Winged Reaper

Book 2: Reaper's Ascension

by Shelley Russell Nolan

Genres: Paranormal; Urban Fantasy; Occult & Supernatural

Synopsis

Secrets, lies and the Grim Reaper: A recipe for disaster!
Twenty-five-year-old Tyler Morgan is only alive – technically reborn - because the Grim Reaper offered her a job. Now she has to find a way to stop her ‘boss' from starting a war that threatens the survival of mankind.
Weak and in need of fresh souls, the Grim Reaper has sent his wraiths to Tyler's hometown, Easton, and by the time he gets his fill, it could turn into a graveyard.
Tyler's resolve is tested when old secrets surface and a new betrayal has her questioning where her loyalties lie.
Supported by the intriguing detective, Sam Lockwood; the handsome, wealthy Chris Bradbury; and sources she never expected to come to her aid, Tyler must fight her way to the truth if she is ever to find the strength to harness the powers she has inherited, and vanquish the Grim Reaper forever.

Release date: August 2, 2019

Print pages: 262

Sample

Chapter One

 

I hovered over the twisted body of my latest client, streetlights in the large roundabout shining down on the accident scene. So young, he looked to be barely out of his teens, face oddly serene despite the carnage surrounding him. He lay on the verge of the highway leading west out of Easton. Skid marks decorated the road, motorcycle wreckage strewn for metres in all directions. No sign of another vehicle.

This late at night, it could be hours before he was discovered.

I sighed, wishing I could help him. In astral form there was nothing I could do, and even once I returned to my body, I couldn’t risk exposure by notifying the authorities. In the past week I’d had more than my fair share of contact with the police, and any more would bring with it a scrutiny I couldn’t afford if I was to keep my identity as a reaper secret. Nevertheless, part of me longed to call Sam, Detective Lockwood, and tell him the truth.

I shook my head, hair flowing around me as I forced thoughts of Sam and his steady hazel gaze out of my head and focused on the task at hand. I clutched the necklace that had turned me into a living reaper and called forth my client’s soul. It sprang free, eager to continue on its journey, full of light and hope. A sense of contentment and goodwill swept over me as I stored the soul in my necklace, extinguishing its light. Immediately, the familiar draw of my physical body pulled me back to Chris’s penthouse.

Chris Bradbury was a former reaper, would-be lover, and the man I’d sacrificed my mother’s soul for.

Jonathon Grimm, the Grim Reaper, had warned me what would happen if I didn’t turn Chris’s soul over to him. He had promised to torture my mother’s soul for an eternity if I defied him, and I had done it anyway. I’d had no choice. I couldn’t give in to Grimm’s demands, no matter how much I wanted to set my mother free. Too much was at stake. But that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Grief choked me as I floated through the ceiling of the penthouse. My body lay on the queen sized bed in the spare room I’d been using for the last couple of days. My arms were crossed over my chest, fingertips brushing the necklace that bound me to the Underworld. I slipped into my body and waited for my senses to awaken, tears dampening my cheeks.

A crash followed by shouting met my ears and my heart rate sped up. I forced sluggish muscles to work, wrenching myself into a sitting position and throwing my legs over the side of the bed. I lurched to my feet and stumbled towards the door. Each step woke me up that little bit more and by the time I reached the hallway I was running, breath coming in gasps.

I burst into the living room.

Chris stood with his back to the wall, one of the dining room chairs held up in front of him as Professor Michael Killian thrust a knife at his chest. With one arm in a sling, Chris was still able to counter the Tr’lirian’s every move. Tall and with well-built frames, they were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand. Killian lunged forward and Chris again swung the chair to block him. Then Killian disappeared.

I gasped. He must have slipped into the astral plane. Unlike Chris, I couldn’t see into it when in physical form. His eyes narrowed as he tracked the professor’s movements, then he pivoted at the hips and swung the chair around a scant second before Killian reappeared and thrust the knife at his chest.

I grabbed the first thing I could find, an empty glass off the dining table, and threw it at Killian. It hit his shoulder and he spun around to face me. Nostrils flaring, dark blue eyes locked on mine, he stalked towards me.

I clutched my necklace with one hand, and held the other out in front of me. ‘Drop the knife or I swear I’ll reap your soul.’ The necklace warmed beneath my hand as it sensed my intent.

