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Chapter 1 [DRAFT]

In Blood And Tears

As I was born in blood and tears, I was summoned in blood and tears!

There was nothing unusual in that! In fact, that was entirely the correct way to summon me!

However, with regards to being summoned, that was something of a conundrum.

I love that word.

Conundrum!

Sometimes, I would be summoned sitting in a comfortable armchair, next to a fireplace, with a table in front of me. When that happened, there were no blood and tears! No blood and tears was good, and yet, it wasn’t correct? I didn’t much like being summoned in the armchair!

Although, that said, I did sort of like being summoned in the armchair, in front of the fireplace. That always meant that there would be Illusion Rum and chocolate cookies?

I love Illusion Rum!

I love chocolate cookies!

I don’t hate XIII as such, but I don’t like the old man much either. It was a sliding scale. A see-saw. I didn’t usually like what XIII had to say, and yet that was balanced against the fact that XIII gave me Illusion Rum and chocolate cookies. That was good! And in those cases, there wouldn’t be any blood or tears? That was wrong, but it was also good? It was a conundrum, as I said.

I love that word.

Conundrum!

I hate XIII’s cat! And I mean, I really hate that cat!

However, this time I was summoned to blood and tears, and to near-perfection. I was down on one knee, which was always a good start, and was entirely correct!

I was not only summoned down on one knee, but I was summoned on pine needles. Amazing! I could actually smell pine needles!

I love pine needles!

I immediately picked up a handful of pine needles and put them in my pocket. Then I crushed a few between my fingers and smelled them.

I love the smell of pine needles!

Not only that, I could smell flowers!

I love the smell of flowers!

I don’t like the taste of flowers, so they’re like pine needles in that regard. I don’t like the taste of pine needles either!

I could smell smoke from a campfire in the distance.

I love the smell of of smoke from a campfire! It reminded me of the time I’d cooked fish over a campfire. Disappointingly I couldn’t smell any fish cooking over the campfire, though I could smell something incredible cooking over it. Somehow I knew that it was venison? Or I thought I knew it was venison? I was hungry, and I really wanted to taste venison!

I could hear the sound of a fresh water stream close by. That was right!

I love streams! Especially fresh water streams! I don’t dislike saltwater streams, and they have their uses. However I wouldn’t fill up my water bottle from one.

I could feel the breeze on my face. That was right!

I love the breeze, but that said, not so much anything stronger than a breeze. And not so much when there wasn’t any breeze at all!

I could hear snippets of laughter and music caught on that breeze, coming from the town laid out beneath me. I wasn’t so sure about laughter and music?

That’s because there was something seriously wrong with the laughter and music. In fact, there was something seriously wrong with the town. I caught the vague scent of blood from the town on the breeze, and again much closer still, from my summoner. There was pretty much always blood when I was summoned!

I hate the smell of blood!

I hate the taste of blood!

The laughter drifting up from the town was wrong. It was cruel and malicious.

That was wrong! You see, it’s my job to do the whole cruel and malicious laughter thing?

Although I’ve never heard music before, or not that I can remember anyway, I knew that the music was out of time. There was something jarring about the music. The music didn’t flow. I don’t know music, but I was pretty sure music was supposed to flow? Like a stream. There was an edge to the music. Those playing the music were doing so solely out of fear?

I didn’t like that. You see, it’s my job to do the whole fear thing! However, I wouldn’t use fear to make someone play music badly? I actually think I might quite like music if it wasn’t played through fear.

I reluctantly opened my eyes to look around, and I looked everywhere. Well, I looked everywhere apart from my summoner.

I really don’t like being summoned!

My eyes instantly looked to the sky. It was dusk, and that was right! I should be summoned either at dusk or at night. Before midnight is best, but dusk is the perfect time to summon me! It was a clear night, and although it wasn’t a full moon, it was close to a full moon.

A full moon would be perfect.

I’ve never seen a full moon.

I’d love to see a full moon!

Looking down over the town, I spotted someone dragging a body through the main square. It was too far away to make out clearly, but they were obviously throwing the bodies into the river. I love streams, and I love the ocean. I hate rivers, unless they’re narrow enough that I can jump over them. I wasn’t quite sure what the delineation between a stream and a river was? However, I classified anything that I could jump across as a stream, and anything that I couldn’t jump across as a river?

That gets somewhat confusing? Sometimes I find parts of streams that I can’t jump over. Sometimes I find parts of rivers that I can jump over?

Anyway, I couldn’t jump across this river at any point that I could see currently, so it was most definitely a river in my mind. I don’t like rivers, so I didn’t really care about the fact that they were throwing bodies into it. Then again, what if those bodies might end up in the ocean?

I didn’t like that thought because I love the ocean! I’ve put quite a significant number of dead bodies in the ocean. I didn’t like the thought of dead bodies in the ocean, however putting dead bodies into the ocean was my job!

After that, I heard a lot of shouting coming from the town, the clash of steel on steel, screaming, and after that, everything went quiet.

I don’t like shouting, and I hate screaming more than anything! The screaming from the town had stopped, and yet, the screaming never stopped! I can always hear the screams of the children!

I realised that there was a tear sliding down my cheek.

There was pretty much always tears when I was summoned!

I don’t like tears!

I hate the taste of tears!

Wait, that’s wrong? It’s not usually my tears I’m summoned to? That was definitely odd? But I guess it didn’t really matter, given my summoner was crying as well!

There was always plenty of tears to go around! Just as there was always plenty of blood to go around!

Anyway, where was I?

Summoned

As I was born in blood and tears, I was summoned in blood and tears!

That was pretty much the usual! I sighed to myself in misery.

I hate blood, tears, shouting, screaming, killing, malice, and death! And I hate XIII’s cat! I mean I really hate that cat! And I hate dogs! And I hate the sun!

