“What do you mean his creation was different to mine?” I ask.
Finn runs a hand across his face. “His situation was the reverse of yours. The Dark Reaper came for his sister and one of us came for Alek. Somehow he knew what was happening and, when he saw the Dark taking his sister, Alek fought against the one of us trying to take his soul.”
“You didn’t help Alek?” I ask, “Why not?”
“I wasn’t there. People aren’t usually aware they’re dying, but somehow, Alek did; he hovered on the border of life and death and saw what was happening. He was on drugs at the time, maybe that’s why. Alek bargained with the Dark Reaper, asked him to take his soul instead of his sister’s. The Dark agreed but the Reaper who’d come for Alek couldn’t let that happen, so again the process was interrupted by one of us fighting with the Dark. His sister’s soul was saved, but Alek’s was broken.”
“So, one of you gave him life, like you did me?”
“No, unlike me, this Reaper knew the action was forbidden.” He huffs and watches me warily. “One of the Dark saved his soul from Hell, gave him demon energy and made him a Between. Between are rare and difficult to control once they’re created, so there’s a reason for Alek’s existence.”
We meet each other’s gaze and the realisation hits. “Alek is Dark?”
“No, but they own him.”
“Own him? What?”
“They own his soul. In return for them saving his sister, he must help them. It’s why he’s hidden himself for so many years, but he’ll have to do what they want eventually or he’ll end up in Hell. I have my suspicions what they’re going to ask of him. Remember I said Between are one of the few who can freely pass between the realms? I think that’s why he was created.”
Finally, I understand Alek’s evasiveness wasn’t deliberate. Alek never gave me answers because he doesn’t have them. I’m about to ask Finn to elaborate when Alek appears.
“You okay, Rose?” Alek addresses me but he stares at Finn.
“Fine,” I say and prepare myself for the inevitable clash.
The two men regard each other. Finn sighs and stands. “I need to chat with Tom.”
I guess fighting about who’s the bad guy in front of a roomful of humans isn’t wise, despite looks that suggest they want to. Finn walks away and, I’m sure, he deliberately knocks Alek as he does. Alek tenses and turns to say something, so I grab his arm.
“Alek...”
He puts his hand over mine, the connection immediately soothes. His stiffened stance drops and he leans in to kiss my cheek. I fight the usual urge to reciprocate and step away.
Alek drops his hand. “Are you upset with me?”
“No.”
“You’ve been weird ever since you came back from your shift at the hospital. Did something happen?”
“No.”
“Is it Finn?” I shake my head; but my eyes betray me. “It is Finn! What did he do?”
How can I tell Alek my story in the middle of a room full of people? I’ve tried to contain everything but if I don’t share, my head will explode. Now Finn has told me about Alek I have to talk to him. I lace my fingers through Alek’s. “Come outside?”
I lead Alek through the kitchen and the open back door, past the people loitering by the table covered in cans of beer and bottles of wine who half-block the way out to the garden. The evening is cool, winter oncoming, and I pull my cardigan around myself. More people have spilled from the tiny house into the small garden. A group of girls sit on the wall of a garden bed chatting, and three of the rugby boys I saw inside lean against the brick house, knocking back beers in a way Alek would be proud of.
I can’t help but look at Alek through different eyes. He sacrificed himself for his sister.
Alek sets his bottle on the windowsill. “What happened? Has he threatened you? I don’t understand why you were talking to him.”
I lean against the rough wall. “At the hospital, he told me about how I became a Between. And he also told me he’s not a Dark. I believe him, Alek.”
“But only Darks make Between...”
“How do you know?”
Alek shifts his look to the floor. “Because Between have dark souls, right? Otherwise, why else would we be dangerous to humans?”
Since talking to Finn earlier, I’m sure Alek doesn’t know as much as I do. Twenty years of not knowing his full story - of understanding what Reapers are. Who is he running from?
“How much do you know about who created you?” I ask.
“I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Finn told me about your sister.”
He steps back, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. “He did what? How does he know?”