Page 28

CHAPTER 28

AURORA

“G ods above.” Aurora bent over, gasping for air as the mortal realm formed around them. The need had lessened, but the fear of what came next had not. She stood, getting her bearings. A cool breeze skated over her bare arms. She was still dressed for the warmth of Manere and like a god. Her pale gray gown shimmered and still held bits of stardust. “ I may be a little overdressed for this.”

“A bit.” Cadel climbed the ditch they had landed in. “ Give me your hand.” He pulled her onto a dark road. “ Who’s first?”

“Mr. P . Tankenbury .” Aurora tried to rub some warmth into her arms.

“Here.” Cadel slipped off his jacket and gave it to Aurora .

“Why is it warm?” She gladly pulled it on.

“Because.” He smiled sadly. “ I often accompany Thane into the mortal world. There is less to explain if I don’t look as dead as I am.”

“Oh.” Aurora could feel his longing and sadness. “ But not easier for you?”

“No. Come on, we don’t have all night. Which way?”

“Um.” Aurora looked both ways. Her body sung with a lightness she had never felt before. Her blood burned as it raced through her body. “ This way?”

They walked in silence for a bit. “ What did you trade your soul for that you must serve Thane forever?”

Cadel looked at her. “ Thane didn’t tell you?”

“No. And I never asked.”

“Love.”

Aurora thought it would have been something more deadly or dangerous. “ Love ? But Death can’t give you that.”

“I know that now. Why are you so surprised?”

Aurora shrugged, pulling his jacket tighter. “ Thane said you were a commander for some mortal king’s guard. I would’ve thought you’d ask for glory or… not love.” She bumped her shoulder into his.

“It wasn’t love per se.” Cadel blew out a breath. “ I was young and very stupid. I thought if I had enough gold, I could buy her love. So that is what I asked for. Enough gold and riches to buy her love.”

“But—” Love could not be bought, wished, or bargained for.

“I know.” Cadel raised his hand.

“Did she love you?”

“No. Unfortunately , there wasn’t enough gold to make her love me. She loved the gold but not me. And I didn’t realize that until that pretty bastard Thane showed up to collect my soul. She fell at his feet, begging for him to take her instead.”

“You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. He is a god,” Aurora teased. Cadel was handsome enough, if Aurora were into mortal men. Unlike her father or Sorrow , Aurora didn’t understand the attraction to mortal men. But then again, Thane was her lover.

“That did not help,” Cadel shot back. “ I hated him. For days, I did nothing but wallow in self-pity for someone who never loved me. Then Thane showed up with a bottle of whiskey. He was just as lonely as I was. He had lost the woman he loved too, or should I say the god he loved. For three days, we drank so much whiskey that when I woke up, I was still drunk. When we finally sobered up, Thane gave me the choice to go to the underworld or serve him. And being that he is such a pretty bastard, I stayed.”

“He is pretty, isn’t he?” The dark shadow of the small village came into view. “ When we fight does he…?” Aurora stopped herself from asking the question she often feared the answer to. Thane was beautiful even for a god. He could have any god in the underworld or the heavens. He would also be able to tempt mortals from their husbands and wives. “ Never mind.”

“He drinks. And feels sorry for himself. He rarely leaves his room. And his mother often worries so much his room looks like a springtime garden.”

Aurora linked her arm into his and laid her head on his shoulder. If anyone saw them, they would think they were two lovers on a late-night stroll. Or were sneaking back into the village. “ Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For saying that. Even if it is a lie.”

“It’s not. He’s worried about you. He’s always worried about you.”

Aurora lifted her head as they got closer to the village. The need pulled her in the direction of the soul. “ I’m scared I’ll mess this up. Or that it will hurt. Or any of the other unknowns.” They stopped in front of a house just on the edge of the village. The lower windows of the home were dark. But a warm glow came from an upstairs room.

Cadel stepped in front of her. “ Look at me. I’d be worried if you weren’t. Even Thane hates this part. Take a deep breath and focus on nothing other than the soul. I’ll stand guard, but do it quickly. We don’t need any witnesses.”

Aurora nodded, inhaling the darkness, letting it fill her lungs and body. She knocked on the door. As her knuckles hit the wood, something in her shifted. Her sight was suddenly clearer. She could hear everything, the whispers in the house and the sounds of insect wings. Shadows ebbed and flowed around her fingertips.

It was time.

“Go away,” a voice called from the other side of the door.

