Slaying Year Two (Grim Reaper Academy 2)

“I’ll do it.”

“Mila!”

I sighed. I threw the flaps of my cloak over my back and removed my wristbands. I turned to him, arms outstretched, palms up. He paled at the deep, white scars running from my wrists, up the inside of my arms, almost to my elbows.

“I think I have more experience than Sariel, and we don’t want this woman to die today, do we?”

“Do you expect Sariel to fail?”

The archangel clenched his jaw. In other circumstances, he would have protested. He would have pushed me away and taken over, determined to prove himself. Not this time. He knew, and I knew, that he wasn’t ready for this.

“Of course I don’t expect him to fail,” I said. “But if he does, if he can’t convince her to put the blade away, then will you take over?”

“No.”

Just as I’d thought. “I have a better chance. So, let me.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, thought for another few seconds, then finally nodded. I turned to the woman, placed my scythe on the floor, and knelt next to her. She lifted her eyes from the ground. Finally, she could see me. But she couldn’t see Valentine, Sariel, Francis, or Merrit.

“Hey there.”

“You’re here to take me.” Her fingers gripped the blade so tightly that her hand started shaking. She sighed deeply but managed a smile. “It’s okay, I’m ready.”

“It’s not your time.”

Her dark gaze studied me for a long moment. “You’re so beautiful. I like your blue hair. Is it natural? Do all Grim Reapers have blue hair?”

“Err… no. I’m actually…” I gulped. I didn’t know whether I was allowed to tell her or not. “I’m human.” On the other hand, this was a special situation.

“No. You can’t be.”

I smiled. “I am. Grim Reapers can be humans, too.”

“You mean… you were human, and then you died and became a Grim Reaper, right?”

That was some simple logic that, though false, couldn’t hurt anyone. I nodded. “Yes. Something like that.”

“I don’t want to be a Grim Reaper when I die. Promise me you won’t make me one.”

“I… can’t make another Grim Reaper. It’s not like vampires, when a vampire can make another vampire.”

Her eyes widened. “Vampires exist?” But in a split second, her mood changed, her eyes darkened, and she averted her gaze. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t tell me. I don’t need to know anything. I just need to… finish what I started.”

“Wait.” I couldn’t just take the blade and throw it away. I wasn’t supposed to stop her physically, because that would’ve been temporary. I had to stop her for good, convince her that life was worth living. “Let me tell you a story first.”

She shook her head, still not looking at me. “No stories.”

“It’s my story.” I showed her my left arm. “Look. I’ve been where you are now.”

She looked at my scars for a long moment, then finally gazed into my eyes. She smiled bitterly.

“No, you haven’t. You’ve never used. You never went for days without food because you had to waste your money on pills. You never lost a job, lost a baby…”

“But I lost my faith. Countless time. I lost my faith and thought I was alone, the most wretched soul alive, that no one wanted me, and no one loved me. I couldn’t love myself, so why would they? Everyone was better off without me. Is that what you think now?”

She sighed. Her gaze turned to the dirty window. Maybe, if she stepped outside for a moment, she’d see the face of the sun, the trees in bloom, and new life would seep into her tired bones. If I could make her go outside…

“I think there’s nothing for me here. It’s too painful, too hard, and I’m exhausted. I just want this to end. So, please, Grim Reaper. You’re here, which means it’s time to go.”