Reaper of Flames (The Artifact Reaper Saga Book 3)

by Jen L. Grey

  Shit, I bet I smell and still look glisteny. Oh God. Please tell me I didn't wear a white shirt. I glance down and let out a breath of relief. It's black so he's not having a free show.

  Trying to get ahold of myself, I glance back up and ignore his wrinkled nose. "Hi, I'm here to visit with the council."

  "Yes, he is expecting you." He tears his eyes from me and turns, walking down the familiar hallway.

  Wait... he? I want to ask a question but bite my tongue. It's not like it matters at the end of the day and I don't want them knowing I'm curious. I'm sure they would get a rise out of it.

  He turns down the hall and makes his way to the room Margaret always met me in.

  Great, this won't be weird at all. And who in the world wants to meet me? It's not like the other three elders ever paid any attention to me. As we approach the door, I get ready to stop, but I'm surprised when we keep walking past it. Okay, this is a new one. I guess we are going somewhere else.

  We continue down the hallway and pass a few more doors before stopping at a door on the left. He opens it up and we walk in.

  Unlike the floral tea room where I met Margaret all those times before her passing, this room is the complete opposite. The walls are a dark navy blue and there are canned lights spaced out throughout the entire ceiling. In the middle of the room there is a large table that has papers and files opened as if someone has been working there. Huge swivel chairs pull up to the table and there is a computer sitting at one end.

  "He will be with you in a moment." The man turns and walks out the room leaving me to myself.

  Times like this make me wonder what all secrets this place has. The room with the mirrors flashes back to my mind where Margaret showed me their version of the next few months of death and starvation. That's supposedly why they need these artifacts, due to Damien stealing the souls, but I can't help but wonder if all of that isn't due to them having the artifacts. At this point, who flipping knows?

  "Oh, so you finally decided to come?" A voice comes from behind me.

  I turn around and gasp. Margaret's husband, Luke, is standing close to me. How the hell is that possible? I didn't hear anyone enter the room.

  He's leaning back on the wall with a smirk. "Did I scare you?"

  There is no way I'll give him the satisfaction of knowing he did, but how the hell did he do it? I didn't hear a door open or anything. That shouldn't be possible. "No, not at all."

  His eyes light up and he reaches up to scratch his head, messing up a small section of his salt and pepper hair. "For some reason, I don't believe you."

  "That's fine." I shrug. The cooler I act the less likely he'll push it, or at least that's what I'm hoping. "You can think whatever you want."

  A smirk spreads across his face and he taps his finger to his bottom lip. "Well, all right." He takes a few steps toward me and tilts his head, taking me in. "So, how are you doing?"

  Shouldn't I be the one asking him that? He's the one who lost his wife two weeks ago, after all. But he doesn't seem upset or anything, so I just cut to the chase. "I'm assuming you called me here for a reason?"

  "Oh, come now." He shakes his head and moves to the table leaning back against it. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

  "Shouldn't I be asking you that? I mean you lost a wife and all." Why are they always playing these games? It would be easier if everyone laid their cards on the table.

  "It's been rough, but there is too much at stake to let things fall to the wayside." He watches me and crosses his ankles. "You know how that is."

  "Look, can you tell me what you want?" Selena's warning rings in my ear, but I can't help it. I don't want to be here and I'm tired.

  "A woman after my own heart." He chuckles and clasps his hands in front of him. "I appreciate someone who wants to get down to business."

  Did I just throw up a little in my mouth? When did the council begin trying to butter me up? A smart-alecky retort sits on my tongue, but I bite it back. I don't want to push all my luck in one day.

  He purses his lips and sighs after a moment. "Look, I'll be honest with you. Even before the artifacts, you were extremely powerful. You have all the abilities that the council has and are stronger." His hand reaches out to me and he leans toward me. "And now that you have the artifacts running through you, you are a force to be reckoned with."

  His stare makes my blood run cold. It's as if I'm an object that he wants to possess. Coming here was a very bad idea. "You do realize I'm a person, right?"

