The fourth soul

Valeria is lying on her warm and nice futon that's so comfortable that she was almost nodding off to sleep when the reaping list came. It was only one name. She can handle that, she thought. She pulled up the full information.

Name: Neshi Brinstrone

Age: 30

Time: 2pm, November 8

Location: Bedroom, Brinstrone Mansion

Cause of death: Erotic asphyxiation

She sat up in shock, throwing her blanket aside. Did she just read it right??? What in the fishes?? She will be reaping one of her mortal enemies tomorrow! Should she be happy or mortified?

Neshi is one of Mark's twin sisters. She is also mean to Valeria. She has thrown a plate at Valeria once just because she doesn't like the food that was served. It hit Valeria on her head and left a huge bump and minor cuts when it shattered against her head.

Another time, Neshi dumped a pot of hot soup on Valeria's lap because she was on a diet and had specifically asked for low calorie, low fat, low carb soup but Valeria had forgotten and cooked the regular cream of broccoli.

Till today, Valeria still has the scars from the burns due to the hot soup Neshi poured on her. There were also many other incidents over the years, all of it cruel and meant to inflict pain and shame on Valeria. Neshi had indeed followed in her mother's footsteps in behaving cruelly towards Valeria.

"Erotic asphyxiation? What in the fish sticks is that?" Valeria wondered aloud.

She has never heard of such a thing. She took out her phone. It now has 60 missed calls and 40 messages from Mark and Erin. She ignored all of it. They can both fish off, she thought. She searched the internet for the terms 'erotic asphyxiation'.

According to one website, erotic asphyxiation is when someone uses their hands or plastic bags or specialised BDSM devices to choke their partner during sex for sexual pleasure. There were even some explicit pictures that go with that description.

Valeria stared at it in horror.

"Ugh.That is disgusting," she said out loud. "There are other ways to make sex interesting, like role play or even spanking but choking? Really? What a way to die," she continued.

"The fact that you humans like to have sex with anything and anyone you please is disgusting in itself," Ari said from his corner. He has not moved an inch and looking at him, he looked like he is fast asleep, which obviously he is not.

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Just because you didn't get some, doesn't mean it's disgusting for humans to have sex, bitter much demon?" she retorted.

The demon has probably never had sex before in his life, she thought nastily.

Wait, can they even have sex? She stared at his back in contemplation, wondering what's underneath his usual hoodie and black pants.

Does he have the usual male 'equipment' like human males? Or maybe it's all smooth and blank like those empty crotches on Ken dolls since reapers don't need to reproduce? Do they even need to reproduce? Wonder if the female reapers…

"I find that offensive lady, stop thinking about my anatomy and sexual prowess, I AM RIGHT HERE," he interrupted her thoughts without moving while emphasising the last three words.

She raised her middle finger at his back. Whatever, you asexual sexless demon, she thought 'aloud'.

At this, he rolled over, got up and walked to her. He pushed her down on her futon and leaned over her.

"Do you want to see for yourself how 'asexual' and 'sexless' I am?" he asked silkily.

She gulped and stared up at him in shock.

"I can demonstrate how reapers have sex right here and right now," he drawled.

Her pulse is racing at his proximity. His strong sharp features were even more impressive up close and his eyes were like the galaxy, a kaleidoscope of colours that she knows only someone with reaper powers can see.

She stared at his enticingly sexy lips and licked her own lips. She has not had sex for so many years. Nor has she had a man lean so close to her, his body almost touching hers, his breath on her cheeks, his face inches away from her, together on a bed.

Pull yourself together Valeria, this is a demon reaper here! She reminded herself and snapped herself out of the haze of desire. She glared at him.

"I thought you are injured, didn't look like you are in pain at all," she said pointedly.

He blinked at that and quickly got up and moved away, not looking at her.

"Of course I am injured, you stabbed me remember?" he said.

Ari went back to his futon, wrapped the blanket around him and lie down again with his back towards her.

"I need to recuperate, stop disturbing me with your relentless nattering about nonsense," he muttered.

Valeria raised her middle finger again at him. Annoying demon reaper! She thought.

"Not. A. Demon." Ari said firmly.

Demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon, demon!

She repeated the word in a litany in her mind. Just because.

"Shuddup Valeria Maeve Aurelaire Brinstrone!" he responded.

"I didn't say anything…what are you talking about? Quiet as a mouse over here," she replied. "It is not my fault that you like to listen in to my thoughts, which is very rude if you must know,"

He growled and mumbled incoherently, something that sounded like 'irritating fucking housewife'.

Valeria smiled evilly.

Ari is a demon. Ari is a demon. Ari is a demon. Ari is a demon. Ari is a demon. Ari is a demon. She thought repeatedly in her mind again. She knows it's childish but his churlish behaviour just begs to be teased.

He groaned and pulled his blankets over his head.

Satisfied that she managed to annoy the reaper, Valeria turned her attention back to the soul she had to reap tomorrow. How does she feel about reaping her hated sister-in-law? She was not looking forward to it, actually.

She felt rather ambivalent about it.

On one side, she is glad that the evil woman is meeting her end at such a young age but on another side, she didn't actually wish death on her as a revenge. She did think about using the reaping instrument to reap the souls of her in-laws in the beginning but she never would have gone ahead with it.

It is one thing to think about revenge and to think about killing someone you hate but it is quite another to actually go ahead and do it. Not that she will be killing Neshi with her bare hands. She will merely be doing her job as a substitute reaper.

Then the cause of death came back to her mind. Erotic asphyxiation. She wondered who is Neshi's sexual partner. As far as she knows, the evil blonde beauty doesn't have a boyfriend. She and her twin, Nesquai, are single and carefree.

The time of death was strange too. At 2pm. Usually the twins are out around that time, either to go for their spa session or facial or to shop and spend their brother's money. So it would seem that Neshi will be bringing her sexual partner over to her room for some kinky sex play tomorrow.

"Ugh. I really don't want to witness my sister-in-law having kinky weird sex, that's just gross," she said out loud, to no one in particular. She shuddered at the thought.

Maybe she will stand outside the bedroom and wait for the soul to come out. That's a better bet. Nothing will compel her to enter that bedroom now that she knows what Neshi will be doing in there before she died.

Her phone buzzed again in her bag. She knows who it is without checking. Will he never give up? It is already pass midnight.

"Suck that Mark Brinstrone, I'm going to sleep," she mumbled to her buzzing phone. She pulled her blankets up and curled up to go to sleep. Sleep claimed her almost immediately, exhaustion catching up to her after a full day of events.