Not amused. Not mocking. Not playful.
Real.
“Apparently, we just saved you from a lot of pain,” he says. “Good to know.”
“It also makes you indebted to us,” Cassian adds.
But if they think I can just let the disappearance of the soul slide like that, they're wrong.
“Where is his soul?” I press, panic rising inside me again.
Souls can't just go unreaped. They don’t simply vanish. The balance between life and death is a very delicate thing, and even the smallest disruption could have disastrous consequences. I know this. Every Grim Reaper knows this.
So where is the soul? I need to reap it as quickly as possible.
“It's safe,” Cassian says.
“Safe?” I echo, confused.
Then he does something I never expected. He pulls out a glowing object from his pants pocket and holds it up, pinching it between his index finger and thumb. It glows just like the soul would if it left the body, but…
What the hell is that?
“I don't understand,” I breathe out.
The corner of his lips twitches as he throws the round object up and catches it again.
“You don't have to,” he says. “Just know that this soul is not your problem anymore.”
“So, will you work with us?” Foxface asks suddenly.
And that's when I realize that these men and I will never understand each other. Never.
I glance back at the corpse. The pull that brought me here is gone. There’s nothing left for me to reap. The man’s soul should have passed into my hands, should have followed the path I carved for it into the afterlife.
But instead…
It was taken.
Stolen.
Ripped away by something outside the rules of death itself.
For the first time in five years, I have failed to do my job as a Grim Reaper.
And the worst part? I'm still being held hostage. Apparently, it was not the soul that kept me locked in here. It was them.
And that's the worst news I could get.
Because no matter what happens next, I know one thing. I am at theirmercy.
The next time the pull comes, for some other soul dying in my area, all I can do is fall to my knees and wait for the pain to fade.
Unless I work with them.
And really, I’ve felt enough pain in my life. I’m done with it.
So, breaking the rules it is.
