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Danni

Standing there looking at my limp body was not on my list of things to do today. Even my eyes were still open, staring blankly into the night.

The other car didn’t bother to stop and it was just me laying in the middle of the street. That’s a surreal feeling for sure. To look at yourself and try to understand what the fuck just happened.

“You’re dead,” a voice said from behind me.

I wrinkled my nose at the smell of dirt and death and turned around to see a man standing in a suit with his arms crossed. “And I’m understaffed.”

“What?” I said. Really, what the fuck was he talking about?

He sighed. “I hate picking up humans. It’s always the same. What happened? Why am I here?” He threw his hands up and I stepped back.

I just stared at him. He looked human enough. His long dark hair fell down his back and his almost black eyes watched me with a hint of annoyance.

“Danniel Johnson. Twenty Nine and works in customer service,” he said reading from what looked like an Ipad.

Do Reapers have ipads?

“You weren’t scheduled for a few more years,” he said with a sigh. “Guess it came early.”

“Wait, a few years? Then put me back,” I pleaded, taking a step towards him. “Why would I need to go early?”

“It happens,” he said with a shrug. His robe moved slightly and two little yellow eyes peeked out.

“Is that a cat?” I asked.

He moved his robe back over and the eyes disappeared. “Come on then, it’s time to go.”

“No way, man. I’m not going yet. I have things to do.”

He sighed and reached for my hand.

I pulled back, but he was faster. This time when I looked down, it wasn’t a human hand. It was just bones and flesh holding onto me. I took a sharp breath in before looking at him and that’s when I could see who or what he really was.

Death and he had me in his grip. There was no going back now.

***

I pulled my hand back just as the world faded and we were standing in darkness.

“I’m not going with you,” I snapped and he rolled his eyes.

“Of course you are,” he said simply. “You already did.” He motioned around us to the darkness and I blinked.

“Take me back.”

“No,” he said walking deeper into the dark.

“You said yourself, it wasn’t my time.” There had to be a mistake. I hadn’t even tried getting my life together yet. I was on my see how it goes tour and not interested in much else. I had so much left to do.

“I can’t. Once you’re dead, you’re dead,” he said from somewhere in the darkness. “Follow me or you risk getting lost in the between.”

“Between?” I rubbed my arms as his hand appeared again. This time it looked human again.

I took it without hesitation.

“Yes, this is where ghosts are. They didn’t follow the reaper who came for them and ended up here, lost.” He led me further into the darkness.

I couldn’t see anything in any direction. My thoughts wondered to my mom who would be so devastated. She was the only person who’d be looking for me. I guessed the police would call her and let her know what happened, but who would hold her hand and tell her it’s going to be okay?

“Where are we going?” I asked and he answered with a sigh.

“You know, after all these years you’d think that question would get less annoying,” he snapped.

“That doesn’t answer the question,” I pressed and felt him stop.

“Where do you think dead people go when they die?”

“I don’t know, heaven?”

He laughed and it echoed against the nothing around us. “You humans are too funny”

“I’m not laughing,” I said and sighed.

“Come on,” he said pulling me further.

This time I stayed quiet. It was clear he wasn’t going to tell me anything. It felt like forever before we were walking out of the thick wall of darkness and stepping into what looked like a white room with a bed in it. I glanced at him and he shrugged.

“Some like to take a minute before they go into everything.

“You mean, they sleep and rest here? But they’re dead,” I said glancing around us. The room was a decent size and the temperature was perfect for what I liked.

He rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “It’s not like death is it. It’s more like moving into a new way of existing.”

“You mean, I lived and died and then get to live but here?” It was so confusing. This whole day was too much. First, I’m dead. Then I meet a reaper who hates everything about me, and to top it off I have to go through this whole thing again, but in a different reality? No thank you.

“Something like that,” he said, keeping his eyes on me. There was something about the way he looked at me that made me shiver.

“So, you just take people to the afterlife all day?” I said. Might as well talk to him since he was still standing there looking all broody. His jacket moved again like before and a little black kittie head popped out. He hurried to push him back in, but I smiled at the sight of a cat being so carefully tucked away.

“Yes,” he said simply, still struggling with the cat.

I laughed and he glared at me. “That’s a cute cat you have there,” I said.

“I prefer animals,” he answered. His gaze shot up to me. “They don’t talk.”

I shook my head. “Is he dead too?”

“She’s private,” he snapped.

“Okay, okay. I guess death gets to have his secrets,” I said, putting my hands up in surrender. I took a seat on the bed and glanced around the room. “What happens after this?”

“You go to processing and I can be released,” he said, watching me. “But there might be complications.”

“Complications?”

“Like I said, it wasn’t your time yet. Sometimes they want to know why you died.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I kept my eyes on him and he pursed his lips.

“You’s a witch, right?”

“And?”

“And that can make a lot of people want to kill you,” he said. “The warlocks, covens. Who would want you dead?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not like I had any real power.”

