{"id":1801,"date":"2014-04-28T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2014-04-28T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/?p=1801"},"modified":"2014-04-28T06:00:55","modified_gmt":"2014-04-28T13:00:55","slug":"dont-fear-the-reaper-by-michelle-muto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/2014\/04\/28\/dont-fear-the-reaper-by-michelle-muto\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Fear the Reaper by Michelle Muto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Reaper1400\"<\/a>Check out this coming-of-age fantasy tale from bestselling author Michelle Muto:\u00a0Don’t Fear the Reaper<\/a><\/em>.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Haunted by memories of her murdered twin, Keely Morrison is convinced suicide is her only ticket to eternal peace.\u00a0But in death, she discovers the afterlife is nothing like she expected.\u00a0Instead of peaceful oblivion or a joyful reunion with her sister, Keely is trapped in a netherworld on Earth with only a bounty-hunting reaper and a sarcastic demon to show her the ropes.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

When the demon offers Keely her ultimate temptation–revenge on her sister’s killer–she must determine who she can trust. Because, as Keely soon learns, the reaper and demon have been keeping secrets and she fears the worst is true–that her every decision changes how, and with whom, she spends eternity.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Download Don’t Fear the Reaper<\/a><\/em> from Amazon<\/a>, Barnes and Noble<\/a> or iTunes<\/a>.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Excerpt<\/span><\/h4>\n

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for they are with me.<\/p>\n

I repeated my version of the psalm as I watched the ribbon of blood drift from my wrist. I\u2019d hoped it would be a distraction\u2014something to stop me from wondering what my sister\u2019s dying thoughts had been. Exhaling slowly, I let the emptiness consume me.<\/p>\n

Jordan had kept my secrets and I had kept hers. In the end, it came down to just one secret between us that took her life. Now, it would take mine. I should have said something, but nothing I said or did now could bring her back or make anyone understand what she meant to me.<\/p>\n

Are you here, Jordan? Are you with me? Tell me about heaven…<\/p>\n

I told myself Jordan was gone, never coming back, but her memories continued to haunt me. I had no idea if there even was an afterlife. If God existed, I was convinced he had given up on me. Not once did I sense he\u2019d heard a single one of my prayers. I wasn\u2019t asking for the world\u2014I only wanted to know if my sister was safe and at peace. What was so hard about that?<\/p>\n

She should still be here. It wasn\u2019t fair.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d been the difficult one\u2014much more than Jordan. For a while, I\u2019d even gotten into drugs. Mom and Dad had worried I\u2019d get Jordan into drugs, too. But I wouldn\u2019t. Not ever. Besides, that part of my life had been over long before Jordan\u2019s death. A small gargoyle tattoo on my left shoulder was all that remained of my previous lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Mom and Dad started treating me differently after Jordan\u2019s funeral two months ago. She and I were twins, so I understood how hard it was for them to look at me and not see her. Sometimes, they wouldn\u2019t look at me at all. Mom went to the psychiatrist, but no one asked if I needed to talk to someone about what happened. No one asked if I needed sleeping pills or antidepressants. Yeah, sure. Don\u2019t give the former addict pills of any sort.<\/p>\n

Not one person saw the all-consuming suffering that gnawed at my soul. Why couldn\u2019t anyone see? Jordan had been more than my sister\u2014she\u2019d been my Samson, my strength. I would have done anything for her, and yet, I\u2019d failed her. I wasn\u2019t the one who\u2019d killed her, but I might as well have been. How could I ever live with that? My heart had a stillness to it since her death.<\/p>\n

I shall fear no evil.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t very well recite the first part of Psalm 23 because it said I shall not want, and I did want. I wanted to go back in time. I wanted my sister back. Clearly, goodness and mercy were never going to be part of my life ever again. In my mind, I saw myself walking through the iron gates of hell with demons cackling gleefully all around.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to die. Not really. I was just tired and didn\u2019t know of another way to stop the pain. Doctors removed a bad appendix. Dentists pulled rotten teeth. What was I supposed to do when my very essence hurt, when the cancer I\u2019d come to call depression made every decent memory agonizingly unbearable?<\/p>\n

Before I\u2019d gotten down to cutting my wrist (I managed to only cut one), I\u2019d taken a few swigs of Dad\u2019s tequila\u2014the good kind he kept in the basement freezer. I\u2019d used another swig or two to chase down the remainder of Mom\u2019s sleeping pills in the event I failed to hit an artery or vein. Then I\u2019d set the bottle on the ledge of the tub in case I needed further liquid encouragement. Instead of using a knife or a razor, I attached a cutting blade to my Dad\u2019s Dremel. The Dremel was faster, I reasoned. More efficient.<\/p>\n

