by Allison West
Leila saw a shimmer of lights, but she couldn't make out what was behind them. It wasn't for her to see. "Of course." She smiled at the young girl as she skipped off toward her circus.
Wynter walked up behind Leila and patted her on the shoulder. "I fear what she's brought."
"What do you mean?" Leila spun around on her feet to face Wynter, now that Isabella was gone.
"Her mother was telling me how Isabella and her father travel to different cities, as traders. That wasn't the worst of it. After you slipped out of the room, I examined her daughter, pretending to be a doctor. Obviously, I couldn't revive her, but what I found was unsettling. Her fingers were black."
"Why were they black?" Leila asked.
"She contracted a disease, probably during her travels," Wynter said. "My concern is that we took her soul too late, and it had time to spread."
Leila walked toward the horse and saddled up. "Maybe you're wrong." She was going home. The scroll hadn't given her another assignment.
"Let's hope so."
Chapter 11
Swiftly, Leila rode home nestled tightly against Wynter as they approached the cottage. Neither said a word. Wynter seemed to be lost in thought, mulling over the possibility of what was to come. Leila chose instead not to think about it.
As she arrived back at the house, she was surprised to see two additional horses tied up alongside Emblyn and Violetta's. She climbed down and secured the horse before walking inside. Wynter was right on her heels, following her back home. She didn't so much as invite him in, but she also didn't tell him not to join her.
Candles lit up the living room. She was surprised to see Jasper joining Emblyn and Violetta.
"You must have made a big mess," Violetta said, the moment Leila stepped inside.
"I cleaned it up. Everything is fine," Leila said. Why couldn't they relax over the ordeal?
Jasper stood up and opened his scroll, showing it to Leila. "Look at my assignment." In three days' time, he had twenty reaps to perform at approximately the same time. No more could fit on the scroll.
Leila cleared her throat. Had they been punished for her being late on her assignment? "Has this ever happened before?"
"Not to this extent, no," Jasper said. He walked back toward the couch, sitting with Violetta. Wynter quietly moved to sit on the floor, leaving Emblyn on her favorite chair across from the sofa.
"Do you all have excessive assignments?" Leila asked, hoping it was a one-off thing. Maybe Jasper was being given extra credit or something.
"Don't you?" Violetta asked. "Let me see your scroll."
Leila hesitated before she finally reached for her scroll, removing it from her stocking. Unrolling the scroll, Leila revealed that it was blank.
"They don't trust her," Jasper said. "She's on probation. It's the only explanation."
Leila snatched her scroll back and held it in her hands. She sat down on the floor beside Wynter. "Who doesn't trust me?"
Wynter pulled out his scroll and unraveled it, revealing his, too, was empty. "The royal council. They're the ones who give out the reaping assignments. I've been in some hot water over the past few decades, so it's not a surprise they didn't hand me a massive assignment."
"Well, I'm new," Leila said. "Maybe they're waiting to make sure I know what I'm doing?"
Emblyn showed Leila her scroll. "Violetta, Jasper, and I each have a scroll filled from top to bottom. It can't hold any more names. We're worried that once we reap the first person on the scroll, another will follow in its place."
Wynter shrugged. "Hopefully, you're wrong. Maybe it's just sixty unfortunate souls in a boating accident."
Jasper shot Wynter a look. "You know it's not that."
"No," Wynter said, "I don't know what it is."
Jasper exhaled a heavy sigh. "I also stopped over to bring Leila a horse. I figured you'd need one."
"How much do I owe you?" Leila asked, a frown on her lips. She still didn't have any money.
"It's on the academy," Jasper said. "I assure you, she won't be missed."
"So you stole her?" Leila asked. She was already in trouble; she didn't need to be riding on it.
Jasper didn't answer her. He glanced at Wynter, giving him a look, as if it had been his idea all along.
Jasper stood. "I'm heading home. This week is going to be brutal. I may as well relax and sleep while I can."
