. Before they hit the leprechaun realm, he had tucked his cloak into his bag and had hidden his sc
ythe in a magical air pocket beside him so he could walk around freely without having to scare others with a large weapon.
That meant he was wearing dark jeans and a dark, long-sleeved shirt that covered up any scars he had.
His new form hadn’t come out whole. He still had what looked like burn scars on parts of his body, as if that had been something so relevant in his first life that they had come back in his second. He didn’t mind because it was a reminder of who he had once been, and he wanted to remember that person.
“Your hair is getting blonder,” Eva said as they made their way through the fifth realm. They were both getting tired, he knew that, but she hadn’t stopped moving. In fact, they just kept going at a steady pace, both of them ready to figure out exactly what was happening. He didn’t want Eva to die, and he didn’t know if he wanted to remain a reaper who listened blindly to orders.
“What do you mean?” he asked, sliding his hands through his hair. It reached his shoulders and had been white before. Now, he saw that it was turning slightly gold.
“That’s interesting.”
“You’re starting to look more like a Viking god rather than the ghost you resembled before.”
He shrugged and slid his hands through his hair again. “I wonder if I look the same as I did before.”
“I have a feeling your eyes are completely different.”
“Yes, I’ve never known eyes like mine. Though all of the reapers have various hues.”
“I never knew that. Of course, you reapers are very secretive.”
“I have a feeling that each paranormal realm does its best to be the most secretive.”
“Well, that makes sense. Okay, this is going to be a longer path after this portal. It’s the wizard realm, and while they don’t mind if we walk through it, we have to be careful with the magic we invoke.”
“I wonder if I knew a wizard before.”
“I know one. He’s actually pretty high up in the hierarchy. If we had time, I would go visit him and see what he and his mate have to say. However, we’re on our way to a dragon.”
Ashen nodded, and then they slid through the magic into the new realm. It looked like old London, complete with magical fire in gas lamps. Well, old London in the human realm probably didn’t have magic, but what did he know? He hadn’t been there. At least, he didn’t think he had. He honestly didn’t know how old he had been when he died.
“Okay, this is going to take a while. We might need to rest.”
She rolled her shoulders back, and he frowned. “Do I need to get you something to eat?”
“I’m not hungry, but if I were, I could get my own food. Just because we are potential mates doesn’t mean that you have to take care of me.”
“I’m a bear, I’m supposed to take care of you. It’s our thing.”
He said the words, and her eyes widened. “That is a very bear thing to say.”
“But I’m not a bear, am I? I’m a reaper.”
“You can still be a bear. You said yourself that it could come back. Do you feel him at all?”
He frowned, nodding. “A little. But he’s taking a while to wake up from what feels like a long nap.”
“Hibernation?” she asked, her lips twitching.
“You know, I would get mad about that joke, but it’s an apt description.”
“I can barely believe you are letting me get away with that.”
He just rolled his eyes, another smile playing on his lips. He liked Eva. And if they both survived, he had a feeling he was going to like being her mate.
But all of that was a big if.
As if his thoughts had conjured the man, a male in a dark robe appeared before them. Ashen let out a growl that was all bear.
“Ashen, reaper, you have failed. And now you will have to pay the price. Your charge was supposed to die, yet you frolic with her from realm to realm, defying your masters and the fates. You know the punishment. You will be no more, and I will have the pleasure of ending your charge’s life.”
Ashen knew that voice, the one who had sneered at him before. He wanted to rip the face from the man’s head.
That was a very bear thing to think. Or perhaps, it was also reaper. He was death, after all.
“What the hell?” Eva asked next to him, and he used the power of his reaper to pull the cloak back over him, his scythe appearing in his hand.
Eva looked at him and then at the other reaper. And then she opened her mouth and screamed.
It was nothing like the song she had sung to him at their first meeting. Her death? His death? He may never know. Because deep down in his heart, he knew it had to be this reaper’s death. There was no other answer.
The other reaper grimaced, his dark eyes with purple spirals narrowing. “I really hope that is your death because you failed. The Collective of Shadows sends their regards. Now, your soul and hers will be ours.”
The reaper’s scythe formed in his hand, and then they were fighting. Other people roamed about, cursed, and then got out of the way of the two reapers fighting one another in the open. He hoped no one would know exactly who they were, but this reaper had just outed them at least to the people in the immediate vicinity.
