Reap & Reveal (The Reaper Series Book 3)

by Lisa Medley

  “Right.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The best thing about the prison plan was that detained criminals were very compliant when the carrot of freedom was dangled before them. At least in the short-term. Without even knowing what they were signing up for, the prisoners had filed onto a bus headed his way. Of course, the alternative—staying in the prison—must have appeared less than attractive since they had watched their cellmates and guards lose their souls to demon attackers. After that, getting on a bus had to seem like a lesser evil.

  Neither Camael nor his hellish minions could penetrate the reaper compound because of the magical shield created by their witch. There was nothing Camael hated more than magic. Okay, maybe reapers. Magic was certainly a close second.

  But magic could only keep out the supernatural.

  Not humans. Even their witch couldn’t conjure that defense.

  His display in the cemetery would soon draw all of the Authority reapers to investigate. He had no doubt. In the meantime, he would collect his missing piece while the Authority was otherwise engaged, and on Christmas Eve he would open the final portal. With the sacrifice, the portal could be kept open permanently and all of Hell’s demons would be unleashed to reap his—their—harvest.

  No more dicking around.

  He waited and watched from his concealed position near the compound. Luckily, there was very little activity, which indicated that the distractions he’d set up in town had funneled the Authority resources there, just as he’d hoped. Movement caught his eye and he gasped when Maeve stepped out of one of the traveling tin-cans-on-wheels to talk to Ruth, who stood unprotected on its steps.

  Clearly, he had been remiss in not confirming her demise, but he’d pulled her soul free on his way out. He’d felt it, seen it. That alone should have been enough to render her useless. He’d taken no care in shielding his thoughts from her while he occupied her body because he had planned to destroy her once she was no longer beneficial to him.

  And now she was not only alive, but lucid and dressed for combat?

  Frustration mounted inside him. This was one more in a long list of disappointments.

  At this point, Maeve was a distraction he couldn’t afford to pursue. Whatever the Authority might have gleaned from her was of no concern to him now. The wheels had been set into motion and no amount of interference would stop the momentum of what was about to happen. In a few more hours, his work would be done.

  Relief filled him when Maeve flashed, leaving Ruth alone at the compound. He’d thought about capturing them both the moment Ruth stepped out of the circle of protection, but he needed to keep his own vessel intact and a physical method of transportation to get Ruth to the final portal. He couldn’t afford any damage to his vessel to achieve his goals. He had a plan. He just needed to work it. The one question that he still pondered as he waited for his reinforcements to arrive was whether to kill the rest of the reapers before or after opening the final portal.

  It would be so much sweeter to wait, forcing them to witness the full glory of their failure. Then again, killing them first would be equally satisfying. After all, the reason he had signed up for this mission in the first place was to revenge himself on reapers.…

  Well, they would die either way. He just needed to choose whether it would be quickly or slowly.

  Decisions. Decisions.

  Perhaps he’d flip a coin to decide.

  As soon as he had what he needed safe and secure, he’d make his choice.

  For now, he was content to watch the reaper compound from the edge of the circle of protection, careful not to get near enough to set off any alarms. It would take at least another half an hour before the demons brought his human minions by prison bus. Mechanical transportation was a pathetic, albeit necessary, limitation of being human.

  Camael could smell the hellhound inside from where he stood, but he didn’t see it on the grounds. Surely they hadn’t made a pet of the thing and allowed it inside.

  Savages.

  Killing it would almost be more enjoyable than dispatching those two reapers tonight. He hoped he would get the opportunity. Even with the circle of protection, he could sense four souls inside the structures: the great betraying beast, Ruth and his quarry, and someone else. The fourth seemed somehow familiar, but who…or what could it be?

  It wouldn’t be much longer now.