However, I loved the sun when it shines through a stained glass window!

I love stained glass windows! However that’s a bit confusing all in all? Another conundrum! I think hate might be a bit of a strong word for the sun! I mean, I prefer the sun to XIII’s cat, and I hate that cat, so maybe the sun wasn’t so bad? Maybe I just disliked the sun? Unless the sun was seen through a stained glass window of course, because then, the sun looked incredible.

Maybe the old man knew that I hated his cat? Well, I mean that must be pretty obvious, given that I’d tried to kill XIII’s cat four times? Once twice in one summoning! I wonder if that was why XIII summoned me in a comfortable armchair, with a fireplace, Illusion Rum, and chocolate cookies?

I love Illusion Rum! I love chocolate cookies! XIII puts crushed almonds in his cookies. I don’t love almonds so much, but they work really well in chocolate cookies! Trust me!

Maybe the old man understood that I hated his cat? Maybe that’s why he made me cookies? Maybe that’s why XIII always summoned me there? Maybe next time XIII could lock his cat in the next room?

The next time I spoke to XIII, I’d tell him that I wanted to be summoned down on one knee, on pine needles, with flowers, in a forest? At the full moon? And a stream? And a breeze? Close to the ocean, so I could smell the salt on the breeze? Not on the comfy chair, but next to it? With a campfire? With fish cooking over the campfire? Or venison? Or both? I love the smell and taste of fish, and even though I’ve never tasted venison, I love the smell of it. I’d like to taste venison. Venison probably tastes better than pine needles? Although that wouldn’t be difficult.

I may love pine needles, but I don’t like the taste of them! Or flowers for the matter!

And XIII would have his chocolate cookies, with almonds in them, and Illusion Rum? With music playing? Though not music played out of fear! Music played out of something happy?

And no blood! No tears! No death! No screaming! No shouting! No killing! And what the hell was wrong with the world? And no blasted cat! I really hate that cat!

Maybe if I was summoned with everything else, I might not want to kill the cat?

I blame it all on the cat!

I laughed at just how pathetic I was being. This summoning was right, because I wasn’t in the comfortable chair. I was summoned where I belong. I was summoned in blood and tears!

I was summoned to Death!

A lot of people call me Death, but I’m not really. That said, it’s not a notion that I tend to disabuse people of. People thinking I’m Death works to my advantage, and Death seems happy enough for me to assume his mantle. Somehow Death and I have reached an accord? Over the years Death has become a close friend, sort of!

Overzealous!

Now there’s another good word!

I tried to tell Death that perhaps he was being somewhat overzealous, but I think I made a serious mistake there! I mean, why would Death be a he? Maybe Death was a she? Maybe Death was neither? Or both?

But regardless, I had been summoned! I had been summoned to kill! Death! Again!

I sighed...

The town had obviously been attacked, and likely the very same day, given that two of the buildings were currently still aflame. The attackers had killed anyone that had resisted, then thrown their bodies into the river. The sound of steel on steel was likely the last few remaining defenders being killed.

I didn’t like that! You see the thing about killing? That’s my job!

I am Death? Don’t tell anyone, but I amn’t really Death! Myself and Death have just reached an accord! Wait, did I say that already? I tend to repeat myself a lot.

Anyway, I had to focus? I had to remember who I was?

I am The Reaper!

Awareness

I am The Reaper!

I’m not quite sure why that gets an exclamation mark? I tend to use a lot of exclamation marks! Maybe it’s my way of pretending how excited I am about being The Reaper? Or for dramatic effect? Or to strike fear into the heart of my enemies? Perhaps..?

What happened to focus?

Anyway, I had to focus! Up until this point, I had been aware of my summoner. In fact I had assessed my summoner in a millisecond, discounted her, and after that, done my best to completely ignore her. You see I really don’t like being summoned, and because of that, I really don’t like my summoners! And I already knew that she was going to be a serious problem. I mean, why can’t everyone just leave me in peace?

I could smell my summoner. I could smell her fear. I could smell her tears. I could smell her blood! I really don’t like the smell of blood! Or tears! I’d need to taste her blood for the blood tithe.

All in all, the blood tithe was one of my less well thought out ideas. You see, honestly, I just made up the blood tithe! I was trying to be freaky, scary, and annoying. I don’t really like the blood tithe!

I don’t like the taste of blood! Or tears! Or Pine needles! Or flowers!

The cost of unsummoning me involves me tasting my summoners blood and tears! I kind of thought that might freak people out a bit? It might put them off from summoning me? It most definitely freaked me out? I thought that tasting blood and tears sounded pretty messed up all in all? Looking back, the blood tithe was probably the most stupid idea I’ve ever come up with! And believe me, I’ve had quite a few stupid ideas! I mean what with the fact that I hate blood, the smell of it, and the taste of it? And I’m not overly fond of tears either? Stupid!

I’d much rather taste venison? Or fish? I’d rather taste water from a cool stream! Why didn’t I make tasting cooked fish, or venison, the cost of unsummoning me? Or chocolate cookies and Illusion Rum? I’d even prefer the taste of pine needles to blood and tears, and pine needles taste pretty bad! Flowers don’t taste very good either! Trust me! Eating pine needles and flowers was, once again, one of my less well thought out ideas.

I looked around the clearing and lazily assessed the situation. My senses had already reached out as I looked everywhere apart from my summoner. I already knew everything that I needed to know. I was on a hilltop, and there was no immediate threat. I already understood that the town beneath me was wrong. I didn’t like the fact that the town was wrong, and that was somehow good?

Another conundrum?

Why was it good that the town was wrong? Ah, of course. It was my targets that made the town wrong. After I’d killed them all, the town wouldn’t be wrong any more. I had already worked out my targets, but I wasn’t going to make it that easy for my summoner. She’d have to pay the blood tithe!

