“What about you?” I whispered, clutching the gun.
“Don’t you worry about him,” the Reaper called. “He knows when Death has someone in its sights, it always gets what it wants.”
Without warning or any kind of pause, he threw out his arms and tossed some of that electric-blue energy at us. Olly didn’t seem surprised. He didn’t duck. He didn’t run. He planted himself directly in front of me and heabsorbedmost of what came our way.
“Go to the Jeep,” Olly said. Then he threw out his hands, tossing back more of the same energy.
Did he think I could just leave him there?
“Go!” he yelled when I just stood there debating.
Apparently he did.
“I won’t leave you here!” I argued.
The Reaper laughed and raised his hand, pulling like he was holding an invisible rope. A red cloud appeared around Charming, half in, half out of his body.
“Come along, Charming,” G.R. called. “You’re supposed to be locked up tight until the clock runs out!”
I watched as Olly seemed to stumble forward like his body was following his soul. I reached out and grabbed his hand, holding on like I could keep him right there with me.
The Reaper laughed again and pulled harder. Olly’s hand ripped from mine and he fell forward onto his knees. Red was a giant cloud around him, growing bigger every second, and the more red I saw, the more limp his body became.
I wanted to scream. To scream and never stop. I’d never seen such a thing before.Is this what everyone looked like inside? Could the Reaper just rip out my soul right here and now?
I didn’t scream.
Instead, I raised the gun, pointing it at the Reaper.
I didn’t hesitate.
I pulled the trigger.
The bullet slammed into his shoulder, knocking him backward, but not hard enough to knock him off his feet. The shock was enough to get him to stop doing whatever he was doing to Olly, and his soul snapped back into his body, the red disappearing from sight.
He scrambled to his feet, pushing me backward, toward the side of the house. “Get the hell out of here, Frankie. Go, now!”
Over his shoulder I saw the Reaper recover. I saw him look up at us and smile. He released more of that energy from his fingers and sent it spiraling right at Olly.
“Look out!” I yelled.
But it was too late. Just as Olly turned, the energy hit him directly in the chest. He flew backward, hit the ground, and slid into a large shrub that lined the property. I rushed over and fell to my knees beside him. Blue energy glowed around him before fading away into the darkness.
“Olly,” I worried, leaning over his body so I could see his face.
“Find Storm.” He said the words so low I barely heard them, and then he leapt up so fast that I fell backward from surprise. The Reaper had been closing in, taking advantage of my preoccupation over Olly. When our eyes connected he smiled. He was going to kill me.
I lifted the gun once more.
But I never got the chance to shoot it.
Olly was there, throwing himself between us and plowing into the Reaper like a bulldozer. I screamed, watching the man I love come into contact with the man whose touch kills.
Olly made a sound of pain and he shoved the Reaper away, but then he jumped back and stayed steady on his feet. “I’ll go with you now if you leave her be,” he said, out of breath.
“No!” I protested, panic taking hold.
“How about I kill her now and take you after?”
