Authors: Kerri Cuevas
Seven
B
ee was repulsed by the feel of my bony hand on her, and that made my job somewhat easier. My face was still not a sack of bones—yet. I was a young Reaper, still together except for the lack of flesh over my arm and leg bones. Although my organs worked, every day I decayed a little more.
Her soul felt good with mine, but I needed to reap it soon. I waited while she got her boots on and then dragged her through the door. I would find out, for Abe, why she could see Grim Reapers.
Her breath came out in fog as her breathing intensified, but I kept up my quick pace, sometimes struggling to keep my grip. Her heat flooded me as her emotions erupted. I savored it like a delicious piece of chocolate. I struggled to keep the hood down so she couldn’t see my face and the smile that spread.
“Ad! Stop!” She jammed her heels in the ground and I pulled more. “You’re hurting me, death boy!”
“Will you be quiet for five minutes?” My cloak trailed in the dry leaves and sounded like a sled being dragged through the woods. I wanted to pull off my hood and tell her it was me and not to be afraid. If she made me lose my regret, I would ascend and then I wouldn’t be here to help her.
“Not until you let me go. How are you out during the day anyway? I thought you only came out at night like bats.”
“Please. I don’t only go out at night. I can go out any time I want. We prefer to go out at night only to blend in with the darkness when we materialize. That’s when a Grim Reaper disappears and then reappears in a different location.”
Bee looked down at my hand again. “Your hand is really grossing me out. Look, I promise to follow you, if you let me go.”
I let go of her arm because it was hot and sweaty. Dead people don’t sweat. I went to rub my hand together and it was soft. There was a thin layer of fresh skin that covered the bones and hid the ligaments. I pulled up my sleeve and turned my hand back and forth. No bones! I had stopped rotting. Holy heaven, the girl was healing me! Her hands were emitting white light and it pulsated with energy.
She stopped to see what the fuss was. “How did that happen?” Her eyes wandered to my other hand. I pulled back my sleeve, but it was still bones and sinew. She took a step but hesitated.
“I’m not going to reap your soul today. I’ll warn you ahead of time when you need to be scared of me.” Slowly Bee walked toward me. I lowered my hand, and now I was pissed at myself that she was repulsed.
My muscles were ropes of knots when she touched me. Fresh skin began to spread down my hand to the tips of my fingers. “What the—” I took my hand away from her. It looked like skin, it felt like skin. “What are you?”
“You’re a Grim Reaper, and you’re asking me what I am? I didn’t do anything. Whatever happened, you did it. It must be more of your tricks.”
She walked ahead of me down the path toward the cemetery. I took long strides to keep up.
The gate squeaked and I stumbled through. By the time I entered, I saw Bee sitting on the steps to the crypt with her hands covering her face.
“Girl,” I called. Her eyes were sad. I swallowed down an egg-sized lump of guilt.
“I have a name, you know, or do you even care?” She was so dainty and her black hair blew back with the wind. I couldn’t stop imagining how good it felt to kiss her. I had kissed girls before, but never had they sent such life coursing through me.
If I kissed her again, it would be dangerous. Ugh, rules, rules, rules! I couldn’t even remember all of the Reaper Code of Ethics. Rule number one was always to follow through on reaping a soul. Rule number two, protect the soul at all costs. Rule number three, wield the scythe while executing the Kiss of Death. I guess I botched that one. Rule four, you had seven days to complete a reap. Rule, I think, eleven, you can only reap a soul taken from the List of Death. Any reaping resulting in a mess where Grim Security is involved shall be reported and punishable by being banned to the River of Lost Souls, or worse to the Dark Lord.
And then there was the Code of Balance. For every birth in a family there shall be a death and for every death there shall be a birth, keeping in harmony with nature. At least this one I had memorized, but only because Abe wouldn’t get me my gondola until I could recite it to him.
Bee uncovered her face, but didn’t meet my eyes, staring at the edge of my cloak where leaves collected. “What do you want? I’m here. Are you going back on your word? If you are, I have goodbyes to prepare for.”
I gritted my teeth. “No.”
“Who are you? How did you become a Grim Reaper?”
I lowered my head and let the hood drape down to my top lip. “Stop asking questions. I won’t answer them because I can’t.” I sat down next to her and she stiffened, but her soul bubbled to life in me. “I’m just a regular person that has died.”