  ***

  Nate landed at the last known location of the replacement reapers and found a whole lot of nothing except for two crushed phones. The reapers had definitely been abducted. Sweeping his eyes over the street, he looked for any possible clues as to where they might have been taken. Nothing stood out. He was no detective. And without Bo, he had no idea how to start tracking them. Why hadn’t he brought the dog along?

  He wasn’t thinking clearly. With everything that had been happening, he was beyond fried. This was just the sort of bullshit cowboy stuff that got a guy killed. The shitty thing was that he knew it. Would have kicked his friends’ asses for it. And here he was doing the same damned thing. His emotions had made him weak.

  And this reaper and angel and demon nonsense? What happened to the good old days when he’d thought all the bad guys were humans? Drunk drivers and serial killers.

  He really wished he could forget the shit he’d learned over this past year. And after the latest revelations, that list of wishful unknowing was getting longer by the hour. Maeve might not be so lucky to have her memory back after all.

  He needed to get to Deacon. So much was going down that he was completely unaware of, and now this diversion.

  He checked his phone again. Deacon was less than four blocks away. The remaining reapers were scattered across neighboring streets. As Nate watched the screen, Maeve appeared on the radar, too, popping up in Maple Park Cemetery, probably out of sheer force of habit. The Authority reapers were still getting used to the fact that they no longer needed to use consecrated ground for flashing. She would be heading toward Deacon next. Nate slid back into the consecrated subway, relieved that he would be with both of them soon.

  It was as good a place to start as any.

  ***

  Bo growled beside the bed as Ruth beat her pillow into submission. She couldn’t believe she was finally alone and she couldn’t even enjoy it. Guilt racked her. Temperance had only been trying to help. Deep down she realized it, but dang it! She’d finally broken free of her self-imposed chains only to be imprisoned by new ones. Even if they were for her own good, it didn’t make it any more palatable.

  Bitter medicine was bitter medicine no matter how much bubblegum flavoring you poured into it.

  While it had surprised her that she’d actually managed to send Temperance away, for the first time in a long time she was afraid. Ruth had no doubt that the circle of protection would hold, but something felt off. A flutter brought her hand to her rounded belly. It was way too early to feel a kick, but something was definitely going on in there. A wave of fear flooded through her. What if in all her hysterics she had hurt the baby after all? She was so stupid. Selfish. Stubborn.

  Maybe she was genetically inclined to put her child in danger. If what Nate said was true and her mother Elaina had traveled the consecrated subway while nine months pregnant? Maybe the apple really didn’t fall far from the tree.

  Another twinge amped up her panic as the skin across her stomach grew tight for a few seconds then relaxed.

  False labor? No, way too early for that.

  She should never have read that stupid What to Expect When You’re Expecting book.

  Still, she knew something was agitating her unborn baby…and Bo.

  She refused to act like a B-movie victim and go searching for trouble in the dark. She would, however, happily hold the sawed-off shotgun across her lap, aiming it at the trailer door. Deacon had given her quite an education on the gun. With the plug removed, it now held six shells. While he hadn’t actually let her fire it, it seemed like a very effective weapon th
at required little finesse.

  Pump. Shoot. Pump. Shoot. Repeat.

  It was the next best thing to a hellhound…and a guardian angel.

  As she grabbed the gun and rested the barrel across her stomach, she almost let herself believe that.

  ***

  When Nate reached Deacon, his friend was busy dispatching yet another demon. He watched as the reaper surrounded the demon in an orange glow of energy before drawing it into his body. Deacon was the last stop for demons. The Authority reapers had taken to dropping the hosts in various secluded locations downtown, then clearing them in groups. It wasn’t ideal, but it saved them dozens of trips to Purgatory every night to dispose of the bodies that would otherwise be littering the streets.

  The non-Authority replacement reapers, the ones he searched for now, didn’t have the special powers of the others, so the fact they’d vanished into thin air didn’t bode well at all. Deacon could probably find them with his enhanced Powers sensitivities, but given all the craziness that was going down, he’d been a little busy.

