Reaper's Novice (Soul Collector #1) (32 page)

The notes flow sharper, sweeter, and stronger, completely different from my violin at home. It’s everything and nothing. It’s Heaven, birds’ songs, spring, and summer all rolled into one. It’s the smell of rain in summer. It’s autumn and winter, the gusty storm of a desert. It’s chocolate and pepper. It’s air. It’s fire.

And it’s pain.

I scream and snap my eyes open. Through tears, I see Schulz doubled over, veins bulging on his neck. But I can’t stop myself from playing. He drops to his knees, blood leaking from his ears and nose. The scars on my wrists and fingers burn bright white. I watch as another line appears, carving itself on my skin.

The pain stops as abruptly as it appears, replaced by a heady feeling. It rushes through me, acting as balm on my assaulted body, healing me and something else. I want to finish this. Finish Schulz off.
Kill him.

No! I have to stop. God, I’m killing him! He stretches his hand and snatches the ring from the table. With trembling hands, he slips it onto his finger. And just like that, he stops thrashing around.

He tries to smile through the grimace. “I’m fine.” He stumbles forwards, snatching the violin away. “Control is what you need. You have done it before. You will learn again.”

The feeling coursing through me scatters. I slump forwards, and the bow clatters to the floor. Surprisingly, it doesn’t shatter. “Please keep that thing away from me.” He places it back with the other instruments and turns to face me. “What—what was that?”

Schulz pulls a stool to sit in front of me, then leans forwards. “It’s not about what. It is who you are.” That pleased look is back on his face. “You, Ana, are the one who will set us free. The violin and music are your weapons. You are the—”

I leap to my feet, my hands raised, and shake my head. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“You have to face it soon.”

“Please, Herr Schulz.” I walk to the window.
What kind of thing am I
? “I could have hurt you. You knew what I’m capable of. My God, what were you thinking?”

Schulz stands beside me. “Would you have believed me if I told you what you were capable of?” I shake my head. “There’s your answer. Seeing is believing. Now, I will tell you a story. I hope this will clear things up for today. It’s more than a story. It’s real.” He gives me a sidelong glance before turning to look out the window. I wait, my body coiled so tight I’m afraid if I move, I’ll snap into pieces.

“Once there was a race, a happy race of people whose peace was the very air they breathed. The Urayah Empire,” he says while he gestures around with a sweep of his arm, “is a universe parallel to ours. I mean, where you grew up. The leader, the emperor Arkayden, was a man loved by everyone, and rightly so. He was everything a good leader should be. As usual, fate has a way of snatching the best things in life. He succumbed to illness and was forced to choose his successor between his two ambitious and competitive sons. Sinteler and Elias. Arkayden gave his sons twelve months to demonstrate their ability to rule. The majority favoured Elias, and so he was chosen as the new emperor. Having chosen his successor, Arkayden passed away in peace.

“The decision spurred Sinteler’s wrath, and he vowed to make the people pay for rejecting him. After amassing his own army of followers, he went on killing those who opposed him. The only way he could be the new emperor was by killing his younger brother, Elias, along with any of his children. So, he decided to go after Elias. When word finally got around to Elias about what Sinteler was up to, it was already too late. Most of the population had already been decimated and his army reduced in half by deaths and defection. The only way to save the rest of the people was to escape. That is how we ended up on Earth. We came through portals similar to the one we used when we came up here today. Since then, Sinteler has been prowling the Earth in search of Elias, as well as Elias’s son.

This was definitely not what I was expecting. I stare at him with a hand covering my mouth. “What has that got to do with me?”

“Your previous involvement with his nephew has everything to do with it.” He measures me with a gaze. “You are capable of killing Elias’s son, or saving him and restoring our race.”

I shudder at his words. “Kill him?”

He nods. “You were betrothed to him and bonded to one another. Your souls recognise each other. In your previous lives, both of you died before you even knew each other.”

“
Previous lives
?” I jerk around to face him, my mind reeling with this new information. “What am I? How many lives have I lived? Why can’t I remember anything?”

