by Cara Wylde
“I thought I taught you better.”
“What?”
He was fuming. I held my ground. Whatever he was talking about, one thing was for sure: he’d never taught me anything, good or bad.
“It’s very unladylike to poke your nose into things that are none of your business.”
“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.” I kind of did, though.
He took a step toward me. Unwilling to let him intimidate me, I took a step toward him, too, scythe at the ready. Even knowing there would be no outcome, we could still fight.
“You wanted to know when and where I was born, who my parents are… You wanted to know why I became a Grim Reaper and why, after two hundred years, it wasn’t enough. You wanted to know why I never want to retire. Well, did you find your answers? Do you feel better now? Wiser?”
He swung his scythe at me, and I blocked him. We stayed like that, scythes crossed, for a minute. With a grunt, I pushed hard until he stepped back and took his position again. He laughed.
“What’s the matter? Is it that time of the month?”
I sneered at him. I was weak. My hip popped when I took a step sideways, and it didn’t sound good. I could feel my muscles struggling to keep up with the signals sent by my brain, and failing miserably. He had me.
He tried to hit me again, and I moved out of his way.
“Of course, you’re too useless to get the info yourself. Dream jumping in exchange for immortality. Are you happy with your deal?”
“Wasn’t my choice,” I spat through gritted teeth. He swung at me, and I barely managed to dodge it. I was slow, too. Damn it!
“You got yourself a little pet. I must admit, you’re useless but smart.”
My heart sank. He took a step toward me, then another. He knew by now that I wasn’t going to attack him because I could barely defend myself. He probably couldn’t guess why, but he took advantage of my weakness anyway, and tried to corner me.
“How do you know all this?” I managed.
“You thought your mother and I don’t talk anymore? We’re not best friends, mind you. She hasn’t forgiven me yet. But I visit her from time to time, make sure everything’s under control. She told me about your… what’s her name? Doesn’t matter.”
Eyes wide and mouth agape, I couldn’t say a word, couldn’t move a muscle. He was towering over me now, and all I could do was stare at his parchment-like face.
“You sent that kid to find her. So very bold of you. Daughter, you’re more like me than you think.” He grinned darkly. “Look at you! I have the perfect name for this journey you’re on: The Making of a Villain.”
“I’m not a…”
He raised his scythe above his head, and when he let it fall upon me, I didn’t block him. My arms turned to jelly. He knew. My mom knew. Yoli knew… That meant one thing and one thing only: my cousin had been lying to me.
“Do it,” I whispered.
Things would’ve been so easy if he could kill me. I’d exit this life, go to atone for my sins in Hell, and forget about how epically I’d failed. I closed my eyes and waited for it. I knew it wouldn’t happen, but I still waited for it. The blade of his scythe stopped a few inches from my forehead. I could hear it rumble. I opened my eyes and looked at the tiny cracks that served as a reminder that Morningstar couldn’t kill me. Ever. I was blood of his blood.
What happened next was a blur. A golden bull jumped between me and Morningstar, his horns digging into the Grim Reaper’s stomach. Valentine flew a few feet in the air and landed with a grunt. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet, his eyes trained on the beautiful, strong animal that had attacked him. Paz came out of nowhere and helped me up. Francis and Sariel stepped out of the forest as well, scythes at the ready. My father looked at the five of us for a long moment, probably contemplating his chances against my four warriors.
“It was good catching up, daughter,” he said, then teleported away.
Corri popped out of nowhere, specks of pixie dust flying out of her buzzing wings.
“I’m sorry, Mistress. I didn’t know what to do! I called for help!”
I pulled myself free from Paz’s protective hold.
“I can take care of myself, thank you very much,” I grumbled.
“Didn’t look that way,” GC said, now standing in front of me in his glorious naked form. He’d shifted back, and he was in dire need of clothes.
I rolled my eyes at him. At all of them. “You know he can’t hurt me. Come on!”
“Mila, you’re weak.” Francis stepped closer and studied me with concerned eyes. “It’s been too long. Way over four months. Are you trying to commit suicide?”
I shrugged. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I can hold on until after graduation. Death will give me immunity, and this whole rotting business will go away.”
“You’ll be a pile of teeth and bones until then.” The tone of Sariel’s voice said he was tired of my bullshit. “You have to do it. Today. Now.”
“I have a good candidate,” Paz said.
I rubbed my aching temples. “You’ve been looking for a blood sacrifice for me?”
“Of course I have. We’re in this together.”
“No, we’re not.” I looked at them as intensely as I could, hoping this time my words would actually get through their thick skulls. “I’m not your responsibility. You don’t have to find victims for me, make sure I do the ritual, and you definitely don’t have to save me from Valentine Morningstar. We’re separate people. I take care of my shit, and you take care of yours. You asked me countless times why I needed a break. Well, this is a top reason. We’ve become co-dependent! We do everything together, we’re too involved in each other’s lives, and it’s gotten to a point where if I want to do something by myself because I believe it’s my responsibility to do it, you won’t let me. What the hell?! You’ve helped me a lot, and God knows I appreciate everything you did for me. You helped me stand on my own two feet. But the clock is ticking, twenty-two students will become Grim Reapers, and the rest will go work in research or whatnot. You don’t want to be among the rest, okay? You must focus on yourselves, your grades and your worth scores, and make sure you make it. You make sure this story ends with the four of you becoming Grim Reapers! Leave the whole Morningstar drama to me, because that’s my business. Same with the ritual. Don’t worry, I won’t die again. I’ve made it this far.”
