Read Online The Banshee's Desire by Victoria Richards - Free Book Online

different regions. Actually, this Galesburg Falls place is out of my zone. But since you are a special case, adjustments must be made."
    "So who is your boss?"
    "Ever heard of the goddess Morrigan?"
    "Maybe. She sounds kind of familiar."
    "She's in charge of all things Irish, Celtic, and Welsh. It's quite a little enterprise actually and she's been running it successfully for thousands of years," Death said. "But I digress. I didn't come here to explain the mysteries of the world to you."
"Then why are you here? How did I even get on the astral plane?"
    "You did that yourself. You've been repressing your banshee nature here in the hospital, haven't you? But your subconscious knew what to do. It allowed you to walk the astral plane and reap souls as you would if you were really dead. Albert O' Hara was one of your countrymen, one of your charges."
    "So if he'd been Jewish or Korean, I wouldn't have reaped his soul?"
    "Ah, that's the thing. See, you're drawn to those from Morrigan's Celtic line. That's normal and as it should be.  But for some reason, you're also able to reap any soul you choose. That makes you unique, an abnormality." Death leaned closer. "I thought this might be a nice opportunity to warn you that I'm watching you too. So are the other reapers. You're not making any friends with them, my dear."
    Jacqueline drew back as the stale smell of mold and mildew came from Death.
    "What do you mean?"
    "For one thing, you take souls without the body being ready to let go. That's bad business. It throws off the balance of nature. And you reap what doesn't belong to you, souls that should be taken by the reaper assigned to them." Death said. "I can't have that."
    "Alright, I'll be more careful," Jacqueline said, nervously.
    "You better be, but I think you'll find it difficult."
    "Why?"
    "Because on the astral plane, you are whole and doing what you are meant to do. On the mortal plane, your human feelings blind you. They cause you to feel things like revenge, anger, desire. Emotion clouds your judgment, makes you do things with the heart rather than the mind." Death stood up. "I know you've been conflicted. I know you've been torn with a need to reap, to kill without discretion."
    "No, that's not true." But even to Jacqueline's ears, the words sounded like the lie they were. "I don't know what you're talking about."
    "Sure you do," Death's voice grew soft as she moved even closer to Jacqueline. "I've been testing you, making sure you can see my mark. You did well until the other night. You had the option to leave Jacob Fortensky alone or to be an instrument of death. We both know the choice you made was based on human emotion, on human desire. The pleas of those spirits got to you. You can't let that happen. You must ignore such things, no matter how much they tug at the proverbial heart strings."
    "He deserved to die."
    "Did he? Perhaps," Death nodded. "Perhaps. But that's not your call to make."
    Death's black eyes stared into Jacqueline's. A prickle of pain ran through her and she found herself unable to breathe. A slow smile lifted the corners of Death's lips.
    "Yes, in here, on this plane, you are mine. And you will behave. Reap only what belongs to you," Death whispered. "Or else, I will be forced to extinguish your light. Do you understand?"
    Jacqueline nodded, still unable to breathe.
    Death stepped back and the spell was broken.
    "Of course, there is a way to no longer have to worry over these things at all," Death said. "You could let me kill your mortality now. Then you'd live here, doing the job destined for you."
    Die?
    It wasn't the first time Jacqueline had considered the possibility. It was what Toby had planned to do to her originally, not because he wanted to kill her, but because he'd known that it was the one way to ensure her safety. Being dead did have its advantages.
    But she'd fallen in love with Toby.
    Leaving him, never being near him again…even on the astral plane where her feelings were