The blood tithe really wasn’t my cleverest of ideas. In fact, it was a completely stupid idea. I thought it might scare people away? It might make them think twice before summoning me? It didn’t! It would seem that some people are just as stupid as me? They want me to taste their blood? I mean that’s just seriously freaky?

I picked up a handful of pine needles, then crushed them between my fingers. I savoured the smell because it took away the smell of blood and tears. I love the smell of pine needles, so I put another handful in my pocket.

I smiled. This was right! It was a beautiful night! It was a perfect night! It was a perfect night for killing! I might guess that my smile was more of a wince? I sighed miserably, then reluctantly whispered to my summoner. “Who do you want me to kill?”

My reply to this was silence. That was somewhat surprising, so I asked my summoner. “Hello? Why have you summoned me?”

My summoner replied this time. “Because you asked me to summon you?”

Now that was somewhat confusing. That was wrong. How could I summon myself? So, I reluctantly looked over at my summoner. I was reluctant because I’d already worked out that my summoner was going to be a serious problem. I already knew that looking at my summoner was a very bad idea.

As I met my summoners eyes, I paused. Now I make a lot of mistakes, however meeting my summoner’s eyes was one of my biggest mistakes!

Contrary to common misconception, I do breathe. Meeting my summoner’s eyes was such a monumental mistake I felt my breath catch in my throat. I tried (and I failed miserably) to break eye contact with her. I mean what was I thinking? I was right to be reluctant? I knew it would be a mistake? Why did I look at her? Idiot!

I already knew that my summoner would be beautiful. The problem was that I wasn’t expecting her to be quite so beautiful. She was as beautiful as my wife was that day…

Stop! Don’t think about it! Don’t go there! Ever!

The girl was maybe seventeen years old, with shoulder length black hair, though her hair was hanging limp around her head. Her hair was matted to her forehead with sweat and blood. My summoner was covered in mud and bruises. The blood I could smell came from a deep cut on her forehead, where it was trickling down into her left eye, and another cut on her hand. She reached up to wipe the blood from her eye with the back of her sleeve, and yet all she did was spread a dark smear of blood across her face! Her clothes were muddy, torn and ripped, and looked to be partially burned down her left side.

And yet, she was still somehow the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! Apart from maybe on one occasion? My wife was...

Stop thinking about her! Focus!

My summoner was terrified, and yet, there was a burning anger behind that fear. There was a defiance behind her eyes. There was such strength behind her eyes. She was almost as beautiful as my wife had been all those years ago. The second time I’d been summoned I was married...

Don’t go there! Ever! Stop thinking about her!

The blood and mud on my summoner’s face was being washed away, both by her tears, and a light drizzle. Beneath all the mud and blood, her skin was perfect. Well, if you were to ignore the cut on her forehead! Her eyes were such a pale blue, that they were almost grey. Her eyes were such a mixture of raw emotions. Fear! Hurt! Defiance! Sadness! Strength! Anger!

I was in awe of my summoner.

My summoner’s eyes held that same sharp intelligence and raw emotion my wife had, and yet her eyes were the exact opposite in some ways? Another conundrum?

I love that word!

Conundrum!

I tend to use the word conundrum a lot! I think that’s because I get confused a lot. I was definitely confused right now.

My summoner’s eyes were the same as my wife’s had been, and yet at the same time, they were almost the exact opposite? Now there’s a conundrum! My wife had eyes of such a dark steel grey, and yet within them, there were flecks of purple amethyst. They somehow lit up like purple lightning when she smiled. When she laughed. My wife was...

Stop it! Don’t go there! Ever!

Don’t be ridiculous! The Reaper doesn’t fall in love! And The Reaper most definitely doesn’t get married! I mean think about it?

It wasn’t just the colour of my summoner’s eyes, it was the passion behind her eyes! It was those raw emotions. It was her bravery as she fought back against her terror.

Fighting The Storm

I’d once watched a storm fighting against the sun! Now taking on the sun? That’s bravery! Or stupidity! I’d finished my job and I’d found some sort of loophole in order to remain summoned. It wasn’t a loophole as such? I’d just pretended that I thought there might be more people to kill! Knowing full well that I’d killed them all.

Now there’s a conundrum!

Anyway, I had killed quite a lot of people that day. I was miserable that day, so I decided that I wanted to watch the incoming storm!

So I’d simply sat on a hilltop for hours, in the rain, watching the storm fighting against the sun! I watched the sun battle its way through the clouds, and as it did I remember looking out over the ocean. My summoner’s eyes were such a pale blue that they were almost a light grey. Her eyes were the same colour as the water had been that morning. As the sun finally won its battle against the storm.

That wasn’t the only sunrise I’ve ever seen, but it is the one that I remember most vividly! That day, I’d watched the storm fight against the sun. I’d watched the lightning striking the ocean again and again. I remember wondering if the storm was so brave (or stupid), it was trying to fight the sun and the ocean at the same time. I remember that sunrise well, because it was just as beautiful as it was terrifying. That day, I had felt utterly insignificant.

I wasn’t the sun, and I wasn’t a storm. Well obviously I’m not the sun or a storm? And yet, what I saw behind my summoner’s eyes was the same terror I’d felt that day. But also behind her eyes I saw that same defiance the storm had in its futile battle against the sun.

I’d actually been disappointed that the sun had won the battle that day! Even though the outcome was a certainty, I respected the storm for its defiance.

I’m sorry, I tend to get sidetracked sometimes. Where was I again?

In summary, and despite the situation, my summoner was incredibly beautiful. She was covered in mud and blood, had a deep cut on her forehead, and a burn on her left hand. That wasn’t so beautiful. Neither was the deeper cut on her same said left hand. She’d gotten dirt in her cut! No doubt from clambering up the hill.

