by Celia Aaron
“Nothing for you to worry about. I’ll handle it.” I walk over to her, her aura popping and hissing, and give her a kiss that I wish never had to end.
When I pull back, her eyes are half lidded, and I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed with her. “You’re safe here with me,” I whisper.
She rests her palm over my heart. “I know.”
My pride roars to life at the thought of my mate knowing I will protect her. Instead of taking her again, as it should be, I have to handle Gaius. Fuck.
He’s gawking at us, and I don’t like the way his eyes travel to my Annabelle. I stalk to him and shove him into the hallway. He lets me, though he could easily put up a decent fight. He’s almost as tall as me, though his chest isn’t quite as broad. We’re distant cousins of some sort. My mother is the mother, but there are plenty of offshoots on the family tree.
He turns and leans against the wall opposite the busted door. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever see Mathieu, reaper royalty, acting irrationally.” He chuckles. “What’s the deal with her?”
I pull my tunic to the side so he can see the mark. “This is the deal.”
He leans forward, and his starry eyes open wide. “Shit. For real?”
“Yes.” I nod. “She’s my mate.”
“A mortal?”
“It’s her.”
He runs a hand down his scruffy jaw. “That’s shit luck, my friend. Her number is up. I’ve been sent to collect.”
“You aren’t touching her.” I grip my scythe and advance on him.
“I don’t make the rules.” He narrows his eyes. “You know the penalty for disobedience in these matters.”
“I’ll rot in Hades if that means she gets to live.” I turn to face Gaius as he moves from the wall and starts to circle.
“I’d be all for that, but now I’ve been given the job. And I’m not going to rot in Hades. I haven’t had a chance to find my mate.” His voice hardens. “I’m not going to give up that chance by taking a trip downstairs. You can’t ask that of me.”
The truth of his words hit me in the gut. No, I can’t ask him to forego his mate. Each moment since I found mine has been more precious than every other moment of my life put together.
“You’re right. I can’t ask that of you. But I won’t let you take her.” I flourish my scythe. “So it seems we’re at an impasse.”
He sighs and readies in an attack position, his blade drawn back and his weight forward. “There’s only one way this can go, brother.”
“I know.”
He rushes me, and the clang of enchanted metal bursts every light bulb in the hallway. I duck as he swings, his fist passing above me as I spin and kick him in the abdomen. He stumbles back and comes again, jamming the haft of his blade into my chest. I roar and shoot a fist out, catching him on the jaw and launching him through the wall. In the room beyond, a man, clearly enjoying the skin channels, yells and scrambles off his bed.
“Awwww, we ruined his big finish.” Gaius pops up and runs his fingertips along his jaw. “Good one.”
“Leave.” Desperation seeps into my words. I don’t want to kill Gaius, but I will protect Annabelle. “All you have to do is leave.”
“Not happening—” He drops and sweeps my legs out from under me.
I fall hard on my ass, leaving a dent in the carpeted floor. “Fuck.”
His blade slices through the air in a fluid arc. I roll and jump to my feet as the scythe explodes the TV and dresser.
Annabelle peeks through the door across the hall, her innocent eyes wide with worry. “What the hell?”
He goes for her. And I lose it. I tackle him and we roll through the even wider hole in the wall and into the hallway. The building shudders as we punch and wrestle for supremacy. He lands an unexpected haymaker, and I’m thrown off balance for a second.
Rising to his feet, he holds his hand out to my Annabelle.
Never. I flip to my feet and spin before landing a kick against his torso with all my might. He flies down the hallway and through the fire door. An alarm sounds, and at the end of the hall, I see starlight. I kicked his ass clean out of the building, but it won’t deter him for long.
“Are you okay?” Annabelle steps over some debris and peers up at me.
I yank her to me and hurry away from the spot where Gaius disappeared. Her aura is almost on fire; she’s perilously close to death. But from what? Reapers can only claim souls, not take lives. I’ll keep her close to me, protect her until I find a way out of this mess.
