Authors: Alicia Dean
He was ignoring her?
The hell he was.
She weaved through the crowd, fighting jostling bodies as she followed him. By the time she escaped the throng, he was well ahead of her. She broke into a run.
“Hey! Come back here. I have to talk to you.”
He ignored her and kept walking.
“Damn you!” Her angry shout turned into a desperate cry as a sob caught in her throat. “Damn you to hell.”
The man paused. His shoulders squared, then dropped. He slowly turned to face her. Waiting.
She halted a few feet in front of him. The air around them was cool, yet sizzled with a current of electricity. Just like she’d felt in Ms. Chapman’s room.
He didn’t speak as he stared at her.
“Who are you?” she asked breathlessly. “What just happened?”
He glanced around. Shoppers passed them, some oblivious to their presence, a few others casting puzzled glances at Audra.
“I’ll explain everything. But not here.” The corner of his lips tilted in a half smile. She caught her breath. It was the first time she’d seen him looking anything but pissed. “They’ll think you’re nuts. Meet me outside this exit.” He gestured toward the glass doors next to JC Penney’s. “There’s an alcove with an emergency door. We should have relative privacy there.”
“Meet you? I’m coming with you now. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Aren’t you forgetting about your friend? You’re just going to disappear on him?”
Jaxon.
Shit.
“Right.” She shoved her hands through her hair. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Lifting her head to stare directly into his face, she said, “Don’t screw me over. You’d better be there.”
His eyes glinted with amusement. “I wouldn’t dream of
screwing
you over.”
Audra held his gaze, trying to decide if she were missing a sexual subtext. Who knew with supernatural beings?
She gave a quick nod and backed away, keeping him in sight for a few moments before turning and hurrying back to the food court.
Would Jaxon still be there? Would he wonder what had happened to her? Was that poor man dead?
Paramedics were lifting the victim onto the stretcher when Audra pushed her way through the crowd to the scene.
She found Jaxon standing next to the man, overseeing his care.
“Hey, is he okay?” she asked quietly.
He gave an almost imperceptible head shake. “I’m going with him in the ambulance.” He fished his keys out of his pocket. “You take my car. Okay?”
“Sure.”
“Sorry about the pretzel.”
She smiled. “You’ll do anything to get out of treating me, won’t you?”
He reached out and tugged a lock of her hair. “You know me too well.”
Impulsively, she gave him a quick hug. “I’ll see you soon. Call me when you’re done and I’ll come get you.”
He nodded. The stretcher was now moving quickly toward an emergency exit, and Jaxon followed.
Audra turned and went back the way she’d come. Her heart raced in fear and anticipation. Was she really on her way to meet some kind of supernatural being? Some creature whose existence she could neither confirm nor explain? She would soon get the answers she needed. Would those answers ease her anxiety, or send her spiraling into insanity and terror?
He was there. Waiting where he said he’d be, leaning against the wall, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. A light above the emergency door illuminated the alcove, allowing Audra to make out his features clearly. His crystal blue eyes glittered as he watched her approach. He didn’t speak when she reached him.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly, staring up into his face. “Tell me who you are and what the hell has been going on since the night of my accident.” Blood pounded through her veins, rushing loudly in her ears as she waited for his reply.
He chuckled, taking his hands from his pockets and straightening.
A flash of anger shot through her. “What’s so damned funny?” she demanded.
“Nothing. It’s just that, this hasn’t been going on ‘since the night of your accident.’ It’s been happening since the beginning of time.”
She threw her arms in the air and let them drop to her sides. “Great. All the shit I’ve been through and I get riddles. You think you’re a Batman villain or something?” She moved closer and jabbed her finger toward him. “I want some straight up answers. Right. This. Second.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Calm down. I’ll tell you, but it’s going to be difficult to believe.”
She barked a laugh and crossed her arms. “Everything that’s happened lately has been difficult to believe. Try me.”
He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “My name is Dimitri. I’m a reaper.”
She waited. She couldn’t have heard him right, so she let the words play in her head for a bit. What else might he have said? It sounded like he said he was a
reaper.
But that wasn’t possible. That was utterly ridiculous. Of course, all of this was utterly ridiculous.
“Did you just say you’re a reaper?”
“I did.”
“And what exactly is it that you reap?” She’d play along. See where this led.
“Souls, Audra. I reap souls.”
Right.
She impatiently brushed a lock of hair back from her forehead. “So, you’re a reaper as in,
Grim
Reaper?”
A grin played over his full lips. “I can’t say I’m fond of that adjective.
