Reapers - Master of Souls (Reapers Chronicles Book III)

37 - Portrait

PLAY THE SONG ABOVE. HAPPY READING.

How can I say this without breaking?

How can I say thing without taking over?

How can I put it down into words

when it's too much for my soul alone? 

Hurts Like Hell, Fleurie

37 - Portrait

For some reason, I woke up in the infirmary in Luci's lab.

Max was in his wheelchair beside my bed, solving Alex's Rubik's cube. It didn't take a minute before he threw it on his lap with a groan.

Finally, he noticed me watching him. "Rise and shine, Aramis Rayne. Didn't you promise to take me to the beach?"

I pushed myself to a sitting position, looking around. "What happened? Did the Offering work?"

"Beats me." He shrugged and pushed himself closer. "Belial brought you here. Said you fainted during the Offering. Boy, I'd pay good money just to see Eldest! Luci tells me that he is actually a she. Is it true?"

"I'm..." I got distracted when the door opened. "not sure."

Alex, Hector and Belial came in, all of them giving me weird looks. I shifted to the edge of the bed and searched the floor for my boots.

"H-how are you feeling, Aramis?" asked Alexis, throwing Hector a furtive look.

I tried to read their expressions, only to fail. "Fine... I guess."

Belial went to me and pushed me back down on the bed. "You oughta get some rest, Hun. The Offering's taken a toll on ya."

I held the woman's wrists. "How bad?"

Only Hector seemed to had the heart to answer. "Right now, your soul is very fragile. If you use your scythe even once, it will shatter and you will perish."

I wasn't surprised. Alex had warned me that Hector's quick fix was only temporary. I, myself could feel the effects wearing off.

"It's back to the tanks then?" I said.

Alexis sighed. "We already tried that, Aramis. But your soul isn't responding to ectoplasmic infusion like it used to."

The air in the room suddenly turned heavy. The grim silence was even more unbearable.

"How long?" I asked, jumping off the bed to fish my boots from under it. When I didn't get an answer, I busied myself putting them on. "How long do I have?"

My question seemed to have baffled them. No one said a word for a minute.

In the end, Belial managed to speak. "Not long... But, maybe, if you take it easy and stay--"

I stood up, flattening the creases of my dress. "I'm not spending the rest of my life in a hospital."

Managing a casual facade, I went behind Max and began to wheel him toward the door. Max looked tentatively at me before reaching for the door knob and turning it. I stared at the floor for a few seconds and said, "Don't tell Vincent," without sparing a backwards glance.

To my dismay, I found Vincent in the hallway, hands on his knees and out of breath. His eyes widened when he saw me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Alex fidgeting with his fingers. "About that; I sort of already told him."