Soul Solution

By Katherine McIntyre

For Erik Anderson, the Copenhagen line is his curse. He takes the train every night en route to collect souls. Like any lovelorn fool, he bargained his own long ago, and now pays the price—a lifetime of loneliness as a grim reaper. Stay distant—that’s been his mantra and what keeps him sane.

Until Mina Castner drops into his life like a whirlwind, one spilled drink leading to staying up until dawn with the woman. He believed one night couldn’t hurt, but he sorely underestimated her determination. Every encounter between them is a reprieve from the guilt of reaping souls every night, but it can’t last. Even if she sparks long buried feelings, and even if her sheer presence intoxicates him, he can’t let this continue. For humans, his touch is poison, and if he slips up, it could cost her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decadent Publishing
• Release date: Jul 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781613338841

Katherine McIntyre

Strong women. Strong words. Katherine McIntyre is a feisty chick with a big attitude despite her short stature. She writes stories featuring snarky women, ragtag crews, and men with bad attitudes—high chance for a passionate speech thrown into the mix. As an eternal geek and tomboy who’s always stepped to her own beat, she’s made it her mission to write stories that represent the broad spectrum of people out there, from different cultures and races to all varieties of men and women. Easily distracted by cats and sugar.

Book preview

Soul Solution

A Beyond Fairytales Story

By

Katherine McIntyre

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Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Soul Solution

Smashwords Edition

Copyright  2015 by Katherine Macintyre

ISBN: 978-1-61333-884-1

Cover art by Syneca Featherstone

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

Look for us online at:

www.decadentpublishing.com

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A Note From Katherine

When I saw Decadent Publishing was doing the Beyond Fairytales Challenge, I had to participate—I love fairytales. And I got a weird one too, Hans Christian Andersen’s String of Pearls. Great thing about having a story with so little plot to work with meant I could really come up with something unique, and I did really have fun with this story. I tend to write spunky females and either sweet or snarky guys, but I’ve never tried to write a melancholic, or broody hero. The allure’s there—the emotional sort of guy, but there’s a thin line between the attractive burdened hero and the whiny man child. So the Beyond Fairytales Challenge became two-fold, because I wanted to challenge myself to write a believable, melancholic hero, although to be honest, I think Mina’s practicality helps a bunch. She’s the practical side of me coming through.

Soul collectors, forbidden love, and some spice—hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I loved writing it!

www.katherine-mcintyre.com

Soul Solution

For Erik Anderson, the Copenhagen line is his curse. He takes the train every night en route to collect souls. Like any lovelorn fool, he bargained his own long ago, and now pays the price—a lifetime of loneliness as a grim reaper. Stay distant—that’s been his mantra and what keeps him sane.

Until Mina Castner drops into his life like a whirlwind, one spilled drink leading to staying up until dawn with the woman. He believed one night couldn’t hurt, but he sorely underestimated her determination. Every encounter between them is reprieve from the guilt of reaping souls every night, but it can’t last. Even if she sparks long buried feelings, and even if her sheer presence intoxicates him, he can’t let this continue. For humans, his touch is poison, and if he slips up, it could cost her life.

Dedication

To the wonderful people in my life who support me—my family, my friends, and my caring husband.

Chapter One

Once upon a time….

The train, with all its chrome and blacked-out windows, ground to a halt at the station stop. Erik boarded, pushing past several old men in trench coats, while he made his way to the end of the car. The scent of starch and brass polish, nauseating in its urgency, filtered throughout the chamber. Night descended, darkening the windows even further and intensifying the cheap, yellowed lighting that tracked from front to rear. An older woman grimaced when he passed, but he kept his chin thrust high and his hands in his pockets. He had grown used to their looks. With hair long enough to brush past his eyebrow piercings, he wasn’t the collared, crew-cut man who blended into a crowd.

He rolled up his sleeves, leaving more ink on display—the swirls of a triskelion on his forearms. The tattoos showed up dark against his pale skin since the schedule he worked these days didn’t allow for much sun. A bitter sigh slipped past his lips.

Poor posture be damned. He slouched in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest as the train started moving again. The neon text Copenhagen Station scrolled across the overhead, signaling the next stop in the lineup.

For Erik Anderson, Copenhagen Station was the beginning of a chain—the start of his route. These were stops he’d traveled for ages while the seasons cycled and the years faded to dust. He’d passed his time long ago, but final rest lay far off for him. Sell your soul to a death dealer, and you don’t get rewarded with a steak dinner. He’d struck the bargain, and he was serving his sentence— collect a thousand souls.

The stench of stale cigarettes clung to his clothes. Who cared about the health hazards when he couldn’t die? He sank into the cushiony seat, settling into the cycle which had somehow become his life. This hellish loop was his territory, and he’d seen it all a thousand-and-one times since the day he’d bargained with his soul. The Gatekeeper owned him, which ruled out suicide as an escape. While the club-kid lifestyle might’ve once appealed to him, after he discovered even drugs wouldn’t dull his sharpened reality, he went into each round cold.

He stared out the window at the darkened horizon racing by. The water glittered under the moon’s careful watch, and, in the distance, steeples cut stark black silhouettes into the landscape of the distant city.

Reapers weren’t supposed to attract attention. They were supposed to be forgettable shadows in the night. Not that Erik could ever be, even if he tried. He had grown up with natural Scandinavian looks which tended to draw more than a couple of stares—fair hair, light eyes, and height enough to tower over most.

The polo-wearing poster boy he used to be would be shocked by his current appearance. Hell, he used to strut around like a peacock. Once he threw on piercings, tattoos, and an imposing frown, though, he wielded his appearance in a different way. If he was ice, they wouldn’t bother him. And if he was ice, maybe it would hurt a fraction less when he had to take their lives.

The train whizzed along with the neons for Copenhagen rolling across the top bar. Any minute, they’d be pulling into the station, and his workday would begin anew.

***

For a third time, Mina checked the purse at her side as she strode through the streets. A girl on her own, she could never be too careful of pickpockets and thieves. Granted, the way her black dress clung to her, she wouldn’t be good in a fight anyway. Gray pearl drop earrings dangled from her ears, and a spiked collar around her neck gave a dash of intimidation—at least she thought so. All in all, she felt tarted up and not comfortable in the least. Chances were the date would follow suit.

Worse, this wasn’t the usual online date where she could excuse herself if the guy wasn’t her flavor of ice cream. A coworker had set this one up after Mina skipped one too many happy hours, preferring to curl up with a book and her cat at home. People weren’t her forte, but her coworkers seemed concerned about the fact she was twenty-seven going on sixty.

Since the date was taking place at a club, she