Grim Love - A Novella by Grae Lily

Chapter 1
    Evangeline had been warned not to wander, but
still coming to terms with what she'd lost, she couldn't help
herself. Even though she’d never felt the urge to travel in life -
in death, she wanted to travel more than anything. Death wasn’t
going to stop her. She knew that. Dying at nineteen meant it would
be inevitable that she'd spend eternity behaving as she had in
life.
    Being chosen as a reaper didn't fit into that
equation. How it came to be that the often elusive, but terrifying
nonetheless, Lucius, would need assistance, still baffled her.
Three in all had been chosen. Evangeline, the only female and the
only one to be of such a young age. The other two were much older
than she and had no time or interest in the girl they deemed as too
young in death and too inexperienced in life.
    As she walked through the streets, she tried
not to think about the others and their cold eyes. During their
choosing ceremony, they stared at her as though they knew she'd let
their master, Lucius, down. Maybe they were right, but always
having been a rebel, she'd do her best to ensure she wouldn't fail.
He'd chosen her when there must have been others who were better
suited. She struggled with that, knowing that she'd be expected to
prove herself at every turn.
    Being allowed to walk the Earth would be a
privilege she never felt possible. Although her new position
strictly prohibited any such notion, having the ability to move as
she had in life, gave her something to hold on to and that eased
her transition into this new realm. Death changed everything. She’d
been chosen by Lucius for reasons she hadn’t quite gotten her head
around yet, but she hoped with time she would. Although, time would
be an item she'd soon discover she wouldn't have anymore because of
the job she’d been chosen to do.
    How did anyone get chosen to be a reaper? Had
Lucius wandered through the afterlife choosing people he thought
would be best for the position? She couldn’t ask him. When he
looked at her, she could see more than she wanted to see. He’d been
alive for a millennia in the afterlife, working as the reaper until
it'd been decided that the world had changed and he could no longer
do it alone. He had to choose three people to help him. She’d been
assigned to North America and told not to go anywhere near the
places she’d known in life. Given her personality, that wasn’t an
easy rule to follow.
    At least, her first job had been easy enough.
Evangeline could be grateful for that because she knew each
subsequent death would be more difficult than the last.
    It would have been easier for her to have
turned down the position, but that wasn’t possible, not when Lucius
looked at her with eyes that had seen all the ages of man. She’d
wanted to run in the opposite direction, but found herself agreeing
to help him. The smile he’d given her told her he knew what she'd
been thinking. That, made him more terrifying than he'd been before
in her mind. She hoped he couldn't read minds, telling herself
that, if he could, he wouldn’t have asked her in the first place.
He'd know she'd be terrified of him and he would have chosen
someone else. Someone who could do the job without hesitation.
Someone unlike her.
    Evangeline knew there had to have been a
reason she’d been chosen, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know
the answer as to why. Lucius must have seen something that made him
think she'd be the right person. That, in itself, made her uneasy
and caused her to question all she'd said or done in life. He’d
chosen her above all the other spirits available to take on the job
of gathering souls.
    Kane and
Brick were obvious choices. Their Earthly lives ended decades ago
and they'd earned the right to serve Lucius. They were just as
taken aback by Lucius' choice to bestow this coveted position to
her. Why
her, they
wondered. What's different about her? There were too many questions that no one had
answers to and no one felt it'd be their