“Here’s what I propose,” Pierce says, sitting up straight and adjusting the glasses on his face. Gabriel and Cyrus immediately stop squabbling. “Miss Kinsey is not going anywhere. Let her take her time with the decision. Have her spend a day with each of us, getting to know us, and she can choose which of us she wants after that.”
“Sounds fair.”
“I can live with that.”
When three pairs of eyes settle on me, I move my mouth but nothing comes out. I can’t believe this is happening. “Um…” I say when I finally find my voice. “You’re all very good looking, and you’ve been very kind so far, but…is there really no way to go back? What about my life on Earth?”
Cyrus frowns, Pierce sighs, and Gabriel cringes. “I’m sorry,” he says with a shake of his head. “What’s been done cannot be undone, but we’ll make your sacrifice worth it. We’ll give you a good afterlife.”
“The best,” Pierce agrees quietly. He places his hand on my knee and gently squeezes. “We’ll all help. No matter who you choose, we’ll all do anything we can to make you happy. You’re one of us now. The Lady of the Netherworld.”
“We’ve never had one before,” Gabriel says.
Something in the way he says that breaks my heart. There’s so much emotion behind the words—so much loneliness and hope. Could it be true that these men, in all their eternal existence, have never been in relationships? Have they really been alone? And for how long? How long have they been doing this?
It’s no wonder they all seem desperate for me to pick them. I can’t fault Gabriel for jumping on the deal even though it was obvious I wasn’t serious. My heart melts just a little. I can tell he feels bad, but he can’t hide how badly he wants this—wants me.
The gentle tug in my chest reminds me that I belong to all three of these men. I can’t let them down. I take a deep breath and make up my mind to not dwell on what’s happened. It’s been done. There’s no use pouting about it, and I’ve never been good at that anyway. May as well make the best of it. Plus, I mean, three hot men hell-bent on making me happy for eternity… It could be worse, right?
“Okay.” I meet each of their hopeful gazes. Even the grumpy Cyrus can’t fully hide the way he’s holding his breath right now. I give them each a timid smile and nod. “I’ll try my best to make this work. I’ll give you each a day, and then we’ll go from there.”
Pierce gives me a soft smile while Gabriel flashes me a dazzling one. His golden eyes sparkle. Even Cyrus relaxes a little. Not, you know, a lot, but he gives me a small nod that seems to have some respect attached to it.
“I suppose since Gabriel got us all into this situation, he should be the first to show you around,” Pierce says.
Gabriel grins. “It would be my pleasure.” When he holds out his hand to me, I allow him to pull me to my feet. “We’ll be back this evening,” he says to Pierce and Cyrus.
They’re both watching me like they can’t take their eyes off me. “Well…it was nice meeting you both. I guess we’ll see you this evening?”
Pierce smiles in response to my question and takes my hand that Gabriel isn’t holding. “We’re all very happy you’ve come to join us,” he says, pulling me in close and placing a quick kiss to my cheek. “Have a nice time today. Don’t let Gabriel wear you out too much.”
Gabriel rolls his eyes, but the tiny smile that crosses his face lets me know there’s merit behind the warning. I shoot him a questioning look, and he responds with a boyish grin and a flirty wink. I know just yesterday I was cursing his entire sex, but it is impossible not to like him.
He places a hand on the small of my back and leads me to the foyer of the mansion. “Come along, my dear. Lots to see. Lots to do.”
4
Gabriel leads me out the front door of the mansion, and I immediately stumble to a stop. The sight before me is both beautiful and terrifying in its foreignness. It’s clear that I am no longer in the only world I ever believed existed. The sun is high in the air, and big puffy white clouds dot the sky, but the sky is a shade of pale orangey-pinkish-purple, as if it’s stuck in a perpetual sunrise. It’s beautiful and eerie at the same time.
