Deadly Kisses

Ten





Even in the middle of a forest in hundreds of acres, I couldn’t find silence. Ravens circled Bee’s small house. A car miles down the mountain revved its engine, sending a group of sparrows flying across to her cousin’s house.

The ancient soul of my mentor was close and it summoned me like a puppet. I regained my composure. With my shoulders back, I walked down the path to the cemetery, and into the crypt where I kept my gondola. Halfway there, I saw the six-inch hood and the pointed nose of my boss, Abe. I was utterly screwed.

He bellowed. “Follow me, boy. Now!”

I followed not because he was my Reaper and mentor, but because he was older than old. Abe had the pull to get me in big trouble with a Grim Reaper even older than him. You didn’t want him coming after you. Reina said he was one big, scary, dead Norse dude.

Abe opened the gate to the cemetery and waved me in. “Find a spot to sit.”

I sat on the stairs of the crypt where Bee had sat. Abe worked up to give me an excellent speech. This might be one of epic proportions.

He paced back and forth with his hand clasped behind his back. “I don’t even know where to start. This is why there should be no Grim Reapers your age. They are irresponsible, difficult to work with, and emotional when getting flashbacks of their death. You’re my best Grim Reaper, but you’re not cut out for this work.”

He pulled his hood off and scrutinized my every feature. Abe bent toward me, bringing his stern eyes to mine. “Where’s your scythe, boy?”

“I locked it to my gondola.”

He flung his hands in the air. “We have a genius. He locked it to his gondola, ignoring when I told him to always, always have your scythe with you.”

“I couldn’t scare Bee if you wanted me to find out information for you.” I buried my hands in my face.

“You listen to nothing I say. Maybe I should hand you to the demons on a silver platter.”

“The girl won’t release my soul, Abe. She threatened me, but you’re in luck because at least I found out there was no deal with the Dark Lord. Now what?”

“Now, I’m giving you a lesson in Grim Reaper history and don’t fall asleep this time.” Abe backed away leaning on a rusted gate.

“I’m listening,” I said.

Abe nodded. “After the Dark Lord fell and became trapped in Hell, there was a need for Grim Reapers. He was using demons in Hell to capture souls as a way to try to escape. The angel’s appointed the purest souls to become the first Grim Reapers, and for them to find a way to recruit more Grim Reapers. For that, the angels would give them any angelic resource they desired. So it came to be that to get more help, the perk was, to walk the earth in death. And you already are aware that the angelic resource they gave us is the power to control our scythe to protect a soul.”

Abe continued, “The angels agreed, but could already predict the plan was flawed. Being in Heaven they could not control Grim Reapers, especially after their personal test. They created a secret race amongst the humans. When these secret humans passed into the afterlife, they had the power to heal Grim Reapers and eradicate the ones that strayed off the good path.”

I sat straighter. “When you say healed, could they do it in their human life too?”

“Yes, I suppose. They go by many names such as spiritual healers, Reiki healers, herbalists, witches, and they could even be a common doctor. On our plane we call them healers.”

“There’s something I didn’t get around to telling you.” I pulled up the sleeves of my cloak, exposing my skin.

Abe’s eyes widened. He reached out, touching my arm. “She’s one of them. Protect her well. I need to go find out more information because I wasn’t a Grim Reaper when there were healers amongst us.”

I followed him. Rock scraping on rock made my teeth clench as the door closed. Abe was quick to leave me as he materialized.

I stepped onto my gondola and lay down next to my scythe. I closed my eyes to let the gentle waves of the river and soft moans of the damned lull me into a relaxed state. Bee’s image floated through my mind and warmed my body. Panic receded.

I wrapped my arms around myself imagining it was her next to me keeping me warm and her hands stroking my hair. If I could go back and change things about my life, I would. I would’ve told Bee about Jaleb and let his family help him instead of me, and I would’ve found a way to save Sabrina.

My body warmed. Bee was seeking me out like a Labrador pursues a duck. I could feel her near the crypt. She was always a smart girl, but now she acted like one with a death wish.

The need to see me was driving our souls together. I wanted her to stay away from me, but I was betrayed yet again by my own feelings. I wanted her comfort.

I didn’t need to get up because I could open the crypt door by touching my scythe and imagining it open.

I heard a gasp get caught in her throat when I closed her in. Slivers of light filtered through from the cracks in the stone. She could see my gondola floating in the shallow river and the glittery look of the water.

Moans from the lost souls of the river erupted with the crunch of gravel, but the silly girl still continued to walk closer. My gondola rocked as the skeletons swarmed to get Bee. I kept my eyes closed, but I could hear her heavy breathing and the rustle of her jeans as she stomped them off.

“Ad,” she whispered. Her voice was sweeter music than I created with my guitar.

The gondola tipped slightly as her slender fingers clasped the edge. I opened my eyes and could see her through the sheer fabric of my hood. Her face looked angelic as always with no sign of being scared.

The gondola was narrow like a canoe with one leather seat in the middle. It then sloped up where the ferro, the shape of half hearts, crept up to the tip. It was traditional for your boss to choose the decoration. I hated the silly symbol Abe had chosen.

The other end of my gondola was flat so I could stand to steer. I made sure the exquisite cherry and walnut floor shined. It was the only thing I had ever owned, besides my Fender.

Bee’s short breaths cut through the moaning. The gondola swayed as she stepped into it. Her feet jabbed against my hip, making me grunt. I bit my lip and muffled the noise. She balanced herself when she was fully inside.

She crept her way up to me and lost her balance. “Ad, this isn’t funny. I need to talk with you. Get up.”

I wanted to get up, push her and tell her to stay away—far, far away from me. A rush of hot energy filled me to the brink. She put one leg on each side of me in panic to stop the gondola from tipping.

Her chest rose and fell. Her emotions told me she didn’t want to be drawn to me, but the pull in my direction was too strong. Her fingers went up the length of my jaw and found their way to the edge of my hood.

“I just need to see you. It’s important to me . . . please,” she whispered.

Her head moved, blocking the light. Her silhouette came closer, slowly. I would have done anything she asked until a necklace fell out of her shirt. Pain seared the warm energy and overpowered it with cold. I had given the half-heart pendent to Sabrina on her sixteenth birthday—it was her last birthday.

I clasped onto her wrist and swung her around until her back hit the bottom of the gondola. I now hovered on top of her. My body blocked out all the light.

The boat swayed and hit the rocks at the edge of the river with violent force. Her head lay next to the sharp blade. I sat on top of her. “Good try, but I don’t like you prying into my life pretending to want to know me. You’re going to die and there is no trying to change my mind. Since you’re so eager for death, let’s just get it over with now.” I had to go back to mean Aiden to keep from kissing her. Seeing Sabrina’s necklace helped. She had wanted that necklace forever, but it was expensive. I had played at ten gigs before I earned enough to buy it for her.

Bee’s familiar smell seeped into my nose. I brought my face over Bee’s and moved mere inches from her red lips. The cold swirled in frantic motion, my lips warmed remembering hers. She didn’t move even though she could feel my cold breath on her face.

“Go ahead and kiss me. I’m not scared of you.” She closed her eyes.