Eyes narrowed, he stopped and let the knife drop to the floor. Behind him, Chris put down the chair and scooped up the knife. Then he moved to my side.

‘Are you okay?’ Chris leaned in close, blue eyes concerned.

I shook my head. ‘What the hell is going on here?’

‘Killian’s pissed we didn’t let Grimm kill us and came back to do the job himself.’

My eyes widened. Killian’s clan leader, Cade, had planned on using us to free his ancient enemy from Hell, or Demania as they called it, so he could kill him once and for all.

That was where Chris and I came in.

My necklace was the key that would open the doorway between the Underworld and Demania, while Chris was the bait to lure Almorthanos into the open. Unfortunately, we both had to be dead to play our parts.

‘You’re crazy if you think we’re going to let you kill us so you can get Almorthanos out of Demania.’

Killian smoothed down his dark brown hair and straightened his suit as he frowned at me. ‘I did not condemn myself to a mortal existence just to have you little brats ruin everything.’

I shook my head. ‘And you have no problem with killing innocent people just to get your way?’

‘Innocent.’ He snorted. ‘Please. You both have blood on your hands.’

I flinched, the truth of his words hitting me like a slap across the face.

‘You can’t blame Tyler for reaping the souls of wraiths who were trying to kill her,’ said Chris, ‘or for her half-brother. She did what she had to, to save lives.’

Andrew had been a serial killer, murdering women who looked like me. He’d shot Chris in the arm and shoulder and I’d been struggling with him, desperate to stop him from killing more people, when the gun he’d been holding went off. I may not have pulled the trigger, but guilt at his death still haunted me.

Killian’s full lips formed a sneer. ‘That may be so, but what about you? How many lives have you destroyed? Not including hers.’ He pointed at me.

Chris stepped forward. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘I know exactly what I am talking about, but I see Tyler is unaware of the role you played in your previous life.’ Killian smirked at me. ‘Tell me, Tyler, was it worth it? Sacrificing your mother’s soul for the man responsible for her death?’

‘That’s enough.’ Chris grabbed Killian’s arm, knife aimed at his throat, and ushered him to the front door. ‘You’re leaving.’

A cold shiver swept over me as I scurried after them. ‘What are you talking about? My mother died in a car accident.’

Killian looked over his shoulder at me as Chris pushed him outside. ‘Ask him what really happened the day your mother died.’

Chris slammed the door shut, locking it with a snap. Then he grabbed the chair he’d used as a shield and carried it to the dining table, slotting it in its place. He put down the knife and picked up the glass I’d thrown at Killian.

‘I need a drink. Want one?’ He disappeared into the kitchen without waiting for my answer.

I followed him. ‘What was he talking about? What do you know about my mother’s accident?’ She’d died in a car crash when I was a baby, and Grimm had kept her soul to use against me twenty-five years later.

Chris kept his back to me as he poured a large measure of scotch into his glass. ‘Forget him. He was just trying to cause trouble. He’s pissed he gave up his wings for nothing. His big sacrifice is worthless if he can’t get Almorthanos out of Demania.’

While I didn’t doubt Killian was annoyed his plan had failed, the way Chris was avoiding my eyes set my pulse racing. ‘Look at me.’

His broad shoulders stiffened as he slowly turned, glass at his lips, eyes shadowed.

‘Tell me the truth. What did he mean?’ I wiped sweaty palms on my jeans before crossing my arms in front of me.

‘Tyler, please, you don’t want to know this.’

‘If you won’t tell me, I am out of here.’ I backed up, letting him know I meant what I said.

He set the glass on the bench and walked over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I pulled away, chilled by his bleak expression.

He sighed. ‘Why don’t we sit down?’

‘No. Tell me now.’

He gave another sigh. ‘I was walking home from the pub. My licence had been suspended six months earlier for drunk driving. I’d had too much to drink and could barely stand, let alone walk a straight line. I ended up in the middle of the road and your mother had to swerve to avoid hitting me. That’s when she lost control of her car.’

I shook my head, nausea bubbling in the pit of my stomach. ‘Andrew said it was me, my crying that caused the accident.’

‘He was just a kid. I doubt he even saw me, and I was long gone before anyone else turned up.’

