Death Wish

by Brooks, Harper A.

  I lifted a brow. “You chase people for a living.”

  “Touché.” His gaze searched the space in front of me, where Simon stood straight-backed and nervous. Then, he turned back to me. “Why did you come over here anyway?”

  So, he couldn’t see Simon. Just me.

  There went the theory about demons being able to see spirits because they dwelled on the same plane. Right out the window.

  “Uhh…”

  “He can see you?” Simon blinked rapidly, the seriousness of the situation finally hitting him. “Oh no. This isn’t good.”

  “Tell me about it,” I grumbled under my breath.

  “What?” Cole asked, confused.

  I rubbed my forehead with an exasperated sigh. “Can you give me a few minutes?” I asked him.

  “Uh, yeah. Sure. I just figured you’d want to come with me to figure out this thing with your friend. I know a guy.”

  “Of course you do. A werewolf this time?”

  His grin brightened his entire face. Even with his wet hair stuck to his forehead from the rain, he still looked breathtakingly gorgeous. “No, a human.”

  “Fabulous.” I glanced at Simon and then turned back to Cole. “Just give me a few. I’ll be right back.”

  Not waiting for an answer, I speed-walked down the sidewalk and turned into the closest alleyway, gesturing for Simon to follow me. He did.

  When we were alone in the darkness of a side street, Simon spun on me. “What is going on here? Explain.”

  “A lot has happened…” Not sure how powerful a half-demon’s hearing was, I made sure to keep my voice on the low side. “I’m as confused as you are.”

  Simon just stared at me, and even though he didn’t say a word, I could almost hear his thoughts. He had to be thinking the same thing I was—how did I always manage to get myself into trouble like this?

  Wish I knew. It was like the stuff followed me.

  Trying to offer him a small smile, I said, “I’m glad to see you’re still here though.”

  Seeing him meant two things. One, he hadn’t been Released. Yet—I reminded myself. After this catastrophe, who knew.

  And two, Azrael must have sent him to fetch me. So, my boss must have had some idea of what was going on around here.

  His expression turned grave, and with Simon’s sharp angular features, it wasn’t a comforting sight at all. He looked more like one of those Renaissance statues in museums, the ones that always look like they’re staring directly into your soul. Judging you. “I’ve come to find you because something’s happening at Styx Corp. Something not good.”

  Uh-oh.

  “The building is empty. Completely deserted,” he said. “Azrael is gone.”

  My stomach dropped. “Gone? Just poof? Vanished?”

  He nodded slowly. “I tried looking for him.”

  Tracking him, he meant. Simon’s most useful talent. And if he couldn’t find him, then Azrael was really gone.

  “He’s a little more difficult to get a read on, though, being a celestial being.”

  “Do you think something’s happened? Like he’s been kidnapped or something?” I asked, although I couldn’t imagine that the Angel of Death could ever be forced to do anything he didn’t want to do. But I didn’t understand that part of the spiritual world, and now, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  “I don’t know,” Simon replied. “All the dimensions are locked down. No one is around to give the reapers any instructions. We are all still getting assignments pinged to our tablets from somewhere, but there’s no contact with anyone at Styx. I ran into Constance and Victor in the lobby, and they’re just going to keep to their work until Azrael notifies them.”

  Constance and Victor were reapers in charge of human spirits across the seas. They’ve been doing this gig for way longer than me and were known for not pushing any buttons. So, I wasn’t surprised they were just going to keep their noses buried in work until things calmed down.

  Me? I wanted to know what the heck was going on. From the look on Simon’s face, he was dying to know, too.

  I hadn’t gotten any more notifications on my tablet. I wondered why that was.

  “Maybe Azrael got some kind of special orders from the man upstairs? Or team, or whatever it is above him calling the shots?” I suggested, trying to offer myself some kind of reassurance that everything wasn’t actually going to shit. Maybe there was a logical explanation to it all.

  Simon didn’t seem convinced, though. “An empty Styx Corp. and missing Angel of Death, and now the living can see you? Does that sound like a coincidence to you?”

  “Only Cole can, as far as I know,” I said.

  “Cole…” He pondered his name for a moment. “You’ve been interacting with him.” It was more a statement than a question.

  “I didn’t really have a choice. He was my last assignment, and…it didn’t really go as planned.”

  “Jade…” His voice took on a more scolding tone.

  I held my hands up for him to let me explain. “I found him downtown passed out. As I went to touch him, he leapt up and attacked me. He wasn’t even close to dead. Not at all.”

  Surprise captured Simon’s face. “What? That’s impossible. Maybe he was meant to have a sudden death, like an aneurysm?”

  “His bio said a fight, death by a blunt object. Nothing about a sudden death. I figured someone at Styx had made a mistake.”

  “They never make mistakes.” Simon shook his head frantically. “Never.”

  “Well, maybe there’s a first time for everything. Besides, I didn’t really have time to think hard on it because he started firing his gun at me. He could see me, and I have no idea why.” I touched my shoulder where Cole’s special bullet had hit. The hole was gone, but the skin was still puckered and pink. “And his bullets actually made contact. They hurt like a bitch.”

