Obsidian's Reign ¹

∷ Chapter 8 ∷

AS CLARA SIGNED her last initials, the contract shrivelled up in flames, the ashes of which blew away with the sudden gust of wind. Jae snapped his fingers and the Mont Blanc pen in her grip vanished and reappeared in his inner pocket.

With a vacant look on his face, he said, "Congratulations. You have earned yourself an additional seven days to live."

Clara cringed at the unenthused tone of his voice. She would have said something in response to his bout of congratulations but decided not to when she realised she would be dead anyway and she really shouldn't be thanking the ones who would be responsible for her certain death. So instead, she opted to give him a wry smile.

Behind him, Rylan and Zephyr had similar looks of disappointment on their faces. Rylan felt Jae's intervention was unnecessary and was only making the situation all the more complicated. He was just as curious as Jae regarding the unexpected interference that had saved the life of the human girl, but to him, the slight unforeseen interruption was the very reason they should have finished what they started as quickly as possible.

Who knew what could arise from the girl living for the next seven days when she was supposed to be dead?

Zephyr, on the other hand, had a much simpler reason for being sulky about the current situation. He had been looking forward to the reaping of Clara Avery's soul and was mortified at his superior's sudden appearance. He was in no position to retaliate against Jae's wishes and it annoyed him further when he saw the Mont Blanc pen.

The pen in question was used specifically for the signing of deals and its sudden introduction meant someone would be signing off their soul. Who else would it be if not the very girl whose soul was already condemned? Zephyr had no choice but to remain quiet as she confidently sealed her fate once and for all.

The letter turning to ash was the final confirmation that none of them was allowed to touch her soul until the conditions of the deal were met. In this case, Zephyr had to continue waiting for an additional seven days before he would be able to carry on with the reaping, though he was never good when it came to being patient.

"I think we're done here," Jae said, glancing between the three with the ever prominent impassiveness reflected on his face.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been in a good mood as he always was when he successfully managed to seal a deal. But these were not circumstances he'd deem as normal in any way and it soured his mood significantly.

"Will you be going back down?" Rylan asked.

Clara listened quietly to their exchange of words and assumed that by 'down', Rylan was most probably referring to the Underworld. It was all still an odd concept to her but nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Somewhere along the lines, she had stopped trying to question the logic behind everything and accepted with ease whatever was thrown her way.

Jae nodded brusquely.

"I have work to do."

A pause ensued between them before Zephyr pointed a finger at Clara.

"What are we going to do with her?" he asked, unable to stop the utter distaste he felt for the human girl to overflow into his words.

"I won't be around for a while until I'm done handling matters in the Underworld, so I'm counting on the two of you to keep an eye out for her."

Jae kept his gaze focused on Zephyr when he answered his question but towards the end of his sentence, had switched his gaze towards Rylan.

Sighing, Rylan nodded. Jae did not have to elaborate for him to know he was silently asking for his help in the matter. They both knew that Zephyr could not be trusted to be alone with the girl, no matter how duty-bound he is. At times, a person's hatred exceeds all the moral values they stand for.