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“You can go, Zell. Please excuse us, we have business to attend to.” King Avaress took the queen’s hand, helping her rise from her seat.
Needing two things before he ran off to ravage his wife all afternoon, I muttered, “I require a signature and a return date, sir.”
The king raised his free hand and black, glistening magic danced across the scroll, applying a golden signature.
“You have three days.” He waved his hand, shooing me away.
With a triumphant smile, I turned and headed out of the castle. As I traversed the halls, I realized my year had been uneventful. The end of the year drew to a close and I had only reaped two souls, which was several less than my standard.
Once outside, I used magic to reveal my hidden wings. With one of the largest wingspans in the kingdom, mine measured at nineteen feet. The skin covering the skeletal structure was grayish black with protruding talons at the tips of the connected webbing. They filled me with pride.
Bursts of wind caused dust to form as I flapped my wings and took off into the bright blue sky. I navigated my way to the magical barrier which kept us contained in this realm—the enchanted circle. The security measures in place would have temporarily stripped me of my wings if I attempted to leave the realm without the king’s signature. The only other way to leave was if an idiotic human found a summoning spell and had the brilliant idea of getting in bed with a demon.
Almost to the edge, I thought about the location I was going to. With the signed scroll gripped tightly in my hand, a tingling sensation peppered my skin when I crossed the enchanted circle.
The cold wind blew my dark locks of hair back and stars darted past me at terrifying speeds, leaving blurs of light in their path as I plummeted through the veil.
Landing in a dark alley which smelled of vomit and alcohol, I crinkled my nose in disdain. Earth had to be the mostdisgusting placein the universe, filled with humans who insisted on sucking the life out of the planet which sustained them. Not to mention ruining it for future generations as well. A bunch of fucking imbeciles.
After hiding my glorious wings, I dressed myself in my more appropriate earthly attire. My go-to outfit when I claimed a soul was a tight black T-shirt, dark wash jeans, and combat boots.
The air had a chill to it, but I didn’t mind. Even with the temperature at merely forty degrees, the cold didn’t faze me.
My bronzed arms and hands were adorned with tattoos, which were my realm’s version of sacred geometry. Even though the humans wouldn’t be able to understand the meanings of the symbols, I preferred not to show them. Using more magic, I made my unearthly tattoos disappear and replaced them with what humans called flash art. I now looked like I walked into a tattoo shop and asked for one of everything on the wall as I headed toward the workplace of the soul I was claiming.
Chapter 2
Kavari
“Getthefuckoutof my bar!” I yelled to the two drunken idiots who were ready to fist fight.
“You heard the lady.” The bouncer grabbed the dude being the most hostile by the collar. “Take this shit outside!”
Tonzo escorted the fuckers toward the rear exit and practically threw them into the alley. I shook my head in frustration before stepping back behind the bar.
“You good, Kavari?” Tonzo asked when he returned.
“I’m fucking fantastic.” I sighed and hung my baseball bat back on the wall. “Another shitty night with shitty people.”
“Hey, we ain’t all shitty.” My eyes darted to Jay, a weekend bar patron. He was a cleanly-shaven businessman who had a new date on his arm every time I saw him. Since he consistently showed me respect and tipped well, I liked the guy.
“You know damn well I wasn’t talking about you.” I grabbed Jay’s glass and filled it at the tap.
He gave me a wink before he turned his attention to the bouncer. “Anytime you need help, Tonzo, give me the nod.”
Tonzo was abigguy who definitely didn’t need Jay’s help.
He stepped behind the bar with widened eyes, amusement behind his bland smile while he filled a glass with Sprite. “Umm, sure, Jay.”
“Tonzo? That’s a weird name,” Jay’s date stated randomly. “Is it Slavic?”
Since Tonzo was Mike’s last name, Jay and I both barked out a laugh.
“Nah. It’s because he’s tons zo fun,” Jay joked.
The pretty blonde’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion before she shrugged it off.
With a sigh, Tonzo made his way back to the door before hollering, “Last call!”
