Soul to Reap

By Kelly Hashway

Astrid Lang and Endre Voll have been in competition since the day they became Reapers. So when the Moirai show up on Astrid’s doorstep and tell her she has to convince Endre to return to his reaping ways before they intervene, Astrid is baffled.

Endre has never shirked his reaping duties, or missed an opportunity to try to one-up her. So, what’s changed? And why would he risk facing the Moirai?

Astrid will have to put their competition aside if she’s going to save Endre—or her life will be on the line, too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelly Hashway
• Release date: Dec 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463387351

Kelly Hashway

Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but luckily she gets to write about female sleuths who are much more coordinated than she is. Maybe it was growing up watching Murder, She Wrote that instilled a love of mystery, but she spends her days writing cozy mysteries. Kelly's also a sucker for first love, which is why she writes romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she's not writing, Kelly works as an editor and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized.

Book preview

Chapter One

Whenever the Moirai showed up on my doorstep, I knew things were about to get interesting—and not in a good way. Atropos was the worst of the three Fates, forever flaunting the fact that she held the ability to cut anyone’s life short. Even a reaper’s like mine. Lachesis seemed to be all-knowing, which was downright unnerving at times. Clotho, the youngest of the three Fates, was the only one who didn’t completely scare the crap out of me, maybe because she had the ability to restore life. But it wasn’t like Clotho to pay me a house call, and that made my hands shake at my sides.

I tried to keep my voice steady as I asked, To what do I owe this pleasure? I gave a small bob of my head as a sign of respect. Though the fact that Clotho hadn’t brought Lachesis and Atropos along with her told me I wasn’t in any trouble. Not yet anyway.

I have a job for you. Clotho walked right past me into the house.

Sure. Come right in, I mumbled under my breath as I followed her inside, shutting the door behind us before she did anything to make nearby mortals suspicious. I’d managed to keep a low profile with my mortal neighbors, and I wasn’t about to let Clotho cause a panic in my new neighborhood. At least she’d altered her appearance to look like a college-aged girl instead of the old woman she actually was. She’d even left her white robe behind, opting instead for a flowy white top and white jeans. It was like color wasn’t in the Moirai’s vocabulary.

She stepped into the living room and looked around. My place was small, a modest ranch, but it had come fully furnished and suited my needs. Did you redecorate? Clotho asked, narrowing her eyes at me in confusion.

I was never the type to stay in any one place for too long. I was my job. Being a Reaper meant picking up and leaving on a moment’s notice. I never minded. I didn’t lay roots in any one place. Until recently. And I had to admit I felt safer from the Moirai here in this little suburban town that I was sure most people had never even heard of, much less visited. Not that I was one to break rules. I followed them. Mostly for one reason: I had to best my rival, Endre Voll. We’d been competing for more years than I could count. He thought he was the best Reaper of our time, but he had nothing on me.

I know you’re very busy, and your sisters are probably looking for you, so you don’t have to engage in small talk with me, Clotho. Though I appreciate the effort. I laced my fingers in front of me, trying to rein in my desire to flee and put as much distance between Clotho and me as possible. I might work for the Moirai, but it was never good when one came to deliver messages in person like this.

Clotho finally stopped assessing my place and answered my question. I’m here about Endre. He’s causing a bit of trouble for my sisters and me.

I stood up straighter at the news. When it came to his job, Endre did everything by the book. He was practically a favorite among the Moirai. If another reaper had shown up here and told me this, I’d be convinced Endre had put them up to it, that it was a stunt designed to get inside my head. The problem was the Moirai didn’t play games, and they didn’t do anyone any favors. Not without getting something in return at least.

Clotho met my gaze, her eyes as cold as ice and eerily white. Astrid, I know you and Endre don’t exactly get along, but if you don’t do this, Atropos will take action.

Atropos. I couldn’t imagine anything Endre would do that would piss off the Fate that could end him with a single cut of his life’s thread. And why would Clotho try to intervene on his behalf? What exactly are you asking me to do? I asked.

He’s been—Clotho tilted her head to the side as if listening to a conversation I couldn’t hear—off lately, she finally continued. None of us is sure exactly what it is, but he’s changed. The last time I saw him escorting a soul to the afterlife was months ago.

Months? That couldn’t be. Endre boasted about how many souls he escorted in a given week. Why would he go months without reaping? Still, I wasn’t stupid enough to call one of the Moirai a liar. Was there anything strange about the soul he last brought there? I asked, taking a seat on the arm of the black leather couch. Clotho had my full attention now.

She shook her head. No. He was a male in his early twenties. He played college basketball and was on the path to go pro.

Until he’d died and Endre had reaped his soul. It made sense. Of course, Endre would be the one to reap him. He always got all the best souls. Though I had numbers on my side. I’d reaped about fifteen souls in the past month—from all over the world.

A lot of things weren’t adding up, but one question stood out the most. So, why do you need me?

"Endre is refusing to reap his next soul. He already has a connection to her, so it would be