“Restless Soul.” He faces me. “You are reborn every time you die.” He folds his hands on his back and moves away from the window. “When Elias realised what Sinteler was up to, he selected a group of dedicated young men and women who would lay down their lives for his son. The Elite Seven were born. You are part of the seven. Each had a gift, which would come in handy in case they had to fight. The linking ceremony was performed to bond all of you. The only way either of you could die is if any one of the seven killed you. One Elite can kill another Elite. But no one outside this circle has the power to kill any of the Elite. Unless you die of natural circumstances. Your souls are immortal, to be born over and over until you accomplish your mission. The linking between the Elite ensured the reborn cycle continued. And so, here you are. Again. The reason you don’t remember is you are born without those memories. A clean slate. The only person capable of reinstating the memories is the priestess who performed the ceremony.”

“Where is she?”

“Safe, along with Elias and everyone else.”

I stumble from the window and to my previous seat and drop my head on my hands, rubbing my temples. Questions whip my mind, and I’m not even sure where to start. “If we are a race, what kind are we?” I lift my head to look at Schulz. “Why haven’t I ever heard of it before?”

“We fall under the unexplained races. Until Sinteler is defeated, we cannot reveal ourselves to the world.”

I curl my hands to stop them from trembling. “If Sinteler somehow finds a way to capture Elias’s son’s soul, wouldn’t his soul be reborn?”

Herr Schulz shakes his head. “If Sinteler traps his soul, he will not be reborn.” He takes a deep breath. “Sinteler will place the soul in stasis—a state where time ceases to flow until the magic is removed.”

Splaying my fingers on my lap, I stare at the scars glowing from under the tattoos. “The scars. What do they mean?”

From the corner of my eye, I see him squeeze his eyes shut, as if in pain. “They represent the number of lives lost by your hands.” He takes a breath, and he says, “They are your mark. Now, are you ready to know who you are?

I shake my head quickly. “No. Maybe later.” I’ve had enough information overload to keep me awake for a long time. Knowing what I am, someone who can easily take someone’s life is something I’d rather stay without knowledge of. For now anyway. I gulp a few breaths and look at Schulz. “Whatever that was, has never happened before. Not when I played my violin.”

“Because it isn’t the right weapon.” He points at the cursed thing lounging with the other instruments in the front of the room. “That there, and the ballads book, is you. You wrote that book. Please keep it safe. You might need it soon. Have you spoken to your parents?”

The topic change catches me off-guard. “No. I can’t break their hearts like that. I love them too much.”

“
Love
?” Schulz scoffs. “Love makes the strongest of us weak. The most cautious, reckless. The cleverest, stupid. It humbles even the proudest.” He stares at me. “You flaunt love like it’s an evening gown. Love made you weak and is what got you here. Shove it back where it belongs, into your chest, and zip it.”

“What do you know about love?” Anger uncoils in my stomach. “Have you ever risked your heart, your life for someone you love?”

Schulz flinches. “You do not know what love is until you lose it all. Not only your family, but your very essence.” He looks up. “Your duty now lies with your people.”

“
My people?
Surely if you understand about love, you won’t expect me to drop my family and friends for people I’ve never met?”

“You have met me, Schuster, Zaynab. Why do you think I told you the story?” He glares at me. “When the time is right, you will find them.” I open my mouth, but he raises his hand to halt me. “The time is coming for you to decide your actions. Today’s revelation is enough. I am bound, so I cannot tell you what you should do.” He holds my gaze with his. Some of the harshness melts away, replaced with what I can only call gentle expression. “I promise you this, Ana. I will tell you everything you need to know, but not tonight. You need to rest.”

“My parents,” I blurt out. “I mean my other parents. Are they still…?” I wait, for his reply, praying under my breath that they are.

Schulz shakes his head once. “Your father is alive and with the rest of the people from Urayah. Your mother died, never made it through the portal. She died defending your father.”

The news slashes through me. I’ll never know my other mother. I rub my arms, suddenly feeling cold. “Is Rolf one of my people?”

His body goes rigid, and his expression shutters. He nods curtly, lips pressed in a thin line.

Interesting reaction
. “How did we end up in the same vicinity?”

“I need to get you back to the castle. Follow me.” He turns abruptly and heads the way we came.

