by J. L. Weil
I glanced over my shoulder at Bob-the-punching-dummy. “So you’re telling me this isn’t going to help?”
“Nope,” she confirmed. “I know the circumstances surrounding your relationship with Zander were less than ideal, but I also know you grew to care about him.”
“I did.” There was a strange shift between us—a comprehension stemming from the depth of Aspyn’s pain. I felt it. Her heart was weeping. Since absorbing Zander’s powers, I noticed enhances in my own. Nothing major, but small things like being able to sense Aspyn’s on a different level. My connection to other reapers appeared to be heightened.
The bigger question was how had I not known Aspyn had a thing for Zander? It was a blow. The more I thought I knew about Aspyn, the more secrets she seemed to have. My mouth dropped. “Oh wow,” I whispered. “I didn’t know.”
Her eyes glassed over for a second. “It was before your engagement, but he was more than just some guy, ya know? I know I have a reputation for going through guys like hotcakes, but I’m not heartless. He made me feel…special.”
I did know. All too well. I only wished one of them had told me. I had always thought of Aspyn as a just a flirt. “I’m sorry. I never meant to—”
She waved a hand in the air. “Don’t apologize. He ended things the moment his father told him about you. Zander was an honorable guy.”
I nodded. “He was. And a good friend. I only wished I could have saved him.”
There was no blame or judgment in her gray eyes. “No matter how hard you try, Piper, you can’t save everyone. And trust me, I know you want to, but this life, it’s encompassed in death.”
Aspyn had grown up as a reaper, and death was a part of her everyday life. She had saved me once as a child. I didn’t remember it, but she was right. I couldn’t save everyone. I knew that, as hard as it was to swallow. “I’m coming to terms with it,” I replied.
“How’s Zane?”
I shrugged. “On the outside he’s a tough guy, but inside, his heart is splintered.”
“Zane’s made from a different kind of reaper cloth. And I don’t care what those elder bozo’s say. Pureblood or not, Zane is more reaper than half the ones I know.”
She wasn’t going to get an argument from me. It didn’t matter if Zane was half demon or part gargoyle, in my heart we were destined to be together. Fate had linked us for a reason, and I wasn’t about to spit on fate. We needed to embrace the power between us, not hide it. “You should tell that to Zane.”
“Don’t tell me, the Death Scythe is still resisting you.”
“No, not exactly.” But he still put up walls. It could be an old habit, or it could be he was holding back.
A ghost of a smile splayed on her lips. “So,” she said, a twinkle in her silver eyes. “Are you and Zane really together? Is it true you finally grew some balls?”
There was always something about Aspyn and her choice of words that lightened my mood. She was good for my soul. A smile tugged at my lips. “What exactly do you mean by together?” I asked, knowing how Aspyn’s mind worked.
She flipped the tail end of her pony off her shoulder. “Do you need me to spell it out for you? S-E-X.”
“Aspyn!” I shrieked, stealing a glance at Declan. He was lifting the barbell over his head with at least hundred pounds on either side. Show off. But he appeared too involved in his workout to have overheard, or he was doing a fantastic job pretending otherwise.
“Okay, by your virtuous blush and your unease at the word, sex,” she whispered over the last bit, “I’m going to assume you and Zane have not done the freaky-deaky. So I ask, what are you waiting for?”
Good question. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be with Zane. “Timing,” I replied, shrugging.
She wrapped a white sweat towel around her neck, holding onto the ends with either hand. “Let me tell you, timing is not everything. Trust me. If you wait for the perfect moment, you might never get the chance. I think we’ve proven life is precious and unexpected. None of us know how long it’s going to last. Even as the banshee, sometimes opportunity slips through your fingers.”
I pushed off the dummy. “You’re absolutely right.”
She came up beside me and karate-chopped the dummy in the chest, making him wobble back and forth. “Go get him, girl.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Now?”
“No time like the present.”
I faced the dummy, and gave him a solid whack with my fist. “I’m gross and sweaty.”
