My life could have been many things. I’d thought of most of them while I stared at my body in the morgue. But the time for that had passed. Now, I had to figure out what to do over the next few days. Anything beyond that depended on where I ended up.
Banning smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. While I couldn’t tell what else was going on, eyes being the windows to the soul or not, I bet he was also talking to get his mind off the deal he’d made. I wondered if he regretted it. I smiled back at him, doing my best to appear happy, or at least happier. And, oddly enough, talking about our lives helped. The image of me as an old, gnarled and arthritic woman, sitting in one of the rockers at the hospice center flashed through my head. I could see myself talking to my grandchildren, telling them stories of my youth before an angel of death asked me to dance.
Banning looked past my shoulder. I twirled around in my chair to catch sight of Daniel walking up the steps to the deck.
“Where were you?” I asked.
“Nowhere,” he answered, and I knew he was lying. If there was a nowhere, I’d have already found it. He shrugged. “Around.”
A group of crows swooped into the yard cawing and collected in one of the oaks. My attention swung back to Banning.
“Think it’s more on the skip?” Daniel asked.
Banning nodded. “Yep. Your side.”
“So we should expect visitors,” Daniel said. It wasn’t a question.
“Don’t let Keely out of your sight,” Banning told him, and his eyes grew cold, like winter ice.
The hair raised on the back of my neck. “What’s a skip?” I asked. “Is this what the other bird warned you about?”
“Yes, it is. A skip is a problem soul who needs to cross before he affects the living any further,” Banning clarified.
“Further?” I asked.
Banning was already halfway down the steps. Daniel nudged me, and I followed him.
“Most are my kind,” Daniel explained. “That is, destined for my neck of the Twilight Zone or full-fledged demons. But there are a few other souls who actually mean well. But, this guy isn’t one of them.”
“So Banning’s job tonight is like a bounty hunter?” I asked. “Really? Why is that a reaper’s job?”
We walked down the street looking for a ride. It was early evening and most people were coming home from work, not leaving.
“No one else has ever applied for the job,” Banning said.
“And reapers are the only ones who carry a scythe,” Daniel added. “Which is the only thing that can send a demon or a wayward earthbound to hell.”
I checked out Banning’s duster. I didn’t see any sign of the scythe that had taken out Metal Girl, and I didn’t think I wanted to, either. I imagined the sight we were. That was, if the living could see us. We avoided a kid on a skateboard and kept walking out of the cul-de-sac and onto a busier street where we turned left.
“Is this going to be anything like that girl back at the morgue?” I asked. “It sounded really painful. What you did to her, I mean.”
“It’s worse than anything a soul has ever experienced,” Banning said.
“Worse?” I said, horrified.
“Emotionally and physically,” Banning replied.
“There’s a few more things about reapers you don’t know,” Daniel said. “Things most souls never learn. Lucky you. You’re getting a front row seat.”
The worst pain I’d ever felt, aside from Jordan’s death and having my parents find my body, had been when I’d slit my wrist. If it was worse than that, I could understand where most earthbounds wouldn’t want to give a reaper cause to come find them and forcibly send them along.
“So who’s the skip?”
“A murderer,” Banning said, keeping up his break-neck pace. “Stick close to Daniel and don’t wander off.”
“I’ll be okay, I’ll stay clear,” I said.
Banning and Daniel exchanged glances. I hated when they did that. “What?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Daniel said.
I frowned. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Neither answered me, but I didn’t see the problem. I was just an earthbound, not a mortal any longer. If the bad-ass soul we were searching for was causing problems for anyone alive, what did I have to do with it? Unless he didn’t care who he hurt. Maybe they were worried I’d get caught in the crossfire just by being in the proximity. Great. I’d just finished healing from my last afterlife run-in.
We caught up to a car waiting to turn across traffic onto the main road from our subdivision.