Leila waited until Jasper left and shut the door, before she turned to Wynter. "Is it possible for reapers to get sick?"
"If you're worried about having had to kiss Isabella when you reaped her, I can assure you that the disease won't affect you."
Leila sighed. It was a concern of hers, along with the multiple reaps that the others would be required to do.
Wynter rested a gentle hand on Leila's arm. "You couldn't have known."
Emblyn stretched and stood up, staring at Violetta. "I'm heading to bed. Jasper was right. We're going to have a busy week. We should rest while we have the chance."
"Yeah, I should go to bed too," Violetta chimed in.
The two reapers scurried off to their bedrooms, leaving Wynter and Leila alone. The candlelight flickered. Leila glanced up at Wynter. "They hate me." She was surprised he hadn't left yet.
"You have to see it from their side," he said. "You're the new girl and you just gave them a lot more work to do. Aside from having broken the rules."
"You don't know that this is my fault." Leila wanted to believe she wasn't responsible for those who were scheduled to die in Lyra. It all seemed so morbid.
Wynter stood up. "You're right. We don't. They shouldn't blame you, but you also should be more careful to follow the rules. Perhaps a punishment is in order."
Leila swallowed the lump forming in her throat. He couldn't be serious. What kind of punishment was he talking about? "I don't understand, Wynter. Do you want me to write lines?" She'd had plenty of punishments from her tutor as a child.
"Over my knee," he said, sitting on the sofa. He patted his thigh, nodding for her to do as he said. "It's that or face a much worse punishment from the royal council. The choice is up to you."
"I'm not going anywhere." Was he really going to spank her? Spankings were for children. Leila was an adult. Hell, she was dead and was a grim reaper. Is this how they kept each other in line and from breaking the rules?
She hadn't budged an inch.
"If I have to put you over my knee, it will double your allotment of spankings."
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and the room sweltered. Was it hot in here or was it just her? "Please, Wynter. I promise I won't do it again."
"You're right, you won't. I'm going to teach you right from wrong, my little Leila. Good girls listen and do as they're told. Bad girls face a wrath of punishments. Spankings, my little Leila, are just the beginning."
"Wynter, what if Emblyn or Violetta come out from their room?" She did not wish to see her grim reaper friends pay witness to her punishment. Leila didn't dare ask whether Wynter or Jasper dished out such discipline to the other girls on occasion.
He merely shrugged and reached for Leila as she had yet to come closer. His strong grip pulled her down over and across his knee, lifting her dress to reveal her panties underneath.
"These are of no use right now," he said, using one hand to slide the undergarments down her thighs and to her feet.
She felt humiliated being bent over his lap. He could see her bottom and possibly even her cunny as it began to throb with a ferocious intensity. How was being in this position, exposed and vulnerable, arousing her? Perhaps it had to do more with it being Wynter, taking control, disciplining her.
Without warning, his hand came down, spanking her plush bottom, forcing her to jump and her cheeks to clench with a hiss. The pain stung right through to her lips down below, forcing a further ache and wetness to seep out uncontrollably. With her face bent down to the ground, she was grateful she didn't have to look at him.
Wynter's hand came
down, painting her bum, leaving an imprint on one cheek and then the next, coating all of her perfectly porcelain skin. He smacked her seat, just above her thighs where she would find it difficult to sit.
"Please, no more." She sounded like a child, begging for her punishment to be over. Could the other girls hear what transpired? She didn't want to face them tomorrow if they knew about her punishment.
"I'm not sure you've learned your lesson," Wynter whispered, his voice harsh and his tone never wavering as he spanked her repeatedly over her bottom, forcing her legs to kick with each swat and her hips to buck.
Leila found it impossible to hold still, wanting to wiggle away and break free of him as quickly as possible.
"We're only half done. Remember when I told you there'd be twice as much punishment if you didn't come over my knee?"
She hated that he remembered the threat and even worse was that he was following through. "I'm sorry, Wynter." She would say or do anything at that point to break free from her punishment. What good was disciplining her? She'd made a mistake. Leila would be more careful the next time to follow the rules or not get caught.
