A Shadow in the Reaping by Brynne Weaver

Chapter 5

"Holy goddess on a stick, you look like shit," Ediye says, yanking me off her haint blue porch and into the comfort of her cottage. And she's right, I know I look like shit. I ran for two hours straight to get here.

She wafts some smoking sage around us and then leads the way through the living room. An unkind person would call the interior of Ediye's house chaotic. A gentler soul would say eclectic. But I know there is an order to the stacks of books and the herbs that hang from the ceiling, the candles lining shelves and the feathers poking out of vases. Ediye is a skilled witch and a collector of history. Ediye has also been my best friend for over three centuries, and so I know she's about to give me so much shit for what I've just done.

"I think I need help," I say, following her to the kitchen. Her turquoise maxi dress swirls around her legs, a bright contrast to her skin, the richest, warmest hue of midnight.

Ediye throws me a heavy look over her shoulder as she fills a kettle, her ebony eyes scoring my skin like knives. "I've been telling you that for decades. You need help. Serious help."

"I mean, like...more help. More help than usual."

"Yeah, I can tell by looking at you. Did you kill the whole village of Sanford?"

"No. Only some werewolves I didn't recognize," I say, sitting on one of the barstools at the kitchen island. I roll up my sleeve and extend my arm onto the counter so she can see the bite and she crinkles her nose in a show of sympathy. She takes up my arm and examines it, then turns back to the sink.

"That looks partially healed. I take it from the state of your face that you were able to feed?"

"A little," I reply as she hurtles a wet washcloth at my head. I catch it with my left hand, but the water still splatters across my skin.

"Hold up. What the fuck is that?" Ediye points to the bite mark on my wrist. I cringe and her eyes narrow.

"It's the other thing I need help with?.."

"You gave blood to save someone," she says, and I nod. "You made a vampire?"

I shake my head.

"You helped a vampire."

I grimace and shake my head again.

"A witch? A werewolf? A human? Was it Bian, is she okay? What about Andy?" Ediye sighs as I shake my head with every guess. "Stop playing the mute siren and help me out here."

"A Reaper."

I hear Ediye's breath catch in her lungs. I hear the whoosh in her veins as her heart pumps adrenaline through her body. I bring my fingers to my lips and give her the saddest Puss In Boots eyes I can manage. It doesn't work.

"You saved a Reaper? What the fuck is wrong with you? Were you hit in the head harder than usual?"

"I fought the werewolves with him. They tried to kill him with an obsidian blade laced with Angelwing and I didn't feel right leaving him to die behind Cheese Louise."

"Couldn't you have dragged him behind the Hair's To Ya salon? That's a more honorable place to die."

I snort and shrug. She's probably right and I wish I'd thought of that. I watch as Ediye pulls two mugs from the shelf and rustles through teabags of her own concoction to find something that will help to heal what's left of my wounds. She finds whatever she's looking for and pours water over the scent of lemon in sunshine and lavender picked from a box on her sill. There are other things in it too, weird things that I don't want to think too much about. A hummingbird feather that I'm not sure she washed. A clipping from a dog claw, ground into dust. It's gross, but I know it'll work.

Ediye passes me the mug and eyes me with a worried look. I take her hand. It's warm and comforting beneath mine, and for the second time tonight I think of the Reaper's palm on my stomach, like it's a ghost that lives on my skin. Ediye notices the distance in my thoughts and narrows her eyes at me. I see the moment that the realization dawns in her expression, and she snatches her hand away with an incredulous laugh.

"You didn't just give him your blood and hope for the best, did you. You spellcast."

"...Maybe?"

"Oh fuck a duck, Lu. For real?"

I nod. Ediye pushes her tea aside and turns away to grab two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila from a shelf. She pours the shots and downs them both while looking me dead in the eye, then pours two more and hands me one.

"All right, vampire," she says, opening a notebook and uncapping a pen. "Give it to me, line by line, exactly as you said it."