“So Daniel is going to keep me safe from whomever you’re after?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Daniel said as we got into the car. “This guy carries a mean grudge. Not to mention, there’s the demons.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Demons sent to pick other demons aren’t exactly thrilled with their jobs,” Daniel explained. “It’s almost like being a traitor of sorts. So, any earthbounds hanging around at the time are fair game for a beat down.”
“And that’d be me, naturally.” I swallowed hard. “So, all I need to do is stay clear of the guy and some random demons, right?” No matter how calm I tried to sound about this, I was far from it. What I wanted was to be as far from the action as possible. Like staying home.
“More or less,” Banning replied. His comment did little to reassure me. “Sorry, but you’re coming along,” he added, seeming to read my thoughts.
I nodded. It was a matter of trust. I’d taken off before. Banning wasn’t going to risk me ditching him again. For that matter, he probably didn’t want Daniel too far from his sight, either. Which explained why Banning didn’t leave us back at the house.
“So who’s the murderer? Does he have a name?” I asked as we got out of the car.
“Might as well tell her,” Daniel said with a shrug.
“Cooper,” Banning said as he walked ahead. “Rick Cooper.”
My mouth fell open. I knew this guy. Well, knew of him. He’d pretty much threatened our whole family at his sentencing over a year go. Eight months later, Cooper died during a fight with another inmate. “The Rick Cooper? The guy who killed a bunch of his coworkers? The guy my Dad helped send to death row?”
“One and the same,” Daniel replied.
Our ride only took us up past the Outlet Mall off GA-400, and while we walked the rest of the way to the job, Banning and Daniel filled me in on all the sordid details about Cooper’s afterlife run-ins and how reapers banished souls. I didn’t mind that we’d been walking for close to an hour. Being dead had one benefit—exercise didn’t feel the same. I was already in shape, but Banning’s pace was quick enough that by now I’d have been a little sweaty even in the cool evening air.
We didn’t come across any traffic—not this far north of the suburbs. Every once in awhile, though, a car or two passed us. How many campfire stories had I listened to about ghostly hitchhikers on deserted stretches of highway? Now, I’d become one of those hitchhikers. Despite my misgivings about our mission, the thought almost made me smile.
Lights from the homes set back in the woods shone like beacons through the dark. Otherwise, nothing else was out here except dense woods, open cow fields and a two-lane stretch of road. We passed a family of raccoons, their eyes haloing like small searchlights as they scampered across the road and disappeared into the underbrush.
Daniel’s voice carried in the dark. “Cooper’s been causing problems with earthbounds as well as mortals during his vacation in purgatory.”
“How did he get out of hell, anyway?” I asked.
“Sometimes, they come back,” Banning said. “Daniel can fill you in on how that happens.”
Daniel shook his head at the dig. “Sometimes the guards at Hell’s gates turn the other way.”
“Figures,” I muttered. “So how did you find him?” I wanted to know.
“He got a bit cocky,” Daniel said. “Ravens found him. In the daylight, it’s hard to
escape those freakin’ things.”
I now understood why the birds creeped some people out. Ravens had an odd look to their eyes—black and unreadable. The way they stared at you, like they were scheming or busy contemplating death, was so eerie. I never minded birds when I was alive. Good thing I didn’t know Ravens had ties to the netherworld back then or I might have been creeped out, too.
“So, with all the trouble Cooper’s been causing certain earthbounds, plus a few mortals, he’s been on the most wanted list,” Daniel said.
“How bad?” I asked. “What happened to his afterlife victims?”
Banning frowned. “Thankfully, he’s new and hasn’t had a lot of time to get stronger. Things could have been worse.”
I gave them both an inquisitive glance. “What happened to the mortals?”
“Some accidents, a job loss,” Banning said all too quickly.
“And one person with serious, short-term depression,” Daniel added with a nervous cough. The gesture caught my attention, probably because I could relate to the depression bit.
“He’d already done enough things to put him on the hit list,” Daniel continued. “But, when he contributed to the death, he made it to the top of the list. Though, Lucifer insisted Cooper wasn’t entirely at fault, that he merely assisted.”
