by Billi Bell
Since it would be days before she expected her father home, Elizabeth offered to take James shooting and show him around the woods. “If you bring home free food, my father might ask you to stay forever.”
After packing a small meal and her archery supplies, they headed out. They were surprised to find he was a natural archer. He hit the target nearly every time or got very close to it, and Elizabeth had to admit she was impressed and slightly jealous.
After a few hours, they sat down to have a picnic. “Are you still having trouble remembering what happened to you?”
James laid back on the blanket and tried again to remember his past, but it was almost painful. He felt like his brain didn’t want him to remember the life he’d lived before as if he wasn’t a good person.
“Maybe that’s why I have the scar,” he thought.
When he didn’t say anything, she knew what the answer was. They moved on from James’ past and focused on his future. Elizabeth coached James on how to deal with her father’s cranky attitude and ways to win him over. They eventually went back to shooting arrows before heading back to the cottage.
Two days later Elizabeth prepared for her father’s return, and James cleaned himself up, ready to impress the old man. That evening couldn’t have been a better day to get on Edgar’s good side, he’d sold many goods on his trip and came home with plenty of money. Opening the door to his cottage, he smelled a delicious meal but was surprised to find a man sitting at his dining room table.
“Who are you and why are you in my home?” Edgar asked with agitation in his voice.
All the preparation James had done seemed useless, and he found himself unable to speak. Elizabeth ran downstairs and stood between the two men. “Father, this is James Hart, and he came in search of work. He seems to be a hard worker and very polite.”
“I’m not looking for any help right now, the blacksmith might be able to give you work,” said Edgar. “Elizabeth, give the man a meal and show him out.”
James began to panic, he had nowhere to go, and he didn’t want to leave Elizabeth. “Sir, I’m very good with my hands, and I’m willing to work for only room and board.”
Just as Elizabeth predicted, this got her father’s attention. Edgar agreed that James could stay, but only if he slept in the first-floor bedroom. He saw how Elizabeth and James couldn’t stop looking at each other. He’d never seen her act this way around a boy.
“Maybe I will actually marry her off before I die.”
Edgar asked James where he came from, and the question nearly made Elizabeth cough up a lung. James managed to convince Edgar that he was an orphan from London who traveled and took odd jobs. He was now hoping to settle down in Lewsworth. Edgar didn’t press any further, he always trusted his gut, and it felt that James was harmless.
***
Four months later
The months that followed were better than James could have hoped for. He and Elizabeth grew closer, and three months after they met he proposed. They planned to be married in the spring. Edgar had been delighted to find that James was truthful in being a great carpenter and eventually they traveled together on trips to sell goods.
Two weeks before Christmas, Edgar was suffering from a cold that left him too ill to travel. The ailment was ill-timed since it was the most profitable time of year for him. James offered to go to a nearby holiday festival alone, despite Elizabeth’s objection.
“Please, I’ve got a bad feeling about this trip, as if I’ll never see you again,” said Elizabeth as she watched him pack. “There might be a snowstorm, and you’ll be trapped out there.”
James knew she was overreacting, the winter had been unusually mild, and barely any snow had fallen. “My love, I will be back in a week, and we will celebrate with a feast. If I’m going to give you the glorious wedding you deserve, then I need to go.”
He gave her one last kiss before he hopped onto the small wagon and waved goodbye.
James made it to the village festival and sold enough to make the trip more than worthwhile. Just as Elizabeth predicted, a snowstorm suddenly hit the area and delayed his return. He managed to make it back on Christmas Eve, and as he rounded the bend that led to the village, he was shocked to find nothing there. The entire town was gone, even the backwoods. James assumed he’d made a wrong turn, but when he noticed the giant oak tree that stood near the front of the village and its unique shape, he knew he was in Lewsworth.
He rode as fast as he could to the cottage but found nothing there, not even an impression of where a house once stood. He jumped from the carriage and began digging in the snow but found nothing.
He made his way to a nearby village and inquired if they’d heard anything. A million scenarios ran through his head, but none made sense. He asked the villagers if they’d heard screams or maybe even seen a fire, but they acted as if they’d never heard of Lewsworth. James found an old woman he’d previously met while selling goods alongside Edgar many times at the local market.
“Ma’am, hello, I’m not sure if you remember me, I came here a month ago and sold you a table. Can you help me? I’m trying to find Lewsworth, but I think I’ve lost my way.”
The woman looked James up and down but seemed to be unable to place him. “I’m sorry dear, but I’ve lived in this village my entire life, and I’ve never heard of a Lewsworth. Are you sure you followed the right road?”
“Yes, I’m sure...I think.”
As she walked away, James couldn’t help but remember Elizabeth’s last words to him and wished he’d stayed with her.
He searched for months for someone who remembered the small village to no avail. He soon found the home one of Elizabeth’s sisters, Catherine. She’d visited shortly before the disappearance.
Knocking on the door of her home he battled with his anxiety. A small blonde-haired boy came to the door and called for his mother.
“Can I help you?” She looked at him with no recognition, and his heart dropped. “Well, what do you want?”
