by Liz Long
Drawing the travel symbol, she moved fast, her swoops and curves scratching on to the pavement. Recreating her traveling spell behind someone’s recycling bins, we made our way to see my little sister.
CHAPTER NINE
We stepped into an empty student lounge inside a campus dorm building. Tessa and I wrinkled our noses at the drab cream-colored room with bad furniture and florescent lighting. Tully’s sharp intake of breath made me pause.
“There’s magic here,” Tessa said, looking around as though it hung in the air.
“Is that good or bad?” I asked.
Her bottom lip stuck out in thought. “It doesn’t seem to be malevolent.”
That was enough for me. “Where can I find her?”
“Last door on the left,” Tully said, his accent ringing in my ears as I stepped out into the hallway. I might’ve been dead, but that didn’t prevent the knots in my stomach. Only two years apart, Allison and I had been close, each other’s closest confidante and cheerleader. According to my parents, she seemed to have things together. What if they were wrong? What if she hid her grief or other emotions from them?
When I reached the last door on the left that read “Allison Reynolds,” I snuck a peek out of the window that overlooked the campus. I couldn’t feel the temperature, but enough students dawdled on the quad to tell me it was warm out. I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath, then stepped through the door.
Fast clicks greeted me as I crept my way through the entrance, stepping into the brightly colored dorm room. Posters plastered the walls, neon bedspreads on the long twin mattresses. I barely saw the room as my eyes went straight to my little sister, hard at work on a paper.
Like me, she had dark, almost black hair. My last memory of her, however, was with long hair that emphasized her youth. Three years later, she’d chopped it into a smart bob, blunt at her chin. She looked older and my heart constricted at the age written on her face. Light brown eyes, exactly like mine, didn’t leave the computer screen as she typed furiously, her lips moving every so often as she murmured to herself. As I came nearer, her typing slowed and then paused as she cocked her head. She gave a furtive look around the room and my heart stopped, or would’ve anyway, as I wondered if she felt my presence.
When she shrugged and went back to her computer, I went and peered over her shoulder at the essay. It appeared to be a business paper, with language and footnotes I didn’t understand. Maybe she’d majored in it; she used to want to take over dad’s business when he retired. When I confessed to my parents I wanted to be a nurse, my dad simply told me he already knew, given how much time I spent at the hospital with patients. Luckily for me, the family had supported my dream. Allison had once hinted how she could be his company’s first female CEO; perhaps she was now following her dream.
A knock on the door didn’t break her concentration. She continued typing as she called out, “It’s open.”
“Hey baby,” a boy said as he walked in. His free arm stayed behind his back even after he closed the door.
“Hey Brady. Give me a minute.”
Appearing used to this behavior, the boy, or boyfriend, I supposed, waited patiently as she tinkered out the rest of her paragraph. His hazel eyes gazed around the room, appeared familiar with the territory. His brown hair curled up where it hit the back of his neck and full lips seemed to curve into a perpetual smirk. While preppy and all-American in appearance, at least this boy didn’t sport a popped collar or a thumb ring. My sister had always had good taste.
Satisfied with her finished paragraph, she nodded and then looked up in time for Brady to lean over and kiss her. She smiled at him. “Sorry I had to bail on dinner.”
“It’s cool, I know you’re working hard. Leanne here?”
Allison snorted. “Yeah right. She’s only here long enough to shower alone and change outfits. You’d have to pry her from Adam’s lips to get her to stay here and that’s a battle you’d never win.”
“Good, because I brought you a study break present!” he said.
Allison’s gaze fixed back on her computer screen as she spoke. “What is it?”
Brady pulled a six pack of beer out from behind his back and pulled a can out from the package. “Adult refreshments.”
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but every human emotion I had screamed at me to stop him. The strange smile on his face made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight. Right away, I wished I could show myself and prevent her from taking the alcohol from him. Every cell in my body froze to hear her answer.
“You know I don’t drink,” she said coolly, still typing away on her laptop.
“Aw, c’mon Al,” he said. “One drink and you can get back to work.”
He waved the can around her hand, in front of her face, and she batted her hand at it in annoyance.
“Please get that out of my face,” Allison said, her voice tinged with anger now. “You know how I feel about it.”
He huffed and set the cans on the desk. “I just want you to have some fun for once.”
“If I’m not fun enough for you, then you’re welcome to date someone else.” She scowled and he made a hurt face, his hands going up in a truce.
“Hey now, don’t say that. You know I’m crazy about you no matter your beverage choice.” He put his arms around her and she remained still. Then he kissed her on the head and she visibly relaxed.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to bite your head off. This paper is tough.”
“All the more reason to take a break, maybe have a drink.” She opened her mouth to protest and he quickly added, “Even if it’s water.”
“You’ve got fifteen minutes,” she told him, standing up from her chair. She stretched out her muscles and I didn’t miss Brady’s gaze roam over her body.
“Then I better make them count!” He playfully pounced, spinning her around until they’d landed on her bed. She giggled the entire time and I relaxed at her happy attitude.
“How’d you do on that Econ test?” Brady asked her.