“Why me? The twins were born and now Sabrina is dead, my family is off balance again, but I figured it would be my grandpa who would pass on next. I need to know. I can’t take the not knowing. That might kill me before you do.”
Her constant talking was driving me crazy. All I wanted to do was figure her out, so I could reap her without the mess. So far she seemed to be the same girl from two years ago except her choice of clothes seemed worse without her cousin around.
I waved my hands at her. “If you stop asking questions, I’ll answer one thing. Please, you’re giving me a headache and I’m dead so I don’t even think that’s possible. Ask wisely because I’m not supposed to give away Grim Reaper secrets.”
Her life force energy enveloped us both. My hands were no longer pasty white, but a pale pink. Whatever she was doing, I couldn’t get enough of it.
She pondered while looking into the forest beyond. I thought she was going to blurt out a question, but instead she got up and ran. I sat stunned.
“Girl, what’s wrong?” I let out a deep sigh and followed her to where she sat under a pine tree.
In her hands was a small black and white bird. It fluttered its wings to get away, but couldn’t fly. One wing looked messed up bad. Her finger stroked its little head. “Take the bird for me. I think I sprained my ankle running and I have to help it.”
“Oh no! I’m Death and would kill the thing.” She had better be kidding.
The warm in me cooled down, but her brown sad eyes flicked with disappointment and did me in. “Fine, I’ll hold it for you, but if I kill the bird I don’t want to hear about it. Okay?”
“Thanks, Ad.” The warmth sparked again and I closed my eyes and reached down slow to hold the little creature. Her fingers met mine. A trail of her heat remained. I opened one eye to make sure the thing hadn’t keeled over. I let out a breath and Bee freaked out and covered her hand over the bird.
“You want to freeze this poor little chickadee? Don’t breathe so hard. If you haven’t noticed, you make the North Pole feel like the tropics.”
“Okay, sorry, I forget I’m dead sometimes.” Holding the bird, I followed her as she limped down the path, the leaves crunching under her feet.
“You must not have been a Grim Reaper for long since you keep forgetting that you’re dead.”
I scrunched my eyebrows together. “And you act like seeing Grim Reapers are a normal thing.”
“It’s normal for me because I was born seeing them. It’s just something we always accepted. I see Grim Reapers in the center of town towing people around like dogs on a leash. I accept that death is a part of life and I’m not afraid of it. Of course, I’m going to avoid it at all costs, but hey, can’t live forever, right?”
“Bull. You have to be scared out of your wits. It’s not normal to accept death.” I felt like an idiot that I never knew this side of her, the side that could see Death and her calm view about it. She had kept it hidden well.
“Who are you to tell me what I feel and don’t feel?” She scowled and half stomped. I had hit a nerve.
“I’m just making a friendly observation because no one could be okay with seeing a Grim Reaper come knock at their door. We can look darn creepy. If someone came and told me I would die, I would go crazy.”
“My family isn’t like that. Who is the one that took you? Did he give you the kiss of death or use the garden tool? My grandmother died when I was six. A Grim Reaper sucked her soul right out in one big breath. White glittery fog came out and the Grim Reaper swallowed it.” She paused, looking thoughtful. “Did you have a choice or is it like a punishment to become a Grim Reaper? You were bad, weren’t you?”
“That’s more than one question. I said one.” The bird chirped and I loosened my grip, afraid I would squish the thing. “I bet you haven’t even told your parents about our little date.”
Bee kicked a stick that was in her way, sending it to the side of the path. It looked like that sprained ankle was miraculously better. “Is that a question or a statement Mr. know-it-all?”
“A statement.” I wanted to hug her. I felt guilty for taunting her, but if I started to be nice, killing her would never happen.
“I have my question and you have to promise to answer it truthfully.”
I was afraid of telling her anything. I was a pro at staying elusive while reaping, but answering a question had me squirming in my cloak.
“Just ask it,” I mumbled.
“The truth?”
“I could never lie to you,” I growled.
My nerves jittered, afraid she would figure out who I was.
“Why do you call me girl?” She continued to evaluate me. It was weird that of all questions to ask, she wanted to know something personal about me.