I scoop her into my arms, dash to the opposite end of the hall, and thunder down the stairs. “Your time is up. Gaius has come for your soul.”
“My time? What?” The blood drains from her face as she clings to me.
“I was sent here for you. I’m a reaper. Your soul is forfeit in a few minutes. But I won’t let him take you. I’ll save you.” I burst into the kitchen we cut through earlier, then run out into the alley where the truck waits, the back still open. “Here.” I jump down the stairs and lift her into the back of the truck. “You’ll be safe he—”
A roaring pain shoots through the side of my head. I turn to find Gaius shaking out his hand. Stars skitter along the edges of my vision from the hit.
“I have to take her.” He backs away a few steps and twirls his scythe.
“You can’t. She’s still alive.” I wish I had time to reach up and pull the door of the truck closed, but I don’t dare make a move that will leave Annabelle open for an attack.
“Her aura is terminal. She’s about to go up like a firework.” Real sorrow crosses his eyes. “I’m sorry, but you know we don’t control when their lives end.”
“You aren’t taking her.” I hold my scythe at the ready. “But you do what you have to do, and I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Stubborn fuck!” He twirls his scythe faster. “So be it.”
He lunges forward. I parry his assault and tangle our scythes. One fist to his jaw sends him staggering backward for only a moment. He lands a hard right to my ribs, then drops and tries to sweep my legs. I jump to avoid the move, but he’s calculated for it, and grabs my calf and yanks. The pavement beneath me cracks when I land.
He tries to jump over me and onto the truck. Annabelle screams. I rage up from the ground and grab Gaius by the waist, then slam him down. The buildings shake, bits of plaster falling into the narrow alley from above.
I pin him to the ground and wrest his scythe from his grip. Lightning crackles around us; Annabelle’s time is past due.
“I have to!” Gaius tries to surge from the ground, but I slam him back to the earth, the pavement breaking around him like a spider web.
I rear back and land solid punches, each impact breaking bones in my hand. Gaius tries to buck me and gets in a few good return punches, but I’m running on the pure, instinctual need to protect my mate. I’ll kill him if I have to. I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try if that means she’s safe.
“Boss!” The pixie from earlier runs out the back door and toward the truck. I want to look and see what she does with my Annabelle, but I can’t let up on Gaius.
Pain radiates up my arms as I pummel him until blood streaks his face. He’s still fighting back, each blow growing weaker than the last. Something down the alley grows bright in my vision.
I can’t stop, even as I sense Annabelle’s aura growing nearer. I risk a quick glance. She’s out of the truck, and the pixie is hurrying her down the alley. Fuck.
Gaius lands a particularly hard punch on my jaw, and black spots invade my mind for a split second. It’s all the opening he needs. He bucks me off and reaches for his scythe. The light from the end of the alley becomes blinding, then passes in a rush of acceleration.
A car. I turn just in time to see Annabelle dash out into the alley. The pixie screeches as the car hits my mate. I shove Gaius away and run to the spot. Annabelle lies awkwardly on the ground, her eyes staring into nothing. I clutch her to me as
my heart burns into ash. She focuses on my face, her blue eyes sparking for a slight moment as she takes her last breath.
Her glittering soul clings to her body for a few labored heartbeats, then takes to the air, waiting to be claimed by Gaius’ scythe. My roar breaks every window in the French Quarter.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ANNABELLE
Loud noise. Yikes. Really loud. Where am I? I can’t seem to put my thoughts together, as if they’re frothy inside my head. My head? I try to reach up and feel for it, but I can’t. I can’t feel. Panic begins to take hold, and I struggle, but there’s nothing to struggle against. Only weightlessness.
I can see. I’m hovering above the alley. A car is crashed into the back of the hotel, the front steaming. It’s a red Cadillac—Mr. Trevor’s. There are people below me—Vera and a guy who looks familiar, and Matt.
“Matt!” I yell for him.
He’s on his knees and has something in his lap. He looks up at me.
Are those tears?
“Matt, are you okay?” I call to him, but he doesn’t respond. Can he hear me?
