Iris Page 3

  ***

  The girl introduced herself as Jade, and her twin was called Jasper. The three of us sat on the cold earthen floor, but Hugh stood with his hands in his coat pockets. He leered at me whenever I happened to glance up at him and contributed little to the conversation, so I pretended he was merely a fixture in my fortress.

  “I am choosing to entrust you with delicate information, so you must swear you won’t tell a soul. That goes for both of you.” I looked from Jasper, who seemed to take my words to heart with a pale expression, to Jade, who still seemed miffed that her shed had fallen into more capable hands. “Cross me, and this nice man will end you, one vital organ at a time.” I gave the fixture a nod, and he remained silent like any good man-shaped furnishing should.

  “You still haven’t told us why you’re here,” Jade said.

  “I’m getting to that.” I paused and exchanged glances with Hugh. I’d made him swear the same thing as the twins, that he’d never tell anyone about reapers or the bond we’d formed together.

  I almost regretted my words before I’d even spoken them. “My given name is Iris Mascagni, but you may call me Iris. I am an incarnation of Death.”

  A smile spread across Jade’s face and instantly warped into something of horror. “It… was you guys?”

  I shook my head. “If you are speaking of your classmate, no. I did not take her life.” I had seen this girl’s face around the city before. She was searching for answers, but I couldn’t tell her every morbid detail.

  “How are we supposed to believe you?” Jasper asked quietly. “About the Death thing, I mean. You don’t—”

  “I don’t look like a skeleton in a black cowl? Yes, you’re absolutely right. The image of a Grim Reaper you are so familiar with is one we, ourselves, created. It is something that cannot possibly exist, which makes the job of a true reaper that much easier.”

  “So you know who killed Natalie?” Jade asked. “If you know, you have to tell us! There are laws and statutes that say—”

  I raised a palm to cut her off. “I have orders from my master to apprehend a reaper known as the Fallen Star. The trail of bloodshed she typically leaves behind has led us to conclude that she is still in this city.”

  Jade slumped. “So a reaper did that to her? What are we supposed to do to stop something like that?”

  “Don’t get them involved, Iris,” Hugh said at last. “They’re just kids.”

  Indeed, from their auras they couldn’t have been older than twenty, but the sister stood firm as though Hugh had issued a challenge.

  “Killing people isn’t okay.” She flashed her brother an intense stare. “We have to do something, right?”

  “It’s not really our place,” Jasper muttered, standing up beside Jade. The broken sword rested at his feet. “Besides, we don’t really know who these people are. They could be,” and he whispered, “completely crazy.”

  “The girl’s not lying,” Hugh said, and the twins turned their attention to him. “Remember that terrorist attack across town a few days ago?”

  They nodded. “Yeah, it was all over the news,” Jade said.

  I bit my cheek and watched Hugh pull off his left glove. Jade nearly gagged at the sight. Jasper simply covered his mouth in silent horror. A pang of guilt tugged at my chest. I was the reason he’d ended up that way. If only I’d found him sooner, helped him faster. I couldn’t blame him if he resented me, even if I’d given him life.

  If he hated me, he kept it to himself.

  “I was in the building when it happened. I should be dead—I was dead—until this girl brought me back to life.” He tugged the glove back on. “You’d better believe every word she says.”

  Jasper nodded slowly.

  “What can we do to help?” Jade asked.

  I sat back down, and Hugh sat beside me like a faithful lapdog. “The reaper’s name is Lin Meiyun. I wish I could tell you more, but we believe she may have taken another body by now.”

  Jade blinked with a puzzled look on her face. “What, like she’s changed identities?”

  “Precisely.” I smiled inside, but my muscles failed to convert the signal physically by no fault of my own. “Humans are smarter than I gave them credit for. I can’t let you two confront her, obviously, but it would only benefit us to have another set of eyes on the lookout.”

  “This reaper,” Jasper said, taking a seat again. “How much can you tell us?”

  “The Fallen Star has been around for far longer than even mankind. She has nothing but contempt for the living, and she has certain ties that allow her to carry out unspeakable acts.”

