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He lets out a rumbling laugh at my sarcasm.
“Alright, thanks Luz. I’ll tell the council. Be good.”
I sip my coffee as I head through the city, wondering just how bad this is going to get before the council figures out what’s going on. Either way, we’d have to be vigilant. I can't let anything happen to Thea, and I’m not exactly ready to die with more finality this time
By the time I’m back in my room, I’m no more tired than before but know I have to force myself to sleep soon. One glance at my game setup has me tossing that thought aside and sitting down, ready to lose myself in a game for a few hours first.
A knock on my door has me putting down the controller. I’m more than a little surprised to see Sam waiting on the other side, a dagger in his hand. I raise my eyebrows as I glance up at him, not afraid, just confused.
“Listen. I know that I could have sent Liam or Mase up here, but I didn’t want to,” he starts. “Can I come in?”
“Sure,” I say, stepping aside so he can walk in. He looks nervous as he sits on the edge of the bed, watching me. “What’s wrong? Did more go missing?”
“Yeah, another reaper,” he admits with a heavy sigh. His gaze locks on the dagger as he twists it around in his hand. “But really I wanted to bring this to you.” He stands and tugs a leather ankle harness out of his jacket pocket. “May I?” He drops to his knees and my mouth goes dry at the sight. Sam has kept his distance outside of our exchanged conversations and soul drop off. But for some reason, now he’s acting differently.
“Sure,” I offer, shifting my foot forward for him. He winds the strap around my ankle gently and secures it into place. I wait as patiently as possible as he adjusts it, testing it a few times before sliding the dagger into place and tucking my pant leg around it to conceal it.
“When your boots are on it’ll be hidden,” he promises. “Do me a favor?” He stands then so we’re only inches apart. My heart is pounding against my ribcage and I swallow hard as his eyes dart to my mouth, jaw clenching as my tongue licks slowly along it.
“What’s the favor?” I ask, nearly breathless.
His emerald eyes meet mine. “Never reap without this. Don’t even go through a portal without this on your leg.”
“I won’t,” I say.
“When this is over, and we have time to breathe again, I’m taking you out on a date.” It’s a command, not a question. But for once, I don’t mind someone bossing me around.
“Yes, sir,” I breathe out and he lets out a dark chuckle.
“You can save that kind of talk for after,” he teases and steps back. “Stay safe out there tomorrow.”
“I will,” I tell him as he closes the door behind him.
What the hell just happened?
ChapterTen
Luz
The next day Thea and I are on high alert. Tensions are high in the city and every time we turn a soul in, I swear the guys sag with relief. Liam has lost his humor, Mason is on edge, and Sam looks like he’s ready to throw me over his shoulder and carry me to safety, caveman style. It’s a testament to how bad things are already getting.
We’ve been lucky so far, but by mid-afternoon there’s already news of more missing souls. The guys barely let us leave but we have a job to do and we’re both armed. As we step through the portal we both pull our scythes out, gripping them tightly.
“Something doesn’t feel right, Luz,” Thea says in a hollow tone. I turn to her to see her eyes glowing white for a moment before flashing back to their usual green. Well, whatever Thea is, her powers are coming out to play. And I’m not about to disregard a warning like that.
“What doesn’t feel right?” I ask in alarm. She shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head.
“Sometimes I just get bad feelings, I don’t know how else to explain it. Let’s get this over with quickly. We don’t want to linger here.”
We’re in an alleyway, surrounded by tall buildings. The usual noises of a big city permeate the air, and so does the stench from the nearby dumpsters.
It doesn’t take long to realize that there’s no soul in sight. If not for the lack of body as well I’d think that ours was missing.
Even after wandering up and down the connected alleyways there’s no sign of our target.
A noise above our heads catches our attention. We look up just as a body is about to crash right into us. I dive for Thea, knocking us out of the way. The body hits with a sickening crunch and a splatter of warm blood coats us both.
I stand up and help Thea to her feet, but we both freeze as a low, ominous growl sounds off over our heads. My head tilts back and fear thrums through me as a creature looks down at us from the balcony above.
