The Reaping (The Fahllen #1)(57)
Author: M. Leighton

“But I haven’t done anything yet.”

“No, but you made the deal. That’s all that matters. There’s no backing out now,” he said sadly.

“But I did it for you.”

“I know. And I wish you hadn’t. I did what I did to set you free. But now…”

“Why? Why did you do it? We’d have been fine if—”

“No. I led him to you, Carson. I-I was so selfish and I had so much guilt and he used that. He knows every weakness, every single one.”

“But if you hadn’t, I would never have met you. And I wouldn’t trade that for…well for anything.” I paused, love spilling out of my heart and trembling on the tip of my tongue. Then I realized that I had nothing to lose; it was only a dream. “I love you.”

A tender expression came over Derek’s handsome features and my heart melted. “I know.” He dipped his head a few inches further toward me until our lips met. His were cool and firm and he tasted just like I remembered. Then he pulled away. “The only thing I would have traded meeting you for is your soul. I’d give anything to know that it’s safe, that you are safe.”

His silvery eyes were like warm, shimmering pools, swirling and hypnotic. I could’ve stared into them forever, gladly drowning in the depths. But then they hardened and he said, “He’s coming. I have to be quick.”

“Who’s coming?”

“Fahl. This is where the undecided souls separate from their bodies. You picked a bad spot to sunbathe,” he mentioned wryly. “Listen, Carson,” he began, leaning up and pulling me into a sitting position. “There are some things I want you to know, things that will help you. He’s going to use you as a reaper, like Grey. You’ll be able to see them right before their time is up. If you can find them, you can warn them, maybe save them.”

“But how do I find them?”

“Now that you’ve made the deal, there’s a house you can use. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard others talking. Some black house that has a bunch of doors. They’ll take you to the marked. Just be careful. Watch out for her. And watch out for the others.” He stood to leave, looking out across the water, scanning the shoreline.

When he mentioned “the others”, it reminded me of something that I had wondered about, something that had bothered me. “Wait!” I said, grabbing his arm. “Last night, why did you hit me?”

Derek turned his attention to me, a pained expression on his face. “I had to do it. That’s something else I found out over here. When your skin is broken, what’s underneath is like…it’s like…” I watched him struggle for the words. Rather than the disgust I would have expected him to feel over my creepy white layer, he features showed nothing but wonder. “light or something. It’s powerful. I don’t know what else it can do, but I know it makes the dead vulnerable to you.”

Oh, great. So I could literally repel people with my freak-show skin. Just what I always wanted. All I had to do was slice off my epidermis and, presto bingo! Fan-frickin’-tastic.

Hurriedly, Derek bent over and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. “He’s coming. He can’t know I can find you in your dreams,” he whispered. And then he was gone, disappearing into a cleft in the rocks.

I looked back across the water and I saw a young girl appear at the shoreline. There was something familiar about the curly copper hair that shone in the sun. Then I looked at her clothes. She wore a beige A-line dress with a green sash decorated with patches. It was the girl selling cookies at Leah’s house.

Just then, she looked up at me, smiling and waving as if I were her favorite aunt. A chill spread over my skin as I watched her. She picked up rocks from the water’s edge and threw them toward the middle of the river. I thought at first she was trying to skip stones and I snickered internally. She’d never manage that in moving water.

Then I saw the white belly of a fish break the surface. It bobbed lifelessly in the current. I looked back at the little girl. She was giggling gleefully, clapping her hands. I watched as she picked up another rock, a bigger one this time, and hefted it over her head. She scanned the water briefly then lobbed the rock. Seconds later, another white belly floated to the surface. Again, she giggled and clapped, thrilled with either her aim or the result, I didn’t know which. Either one was bothersome.

I looked back to the fish and discovered that it wasn’t a fish’s white belly at all. It was a person’s. A woman’s to be precise. I could see where the water lapped at her naked br**sts. I looked at her face, but I couldn’t make out any detail. Where it was covered with water, the glare of the sun obscured her features. I could, however, make out a tangle of dark hair floating out around her head. And there was something familiar…

A warm breeze ruffled my hair just then. That’s when I caught the scent, the stench of death and decay. The stench of Fahl.

Just then, the girl looked up at me, meeting my eyes from across the river, and she smiled again. I felt a hand at my bare thigh, gently stroking the inside, rubbing the pulse that beat there. I looked down, but no one was there. I looked back at the girl and she smiled wider.

With a start, I awoke on the couch, the nauseating smell of Fahl still in my nostrils. I was relieved to see the familiar ceiling of my living room hanging over my head. I sat up and looked down at my legs. The covers were pushed up to my waist and my bare legs were sprawled out in front of me.

The smallest disturbance of the air alerted me to her presence. It was almost like a sigh drifting across my skin. I turned my head and there, sitting crossed-legged on the floor next to where my head had been, was Leah.

My leg tingled again, right where I’d dreamed that someone was touching me. “Leah, what are you doing?” I pushed the covers back down to my toes. “You scared me half to death.”

“I could hear your heart beating all the way in the bedroom, like drums pounding inside my head,” she said absently, her eyes fixated on my throat. She seemed dazed, dreamy almost, like she wasn’t quite awake. “It got faster and louder and then I could smell…” She paused, her brow wrinkling delicately. “Fear.”

I couldn’t imagine that babysitting a shark would’ve felt any different. Perilous. “I, uh, I had a bad dream. Sorry I woke you,” I said, swinging my legs around to put my feet on the floor. I felt too vulnerable lounging on the couch. I had to be able to move. Quickly.