This Way to Hell: Reaped

by Riley Hunt

  As she turned to leave, I cleared my throat for all to hear, and she stopped. The Reaper went to open the gate, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “This old piece of shit.” She raised her foot up and kicked the edge of the red wood. “I can’t believe that it picked right now to glitch.”

  The woman let out a frustrated groan and shoved both of her hands in the depths of her long brown hair.

  “I can’t believe this is happening to me.” She paced back and forth around the gate. “Adam…if you can hear me, open the damn gate and take me home.”

  Somehow, within a few seconds, I managed to come up with a plan.

  It might not be the best one, but it beat losing a leg or arm when Adam closed on me like the last time I’d snuck through the gate.

  This Reaper was my ride whether she liked it or not. I would have a much smoother time going with her than going by myself. Adam wouldn’t allow anything to happen to one of Heaven’s holy soldiers. This was the only way to grab a soul for Davos. There were too many Reapers around to grab one from the gate, and I didn’t have anything that I could distract Cerberus with. Maybe I could annoy this Reaper so much that she would give me a soul just to leave her alone.

  “So, what, are you going to leave without saying anything to me?”

  “What do you want? You’re wasting my time. I have better things to do than standing here talking to you and getting insulted by you.” She stared at me with those beautiful eyes that looked as though she were a second way from stabbing me.

  “You are immortal. You have forever to do what you want. A little kindness goes a long way.” I gave her a subtle, closed-lipped, one-sided smirk—you know, the kind of smile that melts hearts and gets the girl. “Don’t they teach you that in Angel school?”

  But this one was a little more difficult than the women of Helius, who melted at most of the attention from non-daemons. The annoyance didn’t fade one bit from her face. In fact, I thought she was nearly ready to hit me. I could see it in the tightness of her temple and that her left hand was curled in a fist.

  “You should tell me your name. I want to know who I’ll be dreaming about later,” I insisted. The longer I held her attention, the easier it would be for me to catch a ride with her. The Reaper’s jaw stiffened.

  “Why does that matter? I shouldn’t even be talking to you.”

  “I just want to know. I’m Vex, by the way. I didn’t mean all those things I said. Life can get pretty boring, and it isn’t often that we get to see someone from the other side. I just wanted to talk with someone who isn’t a daemon or damned.” I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as possible. It had been a long time since I’d had to play the part of the sweet man trapped in the bad place.

  “Ana,” she spat out.

  “See? That wasn’t so hard. None of your holy friends are here to see you stoop so low.” I shrugged. It wasn’t as if I was asking her where she lived or if she liked her steak medium rare or well done, or if she’d ever fucked an imp. In my mind, I was being kind and courteous, a rare occasion in the underworld.

  The reaper muttered under her breath, “When will this stop? I really need a drink.”

  “Well, I know a place just down the street that serves the best scotch. We’ll be back in a minute. I could even get one of the Daemons to hold the gate, just so you don’t get stuck in here.”

  Shock crossed her face, almost as though I’d kicked her puppy. All I was doing was asking her to walk down the street.

  Ana laughed, but it was forced. “No thanks. I can get my own drink when I get back to my own realm. Thank you very much for… whatever the hell this was.”

  “The pleasure was all mine.”

  She twisted on her heels and headed toward the gate without looking back. I had a brief flicker of hope that she would, but then, that would’ve ruined the plan. I was right on her heels, keeping up with her swift pace.

  Once most of her body was over the threshold, I grabbed onto her sleeve and held on for dear life. Ana tried to jerk away but couldn’t shake me off. The gate slammed behind us, and we were standing in the middle of the Hall of Judgement.

  “What the hell did you do?” Ana yanked her arm away and tried her hardest to shove me, but I held my ground and barely moved an inch. “Go back to whatever sulfur hole you crawled out of!”

  I shrugged and pointed to the gate that disappeared before our eyes. “Sorry. Looks like Adam is closed for business.”

  “You fuck—”

  I raised my hands in the air and cut her off mid-insult. “Oy! Ephraim! It’s been a long time, buddy.”

