The Death Match

Prologue - Part 2

Aziel held his hands up in defense and I almost pitied the older man. “They’ll pay me and I’ll be able to get a job and build a new house for you to live in and then you can come—”

“I’m never coming back here. Especially not to see you.” I said through the tumbling tears that scorched my cool cheeks. How could this have happened? How could my mother’s own brother sell her dead body to the bottom feeders of our world? The Reapers are cruel and will dehumanize my mother if they lay a hand on her…

“I’m not letting you give her to them,” I said suddenly.

Aziel had the audacity to crack a smile at me. “I’m the owner of this house now Delaney, it doesn’t fall to you and I can do what I want to with what’s in this house now.”

And if I ever thought I couldn’t open my mouth any further, I did. “How dare you!” I hissed.

The gleam in his eyes was new to me. It scared me and when he took a step forward, I stumbled backwards. Tripping over my own feet, I cried out as my heel caught on a loose nail from the floor boards. The fall induced warm, soft, blood. I gasped and fell on my arse, my night gown flaring out all around me as I ended up landing outside of my own house.

Aziel bent down where the back pack was and lifted it back into his hands. “Delaney, you better get going before the Reapers come here. If they smell your blood they’ll come running.” He didn’t even sound afraid for me as he tossed the pack to me.

Huffing from the harsh impact as the pack slammed against my chest, I looked at Aziel with a burning bitterness. “Don’t think just because you’ll have blood money on your side that you’ll actually end up making a living for yourself.” I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, glaring at the man I once thought I knew. “I’ll make it my personal mission to ruin you.” I declared at him boldly, and he knew I meant it.

Laughing, he reached for the door and started to close it. But before he slammed it in my face he taunted me. “See you in my dreams, I guess, child.”

The sound of the door closing echoed deep within me. Nature cried with me for a moment as I turned my eyes to the sun. It had somehow lost its glow, even for the early morning. I wished then that the sun had never changed for maybe Aziel would have never changed. But grief can make even the purest being turn dark in colors.

I sniffled. Glancing down at my feet, I saw the line of blood that had formed in the grass from my wound. I carefully peeled the hem of my gown up slowly to reveal that hole that had now taken forage on my heel. Hissing through my teeth, I gingerly touched around it. The pain that ricocheted all throughout my body stung my eyes.

I leaned back in the grass and hugged the pack against my chest. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying desperately not to focus on the pain so I could finally stand and leave this place.

My eyes popped open and I scanned my surroundings feverishly. Green rolling hills lined each horizon. I’d lived in the middle of nowhere for so long, I even sometimes forgot that there ever was a life outside of my little cottage.

How am I going to survive? I began to feel my heart knit together as I glanced up at the door of the cottage. Aziel had left me with nothing.

He must really want you to die. My conscience told me and I shook my head, knocking her out of my thoughts so I could think straight.

Rubbing my forehead with my right palm, my pack slipped from my stomach. It jingled against the ground and I instantly became hopeful that there would be some type of money for a room and meal tonight. But when I tore the pack open, all I could find was two dresses and a small mesh pouch that held my mother’s necklace.

I gulped at the sight of the small frail chain that I knew so well. Untying the pouch all the way through, I stared down at the necklace. It was a simple silver chain with a pendant on it that looked like moving water. My heart started to race at the sight of it.

My fingers reached out for the pendent gingerly, their finger tips brushing the cool iron softly. Licking my lips, I pulled the necklace from the pouch and pulled it over my head. It rested just between my petite breasts and the chain rolled over my prominent collar bones gracefully, just like it had done when my mother wore them.

I chewed my bottom lip as I carefully scanned the cottage. It seemed quiet inside and I wondered if Aziel had rested down for a while until the Reapers came.

The Reapers.

I scrambled onto my feet and lifted the pack up and around my body, having it cross my breasts, concealing the pendent. I nervously darted my eyes around the cottage to check the surrounding areas. I didn’t want anyone to stumble upon me stealing money from Aziel. I’d have to stick my hand through the small window in the back of the house if I wanted to reach the little money jar my mother and I had kept together.

Shaking my wounded foot, I hobbled as quietly as I could towards the back of the house. My left hand grazed the peeling wooden walls of the house in an attempt to try and keep me up for as long as I could balance on one foot.

When I finally came around to the window, I peered through it just a hair—bending at the knees so I would be mostly covered and concealed. Inside, nothing moved. A breath of relief exhaled from me and I reached upwards. Sucking in a breath as I intensely kept an eye on all the surroundings inside, I grabbed the latch that was on the outside of the window to check if Aziel had been smart enough to lock it.

He hadn’t.

Cheering deep inside, my heart thundered in my chest as I pressed my palm against the widow and pushed forward. Standing up slowly as the window inched away and open, I dropped my hand and began to lower it.

Aziel wasn’t about to cheat me of my home and mother without some type of payment. And the damn bastard hadn’t even bothered to do so.

Shoving my maligning thoughts to the very far corners of my heart, my nose crinkled and my tongue stuck out as I dropped my hand further inside. I aimlessly whisked the air with my hand, brushing against dish scrubs and bars of soaps until I finally came across the one thing I was looking for.

The smooth touch of a mason jar excited my finger tips and I stood on my toes as I leaned forward and placed an iron grip on the jar. To my surprise, I’d actually managed to pull the jar safely out the window until I was staring at a half filled jar of silver and gold coins. I smiled as I removed the jar fully and closed the window.

Stepping back from the window softly, I swiveled my pack around my back to my front and dropped the jar inside. The coins clanked but I didn’t care. My smile widened as I closed the pack and placed it on my back once more.

But my smile faded the moment I went to turn around and bumped into a hard frame.

Freezing where I stood, I sucked in a cool breath. My eyes wondered slowly to peer into—not Aziel’s eyes—but a Reaper’s.

I cried out, startled. My back bounced against the outer wall of the house and inside, I could hear Aziel snort himself awake. I jilted in my spot and looked at the Reaper with wide eyes.

The Reaper was nothing like I expected from the fables. He wore a navy blue leather skin tight suit with a mock collar that was embroidered with Raven feathers. His face was strong in the jaw and topped with curly black hair that was cut neatly. His ears weren’t nearly as sharp and pointy as in the stories, but slightly upturned. And then the one thing that got me the most as I spanned my arms out to my side, hugging the house backwards, was that he did not have a ravens beak for a nose and mouth and his eyes were not bloodshot red all the way through.

But my disbelief thickened when inside the house, Aziel stumbled around, cursing, and when the front door opened, the Reaper reached out forward and grabbed me by the shoulders whispering, “Run.”

And I did.

I bolted down the rolling hills in the opposite direction as Aziel stepped outside of the house to greet the Reaper. I’d just made out the shock in his voice as the Reaper spoke to my uncle.

The Reaper had saved my life but was taking my mother’s.

Monte was far behind me by the time the sun rose higher than mid day. I was out of breath and slightly parched. I’d planned to stay near the stream that I had stumbled upon along my path when I was running away, but after only an hour of sleep and little to eat or drink, I’d managed to wonder off.

My lips were nasty, dry and tough. My tongue was sour and tasted like sand paper. And my nightgown was torn in all kinds of places, revealing large patches of skin. My heel was better, but covered in mud and pieces of broken grass. My wind blown hair was knotted and when I reached up to smoothen it out, my fingers only got caught.

I sighed and slowed down my pace then. Taking my time to swing my arms by my sides as I looked up at the tree tops. I’d fallen into the forest, far beyond the village.