I down a shot of tequila. Yes, I can drink tequila. Yes, I will get drunk, eventually. Yes, I might do so tonight.

I nod, take a deep breath, and close my eyes.

"Gasaan tiildibba me zi ab. Dul susi giskasilim tilla. Niglulli duma galu barama niingar," I say, replicating every intonation exactly as I gave it. Ediye scribbles furiously as I speak.

"All right, that's a decent start," she says as she reviews her notes. Awesome, maybe I actually did remember something from witches' incantations over the past few millennia. I start to do some happy claps but Ediye smacks my hand. "Let's just wait to see how badly you fucked the rest of it up before celebrating, shall we?"

I give a little pout. "Boo. For a witch, you can be a real downer, you know?" I smile at her dramatic eye roll and go for another shot of tequila, but Ediye pushes the mug of tea into my hand instead. It's my turn to roll my eyes but I take a sip when she glares at me. "So? Tell me, I want to see if I really said what I thought I said."

"That's not how spellcasting is supposed to work, Lu. You're supposed to know what you're going to say before you actually say it."

"Yeah, but I like to just dive in, you know? Really go for it. Besides, it's not like I had time to come over and get your grimoire. The Reaper was dying."

Ediye keeps her eyes fixed on her paper, but they sharpen in a statement that says death would have been the preferred choice. "All right. So far, I have: Queen that gives life to the dying. The weapon of sweet voice. My music let no man make. So, you set yourself as the agent of the spell and the Reaper's benefactor. You've protected your most critical weapon, your voice."

I brush my shoulders off and wriggle in my seat. I feel the build of anticipation. I have to admit, I do love getting away with something. This is the most excitement I've had since last year when I killed Barbossa ‘Bobby’ Sarno on the roof of his own club. I'd been waiting for over three centuries for another chance to catch up with that warlock motherfucker for selling me out and sending me underground. Rat bastard. I can almost feel his veiny temples in my hands as I-

Ediye snaps her fingers in front of my face, pulling me out of my memories. "Lu, focus. What's next in your spell?"

I sigh, thinking I'll have to revisit that memory later on. "Tirrama salutti sa kassapti sa ruhie ipusu supii arkis upuus," I say, watching as Ediye nods her head while she writes. She picks up her notebook and reviews the words she's written as she walks to the fridge. She pulls out a blood bag and empties the contents into another mug for me. "You spoil me, my friend," I say, lining up my options of blood, tequila, and tea.

"Yeah, well. I'm doing it for my own benefit as much as yours. You're too distracted when you're hungry and it gets annoying. So, this one is Turn away the enmity of the sorceress who has employed venom. Make clean quickly the one bewitched. That's pretty good too. Was it a woman who poisoned him?"

"Yes, a high-ranking pack member, I think."

"Okay good. It's precise and specific. So far, so good, Lu."

I smile at Ediye but I can tell she's still worried. She has good reason to be. I have a gift for fucking things up in a creative ways. But life would be kinda boring otherwise...right?..

"What else?"

"Saggiu Ashen giu," I reply.

Ediye's brow furrows. "Your Reaper's name is Ashen?"

"He's not my Reaper," I say, feeling the closest thing to blush in my cheeks that a vampire body can produce.

Ediye looks at me and her eyes spark with mischief. I glare at her and she glues her eyes back down to her notes. "Okaaaaaay then. Noted. Not your Reaper." Ediye suppresses a laugh and tilts her head as a question seems to emerge in her thoughts. "Oh heart of Ashen be reconciled. Was he stabbed in the heart?"

"Close enough," I say with a shrug.

"Close? Or actually in the heart?"

"I dunno, Ediye. Close, but not right through it?"

Ediye smiles again but keeps her gaze fixed on her paper. "All right. Interesting choice of words you made there, that's all."