  “What about you? You kill people too, don’t you?” Jade asked.

  I hesitated. “Reapers put the dying at ease and send their souls beyond, guiding them to the next plane of existence. The Fallen Star takes lives as she sees fit, creating trouble for the rest of us. She’s been known to torture those who displease her…” I swallowed, remembering the stories I’d been told. “No, that’s giving her too much credit. She tortures souls for her own pleasure. Such judgment is not ours to pass, but she has forgotten her rank and cares nothing for Heaven’s authority.”

  Jade pointed at Hugh. “So that man’s a reaper too?”

  “He is more of a servant.” I gave him a pat on the leg.

  “I only care about finding the demon that killed my daughter and making them pay.” His eyes traced a path from my hand up to my face. He was scowling. He always scowled. Perhaps that part of me had somehow embedded itself in him. “After that, I don’t really care what happens.”

  The twins continued asking us question after question, and I was as honest with them as I deemed necessary for our situation. Time marched ever onward. Jade and Jasper agreed to meet us in Fort Iris the next day before leaving us to our own pondering.

  “They can’t be trusted,” Hugh said once they were out of earshot.

  “I don’t know if I agree.” I stared at the wooden sword on the ground. The boy must have forgotten it. “They may be human, but anyone so eager to believe in reapers must be an ally.”

  He laughed. “How do you explain other reapers, then?”

  I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. I could understand the Fallen Star’s desires. To return the world to its previous state, a world before humans interfered and made her feel insignificant. A world where her maker still loved her dearly.

  I could explain it, and even sympathize, but all I said was, “I can’t.”

  “Exactly.” Hugh brushed off his second-hand cargo pants and extended a hand. “We should be getting some shut-eye.”

  I shook my head. “I appreciate your invitation, but I’ll be staying in Fort Iris for the time being.”

  “Don’t be stupid.” He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me to my feet. “Can’t act like I’m your father if I just abandon you like that, can I?”

  I could have broken his grip easily, twisted his arm and snapped it in twain. I could have slain him for disobeying orders, but instead I followed right behind him.

  “When’s the last time you had your own bedroom?” he asked, showing me into his car. “Or a home-cooked breakfast?”

  I wasn’t one of my master’s favorites, so the answer was “never,” but I held my tongue. Hugh started the vehicle, and we drove off into the snow-capped city.

  “There’s no need for you to act as my father at all times,” I told him. “If anything, you should be treating me like your mother.” I had, in a way, birthed him into a new existence.

  “Don’t make this creepy, kid. You said yourself that my strength was based on my proximity to—” The words caught in his throat as he glanced down at me, doing what humans sometimes call a double-take. “Is that a grin on your face?”

  “Don’t be absurd.” I turned away from him only to be greeted by a mirror mounted on the side of the car. The thing on my face was…

  Thank you for reading IRIS!

  If you enjoyed this story, see where it all
leads in Hypocrite, the first Devil Have Mercy novel.

  IRIS is one of several short stories intended to flesh out the urban fantasy universe of Devil Have Mercy. For more details on other books in this series, please visit www.DevilHaveMercy.com, or follow the author’s Twitter: @Michael_Horton_.

  Find out what Michael Horton is working on at his blog:

  www.mhortonbooks.blogspot.com

  Hypocrite (Devil Have Mercy, #1)

  Power over death itself is only the beginning.

  Experiencing grief is a part of human nature, but what can be said for those who control death itself? The fate of humanity all rests with one girl, but she’s not in the best place in her life to make responsible decisions. A Reaper, only one of many who judge human souls, shows her a world where lives can be saved or snuffed out on a whim like cheap cigarettes, and suddenly the line between good and evil is blurred. The world rests on the edge of a reaper’s Scythe, but how long until it’s torn asunder?

  Death Eater

  Reapers prey on humankind, but who hunts the reapers?

  Life on top of the food chain isn't all it's cracked up to be, as Charlotte Kinsley—a death eater—is about to discover. It doesn't help that a higher power wants her erased from the natural world.

  DEATH EATER is a prequel companion novelette to Devil Have Mercy: Heretic.