“Not his fault? How could it not be his fault?” I asked.
Neither Banning nor Daniel offered an explanation. Not that I needed one. Things were just as corrupt as when I was alive.
We’d come across an old, rundown house just off the road, with a condemned sign nailed to the front door. The light of the moon illuminated a place that had all the elements of a true haunted house. The front porch pillars had rotted and come loose from the roof, which had since partially collapsed. Black mold had bubbled up behind the wood siding. Most of the porch boards had rotted through and the door hung precariously on rusted hinges. The windows had long since been smashed, probably by vandals, crack heads, or kids trying their pitching arm.
Welcome, if you dare, the house seemed to say. Come, stay awhile...
Banning reached behind his head where his scythe materialized from a wisp of smoke.
Until recently, I hadn’t given it a lot of thought—how reapers mastered the closest thing to magic by producing a weapon from thin air. Scary, but freaking cool. I wasn’t sure if I was in awe or envious. Banning strode away from us and pulled the hood over his head. Other than the skeleton part, he looked eerily like every reaper I’d ever seen in books or movies. Except Banning wasn’t here to take the average soul.
I watched as he walked across dying thistle and tall grass. He resembled a Ringwraith from Tolkien’s works going off to war. The house stood silent, as though it held its breath, watching, waiting for Banning to enter. My imagination swore more black mold had begun to bubble up from behind the boards on the shutters.
Do come in! I’ve been waiting...
“He’ll be okay, right?” I asked Daniel. “I mean, nothing can happen to a reaper, can it?”
“They’re safer than anyone else in purgatory.”
His answer wasn’t the one I wanted to hear. “Which means what, exactly?”
Daniel shrugged. “Just that. Nothing and no one is perfectly safe while walking purgatory. Not even angels.”
My mind screamed for Banning to come back. I didn’t like him going into that house. It gave me the creeps, big time. I’d come to trust Banning in this realm. He and Daniel were all I had, and ever since my death Banning had always been there for me. He knew the right things to say and do.
If there were going to be demons who quite possibly—no—most likely didn’t want Cooper’s escapades on earth to end, Banning would be outnumbered. Inside, there could be all kinds of—things, much less hiding places. Since the fight outside the morgue, I had begun to think of Banning as my personal guardian. I didn’t want anything to happen to him.
I must have moved forward to go after him, not daring to call out and give away his location to the demons inside or to reveal that we were here with him.
Daniel pulled me back.
“This doesn’t feel right,” I said. “It seems like a setup or something.”
Daniel’s hot breath whispered in my ear, “He’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to lose...” I stopped myself. Although I liked Daniel, he wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to bare my soul to. Not something like this. I wasn’t sure if he’d make fun of me or what. I didn’t want to let on how much I needed someone on this side of life without my sister. What would happen if Banning was severely injured and the demons and Cooper came looking for us? Angels wouldn’t help us. Daniel was a demon. And besides, they wouldn’t be safe, either. That’s probably why they didn’t come here often, and I couldn’t blame them. Purgatory was a pretty nasty place. Until now, Banning had a way of making it feel safer.
It’s not safer. It’s just more familiar.
Daniel smiled knowingly. So much for not letting the cat out of the bag. “Banning is good at what he does. He’s one of the best. On this, you can trust me.”
“But something could go wrong.” I hated to sound so insecure.
“Well, yeah. That’s a possibility. But it’s not...” Daniel licked his lips and glanced at the house. “Honest, he’s one of the best.”
Daniel was a pretty good guy disguised as a first class jerk. Right now, he seemed to be thinking about the right thing to say and he was clearly uncomfortable lying. Imagine that—a demon uncomfortable with a simple lie.
“Does Cooper know we’re here?” I whispered in the dark.