I definitely feel heat in my cheeks. I press my fingers to them and then fidget with my choice of drinks, settling on the hot tea and holding it close to my face to obstruct Ediye's gaze if she glances up. I see her smile through the steam and I'm certain she knows exactly what I'm up to.

"What's next, vampire?" she asks without looking up, the smile ringing in her voice. I roll my eyes.

"Suna sitaba kilal azzus."

Ediye's eyes narrow and her brows knit. Her head tilts. "His shining weapon is suspended at thy side. Wow, Lu. That's really good."

"I know, right?" I say, beaming a smile at her. It's the first time I see a spark of excitement in Ediye's eyes. I think maybe I didn't fuck it up after all. And I think Ediye is starting to believe it, too.

"Your pronouns are a little messed up between that line and the first phase of the spell, but it still works. He can't kill you by his own hand. How much more?"

"Uhh... Two more lines of the main incantation..."

"What do you mean the main incantation?"

I take the shot of tequila and snatch the bottle before Ediye can even blink. The fear kills the hope in her eyes and I put down the shot glass, drinking directly from the bottle until she pulls it from my hand to do the same.

"Tell me," she says.

"So, next I said Suna liiktisuma. Asallah libakkunu, assus maratuktuk."

Ediye gives a tentative laugh, but I can tell she's holding onto her joy because she knows the worst is yet to come. "What is it with you and this Reaper's heart?"

"There is nothing, for fucksakes."

"Well judging by your incantation, there is definitely something. Is he hot? I bet he's really hot."

"He's a demon, so yeah, he runs a little on the warm side."

Ediye rolls her eyes and gives me a knowing smile. "That's not what I meant." When I let out a low hiss she puts her hands up in surrender. "All right, scary vampire. Well, the good news is that you've bound him to you, and you have apparently cast to overcome his heart."

I groan, resting my forehead in my hands. "What in the hell. Is that a love spell I cast?"

Ediye laughs and pats my hand. "No, that cannot be done, Lu. Not for real. He might have a bit of a crush perhaps, for a day or two at most. This is more about breaking barriers, not about winning affections. So, it's probably a good thing. Unfortunately, however, there is a complexity in Suna liiktisuma. You have not just bound him to you, but you to him. Whatever the reason he's here, you have obligated yourself to help him fulfil his mission."

I take a heavy breath and look away to the window, thinking about the crime he is here to collect for and the Alpha he has not yet reaped. If I need to help him kill more werewolves, that might not be the worst thing, I guess.

But there's just one little flaw in that plan...

"So, herein lies the problem," I start as I fidget with my fingers. The ones on my right hand are still a little numb, and I take a sip from both mugs and then the bottle of tequila as Ebiye makes a face at me that deftly combines disgust with fear. "When I cast the spell, Ashen seemed to be unconscious. I thought he wasn't going to make it. And then he opened his eyes... And then he... said my name. My real name."

Ediye pushes herself back from the counter as though it's burst into flame. "What the fuck, Lu. What in the actual fuck."

"But that's when I said Amah haas muhhaki usaanna teenki and hit him super hard in the head with his sword. Like, so hard I might have re-killed him."

"You totally didn't re-kill him, did you."

"No, but I did hit him. Really super hard."

A long, silent moment passes. We just look at one another, barely even blinking. Despite all my arrogant quips and my stupid jokes, the truth is, I'm scared. For the first time in a long time, I'm really fucking scared. And Ediye knows it. It's in her eyes too.

Ediye reaches for my hand and I give it. There is not just fear there, but sadness.

"You said I strike your skull, I confuse your mind," she whispers, and I nod. "There's too much room for error in your words, Lu. You’ve left the future unfinished, unprotected. The next time he sees you, he might remember exactly who you are. And it will be a reaping worse than death."

There's only the sound of flickering candle flame and shallow breath and beating hearts between us. Ediye squeezes my hand.

"There is only one thing I can say to help you, Lu."

I think it before she even says it out loud.

I need to run.