Authors: Kathy-Lynn Cross

So Shall I Reap (26 page)

Her voice sounded sad and misplaced as she answered my thoughts again, “Yes, I do.”

My cell buzzed, and I glanced down to see Michael’s reply. He was out reaping and had finished with a jumper. He volunteered his services and was heading in our direction. Next, Archer’s text stated he was going to meet up with Michael and work the opposite direction. I relaxed for a moment before closing the phone with a click.

“I have to go. Two of my reapers are looking for her now. With Max searching and me joining the hunt, we’ll find her soon enough.”

She deliberately turned away, keeping her eyes from mine. “Tevin, what do you feel when you are near her?”

The question took me completely off guard. “Angel?”

“Any emotion you don’t understand?”

I took this opportunity to lie since she was not facing me. “No.”

The slyness of a smile started to form before she spoke. “You’re still the lost daemon I met ten years ago, I see.”

My cloak resisted when I pulled away from the chimney, getting closer to the half-breed in front of me. The minion was not afraid… it simply did not trust her. The response was
proceed with caution
, Tevin. I took her words as bait. She was trying to open old wounds. The smell of blood was the same between us, and I was not going to bite this time. With two contracts hanging over my head, I did not intend to make a third.

“What are you digging around for, Rae-Lynn? You know Ashens are not permitted to feel the positive side of things. Now is not the time to get into this with you. Do you want me to protect your daughter… or not?”

“How has the River been treating you?”

“I think you already know that answer.”

“You helped me in so many ways, Reaper. By you agreeing to the Bond-Rite, I have been getting stronger since the River Styx hasn’t been absorbing so much of my existence as punishment for saving her.”

“Yeah, well, I would have appreciated it if you disclosed the repercussions of keeping her powers from the River.”

“Power is given and taken in equal portions. You know that Ashen? If you take from the River, it will take from you. Still, you chose to protect my child. Yet, the answer you’ve been searching for has eluded you.”

The inevitable feeling of betrayal coiled around my chest. She was trying to provoke me into revealing what I assumed were feelings I could not comprehend. The twitch came back with a vengeance, adding to my already foul mood. To distract myself I began probing the inside of the minion for a cigarette, I needed something to keep me from grabbing my scythe instead. The weapon hummed, feeding on my disarray of negative emotions, speaking to me.
If you need me, I am right here.

I lit the tip and pulled hard so the smoke filled my mouth instead of the useless words that would end up tying my tongue in knots. Standing, motionless, a scythe’s swipe away from her, we silently gazed at the clouds. Soft, irregular breathing echoed in from the entity beside me, as awareness struck reason. Feeling the intensity of her intentions was as hot as the real thing. She did not want to be alone. The half-angel had picked a fight to save face but also to use it as an excuse to calm her husband’s qualms about why I remained behind with her. A sick thought swept over me, and I made a quick plea to Lucifer to keep her from hugging me. I pulled my cloak tighter and took another drag.

“Tevin, I can’t help but feel sorry for you.”

I choked on the smoke. “Sorry, for me? You are crazy. You know that, right? I got it all. My existence was solid before I met you and your family, not to mention getting stiffed for my services. I should have read the fine print in the agreement before I looked into your daughter’s eyes. That is what I feel sorry for… mostly.” The last word drifted out as if more than two syllables and I did not know why.

Her sly smile was back. “I don’t understand the reason, but I still have hope for you, daemon. The death of her boyfriend was tragic, but she didn’t love him. I guess you both remain in the same boat in that aspect.”

Ugh, see, she was using that L-word again, and I got the same sick feeling.
Please have mercy on me.
I pleaded for her to not make me say it. That sentiment is strictly for the Vessels to deal with, and it linked them to so many other emotions. It completely made me ill trying to sort them out. I took another, cleansing drag.

“I guess it is good she still has Jake to help her out during this time of need.” She turned to me and sighed. “He’ll be good for her until she can come to terms with what she has to do and what she is. Don’t you think so?”

Why was she asking me?
I had no idea what he would be good for, other than a door stop, maybe a hole in the wall designated for a window, or a coffin fill. Honestly… if a daemon could be completely honest… I had no real problem with the male Vessel. At least, I thought I did not until it dawned on me how I started seeing him spend more time around Alexcia. I was aware—as my facial features turned grim—they should. I was a Grim Reaper, after all.

I shrugged in response.

She laughed. The one I hated so much was loaded with unshared answers. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled with anger. She was toying with me. I tossed the cigarette butt on the shingle in front of me. It was time to find the child and move on from this useless, nowhere discussion.

“Before I go, Rae, what do you really want from me?”

The angel looked back up at the points of light trying to burn through the clouds. Whispering into the air, she said, “My dear Reaper of the Grim, I want what every mother wants for her daughter: Spindled Magic, in place of knocking on the door of want. Strength and Muscle, to willingly fight beside her and help bind Creation’s future with her Balance. Love, although it may endure times of sorrow, only in its ultimate form is it the key to overthrowing even one of the Houses. I pray to the Light she finds all three.”

Cryptic, more riddles and no straight answers. “Rae, what is my part in all this?”

“Well, it’s really up to you.”

“What?”

“Your role in Alexcia’s life is up to you.”

