Chapter Twenty-Two
Gasping for air, Alex surged upright. The pain that had held him prisoner vanished as if it had never been.
He shoved aside a bloody shirt and touched his chest. There was no torn skin, no wound to prove he’d ever been shot, not even a scar.
He flexed his arms and curled his hands into fists.
Preternatural strength flowed through him, followed by a flood of relief. He was himself again.
“Welcome back.” The familiar voice made his blood freeze. If his father was here—
Cilla was sprawled on the grass beside him, her eyes closed, a peaceful expression on her face.
“What have you done?” Scrambling to her on his hands and knees, Alex lifted her lifeless body into his arms. “No. No. No.” He patted her face.
“Look at me, sweetheart.” Her head lolled to one side.
Blood stained her hands and face, signs of her struggle to save him.
This couldn’t be happening. “I gave my life for hers,” he whispered. She was supposed to be safe.
“And she gave hers for you.”
At that second, he hated his father to the core of his being. Throwing back his head, he roared his pain and fury at the Heavens, stopping only when his vocal cords ruptured. He slumped forward, chest heaving, cradling the woman he loved.
The gods must be laughing their asses off. Death’s son brought to his knees by love—something few of them believed in. Hell, he hadn’t believed in it either until he’d met Cilla. She’d upended his entire worldview.
Anger solidified into a hard knot where his heart used to be. Cilla had cracked him wide open, flowing goodness and caring into him, giving him a glimpse of something extraordinary. Sex was something he’d had plenty of, but he’d only ever made love to one woman. It had been a revelation.
Every moment with her, whether doing mundane chores or heating up the sheets, had been special because he’d shared it with her. Now she was gone, her light dimmed forever. Had she really said she loved him or had he wanted to hear the words so badly he’d imagined it?
“She said it.”
“Get out of my head, old man.” It came out as a growl, his healing throat as raw as his emotions. “Let me take her to Shadowland.” He’d failed his assignment and had no misconceived notions he wouldn’t pay the price—eternal banishment. The Grim Reaper gave no quarter. Once spoken, his word was law.
“It’s not her place. She belongs in the human afterlife, deserves a chance to live again.”
Swallowing his anger, he did the one thing he swore he’d never do—ask his father for something. “Please.”
“Fate cannot be changed.”
“You’re Death, the final end of all, including the Fates themselves.” It was why even the gods feared him. If the universe and time unmade itself, he wasn’t sure his father would cease to exist, or if everything would begin again. “And what about the assassins? Aren’t their deaths a problem?”
“Their deaths are…unfortunate, but neither was destined to live much longer. Their timeline has been sped up by several days, but there is nothing of consequence in their lives left undone.”
“Then I’m going with her.” He got to his feet with Cilla cradled in his arms. She was naked from the waist up, her shirt sacrificed to staunch his blood. Swallowing, he curled her against his chest. As he kissed the top of her head, a tear rolled down his cheek and disappeared into her fiery hair.
“The human afterlife is not for you, Alexiares. You will be blocked from admittance. Our job is to deliver souls, not mingle among them.”
It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard a thousand times during his childhood and early reaping years. But no one had said it was impossible to find a way in, only that no reaper had ever attempted to do so.
Then his father destroyed his final hope. “In any case, you will be in Shadowland.”
Eyes blazing, he glared at his father. If it took all eternity, he’d find a way.
Alex’s very existence would eventually fade from consciousness as the eons wore on.
In the interim, he’d search for every technicality in the rules and exploit it, seek out every crack in Shadowland to find a way to escape. He would never stop, never give up.
He’d get no help from Samael. Nor would he expect it. He had a woman of his own to protect. Now that he’d experienced love, he understood the lengths his brother would go to in order to protect Adrianne.
As for Kieran, there was no telling where his loyalty would lie if it were tested. They’d been close once, but that was a long time ago. Of the three of them, his younger brother strove the hardest to make their father proud. No, he was alone in this.
He nuzzled Cilla’s face. Maybe not totally alone. He’d carry her love in his heart. That would sustain him and fuel him for the battle to come. “Let me deliver her to the afterlife. Give me that much.”
