The Crystal in the Chasm

chapter 5

I had retreated soon after back into my hammock with another book in my lap, a sense of giddiness plaguing my mind aside a sense of dread. A private mission with Death Bringer for company seemed like the last thing either of us wanted. So why had he chose me
to go with him? It was absurd!

The door creaked open and closed, my eyes never leaving my book as I twirled a strand of hair through my fingers absentmindedly.

"You smell of sadness. It wreaks." Death Bringer waltzed into the room with a swagger, pulling a wooden chair up to the desk that held the map. He must've dragged it back to the center of the room several times.

I couldn't stop the small chuckle under my breath. "You wreak of drugs. I don't care for your unwanted observations."

He began removing his jewelry one by one carefully and skillfully, his inked fingers familiar with the motions. My eyes drifted off the page of the book to watch him as he moved, more like an animal than a man.

"What could someone like you possibly grieve?" His words were harsh but his tone was neutral.

I eyed him, "Someone like me?"

"You know who you are. I shouldn't have to remind you, Helena."

My body froze, my name hanging over my head like an invisible sword. "You made a bargain," I practically whispered.

"Aye never said I was going to tell, but I need not remind you," he leaned back in his chair casually, his back still to me as his fingers unclasped his necklaces from around his neck. "The necklace you wear I will allow you to claim as your own in exchange for your thoughts."

I tensed and shut my book with only a finger to hold my place, "Why do you care?"

He seemed to still, his hands falling to his side before he turned to face me. Then he shot me a lazy grin. He looked so boyish and not anything like the lethal predator he really was. "Do you want it or not?"

My free hand rolled the amethyst crystal hanging from the string around my neck through my fingers and gently caressed the crystalline edges. "It is rather beautiful..." I whispered. I could share a small piece of myself in exchange for it. 

"There was a boy... Your dream flower just took me to a place I hadn't thought about in a long while," I glanced out the porthole window, my eyes avoiding his.

Death Bringer was entirely still. "You loved this boy?"

I pondered for a moment. "I suppose in a sense. Though I wasn't old enough to really know what love was."

"Why didn't you two work out?" His boots kicked up onto his hammock as he slouched in the turned chair.

I felt an instinctual small smile plaster across my lips. "Do you recall the Prince of Faerie? It was many years ago... I considered him a friend."

My fae hearing tuned into the sudden change of sound in the room. A heartbeat had jolted slightly. It wasn't mine. I eyed Death Bringer suspiciously. "What?"

"The Prince of Faerie was..." he seemed to think for a moment, "a reckless bloke. The kid had it coming."

My book slammed shut entirely, toppling to the floor as I rose to my feet before I could think. My legs carried me over to him, shoving his feet off his hammock as his boots thudded to the floor. Then I was in his face, my teeth bared. "Don't you dare speak of him. He was just a boy!" I spat angrily and viscously as my hand collided with his cheek.

Death Bringers eyes widened, my reflection staring back at me in the darkness of his wide pupils. A subtle hand print was forming under the surface of his skin. His lips parted slightly as he blinked up at me glossily. Then he smiled again, his eyes flickering with something unreadable.