He half smiled and cocked an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You hadn’t come into it yet, is my guess,” he said. “Doesn’t matter. Processing will look into it.”

“Oh, so you go get another dead person,” I said, nodding my head.

“Hopefully not,” he grumbled.

“Right you prefer animals. I’m sure there are plenty of those.” I felt weird talking about dead animals. I guess I never realized they had a reaper too, but it makes sense. Everything needs to be guided to the afterlife if they are going to thrive here like I was now expected to.

I wondered if there was a chance I’d see my mom again. Pain pushed through me at the thought of it. The idea she was suffering was almost too much.

“Are you okay?” He asked and I glanced up at him.

I forced a smile. “Yeah.”

He sighed and stepped towards me . “Don’t worry about your family. They will be okay,” he said. He put his hand on my shoulder and it was oddly comforting.

“I suppose this is annoying too?” I said without thinking and he sighed.

“No, this is the hard part.” He sat down next to me. “Look, everything is going to work out.”

I nodded. The thought of my family holding a funeral for me when it wasn’t even my time was heartbreaking but there was nothing I could do from here.

“I’ll give you a little time to get settled,” he said, standing.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” I said it a little more needy than I meant to. Way to go Danni, sounding all whiny like you need a guy to stay with you.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” He smiled for the first time and it made me feel oddly warm. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

That didn’t last long.

I rolled my eyes and he turned and faded back into the darkness we’d walked out of.

This day blows.

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Chapter Two

You would think I’d had enough resting, seeing how I was dead. Maybe it was just an excuse for the reaper who brought me here to get away from me. A part of me wondered if he was even going to come back.

I sat up on the bed and stared at the wall. The white was almost too much for my eyes. Maybe I just couldn’t focus like I should. Is that would happened when you died? All your focus just floats away? I shook off the thought. No. As soon as that grumpy reaper dude came back, I was getting to the bottom of my death.

And maybe they would find a way to send me back.

I glanced up and there he was staring at me like he was trying to decide if he really wanted to deal with me today or not.

“What?” I snapped.

“It’s time to go to processing. They’ll get you figured out and on your way,” he said.

“And you won’t have to deal with me anymore,” I mumbled.

“That’s the plan,” he said before turning and walking towards a door on the other side of the room. He turned back and looked at me. “Are you coming?”

I huffed and pulled myself off the bed. Everything inside me was screaming how wrong this all was.

He led me through the door and it instantly opened up to a busy office system with desks neatly in rows all through the room. It was still that blinding white with bright lights that made me blink involuntarily.

“Does it have to be so damn bright?” I said and shaded my eyes.

“It keeps the nasties out,” the reaper said with a slight laugh.

“That can’t possibly be true,” I said, shaking my head.

He shrugged and I wondered for a moment if he was telling me the truth. We walked past the first couple of rows of desks until he stopped in front of an older lady with purple cat eye glasses and a permanent look of dread on her face. Her gray hair was neatly pulled back in a bun and her purple knit sweater buttoned neatly over her white professional shirt.

“Name,” she said without looking up.

I hesitated and glanced at the reaper. He raised an eyebrow and sighed. “Danniel Johnson,” I said quickly.

The lady glanced up at me and then at the reaper. “You weren’t on the schedule,” she said simply. “Accident?”

“That’s what she’s trying to figure out,” reaper man said without even looking at me.

“I don’t even have her in the system yet,” she said with a shrug. “I won’t for at least a few years when it catches up.”

“Hello,” I said, waving my hands so they would remember she was standing right here.

“So, what do I do with her until then?” The reaper said without even looking at me.

“Guess she’s your problem,” the lady said, finally looking at me. “You’re on your own.”

What. The. Fuck?

***

I hurried to catch up to him as he started walking between the desks. “What does that mean?” I said, struggling to keep up. How was this dude so fast?

“It means exactly what she said it means,” he said, not slowing down.

“So, I’m just waiting?”

He stopped suddenly and I almost ran into him. “No, it just means I’m stuck with you until we can figure this out.”

“Not exactly what you wanted,” I smarted off. He started walking again and I had to hurry to catch up.

“Try not to get left behind. I have things to do,” he said.

“You mean I get to go with you to collect souls?” It beat whatever this processing was. The last thing I wanted was to be left on my own in a place that made no sense to me. Plus the white walls were stupid and blinding.

“No.” He didn’t look at me. “You heard her, we’re figuring out what happened the night of your death.” He finally glanced at me before looking away again. “Unfortunately, you just can’t wonder around in the afterlife.”

I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop at the far end of that blinding white room. He turned and glared at me, something strange bubbling up to the surface. It was almost like he hadn’t been touched in a long time and it startled him.

He yanked his arm away and stepped back. “Don’t grab me like that,” he said, his voice etched with anger.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t understand anything and you’re going to fast,” I spat. “I was alive and figuring things out one minute and now I’m…”

“Dead,” he finished. He huffed and crossed his arms. “I get it. It’s jarring, but you have to listen or worse things can happen.”

