So Shall I Reap (18 page)

Max had truly lost it. By design, an Ashen’s tool was forged straight from the River Styx for the purpose of harvesting the living, and in a rare case, to use for defense. The irony of it was mind-bending. Only daemons approved to bestow death were allowed to use a weapon of pure creation in its rawest form. No creature, living or existing, could touch an Ashen’s weapon, which pretty much covered everyone. Max, even in his Doom Guard state, was no exception.

Alexcia’s father rocked the tip of his hoof to add injury to his insults, then bolted straight up, pushing away from me. His blood sprayed everywhere, leaving plumes of smoke with each drop. I lowered the scythe and called forth my minion. Its black mist covered me with the shroud of darkness and leaving only the thin edges of my minion’s indigo outline darting around me displaying its anger. I was told when I was at my worst, the bright color in my eyes faded to points of endlessness. Beyond that was where I kept the daemonic Smolder caged.

I knew my minion was pissed at me for allowing myself to take on this kind of damage while it worked at healing the wounds. Testing each area with a harsh sting was its way of showing me disappointment. Before it moved to cauterize the open gash Max had made, it gave me another jab.
This unique pet of mine has an attitude problem. It amuses the other reapers to watch us interact. Imp likes to point out that we are perfectly matched. Both of us are stubborn and set in our ways. The symbiotic relationship I have with my cloak minion is exasperating.

A low growl turned into a chuckle as I used the snath for support to help me stand. Something was biting my ass. I was struck with a quick memory recall while reaching into the back pocket. Great. I dug in and retrieved broken pieces of the phone. I have gone through so many of the damn things, I should have switched to Bluetooth earpieces.
It would at least cut back on the grief I get from Quint.
I dropped the broken phone, seething as I heard the plastic pieces hitting rock.

“I get it. So, you do not want me to work for your angel anymore? Hey, that’s fine with me. Quite frankly, it’s high time you and Rae acted more like humans caring for a young Vessel and not keepers of a recklessly wild, exotic, and potentially dangerous animal.”

Max frowned but remained quiet, so I took the opportunity to justify my actions.

“You do realize all the dangers she puts herself in, right? You contracted me to protect her, but she is going to end up killing herself faster than any elemental could. Oh, and, by the way, you owe me a new cell. Something with Bluetooth capabilities would be nice.”

His response was a ground trembling roar. I tightened my eyes in reply and mentally said, “The truth hurts, eh Max?” Spinning the scythe over my head, he would have missed me swinging it if he had blinked.

The mighty daemon rolled his wings and shoulders forward in a hunch. How could he look menacing and worried at the same time?
Damn me and the cloak I cast.
I was what? Feeling sorry for Max?

Well, he looked like he wanted to talk now. Sheathing the weapon, I inwardly cursed, “Double damnation,” Then I snapped at the cloak and commanded it to remain close so it would not abandon me again. I made a swipe through my hair.
Great, blood there too.
I gave an order to my minion, “Cloak and Hood.” The death shroud formed, and I stood there, draped in its power. In my Grim Reaper stance, I was ready for Max, anger and all.

The sound through his clenched teeth made a low whistle escape from his nose. I came to the conclusion that it was not me who hit this daemon’s core. It was either his daughter or his lover. I coughed, not really sure if I wanted his attention back on me, but he could not stay in that location much longer. The other reapers would be back soon. I did not want to lose any of them to his anger.
Some of them do not know how to hold their tongues.

Max’s neck wound began to mend, becoming a light tinge of red. He let his weight drop to the ground and leaned on his claws. “Be grateful you never mated. Sometimes I would beg for something or someone to smite me down so I would not have to go back. But I find it hard to stay away from both of them, and Lucifer delights in torment for entertainment.” His dagger-like eyes lost their steel, and I was no longer in his crosshairs. He spoke again, “The Master anchored my growing interest and suspended curiosities to move me like a puppet. He encouraged it, urged me to make her mine. What I did not comprehend was the consequences for such a relationship to exist.”

