Tags:
Fiction,
Romance,
Contemporary,
Paranormal,
YA),
Young Adult,
Immortals,
good vs evil,
lizzy ford,
rhyn trilogy,
katies hellion
off, handing it to him.
"I think the death dealer needs cocoa," he
said cheerfully.
"Why do you call him that?"
"Because that’s what he is, silly!"
"Oh."
"He’s outside my window. Can I take him some
cocoa?"
"He’s what?"
"C’mere."
Toby took her hand in one of his, with his
other fist wrapped around a large marshmallow. He led her to the
window overlooking the street.
The death dealer stood at the edge of the
shadows as he had across from the doctor’s office, waiting.
"What is he?" she whispered.
"He’s a death dealer," Toby said with
impatience. "He’s not here for us."
The confidence with which he spoke floored
her. She wiped her face again, the world around her spinning. Near
hyperventilating, she sat heavily on the couch and clutched her
head with her hands. Toby chattered, his tone lifting in a question
that didn’t penetrate the in-between world in which she’d
fallen.
There were sounds that should’ve alarmed her,
the feel of hot tears on her face. Something warm touched her back,
and a jolt of hot electricity made her sit upright. Her mind
cleared, and she wiped her eyes at the massive form in black before
her. Panicked, she backpedaled until trapped into the corner of the
couch.
The death dealer stared at her, much larger
in her small living room than he was in the middle of the street.
He was close to seven feet tall, with chiseled features and eyes as
black as eternity. His clothing was thick and heavy this night, as
if he expected to be standing outside her window until dawn. His
sweater, jeans, and trench coat were all of high quality with his
heavy boots dwarfing her feet as hers did Toby’s. She didn’t see
any weapons this night. He was muscular and buff beneath the
trench.
Of all things, his gloved hands scared her
the most.
"Gabriel!"
Toby started into the living room, spilled
the cocoa, and then retreated to the kitchen. The death dealer
moved silently, even over the hollow wooden floors.
She heard Toby’s chipper voice as he invited
the death dealer to share some cocoa with him.
What the hell was a death dealer? The grim
reaper, here in her home?
In the course of a day, her whole life had
gone to shit.
She tiptoed to the kitchen and peeked in. The
death dealer took up much of the small space, his trench still on
despite sitting at the kitchen table. Toby was showing him the
glitter drawing he’d done. The death dealer glanced at it, his face
so emotionless she thought him a statue again. He sipped his cocoa
from a sticky cup filled half with marshmallows.
What kind of mother let her five-year-old son
carry on with death like he was a favorite uncle?
"…and this is your portal into the shadow
world," Toby said proudly, indicating a blob of silver on one side
of the drawing. "Do you see where it goes?"
"Elisia."
"Yes!" Toby squealed. "Where the fairies
are!"
She was shaking, cold with fear on the inside
and fevered skin clammy on the outside.
The death dealer touched a gloved finger to a
blank spot on the construction paper, and an orchid sprung up,
ethereal and hovering over the paper. Its colors rippled and
changed before the flower bent and delicate wings spread apart,
revealing a creature that was surely a fairy.
Toby squealed again and bounced to his feet,
beginning a whirling dance. She thought she heard ethereal laughter
as the fairy danced with him. The death dealer touched the paper
again, and another orchid appeared, stretched, and morphed into a
second fairy. Toby laughed and whirled.
Katie’s vision blurred and grew dark. She
heard herself scrape against the wall as she fell and was out
before she hit the floor.
* * *
So far, he hadn't been forced to change
shapes since Gabriel's visit. Rhyn tested the bonds of his cell
again until a mage in a brown robe hurried down the hall to repair
the damage. Sometimes he could see out into the hallway and the
empty cell across from his; sometimes he couldn't.
Today, the cell across from his wasn't