“I bet you do.” And he steps closer yet again. I grind my teeth together as he studies my face. “Mage, is it? Listen, we can do this the easy way, and you come with me willingly, or we can do it the fun way.” His grin turns evil. It sends a shiver down my spine. “You can run,and I’ll chase. I love chasing little lambs around.”
Holy shit, who made this guy a reaper? There’s something wrong with his head. I swallow hard, sneaking glances in both directions. There are more buildings here and there, but they wouldn’t help. I’m not close enough to the hurricane to make a run for it, but is there another way? I can’t hide. No, I’ll have to run. Maybe in the darkness, in this shitty black-and-white world, he’ll lose me. I still have no idea how he knew where I was, but speed is the only thing I can count on now. Maybe without a body, I won’t tire after running. Maybe I can keep running until I get to the portal.
His arm shoots out, and his hand curls tightly around my wrist. I wince, something like electricity buzzing in the place he touches me. The reaper jerks me closer,and my chest hits his. His eyes have gone wild now, burning with something that shines even with the lack of color.
“Do your best, little lamb.” And he shoves me off. I stumble a couple of steps back, then whirl around to run. My legs pump when I hear crackling behind me. I shouldn’t look back, but the urge is stronger than me.
The reaper extends an arm, and something like dark arcs of electricity curl around his fingers. It pops and cracks,and the shadows start taking form in his hand. A staff? A pretty long staff?
I’m still running and looking over my shoulder when the shadows become the curve of a scythe. My jaw drops. I’m so fucking screwed.
Turning back, I almost run face-first into a column. I dodge it at the last second and keep going. His footfalls aren’t natural, sounding more like a hiss. Fear curls inside me, making me nauseous. Something tells me running away from this dude is way worse than surrendering.
But if I surrender, what will happen? They’ll take me back to my parents, sure, but what else? Will they lock me up? Will they put a reaper on my doorstep to make sure I won’t run away?
What if this is my one and last chance?
I run in a zigzag, hoping that will help. From the laughter sounding behind me, it doesn’t. His presence grows closer. His voice booming louder. Shivers of panic make goosebumps pop all over my arms. I call for my power again, hoping for the trickle of magic, but nothing comes. For the first time, I miss it. I miss my powers, my cursed powers, even with the price I paid to have them.
Another wall rises from the sand,and I aim at the back of it. Something hits my knee from behind. I trip and fall, hitting the sand with my hands. The second I’m down, I roll away, dodging his blade. He laughs again, and I lie there, belly up, no idea what to do.
The reaper stands with his pale face and evil smirk. “Not that good of a chase, was it?” he mutters, then raises his scythe. I don’t know what it will do to me. Will it end me? Hurt me? Destroy my soul? I raise my hands to stop the hit, knowing there’s no way I’ll win this one.
A huge roar slashes through the darkness, and bright orange colors the side of the reaper’s face. He narrows his eyes at the sudden burst of color, then turns. There’s a second of confusion on his face before it morphs into despair.
It’s beautiful.
A dark shape barks, the sound shaking me to my bones, then it jumps on the reaper. The man falls, and there’s the sound of flesh ripping,along with his screams. I sit up, bracing my weight on my hands to pull myselfaway from that madness. What was that? I had no idea there were beasts out here! Is it going to eat me next?
The dark shadow stops and turns to me. The yellow light comes from flames around four paws, and my heart jumps inside my chest in recognition.
“Oreo?” I call out, unsure. There’s no way. No way it’s Oreo.
But he drops ontohis forelegs, ass up in the air as he wiggles his tail. Another bark as his third eye opens and focuses on me, and I burst into tears.
“Oreo!” And the dog rushes at me, throwing himself into my arms. To my relief, his fire doesn’t burn. I lock my arms around his neck, kissing the top of his head. Oreo licks at my chin and neck, wiggling in my arms to reach for my cheeks and my tears. “What are you doing here?”
A shrill yell crosses the darkness. I look up to see the old woman running away from us. Shit. She might have come after the reaper and seen what happened. I slide a glance in his direction. There’s not much left after Oreo took care of him. I didn’t know reapers could die.
Oreo turns to the woman and makes to dart after her. I lock my arms around his neck, keeping him against my body. “Let her be,” I murmur because I have no idea what would happen to the spirit if Oreo attacked her. “We have to hide. Come on.”
He obeys me promptly, and I get to my feet and take the lead as we weave our way between ruins. Ignoring the path, I make a beeline for the hurricane. There’s not much time now.
I dart a glance at Oreo, my heart so full upon seeing him. “How did you find me?” I ask, knowing he can’t reply. Oreo barks,and I hush him. He lets his tongue hang from the side of his mouth, looking back at me. “Okay, you don’t need to answer. Giulia said you could travel between realms as much as you like, right? That’s it?”
He just looks at me. At least he’s not barking. His silence matters little, though. Soon a commotion starts in the distance, right at the path. I squat next to a fallen column, narrowing my eyes. Several reapers, maybe? They certainly heard about the escaped spirit and the hound and the dead guy.
“They’re hunting us,” I tell Oreo in a whisper. “Do you think you can put your flames down? So they won’t see us?” I point at the flames.
He looks down at them, then the fire dies out. He’s just a regular dog again. Minus the third eye. I scratch his neck in gratitude. Having him with me makes me brave all over again. It’s good to have someone you trust, and it’s been a while since I was last alone.
Turns out I got used to having people I could trust around me. And that felt really good.
“Okay,” I start, looking at him. “We have to go there.” I point at the hurricane, so immense and still so far away. “In silence and secret. Ready?”
I rise to my feet, get ready to run, and freeze at the last second. A reaper appears from behind a ruin. It’s the same one who guided me home. She’s quiet, her footfalls inaudible as she combs the field. I drop behind the column again, hugging Oreo to my chest. Shit, she’s too close.
The girl walks among the ruins, but she doesn’t seem to notice us. I hold my breath. Oreo seems to hold his, too, not uttering a sound as he follows her with his red eyes. I bet she’d make a quick snack for him, but I don’t want to leave a trail of dead reapers behind. Besides, this girl was cool with me. She shared stories, treated me well. I don’t want her to be killed, and I don’t want them to send so many reapers Oreo can’t handle them. I don’t want him to get hurt after he came after me.