  Nate felt a twinge of guilt. It had been selfish of him to do nothing but search for and then take care of Maeve, but he’d been consumed.

  Deacon noticed him as he approached and the relief on the dude’s face was visible. Nate wouldn’t let him down again.

  “Thank God. You ever pull that disappearing shit on me again, I’m going to kick your ass six ways to Sunday. How’s Maeve?”

  “She’s good. She’ll be here any minute. We have a problem.”

  “Well of course we do. What now? Other than the obvious?”

  Nate filled him in on the status of the replacement reapers, and then hit the highlights of his trip to the coven with Maeve. There wasn’t time to get into the nitty-gritty, but the bombshell about Elaina Carter and Ruth possibly being his sister would be enough to throw Deacon off balance. Not to mention the incendiary fact that Maeve knew how Camael could be defeated.

  “Finally we catch a break. Unbelievable. I can’t wait to hear more. We need to shut this shit down…and now we can. He’s going to try to accelerate his plan.” He nodded at Nate. “Here comes your girl.”

  Nate cringed. He doubted Maeve would appreciate being referred to that way and he doubly doubted she was anywhere close to being his girl, despite their night together. Things had seemed much clearer while they were cocooned together in his basement room. Now he had no idea where they stood.

  Maeve looked shaken as she walked toward them, her jet-black hair swaying between her shoulders.

  “What is it?” Nate asked, concerned by the vacant look in her eyes.

  “I found your reapers.”

  “That’s great. Where are they?” Deacon asked, searching the street behind her.

  “Dead. In Maple Park Cemetery.”

  “What the hell?” Deacon exploded in a fit of rage.

  Nate took hold of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “Are you sure?”

  “They’re holding their heads in their laps. So, yeah, I’m sure. There’s more.” She looked back at Deacon. “Ruth sent Temperance away. She’s pissed off and home alone. I didn’t want to leave her, but Olivia wasn’t back from the food kitchen yet and I knew I needed to find you, Deacon. She was talking crazy before I left. I think I talked her down, but…”

  “Crazy how?”

  “Like she-might-leave-the-compound-to-find-her-mom crazy. She wanted Nate to take her, and then she asked me when she realized he was already gone. I told her there was no way I was going to take her.”

  “Deacon!” Dardariel called as he and Ouriel emerged from a nearby alley.

  “For the love of God, what now?”

  “Something’s going on at the prison. The place is coming apart at the seams. At first we thought it was a riot, but it’s demons. The place is three-quarters empty. The only humans who are left are dead.”

  “Any more good news for me?”

  “Raguel is missing.”

  ***

  Camael was pleased to see the bus pull down the long driveway after what had seemed like an eternity. The prisoners’ arrival was a good omen. By now, the prison would be empty and the city would be full of wanderers and criminals. That should keep the Authority busy for long enough for him to collect what he needed and get everything into place.

  His remaining demons would be busy ferrying the prisoners’ souls to Hell. Soon the final portal would be open and they would all be free to play.

  The bus came to a stop outside the circle of protection and Camael skirted the edge of the woods toward the vehicle. The door folded open and the first of twenty-four men walked down the steps and gathered in a group before him, several of them clearly evaluating all possible escape routes.

  When one rather scrawny specimen started running toward the woods, Camael flashed over to him and tore his head off with a flourish. The man’s body crumbled to the ground. Camael lifted up the head by the hair, careful not to get any more schmutz on his host than necessary, and walked back to his troops. There were no more runners after that.

  Heads roll and people start paying attention.

  An unusually tall, well-muscled human stepped forward. “What is this place?”

  “Your name?”

  “Little Stevie.”

  “Well, Little Stevie, this is the boonies, and if you can manage to accomplish a very simple task, this will be your ticket to freedom.”

  “If it’s so simple, why don’t you do it yourself?” A few prisoners grunted their approval from behind him.