The man—Gaius, I think—walks up to Matt and squeezes his shoulders, then points his blade at me. The blade shines a brilliant gold, and I want to go to it. It’s mesmerizing. It pulls me closer. What happens if I touch it?
A murky fog rises from the crashed car. It floats upward, but doesn’t get far. I stare in horror as the visage of Mr. Trevor bubbles up through the smoke. His eyes are red, his mouth wide open. Matt yanks his scythe from the pavement and hurls it at the writhing plume of darkness. A shriek pierces the stillness as the black cloud is sucked into the reaper’s blade. With a pop, Mr. Trevor is gone, and the scythe flies back to Matt’s side like a boomerang.
“Matt!” I scream again as confusion engulfs me.
Matt shakes his head and stands. Then I see what’s been in his lap. It’s me. Horror curls around me like claws. Matt holds my bloody body in his arms. He said it was my time. Am I dead? No, no, NO!
“Matt!” I try to float away from Gaius’ glowing blade. But I can’t. It’s pulling me closer with promises of warmth and peace.
Vera is on the ground, her head in her hands. Her aura—I can see it now—wavers to a dark, glum blue. Gaius walks up and kneels next to her, and presses a comforting hand to her back. His touch seems to knock her out, because she slumps and he lifts her, then lays her gently in the back of the truck. Her calming aura—lightening to a sky blue—is the only way I can tell she’s still alive.
I turn back to Matt as I float inexorably closer to Gaius. Gaius stares up at me, but makes no move to claim me. The curved blade lures me, all the same. I don’t know how, but it promises happiness, rest, an ending that soothes and quiets. I can’t leave Matt. Not now that I’ve found him, but the blade tells me I can. What am I going to do?
A flash of light brightens the alley, and then a woman appears. No, not a woman. An angel. Far more angelic than my Halloween getup. Her wings glow bright silver, though she wears a robe of black just like Matt and Gaius.
I float ever closer to the scythe, closer to the promise of sleep after a long day.
The angel speaks to Matt. His tears break whatever floating part of me constitutes my heart. He offers my body to the angel, but she shakes her head.
“I am sorry, my son.” Her voice is multi-layered, a harmony of exquisite beauty. “Her mortal form is no more.”
“Please, mother. I beg you. She’s my mate!”
“Your mate?” The angel seems taken aback and scrutinizes my floating form more closely.
“Yes.” Matt’s voice breaks, his agony infecting the word.
The angel touches my head, and I can feel the warmth of her hand even though I’m floating yards above them. “Have you already claimed her?”
“Yes.” Matt pulls his shirt to the side and shows his mother the mark, our mark. “I promised her. I promised I would keep her safe.”
“You promised?” The angel tilts her head to the side. The angel glances up at me, her eyes the same ethereal blue as her son’s, then ponders Matt again. “Tell me about the promise.”
“I swore to her that I would never claim her soul or allow anyone else to claim it.”
“A reaper’s word is unbreakable.” The angel presses her palm to Matt’s cheek. “If you allow Gaius to take her, you must surrender your robes and your immortality.”
“He won’t take her.” He shakes his head. “I can’t let her go.”
“Then you condemn her to walk the earth forever, an unfulfilled ghost of her former self.”
“No.” Matt chokes on the word.
“You’ve created a Gordian knot, my sweet son.” She drops her hands to her sides. “One I’m not even sure I can undo.”
Matt clutches me closer, his body shaking as he sobs. The angel bows her head, and her son falls to his knees. He yells, the sound like a dozen booms of thunder compressed into one painful burst. He strokes my cheek. “My sweet angel.”
“Fuck.” Gaius gives me another glance and runs a hand through his hair. “I have to take her soul. There’s no other way. I don’t want to go to Hades, of course. But even if that wasn’t an issue, you can’t let her stay here like that Mathieu.” He reaches down and squeezes Matt’s shoulder.
