Chapter Twenty-two
W hen Zacharias jerked my arm, he’d pulled me off balance and I teetered backward on my high heels. Before I had the chance to shake off the hand still jerking me back or attempt to right myself, Saul reacted with the same predatory grace he’d shown me the night I’d dropped into his bedroom. Only this time, his movements were inhumanely fast and fueled by rage.
Zacharias howled in pain as his hand was removed from my arm with several stomach-churning cracks. Saul caught me with his right arm, and used my momentum to spin me, guiding me so that I was pressed against his right side again. He kept his arm over me, holding me to him as he lunged forward.
Saul’s fingers were around the other reaper’s throat before Zacharias even realized Saul had made a move. He tried to speak, but with Saul crushing his windpipe and vocal cords, his efforts were in vain.
Shadows spread out around us, thin tendrils seeping into the air, reminding me of the way ink spread when spilled on paper. Twisting my neck, I caught the brilliant glow of my soulmate’s eyes. This time, he didn’t hide behind dark glasses. He wanted Zacharias to see.
POP!
At the unexpected crack of a gun being fired, I screamed and threw my arms around Saul’s waist. The weight of his right arm vanished, and opening my eyes, I stared in disbelief at the bullet he rolled between his index finger and thumb.
My terror had the lights in the club flickering wildly, and one by one, the lightbulbs in the wall sconces lining the hallway exploded. It was clear from the pale faces and wide eyes that everyone believed Saul was using the lights to amplify their fear, and I couldn’t blame them.
I loved this man and trusted him with my life, but even I felt a chill of fear watching him use the bullet he’d caught mid-air as a fidget toy, while also holding Zacharias off the ground with so much ease that his muscles hadn’t even flexed.
With a flick of his fingers, Saul sent the bullet traveling back across the room where it embedded itself between the eyes of a man I guessed was an orc and who still held the gun it had been fired from. He was dead before he hit the ground.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed movement from a reaper behind Saul as he adjusted his grip on his scythe. His muscles bunched, and he rolled his weight to the balls of his feet, preparing to attack.
Letting go of Saul’s waist, I turned to face the reaper whose balls clearly weighed more than his brain.
“Don’t even think about it,” I hissed, keeping my back close to Saul’s, prepared to fight if needed.
“Are you joking?” the reaper blurted out. “You’re a ghost.”
“Yeah, so?” I snapped, my irritation rising.
“Ghosts can’t fight! I can end you with a single touch.” His fingers flexed on his scythe.
“Go ahead and try it! You’ll change your tune after you feel my wraith!” Lifting my hands, I shifted my weight to run at him if he came for Saul.
But the reaper didn’t run at me. He did the opposite, taking several steps away and letting his scythe disappear. I knew why an instant later when Saul’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me into the heat of his body.
“Feel your wraith?” He leaned down, nuzzling my neck as though we were the only two in the room and he hadn’t been shot at or very nearly attacked. “What were you going to do, pet? Bite him?”
“No,” I huffed. “Maybe. I’m more of a think-on-my-feet person.”
Saul’s chest vibrated with laughter. “But you know martial arts?”
“What? No! Why would you think that?” It was my turn to laugh.
“Because instead of making fists, you flattened your hands when you brought them up to fight.”
I shrugged. “That’s what they do on TV.”
“That’s probably why you lost the boxing match with the Easter bunny.” Saul swept me up into his arms and spun around just in time to catch the scythe aimed for his back.
“You remembered?” It was a ridiculously trivial thing, but he hadn’t forgotten.
Saul yanked the scythe from the reaper’s hand, spun it around and slammed the handle into the man’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. “Of course I remembered.” He turned to the gathered audience. “Does anyone else want to take a swing or a shot at me?”
“Attacking a fellow reaper is a punishable crime. It is natural that these two would come to Zacharias’ defense when you were strangling him.” The ancient reaper sniffed.
“But Saul wasn’t holding Zacharias when goon number two tried to stab him in the back, literally,” I pointed out.
Saul pinched my butt. “Such a naughty pet.”
The ancient one turned a strange eggplant color and hissed, “You are not a reaper, so you have no voice to be heard in this matter, ghost.”
“Do not insult her,” Saul warned. “I have something to say, and when I finish, I want you to pass my message to the rest of the paranormal world.”
Hooking two fingers in the collar of his shirt, he pulled it to the side and angled his head so the purple scythe on his neck was visible.
“A soulmate mark?” the ancient reaper barked. “That’s impossible!”
I searched the room for Lochlan, wondering how I was going to explain this to the collectors. They’d been the ones to encourage me to follow my heart, but I doubted they wanted me to follow it in this direction.
“Yes, it’s a soulmate mark.” Saul’s eyes glowed and pride practically radiated from him.
“But there are no female reapers alive! Unless you both bear the mark, it is a false bond,” the ancient reaper who I decided to nickname Rip Van Reaper protested.
