Deadly Kisses - By Kerri Cuevas Page 0,14
I was a young Reaper, still together except for the lack of flesh over my arm and leg bones. Although my organs worked, every day I decayed a little more.
Her soul felt good with mine, but I needed to reap it soon. I waited while she got her boots on and then dragged her through the door. I would find out, for Abe, why she could see Grim Reapers.
Her breath came out in fog as her breathing intensified, but I kept up my quick pace, sometimes struggling to keep my grip. Her heat flooded me as her emotions erupted. I savored it like a delicious piece of chocolate. I struggled to keep the hood down so she couldn’t see my face and the smile that spread.
“Ad! Stop!” She jammed her heels in the ground and I pulled more. “You’re hurting me, death boy!”
“Will you be quiet for five minutes?” My cloak trailed in the dry leaves and sounded like a sled being dragged through the woods. I wanted to pull off my hood and tell her it was me and not to be afraid. If she made me lose my regret, I would ascend and then I wouldn’t be here to help her.
“Not until you let me go. How are you out during the day anyway? I thought you only came out at night like bats.”
“Please. I don’t only go out at night. I can go out any time I want. We prefer to go out at night only to blend in with the darkness when we materialize. That’s when a Grim Reaper disappears and then reappears in a different location.”
Bee looked down at my hand again. “Your hand is really grossing me out. Look, I promise to follow you, if you let me go.”
I let go of her arm because it was hot and sweaty. Dead people don’t sweat. I went to rub my hand together and it was soft. There was a thin layer of fresh skin that covered the bones and hid the ligaments. I pulled up my sleeve and turned my hand back and forth. No bones! I had stopped rotting. Holy heaven, the girl was healing me! Her hands were emitting white light and it pulsated with energy.
She stopped to see what the fuss was. “How did that happen?” Her eyes wandered to my other hand. I pulled back my sleeve, but it was still bones and sinew. She took a step but hesitated.
“I’m not going to reap your soul today. I’ll warn you ahead of time when you need to be scared of me.” Slowly Bee walked toward me. I lowered my hand, and now I was pissed at myself that she was repulsed.
My muscles were ropes of knots when she touched me. Fresh skin began to spread down my hand to the tips of my fingers. “What the—” I took my hand away from her. It looked like skin, it felt like skin. “What are you?”
“You’re a Grim Reaper, and you’re asking me what I am? I didn’t do anything. Whatever happened, you did it. It must be more of your tricks.”
She walked ahead of me down the path toward the cemetery. I took long strides to keep up.
The gate squeaked and I stumbled through. By the time I entered, I saw Bee sitting on the steps to the crypt with her hands covering her face.
“Girl,” I called. Her eyes were sad. I swallowed down an egg-sized lump of guilt.
“I have a name, you know, or do you even care?” She was so dainty and her black hair blew back with the wind. I couldn’t stop imagining how good it felt to kiss her. I had kissed girls before, but never had they sent such life coursing through me.
If I kissed her again, it would be dangerous. Ugh, rules, rules, rules! I couldn’t even remember all of the Reaper Code of Ethics. Rule number one was always to follow through on reaping a soul. Rule number two, protect the soul at all costs. Rule number three, wield the scythe while executing the Kiss of Death. I guess I botched that one. Rule four, you had seven days to complete a reap. Rule, I think, eleven, you can only reap a soul taken from the List of Death. Any reaping resulting in a mess where Grim Security is involved shall be reported and punishable by being banned to the River of Lost Souls, or worse to the Dark Lord.
And then there was the Code