“Worse than death?” I said with a slight laugh. His expression didn’t change. Those dark eyes stayed fixed on me like he was trying to decide how much to tell me.

“Yes,” he said simply. “Just stay out of the way and help me figure this out. Can you do that?”

“I don’t think I have a choice,” I said, crossing my arms. “Can you at least tell me your name.”

He dropped his eyes to the ground before meeting mine again. “Wilder.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he said before holding out his hand. “Come on.”

This was going to be a long afterlife.

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Wider

She was starting to get on my nerves. Why did the boss think I needed to reap a human is beyond me. After all these years living a double life of being a reaper and being in the human world, now I had to go out of my way to help one.

Sarafina wiggled in my coat pocket. She was the only being I cared about. This tiny little black cat I couldn’t bare to send through processing. What if her next life was a fly or worse, a human?

I petted her head slightly while trying to ignore the tornado that was Danni Johnson.

“Where do we start?” She didn’t look at me as she spoke and I sighed.

“At the beginning,” I said, plainly. “What do you remember?”

She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and I sighed. This is going to be a long few days.

“I remember getting ready to go to my friend Dawns house. She lives a few miles away.” She paused. “I remember it being loud. Things crashing and then staring at my body.”

“So, you don’t remember anything about the crash or what caused it?” I pressed. The more she could think of the better. If there was anything off, it would help figure out how this death was manipulated and why.

“I had a fight with my friend,” she finally said. “It was early that day.”

“What kind of fight?”

She stopped walking and stared at the ground. “You don’t think he did this, do you?”

“I don’t know,” I answered simply, but the pain in her eyes made me wonder what the hell had happened. “What happened?”

“He was mad I was leaving.” She glanced at me and I cocked my head. Sarafina pushed her little head out and instead of hiding her away again, I let her look. She dropped her gaze to the cat and smiled slightly. The first time since I’d met her. “I wanted to go to New York for college. He wanted me to stay in Los Angeles.” Her eyes met mine and she shook her head. “He wouldn’t do this no matter how mad he was.”

“Are you sure?” I questioned but something about pushing her further into believing her friend would hurt her, tugged at me. I shook the thought off.

“No,” she answered and sighed. “He’s a Warlock.”

“You were friends with a Warlock? Are you crazy?” I didn’t mean to sound as harsh as I did, but what the fuck? Witches and Warlocks were known enemies unless they made arraignments to marry. I know, weird magick bullshit.

“He’s not like the others,” she said.

“They are the same, no matter what you say,” I huffed. This was it, the guy who wanted to get back at her and manipulated her death. It had to be. The lights flickered and I took in a breath. Not now.

Danni must have noticed and narrowed her eyes at me. “What’s going on?”

“We just need to go,” I said. The last thing she needed was to worry about something she couldn’t do anything about. That was my job.

To keep the shadow away.

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Danni

It took everything in me not to reach out and touch that little cat’s head, but Wilder would probably bite my head off. He’d already decided we were going after my long time friend. Good thing he didn’t know the whole story there or he might just leave me to whatever made the lights flicker.

Really, what was that about?

“So, what are we just going to show up on Matt’s doorstep and say boo?” I asked. I mean, yes it would be funny to see his face when he got a look at me after everything, but it might kill him, again. Warlocks had a pretty horrifying way of getting their powers. Quite simply, they died and came back. Something tells me they don’t see the afterlife in quite the same way, though.

“No, I can just watch and he won’t be able to see you anyway,” he said, pushing the cat back into his coat.

I frowned. “So, you can just watch people? How does that help us find out who or what killed me?”

“It doesn’t. The other part of my handy reaper power does,” he said but didn’t look at me. In this light walking in the near dark night, he almost looked human. I didn’t understand how they came to be and maybe it was better that way, but he was still interesting.

He finally glanced my way and I gave him a weary smile. He stopped and glanced around us. “This is where you died. Are you sure you want to be here?” He waited under an unbent street light. Either they had fixed it already or something was really off.

“This is weird,” I said plainly and he snickered.

“It’s the night of the accident. Before you hit the light pole,” he answered.

I think he thought he was helping me understand, but he was making it even more confusing. “That’s not possible.”

“It is.”

“We went back in time?”

He nodded slightly. “Something like that.”

“Then we can go to my apartment and stop me. Hide my keys or something,” I said, taking a step towards him.

“I can’t do that,” he answered.

“Why?” I shook my head. “You said yourself it’s not my time.”

He didn’t answer, but looked up the road. I followed his gaze to my car speeding down the road with the music blaring. I cringed slightly at the sight. Everything slowed down. The car coming towards us, the way the air even felt was weird. Me, the other me, glanced up at something in the road. I followed her gaze but nothing was there. Then the car took a hard left and slammed into the pole.

“What was she-“ I closed my eyes and waved my hands, trying to wrap my head around it. “-I, looking at?”

“I don’t know. Whatever or whoever it was is cloaked,” he said, glancing at her.