I really don’t like dirt in cuts. It’s not a wise thing to do! Dirt in a cut causes infection! Trust me! I know all about that! A dog once bit me the back of my thigh, then the bite got infected. It really wasn’t nice.

My summoner, was, like me, down on one knee. That rhymes!

However, I surmised that she wasn’t kneeling out of respect for me. It was more likely due her inability to stand up. She probably had concussion, likely from the bruise spreading around the cut on her forehead. But at the same time, although she was struggling to remain conscious, she fought against it. My summoner wasn’t stupid enough to go down on two knees before me. She was instead coiled like a spring, ready to run for her life.

I liked that! She was strong! She was a fighter! She wasn’t stupid! Some of my summoners were incredibly stupid!

I don’t like stupid summoners. Being ready to spring away from me and run for her life earned her a modicum of respect. And her defiance was beautiful, just as my wife’s was that day...

I sighed. I knew it had been a really bad idea to look at my summoner.

The girl looked absolutely terrified of me, and yet, for some reason, I didn’t particularly like that?

I mean terrified was entirely the correct response when faced with The Reaper. The whole point was that my summoners were supposed to be terrified of me. But that doesn’t mean that I like it! Well honestly, I did liked it some of the time. In fact I liked it a lot of the time, because my summoners were usually idiots and deserved to be terrified.

I wonder if that was why XIII never look terrified when he summoned me? I think XIII tried to make me happy. His cat never look terrified of me either!

That was the only positive thing I had to say about XIII’s cat! His cat looked pretty terrifying when it hissed at me! XIII’s cat always looked like it was going to rip my eyes out with its claws. I suspected that would be quite the battle. I’m not entirely confident that I’d come out of that battle unscathed. Or with both of my eyes intact for that matter!

I hated that cat, but I also respected it. I didn’t respect the cat enough that I’d ask XIII what its name was, but I knew its name all the same. Existentialist? The name suited the cat. It was just as arrogant and ridiculous as the cat was itself!

Wait, I have to focus!

You see, my memory is a bit of a muddle, and I tend to get confused a lot! I don’t get much time to think, so when I do, I think too much! My mind spins out on tangents! I like thinking too much, but it can also be dangerous! Given my job? You see I come in, kill people, then I disappear!

And when I disappear, their screaming stops!

That’s a lie! Their screaming never stops!

Anyway, focus! My summoner was terrified, and that was right! Everyone was terrified of me, and well they should be! I mean I’m The Reaper? That’s my job? Terrifying people! And killing people! That’s what I do! Usually in that order…

Though I don’t think I’ve ever terrified anyone after I’ve killed them before?

I nodded to my summoner, the girl with the bruises and cuts, then I whispered. “Who do you want me to kill?”

The girl’s voice shook as she replied. “All of them!”

My patience was starting to wear thin now, and I was starting to think that maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe I did have another stupid summoner after all. So I queried sarcastically. “All of them? I think you might want to reconsider that statement? Given that might include yourself, and every single person down in that town? It might in fact include everyone in the New Empire? That’s not really what I do! Do you think you might narrow it down for me a little? Might you be a little more specific as to exactly who you’d like me to kill?”

I never completely understood sarcasm. I think I probably got it wrong again. The girl looked very confused anyway, and she didn’t seem to find it amusing. Instead my summoner spoke to me slowly, as if I was an idiot. “I want you to kill all the raiders!”

I again nodded at this, then tried to pretend I wasn’t an idiot. I tried sarcasm again. “The raiders? Well, that definitely narrows it down somewhat. Very good. What raiders? How do I identify the raiders? Where are the raiders? Would you like me to see to that cut on your forehead? And the one on your hand? You’ve got dirt in your cut! It might get infected otherwise? How many raiders are there?”

My summoner looked at me in terror, and that was right! That’s quite a common response when dealing with The Reaper. The girl tried to stand up and take a step away from me, which again is a fairly common response. She only managed to stay on her feet for around half a second. After that, she failed miserably. As she fell, her head was going to land on the root of a tree.

I didn’t think that was wise, so I grabbed her before her head hit the tree root. I then sat her down on the ground. I wasn’t quite sure what would happen if my summoner died! That had happened once. The day my wife…

No! Don’t go there! Ever!

I shook my head in confusion because something was seriously wrong here. I whispered to my summoner. “Might it be best if you sit down on pine needles? I love pine needles! If you’re going to fall over, next time you might want to make sure that your head lands on pine needles? Not on a tree root? Pine needles are much softer than a tree root. And they smell incredible! I wouldn’t advise eating them however! I love pine needles. Trust me!”

That sounded ridiculous, even to me. I mean seriously? Nobody trusts The Reaper!

The girl was shaking in fear now, and she thought I was crazy. To be fair, I couldn’t really fault her on that front. I mean I’m The Reaper? And you want me to be sane at the same time? That might be a little too much to ask! I sighed at my summoner, then told her to sit still. My summoner wasn’t very good at sitting still, given that she was trembling. I cleaned the cut on her forehead.

I was trying hard not to look into her eyes, because they were beautiful. After that, I cleaned the cut on her hand, as there was quite a lot of dirt in it. I whispered. “I don’t like dirt in cuts. Don’t get dirt in your cuts. Keep your cuts clean. And why don’t you have a med-kit? I can recommend carrying a med-kit at all times. They’re highly useful. Trust me!”

I applied a salve to her cuts and burns. I guessed the force of the blow to her head had caused concussion, given there was quite a bruise around that cut. Or maybe she was in shock? Or maybe she was just terrified? Or maybe it was all three?

My summoner was looking about as confused as I was feeling right now, and there was something wrong with me! I couldn’t work out why, but I felt dizzy? And did my summoner just smile at me?

Don’t be ridiculous! Nobody smiles at The Reaper!

