GRIM

An abrupt knock took me out of concentration.

“Come in.”

The new assistant scrambled through the doors and halted ten feet away. His whole body trembled through his cheap knockoff suit. 

What was his name? Grant—no. Craig? 

I sighed. It didn't matter if this one had a name. They all dropped like flies regardless. Calling them by the numbers engraved on their forehead was more efficient. Five hundred and fifty-two. 

He had more time than the last one. How unfortunate.

With a slight tilt to the head, I growled, “What are you waiting for? Spill it.”

The guy flinched and shuffled to my desk, dropped a stack of files on it, and returned to his original spot. 

Lucifer loved to send the cowards. You think after a couple of centuries in Hell, the souls would turn less—pathetic. But he wasn't known for his generous disposition. 

The chair creaked as I leaned back. The sound cut through the assistant's heavy breathing and my eyes lingered to his squeezed fists.

Nervous sweat dripped down his face and already saturated his white shirt. Disgusting.

I wrinkled my nose and cleared my throat, letting him know I wouldn't tolerate his imprudence much longer. 

“I-I found the one who's been fuckin—I mean, messing up the balance. Everything you need to know about her is right there.” 

After I dealt with this error, it was about time I clean house. These subordinates were useless. It shouldn't have been this complicated to find one, measly reaper.

No matter, I could finally squash the issue and get Death off my back. He was becoming insufferable these days. 

A grin stretched my lips and a muffled squeak came from in front of me and my muscles went slack again. 

I rubbed my temple. “You’re excused.”

“Yes sir but there's one more—”

“Get out!” I slammed my fist down and in seconds; the guys flew out of the room and the office was calm again.

The assistants were petrified of me. For good reason, but I had no desire to have them like me. I may pity them but no way would I allow myself to get attached. I didn't need a pet that wouldn't even last a slither of my life span.

A deep and agonizing itch spread across my forearms. It nagged me and drove me to the break of insanity.

Fantastic.

All the lights flickered and through the fog-tinted windows, darkness encased the hallway.

Death was the last one I wished to deal with today. His temperament was exhausting and fighting the cursed leash he placed on me grew more potent the closer he got.

The door creaked open and Death swathed the office. His tall and thin frame was hidden by a black robe. 

Death raised his bony wrist and pointed. “You knowI don’t like to see my scales out of balance. Why would I have you if I didn't need stability?” his cold voice thundered against the walls, and the muscles in my jaw tightened. 

A rhetorical question he didn't care if I answered. 

I tapped the file on my desk once more.

My eyes lingered to the name Estelle as I traced it with my pointer finger before looking up. “Lucifer has his demons and you . . . have me.” I narrowed my eyes. “I haven’t forgotten how to do my job.”

Death grinned. His shadow-like hair flipped in excitement. “Good. Fix it before I eradicate them all. Starting from scratch is so bothersome and gives me more work than necessary.”

I gave Death a nod and he glided out of the office, probably striking terror into the other reapers. He's been around since the beginning and I assume that's what molded his twisted sense of humor.

I grabbed the file off my desk. Estelle Viro. Big eyes and a long list of errors. 

A shot of pain hit me between my shoulder blades and I worked out the knot as I turned the chair to face the city. The bright lights strobed and an odd thought entered my mind.

I wondered how much time this reaper had until they ceased to exist.