I sank to the cement sidewalk and hugged my knees. What the hell is happening? “First, I have to be okay with my own death and then I have to watch it happen. I still don’t know what happened or who did this to me.” I felt tears stinging the edges of my vision.

Wilder stepped closer to me and knelt down. He put his hand on my arms and just hung onto me. That one bit of grounding to someone that seemed to know exactly how I felt calmed me a little. The black cat in his coat poked her head out and put her paws over the pocket she was in.

I couldn’t help but smile. He followed my gaze to her and gently pulled her out of his coat. “This is Sarafina,” he said and handed her to me. He seemed a bit reluctant, but still allowed the black cat to perch in my arms for a bit.

“Thank you,” I said, meeting his gaze.

“We’ll figure this out.” He took a breath. “I promise.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“It’s my job,” he said simply.

I didn’t believe that for a second.

The street light flickered and he quickly glanced around us, reaching for Sarafina. I let him take her and slide her back into his pocket. “We don’t have time to waste here.”

“Tell me what is after us,” I said, not moving.

“Not here,” he said, grabbing my arm and yanking me to my feet. Before I could protest, we were back in that darkness from before.

“Wilder,” I said, my voice laced with panic.

“Hang on,” he said.

I could still feel his hand wrapped around mine as the darkness faded and we were back in that too bright white room.

I yanked my hand away and crossed my arms. He stared at me for a moment before sighing.

“Fine, that was the shadow.” He turned so I could see the flicker of fear in his eyes. “It takes any soul that’s left in the open for too long and it’s come for you.”

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Chapter Five

“What the hell are you even saying?” I couldn’t help it. This whole thing was way more than I could handle. I’m dead and now there is a shadow after me?

“The shadow is the darkness of the human world. It’s hard to explain,” he said, walking away and pacing in front of me.

“Why is it after me?” I could feel the anger bubbling up in me. Everything was so unfair.

“Because you haven’t gone through processing yet,” he answered.

“That’s not even my fault,” I huffed and fell back on the bed still in the room. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“What do we know so far?” He said, stopping mid pace. “We know there was someone involved who wanted you dead. They got in your vision and made you swerve.”

“Maybe they didn’t know what would happen?” I said, staring at the ceiling. “Maybe it was a mistake.”

“Then why would they shield themselves from me?” He shook his head. “No, this is on purpose.”

“So, it’s off to Matts,” I grumbled.

“If you want to make sure he wasn’t the one, yes,” he said, taking a step to the bed and leaning over me.

I met his gaze and watched it travel down my body. Is he checking me out? Is Death really checking me out?

I raised my eyebrows and he met my gaze, quickly clearing his throat and stepping back.

“Let’s go,” he said, turning away from me.

“Okay, but maybe there is something you should know about Matt.”

He didn’t turn back around.

“He’s my ex.”

***

I watched his expression go from calm to shocked to maybe a little angry, but he quickly recovered and cleared his throat.

“You should have said that from the beginning.” He crossed his arms. “He has a huge reason to want you gone.”

“Not like that,” I snapped. “We had our issues but he was kind and always took what I wanted into consideration.”

He cocked an eyebrow. I knew what he was thinking. How could a warlock made of darkness and unnatural power care anything about me?

“I know him,” I said softer. “He wouldn’t do this.”

He held out his hand and didn’t say anything more. I sighed before getting up and taking it, knowing where we were headed and that it was going to get a whole lot worse before it got better.

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Wilder

Of course she’d have an ex. She was a beautiful woman that didn’t take anyone’s shit. That I could understand. What I couldn’t wrap my head around was why I cared. She was a job and not one I even wanted, but when she broke down I couldn’t help but want to pick her back up and make everything right.

What is wrong with me?

“So, are we just going to poof there?” She asked, still holding my hand. The touch of her warm hand and the buzz of her magick was all I noticed, but I glanced back at her.

“Something like that,” I said with a smirk. I wasn’t letting her in on my weird inner struggle.

“How long have you been doing this?” She asked and I shrugged.

“Awhile,” I pulled her to me and she flinched. “It’s easier if we’re closer.” It was true, but honestly, I wanted to feel more of her warmth. Even if she was technically dead, her soul still had its power and light. In a weird way it gave off a warm feeling reapers and other things could feel.

“Whatever you say,” she mumbled and I pulled us through time and back to Matt’s house. While I didn’t know who he was, she did and all it took was a feeling to hold on to and we were there. She still thought about him. I frowned at the thought. If he’d done this, I was helping end his life early, no matter the consequences.

We rematerialized in what he assumed was Matts living room. I could hear a man talking in the other room and glanced at Danni. She looked visibly shaken with one hand up to her mouth and chewing on her finger tips.

I glanced around us at the small room. It wasn’t at all what I expected when she said he was a Warlock. They normally had expensive places to live like penthouses and mansions. They were the richest of this world, but this one seemed more reserved. Maybe she was right about him.