Wynter's hand came down forcefully over her clenched cheeks. "It will sting more unless you unclench," he said, offering her a word of advice.
How would he know that unless he'd faced his own dose of punishment? Leila had heard that Wynter was a rule breaker. "Have you been spanked before?" Leila asked.
"No one has cared enough about me to discipline me," Wynter whispered, his words soft and quiet, so that only Leila could hear them. "I have learned many lessons and I don't wish you the same pain I've been through. I'm trying to help you."
He peppered her bottom, Leila gasping and moaning uncomfortably with each swat. Her cunny throbbed, and it did no good that he smacked her once down over her slick folds. Did he feel her wetness and know that she was aroused because of him? She buried her face down toward the ground, and Wynter eventually helped her up, lifting her panties to go back up beneath the dress.
"I care about you, Leila. I don't want to see you getting hurt." He pulled her down onto his lap to sit.
She grimaced and hissed at first contact of her bottom on his thighs, the sting aching as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
"You care about me?" Leila didn't know what that meant. She clung to him, as if he was the only one capable of keeping her from drowning. Breathing heavily, she rested her forehead against his. Leila felt the pull of intimacy, the heat of desire. She wanted to kiss him, desired to feel his lips upon hers, but she didn't lean in. Her heart slammed against her ribcage and as she pulled him tighter for a second hug, it was all she could do to keep herself in control.
"Always," he whispered, running his thumb over her cheek. Wynter leaned in, brushing his lips over her mouth.
Her eyes shut and her mouth opened, deepening the kiss. Her fingers tangled in his hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer. She wanted him and yet she knew he wasn't hers to have, just as Larkin hadn't been hers, either.
Regretfully, she pulled back, wishing all the pain would seep away. The feelings she had for Larkin that had once seemed immeasurable were slowly dissipating. She still loved him, a part of her always would, but she couldn't be with him and needed to let him go. Could she move on? Would Wynter still want to be with her, or had it been the discipline and intense emotions that had drawn them together?
Chapter 12
Wynter watched as Jasper rushed out early that morning, his scroll filled with reaps, grumbling the entire way out the door. His own scroll sizzled against his skin and Wynter unraveled the scroll, frowning when he recognized the name. Leila would not be pleased.
He waited until Violetta and Emblyn were gone before paying Leila a visit. There was no sense in upsetting two more reapers. He knew their workload had been immense lately.
He had a key to the house and unlocked the front door, quietly tiptoeing across the floor, knocking on her bedroom door. The hour was early, but he couldn't be late for his reap, which meant waking Leila.
"Go away!" she shouted.
"Leila." Wynter's voice carried through the bedroom door. "I got my reap for today, and I think you should see the scroll." He didn't burst in through the door, instead waiting for her to answer it, in case she wasn't decent.
"Ugh! Come in." She did not sound in a pleasant mood to begin with. Perhaps waking her was a bad idea, but not telling her, had the situation been reversed, he'd have been devastated himself.
Wynter walked to the side of Leila's bed and unraveled his scroll. He slowly turned it around, wordlessly showing it to her.
"No." Leila's breath caught in her throat as she read the name. "Larkin Alis. You can't kill him." Leila's chest tightened and her breathing hitched.
Wynter reached for Leila's arm and gently guided her back onto the bed to sit. "We've discussed this before. Our job as reapers isn't to kill. People die every day. Our job is to help release their soul. That's it." He wanted her to see that he wasn't the bad guy in all of this. Yes, he was scheduled to reap Larkin's soul, but he wasn't a murderer. Leila knew that, right?
"I don't like it." What was there to like? Larkin, the gentleman she'd been sneaking out to visit had an appointment with death. He felt bad for the guy, especially given the fact the girl he liked was recently murdered, but what could he do?
"You're not supposed to," Wynter said and sighed. "Maybe you should stay here for today."
