DEATH HID HIS BEAUTY beneath the shadow of his massive cowl, Like his personal cave carved out of a pristine mountainside. He’d craved a distraction from work—a need that prompted him to leave the privacy of his office to make his rounds in the different dimensions that made up his domain, which everyone affectionately termed Crossroads, the place where souls met their fate. Death’s domain had no real name. It just was, for eons shifting and morphing, but essentially remaining the same.
He’d visited the nursery first, filled with Caretakers tending to the Reapers reborn. He stood behind the protective glass wall that separated the babes from other parts of his domain. The room had evolved through the years. Now, it resembled a hospital nursery. He smiled at the infants, fed residual energy mixed with milk from bottles.
“Ah, to be young,” he exhaled. He thought of Janika and wished none of the babes snug in their cradles grew into someone like her. He had enough troubles.
Having had enough cute for one day, Death moved toward the processing plant. Whisps bobbed out of his way like buoys in the ocean. Minions of every shape and size, carrying reports from their respective makers, stepped aside and bowed. He stopped to chat with several Reapers from different parts of the world who’d completed escorting their charges. Death reminded some of an upcoming meeting and exchanged idle conversation with others. When he’d reached the plant—a massive steel warehouse—some time later, he spotted the Reaper he’d been eager to have a word with.
“It’s always good to see you, Nikolas,” he greeted, taking up a position beside the Reaper of Georgia as he led his souls into one of the processing chambers. A minion in Armani used a scanning gun to register each soul before he or she entered the room.
“Master.” Nikolas nodded once. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” He’d moved out of the line of souls and dematerialized his scythe as a sign of respect.
“Come.” Death motioned to one corner of the plant. “We wouldn’t want to get in the way.”
Nikolas followed with his hands shoved inside his pants pockets. His features betrayed no emotion.
Death placed a hand on the young Reaper’s shoulder. “How are you, my boy?”
“Better.”
“And with Tomas watching you?”
“I don’t mind.”
“You don’t have to be so formal with me, Nikolas.” Death pursed his lips. “We’re not in a meeting or at my office. We just happened to bump into each other. Can’t I show my concern?”
“Of course, Master.” Nikolas softened his expression. “I was actually going to ask Tomas for some advice. But since, as you said, we’ve already run into one another—”
“I heard you had a run in with Janika,” Death interrupted him.
“Did she really threaten you?” Niko asked.
“Not in so many words. I think she just wants more attention. Greedy little girl.”
“I think she’s dangerous, Master.”
“You all are.” Death shrugged a shoulder. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. She won’t bother you again.”
Nikolas inclined his head in appreciation.
“How can I help you today?” Death asked gently. He smiled, even though he knew Nikolas couldn’t see the gesture through the gloom of his cowl.
The young Reaper appeared to consider his next words. His eyebrows bonded together, and Death imagined Nikolas rubbing his chin, even if the boy didn’t. But nonetheless, it tickled Death to see the image in his mind’s eye. He would have chuckled if the boy didn’t look so serious.
“If I were to have a human over in my domain…” he began, a grim note lacing every word. “What would happen?”
“Humans are not designed to withstand the energies that ebb and flow within our domains.” Death made a sweeping motion that encompassed the line of souls waiting to be processed. “A human entering a Reaper’s domain would be sucked drier than a car battery with the headlights left on.”
“I had no idea.”
“That’s because you’ve never asked before. In all the lives you’ve lived, Nikolas, this is the first time I’m hearing you considering bringing a human into your domain.” Death edged closer. “You’re changing, my child.”
Disbelief replaced Nikolas’s previous serious demeanor. “Master, I—”
“No, no. Please.” He held up a hand covered by the voluminous sleeve of his robe. “It’s all right to have humans over to your domain. I believe it’s part of maintaining our pretense of blending in. I’m surprised you hadn’t done it sooner.”
“So, I can have friends over,” Nikolas said, more surprised than curious. “But how do I prevent my domain from as you say ‘sucking them dry’?”
Death laughed, which had everyone in the plant staring in his direction. When he’d regained his composure, he waved. “Carry on.”
And like nothing had happened, work resumed.
“Nikolas—” Death draped an arm over the boy’s shoulder “—all you have to do is issue a formal invitation to anyone entering your domain. In that way, the energies residing there wouldn’t attack the intruder.”
“An invitation? Like in writing?”
“A verbal invite would suffice. Walk with me.” Death steered Nikolas out of the plant. “Think of it as giving someone the alarm codes to your house.”
“It’s really that simple?” Nikolas’s jaw dropped.
“Everything in life is simple, son. It only becomes complicated when you make it so.”
Death summoned Tomas after Nikolas left giddy—like a child during recess that had been given chocolate milk to drink. Death never forbade his Reapers to mingle with humans. He allowed them to have consorts. To live lives like the souls they reaped on a daily basis. Something about seeing Nikolas so happy, even if the boy tried to hide it with a straight face, had Death wondering. Tomas popped into Death’s office just as he sat behind his desk.
“Master?” Tomas came forward.
“Wipe away that concerned expression.” Death lowered his cowl. He snapped and a chair appeared before Tomas, which the Reaper of California took immediately. “I met with Nikolas today,” he said.
“Oh?” The older Reaper unbuttoned his suit jacket then placed his elbows on his chair’s armrests. “You sought him out?”
“We happened to run into each other at the processing plant. In fact, he would have had to look for you if I hadn’t come along.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“Oh stop acting surprised, Tomas. I know you have spies everywhere, and that you were supposed to meet with him today,” Death chided, and Tomas had the decency to show a smidgen of guilt. “Now, what can you tell me about the girl Niko had in his domain?”
Tomas twirled his thumbs. “Can you believe our boy is finally inviting girls over?”
“Took him long enough. I was beginning to worry Nikolas was an anomaly. Not even our most solitary Reapers go long without consorts.”
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you just practice omnipotence on him?”
Death pouted. “You know I don’t do that anymore. Not after Brenna.”
“That massacre should never have happened.”
“Well, I should have minded my own business. I don’t want that to happen to Nikolas.” A dreamy expression crossed his androgynous features. “You know I adore that boy. He’s so serious sometimes, which is why seeing him happy delights me.”
“Master, please don’t say ‘delight.’” Tomas shuddered. “It’s unbecoming of Death.”
A crumpled piece of paper sailed across the room and bounced off Tomas’s chest. “Shut it! I can say ‘delight’ as many times as I want. So, about this girl?”
“She brings a smile to his face.” Tomas mirrored Death’s amusement. “I’d never seen Nikolas so happy. I knew the boy was a late bloomer, and you’re right, he is too serious. I think she’s good for him.”
“Keep watching him.” Death’s sigh came from a happy place of cotton candy and miniature ponies. “I want to know how this relationship develops.”
Tomas chortled before he disappeared.
A new stack of Certificates appeared on Death’s desk, but he ignored them, content to dream about budding romances, first loves, and stolen kisses.