by ID Johnson
Before Ru could even respond, the black mist formed out of nowhere, this time wrapping itself around Thanatos. A few seconds later, it dissipated, and he was gone.
Footsteps sounded behind Cutter, and Ru was relieved to see three other familiar faces staring down at her. A few of them were nursing injuries, and Rider had a large gash in his cheek. “You okay, kid?” he shouted down to her.
“Mostly,” Ru yelled back. “Although it would be great if one of you could teach me that levitating trick now because my ankle hurts like a son of a bitch.”
Cutter hopped down, similarly to the way Thanatos had but more quickly. He rushed over to her but stopped short of touching her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“My shoulder and my ankle hurt, but I’ll be all right.” Ru looked into his eyes and knew for certain this is the one she could trust.
“Thank God,” Cutter said, looking up at the sky as if he was actually praying. “Did you use your light?”
She nodded, still not sure how it had happened. “It just… came out of me.”
He laughed. “Good. We’ll teach you how to control it. I had a feeling you’d use it if you needed it. Ru, I’m so glad you were able to see through Thanatos’s lies.”
“How did you know where I was?” she asked, wondering if he’d been in her head again.
“Lyric had a feeling there was something suspicious going on with this Kyle person, so she was following you.”
She remembered Kyle—Thanatos—looking repeatedly in the rearview mirror. He must’ve seen her car but decided it wasn’t anything to be concerned about. He had thought wrong. Ru looked up at Lyric who didn’t look ashamed at all. She waved down at Ru, and she smiled in return. “Glad you made it here in time.”
“We did, but you could’ve escaped by yourself. I told you you were a force to be reckoned with, Ru.”
Finding herself at a loss for words, Ru only managed to grin at him.
Cutter continued. “I promised you, we’ll find your mother, and you can visit your father. I meant it.”
“I know, and I need to promise you something, too. From now on, I’ll trust you. Completely. If we’re going to journey down this path together, that’s the least I can do. Now, I need you to help me learn how to use these powers so that I can find my mom.”
“You’re with us then?”
“Hell, yeah,” Ru said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “I’m a Keeper, Cutter. It’s my destiny. My lot.”
Careful not to hurt her shoulder, Cutter wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a gentle hug. “Come on, let’s get you home. You have a lot to learn, and time’s running out.”
Without any hesitation, Ru took Cutter’s hand and let him lead her to the side of the ravine where they were able to lift her out of the dark pit she’d fallen into. Even though they were surrounded by the darkness, which crept in through every crack and crevice, Ru understood that darkness was only the absence of light, and it was her task to illuminate the darkness, to brighten the most heavily shadowed corners, to leave no stone unturned until she found her mother and fulfilled her own destiny.
End Book 1
Ruin’s Promise
Reaper’s Hollow Book 2
ID Johnson
Ruin’s Promise Chapter One
Ru took a deep breath and surveyed the little faces sitting on the carpet in front of her. She sat on the chair from which she’d read dozens of stories already in just the two months that school had been in session. She thought back to how optimistic she’d been back then, thinking this would be the best class she’d ever had, and she would teach them so much before the end of the school year. Now, it was only eight weeks later, and she was preparing to tell them goodbye. The tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill over; she only hoped she could manage to get her message out before the dam gave way.
Cutter had told his class last Friday and had been gone for an entire week now. His replacement, Kristin Collins, was sweet, and Ru had assured him they were in good hands. Now, it was her turn. Never in a million years had she envisioned herself leaving her classroom, her profession, but she had important work to do, somehow even more important than nurturing these amazing minds, and she had promised she would carry through. Thankfully, Cutter had gone with her to tell Mrs. Long, the school principal, that she had to take at least the rest of the school year off. It had gone better than Ru had imagined it could, probably because Cutter had influenced the principal somehow, and Mrs. Long was happy he’d already found highly qualified replacements for both of them.
Ru wished she knew how to use the power of persuasion the way Cutter did. She knew there would be tears as she made her announcement and not just from her. Mrs. Long entered the room, followed by a tall woman with bright red hair who was just a little older than Ru. They’d met, and she had instantly liked Cindy Lewis. Otherwise, there’s no way she could get out what she was about to say. Ms. Lewis smiled at Ru sympathetically, and Ru managed to smile back.
“Okay, boys and girls. Ms. Roberts has something very important to tell you,” Ru said, quietly.
“You look sad, Ms. Roberts,” one of the little girls, Shayna, surmised.
“That’s because I am a little sad, sweet girl,” she replied. “You all know how very much I care about each and every one of you, don’t you?”
“Yes, Ms. Roberts,” they answered in unison, which made her smile.
“I’ve told you lots of times before that you are the very best students in the whole world, right?” They made their affirmations, mostly with nods, a few blurting out a positive response. “Well, something has happened with my family, and Ms. Roberts is going to have to stop being your teacher.”
“What? No!” another girl, Meg, shouted out.
“But we love you!” Kevin agreed, his eyes wide.
“You can’t go!” Chris protested.
The tears were really threatening now. “I know it’s hard, my friends. I’m having a hard time with it, too, but I have to. Luckily, Mrs. Long has found you a wonderful new teacher. This is Ms. Lewis, and starting on Monday, she will be your new teacher.”
“No!” Shayna yelled.
“But we want you to be our teacher!” another student shouted.
There were several more protests before Ru managed to bring them back to quiet. “Boys and girls, I know you don’t mean to be rude to Ms. Lewis.” A glance at the other woman told her she was nothing but sympathetic and not at all offended. Tears were beginning to spill down Ru’s cheeks now as she looked at their faces. Several of them were beginning to cry, too. “Believe me, if there was any way that I could stay, I would. But I have to go.”
