Saving Death

Chapter 30

Louisa gazed at me from across the kitchen table, her hands wrapped tightly around the mug in her hand and her eyes fathoming something in the distant recesses of her mind. "Who's Blake?" she said, raising her eyebrows at the three of us.

I shifted in my seat. The guilt was eating away my insides, and I was already beginning to wonder if I'd done the right thing.

"No one of consequence," uttered Seline, breaking the tension by acting as if none of what had just happened had happened. "Just an acquaintance. We just thought we'd let you know that he left town today."

"Okay..." she said, a look of pure confusion crossing her face. She got up from the table, and all I could do was give her a half measured smile. "I'll see you at college, Ava," she said, glancing briefly in Sam's direction as she headed for the front door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't!" A small smile crept onto my face as I heard her call out in the hallway. At least she was still in there.

"You had to..." came Sam's soft voice in my ear.

I turned to him. "I know," I said, "but I feel so guilty. It feels wrong to just delete him from her mind." Sam nodded silently.

Seline had asked my permission to use magic on those necessary to keep them safe. The reapers thought Sam and I were dead. Both Sam and Seline thought this was what had allowed them to move on from the area, which could only be a good thing. The only downside was that Louisa would never get to say goodbye to Blake.

There was also the small issue, now that I knew the truth about Sam, that I was expected to keep the secret and not share it with anyone—including Louisa. I'd reasoned with myself that simply withholding information wasn't lying. I wasn't entirely convinced that wiping her memory of Blake's existence was the right thing to do, but I needed to remind myself that it would keep her safe as well as protect her from unnecessary heartbreak.

The same had gone for my dad, who now believed I'd gone to stay with my aunt for a few days to visit Mum's grave. Nothing more was needed as he'd been kept in the dark anyway, and I was more than relieved that I hadn't shared more with him over the past months. Plus, how on earth did you explain to your dad that your reaper-boyfriend's reaper-friend killed you and then your witch-friend helped to bring you back to life? I thought this was one stone better left unturned.

As for everyone at college, all they would know was that I had gone missing, driven to distraction from grief. This meant that I would have to be the weird girl whose mum had died, but that was okay. Maybe I was the weird girl whose mum had died. I'd made my peace with that and was stronger for it. After all, if it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here.

I smiled and tentatively brushed my hand along Sam's arm. He'd seemed distracted since it had all happened, and it was beginning to unnerve me. "Are you okay?" I asked. "You seem distracted."

I wondered if he was already missing being amongst his own. It must be a lonely existence being a reaper and being with others that bore the same curse must have eased the suffering to some degree. He had explained to me that he'd need to find some reapers sometime as it was a requirement to travel with a Watchman; which was what Ben was. I realised this was why Ben hadn't had the markings like everyone else.

Sam had explained that Ben didn't take life. Instead, it was his job to ensure that the reapers kept the natural order and the balance. As a Watchman, he had to report back to a higher power, but Sam explained that Ben craved the power and had lost all moral judgement a long time ago. He'd often disregarded the other reapers' behavior when it came to taking souls that weren't ripe. Despite telling me all of this though, I could tell that it pained Sam to break from his coven.