Introduction

A week later Lisa sat in front of the dresser in her bedroom, with her best friend standing behind her.

“Stop squirming,” Pix said, running a comb through Lisa’s long hair.

“Is this really necessary? I know some of them that don’t put on makeup,” Lisa complained.

“You are going to be an assistant to a CEO, there are expectations of how you must look you know,” Pix answered, moving to dab some powder onto Lisa’s cheeks.

“You know so much about them, you should go instead of me,” Lisa grumbled, pouting.

“You know just as much as me sweetheart, you have the lives of millions of prerogatives to draw from, plus your boss would never allow it,” Pix countered with a smile.

“I know, but I never really pay attention when I’m on the job. This sucks Pix,” Lisa groaned.

Pix placed her hand on Lisa’s shoulder and squeezed gently.

“You will be okay Liss.”

Lisa put her hand on top of Pix’s and smiled, grateful for her friend’s presence. The two had been inseparable ever since they had woken up together as fledgling reapers in the sanctuary. Pix’s name was actually Alarriel but everyone called her by the nickname. Pix was dainty, with red hair, fair skin, and a cute innocent-looking face. She had lustrous gossamer wings that displayed a kaleidoscope of colors whenever she was in the sun. Her diminutive size and peculiar wings made the nickname Lisa had come up with stick.

 “Get up, let’s see how you look.”

Lisa stood and headed toward the full-length mirror set on the wall next to her closet. A tall young woman stared back at her dressed in a perfectly tailored grey blazer, a frill collared white blouse, matching slacks, and two-inch black heels. The girl in the mirror had flawless porcelain skin, shoulder-length midnight black hair, and large crowlike wings curled in behind her. Stormy grey eyes, a button nose, and a cupid’s bow of a mouth were set in a heart-shaped face adding up to an ethereally beautiful face. She looked classy in the formal clothes, a striking image of a woman born to wield power over others.

“You look gorgeous!” Pix exclaimed, pushing one of Lisa’s wings aside to remove a speck of lint from her blazer.

Lisa’s wings didn’t need holes to be cut into clothes to accommodate them, all she had to do was retract them into her back, put on some clothes and when she unfurled them, they would permeate through the clothes without tearing them. The reapers never understood how that worked.

“I feel weird, I’d rather put on my jeans and t-shirt,” Lisa mumbled half-heartedly. She could see that the outfit really did look great on her; the slacks emphasized her curves in a way she had never noticed in her usual getup.

“Appearances sweetheart, they are everything down there. Now get out of here, you don’t want to be late on your first day,” Pixie grinned making a shooing motion.

Lisa gave Pix a long hug then she took off at a trot and lifted off into the air, flying out of the roofless building and into the morning sky. Reapers lived in the sanctuary, a floating structure in the clouds that had massive buildings in the architecture of ancient Greek temples. The sanctuary wasn’t really in the clouds, it only appeared to be, it actually existed in a separate dimension that stretched into infinity. There were millions of buildings, most of them roofless, stretching far beyond the eyes could see or a reaper could fly. Millions of reapers lived in the sanctuary and the sky was dotted with them as Lisa flew. Flashes of red, black white, yellow, green purple, and silver wings in all designs and shapes, from the feathered bird-like type to the leathery bat-like designs, reapers had wings in variety. She nodded to a few she recognized and flew away from the sanctuary, savoring the feeling since it would be a while before she would be able to fly again.

Lisa flew downwards, willing her clothes to stay unrumpled by the wind. Every reaper had a small degree of power over reality and Lisa had found that if she concentrated enough, she could make little things happen. So she flew, faster than a peregrine falcon but not a single crease appeared on her outfit.

It wasn’t even 8 am but the city below was already alive with blaring horns and crisscrossing feet on the sidewalk. Lisa landed into the throng of people littering the entrance to the Lister building, still invisible to the human eye. She retracted her wings and they kept shrinking until they disappeared into her back, leaving her looking like another regular human.Se sighed and willed herself visible.

“Where did you come from?” a man dressed in rags sputtered, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Nowhere,” Lisa replied casually.

The man stared at her for a while longer then he walked away muttering about quitting drugs.

That was close, she would have to be more careful with how she used her abilities.

She took a deep breath and walked into the building, pausing at the sliding doors to take a deep breath. Zadkiel had told her to go straight to the 80^th floor so she headed there, passing well-dressed men and women that sat on couches in the lobby. She made her way up, punching the buttons on the elevator 3 times before she got it right. Stupid technology.

The elevator dinged open and she stepped out, heading for the receptionist desk where a girl sat, her face buried into her computer. The moment she heard Lisa she stood up and flashed her a brilliant smile as she sidled around her desk. The girl was almost as tall as Lisa, with features that hinted at a mixed-race heritage and she had a bubbly personality.

“You must be Lisa,” the girl gushed, wrapping her in a big hug. Lisa stood there, stiff as cardboard, not sure what she was supposed to do. Are hugs a common way of greeting strangers, she wondered. The girl quickly disengaged and gave her another smile, perfect white teeth flashing.

“I’m Natasha, but everyone calls me Tasha. I’ll give you a tour later, for now, go on ahead. Lucas’s office is right at the end of the hall,” She supplied.

Lisa was still struck speechless by the girl’s energy so she simply nodded her head and made her way down the hall. She came to the end of the hallway and saw that the door was already partially open so she just walked in.

Lucas Black stood behind his desk, his eyes cast down onto the screen of a computer. He looked totally different from when she had last seen him and for a second she thought she was looking at a different person. He had a tall muscular frame, short hair cut into a crisp crew cut, and light brown skin that gleamed with vitality. She already knew he was handsome but now that she was paying attention she realized the word handsome was inadequate to describe him. He had pink full lips, a strong clean-shaven jaw, and a small, vertical scar on his left cheek. She couldn’t see his eyes but somehow she knew they would be magnetic, like the rest of him. Wait, what I am thinking, she thought as blood rushed into her cheeks and a strange heat pooled in her belly. She realized her lips had been slightly parted the whole time she had been staring at the human who would be her boss for the duration of her investigation. She quickly sealed her mouth, her blush intensifying. What the hell is wrong with me?

She must have made some sound because Lucas suddenly lifted his gaze from the computer and their eyes met. She had been right, his eyes were dark and hypnotic, pulling her in like a whirlpool. The gaze went on for what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, the electricity between them almost crackling in the air. The heat running through her body built up and she had to look away but as she cast her eyes downward she noticed for the first time that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. How could she have not noticed? You were too busy ogling his face, that’s how her inner voice supplied.

Her earlier assessment that he was muscular had been an understatement. He had perfectly shaped pectoral and abdominal muscles, the bulges stretching his beautiful skin. He was built like the statues of Greek heroes of old, a perfect specimen of the human male.

The saliva had grown dry in Lisa’s mouth and she couldn’t string together a simple greeting. Lucas gave a tiny smirk and he spoke, his deep voice making Goosebumps erupt on her skin.

“So we meet again.”