  Jerking back, he straightens and clears his throat. "Of course, I do." He scratches at his ear and licks his lips. "As you know, Margaret was invested in you and had already began mentoring you. It was her dying wish that you are trained properly. So, I have decided to assume that responsibility."

  Never in a million years would I expect to miss Margaret, yet, here I am doing that exact thing. "Oh, well, you don't have to feel obligated."

  "No, this something I've thought long and hard on the past few weeks and it's what I want to do." His eyes soften and he glances off to the side. "Margaret would want me to."

  Okay, that does seem a little sincere... maybe. But I'm learning there’s always a catch with them; an ulterior motive. Is this just another way to keep her close? "So, are you going to be teaching me ways of seeing around blocks?"

  "Oh, God no." He shakes his head and blinks. "And it would be pointless. Margaret said you mastered that in one sitting. But we will begin with finding an object." He unbuttons his long sleeve shirt and removes his gold Rolex watch. "This is what I want you to find. I'll be right back." He walks out of the room leaving me alone.

  If he's not wanting to go over what Margaret showed me, why am I finding an object? I swear these people don't make sense half the time. My phone chirps so I grab it out of my back pocket and pull it out. There is a text from Charlie.

  Hope everything went well. See you soon. Miss you.

  My stomach feels light. I can't believe we're dating. I don't know what I did to get so lucky for once.

  The door opens and Luke walks back in. "Okay, it's hidden, so we're ready to begin."

  At least one of us is. However, the longer this drags out the longer I'll be here. "So, I just need to find it?"

  "Well, locate it and let me know when you're locked in." As he walks to me, there is a bounce in his step.

  I'm missing something here, but I'll figure it out soon enough. I close my eyes and lock on the watch within seconds. "Okay, I see it."

  "Great." He chuckles and he walks back over to me and grabs my arm. "Now we're going to it."

  The air in the room begins to churn and I open my eyes. My vision begins to swirl. "What the hell is going on?" What is he doing to me?

  "You'll see." He grins as the room begins to spin and the colors swirl together.

  I lose my footing and it's like I’m falling through a hole. Shit this is very similar to when a demon transported me those few times. However, Luke is still with me, so wherever I'm going, he's going with me. I'm not sure if that comforts me or should worry me.

  Soon we land and the room stabilizes. We’re back in Margaret's tea room and right there on one of the tables between the sea of couches is the watch. Holy crap, he somehow transported us right to where he placed it. I turn to him. "How did you do that? We can only transport when we have a job."

  "Not us." He lifts his chin and motions a finger back and forth between us. "We can transport anytime we want to. We just have to lock in on something and we can get there."

  Holy shit. I wish I would have known that a while ago. It would have made a lot of things a whole lot easier. "Okay, so how does it work?"

  He walks over to the table where the watch and a folder lie side by side. He puts his watch back on and then grabs the folder. He pulls out a picture and purses his lips. "Let’s find this man. Pull him up in your mind."

  Taking a deep breath, I take the picture and look at it. He’s an older man about the same age as the elder
. I’m not sure why he wants to go there, but it’s not like he can’t him find himself. I close my eyes and find him inside of an apartment. "All right I have him. He’s in an apartment."

  "Okay good." He licks his lips and holds out his hands. "Now imagine there are no barriers. Remove all the walls, stairs, whatever there is between you."

  Biting my lip, I imagine there is nothing between us but distance. In my mind, I tear down the walls. "Done."

  Reaching out, he places his hands on my shoulders. "You're a natural. I wish things were this easy for me."

  The urge to slap him courses through me, but I just focus on my task. None of my life has been easy so it irritates me to hear that.

  "All right, now just propel yourself to him. Just close the distance, but move yourself to him, not the other way around. Just make sure you drop us outside of his apartment. It would be awkward otherwise." His fingers dig into my arm a little.

  I imagine myself lifting up in the air. As I do this, I feel the air churn around me. Holy crap I think I'm doing it.