I covered my mouth with both hands, stifling the scream threatening to erupt.

‘Tyler, I am so sorry. I never meant for it to happen. I was going to turn myself in to the police when I realised someone had died, but never got the chance.’ He gave a rueful shrug. ‘I got my licence back the next day and, after too many celebratory drinks at a mate’s place, I lost control on a sharp bend and slammed into a lamppost. Then I wound up as Grimm’s newest recruit.’

I pulled my hands away from my mouth, letting them hang at my sides. ‘How long have you known it was my mother you killed?’

‘I recognised your name from the news reports. I wanted to tell you, but there was so much going on; hiding from Grimm and being Lockwood’s number one suspect. It never seemed like the right time.’ He grabbed my hand and held tight. ‘I tried to make it right. Told you I would give my life to free Grace, was willing to hand myself over to Grimm to save her soul, but you wouldn’t let me.’

I tugged on my hand but he refused to release it.

‘I meant it then, and I mean it now. It we can’t find any other way to free her I will turn myself over to Grimm. I’ll do it right now if that’s what you want, just please stop looking at me like that.’

I closed my eyes, conscious of the heat of him, of the strength in his large hand. I retched, sickened to think of his hands touching me. Thank God I’d never given in to his attempts to get me into bed. Bad enough I’d let him kiss me, hold me.

He let me go and I stumbled to the sink, barely making it in time to empty my stomach. He reached over me to turn on the tap and I cupped my hands to bring water to my lips, desperate to wash away the taste of bile and betrayal. I gulped down water and then rested my head on the cool granite bench top. Chris rubbed my back and I pulled away.

‘Don’t touch me.’ I wiped a dripping hand across my mouth, eyes wide.

‘Tyler, tell me, how can I make this right?’

I held back a scream. Nothing could make this right. I had sacrificed my mother’s soul for him, for the man who had killed her.

I raced to my room, grabbed my bag and threw my belongings into it. I zipped it up and headed for the door.

Chris blocked my way. ‘Can we please talk about this?’

‘There is nothing to talk about.’ I brushed my long fringe out of my eyes and glared at him. ‘You lied to me, you knew who I was all along, and you never said anything. How could you do that to me?’

‘I was wrong, I see that, but I was so scared of losing you.’

I shook my head. ‘You never had me to lose. And you never will. I don’t want to see you ever again.’ I pushed past him and strode to the front door, refusing to look back as I wrenched it open. Tears blinded me as I stabbed the call button for the elevator.

Inside, with the doors safely shut, I wiped my eyes with the back of one hand. The elevator doors opened and I hurried through the foyer. In the visitor car park, I located my Corolla and tossed my bag on the passenger seat. I drove all the way home, trying to block out the last image I had of my mother, being dragged back to the Underworld, terror in her eyes.

There had to be another way to free her soul from Grimm.

I just had to find it.

 

Chapter Two

I pulled into the driveway of my flat and got out of the car. I was almost at the front door when a figure stepped into view, shrouded by shadows.

I dropped my bag, ready to run. No one with good intentions would be waiting on my doorstep after midnight on a Thursday.

Then…

‘What the hell?’ I took a step forward.

‘Hello, Tyler. My name is Emily, and I’m really sorry to just show up like this, with no warning, but I think I might be your cousin.’

I opened my mouth, too shocked to form words. She looked just like me. Same heart-shaped face, caramel skin and long black hair, though she had a blunt fringe. Even the curve of her mouth mirrored mine and her brown eyes, currently filled with hope, were eerily familiar. We could have been identical twins, let alone cousins.

I swallowed heavily. The uncanny resemblance meant she had to be a descendant of Malia, Almorthanos’s sister, like me. ‘Wow, yeah, from the looks of us, you could be right, Emily.’

Her face lit up and she bounced on the balls of her feet.

‘Oh my God, I am so excited to meet you. I have been waiting here for hours, wondering what I would say to you and what you would say to me and if you would believe me or not, and here you are, and you do, and this is the most exciting thing to ever happen to me.’ She clapped both hands to her cheeks.

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. With the week I’d had, and the night I’d just endured, it was a change to be around someone who was genuinely pleased to see me.

‘How did you find me?’