"The hell I am!" Leila stood up. Her hands in fists. "I'm not going to sit by and idly watch as you reap the man I love! Not a chance in hell!"
"I know you want to help, but the reap is assigned to me, and I really don't think you want to screw up Larkin's death. It's not going to be an easy one."
"What do you mean?" Leila frowned, her brow furrowed, clearly confused.
How had she not heard the news? There'd been signs recently posted, touting the date of execution.
"He's being executed for treason and murder."
"What?" Her eyes widened in horror and her skin turned a ghastly pale. "He's innocent! He didn't kill me!"
"You and I know that, but we can't exactly storm into the kingdom and declare he had an alibi. It's a little more complicated than that."
"Can't you fix it?" Leila pleaded.
He ran a hand through her red tangles, pushing the hair out of her face. "You don't have to come with me." It would probably be easier for her if she didn't attend the execution, but he felt it necessary to give her that option.
Leila closed her eyes and hung her head. "I do. I can't let him die alone. Is there any way I can take his soul? It's my job, too. I owe him this, Wynter. Please, if there's any way to make it possible?"
"We can sneak into the asylum and borrow the scythe. It can transfer the assignment from one scroll to another."
Leila's head tilted up. "Borrow?" she asked and raised a curious eye.
"It's the only way." He knew he didn't have to tell her twice. The twinkle in her eye, the slightest glimpse of hope, she would blindly follow him anywhere if it involved Larkin.
Chapter 13
Leila stared up at the beige and red bricks of the asylum. The shuttered windows and shaded front disturbed her. "Can't you go in, get what we need, and bring it out?"
"We're doing this because you want to reap Larkin's soul. You're coming in with me," Wynter said.
Together, they walked in through the main doors and toward the back stairwell. Walking past locked wooden doors, Leila's heart skipped a beat. Were people being held hostage inside the rooms? She slowed as she passed, jumping out of her skin when a loud tapping sound came from the other side of the locked door.
"Hurry up," Wynter said. "You don't want to be around if they get out."
"Who are they? What's in there?" Leila walked past another door and could hear a faint whimpering inside.
Wynter gripped her arm and led her forcefully toward the back stairwell. "Come on." Glass windows lit the path up
to the third floor. "The royal council's office shouldn't be occupied. They tend to keep night hours."
Leila followed Wynter out into the hall. The door slammed shut behind them. Leila jumped and let out a slow, heavy breath. She needed to calm down.
"Come on." Wynter walked to the end of the hall and turned the knob. It was unlocked.
Leila was surprised, but then again, who would have the courage to come into this place? She was already dead, and it frightened her to no end. "What does the scythe look like?" She'd heard stories about grim reapers when she was a child. None of them were even close to true.
Wynter rummaged along the desk, pushing papers aside. He opened the drawers, digging around until he found something the size of a pen, the scythe.
"That's what you were looking for?" She'd expected it to be bigger, scarier.
"It has the power to assign reaps and reassign them. Bring me your scroll," Wynter said.
Leila carried her scroll over to Wynter and unrolled it.
Wynter removed the scroll from his pocket and uncurled it, laying the paper out onto the desk. "Hold both open."
Leila held the top of the scrolls with one hand and the bottom with the other. Wynter struck a line through the name Larkin Alis on his scroll and repeated the motion on Leila's scroll. After a minute, the words began to disappear from Wynter's scroll and reappear on Leila's.
"It worked." Wynter's eyes lit up and a faint smile found its way onto his face.
"You sound surprised."
"I am. I've heard stories but never saw it put to action." Wynter shoved the scythe back into the drawer, doing his best to make it appear untouched. Then he rolled up his scroll and shoved it into his pocket. "Let's get out of here."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Leila grabbed her scroll and closed it, shoving it in her stocking. The burn had disappeared from her first reap. Hopefully, she'd never experience that horrible sensation again.
Together, they rushed down the stairs and out of the asylum toward the front lawn. Thunder clapped overhead. They mounted their horses and rode toward Leila's old home.