Allison’s eyes lit up, happy to comply with the question. She began to talk about the tough questions but she’d somehow gotten the highest score in the class.
As their conversation continued, I realized I was doing nothing but eavesdropping. Even in death, it didn’t feel right to spy on my little sister. I decided to leave; I could visit her again later to make sure she was safe. I felt confident that here, in her dorm room with her boyfriend, Allison wasn’t in any danger.
As I backed away to leave, Brady’s eyes roamed the room again as she talked. When he reached where I stood, his eyes narrowed as though he could see me. I froze, not daring to move no matter how ridiculous it might be. Humans couldn’t see Reapers unless we wanted to be seen. It was impossible for him to see me, yet he appeared to be focusing in on me, as though I weren’t completely in his vision. After a long two seconds, he shook it off, his brow furrowed together in confusion. He turned his attention back on Allison.
He swooped in to kiss her. Allison ran a hand up Brady’s side; his shirt raised several inches to show a tattoo on his ribcage. I wrinkled my nose, feeling pervy. Time to go.
I turned and almost ran back to the student lounge. I slid to a halt in front of Tessa and Tully, who sat on opposite ends of a couch and paused their conversation to greet me. I’d caught Tully mid-sentence judging from his open-mouthed expression.
“Is there any way humans can see Reapers when we’re invisible?” I blurted out.
“Of course not,” Tully said. “You must appear before them.”
“I can’t say for sure he saw me, but he knew I was there.”
“He who?” Tessa asked.
I recapped the events and to my disappointment, Tully only frowned. “He could not have seen you. No one sees us when we are in the cloak.”
I didn’t bother hiding rolling my eyes at his trite phrase, not for the first time, either.
“Once again, no dark magic in the area,” T
essa chimed in. “Maybe you were emoting, being around your sister and all, and he picked up on it. It happens from time to time.”
I deflated at her logic, knew that could be the case. At least I could relax about Allison for now, but that still didn’t answer any questions about our possible soul-sucking demon. We were back to square one.
CHAPTER TEN
The next day, Tully and I agreed to revisit the campus to make sure no demons lurked around corners. He roamed one half of campus while I took the other; I was pleasantly surprised to arrive outside of my sister’s dorm building and find Allison leaving for class.
Brady greeted her at the door and took her bag, slinging it over his shoulder. Despite knowing that Allison could take care of herself, I appreciated his chivalrous nature. They headed to their classes, heads bent together in conversation. Not wanting to feel like a creeper, I stayed a few feet back so that I didn’t hover over them.
My heart ached, both from jealousy and joy, as Brady squeezed her to him and kissed the side of her head. Her head leaned on his shoulder as they walked and a pang went through me. They paused at a small group of people who stood gathered by a tall building, the sign beside it reading “Chester Science Building.”
Puzzled, Allison and Brady looked to the crowd and followed upward to the sky. I heard Allison gasp in fright and my gaze zoomed up to find a girl on the ledge of the top of the building. Wind whipped around the girl, her shirt fluttering around her. My stomach dropped.
“Oh no,” I whispered. I hadn’t even had a hint of a soul about to perish. I wondered if Tully or another Reaper got here first and that’s why I hadn’t felt her. I looked around, but it appeared I was the only Reaper on the ground. Allison cried out and my attention went back to the girl on the roof. I froze in place, unsure if I should attend to her or stay with Allison in case of trouble.
A young man came up to Brady, who barely nodded at him in greeting. “What’s goin’ on, man?”
He attempted a fist bump that Brady didn’t return. He didn’t take the hint. “Brady-”
Allison shot him a dirty look. “Matt, get a clue.”
Matt’s brow furrowed as he opened his mouth to reply. I stepped forward to take a closer look at him. He was cute, with longish brown hair and dark blue eyes. He dressed normal enough, in jeans and t-shirt with a band logo I didn’t know. When he turned to address them, I saw ink on the back of his neck. The tip of the design poked out from the collar of his t-shirt; it looked familiar and I realized he had the same tattoo design as Brady. They must be closer than I’d guessed to share a tattoo.
Matt paused when Brady’s index finger pointed up. Matt followed the direction and his jaw dropped at the scene above. My attention went back to the terrified girl.
“Please don’t jump!” someone screamed up to her.
“I don’t want to do this!” the girl shouted. “Don’t make me!”
“Don’t! You don’t have to!” someone on the ground shouted back at her. “Stay there, someone will come up and help you!”
Usually, once a person had decided to step on the ledge, there was little chance of stopping it. Still the girl’s soul didn’t call out to me; in my experience, that meant she was supposed to live. She’d step back from the edge any minute now to stay alive. Her Reaper would see to it.
Campus police officers came onto the scene, a lieutenant barking at an officer to run upstairs and stop her. It would be up to her; no way could someone race up those stairs fast enough to reach her in time. Students continued yelling at her to back away, to not jump and take her life.
“I don’t want to go to Hell!” she shrieked. “Don’t let them take my soul!”
She stiffened, her eyes on the ground below her. I paused at her phrasing, at the curious way she put her last words. A heartbeat went by as she composed herself, her face blank and silent.
