The Daughter of Death- *RAYOR*

Chapter 4: No Dirty Tricks

I opened my eyes. Everyone was staring at me. I felt odd. Somehow more fragile. Something, again, weighed down on me and I felt a peculiar warmth spread from my chest rapidly to the tips of my fingers and toes. I held out a hand to summon my scythe, but it didn't come. Like a clock winding down, I seemed to be weakening.

I ran to a broken mirror, picked up a shard, and gasped. My hair, which had always been so black it was almost blue, had turned brown, my eyes, green. My face had taken on a bronze complexion and, as the warmth settled on my body, I felt something pounding in my chest.

A heart.

"What happened?" I snapped. I looked round to Arielle, who looked horrified. Then, the realisation hit me with the force of a train. "How dare you?!" I screeched at her. "How dare you?! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"You can't," said Aster. I saw how shocked he was. "Blake, we need to go."

"No!" I tried to run at Arielle but Aster held me back. I kicked out and he let go, wincing in pain.

"I HATE YOU!" I screamed at Arielle, and I knew I would be ten times more terrifying if I were in my true form.

"I didn't mean to!" she stumbled back, her brother holding on to her.

"UNDO IT!"

"Will- will you kill me?" her lip trembled. "It's not my time, Blakely."

"How do you know my name?" I said, caught off-guard.

"I can't," said Arielle, snivelling pathetically.

"I can kill you without my scythe! I'll strangle you with my bare hands if I have to!"

"Blake, calm down!" said Aster, grabbing my wrist. The touch was a shock- icy cold on my warm skin. I shook his hand off, backing away from him, eyes wide. I felt an odd feeling that twisted my stomach and tied a knot in my throat. It took me a moment to realise what it was.

Fear.

"Hey, Blake," said Aster. He seemed to see the look in my eyes, for he spoke much more gently than he had to me before. "It's me. It's just me."

Something hot rose up into my nose and then tears pricked my eyelids. I looked away, pinching myself, forcing them back down. To be scared of Aster Vigilanco!

"We need to go back to the palace," said Aster.

"No!" I said. I hesitated. I didn't want to reveal to Arielle and Willow why.

Aster seemed to understand. Because if I went back, Death would be angry. He'd probably finish off Arielle, which I was fine with. But what if Arielle was really lying about not being able to turn me back? Then my chance to become a grim reaper again would be gone.

Play nice, I thought.

"Do you understand what you've done?" I asked Arielle. "You're not normal."

"I know I'm not," said Arielle, looking relieved.

"Who was it?" I demanded.

"Huh?"

"Which parent?" I said, trying for a kind tone. It must have sounded strangled, for Aster winced.

"My... father?" she said it like a question. I noticed that, even though Arielle was my age, she seemed to have rewound. She spoke with the maturity of a child not yet in her teens. But she had seemed perfectly fine down at the alley in Russia.

"Ari..." Willow pulled her back, biting his lip. I could tell he noticed too, but was no stranger to it.

"What happened to her?" I asked.