  Camael tossed the head at Little Stevie’s feet. “Do not worry your pretty little head, dearest Stevie. I will be doing more than my fair share in tonight’s activities. Now, are you in? Will you claim your freedom by fulfilling this one small task or will you join the friend whose head is currently resting at your feet?”

  “He’s not my friend.”

  “Choose.”

  Little Stevie gave the head a sturdy kick, punting it away from him like a soccer ball. “What do you want us to do?”

  Camael pointed toward the trailer where Ruth was holed up. “See that trailer? The one with a light on? All you have to do is go over there and bring the woman who’s inside it here…to me. Nothing else.”

  “Why can’t you do it?”

  “Again with the questions? If you bothered to ask this many questions in your previous life, you would most likely not have been incarcerated in the first place. Do it or do not. It’s your choice, but you will join your non-friend if your choice is no.”

  Little Stevie turned to the men behind him, evaluating his odds. “Let’s do it.”

  Camael smiled as they crossed through the circle of protection without so much as a hiccup. So easy.

  They walked toward the trailer, some using cover as they could. Two others traipsed right up to the front door and one turned the handle. The hellhound was through the door before the second man’s foot touched the bottom step.

  Their throats torn out, they didn’t stumble far before dying in a gurgling pile in front of the door. Several of the other men stepped back, reevaluating their resolve.

  “If you come back empty handed, I will tear your throats out. I suggest you proceed.”

  Little Stevie split the prisoners into two groups, one to deal with the dog and the other to make another attempt on the trailer. The first blast blew through the doorway as the next man breached the trailer. The dog swept through the distraction crew while five more shots blasted through the trailer door. When the shooting stopped, Little Stevie lunged through the doorway, reappearing a moment later with his hand around Ruth’s throat and a blade pressed to her stomach.

  The dog hunkered down and watched him as he brought her down the steps.

  Little Stevie eased them back through the yard and toward Camael, using Ruth as a shield. A few more feet and Camael would be free to inflict some pain if need be.

  “Camael, I assume,” Ruth said.

  “Yes, dear. It’s wonderful
to see you again.”

  “You have got to be batshit crazy to kidnap a pregnant woman.”

  “Oh, you are much more than that. Where is the other soul?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Another soul is near. Who and where?”

  “What you see is what you get, Camael. There are no others.”

  She did not appear to be lying, but Camael could still feel the fourth soul nearby. “Put her on the bus.” The demons grabbed hold of her and walked her up the stairs of the bus.

  Bo charged toward the circle of protection after the straggling prisoners as they made their retreat. The great beast pinned the last man to the ground.

  Camael watched with amusement as the man screamed for help, then summoned his demons to return to him. Before they could, Little Stevie walked up to the hound and sliced its soft underbelly with the blade he’d held to Ruth’s stomach seconds before. The dog wailed and retreated, hunkering against the frozen ground, apparently helpless to leave the circle of protection without Ruth. Panting, the beast whimpered softly as blood pooled around its sides.

  Killing the hound had been easier than he’d imagined. Camael laughed in admiration. “You are perhaps more helpful than I anticipated, Little Stevie.”

  Camael turned and walked back toward the bus when a glow behind him brought his attention back to the dog. The beast was radiating an aura.

  What the hell?

  As the glow grew more intense, the hound’s panting increased as well. A bright explosion of light flashed, temporarily rendering Camael blind. When his vision cleared, the angel Rashnu crouched naked beside the hellhound. The fourth soul.

  “Now things are getting interesting. Everyone onto the bus, you know where to go. Do not stop for anything. I’ll be along shortly.”

  The bus cranked to life, turned in the yard and disappeared down the long driveway.

  Camael stared at the angel as he found his bearings and stood.

  “Naked as a newborn. So you’ve been hiding in the hellhound all this time?”

  “Not hiding. Observing.” Rashnu rose to his full height and stretched. First one wing then the other unfolded behind him, his aura glowing bright pink around him.