Raven's Breath (The Women of Purgatory) by Tish Thawer

Author:Tish Thawer [Thawer, Tish]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amber Leaf Publishing
Published: 2014-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

22

I gazed at my reflection and focused on the spot he was pointing to. I had to squint, but there, behind my right ear, was a small raised symbol. It looked like a sigil, or rune of some sort, made up of lines, dots and squiggles. Its meaning was completely lost on me.

I spun to face Garrett. "What does this mean?" I demanded.

"It means you're an emissary of Heaven."

My mouth fell open. The look on his face and the hole through my heart became instant twins.

This had to be a mistake. No way could a Reaper of Death be an emissary of Heaven. It simply wasn't possible. Was it?

I turned back to the mirror for a second look. I stepped closer, keeping my eyes locked on the symbol. Tears welled in my eyes as it grew larger in the reflection. I backed away and turned to Garrett once more.

"Explain this to me. Am I going to lose my job? Get kicked out of Purgatory?"

Garrett grabbed my hand and led me to the couch. "Sit down, Raven. Just try to relax."

Relax? How could he say that? "Please, just tell me what caused this and what's going to happen to me?"

Garrett took a deep breath. He looked like a preacher about to give a sermon, or a history professor about to deliver a lecture.

"I'm not sure, Raven, but there's only been one other Reaper in history who was marked by Heaven."

"Who?"

"Death, but he was also marked by Hell."

My heart clenched.

Beyond what I'd come to know from being his employee, I'd never given much thought to Death or his life.

"Go on," I pleaded.

Garrett sighed. "Death was the original Reaper, placed in the position by both Heaven and Hell, and granted the power to rule Purgatory. The two realms struck a covenant that outlined the rules and guidelines that molded his position and that of his Reapers. They marked him as a mutual emissary, since the job he'd hold would serve them both."

I sat silent, his explanation making sense so far.

"Think of the covenant as a binding magical job description. It's why the Reapers are bound by free will and dress the way they do, in their typical 'Reaper' cloaks. It's also how they are chosen and brought to Purgatory. All of this has happened automatically for...well, ever. Until you."

I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat.

"You're an anomaly, Raven. You, and now Holli, are the only Reapers who've been created outside of the covenant." Garrett shook his head. "I wasn't sure how he'd done it or why, but once you got here and started performing like a regular Reaper and we became friends, I didn't think much else about it."

"And what do you think about it now?" I asked, biting my lip.

"I'm not sure. Your numbers have shown that you've been visiting Heaven a lot more often than Hell lately. Maybe that's why they've decided you work for them. At least that's what Death thinks."

I frantically started running my hands over my entire body.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.