intimidating.
“ Rowan Jade Harper.” A loud voice boomed from the first cloaked figure. Damaris, Jet had called him.
My eyes drifted to him, unsure of how I was supposed to answer; all I knew was that he was waiting for something.
“ Yes,” I finally said.
“ Daughter of Salene Meredith Harper,” Damaris stated.
“ Yes.”
“ I gather you have been told of what is ahead of you and why you have been chosen.”
I nodded. “As a Replacement Reaper for my mother.”
Damaris lowered his hood and the others followed suit. I was shocked to see such normal faces returning my stare, instead of the skeletons I’d envisioned. Damaris had smooth, dark skin, caramel-colored eyes, and long, dark hair. Evelyn, who stood to the left of him, had short, cropped blond hair, sky-blue eyes, and creamy, flawless skin. Cassandra, who oddly appeared to be young and old all at the same time, had long, wavy black hair with streaks of gray, striking green eyes, and olive skin. And William, who couldn’t have been much older than me, had chestnut-colored hair and grayish eyes.
“ Correct. Today, December 30, is the day your mother was supposed to die, had she not taken her own life,” Damaris said.
His words bounced around in my mind before their meaning truly sank in: even if my mother hadn’t committed suicide, I still would have only had six more months with her. I felt the emotions I should feel after being given such knowledge, but none of the physical things. No tears, no tightness in my chest, no churning of my stomach. I felt strangely detached.
“ Instead, yours was taken in her place,” he added, his caramel eyes fixed on me, as though I hadn’t understood the entire concept already.
“ We’ve been contemplating where you should be placed, since you have such limited experience with souls,” Evelyn said, her soft voice surprising me.
“ You must understand, this date was chosen at the time of your mother’s birth. She was intended to become a high-ranking Reaper, which was why she was born a Link, a position you are clearly not ready to fill.” Cassandra chimed in.
“ Because of this, other roles have been shifted.” There was a glint in William’s gray eyes as he spoke, something about his sentence gave him pleasure and looking at me seemed to intensify it, almost like he knew something about me that I didn’t, and he wasn’t very good at hiding it. “We have decided on Jet as your Overseer, and the two of you will be relocated.”
I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips at his last words.
“ This decision is effective immediately.” Damaris’s voice boomed like thunder, reverberating through my mind.
The frozen pond and bare-branched trees swirled before my eyes at a dizzying pace; I blinked and the entire scenery before me had changed.
Chapter Twelve
We stood in a street, smack in the middle of a suburban cul-de-sac. I glanced at each of the houses surrounding us, wondering where on earth we were. Each house seemed identical, with the only exception being each had a different shade of vinyl siding.
It was still winter. Bare trees stretched high into the gray sky above, dirty snow clumps lined the sidewalks, and brown, dead grass covered each yard.
“ You’re still in the East Physical Realm, just a tad bit north,” Damaris said.
“ Why are we here?” I asked.
“ There’s a larger populace, so your training will be more demanding and you’ll have less free time .” Cassandra explained the relocation, her eyes flickering toward Jet as she emphasized her last words.
I noticed Jet stiffen beside me and I wondered what hidden meaning lined her words; were Reapers not supposed to have relationships?
“ We will be in touch,” Damaris said.
Jet gave them a low bow, like before, and I dropped my gaze to mimic his motion. When I glanced up, the council was gone. I stared into the emptiness where the four figures who controlled my fate, even after my death, had
“ Rowan Jade Harper.” A loud voice boomed from the first cloaked figure. Damaris, Jet had called him.
My eyes drifted to him, unsure of how I was supposed to answer; all I knew was that he was waiting for something.
“ Yes,” I finally said.
“ Daughter of Salene Meredith Harper,” Damaris stated.
“ Yes.”
“ I gather you have been told of what is ahead of you and why you have been chosen.”
I nodded. “As a Replacement Reaper for my mother.”
Damaris lowered his hood and the others followed suit. I was shocked to see such normal faces returning my stare, instead of the skeletons I’d envisioned. Damaris had smooth, dark skin, caramel-colored eyes, and long, dark hair. Evelyn, who stood to the left of him, had short, cropped blond hair, sky-blue eyes, and creamy, flawless skin. Cassandra, who oddly appeared to be young and old all at the same time, had long, wavy black hair with streaks of gray, striking green eyes, and olive skin. And William, who couldn’t have been much older than me, had chestnut-colored hair and grayish eyes.
“ Correct. Today, December 30, is the day your mother was supposed to die, had she not taken her own life,” Damaris said.
His words bounced around in my mind before their meaning truly sank in: even if my mother hadn’t committed suicide, I still would have only had six more months with her. I felt the emotions I should feel after being given such knowledge, but none of the physical things. No tears, no tightness in my chest, no churning of my stomach. I felt strangely detached.
“ Instead, yours was taken in her place,” he added, his caramel eyes fixed on me, as though I hadn’t understood the entire concept already.
“ We’ve been contemplating where you should be placed, since you have such limited experience with souls,” Evelyn said, her soft voice surprising me.
“ You must understand, this date was chosen at the time of your mother’s birth. She was intended to become a high-ranking Reaper, which was why she was born a Link, a position you are clearly not ready to fill.” Cassandra chimed in.
“ Because of this, other roles have been shifted.” There was a glint in William’s gray eyes as he spoke, something about his sentence gave him pleasure and looking at me seemed to intensify it, almost like he knew something about me that I didn’t, and he wasn’t very good at hiding it. “We have decided on Jet as your Overseer, and the two of you will be relocated.”
I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips at his last words.
“ This decision is effective immediately.” Damaris’s voice boomed like thunder, reverberating through my mind.
The frozen pond and bare-branched trees swirled before my eyes at a dizzying pace; I blinked and the entire scenery before me had changed.
Chapter Twelve
We stood in a street, smack in the middle of a suburban cul-de-sac. I glanced at each of the houses surrounding us, wondering where on earth we were. Each house seemed identical, with the only exception being each had a different shade of vinyl siding.
It was still winter. Bare trees stretched high into the gray sky above, dirty snow clumps lined the sidewalks, and brown, dead grass covered each yard.
“ You’re still in the East Physical Realm, just a tad bit north,” Damaris said.
“ Why are we here?” I asked.
“ There’s a larger populace, so your training will be more demanding and you’ll have less free time .” Cassandra explained the relocation, her eyes flickering toward Jet as she emphasized her last words.
I noticed Jet stiffen beside me and I wondered what hidden meaning lined her words; were Reapers not supposed to have relationships?
“ We will be in touch,” Damaris said.
Jet gave them a low bow, like before, and I dropped my gaze to mimic his motion. When I glanced up, the council was gone. I stared into the emptiness where the four figures who controlled my fate, even after my death, had
Similar Books