‘I saw your picture on the news and it blew me away. I thought I was looking at a picture of myself, but the reporter said you were Tyler Morgan, from Easton, and that your half-brother was a serial killer who killed your best friend and tried to kill you too, and I was like, whoa, that is so scary.’

I stiffened and her face fell. ‘I’m so sorry, I’m such an idiot. You lived it, so you don’t need to hear some stranger talking about it, even though we are cousins and...’

I put up a hand and she thankfully stopped talking. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I would have to get used to the notoriety that came with being in the news. ‘Why don’t we go inside, and you can tell me why you think we’re cousins.’

She nodded and moved aside so I could unlock the door. I switched on the living room light as she scooped up a suitcase and followed me inside.

She set her suitcase by the door before taking a seat on the couch, crossing her legs at the ankles and holding her clasped hands between her knees. She looked like a chastened schoolgirl, even though I guessed she was close to my age.

I sat beside her. ‘So, Emily, where did you come from and how did you figure out we were cousins?’

‘Well, to be honest, at first I thought we were twins, because we look so much alike, but the reporter said you were twenty-five and I’m only twenty-three, so that ruled that out. But then I started to wonder if maybe one of us, or even both of us, had been adopted, and we were sisters at least. So I went to my parents, sure they had been lying to me all my life. And they had, but not the way I’d been thinking. It was my father who’d been adopted.’ She gulped in air.

‘Dad said Grandma and Grandad Wilson adopted him when he was five. Of course, I wanted to know why no one ever told me, though it explained why I didn’t look anything like my cousins on the Wilson side. Not that I look like the cousins on my mother’s side either. I’ve always been the odd one out, until now.’ She gave me a quick grin.

‘My mother was adopted,’ I said, voice quiet. It hurt to talk about her so soon after Chris’s revelation. ‘She died when I was a baby.’

‘Which is great. Not that she’s dead. I mean that she was adopted too, because it means you are most definitely probably my cousin because my dad said he had a baby sister who was adopted into a different family. But he didn’t know who took her, and never tried to find out. Which I thought was weird, I mean, if you were adopted and knew you had a biological sister somewhere, wouldn’t you want to find her? But he said the Wilsons were his family and he didn’t need another one.’

Emily grimaced. ‘From what Dad didn’t say, I think he has bad memories from before Grandma and Grandad adopted him, but I still think it’s weird he never tried to find his sister. And it’s really sad the adoption people let them get split up. You and I could have grown up together instead of only just finding out about each other.’

I let Emily’s words wash over me. It was surreal, looking at her, listening to her fill the silence that had enveloped the flat since Sarah’s death. She yawned, and I was helpless to stop myself from copying her as the late hour and little sleep hit me.

Emily giggled. ‘That was cool, that we did that, like in sequence.’

Eyes watering, I nodded. ‘Very cool, but I’m going to have to call it a night.’

Her eyes dropped. ‘Of course. I’ll get out of your way, and let you get some sleep.’ She stood and fished a mobile phone out of her jeans pocket. ‘I’ll just call a taxi and get them to take me to a motel.’ She hesitated; eyes hopeful. ‘Can I come back and see you tomorrow, I mean today, after you wake up?’

‘You don’t have to go, you can stay here if you want,’ I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Her eyes lit up. ‘Really? You don’t mind?’

The sheer delight on her face made me feel better about my impromptu invitation. Maybe it would be good for me to not be alone on my first night back in the flat.

‘Can’t have my new cousin staying in a motel when I have an empty bed. Only… it was Sarah’s room.’ My bottom lip wobbled as I said her name and Emily scooted over and put her hand on my shoulder.

‘It must be so hard for you, to lose your best friend like that. I can go to a motel if that would be easier on you, or I can sleep on the couch, whatever suits you best.’

‘I don’t want you to leave, or sleep on the couch. It will be good to have someone else in the flat with me.’ I stood up and headed down the hallway, grabbing clean sheets out of the linen cupboard outside the bathroom, Emily at my heels. ‘All Sarah’s stuff is still in here,’ I said as I opened the door. ‘I haven’t had a chance to pack it up. I guess I’ll do it tomorrow, after her funeral.’