  Simon’s stunned silence said it all. During our training sessions, he was always the calm and collected one. Even through all my stupid mistakes and panicky moments, nothing seemed to surprise him. But now, the horror and fear in his face was unnerving.

  If he didn’t know what was going on, then we were in trouble. We all were—both the living and the dead.

  Simon gripped my shoulders. Tight. And looked me right in the eyes. I swallowed hard.

  “Jade, you need to listen to me. Whatever is going on, you need to stay out of it and stick to your work. Keep your nose clean. Azrael must be fixing whatever is going on behind the scenes, and that means when he comes back, he needs to see that we were able to function without him. You need to lose this Cole guy and keep to your reaping assignments. Don’t go wandering. It can be dangerous for everyone, not just you. Especially if he can see you and hurt you. If things get worse, he may try to come after us all.” He paused. “Maybe that’s why Azrael wanted you to kill him. Maybe you should—”

  “I’ll lose him,” I blurted out. I couldn’t kill Cole, not yet anyway. Not when he knew so much about Xaver and could possibly know a way to save Kay. “When Azrael comes back, if he wants me to kill him then, I will. For now, I’ll lose him.”

  Simon’s hands fell back to his sides. “Good.” He glanced at the alley’s entrance to make sure Cole wasn’t peeking around the corner. He wasn’t. “Remember what I said. Stick to your assignments and stay low. If I find out anything else, I’ll message your tablet or come find you. Okay?”

  Was that sadness in his eyes? And worry? My heart clenched. Man, Simon was probably twice my age, and over the last year, I hadn’t seen him as anything other than my instructor, but now, seeing how concerned he was for me, I realized I was worried for him too. He had always been there for me when I needed him, especially when being a reaper was too hard for me.

  There were so many things I wanted to tell him. I hadn’t mentioned the censor being on the fritz, or anything about the demons and haunts crossing over. I wanted to ask him if he knew anything about what Kay’s predicament could mean, too, but that would mea
n admitting I had been talking to a living supernatural for a year, and I wasn’t ready to do that yet.

  Besides, I could predict his answer. Just like Azrael, Simon wouldn’t approve at all and would say the same thing he had about Cole. I would have to stop seeing her and completely disconnect from the living world, with the exception of my job, of course. I had been the one to break that rule from the beginning.

  If Cole really did know someone who could save Kay, then I would meet them. It was best to leave Simon out of this. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like what had happened to Kay was my responsibility anyway. I was going to have to fix it.

  Simon took out a piece of chalk from his breast pocket and turned to the brick wall. When the symbols were drawn, the ring glowed its familiar orange-red. Before stepping through, he looked at me one last time. “Stay safe, Jade.”

  “You too,” I muttered.

  He walked through the spirit door and disappeared. Then the glow extinguished as he smudged the chalk from the other side, sealing it closed. I made sure to scuff the chalk, too, with my boot—an extra precaution—before walking back to the sidewalk.

  To my surprise, Cole was still standing at the corner, his arms wrapped around himself as the rain continued to pelt him.

  As I got closer, he spotted me and smirked, and for a second, my heart fluttered awake again. There was something about him that made my body react without thought. Not only was he a half-demon with the ability to manipulate fire, he was a highly skilled mercenary with an arsenal of weapons that could actually hurt me. My gut was probably warning me that this was a bad idea. That could be why. Fear. Trepidation.

  “All better now?” he said without a hint of annoyance that I had made him wait in the wind and rain without any real explanation.

  “Yeah…” I replied, a little hesitant. Simon’s warning was a constant buzz in the back of my head, but I shook it away. “So you were saying you had another contact that could help us figure out what’s going on with Kay and how to save her?”

  “I sure do. When you’ve been in this business as long as I have, you tend to make friends.”

  “Let’s be clear—friends like Andre? Because he didn’t seem too excited about doing this favor for you.”

  Cole shrugged. “He owed me. He didn’t have a choice, really. But no. This friend isn’t like Andre.”

  We walked back across the street toward his Jeep. I took one more look at Red before hopping in the passenger seat, hoping I was making the right choice by ignoring Simon and putting myself deeper in this mess with the notorious and dangerous Cole Masters.

  But I had to. For Kay. I owed it to her.

  The ride out of town was just as nail biting as the trip in had been. Cole was one reckless driver, swerving around corners and pedestrians, ignoring red lights, flying down the highway. I might be dead already, but that didn’t prevent me from holding my breath whenever he did something daring.

  A few times, Cole glanced over at me and smiled. He was thoroughly enjoying the torture.

  “Come on,” he said as he switched lanes a little too quickly and without a blinker. “It’s not that bad.”

  When I went to reply, I realized my teeth were clenched so tight I had to pry them open. “Let’s just say your driving makes me wonder if there’s any way I could die again,” I said. “Where are we going anyway?”

  “It’s a bit of a drive. Not too far, just not in the immediate city.”

  That told me no information.

  “His name is Wyatt. He knows everything there is to know about the supernatural world. If there is anyone that knows a way to help your friend, Kay, it’s him.”

  “I thought you said he was human,” I said.

  “He is.”