There’s also no hint of a breeze. It’s almost as if there isn’t any air. Like there’s no atmosphere. It’s as still outside as I imagine walking on the moon would be. Everything seems so quiet, and it gives me the urge to whisper everything I say, like walking into a library or a chapel.
The temperature is neither cold nor hot. It’s as if there isn’t any weather at all. At first glance, it appears to be a perfect spring day, but there’s something missing. The only way I can describe it is like it’s missing everything that makes the world feel alive.
The mansion sits on the top of a tall hill that overlooks an endless valley in every direction. It’s like the mansion is the center of the universe, and below it its kingdom stretches as far as the eye can see. The Lords of the Netherworld are definitely the kings of the castle.
“What do you think?”
I jump, startled, and smile at Gabriel. “It’s very beautiful, but it’s so…different.”
Gabriel’s smile is understanding. “I know what you mean. The others don’t get it because they’ve never been to the Earth realm, but there’s something about it that this place is missing. I always enjoy my time in the living world.”
“The living world?” When he puts it like that, I can completely agree. Earth is so much more vibrant. It calls to all of the senses. This place, while beautiful looking, is very flat. Like looking at a picture versus being there in person. “Does that make this the world of the dead?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“So…are we dead?”
Gabriel shakes his head. “We are other,” he says. He places his hand on the small of my back and propels me forward away from the house. “We are neither living nor dead. It’s what gives us dominion over the souls. Pierce, Cyrus, and I have always been here. None of us remember anything other than this. You are the first person who’s ever joined us. I believe it’s because you came here before your soul left your living body. I’ve always known the living could barter their souls, but it is not something I can offer. It has to be offered to me.”
I wince. “And I’m just the first person that was dumb enough to do that.”
Gabriel stops walking and turns to look at me. “I don’t think you’re dumb,” he says softly. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be loved forever. Real love is the most beautiful thing in existence—in this world or the living. It is something I’ve witnessed over and over again in my profession, yet I’ve never had the good fortune to experience it myself.”
My heart crumbles for this man. The longing in his voice is ageless. But I’m not ready to broach the topic of relationships with him because I seem to be his only chance at one, and he’s looking at me like I’m some kind of miracle. I steer the conversation in a safer direction. “Your profession? What exactly is that? What does a Lord of the Netherworld do?”
Gabriel’s smile turns crooked and he steps close. “Allow me to show you.”
He slips his arm around my waist and pulls me flush against him. Being so close to him ignites something inside me. He’s warm and solid and smells faintly of vanilla and brown sugar. In this world of the dead, it’s clear he’s different. I shiver in his grasp.
He clears his throat, and when he speaks, his voice is husky. “You may want to close your eyes and hold on.”
I barely have time to squeeze my eyes shut when the world seems to fold in on me. For a brief moment, the air pulls at my skin like a vacuum. Then there’s a soft pop, and the world I know—the world of the living—springs up all around me. “I thought I couldn’t come back,” I say as I take in the sights. We’re in a hospital, and the people all around us are speaking in strong southern accents.
Gabriel gives me a sad smile and laces our fingers together. As he pulls us down the busy hallway, he says, “You can’t go back to your old life. You ar
en’t living anymore. You’re an immortal being. But when you miss it, I can bring you back with me while I work. I’m the only lord with the power to come to this realm.”
He drags me into a hospital room where an old lady lies asleep in a bed, hooked up to all kinds of machines. A man young enough to be her son sits in a chair beside her bed, holding her frail hand, and another couple sits on a small bench seat near the window. The younger woman is crying. I’m horrified to be intruding on their privacy, until I realize they aren’t responding to our presence. “Can they not see us?”
Gabriel shakes his head. “No one can see us unless I specifically wish it.”
“What are we doing here?”
Gabriel’s eyes are glued to the woman in the hospital bed. He smiles at her with affection. “Mrs. Helmke had a stroke last night. She’s ready to move on. She’s simply been waiting for me to arrive.”
