Page 9 of A Vow of Shadows

Chapter 7

Katrin

Atop a gleaming carriage of ebony sat a man cloaked in shadow. At least, it had the vague shape of a man. Darkness writhed around him like a living shade, the figure beneath little more than a formidable shape swathed in night. At his side, a long, curved scythe glinted in the moonlight, a shining beacon of death.

A large cowl covered the reaper’s head, concealing his features completely. Though I couldn’t see his eyes, I could feel his gaze like icy claws raking across my skin. I refused to flinch under his scrutiny. For once, I had nothing to hide.

“What cause have you to keep a reaper from his duties?” asked the Ferrier, his tone indifferent and condescending. If he was surprised at being halted by a mortal woman, he did not show it.

I stiffened at the sound of his voice, shocked by how human he sounded. With all the rumors surrounding this creature, I’d expected the screams of a banshee or the growl of a beast. Though cold, the rich, silkiness of his words drew me in like a siren’s song.

I straightened my spine and lifted my eyes to the approximate area of his own. “I’ve come to bargain with the Ferrier of Souls.” My words slipped over one another in their reluctance to leave my mouth, but their meaning was clear.

The Ferrier’s attention slid away from me, and I sagged like a spell had been broken. “I do not bargain with the living.”

I bristled at the finality in his tone. He likely intended the words to cow me, but I merely brushed them off and dared a step closer. Smoothing back my windswept mane, I angled my head so the moon highlighted the markings on my face.

As accustomed as I’d become to covering myself and my mark, I might as well have been standing before him naked, even as I remained fully clothed.

Baring the ruined side of my face, I cleared my throat pointedly, trying and failing to capture the Ferrier’s attention once more. The horse nearest me nickered, and I had the vague impression that it was laughing at me. I shot the massive creature a baleful glare but gave it a wide berth as I scurried past, planting myself directly in the Ferrier’s line of sight.

The second his attention returned to me, he froze. Even the shadows that surrounded him ceased their constant motion.

He did not speak, but I felt his gaze tracing my mark from my hairline to my collarbone.

“As you can see, I have been marked for Death.” My voice cracked on the words that had brought me so much pain and heartache. I lifted my left hand, splaying my darkened fingers as further evidence of my shame.

The Ferrier remained silent, but he didn’t turn away again. Taking that as a good sign—or at least, not a bad sign—I approached the carriage. My eyes never wavered from the reaper, though he made no move to stop me. Dirt crunched under my feet, but it was a soft purr compared to the persistent roaring in my head that screamed for me to abandon thismission and retreat. Yet, I could not allow this chance to slip through my fingers. Iwould not, not when I had come so far.

The wood was smooth and surprisingly warm beneath my feather-light touch. Until that moment, I could have been dreaming. My mind had been known to conjure such images for lack of true adventure, but this carriage—this man—was wholly real before me.

I swallowed thickly as I turned my face up to the dark creature that held my life in his hands. Even close enough to touch him, my vision could not penetrate the shroud of darkness to see the man beneath. He was an enigma, and though I knew I should be wary, the mystery called to me. I was overtaken by the sudden urge to reach out and touch the reaper’s cloak, a desire so repulsive I nearly recoiled.

Keeping my hands firmly planted on the rail, I changed tactics. “Surely you can see that I have barely begun to live. It is nigh my twenty-first year on this world—”

“And I have taken souls far younger than yours.”

“And do you feel nothing for those you pry from their mother’s arms?” I countered. “Do you not suffer an ounce of grief? Are you so heartless?”

The Ferrier leaned forward, and I found myself mirroring the action like we were two school children sharing secrets. My heart raced. In fear? Anticipation? I didn’t know, but I rose up on tiptoes to catch his next words.

“If you hope to appeal to my humanity, you will be disappointed.”

My heels slammed to the ground as dismay landed heavily upon my shoulders.

The reaper continued as if he hadn’t dashed my plans against the road. “I have not been plagued by such weaknesses in over a century. I am a courier, nothing more. It is not my place to weave fate’s thread as my own nor question Death’s plans. ”

Frustration mounted in me like a wave. For years, I’d been told that there was nothing to be done for mycondition. That I had no choice but to sit back and watch my life fade away into nothing. I’d kept my voice pleasant—albeit a little pleading—thus far, but now, it exploded out of me. “Perhaps you should question Death’s plans. I know I do. I question everything! What does this mean?” I waved my shadowed hand for effect. “Why is this happening? Whyme?! Andyou! You who see countless wasted lives, will you do nothing when the chance comes to save one?”

My breath sawed out of me, but the Ferrier sat unaffected by my tirade.

“I am no knight in shining armor,” he replied evenly. “I can neither heal you nor remove you from harm’s way.”

“I am not sick,” I spat. “I have reason to believe Death will claim me soon. I’m certain we can come to an arrangement that is agreeable for both of us.”

The Ferrier cocked his head. “Why does Death seek you?”

I shrugged. “It is just one of my life’s great mysteries.” My mother would have been appalled at my tone, but my well of patience was dry.

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