Alexcia’s father, in his otherworldly appearance, looked down the canyon’s ridge. An oversized grimace peeled back to display his pointed teeth. I did not understand most of what he was explaining to me, but I was not going to acknowledge our little communication problem. Instead, I nodded in agreement and approached with caution as his voice echoed from the past. “…Before Rae-Lynn was transformed into her human form, she created the closest feeling to purity I would ever dare touch. The emotion that danced in her eyes mesmerized me, and her caress was so gentle, I finally understood what tranquility meant. Her waters quenched certain cravings, and I was lost in her ability to calm the turmoil of always wanting more. To my misfortune, she enraged a new desire of want.”

Max lowered his wings as they darkened while he continued to speak, “After this little stunt, I feel her own feelings have become clouded for our daughter’s safety. She is now angered with me.” He rubbed a spot under his eye with the back of his claw and stared at me. “I was told to fix this… this little mishap.”

The Doom Guard’s claw opened and motioned up and down in my direction. Wonderful, the focus of this conversation was back on me. I remained silent, but the Smolder beast I kept contained began to mentally pace.

“Can you explain to me why you gave our daughter the Roses of Remembrance? Think about it because if your answer is not about her safety, I will make your existence recycle until you have no power left, and the River will not accept your essence back into its currents.” He took on a striking stance, and I heard his nails scratch against the rocks, creating sparks. “Choose your words with care, Daemon of Death.”

With eyes closed, I cleared the air with a back throat cough to buy myself some time to contemplate his proposal before willingly placing my neck across this daemon’s chopping block. I presumed either explanation I disclosed concerning Alexcia would start the recycling process for me in the end. I had never been on the other side of death’s coin. To face the possibilities of demise with its next flip was surreal, and the frown I wore felt heavy as the conclusion became clear. Being upfront with Max was the only option. At least I knew he would hold true to his threat if he didn’t approve. This existence would not end swiftly.

“I grow tired of waiting, Tevin.” He gnashed his teeth making me focus on his face.

With a weighted down sigh, I answered, “The clan and I are under duress. We reap, recycle, restore. That is it. Guarding a life who does not want to be protected makes our job beyond complicated. We are all frustrated.” My boots made a crushing sound against the loosened debris from our tussle. Taking a seat on one of the jagged rocks we had managed to avoid, I figured it would come across less threatening if I were sitting. A few scythe handles away from him, I felt a searing heat rolling off his body, anger in its complete form. Positioning my right leg so I could lean on it, I assumed the
thinking reaper’s
pose while taking a moment to pause. “I was rationalizing about the benefits for both parties. By breaking yours and Rae’s curse, she would be free to remember what she is. Hell, she definitely takes after you. I don’t know if you have noticed, but her abilities are beginning to leak out. Right now, it is a slow drip… but soon enough… Max, the walls you use to contain her will come crashing down and then what?” I picked at the heel of my boot, pulling bits of embedded stone from the grooves. “I know she has power, but what will she do with it with no one guiding her on how to use it?” That was when I took a chance to look at him.

His eyes were set on something behind me. Max was zoning out. I could not tell if he was taking into consideration the explanation of the
why
. I had been forthright with him. It was not a case of covering my own ass, but I had sent the tainted flowers. I meant for her to touch them, and was, in a way, looking out for her well-being. I scoffed at myself. The word irritated me and the creature within growled in agreement.

“And who gave you the right to tear the wool from the lamb’s eyes?
We
, as her caregivers, have taken all events into consideration. Yes, her day of birth draws near but
we
also have discussed the consequences of revealing everything and
we
feel she is reckless and too immature to handle the responsibilities of her calling. You and your clan have acted upon your own assumptions. Your contract was laid out in the simplest form between you and my wife with her asking for your assistance to help protect our daughter from corruption or demise.” The last part of his sentence held grit from animosity toward me.

“The dead are getting neglected, Max. Do not hold ill-will against us. I sent the roses to Alexcia to wake her mind up. She needs to be told who she is, the power she possesses, and her role in creation’s cycle.”

