Page 19 of Destined to the Reaper

She recoiled, shock and a hint of betrayal sparkling in her obsidian eyes. “Why not? Why wouldn’t you want to help me after I’ve freed you?”

“It has nothing to do with what I want,” I countered. “Beings like me are bound by many rules. As a Reaper, I cannot simply go around killing creatures and people who happened to beinconvenient. I can only kill or harm when the target poses a direct threat.”

“And they will do exactly that!” Kali exclaimed, visibly baffled that it wasn’t obvious to me.

“They will threatenyou, notme,” I corrected in a gentle tone. “Very few creatures, even the mindless ones, mess with Death. They give us a wide berth. Once I walk again, even in a weakened state after so many centuries of stasis, they will know they cannot stand against me. But they will come after you. A threat to you isn’t one to me. Intervening would impact Fate’s plans for you. We are not allowed to tamper with the Wheel or the Thread of Life.”

She stared at me in disbelief. “So you’re just going to stand by and watch me possibly get overwhelmed and die?”

“I will not be able to help you, Kali. And I do meannot able. Intervening will cause me debilitating pain that will make me unable to actually assist you. It is not by choice. There is one way around it, but you will not consent.”

Right on cue, Kali’s face closed off, and she crossed her arms over her chest in a disgruntled fashion.

“Let me guess. You will help me if I give you my soul,” she ground through her teeth.

“Yes,” I replied in a factual fashion.

“That’s too steep a price. As you said yourself, I’ll never consent to it.”

“I don’t want you to die, Kali,” I said in a suddenly pleading tone as I moved forward to the edge of the circle.

“Then don’t reap me!” she exclaimed.

I shook my head with an apologetic expression. “If your body dies, and I don’t reap you, your soul will linger and start to decay.”

“Decay?!” she echoed, baffled. “Wouldn’t I automatically go into limbo until a Reaper comes for me?”

I shook my head again. “You need one of us to get you into Erebus to begin with. It is but the entrance hall to the various areas of the afterlife a soul can be taken to, based on its unique circumstances. You need a Reaper to crossover. And then the Ferryman will take you to your final destination. If you are not reaped, you will linger in the mortal plane and decay.”

“Like the wandering souls?” she asked with a shudder.

I nodded. “Most of the souls that haunt the crypt and other similar damned places belong to those who were prevented from crossing over by a curse, or who foolishly refused to be escorted. Then you have those who doomed themselves by committing heinous enough acts to be punished by being left behind, but not necessarily enough to be thrown into the darkest pits of Hell and eternal damnation. For them, decaying is a greater mercy.”

She swallowed hard, her wheels spinning as she reflected on the matter. “All right. But I have not led a bad life. If you don’t reap me, wouldn’t another Reaper come for me?”

I hesitated, suddenly feeling embarrassed, then shook my head. “No other would come for you as you are marked.”

“Marked? What does that even mean? Did Cornelius—?”

“No,” I interrupted, shifting uneasily as I carefully chose my words. “None would come because I have claimed you. Your soul is mine to reap.”

“What?! You’ve taken my soul?!”

“No!” I exclaimed, raising both my palms in an appeasing gesture. “Your soul is entirely yours. Neither I nor anyone else have any claim on it but you. I only get to be the one who will escort you to the other side when your time comes.”

Although all tension bled out of her shoulders, she continued to stare at me with confusion and a hint of suspicion.

“Okay, but why?”

“Because I like your soul,” I admitted sheepishly, feeling insanely self-conscious.

Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened. Although stunned, Kali also seemed flattered. That reaction prompted my mouth to just run away.

“I like the way it feels around me, its mesmerizing shimmer, its enthralling melody so soothing and comforting, and its divine taste.”

“Its taste?!”

As I was speaking, Kali had been gradually softening, her peach skin taking on a rosier tinge in response to those flattering comments. But that last one had her instantly horrified and wary.

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