  "Keep going." His tone is sharp. "Don't break your concentration."

  Dammit. He's right. If I'm not careful I will. I then imagine I'm floating toward the Council Room. The air is spinning but I focus on my task and the fingers digging in my arm. When we reach the location in my mind, I float us down to the ground and open my eyes.

  "You did it." His tone is full of admiration. "I can't believe you did it on your first try. Next time we will try something harder."

  My eyes open and I find we’re in a back alley with dumpsters just a few yards away, thankfully alone. I never knew I could do something like this. "Holy crap. So, we're the only ones capable of this?"

  His face returns to a mask of indifference and he crosses his arms. "No, Selena can as well. She's a tracker but cannot bring a soul back to life. That is one of the reasons she's such a treasured reaper and valued by the council."

  So at least one of my questions are answered about her. "So, she'll be an elder?"

  "No, she's not loyal enough for a seat." He shakes his head and glances at his watch. "Just valuable to us. Remember, the council isn't the bad guy, so we need loyal, dependable members. Look, I have somewhere I need to be, so I need to get going. Welcome to your new apprenticeship. You can see your own way back." Then he disappears from sight.

  8

  It takes a second for his disappearance to click in my brain. For some messed up reason, I kept waiting for him to come back.

  Dammit, that jerk left me here. I glance around the alleyway which is still deserted. That is a blessing, but hell, I'm nowhere close to my car. What kind of mentor leaves their trainee behind like this? This must be some kind of joke.

  Who am I kidding? They've sent me off to find artifacts on my own with no resources. Why am I surprised by this? I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. I've got to focus. Being angry is not going to get me home any quicker.

  So, what all did Luke tell me to do? I'm going to have to transport my way back to my car. I lock the imagine of my car in my head and begin to propel myself towards it. The air churns around me, surrounding me in the smell of decaying trash. I want to gag but I try to ignore it.

  Not soon enough, the ground underneath me gives and I drop. Thank God, I must be doing something right. I keep the car pulled up in my mind and then the winds around me begin to slow.

  When I find myself on solid ground, I open my eyes and find myself in a dark room. Even with supernatural vision, I can't make out anything. What the hell? I should be outside next to my car.

  I reach out and touch something like metal, cool to the touch and round. There are several of them in similar sizes and shapes on what seems to be a shelf. I reach down below and there seems to be boxes of various sizes. I step forward keeping my hand on the shelf and just find more of the same.

  Am I in a closet or something? Where the hell am I? I step forward another five steps and feel a door. At least I'm freaking getting somewhere. I flatten my hand against the wooden panel and trace my fingers against the smooth texture until my hand brushes against the cool metal of the handle.

  Not wasting any time, I open the door and step out into a bustling kitchen. A butler that is cooking stops stirring the pot of noodles and stares at me. "What are you doing?"

  The other one cutting onions at the large marble island that jets out in the middle of the room turns and drops the knife that luckily doesn't land on her hand. "How did you get in here?"

  The kitchen is grand just like the rest of the place and bigger than my apartment. Wow, I don't understand the point of the vastness of this place. "Sorry, I got lost."

  "I didn't even see you walk in here." The one at the stove takes the spoon from the pot and points it at me.

  "Yeah, it was a training exercise." What else can I say to that? That's pretty much the truth so I'm not lying. I head toward an exit ready to get the hell away from here. My hatred for this place continues to grow with every single visit.

  "Where do you think you're going now?" The one that was cutting the onion walks toward me.

  My eyes burn from the scent from her hands. Holy crap. How many onions has she cut? She could be a lethal weapon with just her hands right now. "Uh... I'm heading home. Luke said I was done."

  Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. "It's pathetic you're on a first name basis with him, but yet you're walking out to the chicken coop."

  They have chickens here? Holy shit. There is so much I don't know about this place. "Yeah, well. It was a test. You passed." I turn on my heels and march out the other door. I've got to get out of this place and fast.