I pulled out my scythe to replicate my form of a Time Bend. Using the excuse of checking for messages, I turned to walk away from her. I stopped long enough to text Michael, informing him that I was headed to look for Alexcia by the school. Then I would head to the coffee shop where she worked. Slipping the phone back into my minion’s tentacles, I held out the scythe to make the portal. As it started to hum, a hiss of air crept from me in a harsh whisper. “I think you are expecting more from me than I can give to your daughter, Rae-Lynn.”

“It’s simple, will you be the door, the ring or…” she paused in thought.

“…or what?” I inched forward sensing the need to find Alexcia.

Silence followed as I stepped into the Time Bend. The answers to Rae-Lynn’s riddles would have to wait. Then as the portal began to close, I heard her voice echo through the churning darkness, “… the key.”

Seriously? Was she trying to sever my last nerve? Here her daughter was out in the world, unattended, with only a mere Vessel as her shield from the creatures of the Unseen who hunted her. And Rae-Lynn wanted to play? Normally, daemons would jump at the challenge to show off their intellect, but I seemed to lack the desire. Or maybe I lacked the restraint to stop following what I desired. Then, a light feeling brought a memory into focus, and I saw her sea swept eyes and fire-blond hair.

Wait… what?
No.
What was I thinking?

I needed things to go back to the way they were before I met Alexcia and was suckered into making a contract with her Angel of a mother. Back to a time, when all I needed was nothing more than to harvest some souls for my grim existence.
I guess it is true what the humans say, “You reap what you sow.”
I shifted my right arm slowly toward the left shoulder to touch the beard of the scythe for support. Time would continue forward to whatever end was waiting. With the inevitable looming, I thought, “You reap what you sow, right?”

Then, for Alexcia’s sake, “So shall I reap.”

Scythes & Salutations

Alexcia and I are overjoyed and would like to thank you for joining us into the Unseen. I hope you have enjoyed following Alexcia’s first steps into her future, Tevin’s journey toward understanding humanity, and the places their separate paths will take them.

This story would have never seen the light of day if it weren’t for the following people in my life. First and foremost, I wish to express my love and deepest gratitude to my hubby of twenty years. Thank you so much, Jeff, for giving me the strength and courage to press on, chase my dreams, and pursue my love for Storyweaving. To Josh and MK, for your smiles and encouragement, for staying up with me while I read my pages out loud for your input.

Special thanks to my second family at Clean Teen Publishing and to CTP’s very own Graphic Arts Designer, Marya. I want to express my love for the cover and give a special shout-out for making Tevin look so good. Thank you Rebecca and Courtney, for understanding all of my midnight “sorrys” and detoured mishaps. My sincere gratitude to Melanie, for supporting Alexcia and Tevin by suggesting their story could be something special. Thanks to my editor, Kathy, I can’t express how much your insight and expertise has opened my eyes. Amber, I appreciate you for listening to me ramble about my characters, staying up to rehash the same sentence over and over, and for trying to cure my affliction of useless words. My deepest thanks to Monique for accepting the task of Graphic Arts Designer, internet guru, niece, and friend. You’ve taught me that even when you trip, it is still your fate and your choice to pick yourself up and keep going.

To my dad and sister for their advice and harsh critiques that helped me open my inner ear and listen to reason. To Amy, Autumn, and Nathan for your love and support from afar. A special thanks to my adopted sis and her hubby, for allowing me to be me by crashing your parties with my laptop in tow and borrowing your beloved Gigi to be the next superstar Hellhound. I can’t forget Hunter for inspiring me to never give up, being the crazy aunt, and learning not to worry about what I cannot control. To the rest of my friends and family who believed in my kind of crazy enough to not lock me up when I said I heard voices.

And last but not least, to all my readers, thank you for taking the chance on a new author, new characters, and the Unseen realm. If it weren’t for your love of reading, my Storyweaving wouldn’t have a purpose. The Reapers can’t wait to meet up with you in the next installment.

Scythe ya later

About the Author

Born in Pomona, California, Kathy-Lynn Cross lived there for twelve years until her family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she resides today. Inspired by the backdrop of Sin City, Kathy-Lynn took her English professor’s advice and wrote about the hometown she knew. Kathy-Lynn wasn’t always a writer. In 2008, when her niece was hospitalized, Kathy-Lynn decided to do something special for her, so she wrote a short tale for her to read. After devouring it in a single day, her niece and the nurses in the pediatrics wing quickly asked her, “What’s next?” That was when a new chapter in her life opened up, and Kathy-Lynn realized that she wanted to become a Storyweaver.

Kathy-Lynn loves the color red and uses it obsessively in everything, including her bottle-blonde hair accented with red highlights. She has a knack for baking and cake decorating—that is when her fingers are not busy writing mayhem. When recharging, she can be found curled up with a cup of coffee and a good book or spending time with her hubby of twenty years, two kids, three cats, and the family dog.

kathylynncross.com

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Alcohol abuse hotlines and information

National 1-800 Crisis Hotline : 1-866-684-6303

http://www.allaboutcounseling.com/crisis_hotlines.htm

National Helpline | SAMHSA

www.samhsa.gov

877-SAMHSA-7 (877-726-4727)

800-487-4889 (TDD)

Phone Hotline for Teens | Help for Teens in Crisis

http:///www.pamf.org/teen/hotlines
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.