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Hushed voices pulled me from the dark void. Foggy beings hovered over me and I blinked until my vision righted. My mother sent a strained smile in my direction before looking over at the man standing next to her.
“I told you he’d be okay,” Mr. Mckay said.
I studied the man who said he was my father and when his gaze turned to mine, I shivered. Something about him struck me as ominous and dangerous but right under that façade, I saw something deeper, less scary. Pulling myself into a sitting position, I broke eye contact and looked at the floor trying to figure out what just happened.
“So, you’re my father.”
“Yes,” he said and took a seat next to me and glanced at my mother before focusing back on me. “And my last name isn’t McKay. It’s Ramsay.”
I opened my mouth but with so many questions flying through my mind, I couldn’t pick just one so instead I sighed and turned my gaze to him.
“I left because I had no choice, Nick. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be with you and your mom.”
His answer pissed me off because you always have a choice. “What do you mean you had no choice?”
“It comes with the job.”
“What the hell kind of job do you have?”
“Dylan Nicholas Ramsay!” my mother scolded.
My father raised his hand, stopping my mother. “He has a right to be upset, Holly. He doesn’t know me from Adam and I had the same reaction when my father showed up. Fortunately for Nick, he’s got a hell of a lot more time to learn the ropes than I did.”
The icy tendrils of fear scratched my skin and I broke out in a rash of goosebumps accompanied by another shiver. I thought I wanted an explanation, but now I wasn’t so sure and when his gaze swung to mine I knew I’d rather be left in the dark.
“I’m sorry son, but the truth of the matter is, you’re destined to follow in my footsteps. There is no choice.” He shrugged and glanced at my mother.
“And what exactly does that mean?” I scooted to the corner of the couch, as far away from the man next to me as I possibly could get.
“It means when you turn twenty-five, you take over my job.”
“What exactly is your job?”
My mother stepped closer and touched his shoulder, a silent plea in her eyes stopping my father from expanding further. He covered her hand and brought it to his lips, and I saw the compassion and love he felt for her in this simple move. “He needs to know.”
“Know what?”
“Who I am,” he said.
I waited, raising a questioning eyebrow because as much as my mind was screaming to run, to hide, to deny the truth, I couldn’t help the curiosity that took control.
“Simply put, I’m Death with a capital D.”
I was not prepared for his answer and I blinked, trying to reconcile the information I dug up on reapers and death and the history of these beings, and this man, this manifestation was nowhere near what I expected. Then the follow up realization hit like a bomb.
My father is Death.
Holy shit.
Still trying to wrap my head around his words, I stuttered, “Y-y-you don’t look like a reaper.”
“I’m not a reaper. Reapers collect the souls on the master list when I need them to.”
The nightmare on the bus surfaced in my mind and I looked away from my father. Those reapers weren’t there to do my bidding, they were there to destroy me. I glanced back at him and his eyes widened.
“A nightmare?”
His statement sent a wave of unease over me and my stomach tightened into a knot of pain. I clenched my teeth against the thin stream of bile burning my throat, swallowing and nodding at the same time. He was in my head, hearing my thoughts, seeing my nightmares and that didn’t settle well.
Dimples appeared briefly and his eyes flashed. “That comes with the job, too.” His smile faded. “I have to go fix something, but I’ll be back and we can talk then. Okay?”
Thoughts swirled and I glanced at my mother, the sad expression traced in her face brought focus to the reality of his words and my gaze snapped back to him. “Not Gram.”
“Yes. I’m afraid it’s her time and when you ordered that reaper away, it set some nasty things in motion on this side of the realm. I have to fix it, otherwise a few in the ranks will go rogue and that’s dangerous, son.”
“If it’s dangerous for me, I’m okay with that if it means my Grandmother lives,” I said, remembering the conversation I overheard in the kitchen and unwilling to swap my grandmother’s life for my safety.
“I’m afraid it’s not just that simple, Nick.”
“Why not?”
“Because if the reapers go rogue, there will be more death and destruction than you can imagine.” He stood and turned to my mother. “Stay here,” he said and walked out the door before I could collect my thoughts and stop him.
I ran after him, but by the time I got to the driveway, his taillights disappeared around the corner.