Aurora smiled; an odd excitement filled her. The door opened without so much as a turn of the knob. Everything slowed, and yet everything happened so quickly. One minute she was at the foot of the stairs, the next she was at the top of them.

The heartbeats of the children who slept in the room to her left filled her ears. The man she was looking for was in the room at the end of the hall.

The sound of furniture scraping on the wood floor raked across her sensitive ears. Aurora took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Mr . Tankenbury’s soul sang to her, and how she would reap it was no longer a fear.

The door flung open, and the candles were snubbed out. The fire in the fireplace flashed before smoldering out. Aurora saw the room with her new sight. The opulent furnishings glowed with the smudge of Death . So did the man sitting on the bed next to a woman crying.

“I need more time,” the man said.

Aurora shook her head. His soul glowed white, and the lifelines that held it in sparkled. The shadows took the form of the beasts that lived in Thane’s castle. Their clawed hands thrashed out at the man.

“Please, you can take anything you would like. I have gold, diamonds, rubies. Anything you want. Please , just give me more time,” Mr . Tankenbury pled.

Aurora opened her mouth; words she didn’t know formed. “ You have given your soul for my lord to keep. Now lie down to sleep, for your soul, I shall reap.” The glimmering cords that held in his life dimmed and darkened. Mr . Tankenbury clutched his chest. The glow of his soul pushed against his skin. He fell from the bed, crying out in pain, clawing at his nightshirt.

His soul moved up his throat and came out in one final breath. The woman on the bed flung herself on the floor, clutching her husband. Mr . Tankenbury’s lips were red with blood as he collapsed onto the floor.

The soul sat in Aurora’s hand, and she could feel every one of his emotions. His hopes and his fears. His fear and grief were the hardest to deal with. The shadow of Mr . Tankenbury stood next to her, waiting for her to do something. Aurora took a deep breath, inhaling the soul, and Mr . Tankenbury’s shadow joined the others.

It was done. The woman was sobbing over her husband’s body. The surrounding shadows held tight to the man who tried to comfort her. But every time he tried to touch his wife, his hand turned to smoke.

She staggered down the hall. Her chest burned, as the man’s soul fought against her. She burst out the front door, falling to her knees. Her body tried to expel the soul that didn’t belong.

“Breathe.” Cadel knelt by her side. “ In through your nose and out your mouth.”

The newly made widow’s cries filled the air. Then the children joined in. The pain and suffering that filled the house and the space around it filled Aurora . A heart breaking, just not the right one.

“We need to leave.” Cadel pulled her to her feet and into the space of the Between .

She wanted to go home and lie down. The weight of one soul was heavy and made her tired. But her body sang for the next one. And so, they landed. This time in a city on the river that burned with lights and souls to be collected.

The soul of young Ms . Eva waited by the river. The young woman sobbed into her handkerchief. Aurora approached, hoping this one wouldn’t hurt as bad.

“What took you so long?” Eva whispered. “ I have been waiting days for you.”

Aurora cocked her head. “ You’re not afraid?”

Eva turned. “ I thought you would be horrible to look upon. I would not have thought death to be so beautiful. And no, I am not afraid.”

The girl’s sadness brushed against Aurora . Not because she was about to die. “ Your heart is broken.” Death had already broken her heart when he took Eva’s love.

Eva nodded, looking down at the tear-stained cloth in her hands. “ I traded my soul for time. I wanted more time with Joshua . Death gave me the time, not with Joshua . It’s been so long, and I still miss him. Do you think he will remember me?”

“Time is different in the underworld. Years pass like hours.” Aurora didn’t have the heart to tell the girl it would be some time before she would see him again. “ Are you ready?”

Eva took a deep breath and nodded. “ Do I lie down or something?”

“You can. It matters not to me.” This soul was different. There was no fear, only hope and love. The girl lay down, crossing her hands over her chest and her eyes. Aurora stood over her like a priest giving final rites. “ You have given your soul for my lord to keep. Now lie down to sleep, for your soul, I shall reap.”

Eva let out one final breath before her lifelines dimmed and her soul slipped from her body. Aurora inhaled it just as she did the other. Her head throbbed, and her chest pushed against her ribs. She staggered under the weight of both souls.

Cadel guided her away from the river and Eva’s body. “ One more.”

Aurora looked at the sky. The dawn was just on the horizon. Cadel reminded her she must be back in Manere before the sun rose or time would catch up with her. “ We must hurry.”