SWNOVELS Prince Of Lust: Chapter 9
Sitri and Ezequiel wouldn’t let anything happen to jeopardize my first charge.
I knew that.
But I had come close to missing the opportunity entirely.
I hadn’t realized Sitri had gotten separated from Ezequiel and me when we showed up. I was so focused on finding the soul I’d been sent to ferry that I’d rushed through the gate and into the house. Ezequiel had been attached to my arm, otherwise I may have lost him too.
Being around humans made my flesh crawl. Unknowingly, they were drawn to me. Something about my haecceity gave them a sense of calm and comfort.
That was part of my job, wasn’t it? Then why did it set my teeth on edge?
My charge was coming closer. The shots of liquor he’d taken inside had clearly gone to his head. The strings of garden lights ended only several feet from the garden wall, but even with the light pollution from the city, the drop-off was pitch-black.
Sitri and Ezequiel watched from the shadows, their faces intent on the scene playing out before them. A more seasoned Reaper should have been here, but I was a punishment. They had created a new being between them, and now they were being forced to babysit the new Reaper.
They’d likely killed hundreds—if not thousands—of humans in their time on Earth.
And now they were mother-henning me without training themselves.
I was going to fail.
Fate didn’t work like this. Their place wasn’t in soul guidance in the same way mine was. Angels and demons tempted or saved human souls. I just dropped them off at their intended destination. I had no stake in that game of numbers; my hands were neutral.
Ezequiel still held part of his divinity. Sitri was as demonic as they came. It would have been ideal if that balanced the scales of our situation, but it didn’t work that way. Their natures didn’t cancel out their meddling because they didn’t have a place on this end of the equation.
My charge was a few feet away from me when he finally looked up. The glassy look in his eye said he saw me. I’d been told this would happen. The human would recognize me and what I represented. Sometimes, they would sigh in relief. Other times, they would scream and fight. But ultimately, they would all come with their Reapers hand in hand.
He took a stumbling step but righted himself with a slight sway. I held out my hand and stepped closer to the edge, leading him to his last breaths. He looked at me a moment, the alcohol thick in his veins. Understanding, or maybe just the lure of my hand, brought him two steps closer, only a foot or so from the low wall.
It would be quick.
Sitri promised the fall would be fatal within moments, and then my first charge would be ushered into His grace. The first had to be the hardest.
Another step and the charge’s fingers twitched at his side, readying to reach for me.
One more, and I could hear his breathing quicken and smell the alcohol on his breath.
That was it. One more step and it’d be over.
“Oh my God, Caleb. Stop!”
The shriek pulled my charge’s attention away. A young woman was running barefoot at full speed toward us.
Toward him.
She couldn’t see me; I knew that. But the fear and surprise in her eyes at seeing someone she knew so close to death had shocked them both stone-cold sober. She reached him in a blink of my eyes and pulled him from the edge. Their bodies fell safely to the solid gravel of the garden.
I looked up, mortified, at Ezequiel, then at Sitri. His hands fisted in his hair with his back to me.
I looked down at Caleb and the mystery woman who had just interrupted the grand design. She pulled Caleb to his feet and hauled him back to the house. The shock had worn off, and they were both laughing awkwardly at his near-disastrous stroll in the garden.
Ezequiel scowled at Sitri, who was cursing himself.
“What happened? Who was that?” I said, finally making it within earshot of their bickering.
“Sitri stood that woman up.” Ezequiel’s sour tone came from a level of disappointment that I didn’t know he was capable of experiencing. “When she came around the corner, she was calling for Sy—”
“You’re Sy?” I turned on Sitri, his face red.
“She saw your charge and forgot all about the rendezvous she was supposed to be having in the bathroom,” Ezequiel finished.
The bathroom that was supposed to have been occupied, causing my charge to go outside for a piss somewhere more private.
Fuck.
“What should I do? Go push him down some stairs?” I asked without thinking.
“No. You can’t be the direct cause of the death of the human you’re responsible for,” Ezequiel said, reminding me of the stupid rule book.
“You have to wait for your next vision. He got lucky today, but his time is up, and you’ll be waiting for his next accident to come soon.” He turned to Sitri. “Come on, Prince of Lust. Your low libido has gotten you into enough trouble for one night.”