When Stars Collide

Chapter 26- Slave to a ribbon - Skylar

I swear to the goddess that if I made it alive out of this, I’d chain Ioannis up onto a tree. I thought I had told him to stay put. Not to threaten the guy who is this close to ending my life. But he does it anyways, the hero swooping to save me. But he’d know everything.

He’d know who I was before I became the grim reaper. He’d know why Scampers had every right to own me. I was a slave just like him, but on different terms. I couldn’t escape Scampers just like Ioannis hadn’t been able to escape Yia Yia’s whippings. We were one and the same and it scared me how similar we were.

Scampers holds his hands up and whispers, a small croak at the fact that I may not be able to kill him, but that the guy everyone was looking for would be the one who’d kill him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, son.” Right as Scampers turns to punch Ioannis in the face, he dodges him and trips, crashing onto Scampers. Scampers get Ioannis on a headlock and I groan. Stupid fool. He got himself caught and now they’d kill both of us.

“Is this the lover you have? This small, scrawny boy? By the goddess, Skylar… you’ve sank very low for someone like you who could seduce any man-”

“Shut the fuck up, Scampers,” I grit, trying to stand up, but the pain still radiates in my body.

 The Ribbon of Freya had two simple rules. The purple ribbon was the slave. The red was the owner. If you squeezed the ribbon, it’d hurt your slave. If the owner died, the slave was officially free. If the purple ribbon disappeared, I was dead. There wouldn’t be a grim reaper and the 400 years I had lived would be for naught. I didn’t even reach the sufficient age to be considered immortal.

“Did he please you in bed?” he asks, while holding Ioannis in a tight grip and when he elbows Scampers and dodges the round of bullets, he quickly takes the bow and arrow and quickly shoots a round of arrows. They hit the guys who came with Scampers and I summon my scythe, quickly running and swinging it around and slashing two members. One of Scamper’s guards stops me and points his gun at me.

“You’re not going anywhere,”

“Did I ask for your permission?” I slashed at him and he doubled over as his spirit was about to leave. I immediately grab it and store it in my scythe that collected all the souls I took. 

I’m about to turn around and slash someone else when Luz pushes me out of the way and saves me from getting shot. When I get up, Luz pulls me down and we’re crawling on the floor and under the table while the men attack each other. Ioannis gets pinned down by Scampers and his guards and I gasp when the bow and arrow gets wrestled away from him. I grab my scythe and get out, pointing it at Scampers.

“That’s enough. Let him go,” I threaten him, my voice sounding louder than I expected and everyone including Ioannis freezes.

“Why should I? You’re not yielding are you, Skylar?” Scampers asks me and he places the gun on Ioannis’s heart, about to pull the trigger.

No, not him too. I drop my scythe and it disappears in the fog, and I stand, paralyzed to my spot. He could kill Ioannis and help the villains get the power if he kills him. I hold my hand and the little girl skips in, giving him a plate full of cookies. He glares at her and she smiles at him.

“Mommy sent them for you,”

“I said I don’t want any,” One of the guards grabs a cookie and the second he does that, he leaves an opening small enough for Ioannis to get up and to punch Scampers in the face. He pushes everyone and grabs my hand, dragging me out and we start running. 

By the time we get out, it’s pitch black with the lamplights above shining the way and when Scampers shoots the gun, Ioannis pushes me away and I scream when the bullet hits him instead. He smiles at me, a smile so easy, I scream when he staggers.