“This is Matts place?” I asked and she nodded, stepping away to look at the photos he had on the wall. Her eyes stopped at one and she smiled. I followed her gaze to one of her and him at an amusement park.

“This was last year before we broke up. I figured he’d take it down, but it didn’t,” she said before glancing at me.

“Let’s see what he was doing that day,” I said, changing the subject back to what we needed to get done.

“Is that when we are?” She looked back at the photos.

“Yes,” I said before hearing him raise his voice. “I’m guessing he’s talking to you?”

“Yeah,” she glanced to the doorway where he was pacing back and forth.

“What are you fighting about?”

“He wanted me to not go tonight.” She turned and faced me, a little bit of hair falling in her face. She gently pushed it back behind her ear and I smiled slightly.

“Why?”

“He said it was dangerous.” She crinkled her forehead. “I don’t remember why.”

“He told you it was dangerous?” I crossed my arms and let out a sigh. He may not have been the one to do the damage, but it sounded like he might know who would. “We need to go back further,” I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her against me. This time I didn’t ask for permission. I let my hand slide to the small of her back and just held her there for a moment.

She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side. A slight smile formed on her face, but she didn’t say anything.

“The closer you are, the easier, remember,” I hurried up and said. But a part of me didn’t want to lie to her. She was activating something inside me I thought was long dead.

Sarafina popped her head out and yawned.

I held my smile back as I moved us further back in time all while keeping my eyes on Danni.

She had no idea what she was and what she was doing to me.

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Danni

I thought I caught a smile on that reapers face, but maybe I was just looking for something that wasn’t there.

The room changed but not much and it looked like he’d gone back maybe a week or so. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but if he found it, I didn’t know what was going to happen to Matt.

“What are we looking for?”

The doorbell rang and Wilder looked at me. “That,” he said.

“How did you know?”

“That someone was coming?” He shrugged. “I went back further and moved forward until I saw something.

“I didn’t see anything,” I grumbled.

He smirked. “You’re not a reaper.”

I glanced at the door as Matt answered it. He still looked the same with his short dark hair and the famous grey t shirts he loved wearing nonstop. I had to admit, he looked good.

“Bracos, what are you doing here?” He said, opening the door.

“At least I rang the bell instead of just showing up inside your place. You should be grateful for that,” the dark haired well dressed man in a suit said. He messed with his cufflinks before stepping inside past Matt.

“What do you want?” Matt followed him towards the living room area where he stopped and turned on him.

“You haven’t gotten that witch to commit to you yet?” He said shaking his head.

“I’m not going to trick Danni into a marriage she doesn’t want,” he said. “I don’t care how powerful she is.”

“That’s what we needed,” Wilder said, looking my way. “It has to be connected to this.”

“No way,” I countered. “Look, Matt is telling him no.”

I glanced back at Matt and this Bracos, but something felt off. Like I wasn’t just spying on them but they were spying on me too. I shivered and Wilder glanced back at me.

“What’s going on with you?”

“I don’t know but something feels… wrong,” I said. “I can’t place it.”

Then something shifted and it was like the darkness and shadows of Matt’s apartment came to life. Slinking towards me and grabbing at me.

I glanced at Wilder as the darkness filled my vision. He quickly grabbed my hand and yanked me to him, but this time before I could even react we were shifting through time, everything blurred around us and then we were standing in the bright bedroom in what I figured was the between of heaven and earth.

He didn’t let go right away and I didn’t pull away. There was something irritating about how he went from hot and cold, but also why was I interested in the first place? The first thing he did when we met was tell me he didn’t want to be reaping a human.

He dropped his gaze to my lips and then back to my eyes. I waited and he let go and stepped back.

“That was that shadow you were talking about,” I said, taking a seat on the bed.

“Yeah, I didn’t sense it this time, but you did,” he said. “Your powers are coming in even now.”

“I’m dead, how can I be getting any powers?” I said. Of course I knew I was a witch, but the fact I’d made it this long without anything showing up made everyone think I was a dud. My thoughts slid back to the conversation Matt was having with that dude in a suit. Everyone but him.

“What are my powers?” I asked. “You seem to know everything, tell me.”

He shifted. “It’s complicated.”

“Wilder,” I said, sharply. “Just tell me.”

He sighed and turned to face me. “You have the ability to tape into any magick around you.”

“How do you know?”

“I felt it when I came for you.”

“Then why not tell me?” I pushed. If that was true, that meant I could tap into his power and do all the things he can. Why wouldn’t he want me to know that?

“If anyone found out what you could do, they would all be after you.” He hesitated. “And I’d have to protect you.”

“No you don’t. Just cuz you’re here, it doesn’t mean anything. You were roped into all this.”

He took a step towards me. “You really think that’s all it is? Just a job?”

“That’s what you said from the start,” my tone rose as anger bubbled up. “I was just a job.”

He closed the gap between us and put his hands on my arms. “You are such a pain in the ass,” he said before his lips crashed into mine. The kiss startled me . Everything about it was aggressive and possessive, but gentle and loving at the same time.