“It’s me, James, remember we met when you visited your father and sister? I was to marry Elizabeth.”
“Is this some sick joke?” she angrily asked. “I’m an orphan, I’ve never had a family. If it’s money you want, we don’t have any.”
She slammed the door in his face and yelled at him to leave before her husband came home.
CHAPTER 11
As Death headed toward the front door with Dominic in tow, May got her attention. “Ma’am, may I speak with you before you leave?”
Death told Dominic the water was safe to pass and to meet her on the path. After he left May walked over and made sure he was out of the room.
“The Father, something is not right about him,” said May. “I take off his dirty clothes, and I see it, he is scarred. There is a large scar on his back. You say he is immortal, but this cannot be.”
Death knew what she meant right away, immortals are nearly immune to disease and they can never be scarred. If they are injured, it slowly heals but leaves no trace of a wound. Dominic should not have a mark on him.
“The scar,’ May continued. “It’s unique, blue and gold on the outsides. You understand?”
Death was visibly upset by the description of the scar but quickly recovered.
“Thank you, but I’ve known something is not quite right about him. This just adds to my list of frustrations.”
Death departed from the manor and made her way to the path where Dominic stood with Nella. They rode the horse into another portal, Dominic managing to keep his eyes open as Nella jumped towards the pond. The night sky faded away, and he found they were in now in a desert valley. The sun was beating down, but Dominic felt no heat. Death was bone dry, and Nella seemed unaffected as well.
“Why are we not affected by the heat?” he asked.
“Because I don’t want to be, this dress is too nice to be soaked in sweat.”
“Can I ask you something, why did you allow May to visit her children the day th
ey died?” Dominic asked. “You executed Clara for wanting to do the same.”
Death stopped Nella and turned to Dominic, her eyes had just a glimmer of red. “Do yourself a favor and never question the choices I make. I don’t owe you an answer to everything you ask. Now, brace yourself.”
Dominic began to apologize when the ground started to rumble and thinking it was an earthquake, his instinct was to grab Death and protect her. Death’s own instinct kicked in, and she threw Dominic 10 feet away.
It took him a few minutes before he regained consciousness and found Death standing over him.
“Don’t ever grab me without warning. I’m Death, I’ll live,” she said extending a hand to help him up.
Once he was standing and the ground no longer moving he saw what caused the “earthquake”. In front of him now stood a massive cave. Death headed towards the opening with Nella, and he followed.
The entrance to the cave appeared to be a facade, and after walking through only a few feet, they were now facing a large wooden door. Death spawned her scythe and the orbs that decorated the handle shined bright red, the door opened. She left Nella untied with plenty of water and feed. Dominic wondered if the beast even needed to eat.
“Is she alive? Does she have a stable? How did she get so big?”
The questions that filled his head came to an abrupt stop when he saw what actually occupied the cave. The endless room was filled with hundreds of shelves lined with identical small red orbs and seemed to go on for miles.
Dominic walked around, amazed at the sheer number of tiny globes. Gazing into one of the orbs he saw what he thought was a tiny human, but he figured he hit his head a little harder than he realized. Looking through more of them he found there was a different person in each globe, one turned and stared him down. Dominic could have sworn the man resembled Henry VIII.
“Persephone,” a disembodied voice resounded throughout the room. “I see you’ve brought a visitor with you.”
“Show yourself Sunny, and you know not to call me that here,” said Death.
Dominic watched a hidden door open from behind the stone walls, and a small Indigenous woman entered the room. She wore only a simple dress with a single feather adorned in her long dark hair and took immediate notice of Dominic.
“You almost never visit, so what are you doing here?” she asked Death.
“I’m looking for someone, and I need your help. A dead man is walking around, and he has been hidden from me.”
This immediately got Sunny’s attention, but she was still more interested in Dominic. She walked over to him slowly and appeared to be studying him. The small woman stood no more than five feet and was a miniature compared to his towering height. Death was intrigued by the interaction, Sunny could read souls and discover even more than she could sometimes.
“You are impossible, your soul is blocking me.” Sunny looked over to Death in frustration. “What have you brought into such a sacred place?”
Death took Sunny to the side, away from a now panicked Dominic.
“What do you mean he’s blocking you? That doesn’t make any sense.” She let out a large sigh of frustration. “Listen, there is something you should know. He’s an immortal, with a giant scar on his back.”
The words hit her ears, and for the first time in a millennium, Sunny felt fear. “Come, I’ll try another way.”
Sunny led Death and Dominic into the hidden door from which she’d entered the room into what appeared to be her living quarters. The room was similar to the one Dominic occupied at the Vatican, with the addition of a kitchen and small living room. The walls were covered in traditional cultural decor from several different tribes.
Dominic had calmed down from Sunny’s outburst about his soul. He had now come to expect that something about him wasn’t ordinary and reapers weren’t fond of it. Sunny began lighting candles around the room, and he took the opportunity to look around. When he noticed the different food products, he became curious.
“Do reapers eat or sleep?” he asked but immediately regretted the question. He was still learning about their world and didn’t know what offended them.
