Winged Reaper

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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.