Max appeared to be listening, but I doubted he heard every word. Regardless, I continued, “Alexcia also needs to stop her destructive ways. She is becoming unstable in her Vessel form. Her erroneous behavior will be her undoing. Not me, not my clan, and not even the elementals can dream of harming her body or soul, thanks to us and your spells. I am not sure what has happened to change her way of reasoning, but these past few specks of time have been close to ending her life. She is mixed up in earthly potions. My powers, for the most part, are keeping her chained to her soul. Max, the Cauldron of Ending has given us her name on more than one occasion.”

His dark lavender skin turned a deeper shade with his disdain. He took to the sky and disappeared just as fast. I had given him plenty to ponder, and he needed to know. Rae needed to know. Alexcia had been damaging her soul, with almost every form of abuse to her life force. If she extinguished her own life, the River would look upon it as suicide… a form of murder. Therefore, the soul would be seen as unholy and not worthy to be recycled back into creation. Alexcia was going to find out quickly if the Callcrys came for her before we could stop them. If it came to that, we would not be able to halt the chain of events. She would be missing too much of her soul by the time we kept the River’s soul cages from feasting on her.

The Doom Guard manifested behind me. The deep purple mist consumed me and jerked me around to face him in an instant. His claws passed right through me. I reached for the only thing I could count on. Swiftly pulling at the snath of my scythe, the blade rang out, colliding with his left claw. Sparks flew everywhere as we growled and roared in frustration.

Max’s wings swiped at the air in front of me, trying to knock me off balance and push me out of his space. A sound of amusement slipped out because, in reaper form, I was nothing but mist, a dark cloud to rain on your day. He could not touch me, but at the same time, I had the same disadvantage. Floating like a Caster, I was only able to strike out with my weapon and nothing more.

He swiped. I faded. I swiped. Both of us moved, swiped, faded, swiped, and moved again. I was unsure how long we danced to death’s tune, but it seemed as if we were getting out close to a decade’s aggravation. I made the mistake of getting caught up in the rhythm of swinging and blocking when he countered by spinning the opposite way. Max tried to grab the scythe’s hilt, releasing all of his force in one final roar.

My mist form blew to the back of the cave where I had intended on staying when I heard Max speak to me from the entrance. “Tevin, I grow tired of your whining. My wife holds you and your clan in favor. Why, I am not sure, nor do I approve, but it is what she wants for Alexcia. I will speak to my daughter but will not unlock her mind to her powers.” The expression on his face dared me to speak, but I chose to play it safe. “The Bond-Rite I agree to is this: You have from this time forth, until the thirty-first rising of the dual suns in the Unseen. On the thirtieth set of the earth’s single moon, you will not let anything happen to Alexcia’s soul. I don’t care if you have to stir the waters to change the outcome. After your time is served, I will break Rae-Lynn’s contract with you and the bond to our rite will be severed.” Max leaned into the cave entrance, making sure I heard his sarcastic tone. “In short, you have one earth month, from this time forth, to kid-sit my daughter. Do you object to this, or do we have a bond?”

I secured the scythe just as swiftly as I mentally listed the pros and cons. The mist around me became stiff with uneasiness. The reasons I found, in a roundabout way, were for both of our worlds. I was expecting her to find out who she really was, possibly change her destructive behavior and test the level of her strength. Most of all, if we could get her to value her life force, it would solve both of our problems. She would be less of a temptation or target to other Unseen creatures and give the clan a break from saving her ass all the time.

For the past decade, I had been consumed with keeping her alive and focusing less on this existence as a death daemon. Occasionally, I could not help but question the intentions or real reasons I had agreed to the venture. Over the years, the
why
of it had been lost among so many other questions of
want to know
as opposed to the
need to know
. The Bond-Rite was nothing but an infested thorn. I wanted it removed. No matter how much I was intrigued with Alexcia’s nature, the clan had not chosen this path. My duties were getting neglected by it. Not great qualities of a leader.