And then I felt it. All the souls that had come and gone over the years. Every one of them were still with him. Pieces of souls that had met horrible deaths and souls who’d died peacefully in their beds. He had them all right there in his. One of the downsides of being a reaper.

He pulled back and stared down at me. “You felt them didn’t you?”

I nodded. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop it.”

He stepped back another step and glanced at the floor. “You’ll be safe here until I figure out our next move.”

Before I could even open my mouth to speak, he was gone and I was left with the echo of what I’d just felt.

What had I done?

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Chapter Eight

All I could think about was Wilder and that damn kiss. He’d expressed his feelings for me and I’d messed it up with a power I didn’t even know I had. Maybe it was better if we kept it a job and I didn’t press for more from him.

It’s not like I was going to be around all that long anyway. As soon as this was squared, I’d be off to processing and on to the next thing, whatever that was.

I sat up and played with the blankets on the bed. Had it been that long or was I just really bored? It’s not like they had any phones or games up here. All I saw was a bed and a creepy door back to earth.

Wait, the door. If I had access to all of Wilder’s powers, then it made sense I could go back to earth and figure this all out on my own. He wouldn’t need to worry about keeping me safe or make it awkward again.

I stood and walked towards the door. The low hum of energy was all I heard and confirmed my suspicions. I could use his power to get back. Now I just had to figure out how the rest worked.

The door was easy to open and I stepped inside thinking of Matt and the scene from before with Bracos. It was almost instant and then I was standing there at the same place as before with the two men chatting in the living room.

“If you don’t get her under control, others will,” he said, watching Matt.

“She’s my friend. I can’t trick her.”

“If she meets up with Iana, it’s over for everyone. We need them to do their part. Keep her out of the way or I will,” Bracos said before walking past Matt and out of the apartment.

“Wilder was right,” I said to myself. “They set me up.” It felt like I’d lost my best friend in what was a matter of minutes. Matt wasn’t trying to keep me safe, he was keeping me out of the way.

Iana was my friend. We didn’t get to hang around each other much with the way our families worked, but when I could see her, I always tried. She was worried about the coven ritual coming up and I was going to talk her through it. I remembered the whole thing. Everything about that night.

The drive. The road where I died and the thing standing in the road. It wasn’t Bracos.

It was a shadow.

It was this shadow that wanted me dead and now it had me right where it wanted me.

***

I felt myself falling backward into something, I wasn’t sure what and then hands pulling me forward. The air around me faded black. I’d messed up and now the shadow was talking me away. I was being suffocated by dark smokey energy.

I felt myself hit something soft and the darkness fade away. I blinked in reaction to that same stupid bright light this place had and focused on Wilder’s face above me.

“Are you crazy?” He said, not letting me go. My back was against the bed and he was still over me.

I opened my mouth to answer but had no good explanation. Not one he’d probably care to hear anyway.

“I told you we’d figure it out, but not at the cost of your soul.”

I stared at him confused. It wasn’t just my life the shadow thing wanted, but my soul too. That made a whole lot more sense. “It wasn’t Matt,” I said quietly.

“I know, I figured that out the last time we went,” he said a little gruffly. He didn’t move, his body was nearly pressed against mine. I had to admit it felt nice to be so close to someone, but the way his eyes flicked back and forth it seemed like he wasn’t sure if he should be this close.

“Why are you so difficult?” He asked, his eyes holding mine.

“Part of my charm,” I said with a smile.

He took a breath and leaned forward, his lips brushing mine. “You are going to be the one soul I won’t be able to shake, aren’t you?”

I didn’t have a chance to answer before he kissed me. That same intensity burning through me. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was where I was meant to be.

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Wilder

I laid there beside her watching her breath. I’d never felt this connected to another person before. She was everything and I was holding her back. If she didn’t go through processing, the shadow would never stop and once it had her, all her magick would filter to every warlock on earth.

That was how it worked and why it made so much sense Bracos wanted her to either be contained or be dead. The one thing left to answer was why they didn’t want her connecting with Iana, but maybe that would be better left for another to figure out.

All these years grabbing souls and I’d never had one stick with me like she was. Yes, being a reaper meant I ended up tied to every soul I put through the system, but nothing like her.

I watched Danni stir and open her eyes. She smiled at me and scooted closer.

“You look conflicted,” she said, putting a hand on my cheek. Even just the small amount of her touch brought my mind back to the time we were spending together.

“Just thinking about what comes next,” he said.

She groaned. “We could just stay here and ignore the world,” she said.

“You can’t hide here forever,” I said. It was true. Once the shadow got sick of waiting, it would crash in here and take what it wanted. It wasn’t like we were that far from the human world here anyway. “We have to go back to processing.”

“They won’t let me go forward, you said it yourself,” she protested.

“We know what happened now,” he said. “They will see reason.”

“What if I don’t want to go?” She said, her light eyes burning into mine.

“You have to. You won’t be safe otherwise,” I said. The pain in my words must have been easy to read.