“Yes,” he said, as he let go of my arm. I wasn’t resisting anymore. What was the point? I couldn’t go running into the house blindly, calling out to Banning. I’d mess everything up and I’d messed up enough lately. I wasn’t sure it was a setup, anyway. It could just be me and a bad case of nerves.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Banning goes after Cooper.”
Daniel pulled me with him into an open patch of moonlight. We had a clear line of sight to the front of the house.
Now, all I could do was wait and hope Daniel was right about Banning. The house was old and dark with plenty of places to hide. It was hard to fight your enemies when they could be right around the corner.
I stared at the house, and I envisioned it staring back. I envisioned Cooper staring back. Would he recognize me? “I really don’t like this,” I whispered.
“Don’t worry about Cooper. He’s no match for me. He’s too new. Escaped hell before learning the basics. Ignore him if he calls out to you.”
I suddenly understood why I was here—to help draw Cooper out. To distract him. “I’m bait,” I said quietly.
“But bait from a distance. You’re just the edge Banning needs. Speaking of which, Banning isn’t alone.” Daniel motioned toward a massive oak on the far side of the house.
From the look of it, the tree had to be at least a hundred years old. Its gnarled trunk could have hidden a car behind it. Like the house, the tree appeared dilapidated, dead. But not dead. Dormant. I stared into the darkest part of the shadows before I caught a glimpse of a hooded figure. Until now, Banning had been the only one I’d ever seen. And, hold on—yet a second reaper stood next to that one. The patch of darkness the two new reapers gathered in made it hard to see many details. What I could see were their scythes glistening like slivers of moonlight as they made their way up the steps and into the house just as Banning had done moments earlier.
Three reapers. One dead lunatic with a ticket back to hell. Or so I hoped.
“The demons,” I said suddenly. “You said there would be demons. How many?”
Daniel tensed behind me. “In the house with Cooper? Or out here, with us?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
The stench of sulfur filled the air.
“Smell that?” Daniel asked.
I wrinkled my nose. “Is that a rhetorical question?”
“Materi
alizing demons,” Daniel said.
“Why can’t you have birds like everyone else?” I muttered, hoping my joke masked my rising panic. If demons had birds, I’d bet they’d use vultures. Really nasty, ugly ones. I backed up a couple steps, hoping Daniel would take my cue—run, hide. I wasn’t ready for an encounter with other demons. Not now, not ever.
“On the bright side,” Daniel said. “You wanted to see what demons prefer to look like? Well, here’s your chance.” He reached for me. “Stand behind me, okay?”
I stared at the ramshackle house, as if that alone might bring Banning and the other reapers back outside.
What if the house keeps him? What if it doesn’t let him go?
It was a house. Nothing more. Just a dilapidated relic belonging to the world of the living, not some living, breathing monster in this world—my new world.
Just a house. Just a house… I repeated to myself.
“Can’t we warn Banning they’re coming?” I asked, trying to sound brave.
Daniel drew himself up, tensing. “Those demons aren’t here for him, Keely. They’re here for us.”
There he went with the Keely instead of Sunshine thing again. I’d come to distrust Daniel’s use of my name. It always meant he was deadly serious. Worse, he confirmed my fears. “Us? This isn’t good.”
Daniel gently pulled me closer and whispered into my ear, “I’m on your side, just go along with me, okay?”
Reluctantly, I nodded. Sure, I trusted Daniel to a certain extent, but not like I trusted Banning. Daniel had already told me a scorpion was always a scorpion. I just didn’t want to be the frog crossing the stream. Demons hung with other demons.
“How many?” I asked. I figured I should at least know what we were up against—not that it’d do me a lot of good. I squinted, trying to get a better look, but the darkness made it nearly impossible. They could be anywhere. I shivered involuntarily.
“Two.” He positioned himself between me and a couple of hulking shapes emerging from the dark. In the cool night, their breaths were easy to see—they blew heavy puffs of steam into the air like the hellish half-human, half-beasts I’d imagined they’d be. The earth vibrated slightly with each thunderous step they took toward us.
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