I decided that I’d delayed things for as long as I could, so I whispered. “Report! I need intel? Raiders? Who? Where? Numbers? Why? Make sure that when you faint your head lands on pine needles! Try not to get dirt in your cuts! I’ve put some salve in your pocket. The left pocket. It will help with the burns. You can use it on the cuts as well. It’s amazing stuff! Report!”

My summoner was looking at me in something between terror and bemusement as she replied. “Thank you for the salve! Raiders took over the town. They killed my cousin, my brother and quite a few others. I didn’t like my brother, but he didn’t deserve to die! They stole everything we have, and they’re using the rest of the town as slaves.”

That was wrong! Nobody thanks The Reaper!

The girl was obviously either stupid, concussed, or in shock. I suspected the latter so I slapped her. Though, just in case she was concussed, I only slapped her very lightly. I repeated. “Report!”

I felt bad about slapping her, but she quickly came back to focus. After that she not only met my eyes, she held them.

That was wrong! Nobody meets The Reaper’s eyes without looking away.

It was beautiful, so I held myself very still. I really didn’t want her to look away!

My summoner explained quickly. “My name is Alice, and the town down there is called Everisk. The population is around 450, but I think they killed around fifty of us. The raiders killed all of the militia, and anyone who resisted or fought back. There are more than seventy raiders, with scouts in the woods. I think we killed a few of them, but not many! That’s what Nichaol said anyway! Nichaol was the head of the militia and they made a point of killing him in the town square so that everyone could see! I think at least twenty of the raiders left to scout the next town which is nine miles to the West and is called Adelaine. That town has maybe two hundred people, and a lot less militia!”

This was seriously wrong! Alice. Nobody tells The Reaper their name. Well, unless I’m holding a blade to their throat? I really wish Alice hadn’t told me her name!

I was suddenly feeling very hot, so with extreme difficulty I tore my eyes away from Alice. I checked myself over in confusion. I was looking for any infected cuts, but I didn’t have any. It wasn’t a fever, and yet something was wrong!

Don’t be ridiculous! The Reaper can’t get a fever! Actually, that’s a lie. I did have a fever once before. The fever was caused by an infected bite where a dog had bit me on the thigh. That wasn’t much fun. I got very hot, then had the most bizarre nightmares!

That’s wrong! The Reaper doesn’t sleep! The Reaper doesn’t have nightmares! The Reaper causes nightmares!

I nodded at Alice’s report. Somehow I was finding it very difficult not to look into her eyes. I knew that I shouldn’t have looked into her eyes in the first place!

I looked down in misery, then tried to make it sound like I was professional. “I need more info on the raiders I need to kill. Weapons? How many raiders have horses? You have beautiful eyes. Please stop muddling my head! Do they have scouts? Make sure that if you fall, your head lands on pine needles. How many hounds are there? How many of the raiders have bows?”

Alice paused at this, and I could feel her eyes boring into me in confusion. I was confused as well, so refused to meet her eyes. I was pretty sure that I’d said something about Alice’s eyes? I was thinking it, but did I say it out loud? I was very hungry. Being hungry always confuses me. I wanted to eat venison! Or fish! Or roast chicken! With gravy! Or chocolate cookies!

Alice shook her head. “All the raiders that I saw had swords or daggers. I’d say around half of them had bows or crossbows. However, they now have all of the town Militia’s weapons, so it might be more than that. They have around ten hounds. The hounds are horrible and they tracked down anyone who tried to run away. They didn’t capture them, they just killed them. The hounds are massive beasts and they’re fast. They were chasing me, but you told me to use the streams to block my scent? I think it worked, but they’re still out there looking for me. The raiders have taken over the church as a base. I really don’t know any more than that, I promise!”

I was impressed. Given that Alice was terrified, it was a pretty good summary, apart from the fact that I couldn’t have told her to use the streams before I’d been summoned? But it was useful information, so I grinned at her. Grinning at Alice probably wasn’t one of my wisest ideas, given that my grin is really quite terrifying! My grin caused Alice to close her eyes, curl up into a ball, and then start crying.

I didn’t like that! Curling up into a ball and crying isn’t a usual response when people see my grin. However it’s actually not all that uncommon. Most people just run away? That would be a much more sensible response than curling up into a ball in my mind!

However given that Alice had given a pretty good report, and was obviously in shock or concussed, I decided not to tell her she’d have been better running away than curling into a ball.

Instead, I knelt down next to her and whispered. “Alice, that was an excellent report! You used the streams? So the hounds couldn’t track you? That is a brilliant tactic! I love streams, especially fresh water streams. I hate hounds! Did the hounds run about in circles after you used the streams? It’s absolutely hilarious when they do that! They get so confused! I can laugh at them for hours.”

Alice didn’t respond to that. She instead curled up into a tighter ball and continued to cry. I remembered something about repeating someone’s name when they were in shock, and for that matter concussed! I decided to use Alice’s name, despite the fact that every time I said her name, I felt something shift inside me?

Names are important! Names can be dangerous! Trust me!

Given that my summoner’s eyes were closed, and she was curled up into a ball, I didn’t think that holding my fingers up and asking her to count them was going to do much good. That was a stupid tactic to work out if someone was concussed anyway. You’d get the patient to track your finger instead? And ask them questions? I’m not The Healer, but I’m pretty good. I know that much at least.

Instead, I tried to re-enforce my point. I usually only do that when I’m threatening to kill people, but apparently repeating the patients name also helps to reassure people. I find that repeating myself is actually quite easy. Given that I tend to repeat myself all the time anyway.

I whispered to the girl. “Alice, I need you to listen to me? I need to get you somewhere safe. After that, I need you to rest and stay quiet. Do you think you can you do that for me Alice? I need you to hide in order to keep yourself safe whilst I kill all the raiders? Alice?”