I run to catch up. “So, we’ve established you’re not my PE teacher. Who are you?”

“Why am I not surprised at your stubbornness?” he mutters under his breath, then sighs heavily. “I’m your mentor.”

My jogging ups to a full gallop as he heads for the glass lift. “
Mentor?
”

“Remember the student I mentioned? The one who made my teaching life hell?”

I blink at him. “You were
my
teacher?”

He nods. We halt at the glass lift. After he places his palm on the glass wall, it slides open and snaps shut once we are piled inside.

“This is too much information at one go, Ana. I need you to take this one day at a time. We do not want to risk information overload.”

“I can handle it. I don’t understand, though. Why do you bow to me?”

He looks at me as though debating if he should answer. “I pledged my loyalty to serve you and the emperor’s son.”

“Speaking of the emperor’s son, where is he?
Who
is he?”

“I pledged to serve you, not to get bombarded with questions, oh stubborn one.”

Moments later, we’re standing in the hallway leading to the dining halls in Grim’s castle. Schulz turns to me. “Not a word about this to anyone.”

“So, Densys is your other name?”

He glares at me and stalks away the way we came. I’m too tired to feel any wisp of victory, so I head inside the dining hallway in search of Zig.

***

Tuesday four p.m. finds me buttoning costumes and trying to get my music group ready for the concert. I try to let their excitement wash over me, but it doesn’t help. I’m tense, and every few minutes, my eyes dart to the seat I have reserved for Rolf. It’s still unoccupied.

Last night when I got home from Grim’s castle, I texted Rolf to call me in the morning. He never did. I’ve been going over my conversation with Schulz and really want to talk to Rolf. “Mama! Mama!” The shriek snaps me back to the changing room. The girl twirls for her mother showing off her tutu. The two mothers helping me with the children are a godsend.

Twenty minutes later the kids spill on the stage, with violins and flutes in hand. My eyes flit over the seats. Mom and Lucy are in the third row. Rolf hasn’t arrived yet.

The door to the auditorium flings open, and my heartbeat quickens. Only it isn’t Rolf. Kimdane?
The Kimdane
? What is he doing here? Man, I can’t wait to share this with Reiner, Rolf, and Lea. My stomach clenches. Reiner and I aren’t talking, Rolf is MIA, and Lea, well she’s too far. Kimdane lifts a hand and waves. I raise mine to wave, only to hear Dominik, one of my students, squeal. He leaps off the stage and bounds down the stairs to the door. His sister places her violin on her seat and flies after her brother. Giggling fills the room as they join in what looks like a hug party. Great, the mountain biker is stealing my thunder. Dominik and his sister, return, grinning widely. “That’s our brother,” Dominik says.

“Good.” I motion them back to their places on the line, behind the music sheet stands. I peek at Kimdane again in all his tall, tousled hair glory. No resemblance there.

A look to where Mom’s sitting confirms Rolf hasn’t arrived. Once I gather enough strength to manage a smile, I turn to the children with their eager smiles and gleaming eyes and start the concert.

***

Two days after the concert, while rearranging my closet, I look out the window. My pulse races, watching Rolf pull up in front of our house. I rush downstairs, fling the door open, and suck in a breath. He seems to have aged twenty years. His grey eyes are pale. The buttons of his white polo shirt are buttoned wrong.

“
Rolf
? Oh my God, what happened to you?” I pull him through the front door and wrinkle my nose. When did he last shower?

He staggers forwards before grabbing onto the wall to steady himself. He pulls his arm away and straightens.

“Is everything okay?” I reach for him, but he flinches, jerking back and swiping his hair, which looks greasy and sweaty. His eyes dart nervously over his shoulder as if he’s being chased. “I need to talk to you.” I look at the clock perched on the living room wall. Mom will be home in less than twenty minutes.

“Come on, let’s talk upstairs.” My hand grips the rail to stop myself from touching him.

I rummage through my wardrobe and pull an old T-shirt that belonged to my dad and is big enough to fit his broad shoulders. As he yanks the wrinkled shirt off his body, I catch a glimpse of his ribs, straining beneath his skin, and his concave belly. When did he last eat?

He moves away to lean on the wall next to the door and averts his eyes.