Page 126 of Shades of Silver City

The front door crashes open, slamming into the wall so hard it cracks the drywall.

A black blur flies through the living room, clearing the counter and landing on Reed.

Scathe!

The pressure on my throat is released as Reed is swept away from me. He and Scathe collapse into the fridge. A scream rings out as the dog sinks his teeth into Reed’s arm.

Still not having enough room to go around them, I pull myself up onto the counter. My body is weak, exhausted. Before I can crawl across to the other side, into the living room, strong arms scoop me up.

Archer cradles me to his chest. “I got you, baby.”

He carries me to the couch, setting me down gently. I gasp, still trying desperately to catch my breath. My violated throat throbs with pain.

Reed’s cries die out. Scathe rounds the counter and pads toward us, blood matted around the fur on his mouth.

“Is he…” I can’t bring myself to say the next word.

Archer winces. “Not yet.”

It really was the dreamdust after all. Reed is dying.

I squeeze my eyes shut, willing this all to be an awful nightmare.

“Tasia,” Archer murmurs. He holds my chin gently in his fingers, angling my head to inspect me. “Your cheek…” His gaze roams me desperately. The muscles in his jaw become tense. He barely moves his mouth when he growls, “Your throat.”

Reed must’ve left a mark. With the way it aches, I’m not surprised.

“He hurt you.” Archer’s face darkens. His fingers gently ghost over the tender skin, without actually making contact. “He hurt you.”

Fury blazes in his golden eyes. They flicker, and his pupils dilate, darkening his irises. It’s the only warning I get before his face begins to transform before me.

Unblinkingly, I stare as Archer lets out a guttural roar. His familiar face morphs into a frightening mask of pale skin stretched over bone and tendon. His cheeks hollow out, and his mouth stretches into an impossibly wide hole, gaping at me. Hungry for something. I shove myself backward.

Gone is the handsome, tanned face I’m familiar with. Gone is the man I’ve started to fall for.

In his place is a thing of nightmares. Haunting. Otherworldly.

A horrible noise erupts from the gaping hole that used to be his mouth. Then he bursts into action, springing up from the floor and moving into the kitchen with inhuman speed.

As if connected by an invisible tether, I jump up from the couch, trembling as I move closer to see what’s happening.

I should run.

But my morbid curiosity and terror are holding me prisoner.

Archer, who is now hovering above Reed, begins to inhale audibly, his chest expanding with the breath. The grey fog surrounding Reed’s unconscious form wavers before wafting upward, like a snake being summoned by a flute.

All the blood drains from my face.

Archer sucks up the remnants of Reed’s soul, absorbing it into his own body.

No.

It can’t be.

Archer can’t be the Reaper. I’ve seen them both at the same time, in the same place.

But…he’s not unlike the Reaper either.

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