Grim.
Sounds sort of...repugnant. I’m just a reaper. Plain and simple.”
“Plain and simple? A
reaper
is plain and simple?” She shook her head, stalking away from him, then back. “You’re telling me you’re
death
? You take people’s souls? You’re a killer?”
He scowled. “A killer? Absolutely not. I’m not a killer.”
“Well, pardon me. Then why don’t you tell me how the hell this works.”
“It’s very complicated. There are rules and procedures—”
“Oh, so it’s like a job? You mean your job is to
reap
?” A bubble of hysteria worked its way up to her throat.
Was she really having this conversation? Had this guy actually just told her he was a reaper? Then again, would a ghost or a demon or whatever else she’d imagined be any easier to believe? Could this really be happening?
Wait. Maybe it wasn’t happening. Maybe she’d died the night of the beating, and she couldn’t move on because she hadn’t accepted it yet. Maybe nothing that happened since then had been real. Her body sagged with the realization.
He reached out as if to grab her, but let his hands fall.
“Am I dead?” she choked.
He frowned and shook his head. “No. No, you’re not dead.”
“I didn’t die the night of the beating?”
“No. You survived.”
A chill went over her flesh that was only partly due to the bite of the frigid air. She pulled her jacket more tightly around her. “Then why can I see you? What has happened to me?”
His shoulders lifted, then fell. “Certain people are more attuned than others. They have some extra sense that allows them to see us.”
“But why haven’t I seen you before?”
“You wouldn’t, until you had a near death experience.”
She was aware of people passing, hurrying through the cold night to their cars, paying her little mind, but she still kept her voice low. “What?”
“When you were beaten in the alley, you almost died. You were conscious long enough to become aware of our presence. That, combined with your...gift...made you able to see us.”
“This is all so craz— Wait. Us?” She squeezed her eyes shut. “The blond. You were both there that night.” She looked up at him. “You were trying to take me.”
“Yes, he’s a reaper, too. No, I wasn’t trying to take you, he was.”
“But you said,
I got here first
, or something...” She concentrated, trying to remember the details, what was said. But she’d been delirious, or thought she was. Now she didn’t know what the hell she’d been.
“Right. I got there first, so he couldn’t take you.”
She rubbed her hand across her forehead. Her head was starting to hurt, a dull, throbbing pain. She was so confused, so utterly baffled.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She raised her head to gaze at Dimitri, a smile forming on her lips. She was an idiot, a complete fool. Someone was playing a practical joke on her. What evidence did she have that this wasn’t just some guy one of her friends or co-workers had put up to screwing with her? Most of the odd visions she’d had of him were when she’d been out of it from pain or medication, or both. It would be easy to screw with her under those conditions.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked, his tone wary.
“You’re not a reaper, not a ghost, not a dark angel, or anything of the sort. You’re just some asshole who’s screwing with me.”
“What?”
“You’re just a man. This has all been some kind of joke.”
He frowned, considering for a moment as if waging an internal battle, then said, “No. I wish that were the case. I’d like to let you believe that, but the truth is out. Gaylen’s not going to leave you alone. I have to make you understand the facts.”
She chortled. “Right. You and the blond are a couple of reapers.” She turned to leave. “I’m out of here. See you around.” She’d only taken a few steps when his voice stopped her.
“Wait. You can’t go. You have to understand what you’re dealing with.”
She looked back at him. “A couple of asshole practical jokers.”
His lips tightened, and he took a step toward her. “No.”
She took a step back. “Yes.”
Another step. “Touch me.”
“What?” She shook her head. “No. No way.”
He came closer. “Prove it. Once and for all. Touch me.”
She shivered, meaning to back away, but found herself unable to move. When he stood a few feet from her, that same cool electricity filled the space between them.
He slowly closed the distance, coming within inches of her body. So close, she could see nothing except the black material of his T-shirt stretched over his pectoral muscles.
“Touch me,” he whispered.
“I—I can’t—I don’t want to—” But she did want to. Blood pounded through her ears and it seemed to be saying,
do it, do it. Touch him...feel him...
She started to lift her hand, then stopped, shaking her head. “I can’t.”
“Okay.” He moved again, closer to her, until there was no way he could get any closer without...
She gasped as his body made contact with hers, but didn’t actually make contact. A surge of electricity, a cool shiver combined with an odd heat, then he became a part of her…stirred inside her…
Her breasts tingled as fire licked over her skin, spreading downward. She had an urge to thrust her hips against him, to satisfy the twitch between her thighs. She moaned, savoring the delicious feel, the impression that his body was a part of hers...
in
hers. The yearning built, aching and trembling through her.
