So Shall I Reap Read Free

blue and green blend together within the irises.
    Startled by the tint in her eyes, I began to lose grip on her soul. Through the warped distortion of the spell, it appeared as if she were trying to speak to me. This was unsettling because no human could actually view the creatures of the Unseen, especially not an Ashen. Yet, here she lay, bloody and broken, trying desperately to get my attention. Not sure of what to do, I decided to lean in closer to hear if she were actually addressing me. Certainly, she was mumbling from the pain and drugs. Using the hilt of my scythe to keep her life force suspended above her body, I pressed my ear against her lips.
    “Tevin, I have waited for you and have stayed out of the shadows like you told me to.” The child’s breathless words brushed past my cheek, and I forced myself to face this unfortunate creature. Her gaze stayed fixed on mine while she poured out her heart before it stopped. The girl Vessel broke her stare to look down at her own body. “My soul looks so pretty.” Then the color of it marbled and swirled, a mixed sign of betrayal. “Why… are you… trying to take it… now? I thought… you had come to… protect me.” Both eyes rolled as her small body fell limp against the sheets.
    Multiple doctors and nurses ran around the triage room, yelling commands and grabbing tools that resembled torture devices. The lead Vessel, who I assumed was the surgeon, tore the child’s small T-shirt down the middle and swabbed the area over her heart. All at once, the machines in the room sang the same dull tone. The air became potent with smells of frustration and sweat. Dumbfounded, I tried to rationalize what had transpired between us, but logic was stuck somewhere in the back of my throat. My mind could not accept this.
    She knows me?
    I glanced up and yelled, “Wait.”
    Thoughts began to race. She is not gone yet, she knows me. She knows me. What is happening here? The pull of her heart was getting weaker, and each breath turned into a low rattle. My mind unhinged. Was I really meant to save this soul? I could not shake the feeling of dread. I tried to swallow, but my throat felt like hot sand.
    A loud crash from a nearby table seized my attention. A petite Vessel in her early thirties pushed toward the center of attention. She wore no makeup and her nails flashed in a rainbow of sparkles. The female waved them in the air, obviously trying to get the girl’s attention. What followed next were emotional pleas.
    “My daughter, my daughter. Alexcia, Alexcia, Mommy’s here. Let me see my daughter.” She screamed hysterically. “Oh my goodness. Where is my husband? I don’t see my husband.”
    If her husband was missing, he was probably the second harvest. My cloak froze from her outburst. This new problem made me wonder if I should make a quick appearance at the accident site. Maybe a rogue Ashen had reaped it before, during, or after the crash. Instantly, I cursed under my breath, “Damn the cloak I cast. My clan is going to give me hell if I botch this job over one soul.”
    I stood mesmerized, studying the frantic being. Her hair stuck to pale cheeks from the combination of rain and tears, and she expelled an overwhelming toxic mixture of hopelessness and desperation. Then her knees gave way to despair, and I watched her drop to the floor. The scent emanating from the mother was like an exquisite funeral bouquet. Simultaneously, it made me parched and spurred my need to feed. Trembling from hunger, my mind crumbled, causing a sensory overload. My caged daemon roared, demanding sustenance.
    Pulled by my inner madness from the Bridge Crosser’s noise of annoyance, I asked, “What the hell is going on here?”
    Razor’s glacier gaze fixed on mine as if he were actually looking at me. Lips curved into a tight, wicked smile as he hissed through clenched teeth. “Are you going to do your job or not? I have a schedule to keep. You do too. It’s a problem when the boats