Raven's Breath (The Women of Purgatory) (2 page)

"Raven, a quick question before you leave?"
Death asked, polite as always.

A slow
breath escaped my lips.
So much for a speedy escape
. I turned around slowly and plastered a smile on my face.

"Sure. What's up
?"

"I've been thinking about bringing on another female Reaper––since you've proven to be such a valuable asset," he added. His leer made my skin crawl. "But I wanted to talk to you first, of course, before I made my final decision and see what you thought of the idea."

Ha!
Like he gave a damn what I thought. He'd do whatever he wanted and I knew without a doubt this was just his way of watching me squirm.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder and smiled. "Actually, I think that's a great idea. I've been
playing clean up for so long, it might be nice to have a little help around here."

Hmph
.
I don't squirm.

2

I headed straight for Garrett's, my footfalls echoing loudly on the cobblestone street. He was my best friend, and if you needed information he was the person you went to. As Death's accountant, he was always in the know.

The activity in his apartment was frenzied. Reapers rushed in and out, updating him with their totals. I was up to one-hundred and twenty-seven so far this month.
Not too bad!

"Hey, Raven, you look a little singed. Did you have to take another trip to Hell today?" Garrett's voice carried over the low rumble in the room.

When I'd first become a Reaper I'd imagined having Garrett's job would've been great––sitting behind a desk, working from home, knowing all Death's juicy little secrets. But after witnessing how hard it was to keep up with the business-end of people dying, I quickly became
very
satisfied with my field assignment.

"Nope. Just got back from saying 'Hey' to St. Peter. How about you? Rough day?"

"Nah...just busy as usual. I'm getting ready to shut down, though, if you want to wait. We can go get a drink once I open the night drop."

"Sounds good. I actually start my vacation tonight so I'm totally ready to get this party started!" I said, gyrating my hips in an awkward motion.

Garrett's chest vibrated with a hearty laugh. He knew I wasn't a drinker and my idea of a vacation basically involved me sitting around my apartment, watching old movies, and taking dips out the window to fly amongst the souls. Yeah...I was kind of a hermit, so the idea of me "partying" was a pretty big joke.

Garrett finished scratching pen to paper, then led the remaining Reapers from his apartment and threw the lock. With a swipe of his hand a horizontal mail slot appeared in the middle of his front door. People didn't stop dying just because it was the end of our day. Reapers worked twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. But Garrett was only one man and apparently the
only
man Death trusted with his assets. When Garrett wasn't working, we simply tossed our totals through the night drop. I'd often wondered if he got tired of waking up to a shit-ton of paperwork scattered in his entry every single morning, but he never complained.

"So, have you heard anything else about Death wanting to bring on another female Reaper?"

I couldn't hold my tongue any longer. Garrett had been the one who'd told me the rumor in the first place. At the time I'd been too shocked to actually consider it, but now, with Death throwing it in my face, I figured it was time I dug a little deeper.

"Nope. Just the initial peek I caught through his gazing
pool of a woman with white wings."

"Hmm. So you haven't actually seen any paperwork about a new Reaper, just the image of a female in Death's
magic puddle
?" I couldn't help the skepticism or the sarcasm in my voice.

"Well, yeah. You're the only Reaper with wings, Raven. Wings that he gave you when he recruited you. I assumed he was doing the same thing with her."

"That makes sense, I guess." I stuck my hands in my pockets and continued to walk towards the bar as the memories of my rebirth flooded my mind.

In my human life I'd been an RN; a single nurse completely focused on my career. My parents had passed when I was in my teens and I didn't have any siblings. At the age of twenty-
two, I'd died alone from a disorder called TIAs; Transient Ischemic Attacks.

It was something I'd suffered with for most of my life, the episodes usually passing after a few minutes. This particular time, however, it didn't pass; it killed me.

A blood clot had moved through a small vein in my brain, causing stroke like symptoms. When I realized this attack was different from any other I'd experienced before, I'd struggled to reach the phone. My hand was inches short of the receiver when my body collapsed on the living room floor. Once my spirit rose out of my body I was greeted by a Reaper––Daniels if I remember correctly––but just as I'd reached for his hand, another appeared and shooed him away.

I had
stood face-to-face with Death himself, and he wasn't at all what I expected. Tall and thin...yes, almost skeletal to a point, and creepy as hell. But it was the black designer suit and midnight blue tie that completely threw me, not to mention the utter politeness and charm he displayed. The contradiction between the myth and the man was glaringly obvious.

I stood there, completely stunned,
as he offered me a job. He explained it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and if I were to accept, he'd give me special "perks" that no other Reaper had––wings.