Eva finished screaming, her whole body shaking, but he didn’t know if she was a warrior. However, she picked up a large stick from beside her and started coming at the reaper, as well. The reaper was much larger and could fight harder than either of them.
Ashen charged, slicing with his scythe, but he wasn’t strong as a reaper.
However, the bear within him was now awake. He threw back his head and roared, claws ripping through his fingertips. The other reaper’s eyes widened, and he took a step back.
And that’s when Ashen moved forward, clawing at the reaper. He moved, one strike then another. The reaper screamed, and then there was no more sound or movement.
Eva stood next to him, her hands shaking, a bloody stick in her hand from where she had hit the reaper over and over again, fighting for both of their lives.
“Oh my God, I helped to kill someone,” Eva practically shouted, and the wizards around them looked on, concern on their faces. But they didn’t move forward. It was as if they were used to fights to the death like this. And maybe they were.
Eva started to shake and dropped the stick, her eyes wide.
Ashen didn’t know how to make her stop, didn’t know how to pull her head out of the panic she was clearly feeling. She hadn’t been the one to kill him, Ashen had done that. But it looked as if she had never been in a fight like this before.
He cursed himself for letting it happen.
So, he did the only thing he could. He lowered his head, pressed his mouth to hers, and kissed her.
She froze, her entire body stiffening at the contact, but he kissed her a little bit harder, brushing his lips along hers, and then he moved back. She blinked, her lips parted.
“Oh.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, his bear in his voice. His claws had receded, but he could feel his beast prowling, as well as the reaper inside him.
He was now a duality, and he didn’t know exactly what that meant or what to do about it.
“What are we going to do?” she asked, her voice small.
“What the hell is going on here?” another man asked. Ashen whirled, his bear at the forefront, his scythe back in his hand.
The man in front of him looked on, his mouth agape, as he just stared.
“Dear goddess.”
Chapter 4
Eva looked between Ashen and the other man, one that was familiar, but she didn’t immediately remember his name.
“It’s you. But…how can that be?”
Other wizards began to fill the area, and Ashen cursed under his breath. “We need to go. Come on, we need to head to the human realm.”
“Wait, how is this possible?” the wizard asked, and Eva looked again.
“Do you know who he is?” Eva asked, and Ashen tugged her arm.
“Come on, we have to go.”
His whole body was shaking, and she looked into his eyes and knew he had to be in pain. Perhaps he had known this man in his previous life. Or at least had met him before. And this wizard, Levi. That was his name, Levi. He must’ve known him. Right?
Because the last time that Ashen had been forced to think about his past, or even his future when he had seen her and found out that they were mates, he had passed out from the pain. At least, that’s what she had thought.
Was he going to do it again?
“We need to go. I feel like someone’s watching us.”
She looked around. “The entire wizard force is watching us. And we just,”—she swallowed hard—“killed a man.”
“I’ll handle this,” Levi said, looking directly at her. “Please, don’t go.” He paused. “Please.”
Ashen gripped his head, taking a deep breath. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” she said under her breath. “Do you know him? Levi, right?”
Levi narrowed his eyes at her and then nodded tightly. “Eva? You know Dante. I’ve met you at the bar before.”
“Dante?” Ashen said and then fell back. Levi was there, holding out an arm to steady him, but Ashen shook his head. He clearly needed everyone to stay away.
“I can’t think. I need space.”
“Get everyone out of here,” Levi said, and the other wizards around began to move as if this happened daily.
“What about the dead one?” someone asked.
“Cast a spell to hide him from the others, much like you already did to hide what was going on in this traveling space. But speak nothing of this. You know these aren’t our secrets, and that is the law of this traveling area.”
The others listened to him, and for that, Eva was grateful.
“Now, come with me,” Levi said, and Eva raised her chin.
“You’re not going to kill us, are you? Because I’m kind of tired of that.”
She had screamed for death. She hadn’t even known that a reaper could die since they were already dead, but, apparently, a scythe could take anyone out.
And she had helped to kill him. She had blood on her hands, could still feel it warm on her skin. It hadn’t helped her mind that she’d wiped it all on her pants.
Dante’s Circle Reborn: A Dante’s Circle Collection Page 20