Alice looked up at me in surprise, then shook her head. “Please don’t leave me alone. I want to come with you. I want to kill them. They killed my father! They killed my brother!”

That was wrong. The Reaper is always alone! Nobody wants to come with The Reaper? Alice had met my eyes again, and something strange had happened. I was burning up! I again checked myself for cuts or infection. I didn’t seem to have a fever?

It was Alice? Alice was distracting me! I wanted her to distract me! But I didn’t want Alice to kill anyone. Killing isn’t a very nice thing to do. I’m not nice! Alice was nice! I was so confused!

I whispered. “Alice, you’re not a killer. That’s my job! I am a killer, and I work alone. You’d only get in my way. You have concussion, you’re in shock, you’re injured, and you’re exhausted. I hate killing Alice! It’s really not a very nice thing to do. Trust me! I know all about killing! You don’t want to kill anyone! Killing isn’t beautiful! Killing is ugly! You are beautiful! It is also raining and the rain will get heavier. You’re already wet from the stream, which was a brilliant tactic to avoid the hounds. However because of that, your feet are wet. You’re cold, and you don’t have a cloak. I can highly recommend having a cloak! Trust me! I love cloaks! You can borrow my cloak for now Alice, but you’re only borrowing it! Just for tonight! I want it back! I love my cloak! You can get your own cloak later. I don’t have any money, but I’ll steal some money from the raiders I kill, then give the money to you? Then you can buy yourself a cloak?”

Alice looked at me as if I was crazy, and I found that I couldn’t really fault her in that assessment. I sighed because Alice was confused, so I took her hand.

What was I thinking? That was a huge mistake!

The Reaper doesn’t hold hands!

I only held Alice’s hand in order to pull her away from the ridge of course! I could hear a search party down on the hill. They had hounds so I had to take her deeper into the woods. It was getting darker now so Alice kept stumbling and tripping. She was starting to shiver and we were moving too slowly. In the end I got frustrated and just put her over my shoulder. Alice seemed happy enough with that, given that she fell asleep a few seconds later. After that we made much better time.

The Cave

Before long I found an animal trail. It was too obvious so I veered off to a smaller side trail, then found a cave. I could see the remnants of an old fire, so I hadn’t been the only person to discover the cave. It was a good cave. I decided to add caves to the list of things that I liked, especially as the rain was just starting to get heavier. Caves protect you from the rain! Trust me!

I’m still unsure about the rain? Sometimes the rain works for me, and sometimes the rain works against me. A light drizzle is nice, however, if it’s cold, I prefer no rain! However, I hate sleet! I think most people hate sleet? Apart from maybe inn-keepers? There was a tavern in the town! I decided I’d ask the inn-keep whether he liked sleet or not. And what the difference between a tavern and an inn was. And whether he was a tavern-keep? I thought it was something to do whether they had beds, and yet I knew of inns that had beds and taverns that didn’t?

I’d rather have taken Alice to a tavern! Or an inn!

Anyway, the previous occupation of the cave was explained when Alice woke up and whispered. “My brother and his friends used to camp out in this cave. My brother is dead. I didn’t like my brother much. He wasn’t a nice person, but I didn’t want him to be killed. He won’t camp here again!”

I found that I didn’t really have anything to say in response to that. Besides, it seemed more of a statement than a question to me. So instead I took off my cloak then laid it on the ground at the back of the cave, where it was dry. I had to somewhat prod Alice, without touching her, towards the back of cave. I already felt bad about slapping her, but she finally lay down in terror. However, as I wrapped her up in my cloak, she relaxed a little. I gave Alice a drink of water, then decided it might be best if I left her my water bottle. I said. “You’re only borrowing my water bottle Alice. I love my water bottle! Just like you’re only borrowing my cloak. I love my cloak! I’d like both of them back. You can get your own later. I’ll steal money from the raiders I kill, in case you don’t have any money to buy your own. I love stealing things. But I don’t steal from children or old ladies! Or old men for that matter! Well, not very often anyway!”

For some reason, Alice didn’t look terrified of me any more. That was a bad sign. Everyone was terrified of The Reaper! Alice was instead looking at me in something like amusement? That was even worse! Nobody looks at The Reaper in amusement!

Alice seemed to realise this, so instead she looked at me seriously. That was good. I noted that Alice was shivering, so I said. “I wouldn’t normally light a fire, but it’s going to be a cold night and you’re wet. It needs to be a very small fire, so that it isn’t spotted. I filled the water bottle up at the stream whilst you were sleeping, so the water is very cold. Sip at it slowly and leave it by the fire. I’m going to put the hood of my cloak over your head, but don’t worry, you’ll still be able to see. You need to be able to see! Being able to see is important. Trust me! Then I’m going to cover you up properly! The reason I put you in this corner is because it keeps you hidden, and this is the warmest spot. Stay here. The rock above you will retain some of the warmth. You see warm air goes upwards, but it will be trapped by the rock. So it will help keep you warm. That’s what warmth does. It goes up and it keeps you warm. Alice, may I touch you?”

Alice froze at those words, then looked at me in horror and shook her head. I really didn’t like that, so I explained. “Alice, your socks and boots are soaked through? After running through the stream? I’d like to take your boots and socks off. I’ll leave them right here, next to yourself and the fire. That way they will dry quicker? Sleeping in wet boots and socks isn’t wise. Trust me, I’ve done it before. It’s not advisable.”

Alice replied. “I can take my boots and socks off myself!”

I shook my head at that, given that Alice was barely conscious. “No you can’t Alice. You’re exhausted. I will try not to touch you. I promise I won’t slap you again. I am really sorry about that. I only slapped you very lightly, in order to get your attention and focus. I’ll leave your boots and socks to dry by the fire? Right here?”