“No, there has to be something else,” she countered. “I don’t want to leave you now that I found you.”

“You want to be stuck with a reaper who hates everyone?” I joked.

“I want to be with you.”

I nodded, but deep down I knew that wasn’t an option. Danni had to go through processing and I was going to loose her forever.

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Danni

Of course he wanted to push me right through processing. He didn’t want to even give me a chance to make my own choices.

He walked just a step or two in front of me, mostly because I was dragging my feet.

“Are you sure this is the only way?” I pressed, hoping he’d change his mind.

“It is the only way,” he repeated back to me. Wilder didn’t bother turning to look at me as he spoke.

I made a face and kept going. We walked through the desks towards the same lady we’d worked with before. She looked up from her papers and sighed.

“You’re back,” she said and glanced from Wilder to me. “I told you, she can’t go through.

“We found out what happened and it’s important she go through processing,” Wilder almost demanded.

“Tell me the details,” she said, annoyed he was even asking. She adjusted her glasses and pulled out another folder of papers. I guessed they were mine.

“The shadow itself is after her,” he said simply.

She snapped her gaze to him and then to me. “Why would that happen?”

“I’m not sure, but it wants her power,” Wilder answered. She raised her eyebrows in question. “She can share powers.”

“Like become the power of those around her? Interesting,” she said. “That would be a problem in the hands of the darkest power in existence.”

“So, she can go to processing,” he questioned.

“You need an over ride code from up top,” she said pointing to another door to the left.

“The afterlife sure has a lot of red tape,” I mumbled and she snapped her eyes to me.

“It keeps things organized,” she said with bite.

“Thanks, Delores,” Wilder said before I opened my big mouth and got into more trouble.

She handed him the folder and shrugged. “Good luck.”

Wilder grabbed my arm and pulled me with him to the door, stopping in front of it. “Don’t say anything in here, okay.”

“Why?”

“This is the big boss,” he said.

“Like God or something?” I laughed at the idea. Sure I’d heard about gods and other beings, but they were myth, right?

“No. I’m a reaper, but the boss is literal death.”

***

Way to drop a bomb.

“Wait, what?” I couldn’t stop the words from leaving my mouth. When I’d seen him right after my death, he looked just like the artistic version of death, bones and all. Now he was telling me that wasn’t real.

“Reapers all get our magick from Death, but he’s a very real being. He was a reaper,” he said.

“So, you guys get promoted to Death if you do a good job?”

He smirked. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t do that great of a job,” he said, before putting his hand on the door knob. “Remember, stay quiet.”

I nodded. No matter how much I wanted to be an asshole, I knew that was going to do more damage than good for both me and Wilder.

He opened the door and we stepped inside. The room wasn’t like the other one. Instead of insanely bright lights that flicker every so often, it was dimly lit with a faint red backlight. Talk about mood lighting.

“What brings you here, Wilder,” A loud booming voice said from all around us. At the far end of the room was a table with a dark hooded figure sitting with various papers around him. He was dressed in a long robe, something I’d figured most depictions of death got right. He glanced up and locked his eyes on me. “And your charge.”

“Sir, I’m here because she was taken before her time and we figured out what happened,” Wilder placed the folder on the table and it slide to him automatically.

Death picked it up and flipped through it before glancing back up to me. “It says she is a magick mimic.”

“Yes,” Wilder said.

I wrinkled my nose at the new term for my power. Was I really that big of a deal?

“That’s a very rare magick,” he said placing the folder on the table. “The shadow will rip through anything to get to her.” He paused and leaned back in his seat. “She’s dangerous.”

“I’m asking for an over ride to get her into processing,” Wilder said.

“Then that power is lost,” he answered. “I have a better idea.”

I felt myself tense. He was going to suggest something I didn’t want to do, I just knew it.

He pointed to a door at the other end of the room. “Go through there.”

I glanced to Wilder. His jaw was set and I knew this wasn’t the outcome he wanted, if he even knew what would happen once I went through that door.

“I’m not leaving her,” Wilder said.

Sarafina poked her head out and hissed. Death glanced at the cat and back to Wilder. “You can’t go through there,” he said.

“What are you doing?” Wilder questioned.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I felt the tension in the air. The energy they were both putting off and it was not good.

“Giving the shadow what it wants,” he said with a smirk.

Wilder grabbed my hand and pulled me to him just as the door pushed open and a dark mist flooded the room. I closed my eyes and held onto him.

The sound around us shifted and he pulled me back from him.

“We don’t have a lot of time.,” he said.

I opened my eyes and realized we were in the place of my death. I wrinkled my forehead in confusion. “What are we doing here?”

“Danni, there is no other way to stop you from being absorbed into the shadow. You have to go back,” he said, his hands on the side of my face.

My heart fell and I shook my head. “No, it will kill you.”

“It can’t. I’m already dead and a reaper, but it can hurt you. This is the only way to save you,” he said. I heard the car speeding down the road. The shadow standing in the middle of the street turned from the car to me and slinked along the ground.

