💀Death's Apprentice💀

Chapter Two: Death and the Karma's

Rose Delaney

"Wait!" The man called after me as I stomped down the hallway. "You're not technically dead yet. Give the Scythe back, and I'll put in a good word with both of the Karma's!" He pleaded. I wheeled on him again, holding the Scythe firmly as I let the blade rest at the base of his throat. My eyes narrowed. They were no longer glowing, but they still felt strange. In the reflection of the Scythe's blade I had seen a glimpse of them. Instead of brown they were now the same eerie blue as the glow had been.

There was a certain...power running through me. Blue flashes of light swam all my through my veins. It was tingly, and warm, and gave me a sort of odd energy. If I had been sitting at a table I probably couldn't have stopped my foot from bouncing up and down. I shoved the energy aside and glowered at the tall stranger before me.

          "Karma isn't a real person, and there certainly aren't two." I growled suspiciously. The stranger took his pointer finger and gently pushed the blade away. I took a step away, but kept the blade up. He took a calming breath.
           "Oh, yes they are. Good Karma and Bad Karma are twins. And they just so happen to love their job. As they should, of course." The man said. I regarded him cautiously. The scythe lowered in my hands.
          "Why?" I asked curiously.
          "Neither kind of karma can be biased. If they didn't love their jobs, then some people wouldn't get fair judgements. There would be lazy judgements, busy judgements, etcetera. It's a pretty busy job." He explained.
          "You seem to know a lot about it." I spoke.
          "Death and The Karma's are the best of friends." The stranger remarked.

"And you're Death?" I asked.

"Well...technically I'm an assistant." He admitted.

"...Death...has an assistant?" I said incredulously.

"Well, yeah! Death can't be the same person for all eternity or there wouldn't be fair deaths either. It's hard to do your job well if you hate it. If you had the same job all your life wouldn't you hate it?" The apprentice rambled. "Anyway I'm Death's assistant now so I can be Death later. And I really need that-" He pointed at the Scythe, "-so that the world can stay in balance and you don't, you know, start an apocalypse..." I squeezed the scythe tighter.

"There are other ways to get your revenge, you know. You have the information you need to take him down. Killing him isn't worth what it will take. Consider this a second chance at life. Do you really want to start your new life by killing someone when there's another way?" He reasoned with me.

My grip began to loosen. I stared down at the weapon in my hands. I knew better. He had no loyalty to me-especially after I kicked him and stole from him. As soon I have it back he would probably just kill me. My gaze flicked back up to him. I could tell the look in my eyes worried him.

"He took the files and my phone before he killed me." I stated in annoyance. His shoulders sunk. "So I'll make you a deal. First of all do not kill me." I snapped. He pointed a finger in the air.

          "Technically I'm not kill-" He started.

          "Second of all help me get my stuff back, and I'll give you the scythe back. I don't die, you get your toy, and a heartless psychopath gets prison time. Sound like a good deal?" I finished. His eyes widened. Of course he wanted to say no...but it was the only way to get the Scythe back without being stabbed by a human... What a way that would be to end his career-before it even started.

          "Fine. But I really don't like this." He frowned.

          "Aww you poor thing...I don't care. Let's go." I grinned before turning on my heel and stalking down the hallway. I could hear the stranger hurrying after me. He grit his teeth as he jogged to keep up with my motivated pace.

"You can't imagine all the different rules I'm breaking. There isn't exactly a textbook, but a mortal handling the Scythe at ransom probably isn't exactly recommended. Aren't you scared of radiation? Death turning you into a frog? Not to mention all of the supernatural beings that will eat you alive just to get to the Scythe? Are you even listening?" The apprentice ranted. I ignored him. He was just trying to scare me.

"Where are we going?" He groaned.

"A little place called Ellewood." I answered darkly.