  “Well, if it isn’t the famous Vex Azura. It has been too long.” Ephraim smiled at me. “A year? Maybe longer? Time moves slowly here.”

  “What can I say? Adam has been making it nearly impossible for anyone to visit. If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I would’ve brought you some of those gargoyle fried wings you love so much.”

  Ana hissed underneath her breath. “Disgusting.”

  “They’re delicious if you dip them in ketchup. Isn’t that what the humans do? Dip everything in ketchup?” I smiled innocently. “I don’t know why they do that. They’re going to be mighty disappointed in the food in the afterlife.”

  It was a relief to be in the courtroom. I could actually breathe without inhaling a whiff of sulfur or shit. I always felt a little bad for Ephraim. He was a prisoner in this godforsaken place and only interacted with those damn Reapers. I didn’t know what he had done to deserve to be here. I guessed someone up above thought they had been doing him a favor by not placing him in the good or the bad place.

  But in my mind, this was hell, with its white-washed walls, a scale, and a clock that was stuck at the same time. He had guards, but they were only mindless golems that couldn’t even say a single word.

  When I was reaving, I always made sure that I brought something for him or told the old man a story. I couldn’t imagine being stuck in the in-between and not even the fun part of Limbo. Other Reavers claimed that Ephraim must’ve pissed off God to get such a position.

  “We need to send you back before someone finds out what you did.” Ana’s eyebrows furrowed and panic washed over her face. “You can’t do this to me. I mean…No one can know that I let someone like you out of Helius. I will be unmade.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. That won’t be happening until Adam decides to open up the gate.” I pretended to look around for the non-existent door.

  “Never call me sweetheart again. What are we going to do?” She paced back and forth around the empty room.

  “We can go for that drink we talked about?” I offered the suggestion. Maybe if I got her drunk, she would help me.

  “No, absolutely not.”

  That was when I knew I had her hooked. Davos didn’t give me a time limit on the job, and I was going to enjoy every minute away from Helius. A working vacation.

  Chapter Five

  Ana

  I stood there staring at the bold supposed agent of Helius as he cockily smirked at me and addressed Ephraim like they were best buddies. One quick glance over to Ephraim showed the same placid, unamused expression as usual.

  Ephraim wouldn’t care that an agent of Helius had sought passage through me. Not much bothered him or surprised him anymore, but in that microsecond of a glance, I swear I saw his lips twitch in amusement. How was he so comfortable with a Daemon or whatever the Helius this Vex was? I’d known the Angel for centuries, and he always acted cool and timid, as if he had no personality. But apparently that was a lie.

  “I can always wait for the next Reaper or Angel who comes around.” Vex knew exactly what he was doing. “I’ll just tell them…that you let me hitch a ride.”

  When I glanced back, this Vex stared at me, as if he were trying to figure me out to the very depths of my soul. His glowing emerald eyes sparkled with amusement. All I could do was grimace at him and narrow my eyes while clenching my fist.

  “Fine,” I muttered. “But i
f you get me in trouble, I’ll send you back to Helius and throw you into the blood river myself.”

  “Ah, so a drink then?” His smirk widened, revealing a perfect set of pearly white teeth.

  Teeth like his were more common in Angels than the Reavers of Helius. Most were daemons, made from the darkest of souls or the most fallen of Angels seduced by sin or, worse, created from evil by Lucifer. It was a toss-up on which one he was. The lowest of levels were the Death Reavers assigned to Helius. What kind of all-loving creator would sentence one of his creations to such a fate?

  I nodded, trying not to stare too long at his appearance. He was too perfect, yet the odor of burnt wood that clung to his skin was real. It wasn’t unpleasant, but the smell was one you’d find when maple wood was burning in a fireplace. Needless to say, it marked him as an agent of Helius. Maybe he was one of the few fallen Angels who had been given the responsibility of reaving for the other side. That had to be it.

  “You’re buying.” I shrugged, then turned to leave.