  A human that knew about supernaturals? That seemed like an accident waiting to happen. From what I knew, supernaturals worked really hard not to involve humans in their lives. Since they were much smaller in numbers, it was a way to keep them safe. Humans had a nasty habit of wanting to destroy things they didn’t understand instead of learning from them, and if they ever discovered that there were people with outstanding abilities, you could bet they’d either try to eradicate them or control them. And that was something the supernatural community would rather not risk.

  I didn’t blame them either.

  Humans were better living in ignorance. It was safer for everyone.

  “I’m surprised other supes haven’t gotten word of this and tried to off him.” And I was. You’d think to protect their secret from spreading any further, supernaturals would track this man down and kill him. I mean, if it were me, and my life was at risk because of a human, I wouldn’t be able to say I would think any differently.

  “How do you think we met? I protect him when he needs it, and in exchange, I get whatever information I want, whenever I need it.” Cole grinned, and a dimple appeared on his right cheek. It made him appear more innocent than he really was. Definitely not like a man with a deadly fire power, demon blood, and who had probably killed more people in a week than I had in my year as a reaper.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a matching dimple of the other side.

  Don’t get too caught up in how sexy he is.

  Even though the voice in my head was right, it was hard not to look his way and stare a little. He was wickedly good-looking. Maybe it was the danger element, too. It only added to his model appearance. But I had to remember that if he wanted to, he could to do some damage, even to me. Although I didn’t think he could kill me again, I didn’t want to find out what he could do.

  That made me slide off my left hand’s leather glove. Just in case I had to quickly reach over and touch him to protect myself.

  Cole noticed the move, and his smile faltered. “Don’t trust me, huh?”

  “Should I?” I said. “A couple of hours ago, I found you in a downtown alley and was about to just do my job, and you shot me. A crazy demon tussle and vampire club later, I’m in your Jeep heading to God knows where. I don’t know anything about you besides that you’re a half-demon, your job choice, and your name. So, you’ll have to forgive me for being cautious.”

  “No, I completely understand,” he said. “I haven’t lived this long in my line of work by being trusting.” He whipped the steering wheel suddenly, jerking the car in and out of the lanes.

  My hands instinctually shot out to the dashboard to brace myself, but when they passed right through instead, I grunted.

  Cole snorted a laugh. “Just make sure you’re not careful with those hands of yours and don’t accidently grab me.”

  “Maybe if you didn’t drive like a lunatic, I wouldn’t have to brace myself so much,” I replied.

  There was a moment of silence.

  Cole shifted in his seat, sitting straighter. Then he put both hands on the wheel and flexed his fingers. “Why didn’t you kill me when you found me?” he said. “There in the alley?”

  His question surprised me. “What?”

  “It’s your job, right? As a reaper? I was your next assignment. But you didn’t kill me.”

  “Like I said before, you shot me.”

  “So, you still plan on killing me?” Even when asking this question, he didn’t appear nervous. More like he had been wondering about this for some time. Ready for it.

  Now it was my turn to smile. “Maybe.”

  He laughed, and that adorable dimple appeared again.

  Who knew what would happen after things settled down and Azrael came back. He may want me to carry out my assignment and cross Cole over. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more that was very possible. Especially if he found out he could see me and we had made contact. With the censor gone, he already knew too much about the spirit world and what my job was. Azrael wouldn’t like that at all.

  As for right now, I needed Cole to save Kay, so I couldn’t off him yet. He was the only contact I had to the living world and its information—besides Kay, and she was a little indisposed right
now. He knew people who knew things. He had been tracking down the demon who had possessed Laurence. He had the tools I didn’t. For now, I had to work with him. What came after was a mystery.

  “So…” he began, flicking off his windshield wipers. We had come out on the other side of the storm. “What’s it like to be a reaper? What does that entail exactly?”

  I should have expected him to ask that type of question one way or another, but still, it hit me strange. After a year of working mostly in secret and with the censor blocking me from sharing anything with Kay, it felt weird to have someone know what I really was. Let alone discussing it openly. Like it was as normal as being a cashier or elementary school teacher.

  I killed people for a living.

  But then again, so did he.

  I still wasn’t sure how much information I should reveal to him, if any at all. The fact that he knew I was a reaper and was sent to kill him was dangerous enough. Like Simon had said, he could decide to track us down someday.

  I was careful with the words I chose. “I suppose it’s like yours, but without all the fancy guns and bullets. Oh, and the money.”

  “You just get a deadly touch and light beams shooting from your fingertips?”

  “I already told you, I have no idea how or why that happened. It’s a first for me.”

  “Maybe it’s a power from your life before?” he pressed. “Were you a supernatural before you died?”

  Okay, that hit a nerve. Of course he wouldn’t know that the erasing of my memory after death was a sore topic for me, but damn if it didn’t make annoyance flare. I drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know honestly. Any memories of my life before death were erased. It’s part of the gig.”

  “Oh.” He made a face, as if realizing he’d made a mistake in asking. Were my facial expressions that obvious? Probably. I had a hard time keeping my feelings off my face.

  “Besides,” I said, “I don’t know of any supernaturals that can do that.”

  “The only thing I could think of that would be close is a witch. Some kind of light spell?”