Seizing Year Four (Grim Reaper Academy 4)

I straightened my clothes, grabbed my scythe off the ground, and motioned for Corri to get ready to teleport with me.

“There’s something I need to do now, and it can’t wait. Think about what I told you, okay?”

The funny thing was that I wasn’t even lying to them. Sure, that wasn’t the main reason why I couldn’t be with them now, but it was at the top of my list. I needed to do this alone, and I kind of knew how. Kind of. If I failed, I needed it to be on me, not on them. And there was a good chance that I was going to fail.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Why did you lie to me?”

I’d teleported straight in the middle of Yolanda’s bedroom and took her by surprise. She was reading in the armchair by the window that used to be mine. The book she dropped when I startled her also used to be mine.

Dressed in my red and black uniform, with my shiny scythe in one hand and Corri on my shoulder, I knew I looked menacing. Good. Because I needed her to tell me the truth this time.

“I know you lied to me. You found Katia, and you talked to her. She was the one who told you Valentine’s story, wasn’t she? That whole thing about the dimension twenty years from now, how an older version of myself told you everything… You made that all up. Why?”

Yoli took a couple of calming breaths, closed the book gently, and placed it on her lap. She held my gaze, and to my annoyance, she actually looked composed. Here I was thinking that fear would work as a great motivator, but she didn’t fear me at all.

“You stink,” she said.

That took me aback. If I were an anime character, a huge drop of sweat would’ve been hanging over my head, and my eyes would be doing that spiraling thing that made no sense.

“Like… literally, or…” I managed, stupidly.

Corri flew off my shoulder, letting out a big breath I was unaware she’d been holding all this time.

“She’s right, Mistress. I’m so sorry… I couldn’t tell you, but… Your ex-boyfriends are right. You need to do something about it, and soon.”

I looked at them, confused. “Are you kidding me? I stink. That’s your problem? Let me tell you what my problem is.” I pointed my scythe at Yoli. “You, missy, lied to me. I’ve been nothing but good to you. I asked you to do one thing for me. Just one. Was that too much?”

“You lied to me first. You told me you’re human, but you’re not.”

“And if I’m not human, what do you think I am?”

“I don’t know. But your mother told me that if you can’t dream jump anymore, it means you lost your humanity.”

“You found her…”

“Yes.”

“Why did you lie to me?”

She shrugged. “How could I trust you? You’ve been using me all along. I’m not stupid, I can put two and two together. When Katia told me you must’ve lost your humanity somehow, because otherwise you would’ve dream jumped to her yourself, I realized you’d been taking advantage of me all along. You sent your pixie to find you someone who could dream travel, and she found me. Then you convinced your adoptive parents to take me in, so you could have me at your disposal and send me after your mom and dad.”

“I never told you to go after Morningstar. He’s dangerous.”

“You can’t find Katia Angelov and not run into Valentine Morningstar. Don’t be naïve, Mila.”

“I’m sorry you feel this way.” I couldn’t deny that she was right. That would’ve meant lying to her again. “But it’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? You’re here, you have a family, you’re doing great. And you’re part of something big.”

She thought for a second. I could tell she wasn’t going to contradict me. She did like being part of this whole supernatural business. It definitely beat spending her childhood and teenage years in an orphanage, then facing the world at eighteen – a world that would kick her in the ass at every step.

“Win-win,” she said bitterly. “You could’ve told me the whole truth, and I would’ve helped you anyway. I don’t care if you’re human or not.”

I sighed. My shoulders slumped. I was so tired, but I’d been running from this conversation for too long. I left my scythe by the door and plopped onto the bed.

“What I am, Yoli… I didn’t want you to know. I couldn’t tell you.”

“Why not. What are you, anyway? Did something bite you and you’re a vampire or a werewolf?” She came to sit next to me, but quickly scrambled away, holding her nose.