“Maybe it’s a tattoo,” another reaper suggested.
“He’s a showman who has mastered tricks. That’s all this is,” Zacharias croaked from the floor.
“I suggest you remain quiet so I forget you’re still alive,” Saul responded, his voice reverting to his icy, calm tone that was scarier than if he were shouting threats.
Saul leveled a stern look in Rip’s direction. “She bears a matching soulmate mark, etched on her skin during our claiming.”
“Prove it. Present this female and let us judge the mark for ourselves,” Rip demanded, and the rest of the gathered reapers slammed the handles of their scythes on the floor in what seemed to be the reaper way of agreeing.
Alright then, it was my time to shine. I dematerialized and teleported myself a few feet from Rip. Soft gasps rippled around the room.
Rip’s brow creased. “I don’t understand. You’re a ghost. You can’t disappear from the ghost realm.”
Since I didn’t have answers, I didn’t respond. Angling my body to the side, so Rip could see the mark, I pushed the fabric upward until the slit in my dress reached the top of my hipbone.
I could’ve used some energy to make my skirt longer, but my nerves were frazzled and I was afraid I’d end up making it shorter—or worse, vanish. That meant I had to fight with the two flaps of fabric as I tried to keep my important bits covered.
I’d wanted to appear strong in front of the reapers, rather than hiding behind Saul, but there was no denying I was relieved when Saul stepped behind me. His frame blocked anyone from catching an accidental peek of my bare butt.
Saul rested his hand against my stomach, moving it slowly south until his large palm held the fabric in place and covered me. Even though I was as nervous as a porcupine in a balloon factory, and strangers were staring daggers at me, the heat radiating from his skin had desire bubbling in my belly.
It was pathetic the way the four men could drive me crazy without even putting in effort.
Lifting my chin, I stared up at Rip. “I am Saul’s soulmate, and I bear the mark to prove it.”
Thanks to our height difference, Saul’s hard length pressed against my back. Poor guy had just taken care of that problem, and now he’d gotten aroused by this?
“This can’t be.” Rip reached out a hand as though intending to touch the mark, but snatched his hand back when Saul growled and shadows swirled around me like snakes ready to strike.
“Are you a reaper?” Rip asked.
“No, I’m a ghost.” There was no reason to lie.
Rip looked at Saul with disgust. “If you possess the ability to mark other species, why waste it on a ghost who will be gone within weeks? At most, you have a few months.”
“I possess the ability to mark only my soulmate. No different from any other reaper,” Saul answered coldly. “She is mine, and I am hers. We are bonded and marked under reaper law.”
“Do you hear this?” Rip threw up his hands. “Saul wishes for us to accept that this specter is his bride!”
His what?
Several of the reapers laughed, but I stood frozen. I knew soulmates were a for life sort of deal, thanks to all the shifter romance—I mean, research books—I read. But marriage?
When I died, I’d grieved the fact I’d never be a bride or a wife. And now I find out I’d gotten married in the bathroom of a club?
Way to keep it classy, Axelle.
“We are married by the laws of our species and you dare to mock my bride?” Saul’s voice shook with rage.
Instead of stopping while he was ahead and not dead, Rip decided to do the equivalent of dropping a handful of Mentos in a soda bottle and shaking it. “Why are you like this? You take perverse pleasure in choosing the path that brings shame and disgust upon your species. No other paranormal species would lower themselves to take a ghost for a bride.”
The loud, overly dramatic and drawn out clearing of a throat drew everyone’s attention.
“Actually, you’re mistaken.” Lochlan pushed away from the wall where he’d been hidden in the shadows only a few feet away from Zacharias.
The reapers closest to him jumped in surprise. He’d moved so quietly, they hadn’t even realized he’d been lurking in the shadows, ready to join in the fray if things went further south.
Lochlan made his way to stand in front of me, a reckless glint in his eyes. “Hey, boo.”
Ignoring that things were still stiff between us, that a reaper had just told the world I was his wife, and that he was surrounded by reapers who were twitchy and looking for reasons to attack, Lochlan pulled me away from Saul.
Holding me against his chest, Lochlan whispered, “May I kiss you?”
I hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded and Lochlan’s mouth immediately captured mine. He didn’t just give me a quick peck, either. No, he took his time, kissing me with a passion that made sure everyone in the room got the impression we were lovers.
When he finally released me, my lips were red and puffy and I struggled to clear the haze from my vision. The man knew how to work magic with his mouth.
Turning to face Saul, Loch stretched out his hand. Saul accepted the offered hand, and the men clasped forearms in a warrior’s greeting.
“Welcome to our circle, bro.” Lochlan’s eyes glinted with mischief as he spoke, knowing the effect his words would have on the gathered reapers.