“Trust me, guys like it dirty.”
The smile spreading across my lips couldn’t be helped. “We’ve waited three months, I think a few more hours aren’t going to hurt.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Glad we cleared that up,” I muttered, turning my attention back to beating the piss out of Bob. My feet danced over the mat as I swung.
Aspyn held onto the back of the dummy, keeping his wonky form still while I took turns alternating between kicks and punches. “I’m happy for you, for both of you. I’ve known Zane my whole life, and if anyone deserves a chance at love, it’s him. But boy, you guys have some obstacles to overcome, don’t you? I bet the overlords are shitting a brick.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I panted.
“They’re going to want to make a match for your husband. We both know Zane is not a candidate. They will choose one of the overlord’s heirs.”
My fist slipped, completely missing my mark, but my body followed through with the motion. I caught my balance, planting both feet on the mat. “So again I’m not free to choose?”
“You’re free to choose one of the four. That will be the only freedoms the divine will allow,” she said, leaning a hip on Bob.
I shook my head. “No. I won’t do it.” Injustice tore through me, and an absurd idea popped into my head. “Is that why you think Zane and I should, uh, seal the deal? Would it make a difference?”
She grinned at my awkwardness. “If you’re talking about your virtue, then no, it won’t matter to them. But, if you were carrying his child…”
Sweet baby Jesus. She wasn’t suggesting— She couldn’t be implying— Dear God, she was. Me? Pregnant? “You’re joking.”
Her expression didn’t waver.
“Oh my God, you’re not joking. Is that the only way?” This conversation had taken a bizarre twist.
“There are no guarantees in life. But it doesn’t hurt to swing the odds in your direction. If you had his baby, you could prove to the stuck-in-their-way fuddy-duddys that your daughter can rule. That she will be a full-fledged banshee.”
“But what if she isn’t? What if they’re right? Then what?”
“I don’t know, Piper. All I know is, the little girl I spared so many years ago, she was destined for greatness. I felt it then. And I feel it now. If anyone can break the norm, it’s you and Zane. There is a reason why your souls resonate. And I don’t think you should ignore it.”
Once the shock wore off, the idea was…enchanting. I could see her. A little girl with raven hair and emerald eyes, with the ability to cloak herself in shadows, just like her daddy. Our daughter. She was adorable, and I fell instantly in love with the little girl in the vision.
Everything Asypn said were thoughts I’d already had, and only strengthened my resolve. “Thank you,” I replied drolly.
Her lips split into a grin. “What are friends for?”
“Now all I have to do is convince Zane. I don’t know which is going to be the bigger challenge. Standing up to the divine or telling Zane I want to have his baby.”
She winked. “Whose says you have to tell him?”
I shouldn’t have been shocked by her implied deception, but I was. “I couldn’t do that. Not to Zane.”
“And this is exactly why you’re the White Raven and I’m not.”
Another burden to shoulder. Zane didn’t have my love-conquers-all belief. It had nothing to do with his feelings for me, because he loved me. He was hung
up by century-old rules and that his reaper blood wasn’t pure.
“So, I have a thing tonight,” Aspyn said lifting her brows. I interpreted the thing she was referring to as she had a soul to devour. “Why don’t you come with me? Get some hands-on experience. You can even bring tight-ass over there.”
Declan had finished his workout and was pulling on a shirt. He frowned.
I chewed on my lower lip. Zane wouldn’t like it, which, not going to lie, kind of made me want to do it even more. Everyone had their part in keeping the balance between life and death. I was the banshee, the siren of death. Reaping souls wasn’t my specialty, but if I wanted to be a kickass White Raven, I needed to know the ins and outs of all aspects of reaping. It was past time I went on a reap, and my curiosity was peaked. “What time should I be ready?” I said, jumping at the chance to get off the island, even for a night.
“Midnight, of course.”
Chapter 5
I stood on the balcony for several moments, listening to the roaring of the surf and the whistling of the wind, letting it take my thoughts to dark places. Midnight was drawing near, and all I could think about was the difficult journey I had set out in front of me.
