Page 21 of The Reaper's Vice

How long has it been this time? Three days? Four?

Time blurs together during the really bad bouts of insomnia, and the longer I try to make out how long it’s been since I last slept, the more my head pounds. I focus on emptying my mind, dulling my sense of my surroundings as I pretend to pay attention to the black-and-white film blaring from the VCR.

I settle further into the cushions, breathing in a deep breath as I allow my eyes to close. Just for a second. I’ll only rest my eyes for a minute, and then I’ll get right back to watching Vee’s show. I’ll get right back to it in just a few more minutes.

Just a few… a few more…. a few…

I fall into a dream, except the dream feels a lot like a memory.

And it’s not even a memory, but a nightmare.

The vision takes root, pulling me apart and pressing my parts together into a mangled mass of flesh, blood and bone. Crows circle above, beady black eyes pinned on my skull— cracked open like a ripened melon to reveal the stinking, rotting brains within.

Worms.They whisper.Tasty, juicy worms.

A small crow streaked with silver-tipped feathers lands on the yellowed grass nearby, its beak open wide and coming closer.

Closer.

Closer.

CO

LS

E

R

And it’s not even a beak, but a mouth rimmed with hundreds of pointy, serrated teeth. Teeth for biting. Teeth fortearing.

Its eyes swell to the size of dinner plates, then shrink down to pinpoints, all the while the slurping, salivating mouth draws nearer.

“Please,” I whisper. “Please don’t.”

“Please, please, please.” It mocks in a voice that belongs to someone else. “Please don’t. Please. I’ll do anything. I’ll do?—”

“SERAPHINA!”

I wake in a frenzied daze, my vision hazy and a sheen of sweat coating my exposed skin, seeping into the couch cushions. I desperately try to blink away the fog, and my gaze locks onto Elvira’s face, desperate to hold on to something concrete.

“Where am I?” I whisper, my vocal cords scratching against sandpaper with every word. “What day is it?”

“It’s midnight.” Vee’s bony shoulders go taut with concern. She even goes so far as to place a hand on my forehead, the rare moment of contact causing me to jump. “You were having a dream.”

“I was having anightmare,” I correct, caught between the desire to shove her hand from my itchy skin or pull her closer. “I’m fine now,” I murmur, the former winning out as I brush her hand aside.

“Is it the same one?” Vee’s aura deepens to a green that’s practically black as I nod. “When’s the last time you slept, Seraphina?”

“Come on, Vee. You know I don’t keep track of those kinds of things?—”

“How. Long?”

“Ninety-two hours.” I sit up straighter, focusing intently on the film still blaring from the television. “Not the worst my insomnia’s been.”

“It’s also not the best.” Vee leans closer, her orange-flecked eyes taking in my profile intently. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have ground you up some Valerian root tincture.”

“Eh. You know how that stuff gives me the tummy rumbles.” I wave her off with a chuckle that sounds more forced than I intended.

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