“Mila…”
I straightened my clothes, grabbed my scythe off the ground, and motioned for Corri to get ready to teleport with me.
“There’s something I need to do now, and it can’t wait. Think about what I told you, okay?”
The funny thing was that I wasn’t even lying to them. Sure, that wasn’t the main reason why I couldn’t be with them now, but it was at the top of my list. I needed to do this alone, and I kind of knew how. Kind of. If I failed, I needed it to be on me, not on them. And there was a good chance that I was going to fail.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Why did you lie to me?”
I’d teleported straight in the middle of Yolanda’s bedroom and took her by surprise. She was reading in the armchair by the window that used to be mine. The book she dropped when I startled her also used to be mine.
Dressed in my red and black uniform, with my shiny scythe in one hand and Corri on my shoulder, I knew I looked menacing. Good. Because I needed her to tell me the truth this time.
“I know you lied to me. You found Katia, and you talked to her. She was the one who told you Valentine’s story, wasn’t she? That whole thing about the dimension twenty years from now, how an older version of myself told you everything… You made that all up. Why?”
Yoli took a couple of calming breaths, closed the book gently, and placed it on her lap. She held my gaze, and to my annoyance, she actually looked composed. Here I was thinking that fear would work as a great motivator, but she didn’t fear me at all.
/> “You stink,” she said.
That took me aback. If I were an anime character, a huge drop of sweat would’ve been hanging over my head, and my eyes would be doing that spiraling thing that made no sense.
“Like… literally, or…” I managed, stupidly.
Corri flew off my shoulder, letting out a big breath I was unaware she’d been holding all this time.
“She’s right, Mistress. I’m so sorry… I couldn’t tell you, but… Your ex-boyfriends are right. You need to do something about it, and soon.”
I looked at them, confused. “Are you kidding me? I stink. That’s your problem? Let me tell you what my problem is.” I pointed my scythe at Yoli. “You, missy, lied to me. I’ve been nothing but good to you. I asked you to do one thing for me. Just one. Was that too much?”
“You lied to me first. You told me you’re human, but you’re not.”
“And if I’m not human, what do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. But your mother told me that if you can’t dream jump anymore, it means you lost your humanity.”
“You found her…”
“Yes.”
“Why did you lie to me?”
She shrugged. “How could I trust you? You’ve been using me all along. I’m not stupid, I can put two and two together. When Katia told me you must’ve lost your humanity somehow, because otherwise you would’ve dream jumped to her yourself, I realized you’d been taking advantage of me all along. You sent your pixie to find you someone who could dream travel, and she found me. Then you convinced your adoptive parents to take me in, so you could have me at your disposal and send me after your mom and dad.”
“I never told you to go after Morningstar. He’s dangerous.”
“You can’t find Katia Angelov and not run into Valentine Morningstar. Don’t be naïve, Mila.”
“I’m sorry you feel this way.” I couldn’t deny that she was right. That would’ve meant lying to her again. “But it’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? You’re here, you have a family, you’re doing great. And you’re part of something big.”
She thought for a second. I could tell she wasn’t going to contradict me. She did like being part of this whole supernatural business. It definitely beat spending her childhood and teenage years in an orphanage, then facing the world at eighteen – a world that would kick her in the ass at every step.
“Win-win,” she said bitterly. “You could’ve told me the whole truth, and I would’ve helped you anyway. I don’t care if you’re human or not.”
I sighed. My shoulders slumped. I was so tired, but I’d been running from this conversation for too long. I left my scythe by the door and plopped onto the bed.
“What I am, Yoli… I didn’t want you to know. I couldn’t tell you.”
“Why not. What are you, anyway? Did something bite you and you’re a vampire or a werewolf?” She came to sit next to me, but quickly scrambled away, holding her nose.
“Sorry.”
“You need a shower.”
“A shower won’t help. I’m a revenant. Undead. Last year, Morningstar managed to kill me.”
“You told me he can’t.”
“He didn’t do it himself. He paid an Unseelie mercenary. I was dead for three days. They buried me in the forest outside the Academy. My friends found me, dug me up, and…” I hated this part, especially because I had to tell her about the Great Old One, and I’d hoped with all my heart that I’d never have to drag her into this disgusting story. I’d hoped that Yolanda would never have to know about the monster. “Are you sure you want to hear this? You won’t be able to unhear it.”
She nodded, and I told her everything, made it as short and as quick as I could, gave her minimal details. But even without the details, facts were facts. There was a terrible being living underneath the Academy, and it had the power to bring the dead back to life. In exchange for immortality, it required blood sacrifices every three or four months, and I’d already stretched my deadline too thin.