It would have been easier to OD, I suppose. But I felt closer to my sister this way, to suffer as she\u2019d suffered.<\/p>\n

I recited the line from Psalms 23 again. It had become my personal mantra.<\/p>\n

The words resonated in my parents\u2019 oversized bathroom. I\u2019d chosen theirs because the Jacuzzi tub was larger than the tub in the hall bathroom. Jordan and I used to take bubble baths together in this same tub when we were little.<\/p>\n

Innocence felt like a lifetime ago. I searched the bathroom for bubble bath but came up short. Soap might have made the laceration hurt more so it was probably just as well. Besides, the crimson streaming from my wrist like watercolor on silk was oddly mesmerizing.<\/p>\n

The loneliness inside proved unrelenting, and the line from the psalms made me feel better. I prayed for the agony inside me to stop. I argued with God. Pleaded. But after all was said and done, I just wanted the darkness to call me home.<\/p>\n

I tried not to think of who would find my body or who\u2019d read the note I\u2019d left. I blamed myself not only for failing Jordan, but for failing my parents, too.<\/p>\n

My lifeline to this existence continued to bleed out into the warm water. Killing myself had been harder than I\u2019d imagined. I hadn\u2019t anticipated the searing fire racing through my veins. I reached for the tequila with my good arm but couldn\u2019t quite manage. Tears welled in my eyes.<\/p>\n

Part of me foolishly felt Jordan was here. The other part feared she wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Give me a sign, Sis. Just one.<\/p>\n

I imagined seeing my parents at my funeral\u2014their gaunt faces, red-eyed and sleepless. How could I do this to them? Wasn\u2019t the devastation of losing one child enough?<\/p>\n

No. Stop. A voice in my head screamed. Don\u2019t do this. Don\u2019t. Please…<\/p>\n

I shifted my body, attempted to get my uncooperative legs under me. I could see the phone on my parents\u2019 nightstand. I could make it that far. Had to. The voice was right. I didn\u2019t want to do this. I felt disorientated, dizzy. Darkness crept along the edges of my vision. Focusing became difficult. A sweeping shadow of black caught my attention. Someone stood in the bathroom\u2014not my sister. A man. Had I managed to call 911? I couldn\u2019t remember getting out of the tub. And why\u2019d I get back in? Did I use a towel?<\/p>\n

Mom is going to be pissed when she sees the blood I\u2019ve tracked all over the bedroom carpet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I told the man in black.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Keely. Don\u2019t be afraid.\u201d Not my father\u2019s voice. It was softer, with a hint of sorrow. Distant. Fleeting. Later, I\u2019d feel embarrassed about this, but for now I was safe from the nothing I\u2019d almost become. My teeth clattered from the chill. My eyelids fluttered in time with my breaths. The tub water had turned the color of port wine. The ribbons, the pretty, red watercolor ribbons were gone.<\/p>\n

Dull gray clouded my sight.<\/p>\n

A voice whispered to me, and my consciousness floated to the surface again.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2014okay, Keely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cold. So cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no fear in me as the man bent forward, his face inches from mine. He was my father\u2019s age, and yet strangely older. His eyes were so…blue, almost iridescent. The irises were rimmed in a fine line of black, and the creases etched at the corners reminded me of sunbeams as he gave me a weak smile. The oddly. Dressed. Paramedic. A warm hand reached into the water and cradled mine. My fingers clutched his. I sighed, feeling myself floating, drifting. Light\u2014high and intense exploded before me. No! Too much. Too much! I shuddered and labored to catch my breath, but it wouldn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n

Finally, the comfort of darkness rose to greet me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Download\u00a0Don’t Fear the Reaper<\/a><\/em>\u00a0from\u00a0Amazon<\/a>,\u00a0Barnes and Noble<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0iTunes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Find more from Michelle on her blog<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Check out this coming-of-age fantasy tale from bestselling author Michelle Muto:\u00a0Don’t Fear the Reaper.   Haunted by memories of her murdered twin, Keely Morrison is convinced suicide is her only ticket to eternal peace.\u00a0But in death, she discovers the afterlife is nothing like she expected.\u00a0Instead of peaceful oblivion or a joyful reunion with her sister, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[642,730],"class_list":["post-1801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-fantasy","tag-ya"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}