Sunny took pity on him and answered, “It’s not a requirement, but for some of us who like to remember how it felt to be human, we do. I sleep and eat at the same time every day, I like the structure.”
She motioned for them to sit at the table and started to make tea.
“Sunny you know I can just make the tea appear, why do you insist on doing it that way?” asked Death.
She didn’t answer, so Death manifested a meal for Dominic. She realized he hadn’t eaten in hours and was probably starving. Getting used to being a human’s caretaker would take some time. He thanked her and began to devour the meal, he was so full of adrenaline over the last few hours, he didn’t realize how hungry he was.
Sunny served the tea and joined them at the table. She took Dominic’s hand in hers and stared into his eyes, but after a few minutes of searching his brain she gave up. Trying to break into the blocked off area seemed to cause Dominic discomfort. Death remembered he didn’t react at all while he was sleeping.
“Who are you and what is this place?” asked Dominic. Sunny seemed surprised and looked over to Death in disappointment.
“The Great Reaper hasn’t told you who I am? Am I not worthy of an introduction?” Sunny asked Death amusingly. She looked to Dominic. “I am the first-born reaper.”
Sunny told Dominic her history about being born in the Americas thousands of years ago. She was from a matriarchal tribe led by her grandmother, then mother and eventually her. She’d forgotten a lot about her history over the years, reapers usually passed on long before they reached even half her age. Sunny eventually died of old age, or as old as people got in those days and the next thing she can still clearly remember is seeing Death’s face.
“My face at the time,” said Death. “I’ve had to remodel over the years.”
She explained the afterlife provided some sense of closure and rest, the souls stored in the cave were deemed unworthy. Death tasked her with maintaining the Cave of Souls soon after her she became a reaper. “Never touch the orbs, ever.”
“Sunny, I need to speak with you, alone,” said Death.
Dominic took the hint and left the room. He decided to take the opportunity to explore and search through the orbs, he looking for famous faces. He found a few, one of whom was quite surprising.
He then came upon an old woman who was the poster child for the typical sweet and loving grandmother. Curiosity got the better of him, and after looking back to make sure he was alone, he tried to get her attention. “Hello, ma’am, can you hear me?”
“I wonder what she did to get rejected from hell,” he thought.
When the old woman didn’t move, he gently tapped on the orb. Before he could blink, he found himself outside of a small home in bitter winter weather. Dominic looked inside the window and saw the old woman sitting in a rocking chair and knitting in front of a weak fire.
He knew she was a rejected soul but couldn’t bother to care at the moment. The temperature outside had to be below freezing, and he wanted out. What could a little old woman do to him? He knocked on the door to get her attention. She looked up and seemed delighted to see him. She opened the door and quickly ushered him inside, offering a warm blanket.
“I’m so glad you took my offer for a warm bed Alfred, drinking at that filthy pub is not good for you,” said the old woman. Her Scottish accent reminded him of a time when he briefly lived in Glasgow.
“My husband drank himself into an early grave with those filthy spirits and ever since I’ve devoted my time to assure it never happens again. I’ve always felt my calling was to help the world as best as I can.”
Dominic knew she was confusing him with someone else but didn’t have the heart to tell her. She reminded him of the many grandmothers he met while working as a priest. He was seated in a chair near the fire to warm his body and watched a
s she disappeared into the kitchen. She returned after a few minutes with a bowl of stew. “Eat up dear, it will warm you faster than the fire.”
Dominic took a few bites of the delicious stew, and the old woman went back to her rocking chair and began knitting again. Halfway through his meal, he began to feel sick. His stomach felt as if it was starting to digest itself. He looked up to see her sweet smile transform into an evil scowl.
He keeled over and began writhing on the floor in pain. Unable to scream he was soon coughing up blood. The old woman rose from the chair. “Don’t fight it, love. Oh yes, one less filthy drunk animal will do this world just fine.”
***
As Dominic exited the room, Sunny turned to Death, “That man is not human.”
Death had known this was a possibility, there were other types of beings in the world, but Dominic didn’t seem to fit any of the descriptions. They all had souls and minds that could be read.
“Let's just get to the main reason I’m here, the dead man,” said Death. “Can you help me find him?”
Sunny had a unique ability that no other reaper had, including Death. She could find a living person who had come into contact with a rotting soul. Sunny knew that despite their long history, it took a lot for the Great Reaper to ask for help.
“There is something special about this soul you’re not telling me,” said Sunny. “I’d like to know what I’m getting into.”
“This soul is the son of a reaper who had assistance from someone quite powerful. I need for you to find him soon, they tend to go mad after about a week, and we’re already three days behind.”
Sunny nodded, laid her hands flat on the table and closed her eyes. When she was in her trance, it was as if she’d entered a dream world. She was in actuality roaming through the souls of the living looking for an anomaly. Ordinary souls appeared black, but affected souls were tinted red. Rotting souls affected their environment negatively, making the people around them agitated and hostile.
As she maneuvered through the mist, she felt herself becoming angry, and she knew she was getting close. Sunny finally began to see affected souls, but there were hundreds of them and from all over the world. Pulling herself from the trance, she looked over to Death and gave her the bad news.