Chapter 27 · Take the Collector's Name

"You want me to kill her?" I said. "That's the job?"

Mara smiled, sitting on the arm of the couch like she owned the place. Like she owned me. "Not kill. Collect. There's a difference."

"There isn't."

"Iris owes me a life," Mara said. "You're the Collector. Collect it."

Iris stood three feet behind me. I could feel her breathing. Fast. Shallow. She hadn't said a word since Mara walked in and changed the rules.

"No," I said.

"Then the curse stays," Mara said. "And the next time you die, you won't wake up with a power. You'll wake up as something else. Something that doesn't remember her name."

I looked at Iris. Her face was white. Her hands were clenched at her sides.

"She knew," Mara said. "Didn't you, sweetheart? You knew the seventh job would be you."

Iris didn't answer.

"Tell him," Mara said.

"Shut up," Iris said.

"Tell him why you picked him. Tell him what you needed."

"I said shut up."

Mara laughed. "You needed someone who could die over and over and still stand up. Someone who'd get strong enough to kill you clean. Because if you die messy, the debt doesn't clear. It jumps."