Dirt.
I had to believe they were bad to accept they were gone.
“Izzie.” My name on Sebastian’s lips pulled me from my reverie.
I lifted my head to look up at him. Concern and intensity greeted me. What kind of frown must have I been wearing for him to look at me that way? I didn’t understand this Reaper. Was it normal for him to help others? Or was I in the hands of a new monster? I wish I could trust someone, something, but some days I didn’t even trust myself.
“Yeah?”
His gaze seared mine. “You don’t know me. I don’t know anything other than what any Reaper knows about anyone. I know your name, I know that you’re a witch, and I know your birth and death date.”
Death date?That was… unsettling.
“But you can trust me.” Then he smiled. It was radiant and impossibly huge compared to the squint in his eyes. He looked devious. “And then, when you trust me, we can discuss the no touching.”
“Really?” Unbelievable.
“This is a serious problem among friends. Friends touch.”
I bit back a groan as he started on the touching thing again. “You don’t befriend someone just so you can touch them.”
“This friendship’s special. Just let me touch you and you’ll get that little zap that tells you how important it is for us to be friends.”
The darkness would like that all too much.Touching. I couldn’t start getting handsy like him. I couldn’t predict what would happen. What was it I felt when we touched? A wave of warmth rolled through me just remembering what it felt like… Well, Iknewwhat it felt like, but that’s just weird.
Considering I hadn’t had any sex in the last year, I knew exactly what I felt. Though I hadn’t felt so much energy from a person since…Julius. Sex, magic, and mayhem all brewed when I was around him. He took me when I was young and pulled me into everything. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, my relationship with him—as dark as it had been—was what had shaped me into who I was now. Even though I wasn’t truly a part of the things that happened to me, the memories I’d received from those darkened days told me everything I participated in.
Thinking of who I might be now if I had stayed with him a bit longer, made me shudder.
A piercing cry rang above us. My eyes widened as dragons soared overhead. They were monstrous in size and had bat-like wings with a hint of red between the grooves of their scales. Except for the two white dragons in the mix, they were all the same shade of grayish black. “Beautiful,” I whispered in awe.
“Yeah, that they are,” Sebastian agreed. When I looked back at him, he was watching the creatures with adoration… Relief coursed through me. I was beginning to think there wasn’t anything this guy didn’t smile about. “They protect the entire woods when we’re not here to.”
I glanced around once more, taking in the huge gray castle in the distance. We seemed to be at the edge of a cliff. Ilooked back and saw a house. It looked to be made of a darkish gray stone, almost dull compared to all the vivid colors this strange place held. “This entire place is weird. A beautiful weird.”
“We all call it Grim’s Woods.” Sebastian gazed my way as he spoke. “He created this place himself. He sure doesn’t make it easy for his sons to outdo him.”
“Is this place in the Underworld?” I asked.
“No, it’s on the outskirts.” His hand trailed upward as he pointed in the distance. “My parent’s castle is just beyond those woods.”
I nodded, that I could believe. This place was so full of life and warmth. It couldn’t have been the Underworld.
“And I’m guessing this place is yours?” I pointed toward the house behind us and he nodded with another easy smile. We both just stood there in awkward silence before I asked another question. “So, what now?”
“I’ll show you inside, then you’ll tell me who it is that’s after you.” He turned around and started walking toward his home.
I paused at his words. He noticed my reluctance to go further and turned. “Maybe you’ll change your mind about helping me,” I made the time to say while he was staring at me.
“Maybe you’re delusional along with cagey,” he mused. A phone started going off in his jeans pocket and he pulled it out to answer. “I’m busy. No, I’m not sleeping. You do it, it’s not like there aren’t hundreds of other Reapers.” He hung up. “Come on, Izzie.”
I followed him through the doors. The place seemed a lot bigger once we were inside. It was obvious he was the only one that lived here. It lacked anything to make it a home. There weren’t pictures or any personality. Sebastian was full ofpersonality, so I did find it amusing that everything was so bare, but I guess he was a male after all. There was a sofa and a TV. I also didn’t miss the gaming console and smirked. What kind of entity played video games? He was losing his bad boy appeal from when I first met him, then I remembered the way he moved so at ease earlier and how he dealt with me like it waseasy, or the fact that he didn’t die when I touched him and said the silliest things…Yeah, maybe he did have a certain appeal to him.
I knew he was cunning. I’d lost every verbal battle I’d had with him.
Easy, Izzie, it sounds like you almost respect this guy.
My voice of reason was right. I had to be careful. All I needed was to get attached to another entity. The last one did enough damage, and I would always live with it.