  Vex once again grasped my arm to walk through the portal. It made sense now. If he wanted to be off the grid, he would need to get out without the infamous Adam knowing. Adam was a bit more rigid than Eve. You would think machines were all the same, but ours were sentient in their own way and therefore had bits of their own personality; Adam was as much of an ass as Lucifer.

  “Great. I just happen to know the best spot in Limbo for a drink.” The cockiness oozed off him with every word. I wanted to punch him, but I would have to wait until I got him back to Helius. “Spooks.”

  The trick to arriving in the spot you wanted after you left the Hall of Judgement was to picture where you wanted to go. I didn’t know Spooks, but if I left my mind blank, Vex would take us there. As we stepped out the door, there it was. Sitting across the street was a bar not much different from the one I preferred to frequent.

  Spooks was just as worn down and almost as ragged as Cho’s. Strange symbols had been tagged on the side of the building and even wrapped around to the front in bright red paint. While the bar sat on the corner of a large industrial building, it reminded me of a cross between a hipster and a biker hangout, both eccentric and rough around the edges, with a neon green sign that read ‘Spooks.’ A few souls walked past us but never really noticed what was happening. Or cared. They went on about their days. I did a once-over of the horizon and rooftops to make sure no Reaper was in sight. All clear. On the opposite end of the street sat a beggar holding a cardboard sign. I squinted to read what it said. JUDGEMENT IS COMING. And just like that, the man jumped up and started to shout, “HE WILL RISE AGAIN!” I tried not to look, but his rants grew more frantic.

  “See? Perfect location and some interesting characters in the neighborhood.” Vex bobbed his head to the preacher as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

  “You sure know how to pick them,” I muttered.

  I turned to look at Vex. A goofy grin was on his well-defined face. His jawline was square with a small line of dark stubble. With Ephraim no longer studying us with bored dejection. I allowed myself to look over the man in front of me with more scrutiny. Vex didn’t seem to mind the examination as he met my gaze.

  “Like what you see?” he asked and gave me a sly wink.

  I snorted. “More like confused as hell.”

  “Why?” He shrugged, the grin slipping from his lips and his shoulders tightening just somewhat.

  “You’re too pretty to be from Helius,” I admitted.

  “So you think I’m pretty?” His smile returned, and a sparkle flashed in that vibrant mossy gaze of his. “Man, wait till everyone down in Helius hears about this. A Reaper thinking I’m a treat.” Vex smacked his lips together.

  “No,” I responded too fast and rushed. Turning my face from his, I started toward the bar, throwing over my shoulder, “Not more than any other Fallen Angel.”

  “I never said I was a Fallen Angel.”

  “But aren’t you? Your teeth and looks and Ephraim’s friendship. You have to be a Fallen Reaper or…”

  “Nope, sorry to disappoint ya,” Vex remarked. “I’m just a regular guy like everyone else in these godforsaken realms.”

  Too many things were brewing in my mind. How was this possible? He wasn’t scarred like any other Daemon I’d seen before, and he didn’t look like an average soul. I hated to admit it, but he was perfect. Not the personality part. That was one hundred percent pure asshole.

  He followed me wordlessly. The heat radiated off Vex as he walked closer to me. Those bound to Helius also felt warmer, as if being in the depths of this damned realm affected them in a way that penetrated the very essence of who they were.

  The inside of Spooks looked almost the same as any other bar I’d been to. It was long with a wall that sported a mirror and liquor-lined shelves. A chalkboard announced the day’s specials: SOUP OF THE DAY…BEER. The mirror reflected the few drunks who were deep in their sorrows and glasses.

  Toward the back were round, wooden tables and basic thick wooden chairs. Behind that were the usual pool tables, darts, and a passed-out patron.

  “Why do they call it Spooks?” I asked, turning toward my dark-haired companion. A part of me thought he was lying about who he was. I’d never met an agent of Hell; even though all this time we ran in the same circles, they were bound to Helius and nowhere else. But they were still Angels, created to take the soul to their destination after they reached the gates, and Angels were all bright and glowy. Reapers were attractive but forgettable. Vex was dark and, well, hot as Helius, both figuratively and literally.