My jaw drops when he rounds the bed and runs his fingers along the woman’s forehead. His touch is so tender that the moment feels intimate. “It’s all right, Mrs. Helmke. Your troubles are over now,” Gabriel whispers to the unconscious woman. “It’s time to come with me.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes at the amount of compassion he’s showing this woman, even though she can’t hear him. Then I gasp when he pulls his hand away and a shining golden stream of light follows his fingers. It takes me a moment to realize what’s happening. “Are you sucking the life out of her?”
Gabriel shakes his head, answering my question, but his eyes never leave Mrs. Helmke. “Not her life, her soul.”
The light collects into a small glowing ball in Gabriel’s palm. It’s beautiful. I can hardly believe that it’s the woman’s soul, and yet I can sense the woman’s presence.
As soon as the soul has exited the woman’s body, machines in the room begin to go nuts, and the woman’s family starts freaking out. “She’s dead!” I cry, gaping at Gabriel. “You killed her!”
“It was her time,” Gabriel says calmly, taking me by the elbow to lead me from the room. Doctors fly in behind us, but I know it’s no use. They won’t revive the woman. Her soul is still resting in Gabriel’s palm.
Gabriel moves us out of the way in the hall and carefully places the soul into a pouch hanging from his shoulder that I hadn’t noticed before. It’s an old, faded brown leather satchel. I can see other glowing orbs—other souls he’s collected—when he opens the flap. “May you find your peace in the afterlife, Mrs. Helmke,” Gabriel says as he delicately places the soul into the satchel. “My prayers are with your loved ones.”
I have to swallow back a thick lump in my throat. I’m horrified by what Gabriel has just done, but I’m moved by the amount of compassion he displayed, too. “Are you always that way with the souls you collect?” I rasp.
Gabriel’s face softens. “To the ones who deserve it.” He reaches up and wipes a tear from my cheek that I hadn’t realized was there. I shiver at his touch. “You have such a big heart,” he says. “It was one of the first things I noticed about you when I came to you. You were hurting so deeply because you had cared so strongly. A heart like yours is a rarity, Kinsey.”
He steps close and slips his hand around my waist again. For a moment, I think he’s going to kiss me. His eyes flick to my lips, and my mouth dries up. I wouldn’t mind losing myself in him right now. But at the last second, he presses his lips to my forehead instead.
5
When Gabriel kisses my forehead, my eyes flutter shut at the soft touch. I barely notice the vacuum feeling pulling at me from all directions, until the small pop startles me from the spell Gabriel put me under. I open my eyes with a gasp and find myself on a busy street corner in a city that looks vaguely familiar. “Is this Paris?”
Gabriel grins. “World travel is one of the perks of the job.” He holds out his hand to me. “Come on. Let’s walk a minute.”
I grasp his hand and amble down the street with him, taking in the sights with a hint of amazement. One moment we were in the South, and the next we’re across the ocean. “I’ve always wanted to visit Paris,” I murmur.
“It’s a nice city,” Gabriel says, glancing around. His eyes come back to me and he squeezes my hand. “It’s better now that I have someone to share it with.”
I blush for what might just be the first time in my life.
Gabriel pulls me to a stop and moves close to me again. “Kinsey,” he whispers, reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ear, “close your eyes, sweetie.”
I obey without question and suck in a deep breath when Gabriel wraps me up in a tight embrace. I melt against him, surprising myself at how much I love being in his arms, how natural it feels even though he’s a virtual stranger.
The moment is broken when tires screech and screams ring out. I try to turn to the sound as metal crunches into metal and glass shatters, but Gabriel is holding me tightly, shielding me from the horror I can only guess is behind me. “Gabriel?”
“Just a moment, Kinsey. I need to go over there. It’s not a pretty sight, so if you want to stay here with your eyes closed, I won’t think any less of you.”