“We don’t have time to argue. I love you, Danni,” he said and pulled me to him, his lips crashing into mine one last time.

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Wilder

I knew the moment I put her back in her body, I was going to be in for some shit, but even the boss was against us and I had no choice. When I opened my eyes I was standing in the middle of the processing floor in front of a desk with Delores staring at me.

“What in the hell did you do?” She asked, shaking her head.

“Death is a traitor,” I snapped and she nodded.

“Yeah, I know. I demoted him and put him through processing,” she said with a smirk.

I shook my head in confusion. “Wait, how?”

“You really think there aren’t others here to watch even the big dogs?” She let out a laugh.

“I thought Death was the head of the department?” I asked.

“He is, but even he has a boss,” she said. She handed me a folder and pointed to the same door Death usually worked in. “Enjoy your new office.”

“What? No, I’m not good with people. There is no way I want to run an entire department,” I countered, trying to hand her the folder back.

She pushed it back at me. “I just give the directions.” She smiled and glanced at Sarafina. “Maybe, it’s time to let her go through processing,” he said.

I glanced down at my only friend. When I found Sarafina she was a baby left out in the weather alone. I was there when she died and couldn’t bear to send her to processing when she hadn’t even had a life.

“I’m the boss, right?” I asked.

Delores smiled. “Sure are.”

“Then I have a better idea for her,” I said and turned back towards this office that was now mine. If I was doing this then it was happening my way.

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Chapter Eleven

When I opened my eyes, everything was dark. The soft beep of a machine to my left drew my attention. Everything hurt. I groaned.

“Careful,” a soft voice from the side of the bed said. I turned and Matt was sitting there, holding my hand. I pulled it away.

He watched me before glancing at the floor and back to me. “You almost died.”

“I did die,” I countered and he shook his head. “You’re just hurting right now. You need rest.”

“Get out,” I managed and he gave me a look. “I know you know what I am.”

“Danni-“ He started.

“-No. Leave,” I demanded.

He stood and kept his eyes on me. “I only did what I did to keep you safe. If they thought you were going to marry me, they would leave you alone.”

“You lied to me,” I said. “I cared about you and you lied.” I thought about Wilder and how he’d given up everything for me. Matt was no comparison to what he was.

Wilder. My chest tensed. I’d never see him again now that I was alive and Sarafina. I would miss her the most. That bastard didn’t even let me say good bye.

“I’m sorry, Danni,” Matt said and I looked away. He hesitated for a moment before leaving the room. Then it was just me and my thoughts.

“I thought he’d never leave,” a familiar voice said from the shadow. I glanced up and Wilder was standing there looking a little different. I threw my pillow, hitting him in the face.

“You son of a bitch. You didn’t even let me say good bye,” I said.

“Good thing I’m here then,” he said, stepping out of the shadows. I took in his new dark robe that hid his face when he pulled it up.

“What happened to you?”

“I got a promotion,” he said with a shrug.

“Are you even supposed to be here?” I countered with a smile.

“I can do whatever I want,” he said. “And right now, I want you.” He stepped to the side of the bed. “After you feel better of course.”

“Yeah, I forgot about pain,” I said, wincing slightly at the shift in my weight on the bed.

“It won’t be long and you’ll be causing the warlocks all kinds of trouble.”

I frowned. The idea of dealing with the warlocks and my ex by proxy was going to become a problem was exhausting.

“They won’t bother you,” he said, his smile getting bigger. “Perks of being Death.”

I cocked my head and took that in. He had no desire to be Death itself but here he was.

Wilder put his hand on my arm and raised his eyebrows. “Rest for now. You have to prep.”

“Prep for what?” I asked playfully.

“Your date with Death.”

The End…

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Bonus Scene – Sarafina

She waited at the edge of the room where everyone was gathered. Yes, she was a cat, but she knew they couldn’t see her while she waited patently for him.

She heard the crying of the dark haired woman with her back to her first and knew it was time.

Sarafina licked her paw and cocked her head. He’d been so loved and it made her little heart happy to know not every kittie had such a short life.

The fat Rag doll cat stared at her with his light blue eyes from the other side of the room, watching his favorite human hold him. He glanced at Sarfina and blinked, and then back to his human.

Saraina cooed and walked in a circle, beckoning him to follow her.

He hesitated, still feeling that pull to the people he loved.

They know you love them, she said with a smile. It’s time.

I don’t want to go, he said.

You have to. Your time here is done. She walked in a circle again. I promise you can see them when it’s their time.

The black cat sat and cocked her head. I promise. I know death personally.

He blinked at her and slowly padded across the floor to her. Does it hurt?

No, that’s done now, she said and circled again, motioning for him to follow. It’s all love and treats until you’re ready.

Promise?

Promise. She glanced at him and he padded behind her. What’s your name?

Fluffy

You’re gonna love it here, Fluffy.

For my Fluffy – You were and are the best boy. I love you.

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