What if Death wore a pretty black dress?Everyone in Oldtown had heard talk of the Reapers. Even though nobody had seen one in years, everyone whispered the tales: flying from rooftop to rooftop, stealing the souls of the unwary, letting their undead beasts hunt through the streets for any member of the community too reckless or fearless to heed the nightly curfew ... mysterious and terrifying, most feared to even mention them by name, lest they appear and gather your spirit away.For 11-year-old Romany, her greatest fears were less about the mythological Reapers and more about surviving a miserable life inside of Oldtown's solitary orphanage. Her stark white hair made her an obvious target for the bullies, and the cruel nickname of "Ratgirl" had followed her for years. But if Rom thought her troubles were behind her, being struck dead by a bolt of lightning would only open the door to an entire life of new ones.Finding out that she herself is a Reaper was only the first step, and by far the easiest. But now she is faced with the dark prophecy which ties her existence to the possible destruction of her home and its defense against another Reaper, Artifice, who is determined to kill her.Will Rom and her friends be reunited in time to help Oldtown-Against-the-Wall? What part do the ancient Machines play in their cities' past and future? And what darkness yet lies in wait for the citizens of Oldtown and Aesirium?Find out in this second volume of Steampunk Tales, containing the novels "Reaper's Return", "Into the Blink" and "The Crook and the Blade".