“Because it keeps things impersonal. I don’t want to feel connected to my assignments and since you can oddly see me, the more impersonal the better. Okay, Beatrice?” Her soul dripped relief until it calmed, and warm threads of energy twitched through me.
“Call me Bee. It’s nice to know you are aware of whom you reap, that it’s not just a game, or some sick pleasure.”
“That’s me, the all caring neighborhood Grim Reaper.” We continued down the path. She was deep in thought. I was annoyed. All I wanted to do now was float down the river in my gondola and be away from everyone.
Eight
B
ee gently took the injured bird from me, placing it in a cage that was on her desk. It limped, using its wing as a crutch to walk to the food bowl. It pecked at the food, and chirped when Bee whistled. It was no longer lifeless and cold thanks to Bee partially healing it.
Watching her made my stomach flip as Bee’s soul meshed more with mine. She brought her hand to her chest, feeling the coolness of my soul. It drew us together as if we were tied by invisible strings.
I liked her soul in me. “I feel it too,” I whispered, capturing her eyes with mine. Her soul kept me at a constant warm temperature that I was enjoying after two years of feeling wintry.
“I don’t want your soul in me! But if that’s what’s going to keep me alive for now, then, so be it!” She turned away from me and huffed, watching the bird.
I threw my hands in the air. “It’s not my fault. You’re the one who intertwined them, not me!”
She gave me an angry scowl. “No, I didn’t. Why would I do such a reckless thing?”
“You made a deal with the Dark Lord. Why else couldn’t I reap your soul? Look I’m not trying to fight with you, I want to help you. The bargain you made is probably harmless, seeing I was to bring you to the Golden Gates.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Bee frowned, looking out the window, gazing into the forest.
“Yeah right,” I scoffed. “Just like your little act in the woods with your ankle. I knew you were pretending just to get me to hold the bird. Whatever that proved.”
“It proved that you have your humanity still intact. You should see some of the Grim Reapers I’ve seen and what they do.” She sat down on her desk chair, picking up a pencil, scrawling on paper.
“Have you ever cursed to yourself before, or bargained in any way?” I watched as she pressed down hard on the pencil. “Did you ever say to yourself, I would do anything to cheat death, or I would give anything to cheat death?”
“No. Never.” She was making harsh dark lines on the paper, moving her hand fast, coloring in the white. Bee began to rub her thumb over the paper, smudging it.
I turned on my phone, reading through the troubleshooting section of the Manual of Death. Nothing fit, and I couldn’t fathom how our souls became entangled within each other if she had never made a bargain.
“And you’re positively sure?” I looked over my phone.
Bee growled, holding up her picture. A sketch of a Grim Reaper stared back at me. Its skin was peeled with hallow eyes. It was hideous looking. “Does it look like I would bargain for my soul to stay with you?”
I turned, walking away. “I’m going to go outside to call my boss.”
Bee waved as I went outside. I cleared my throat and was relieved to talk in my normal voice. Abe answered.
“Abe, Bee says she didn’t make a deal and I believe her. Now what?” I watched her from the window. Her hand was on the glass cage, pulsating with a warm glow, and her aura was a cool turquoise.
“I want to know why she can see Grim Reapers. If she doesn’t know, get her to ask her parents. It’s possible they could have made a bargain with the Dark Lord about her,” Abe said.
“If that’s the case, what does that mean for Bee?” I saw her inside, crumpling up the drawing and throwing it across the room.
“She would have to get her parents to break the bargain. You can do it, boy, you still have six days. I have to go now.”
I hung up with Abe, and slipped my phone into the pocket of my cloak. Bee rubbed at her eyes as I went back into her room.
She put on a hoodie, tucking her hands into the pockets. “So cold,” her teeth chattered.
“I’m sorry about that. That’s my soul making you feel that way.” I shrugged.
“I’m sorrier for you, that you have to feel like this all the time,” Bee said.
I changed the subject, getting down to business. I didn’t want her to pity me for something that I had chosen to be. “My boss wants you to ask your parents why you can see Grim Reapers. Maybe they’re the ones who made the bargain about you.”
Bee scrunched her eyebrows together. “No! That’s impossible. They wouldn’t.”
I walked to the corkboard, staring at the pictures of things I’ve missed in the past two years. “There’s only one way to find out. You need to ask. Or would you rather have my soul stuck in you forever?”