  When I get in my car, I let out a breath that I've been holding for who knows how long. I can't believe today has taken so many turns. But learning I can transport was the most useful piece of information I've learned in a while.

  As I turn into the apartment complex, I glance at the time. Shit, Charlie will be here any minute. I want to at least change out of these clothes I sweated in earlier. I bet I smell lovely.

  Rushing, I jog up the stairs and run to my door. After I walk into my apartment, I slam the door shut and grab some clean clothes. As I pull my shirt off my body, the stench hits my nose. There is no way just changing is going to work. I'm going to have to take a quick shower.

  I kick off my pants and take my clothes and towel in the bathroom with me. I turn the water on and jump in. Not wasting any time, I scrub my hair and body clean, then rinse off. After drying, I slip on my clean yoga pants and tank top and brush my hair. At least I don't smell like five-day-old cheese anymore.

  At the thought of cheese, my stomach growls. Ugh, speaking of food, what am I going to make for dinner? I head into the kitchen and look in the cabinets and small pantry. There isn't anything there.

  It's not like I can be super surprised at this point. I haven't been to the grocery store in weeks and I never buy a ton of stuff at once. I guess that leads me to my old fail-safe. I grab my phone and dial the local pizza place.

  "Hello, this is George. Will this be pick up or delivery?" The normal worker picks up the phone and there is typing in the background.

  "Oh, yes. Can I get my usual?" He always knows my address and order. It's kind of sad, but it saves time.

  "Uh... sure?" He pauses for a moment and then clears his throat. "Can you please give me your address and order?"

  What the hell? I've been gone just a little over two weeks and he's already forgotten me. I give him the information and hang up the phone. Figures. What a freaking guy.

  A loud knock at the door tears me away from my vile thoughts. I stomp over to the door and yank it open.

  Charlie's eyebrows rise and the corners of his mouth raise a tiny bit. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

  I close my eyes and shake my head. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

  He slides inside. "After that, I know that's not true. What's got you annoyed?"

  It's so stupid, but he's not going to let it go.
I shut the door and glance at the ground. "The pizza guy forgot my order."

  "And that's why you're upset?" Charlie chuckles and grabs my hand, pulling me to him. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it." His chest shakes under my hands. "He just has a lot of people calling him. I'm sure he was just having an off day."

  Now I just want to drop it. It's stupid, but things like that remind me I was stupid to think I could go away. "No, I'm being silly. How was your day?"

  "Miserable." He moves his hand under my chin and tilts my face up. "I was worried about you. Did you find someone to train you? You never answered my texts this afternoon."

  "I didn't even know you texted me. I'm sorry." I bet he was worried. "I was tied up all day. But yes, I found someone to train me and he gave me my first lesson."

  "Good, that's why I was trying not to worry." He leans down and kisses my lips. "How did it go? I see you took a shower so I'm taking that as a good sign." He touches my wet hair with his fingertips.

  "If you mean, did he kick my ass, then yes." But that is what I need if I'm going to survive Hell. Someone taking it easy on me won't be a good thing for me down there.

  "So, do we have a game plan?" He drops his hand and walks into the kitchen to grab a glass and fill it with water.

  "Not yet, but I was summoned by the council yet again today." I wonder if I will ever not get summoned by the council again. It seems to be an ongoing game they like to play with me.

  He takes a sip and sits the glass down on the counter. "Why am I not surprised? What did they want?"

  "Apparently I have a new mentor." I wait a second. I want him to be puzzled at least for a second. It's all strange and weird. "Margaret's husband."

  "What?" He takes a step back, obviously startled. "Are you serious?"

  "I wouldn't make something like that up." I sigh and rub my eyes. "But he taught me that I can transport."

  "We all can when we have a job." Charlie shakes his head and huffs.

  "No, I can anytime." I'm glad he didn't know about this either. So, it isn't something well known and I'm clueless. "We transported outside someone's apartment today and he left me there. I had to figure out how to get back on my own."