Free Grim Love - A Novella by Grae Lily

themselves, otherwise you'd all come to rely on me much
more than you should, and I don’t want that to happen. Learning by
doing is the most sensible way to do it. As you learn how each of
the spirits you come in contact with feels, you’ll know what's
supposed to happen to them. You'll figure it out in time. If I tell
you who’s strong, who will become a poltergeist, who might need to
be cleansed before they go in to be judged, and everything else
that I already know, then you’ll never learn it for yourself.
You'll always come to me.”
    “Do you know what’s going to happen to
Jasper?”
    “No. All we find out is that someone's going
to die, unless they’re stubborn, and when we find that out, we come
to where they are. There have been times when I wished I'd known in
advance because some deaths…” He shuddered. “You’re still a young
reaper, Evangeline, so you have no idea what it’s like to come
across a murder victim or someone who’s been involved in a three
car pile-up. There are those that are easy to deal with, like your
second professional reap, and then there are those you wish you
could have done something about, but part of the problem is not
knowing what’s going to happen.” He sighed. “I also have to take
into consideration that I’m not permitted to change too much. My
job is to reap the souls of the dead, not change things, no matter
how much I want to. You'll be able to change things when you become
a guardian.”
    “If he dies, Lucius, I’m not going to become
a guardian. I will work out my contract and join him in the world
of the dead when the term's over. The only reason I want to be a
guardian is so I can look after him.”
    “You'll be assigned other people, as well.
Every guardian is assigned three spirits to watch over. One of
yours will be Jasper. I think another will be Sam and the third's
still a mystery at this point.”
    “Why Sam?” He stared at her. “I changed his
destiny.”
    “Right, and that's the job of a
guardian.”
    Nodding, she looked over at where Jasper sat.
The coffee shop on the corner is one they'd been to before and they
both loved sitting outside. In part, because he could talk to her
without looking like a fool. The other part had nothing to do with
coffee or ambience. The right company made every situation seem
better. Seconds later, a car came screeching out of nowhere. The
driver pressed on the brake before flying into the side of the
coffee shop. Jasper didn't have time to move. As tears streamed
down Evangeline’s cheeks, she pulled her hand free of Lucius’ and
ran over, unable to stop herself even though she knew there wasn’t
anything she could to do help Jasper. He'd been thrown under the
car.
    “Jasper…” She knelt down beside him, unable
to touch any part of him, she felt Lucius put a hand on her
shoulder. “There's nothing I could have done.”
    “Sometimes it happens that way. He’s
fighting, Evangeline, I can feel it. Go with him to the hospital,
because there's a chance he could pull through and if he doesn’t
you’re going to need to bring his soul to me.”
    “I…” Panting, she wiped the tears off her
cheeks. “Is he going to know I’m there?”
    “Not any time soon. He’s very close to the
edge, but if someone…” The sound of sirens cut into his voice. “I
think, they got here fast enough. Let them do their job. Don't
intervene.”
    The reassuring hand disappeared. She had to
make her own decisions. Pushing aside the anger and the hurt she
felt, Evangeline knew she needed to step away so the emergency
personnel could work. “Oh, Jasper.” One of the paramedics shook his
head. “Oh, man, it's going to alright.” He looked at his colleague.
“We know this one. It's the Muldoon kid.” Looking down at Jasper,
assessing his injuries, “We're going to do everything we can to
help you, man.”
    “Driver’s out and walking. I have no idea
how, but there doesn’t appear to be a scratch on him. Looks