I’d overheard enough talk between the collectors to know reapers didn’t join collector circles, they didn’t share their partners, and they’d never view a collector as family. And Lochlan had pushed things further by calling Saul bro.
“Thank you. I am pleased to be part of Axelle’s family,” Saul responded with sincerity.
The room was silent except for the ragged breathing of several livid reapers.
“Who are you?!” Rip demanded, glaring daggers at Lochlan.
Lochlan spun on his heel to face him and immediately took the stiff stance of a commanding military officer. “Lochlan of the Knights Baudelaire. And proud member of Axelle’s circle.”
I didn’t know who the Knights Baudelaire were, but the rest of the room did, judging by the gasps and excited murmurs.
“You expect me to believe a Baudelaire has a ghost as a partner?” Rip’s voice rose in disbelief.
“No, I expect you to believe the truth. All three Knights Baudelaire have chosen to be part of Axelle’s circle.”
“This is unnatural! She is an abomination who has already begun the work of tearing down paranormal society!” Rip shouted and several reapers banged their scythes against the floor in agreement.
“Before you travel a path that will lead to your demise, I suggest you listen.” Saul’s voice boomed like thunder. “I am Saul, the last heir of the Olothreuo bloodline.”
Saul paused and leaned down to whisper in my ear, “My love, close your eyes and cover your ears for a moment. I don’t want to frighten you.”
I straightened my spine. “You don’t scare me.”
“That’s a lie, pet.” Saul’s hand moved across my skin as he spoke. “You know what happens when you lie to me.” His laughter was positively wicked.
Something brushed against my legs and I looked down to find an inky black, floor-length gown formed of shadows hugging my body. It was absolutely beautiful in an oh-by- the-way-you-definitely-accidentally-married-the-darkness sort of way. But hey, at least I didn’t have to worry about flashing anyone.
Saul pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then turned to the reapers. “My bloodline has been called by many names over countless centuries. I claim those names and my role as the last of my line.” He opened his hand and his scythe appeared.
“I am Saul Olothreuo.” The scythe’s handle banged the ground.
“I am Saul Thanatos.” He banged the ground with the handle a second time and the reapers shifted, their eyes darting to Rip’s pale face.
“I am Saul Nekros.” Bang.
Rip stepped toward Saul. “Saul, I think I was too hasty.”
My reaper ignored him. “I am the Destroyer.”
The ground trembled.
“Hades! He isn’t messing around.” Lochlan wrapped an arm around my waist. “Hold on. If he’s doing what I think he is, things are going to get wild.”
“I am the Death Bringer.” Bang.
Saul’s glowing violet eyes found mine, searching my face for signs of disgust or fear.
Lifting my hand to my lips, I blew him a kiss and laughed in surprise when he pretended to catch it.
Lochlan groaned and dropped his face into his hand. “Boo, everyone in this room is wetting their pants in terror and you are seriously blowing kisses?”
Between Saul’s raw power and Lochlan’s kiss, my panties were already wet. I really knew how to pick them. It seemed all the research I’d done the past three years had paid off in a big way.
Saul raised his voice and roared, “I am Death.”
BANG!
The lights went out, his scythe turned to fire, and shadows poured into the room. Wind ripped around us, shrieking as it picked up everything that wasn’t nailed down, throwing it against the walls. People screamed and scrambled over each other as they tried to find the doors.
Saul stood tall, his hair not even moving as he let them see who he was… and what he was capable of. Catching my gaze, he made his way to me and brushed a soft kiss against my lips.
“Quiet!” The wind disappeared, and the shrieks stopped instantly.
“Let me introduce my wife, Axelle Olothreuo. I will lead fairly and with an open mind. But if you disrespect my soulmate, you better hope I’m in a good mood and make your death swift. I will ignore the disrespect shown previously, so make your decision now. Will you acknowledge her as my wife and give her the respect she is entitled to?”
I watched in shock as reapers dropped to the ground, bowing in front of Saul. Then patrons of the bar began to drop to their knees. Even Lochlan dropped to his knees in front of Saul.
“Stand up, Lochlan of the Knights Baudelaire,” Saul ordered. “You will not bow to me, brother.”
What exactly had Saul done? Why were they treating him like some kind of royalty? I really should have spent more time doing research in my romantasy books.
Not everyone seemed ready to embrace what had just happened. Zacharias and two other reapers disappeared, and a handful of club patrons made their escape. Several reapers moved to stand behind Rip.
Saul sighed. “It doesn’t have to be like that.”
The reapers raised their scythes and ran at Saul.
Terror clawed at my throat and I tried to get to him, but Loch held me back. “You can’t help him! He’s got this.”
Glancing over his shoulder at me, Saul winked. “Lochlan, keep her safe. I’ll be home soon.”
With a snap of his fingers, the floor dropped out from beneath our feet, sending Lochlan and me plunging into absolute darkness.