My brain has put the pieces together. There’s been a horrible car accident, and he’s here to collect a soul. I want to take the out he’s given me and stand here pretending that nothing bad just happened, that no one just died in a traffic accident. But I don’t want Gabriel to have to do this alone. For reasons I can’t explain, I want to be strong for him. “I’m okay,” I promise, steeling myself for what’s about to happen. “I want to come with you.”
Surprise lights up Gabriel’s face. The look of pleasure and pride that follows it makes me certain I’m doing the right thing. I tamp down my fear and take his hand.
We walk into the chaotic intersection toward two cars that are crunched up something awful. The driver of one car looks dazed but otherwise okay, with only a few cuts and bruises. But the people in the other car, the car that got T-boned, are much worse off. The woman in the passenger seat is unconscious. My stomach rolls at the thought that Gabriel is about to take her from this world.
As we get close to the car, I notice the two little children crying in the back seat. The man is shaking his wife’s arm and screaming her name, while the kids call out to their mother. “Broken ribs,” Gabriel murmurs as he reaches through the window. “They’ve punctured her lungs.”
Glancing once more at the children, my throat closes up. “Gabriel, no,” I plead. It comes out on a sob.
He gives me a look as full of compassion as the one he gave Mrs. Helmke’s soul. “It’s her time,” he whispers.
He looks at the woman with genuine love and swipes his fingers across her forehead. As the soul collects into Gabriel’s hand, he smiles down at it before placing it in his bag. “Don’t worry, Marguerite. You will see your family again one day.”
I can’t hold back any longer. I start crying. Gabriel closes his pouch and then his arms come around me again. He says nothing, simply holds me. I circle my arms around his waist and bury my face in his chest. I’m ruining his nice button-down shirt with my tears, but I can’t stop.
Gabriel’s hands rub soothing circles on my back, and while we stand there, I feel the air shift around us. We pop somewhere where a cool breeze is blowing and the sun is beating down. Its warmth on my skin is a comfort.
I take a deep breath and pull myself out of Gabriel’s chest. He slides his arms down around my waist and continues to hold me close. I love him just a little bit for that. “Death is simply a part of life, Kinsey,” he says. “It’s not the end, either. Marguerite will have a wonderful afterlife, full of peace and harmony.”
I nod, sniffling. “It was so tragic, and yet you made it beautiful at the same time.”
His face softens, and he wipes away a few of my stray tears. “It often is beautiful.”
“Or you’re just the right man for the job.”
His smile turns crooked. “I suppose that’s true. I can’t really picture Pierce or Cyrus reapi
ng souls.”
I laugh once. “I can’t really say about Pierce, but Cyrus would definitely live up to the grim title that usually comes with the reaper of souls.”
Gabriel sighs playfully. “Ah, yes. I can never seem to shake that ridiculous title.”
I blink. I was only playing around, but he’s not kidding. “So you really are him?” I ask. “You’re the grim reaper?”
He grins. “The one and only. Minus the grim part.”
Gabriel waves his hand as if to say after you. I finally look around and realize we’re at the ocean, standing on the edge of a pier. I recognize it as the Santa Monica Pier in Southern California. It’s only blocks from where I used to live. “You brought me home?”
He shrugs, and we begin walking back up the pier. “You were upset. I figured seeing something familiar might help.”
That was very sweet of him. “Thank you.”
We walk in comfortable silence for a moment while I finish pulling myself together. Once I’m feeling less distraught, I stop. A smile creeps over my face as I look at the small amusement park to my right. Gabriel notices me eyeing the Ferris wheel and raises a curious brow. “Would you like to take a ride?”
My heart flips. “Could we? I grew up here, but I’ve never actually been on it.”
I’m rewarded with another of his beautiful smiles. His golden hazel eyes soften when he does it, and I feel that smile all the way to my bones. “A ten-minute break won’t hurt,” he says.
He laces our fingers together, and we walk hand-in-hand as if we’ve known each other for years. “So how does this work?” I ask. “If you’re the only reaper for the entire world, how can you possibly get to everyone? People die constantly, all over the world.”
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 150