I let out a slow breath, not looking forward to saying goodbye to Sarah forever, taking little comfort from knowing I carried her soul around with me in my necklace. After Andrew had killed Sarah, Grimm had got to her, turning her against me, telling her it was my fault she was dead. He’d taught her how to become a wraith, reanimating her dead body, and sending her back to the flat to try to kill me. I’d had to reap her soul for the second time, ending her chance at rebirth, to stop him using her.

‘I’ll help you pack up her things, and I’d like to come to the funeral with you, too, if that’s okay.’

Grateful for the distraction from my depressing train of thought, I gave Emily a watery smile. ‘Thank you, but you don’t have to. You didn’t even know Sarah.’

‘But I know you, now. Besides, we’re family and that’s what family is for.’

I found it hard to reconcile her idea of family with the one I’d grown up with. My father looked down on me because I’d been born a girl, and my stepmother, Rhonda, blamed me for my elder half-brother turning out to be a serial killer. Not exactly the kind of family who stuck together. I had no idea if Denise, Andrew’s mother, blamed me for what he’d done, but I guess I’d be finding out soon enough. Andrew was being laid to rest on Monday.

At least, I hoped he was laid to rest. I wouldn’t put it past Grimm to turn Andrew into a wraith and send him after me, although he’d need a recently dead body to stomp about in.

Emily helped me change the sheets on Sarah’s bed, chatting to me the whole time, but I hardly heard a word she said. I was too busy picturing a stranger’s dead body chasing me, with Andrew’s soul doing the driving. The image followed me as I said goodnight and sought my own bed, sure sleep would be long in coming, despite how tired I was.

Nightmares were an occupational hazard since I became a reaper, and I had a horrible feeling matters were going to get even worse in the days to come.

 

Chapter Three

The sheets were tangled around my legs when I woke. I fumbled into a sitting position before switching off my alarm. Nine o’clock. The last time I’d checked, before finally falling asleep, it had been four in the morning. The urge to hit the snooze button and crawl under the covers was strong, but Sarah’s funeral started in two hours and I needed every minute of it to steel myself for facing her family.

It had been hard enough the day after she’d been murdered, knowing her distraught parents thought we’d still been best friends. They’d had no idea I’d caught her in bed with my now ex-boyfriend, Logan.

I stumbled out of my room and entered the bathroom. Splashing cold water on my face, I gazed into the mirror, expecting to see my reddened and puffy eyes.

My mother stared back at me.

Was I dreaming?

I pinched myself on the forearm, blinking to clear my vision.

Mum was still there, peering out at me, mouthing words I couldn’t hear. I put my hand on the mirror and her image moved closer, becoming sharper. A whisper of sound teased my ears, then became words that brought back the guilt and horror of finding out I’d sacrificed her soul for the man who’d killed her.

‘Help me, Tyler, please, help me.’

‘Mum… I’m so sorry.’ Tears poured down my face. Her hand came up and she placed it against mine, the cold glass cutting me off from her touch.

‘I don’t have long, so you must listen carefully. You weakened Grimm, making it possible for me to contact you, but it won’t take him long to recover. You must get me out of here before that happens. The things he’ll do to me…’ Her voice cracked. ‘I can’t take any more. It hurts so much.’ She shuddered and covered her face with her hands.

I shook my head. ‘I don’t know how.’

‘There must be a way. That reaper Grimm was searching for got away. Ask him how he did it. It’s my only hope. Please, Tyler, before it’s too late.’

I opened my mouth, about to tell her how Chris had gained his second chance at life, but didn’t speak. I couldn’t take the chance that Grimm would find out and use it to free Almorthanos. Besides, duplicating Chris’s resurrection required the death of a person related to the soul. There had to be a way to free Mum that wouldn’t need anyone else to die.

‘I’ll do what I can, I promise.’

‘Hurry, Tyler,’ she said, her shape blurring, ‘there isn’t much time.’ She disappeared. I kept my hand on the mirror, sobbing, willing her to return.

‘Are you okay, Tyler? Is there anything I can do?’ Emily asked through the closed door.

I scrubbed my eyes and took a deep breath before I answered. ‘I’ll be okay, thanks. I just need a minute.’

‘All right, but I’m here if you need me.’

I avoided looking at the mirror as I composed myself before exiting the bathroom. I walked into the kitchen, not sure if I was ready to face Emily but in desperate need of coffee.