  “Because only spooks and drunks come here.” He shrugged with his hands crammed in the pockets of his dark jeans. It was then that I noticed his black T-shirt and how it clung to well-defined muscles. My mouth gaped open, not just because of the obvious glory that was his body, but also because of what he’d just said.

  “When you say spooks… ” I trailed off, looking upward as I thought. My knowledge of jargon was something I prided myself on. I enjoyed the linguistic changes that surfaced with humanity over time, and ‘spook’ wasn’t always used nicely.

  “Ghosts.” His laugh, deep and throaty, rumbled across the room. “This is also a good spot to find clairvoyants and witches. But whatever you do, don’t try to sleep with them. They’re too freaky for even my tastes. And I’ve slept with some rough daemons.”

  “Okay then.” I walked over to the bar, sitting on the end far from the elderly man who looked longingly at the last of the amber brown liquid in his glass. “A triple bourbon, please,” I called out to the bartender.

  A stout man with grayish-brown hair balding on the top shuffled over to what looked like a Kentucky bourbon. The good stuff.

  “Bourbon for me as well.” Vex sat down next to me, careful not to brush against me. He dove his hand into the pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a wad of cash, pushing it to the barkeep. “And keep them coming.” The man nodded and grabbed the money.

  “Listen,” I started, feeling guilty for calling him scum.

  Normally, I called a Helius daemon more than that, but I was a little sure that Vex wasn’t just some nasty daemon created to wreak havoc. He was just like me, only he had made a big mistake. I often feared I could have or could one day end up there myself. It was a thin line to walk.

  “About what I said.” It had been a really long time since I’d had to apologize to someone, and I was too stubborn just to say sorry. And if anyone saw me with Vex, I would be neck deep in Angel shit. But I actually felt bad. I mean, I didn’t know of the horrors he had seen in Hell or what kind of life he’d lived before he died.

  “Don’t worry about it. I mean, it’s not wrong.” He accepted the bourbons from the bartender and slid mine over to me. I noted the watermarks on the glasses. At least, I hoped they were just watermarks. “Helius is my home, and sometimes I do things I’m not proud of.”

  “So, how did it happen?” I asked.

  “How did what happen
?”

  I turned and leaned in closer to him. The bar stool squeaked as it moved. One quick warning glance at the bartender and he moved away to give us privacy, a trick I employed often. The smell of the wood that seemed to burn somewhere in Helius tickled my nose.

  “Well…how did you fall?”

  He looked perplexed for a moment, then thoughtful. Finally, he sighed. “To be honest, I have no freaking idea.”

  “What do you mean, you aren’t sure?” I pressed; my voice low.

  When I inched closer, more of that Helius smell overwhelmed my nostrils. But there was also a hint of sandalwood. He sipped his bourbon, and I almost got in too close to smell him more, but I caught myself, backing up way too fast. That was a little weird.

  If he noticed, he didn’t comment, but the edges of his mouth pressed down, and he turned his gaze to mine. “I can’t remember anything about my past or my death.”

  “That’s utterly impossible,” I declared. “You should remember the scales at the Hall of Judgment or at least your sins. Everyone remembers them.” I picked up the glass and sipped on the bourbon, allowing the charred oak and vanilla flavors to swirl around my taste buds. One of the best and worst parts of being a Reaper was the amplified perceptions.

  Maybe he was a daemon who had possessed an Angel. Or was it possible that he was so old the memories had disappeared? Was that even a thing? We remembered everything. It was our biggest burden to carry through all of existence. I mean, who really needed to know what they ate on Thursday, March 4th 1880?

  “Possible.” His tone was clipped, and his shoulders sagged, the muscles relaxing as he drained his glass, tapping it to let the bartender know to refill it.

  For one moment, it reminded me of the same sad, lost man who looked longingly at his nearly empty glass just a few feet away from us.

  And somehow, I believed him.

  “Tell me what you know,” I pried. A part of me was strangely engrossed with his story. Why didn’t he know anything? What was hiding in that devious brain of his?