Yes. There. Stay there and let me feel you...just let me...
The sensation abruptly fled. He was gone. A small cry escaped her.
“Here.”
She whirled to find him standing behind her. For the love of God. He’d just literally walked through her. Shame heated her cheeks. She’d almost had an orgasm because of some wacked out supernatural bullshit that should have frightened the living hell out of her. Now that the disturbing, sexual contact was broken, she
was
frightened. What the hell was going on?
“Now do you believe me?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she lifted a hand to her mouth. She shook her head, even as her words acknowledged the facts. “It’s true. You’re really a...a reaper? This is actually happening?”
He nodded slowly, sympathy showing in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to find out. Never wanted you to be able to see us. Now that it’s done, we have to deal with it.”
“Deal with it? How do I deal with something like this? What’s going to happen now? What am I supposed to do?”
He pursed his lips. “You have to be very careful. Now that Gaylen can communicate with you, he’ll use you however he can. He’ll get close to you, find your weaknesses. He’ll take more souls simply by the connection you’ve opened with him.”
“Take more souls?” she scoffed. “You take souls, too. You took Ms. Chapman, didn’t you? You were there, in her room. Then she was gone.”
“Yes, I took her.”
“So, why are you so much safer than he is?”
Silence followed the question, broken only by the sound of a train wailing in the distance. A gust of wind blew a strand of hair over her mouth, and she brushed it away.
Finally, he spoke. “I only take souls when it’s their time. Gaylen is bent on destruction, on evil. He wants to take as many as he can,
before
their time. Violently and painfully, with no regard to the natural order of things. He’s a monster.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but halted when the expression on Dimitri’s face changed. He looked over her shoulder, his mouth tightening, his eyes turning a dark sapphire.
A voice behind her spoke. “You’re not painting a very flattering picture of me.”
She whirled. The blond...Gaylen...stood there, looking...well, radiant. His posture was relaxed. The beautiful, white-toothed smile was in place. A satisfied glow emanated from him. He appeared ready to break out in song.
She glanced back to Dimitri, who stood with his fists clenched at his sides, his teeth showing in a feral snarl. “What do you want, Gaylen?”
The calm tone Dimitri had used with her altered. He growled the words, his body tense, as if holding itself back from pouncing.
“I think you know.” Gaylen’s eyes moved to Audra. “Pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Properly, that is. I’m Gaylen.” He bent at the waist in a bow.
Screw this. Did he expect her to curtsy?
“What do you want?” she repeated Dimitri’s question.
Gaylen smiled and flicked a glance at Dimitri. “I want to disprove whatever nonsense he’s fed you. I only want to be friends, to get to know you.” His amber eyes darkened to a burnished gold. He lowered his voice, and a shiver worked through her insides. “I’ve waited a long time for this.”
“Don’t believe him, Audra. He only seeks to destroy.”
She looked from one being to the other. Dimitri’s angry, ready-to-battle stance. Gaylen’s amused, calm, confident posture. Was she actually being asked to choose between two
reapers
?
She remembered the creepy costume Jaxon had shown her at the mall. The ghostly white mask...the black hooded robe...the deadly scythe. Somehow that image of a reaper now seemed a hell of a lot less scary. That was only a costume...a myth. The creatures here with her now were all too real.
~*~
“What a night, huh?” Gaylen flashed a smile.
She didn’t answer. Her eyes narrowed, and her brow furrowed. Her hands shook, either from the cold—maybe because of him. Whatever the cause, he liked it.
Yes. This had been quite a day. He’d feel as though he’d died and gone to Heaven if he weren’t already dead. And, if this weren’t so much better than anything Heaven could offer.
An evening that had begun with a successful harvest had culminated in being with Audra. Actually conversing with her. Like regular people. She was here, only a foot or so in front of him. He could sense her...smell the energy, the life emanating from her.
God. This was the moment he’d been waiting for.
The only thing that would make it better would be to touch her. Move closer...reach out a hand...taste her breath...He nearly groaned aloud. It had been so long since he’d tasted human breath...the nectar he craved with a painful, physical urge.
Dimitri craved it too. He was just too self-righteous to acknowledge it. To give in to it. Gaylen would have no problem taking it if the opportunity arose...taking it until there was no breath left. But there was only one way to do that, and he wasn’t willing to take the risk. He’d just have to continue to fantasize.