I froze when I spotted her. She was wearing the same pyjamas as me, making me feel as if I’d entered one of those crazy mirror exhibitions at the show where you saw endless reflections of yourself.

Emily laughed, and I blinked to clear my head.

‘I guess here’s all the proof we need,’ she said. ‘We must be related. No DNA test required.’

I frowned. ‘Do you want to do a DNA test?’

She shook her head. ‘We’re family, I’m one hundred percent sure of it. I don’t need a stupid test to prove we’re cousins.’

Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. ‘But if that’s what you need, to be sure, I’ll do it. I don’t want to do anything that will make you unhappy, or have you send me away, even though I am terrified of needles.’ She shuddered but lifted her chin, eyes determined. ‘I’ll let them jab me a hundred times if that’s what you want.’

‘Wouldn’t want to turn you into a pin cushion. Besides, I don’t need a DNA test to tell me we’re related either.’ If by some bizarre coincidence my mum wasn’t the baby sister her dad had mentioned, her resemblance to Malia still meant we must be related in some way. I thought about mentioning that both of us were dead ringers for my mum as well, and my smile dipped. Okay, not ready to go there.

I turned away and busied myself by filling the kettle and setting it to boil. ‘Coffee?’

‘Yes, please.’

I made us both a cup of coffee, stirring two heaped teaspoons of sugar into mine. I took a fortifying sip, welcoming both the shot of caffeine and the sugar burst as I surveyed the meagre contents of the fridge and pantry. It had been over a week since Sarah and I had gone shopping for groceries and I’d been lucky the milk for our coffee had still been in date.

‘How does toast sound?’ I pulled a loaf of bread out of the freezer and pried four slices out of the packet, laying them on a tea towel to defrost.

Emily put her mug on the table. ‘Let me make breakfast. I love to cook and, I hope you don’t mind, I checked out what was in the fridge earlier and you have everything I need to make omelettes. They are my breakfast specialty and you won’t regret it.’

I opened my mouth to say no, appetite non-existent, but the pleading look on her face had me nodding instead. ‘An omelette sounds great.’

In no time at all Emily served me a plate with a light and fluffy omelette and she’d even managed to make the toast look fancy, with trimmed edges and cut into triangles.

‘Hmm. This is delicious.’ I took another bite, washing it down with the fresh coffee she placed at my elbow.

Emily sat across from me and talked non-stop, telling me about her family and starting out as a veterinarian. While she talked, I ate and sipped and before I knew it my plate was empty and my second cup of coffee gone.

Emily stood and collected my dirty dishes, carrying them over to the sink.

‘You cooked, I’ll clean up,’ I said.

‘No, I’ll take care of it. I’m the one that made the mess. Getting to stay here with you, help you out, is more than I hoped for by showing up unannounced on your doorstep.’

‘As you said, that’s what family is for.’

She jumped forward and hugged me, the squelch of the wet cloth connecting with my back making me wince and her jump back.

‘Oh my God, I’m sorry. I’ll wash it for you, or give you mine if you want, after I wash them of course.’

‘Emily, chill out,’ I said with a smile. She grinned back at me, still looking sheepish. ‘It’s fine. I needed to get dressed anyway.’

She nodded, keeping silent, and I left her to her dishes and headed for my room. The smile on my face died as I contemplated what I would wear to say goodbye to Sarah. We’d been friends since kindergarten, had been inseparable until last week. It didn’t seem possible that she was gone forever.

After selecting a black skirt and a dark purple blouse, Sarah’s favourite colour, I headed into the bathroom to apply my makeup. Mum didn’t appear, and I was both disappointed and relieved. Guilt over not saving her warred with not wanting to be reminded of how badly I’d failed. But I pushed that aside to concentrate on hiding the dark circles under my eyes.

I was straightening a slight wave out of my hair when Emily joined me in the bathroom and placed a small makeup bag on the bench.

I blinked to dispel tears before they ruined all my hard work. Sarah and I had often shared the bathroom. But with Emily chattering on constantly, appearing to speak about whatever popped into her head, it was hard not to stay in the present. I was thankful for her sudden arrival in my life. With her at my side Sarah’s funeral would be that little bit more bearable, I hoped.