“So, that’s why I stink. Happy now?”
“You’re dying…”
“Yeah. In a very physical sense.”
She was silent for a while, and I respected her silence. It would’ve been hard for anyone to wrap their mind around the whole thing, and she was only eleven.
“Do mom and dad know?”
“No.”
She nodded, and I hoped she understood why they never had to know.
“I’m sorry this happened to you. It wasn’t your choice, and now you have to deal with it.” I nodded. For a kid, her wisdom impressed me much too often. “It’s not your fault. I mean, I can see why you don’t want to shout from the rooftops that you’re a revenant, but you shouldn’t hide it either. From your loved ones, at least.”
“Being a revenant means keeping the secret. There are few of us, and not many people know. I’m talking about supernaturals. The Council knows, as well as a very small circle of trusted friends. It’s the way it has to be. Otherwise, they would shun us. What we’re doing to stay alive and immortal is horrible.”
“I’m glad I’m part of that small circle of trusted friends.”
She smiled, and I smiled back. Well, that had been easier than I thought, and I felt like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. The vise grip on my heart loosened up a bit.
“Your turn,” I said. “Katia.”
She dragged in a deep breath and blew out her cheeks.
“Where do I start… I found her some weeks ago. She was actually the one who taught me how to better navigate the dimensions and find the exact one I’m looking for on first try. Before her, it was hard for me to return to a dimension I’d already discovered. It usually took me at least three or four nights to find my way back. She showed me how to fixate on solid reference points, and I started noting them down in a diary.” She went to her desk drawer and pulled out a pink notebook. It looked so cute and girlie… No one would’ve thought it contained crucial information about inter-dimensional travel. “So, I visited her a couple of times after that.”
It hurt to hear it. That someone else had seen and talked to my mother so many times, and I was trapped here.
“She asked me about you and why you haven’t come to see her after that one time. I didn’t know what to tell her. I thought you weren’t a great dream traveler, but your mom told me you were one of the most gifted in the family. She’d been worried sick. She thought you were dead. Well… now I know she wasn’t far from the truth.”
“Wait a second.” It suddenly dawned on me. “If she knows how to return to dimensions she’s visited before, then she knows how to get back here.”
“She does. She spent years dream jumping and mapping the parallel universes. When she finally found her way back, she realized she couldn’t return for good. She didn’t have a body here anymore. So, she gave up. When you were little, she watched over you from the shadows. She never dared to come up to you and tell you the truth because she thought it was better for you to live a normal life. Later, she stopped visiting because it was too painful to watch from a distance as you went to school, made friends, and built a life where there was no place for her. She was happy to know that you had a family and a chance at a decent, average life – something she never had in this dimension. And anyway, she fell in love with the man your father had delivered her to. Oh, you wanted to know how it was possible for your mom to switch places with a version of herself that had long passed away.”
My ears perked. “How?”
“It appears the Valentine Morningstar in that dimension truly is the best version of your father in all the parallel universes. When his wife died, he asked a mage to make her a special coffin that would preserve her body in perfect condition. That’s why it worked. Basically, your mother’s consciousness entered a body that was as fresh as the day the soul had left it.”
“Wow! I would’ve never thought of that. Smart.”
Yoli sh
ook her head. “It wasn’t that. It was love. He adored her so much that he couldn’t stand to bury her or burn her body. He was rewarded by getting her back. Well, at least another version of her.”
“And she fell in love with him…”
“Why not? He’s amazing. I met him. He’s kind, and wise, and so gentle with everyone. Honestly, I don’t understand how his other versions, including your father, are the complete opposite of him. She’s happy, you know.”
I swallowed heavily. “I’m glad. She deserves it. What else?”
“She told me your father’s story, but you already know that.”
“Did she tell you anything that might help us retire him?”
Yolanda shook her head. “She has no idea what he’s up to, let alone how to stop him. I’m sorry.”
“But she still talks to him! Morningstar ambushed me at the Unholy Chapel today. He knew about you, and he knew you talked to my mother. She told him herself! He said he still visits her.”
“He didn’t use to, but since you dream jumped and found her, he’s been checking up on her more often. He probably pissed her off, otherwise she wouldn’t have given us away.”
“If she’s in danger because of me…”
“She’s not. Her husband would never let anything happen to her.”
I smiled. It warmed my heart to know that at least she got her happily-ever-after.
“Mila,” Yoli reached over and took my hand in hers. “I’m going to find him for you. I promise. I’m going to figure out what he wants.”
“Don’t. He’s going to eat you whole and spit you out. And I’ll never live with myself after that. Leave Morningstar to me.”
“What will you do?”
“I have no idea.”
“I want you to become a Grim Reaper. And when my time comes, at age one hundred and one, maybe you’ll come for my soul.” She laughed.
I punched her playfully in the shoulder. “You don’t want to see the face of a Violent Reaper before you die, trust me.”