Not the reaping I would be doing with Aspyn tonight, but the choices I had to make about my future. It wasn’t only about me. The decisions I make would affect everyone. There was so much to accomplish in such a short time. I still had to talk to TJ and Zane, and the sheer silence of the island was getting to me.
If there was nothing happening here, maybe there was activity on the mainland. It was risky leaving Hallow Island, but if I was going to figure a way to restore the seal, I needed to know what we were up against.
Who the heck knew…maybe we were all wrong and the barrier wasn’t gone. Maybe we were all stressing for nothing.
The fleeting thought might have come too soon, as the newscasters voice flowed through the TV, urgent and grave.
Tonight, roughly ten accounts of ghost sightings have been reported in and around the New Orleans area. But the numbers are multiplying as details of the encounters are reported: tales of ghastly figures attacking the public, causing harm, destruction, and even death. The city has is in chaos. People are locking themselves up in their homes. Descriptions of the sightings are disturbing: muted skin, soulless eyes, even floating in the air. The reporter’s voice showed some stress. The flood of emergency calls to local stations are overwhelming law enforcement.
Most alarming are the bodies that are piling up along the French Quarter. Just what is going on in the city? Some have suggested this is the result of chemical or water pollution .One thing is certain, New Orleans has never witnessed such horror and at this moment seems to have no ability to stop it.
My balance wavered as the room started to spin. I reached for the edge of the dresser, steadying myself, absorbing the shock of what had been reported. Dammit, the world was already starting to crack. The end was not far behind.
“We’re going to be busy tonight.”
Startled, I jumped at the sound of Aspyn’s voice. “Did you see this?” I asked, pointing to the images flashing across the screen.
She nodded. “We’ve got work to do, girl. Ready to rock?” Aspyn was dressed in head-to-toe black leather. Her pants were sucking the life out of her thighs. At her hip, a silver blade sparkled in the moonlight. She looked like she was about to go postal on some vampires.
I wrinkled my nose. “As long as you don’t expect me to dress like that.”
She puckered her lips. “You could totally pull it off, you know, but your jeans and t-shirt will do,” she huffed, as if my fashion offended her Catwoman persona.
Whoo-hoo. “Fantastic, because there’s no way I’m showing that much cleavage.”
She put her hands on her hips, smiling. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on. It’s liberating. I mean, what’s the point in having them, if you can’t flaunt them?”
“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
She gave a slight nod. “Come on. We need to get started. Where’s the entourage?”
My eyes drifted to the corner of the room, where just beside the TV sat a German shepherd with soft, fluffy fur. “Uh, we both needed a little space, so he went into stealth mode.”
A wily smile quirked on her lips. “Ahh, isn’t he just a cute little pooch,” she cooed, strutting across the room.
Declan growled, baring his sharp canines.
Aspyn’s grin only widened as she patted the top of his head. “Down boy.”
He snapped at her hand.
Note to self: don’t pet the dog. “So how do we do this?” I intervened before blood was shed. My bedroom floors had seen enough.
Aspyn shot Declan a smug glare before she spun around to address my question. “I’ll show you. Ever been to New Orleans?”
I secured my hair into a tight ponytail, preparing for business. “Nope.”
She grabbed a hold of my hand, her ruby red lips curving. “This is going to be fun. I hope you like things spicy.”
I glanced up, meeting her eyes as a tingle of power radiated down my forearm, and I took a deep breath. Maybe I should have been nervous, but I was excited.
Nothing prepared me for moving through time and space as a reaper. It was like what I imagined having an out-of-body experience would feel like. Each cell in my body seemed to come apart, minuscule molecules that floated in the air. And when I was put back together, Aspyn, Declan, and I were no longer in my room. Declan was no longer a German shepherd. Aspyn was still beautiful. And I was sick off my ass.