Matt kisses my forehead, and I feel the warmth again, like a jolt through whatever form I’m in. “I can’t. I’d rather live without her than let her suffer.” He drops his chin to his chest. “I give up my immortality and my reaper status. Gaius may claim her for the afterlife.” He looks up at me, love in his eyes. “I failed you, my heart. My mate. My love. I will live the rest of my life with the knowledge that I broke my word to you. May you be at peace.”
His black robe disappears as does his scythe.
No. It’s not true. You didn’t fail me. My voice is gone. Did I ever have one? All the same, I scream at him to forgive himself, that he did all he could.
“You’ve chosen wisely, my son.” The angel smiles up at me as I’m drawn toward the warm glow of Gaius’ scythe.
Before I can reach it, the angel flaps her wings, soars into the air and cradles me in her arms. The ground falls away beneath us, a stunned Gaius and a broken Matt left behind in the dark alley as we hurtle toward the stars.
The angel whispers to me, “Come now, Annabelle. We have someone to see.”
CHAPTER NINE
MATHIEU
SEVEN DAYS. I HAVEN’T eaten, haven’t slept, haven’t done anything except languish in my bed as thoughts of Annabelle consume me. My mother never returned, and my father has been close-lipped about where she is.
When I close my eyes, I see my angel—her eyes, the plump lips, the beautiful soul that I called mine for only a spark in time. I rub the mark on my chest. It no longer burns, no longer evinces the heat that I felt reflected in Annabelle.
A knock on my door has me turning away and burying my face in the pillow.
“Mathieu?” Gaius pushes into my room. “Come on man.” The bed shifts as he sits at the foot. “You have to get up, get moving.”
“No.”
“She wouldn’t want you to wither. You could return to earth, you know? You’re mortal now. Staying here is wasting what little time you have.”
“You don’t understand.” Bitterness darkens my tone. “You’ve never met your mate.”
“No.” He sighs and we sit in silence for several moments.
I know he’s right, that my time is limited. Hell, I may be thrown out of my reaper digs at any moment, given that I’m no longer one of them. I lost my love and my family in the blink of an eye. I am nothing, no one.
After a long while, he stands. “I’ve got a dozen jobs lined up. Gotta go.” He stands and shuffles toward the door. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry how it all went down. If I’d known …”
I turn to him, and the sadness in his eyes reflects my own. “I know. You were doing what you had to do. I don’t blame you.” The words are hard to say, but no less
true.
“I’ll check back in with you when I’m done.” He draws his hood up and strides away toward the stairs. “See you in a few days.”
“See you.” I close my eyes and dream of my angel.
“Matt.” Her soft voice floats on the stale air of my bedroom.
“Angel?” Tears threaten at the thought of holding her again. But I don’t open my eyes. I can’t let this dream get away from me.
“It’s me.” A delicate palm trailing along my cheek.
I grab her wrist and kiss her palm. The mark on my chest burns like a brand. Still, I don’t open my eyes.
She leans down, her sweet scent like a balm as she presses her lips to mine. I taste her and run my hands over her delicious curves. I never want the dream to end. Pulling her on top of me, I lay back in my bed and drag her down with me. Her large breasts press against my bare chest, and I catch her mouth in a searing kiss.
Her soft moan scorches its way down my throat, and my cock hardens. She moves against me, her small hands pressing against my shoulders as I kiss her the way I should have kissed her every moment I was with her.
Something drops on my cheeks. Water. No, tears.
I open my eyes, and blink the disbelief away. She’s here but different. I can’t put my finger on what’s changed, but I don’t care. She’s in my arms. “Is it you?”
She nods and cradles my shaggy face with her hands. “It’s me.”
“How?” My heart feels like it might burst, and I’m almost certain such a thing would kill a mortal.
“Your mother. She took me somewhere and pled my case, our case.”
“To who?” I run a lock of her silken hair between my fingers, feeling every strand.
“Him.” She looks upward.
I could ask more questions, but I don’t care about the how. Having her alive and warm is all I need.
“I thought I’d lost you.” I stroke the tears from her cheeks. “I’m so sorry—”
She silences my apology with a kiss, and I’ve never been happier to shut the hell up.