Alice nodded at this, so I took off her boots and socks, then laid them next to her. “When I come back you won’t hear me coming Alice. So if you do hear anything it might be the raiders. Your priority is to get your socks and boots back on first! They should have dried by then. After that, you will run and hide. Loop round to the South, then head towards town. Because I’ll be headed towards town and I’ll have killed the scouts to the South by then. Don’t run off without your socks and boots! You have good socks and boots! Kick the raiders with those boots if they come for you!”

I considered that. “Actually, I’ll leave you one of my knives. I’m only letting you borrow my knife! I love my knives! Knives are more efficient than kicking with boots! Trust me! And if you do run off, don’t run off without my cloak, my water bottle, my knife, and this little box. It has a flint and steel, and tinder in it! You only need them if you’re cold, or just in case I get killed, or your thirsty, or you need to stab someone, or the fire goes out. I mean, nobody kills The Reaper, but just in case they do kill me! Not that they could! And nobody can kill you, because you’re under my protection!”

I realised I was rambling. I tend to do that a lot, so continued rambling. “But The Reaper doesn’t protect anyone! The Reaper kills people! But I won’t kill you! I recommend all these things! Well, apart from getting killed. I’ve never been killed myself, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t recommend it! It doesn’t seem like much fun, and I know a lot about killing! I don’t want you to die because you’re strong, and beautiful, and you have the most amazing eyes! You can keep these things for now, I’m only loaning them! I want them back! You can buy your own! With the money I steal for you! From the raiders! I don’t steal from children, old men, or woman! Well not very often anyway!”

Alice was looking at me like I was crazy, which was, again, a fair assessment, but there was a hint of a smile in there? I continued. “Nobody smiles at The Reaper! I kill anyone who smiles at The Reaper! Well, apart from you Alice! I wouldn’t kill you! But don’t smile at The Reaper! Anyway, get some sleep Alice. Stay here, and stay quiet. Once I’ve killed all the raiders, I’ll come back for you. Then I’ll take you into town. And I’ll have stolen enough shards from The Raiders that you can buy all these useful things. Cloak. Knife. Water bottle. Tinderbox. Med-kit. I can recommend a few other items as well. They’re essential when being chased by raiders. Or when anyone’s chasing you for that matter! I don’t want anyone to chase you! I won’t let anyone hurt you! I promise! A lot of people chase me and it’s not very nice! But you know that! I’ll go and kill them for chasing you!”

It was dark now, with only the fire providing enough light to see, and I saw Alice smile at me again. I didn’t like that! Nobody smiles at The Reaper! And yet, I liked it when Alice smiled at me? She had concussion, so I decided not to kill her for smiling at me!

As I moved to leave, Alice called after me. “Thank you Reaper!”

I didn’t like that either! Nobody thanks The Reaper! And yet, I liked it?

No, I didn’t like it! Nobody thanks The Reaper! But she had concussion!

I paused, then turned to Alice. I tried to glare at her, but my heart just wasn’t in it. Instead I dropped to my haunches and semi-glared at her. “Nobody thanks The Reaper! Nobody smiles at The Reaper! Stop confusing me! Stop looking at me with your eyes! Well, obviously you look at me with your eyes? What else would you look at me with with? But… look you’re muddling with my head Alice! You’re beautiful! Just stay here! I’m going to kill you for smiling at me! And for thanking me! And nobody will ever hurt you! I promise! So I might not kill you! Look..? Will you just stay safe? Stay warm! Stop looking at me with your eyes! And stay quiet!”

As Alice met my eyes, which I think she had already been doing, and I was pretty sure was exactly what I’d just told her not to do, I saw something more than firelight sparkle behind them? There was something in her eyes that seemed to be somewhere between a smile, amusement, and… there was something more? I felt a warmth burning in my stomach that seemed to spread outwards to ripple up my spine? She’d cast a spell on me! Alice was a witch!

She was a good witch because it took all my willpower to break eye contact with Alice.

Actually, that’s a complete lie! I have no idea how long I sat there staring into Alice’s eyes as they danced in the firelight. As Alice’s eyes stared back into mine. Actually, in the end, I didn’t break eye contact with Alice. After far too short an eternity, Alice’s eyes closed as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Alice was a witch and that broke her spell! Or so I’d thought?

I just stayed there? Watching Alice! That’s a creepy thing to do! Trust me! When people wake up to find me watching them sleep, they scream!

And yet, Alice wasn’t afraid of me?

I watched Alice’s shallow breathing. I watched her neck rise and fall with each breath. I was only watching her to make sure that she was still alive of course. After yet another too short an eternity, it felt a bit creepy to watch her sleeping. I was worried she’d wake up and start screaming! I didn’t want Alice to scream! Only because she might alert the raiders of course!

I wearily got to my feet to leave the cave. Then I paused. I covered Alice up better with my cloak because she was cold. I put another few pieces of wood on the fire. Then I moved her boots and socks a little closer to the fire, so they’d dry off quicker. Then I moved her socks a little further away, in case the caught fire! Burnt socks aren’t nice! Trust me! Actually I’ve never worn burnt socks before, but it doesn’t sound like much fun!

The fire was a risk, but Alice needed the heat from the fire.

No! Stop using her name!

I was only using her name so much because she was in shock! Because she was concussed! My summoner needed the heat from the fire! I fetched some extra wood for my summoner so she’d have wood to put on the fire when she awoke.

Why was I so confused? Anyway, it was time to go to work.

I reluctantly left the cave. It was a perfect night. It was dark, but I could see well enough. I have brilliant night vision. Though not as good as bats! And bats don’t even have eyes! They use echo location! I tried to learn echo location, but had limited success! I think it’s to do with their ears! It’s a popular misconception that The Reaper can turn into a bat! Actually I created that myth! You see I was being chased by a small army and I was hiding in a cave. They had tracked me down, so I annoyed all the bats and the people chasing me actually thought I’d turned into bats? It was hilarious. They ran so fast! They’d ran away from bats! I was still laughing whilst I killed them!