I'd collapsed back onto the couch, dumfounded and still in shock over my sudden departure from the human world. I couldn't fathom the afterlife I was being offered, but couldn't deny that the idea of continuing on as someone so special was indeed a heady thought.

My life had been filled with mild successes but nothing I'd consider remarkable. I'd never stood out in any way. But suddenly, in the moment of my death, I'd been given an opportunity to become something extraordinary. The chance to further my career or better myself in any way had ended the second my heart had stopped. But as a Reaper, I'd be able to help those who'd lost their life's battle and be the one to guide them to their final peace. The allure of that was overwhelming, and simply something I couldn't pass up. However, I didn't accept his offer right away. Instead, I'd spent what seemed like hours drilling Death about the details of his organization and what the job would entail. He'd explained my duties, all while trying to convince me that it would be great, that I would have my own apartment and all the earthly things I could ever want.

I couldn't
have cared less about those things, but considering the alternative, I finally agreed...on one condition. He had to give me my wings right then and there––before I went anywhere with him––to prove he was for real. I was flabbergasted when he actually did.

One moment, I was my normal human self––albeit in spirit form, and in the next, Death m
aterialized a raven out of thin air and melded the creature to my back. I was instantly transformed from Raven––the twenty-something nurse who'd just died, into Raven––the first female Reaper in history with black wings and the power of Death flowing through her. I took my new employer's hand and disappeared, emerging back in his chamber. Death showed me to my new apartment and introduced me to Garrett, who had me sign some papers before winking at me as I'd left his office.

The following day Death hosted a grand party where he announced my arrival.

It was chaos.

An entire world of male Reapers pulsed with anticipation of having a female within their midst, but when Death declared I was to remain un-touched––at the risk of their final deaths––the excitement quickly turned to disdain. I'd instantly become the one thing they all wanted but could never have.

It took me about week to find my way around Purgatory, but only a couple days to realize I'd be better off if I stayed secluded in my room. I'd always been somewhat of a recluse so the adjustment was an easy one to make.

I'd started retrieving
souls within my second week and as my numbers climbed, Garrett and I had become fast friends. Other than the ever-present tension in the air, everything Death had told me seemed to be on the up-and-up; that had been almost twenty-five years ago.

"Does it really bother you that there could be another female Reaper? Maybe the two of you will end up being really great friends." Garrett's question yanked me from my memories. I turned to him, ready with my smartass reply before
I caught the smirk plastered across his face.

"Why, yes, you never know. Maybe we'll be BFFs and paint each other's nails, and talk about our boy problems while sitting around in our sexy pjs."

By the time we got to the bar we were both shaking from laughing so hard. The idea of me being best friends with anyone other than him was utterly ridiculous. Garrett accepted me and always knew just how to take my mind off of work and the stress that came with it. That was just one of the many reasons why I loved him so much. I was smiling wide when we entered the club arm-in-arm, ready to relax.

Then I saw Krev.

3

While I may not be a people person, I still managed to come to terms with the male population and got along with almost everyone...except Krev. He was such an asshole, and for some reason he seemed to carry a real chip on his shoulder when it came to me, one that to this day I still couldn't understand.

"Well, well. If it isn't the infamous, Raven." His mocking tone and the shitty look on his face confirmed he was trying to start a fight, as usual.

"Hey, Krev. Bad day? Let me guess, you lost some more souls? Oh wait, that's not a bad day for you...just a normal one."

The small crowd around us snickered in the background.

"Actually, Raven, I didn't have anyone run from me today, but there was this one lady who refused to go until she made sure someone found her body. It was awkward. She was chatty. I learned how to cross-stitch while we waited."

His humorous response caught me off guard. Usually nothing other than pure hatred flowed past his lips. I took the opportunity to remove myself from the confrontation.

"Well, at least she didn't run from you. Looks like you had a good day after all." I started to turn away when he asked another question.

"Why, did you have a runner?" His eyes widened at the excitement of my potential failure.

I took a deep breath
. Just walk away, just walk away.
I knew I shouldn't engage him, but I couldn't help myself. With his usual dickhead behavior etched into my brain, I cocked a hip at his ridiculous question and flared my wings. "Now come on, Krev. You know better than that. No one runs from me."

Krev threw his hands in the air. "Oh, that's right...beautiful, Raven, the best Reaper in the business. You've got it easy, tight ass, nice tits, and an awesome wingspan. You wouldn't do so good if you didn't have those wings and were stuck wearing this shit." He lifted the edge of his cloak and released it with a disgusted flare.

"You're right. I suppose if you guys had wings and weren't required to wear those drab things you'd be doing a lot better in your numbers and I wouldn't have to constantly clean up your messes," I jibed.