She stepped forward into nothingness.
Her long dark hair swirled in the wind as she pitched forward. Several students, including Allison, screamed in terror, for help, for anything that would keep this girl from dying, but it was too late. I saw the girl’s face, covered in pure fear, right before she hit the ground with an awful thud, a flat, dull sound that cut off the whistle of her body in the wind. The crowd’s screams didn’t stop.
Allison reached for Brady, burying her head in his chest to avoid seeing any more of the terrible sight. He stroked her hair as he watched the scene, his handsome face showing no emotion. The officers tried to block the path off and shoo bystanders away. Students were crying, their phones out as they texted frantically to spread the news around campus.
I had to admit, I was shaken. Why hadn’t I been warned? I chastised myself; if I’d gone to her instead of stayed with Allison, I might’ve been able to save her. Where was her Reaper when she needed them? Patiently, I waited for this dead girl’s soul to rise from the physical plane and join me. I could help her cross over and felt grateful about being in the right place at the right time. At least she could have the choice to move on.
A full minute went by and I frowned. Why hadn’t she risen yet? That fall had killed her instantly. The police clearly thought she was dead as no ambulance or paramedic rushed in to stop the bleeding or bring her back. Had I missed the window? I looked around, puzzled. Maybe suicides worked differently from what I knew so far; after all, I’d only worked with the blue-haireds who were eager to head on out. An officer commented on her still-warm wrist.
Tully popped up beside me and I hardly gave him any attention as I kept my eyes glued on the body. Tully said nothing, instead looked around at the crowd and back to where I stared. After a moment:
“Where is she?” he asked.
“You didn’t help her?”
“No, not I,” he said.
“Maybe her Reaper beat me to it while I wasn’t looking?”
He shook his head. “You were here when she fell, aye? Besides, we don’t spend much time on college campuses. I doubt there is a Reaper around; the hospital is several miles away.”
The crowd began to break up. I explained what the girl had screamed as we walked closer to the body and crowd, unconcerned as we were invisible to everyone. While people couldn’t see us, it still amused me that they managed to avoid walking through us, as though they could feel our presence. Nurses, students, it was all the same - somehow they went around us without ever realizing it. I went to the girl’s body while Tully went to eavesdrop on surrounding conversation.
“Brittany Green,” someone behind me murmured in shock. “That’s who that is. Oh, god.”
I didn’t look too hard at Brittany’s body there on the ground. Reapers didn’t have queasy stomachs, but something this violent was not an image I wanted in my head. I’d grown used to peaceful passings or at the very worst, ER traumas. Nothing like this terrible image of a person that’d been dropped to the earth from such a height. My nose wrinkled and I raised my eyes slightly above the body to find her soul. Still she didn’t arrive and worry flickered in my heart. Beneath the red beard, Tully’s mouth twisted with confusion.
As I headed back towards my sister, guilt flooded through me at what had happened. Seeing something like that, regardless of whether you knew the victim, could change you. What an awful thing to witness, especially in her case when she’d already lost someone close to her. Forcing her to relive death in different ways wasn’t how I wanted things for her.
Allison stepped back, wiping her eyes, and murmured something to Brady. He leaned in to comfort her, casting a look around. As Brady’s eyes roamed the grounds, his face remained calm, a curious thing considering the awful suicide in front of him. When his gaze fell around me, I felt that odd sensation that he could see me. Before I could question it, his eyes flicked to another spot, making me wonder if I’d imagined it.
“Did you hear her?” Allison asked in a hushed tone. My ears perked up and I leaned in for a better volume.
“What?” Brady asked, distracted by the crowd.
“Is that possible? For a suicidal human to lose their soul?” I asked Tully. He raised an eyebrow at my question.
“Don’t be silly,” he replied. “A soul is a soul, no matter how they perish in life.”
I glanced back to the dead girl; still no soul. I spun back around to find my sister now speaking with another girl. Brady paid them no mind, his eyes focused on the corpse on the sidewalk.
Then I saw Brady’s eyes flash. Not in a way that spelled anger, but they flashed an unnatural dark purple; he blinked and they went back to the safe hazel shade. A heartbeat to a human, but enough time for me to put it together.
My sister’s boyfriend was a witch.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“That sleazy, evil, scheming little—” I fumed, but Tully cut me off.
“Are you certain that her friend is a witch?”
“I saw his eyes and they were not human. He might not be a demon, but he knows something, I’d bet my life on it.” I rolled my eyes at my own choice of phrase.
“Not all of us are bad news,” Tessa said, though even she didn’t sound as though she believed her own words.
We were back in Tessa’s apartment. I paced the floor, not bothering to worry if I wore a hole in the carpet. Tully and Tessa watched me, their faces doubtful but worried.
“Can witches use souls in their magic?” I asked.
Tessa wrinkled her nose. “We have no need of souls. It’s magic, after all. He might be harnessing them for some kind of dark magic I haven’t heard of, but that’s a pretty big guess.”
“He must be the one looking for souls,” I said. “He was there when that girl fell.”
“He was on the ground with your sister, though. He couldn’t have pushed her off the building,” Tessa pointed out.