I love bats! Apparently people call a lot of bats a cauldron! I wish I could turn into a cauldron of bats! I’m not a witch though, I’m a Demon! I wonder if Alice could turn into a cauldron of bats? Given that she was a witch? Given that every time I met her eyes I got confused? I was actually starting to doubt that she was a witch, because then she would have flown away? Or maybe witches need a cauldron? I wonder if Alice has a cauldron? If I could turn into a cauldron of bats, I wouldn’t mind being a witch? Though cauldrons are pretty heavy! Fact! I dropped one on some really nasty peoples heads once. From the battlements! In a castle! Well it was more like a small fort to be honest! But castle sounds cooler! They understood just how heavy the cauldron was! Actually, that’s a lie! They were pretty dead by that point!

I’d like to be a witch Demon? A witch Demon that didn’t have to carry a cauldron about?

Sorry, what was I talking about again? The rain? The rain was no more than a drizzle. I wasn’t cold. Alice wasn’t cold. I could see the moon through a gap in the clouds, and it was close to full.

I love the moon! I’d love to see the full moon one day! I had forgotten to ask Alice if she’d ever seen the full moon. Of course Alice had seen the full moon! Especially if she was a witch!

I shook my head in confusion! I had to remember who I was! I had to remember what I was!

Because I had a lot of people to kill!

I am The Reaper!

And tonight was a perfect night for killing!

That thought didn’t really cheer me up very much. I was just trying to stay positive. I despondently started making my way down the hill.

I love killing! I love death! I am Death! I love blood! I love tears! I love killing, and please make it stop!

What the hell is wrong with the world?

I wanted lemonade! Illusion Rum! Chocolate cookies! A full moon! The screaming to stop! No more blood! No more killing! Music! Not music played out of fear! And roast chicken! With thick gravy! Alice to not be eaten by hounds! And a breeze! There was a breeze! Sending my scent to the hounds!

And there was an inn! Or was it a tavern? I’ve never drank ale before! I bet ale tastes better than the pine needle tea I made! And blood!

I was in a very bizarre mood.

I reached out with my senses and something was seriously wrong here?

I could sense ‘Miasma’? Yes, I know. Look I’d just been born and I had to name my magical sword in a hurry. That’s because I was surrounded by an army trying to kill me. I considered ‘River Of Blood’ (naff), ‘Blood Letter’ (done before and rubbish), ‘Blood’ (shorter but confusing), ‘Stained Glass’ (I like stained glass so no), Stain (reminded me too much of stained glass), then settled on ‘Miasma’ (kind of creepy, and short, and I was in a hurry)!

But the problem was that I’d left Miasma buried half way to the hilt in stone (yes I know, it’s been done before, but I was in a hurry at the time) hundreds of miles away! And it wasn’t very good stone. Someone surely must have stolen it by now? They were welcome to Miasma!

So, contrary to common folklore, I don’t use a scythe! I don’t and never have owned a magical scythe! Scythes are very heavy, not very well balanced, not very subtle, and not very good for fighting with! Actually, I did try a scythe out once! Once was enough!

Anyway, The Reaper doesn’t use magical knives either! My knives are however the best knives you will find anywhere! Well anywhere I know of anyway!

However, during my first summoning, I did have a magical sword! As I said, I was in a hurry and I named it Miasma! Maybe that’s why Miasma doesn’t speak to me any more?

Stop! Don’t go there!

Maybe Miasma didn’t speak to me due to the rubbish name? Well, speaking is the wrong word? It’s not like we had a chat or anything? It’s more like I made a promise to Miasma! No? I made an oath to Miasma!

Stop!

I shook my head in confusion. How was it possible that I could sense Miasma? And Miasma wasn’t just close by? Miasma was hidden in an abandoned cottage just a mile from where I was?

Stop! Don’t you dare! Stop!

That was far too much of a coincidence, so I paused! I threw my senses out into the world, and realised that Miasma was roughly where I left it? That seemed highly improbable? And how could she be in two places at the same time?

The sword close by wasn’t Miasma? But it was the chance of Miasma? It was almost like the brother, or sister, or who knows what, of Miasma? That kind of made sense! It was basically another magical sword? Even though it wasn’t Miasma, all these magical swords were somehow linked! They could speak to each other! But, again, it wasn’t like they had a chat and a cup of tea? They were, aware of each other?

Beats me! I don’t understand it either!

I knew where my blade was!

It was far away!

But there was another blade close by! That was too much of a coincidence, as they’re extremely rare?

I threw my senses out further and stumbled to my knees.

Well they were reasonably rare. It seems there were hundreds of them. And those were just the ones I could detect!

But there was only one Miasma!

And I was screaming at them in fury...

The sound of my sword vibrating to a standstill, lodged within the cobblestones? That sound still, somehow, seemed louder than my screams?

I marvelled as Miasma caught the light from the stained glass windows. The sword was a thing of sheer beauty! And I had defiled it!

No matter the colour of the sun as it shone through those stained glass windows? No matter how fiercely the gold sparkles within the red might once have been? Blood was always red!

And there was so much blood!

I hate blood! I hate the smell of blood! I hate the taste of blood!

There was so much blood! And Miasma despised me! Rightly so! Not just for naming her such, but for abusing her trust! For breaking my oath within minutes!

Even if I wanted to use the magical sword, it was useless to me! I’d made an oath to Miasma, and all the blades knew that! You don’t get a second chance with these things! Trust me!

I’d left Miasma buried half way to the hilt in the stone around a hundred miles away!

Miasma had trusted in me!

That was a stupid thing to do!

As all know, nobody trusts in The Reaper!

The Reaper kills! The Reaper is Death!

I am The Reaper!