Doubling over, I turned around, giving Aspyn and Declan my back as I littered the ground with the cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate shake I’d had for dinner. Disgusting. After I finished hurling my guts all over Bourbon Street, I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth and stood up. I hated puking. It always burned the back of my throat and left a rotten taste in my mouth.
“You okay?” Declan asked. He lightly rested a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded, feeling my pale-green skin start to tinge pink in mortification. “What was that?” I asked.
Her pretty painted mouth thinned in a straight line. “Don’t worry. It is perfectly normal to feel out of sorts after a jump.”
“You should have warned her,” Declan scolded.
If they kept bickering all night, I was going to get a migraine along with the upset stomach, but at the moment, I was more concerned with my body. My hands raced over my arms and chest, verifying I was fully intact, that I wasn’t missing a finger, or toe, or tit. I exhaled, positive I was in one piece and my gut was going to stay where it was. “Anyone have gum?”
Aspyn chuckled. “Here you go.” She pulled a slim pack of Trident from her back pocket.
I withdrew a piece and popped it into my mouth. My first reap wasn’t going so hot. Can’t wait to see what happens next. I had so many questions, but only one that mattered at the moment. “How did you do that?”
“All reapers are capable of jumping, the ability to move from one place to another no matter space or distance.”
“You still haven’t explained how you did it,” I pointed out.
“Well…” she drawled out. “It’s not exactly easy to put into words. We’re naturally pulled toward death. The simplest jump is when a human has been marked. All it takes is their name, your body and energy do the rest.”
“If you say so.” There was no need for me to pretend I understood. She made it sound simple, but there was nothing simple about the way I felt afterwards.
I took in my surroundings. Street lamps hung from poles lining both sides of the road, lighting up the heart of the French Quarter. Tourism usually made the streets full of life, but tonight it was comatose. Not a sight of life was detected, but in the dark alleys and concealed crevices hid more than thugs and the homeless. Ghostly predators. The air smelled of death…and my regurgitated dinner, not pleasant scents.
The three of us weren’t worried ab
out the few lingering humans who were oblivious to the danger they were in. They couldn’t see us, except for maybe the frail white-haired old man whose scruffy and unkempt silver beard gleamed under the moonlight. “Don’t hurt me. I’m not ready to die,” he rambled as we walked by.
“We need to move,” Declan instructed, coming to my side. There was a calm lethality to his watchful eyes.
I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, but nothing I did would chase the chill that had settled in my blood. “I can feel them.”
Aspyn nodded. “They’re ready to move on, find peace. Their souls call to you.”
The first body we stumbled upon was a woman in her twenties. She was dressed in a killer little black dress with stellar heels on feet angled oddly. Her legs were bent in almost the shape of a W. I cringed, knowing her death hadn’t been painless or easy. The contours of her face were twisted in a cry of agony.
Declan placed his hand to her heart, and the red veins trailing down his hand trickled into the body, releasing her soul.
His glamour hummed in the air, and I felt the first real emotion from Declan. Remorse. He was exceptionably good at being stoic. At times, I had wondered if he was capable of anything other than stoic expressions. It was nice to know he wasn’t a machine.
“Glad to see you still got the touch, and bodyguarding hasn’t made you a complete tool,” Aspyn chimed in a flat voice.
Declan extended his legs, giving Aspyn a look of half annoyance. “You do your job, I’ll do mine.”
Here we go again. It was like a ride along with Princess Leia and Hans Solo. The tension was electric. They needed to kiss and just get it over with, but I wasn’t going to be the one making the suggestion.
Aspyn stepped over the woman’s body. “Whatever you say, boss.”
We ventured deeper into the French Quarter, moving steadily toward our goal—the souls of the dead. But as we rounded a corner, I got a weird prickly sensation. My eyes scanned the area around me, but there was nothing.
Aspyn came to a dead stop, her arm extending out in front of me. “No sudden movements,” she whispered. “We’re not alone.” She had that right. At the mouth of the narrow alley, a dark shadow slowly came into focus.