Ember X (Death Collectors) - By Jessica Sorensen Page 0,45
their body is more frightening than if I felt their death.
“Asher?” I squint through the dark down at my legs.
A dark figure slowly rises from the floor. The head is enormous, its arms long, and its body stretches to the ceiling. A cape flows to the ground and armors its face. Nope, not Asher.
“Ember,” it breathes, reaching for me. “Don’t be afraid. You know I’d never hurt you.”
“You stay the hell away from me.” I flip over onto my stomach, taking out the table as I scramble to my feet and sprint across the room for the flashlight. I scoop it up and spin around, sweeping the light across the room.
But he’s gone.
I back for the door, sliding my phone out of my pocket. I dial Ian’s number. “Come on, come on, come—”
The doorbell rings. Startled, I drop my phone on the floor and the back pops off. Cursing, I snatch up the pieces and quickly throw open the door.
Asher looks sexy as hell, and my legs nearly give out at the sight of him. His inky black hair hangs in his gorgeous slate eyes and the sleeves of his black shirt are pushed up, showing off his lean arms. My eyes stray down lower, to where his jeans ride low on his hips, and I picture myself trailing kisses down his abs and feel him through his jeans like he did with me in the art room.
Damn Raven and her dirty books. They’re messing with my head.
He shields his eyes with his hands. “Do you blind every guy that shows up on your porch?” he jokes.
I click off the flashlight and toss it on the end table. “Sorry, the power went out.”
I shut the door behind me as I step outside, then we walk silently to his car and get in. Through my living room window, the caped visitor watches me and I can’t seem to take my eyes off him.
Asher turns the stereo down and rotates in his seat to face me. “Is something wrong?” He tracks the course of my gaze. “What are you looking at? Did you forget to turn something off?”
I tear my attention away from the house. Away from him. “No, everything’s good. So what did you want to show me?”
He grins as he backs down the driveway. “It’s a surprise.”
I try to be happy, but I’m severely distracted by the return of an old friend, the Grim Reaper. The last time he showed up, he ruined my life.
Chapter 10
I first met the mysterious cloaked creature when I went to live with my dad. I named him the Grim Reaper, but only because he looked like the Keeper of Death. When I was little, I thought he was my imaginary friend because no one could see him but me. After he vanished from my life, he reappeared once, right before my dad disappeared. He told me my dad was going to die within minutes and I panicked and called the cops, telling them Patrick Edwards was about to die. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life and put me under high suspicion.
I watch the trees blur by, trying to convince myself that I didn’t see the Grim Reaper, that he was just a figment of my imagination. The sky is masked with darkness and the fields and yards are shadows.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Asher drives down the main road toward the outskirts of town. “You seem a little distracted tonight.”
“What?” I turn away from the window.
Sighing, he reaches over and takes my hand. “You’re probably wondering where I’ve been for the last few days and why I ran off after that thing with that man who had the X on his eye.”
“You mean Garrick,” I clarify. “And I wasn’t wondering… you don’t owe me an explanation Asher. I’m not your girlfriend or anything.”
He entwines our fingers and tranquility swathes my over-active mind. Suddenly, my Grim Reaper and my Death problem are insignificant.
Asher asks, “Do you know Garrick?”
“Yeah, I met him at the party,” I explain, trying not to shiver as he traces the folds of my fingers. “The one that I met you at.”
“Did you meet him before or after I talked to you that night?”
“After. It was right before I left to chase down Raven… He told me someone was messing around with my car.”
“And then your car’s brakes went out.” He cracks his knuckles on the steering wheel as he cogitates. “I wonder if…”