As soon as he said it, he frowned. Something had been niggling at him since he’d opened his eyes, something he’d been too caught up in his grief to notice until now. “Where’s her soul?” As a reaper, seeing a person’s soul was natural to him. How else could he lead them to the afterlife?
Both hands wrapped around his scythe, his father stared at him.
Barely able to speak past his growing horror, he whispered, “Did you destroy it?” The Grim Reaper’s scythe was a weapon of immense power that could be wielded only by his father.
It had the ability to destroy a soul…or permanently end a reaper or god.
It was rarely used, the power terrible and universe-altering.
“No, Alexiares. I did not destroy her soul.”
The relief left him shaken. “Then where is it?”
“It resides inside her.”
“Cilla’s alive?” He couldn’t hear a heartbeat, nor feel her breath against his skin.
“She’s in limbo, awaiting the outcome of this discussion.”
Wait. What? “What do you mean? I thought it was a done deal.”
“What would you sacrifice for her?”
He didn’t need to think about it. “Everything.”
His father shook his head. “Consider carefully. Once done, things cannot be undone. If you deliver her soul, I will consider the assignment complete. You return to your old life as though this never happened.”
Alex’s heart leaped. The offer was unexpected…
and unsatisfactory. Going back to his old life held no appeal.
All that waited was the unending restlessness that plagued him day and night, the search for the next adrenaline rush to remind himself he was an actual living being, and eternal reaping.
He’d spent too many years going through the motions, finding no real pleasure. “And my other option?”
“You give up your immortality and all that goes with it. You start here and now. No money, no connections, nothing but the cash in your wallet. You become human with all that entails—pain, sickness, and eventual death.”
He barely dared to breathe, to hope. “What about Cilla?”
“She would live the remainder of her life.” He held up his hand to stop Alex from speaking.
“Before you ask, I cannot and will not tell you when the end comes for either of you. Like all humans, you have to live without that knowledge. Before you decide, there is one final caveat. Your life will be linked to hers. When she dies, so will you.”
The magnitude of the offer was staggering. “You’d really do that?”
“I do not see it as a gift but another punishment. You cannot leave this town…ever. You will age. The rest of your days will be spent in endless work and worry about money and health, things you’ve never had to consider.”
“I won’t say there’s nothing I’ll miss in my former life.
We both know I’d be lying.” His motorcycles and cars, the homes, all the large and small treasures he’d accumulated, his wealth—all gone in the blink of an eye, as if they’d never been.
“Belongings can be replaced. They might not be as grand or plentiful, but I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.
I’m sure I’ll face many challenges in the days ahead, but I’m up to the task. ”
“Is it worth it?” Death canted his head toward the woman in Alex’s arms. “To give up all you have for something that will last such a short time?”
“It’s different when you love someone.” He had no idea why he was explaining himself to his father. “She makes my heart sing with happiness. I want to be the man she sees when she looks at me.”
“She’s brought you pain and suffering.”
He shrugged and held her tighter. “None of this is her fault. And the hard stuff makes the loving all the sweeter. Whatever I lose is a fair trade for even one more day with Cilla.” The rightness of it settled in his heart, driving out any lingering doubts.
“I’ve lived a very long time. This is a chance to be myself in a way I’ve never been able to.
I’ll no longer have to hide my true self from her. ”
“And if she doesn’t accept you? She will remember all that has passed here.”
Alex sucked in a deep breath and faced his final remaining fear. “Then I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to change her mind.” Love was worth the risk.
“So be it.” Darkness closed in around him until Alex could no longer see Cilla, only feel the weight of her in his arms. He gritted his teeth and fought the urge to panic as his vision and hearing failed.
Time spun out endlessly, until he began to wonder if his father had lied, if this nothingness was to be his punishment.
He counted the seconds as hours turned into days.
Sensing this was a test of his will, he remained steadfast, fearing if he faltered or began to doubt, the opportunity would be snatched from him.
When he grew tired, he sank to his knees, unable to feel the ground beneath him.
There was literally nothing, a void that contained only Cilla and him.
When she stirred, his heart jumped with happiness. Then she screamed.
…