“Did someone die?” Ira blurted out, his face seemingly unaffected by his teacher’s revelation, even though Ru was sure he’d miss her. He was a student with autism, and she wasn’t exactly sure how this would affect him.
“No, no one died,” she replied. “I wish I could explain it to you, but it’s very complicated.” Thoughts of all of the reasons why she needed to go, and how even a group of adults wouldn’t have ever believed her, crowded her mind. “But you guys are going to be just fine! I promise!”
“Will you come and visit us?” Chris asked.
“As often as I can,” Ru replied, hoping she actually could do that. Mrs. Long had assured her it would be an option the day she’d resigned.
“We love you!” Kevin stood and hugged her, and then twenty-two nine- and ten-year-olds were on their feet, hugging her, crying, and professing their love for her.
“I love you, too, so very much,” Ru assured each of them. Once everyone had been hugged at least once, the kids sat back down. Ru stood, and crossing over to Ms. Lewis, she said, “Take good care of them.”
“I will,” Cindy assured her, hugging Ru tightly.
As the woman released her, Ru said, “It’s your class now,” and took her spot next to Mrs. Long. There was just one hour left in the day, and she would stay in the classroom, but Ms. Lewis no
dded and headed to the front of the class, taking Ru’s seat. She introduced herself and began to interact with the kids. Though many of them cast longing glances in her direction, she could see right away that they liked Ms. Lewis. They were going to be just fine.
“How did it go?” Cutter Michaels asked, almost as soon as she walked in the door. Her face must have told him everything because he opened his arms, and she buried her face in his shoulder, the tears resurfacing. He hugged her gently, careful not to put too much pressure on her shoulder which was healing from the fall she’d taken in the woods a few weeks ago. Luckily, it had only been dislocated and not broken. “I’m so sorry,” he said quietly, stroking her hair. “It’ll get better. In a few days, it won’t hurt nearly as much.”
She realized he knew because he’d just told his class goodbye as well, but he wasn’t really a teacher, so she had no way of knowing if he really cared for his students the same way she did. Having witnessed him with his class these past weeks, she thought he did, though; he seemed to love each of them very much.
After a moment, she was able to regain her composure. “I’m sorry,” she said, stepping back and swiping at her eyes. She noticed she’d left a wet streak on the shoulder of his blue long-sleeved shirt, which was the same color as his eyes. She looked around for something to dry her tears and maybe sop up the damp spot on his shirt as well, and Cutter stepped aside to grab some tissues off of a nearby table.
Handing her a few, he said, “It’s fine. It’ll dry,” and smiled sympathetically at her. “I think Ivy’s just about done with dinner.”
She nodded. For the last two and a half weeks, she’d been coming out to their house, Angel Grove, in the middle of the woods to practice her skills every night after school and had even spent the weekends here. Now that she was officially part of their operation and no longer a teacher, she’d be moving in. From here, she wasn’t sure where this new path might lead her, but she had to focus on being excited about the future instead of lamenting the past. Her house was for sale, her belongings packed and ready to be put in storage, except for the few things she’d move in with her here, and her cat, Piper, had already taken to Ivy and Lyric, happy to have some company during the day, though she didn’t seem to like Rider very much for some reason.
As if Ru’s thoughts had drawn her over, Piper came out of the dining room, meowing and purring. Ru bent down to scoop her up. Even if she spent a lot of time with the other women in the house, Ru knew she was still her kitty’s favorite person. “There she is!” Ru cooed, nestling her soft orange and white fur with her nose. “I missed you.” Piper continued to purr and rubbed her neck on Ru’s shoulder. It was nice to still have semblance of normal.
Cutter stood a few feet away watching them, the smile on his face haunted by sadness, though Ru wasn’t exactly sure why. Since Cutter and the others had helped her escape Thanatos and his army of Reapers in the woods not far from this very house a few weeks ago, her relationship with Cutter seemed even more complex than it had been before, and she never quite knew what he was thinking. Much of her training had been under his instruction. He was always calm and patient with her, even when it took her much too long to follow his directions.
Despite the fact that she’d drawn upon her power of light to defeat Thanatos, she had a hard time harnessing it on command under relaxed situations. It was getting better, and she could now call the blue light to flicker in her fingers, at least weakly, almost as soon as she was asked to do so. But there were still other skills she hadn’t been able to demonstrate at all, including the transformation into her spirit form that would allow her to enter other streams of consciousness or realms, which was essential to her job as a Keeper. If she didn’t master it, she would never be able to ferret out the Reapers she was meant to send back to Hell. Cutter insisted she get this down before they embarked on a journey to find Ru’s mother, Seraphina, a Keeper who went into hiding when Ru was a little girl because she’d fallen in love with Ru’s father, Larkin, who happened to be a Reaper.
It was all complex and complicated, and much of her wished she could go back to her ordinary life as a school teacher, but now that she knew she had a calling as a Keeper, Ru couldn’t do that. Wishing she’d been brought up knowing her true identity, instead of being placed in the care of her now-adoptive mother, Liddy Brown, who clearly preferred her two biological daughters over Ru, couldn’t change the past, and Ru struggled with finding a balance between longing for a different history and accepting where she was in life.
“How did Candice do today?” Cutter asked, snapping Ru out of her deep thoughts. “Did she cry?”
Sighing, Ru put Piper down, and her cat scampered off, likely on the prowl for another mouse. There were some things about living in an ancient house in the middle of a forest that Ru definitely could’ve done without. “Candice certainly cried,” she said, not sure she should talk about it if she wanted to avoid tearing up again herself. Candice had been her best friend for over three years, since Ru first started working at Thomas Elementary as a brand new teacher. Candice had mentored her and been her ally in a fight against uppity team leader Jane Owen. Now, an ongoing battle that used to seem important was nothing compared with the new adversaries Ru would face.
“It must’ve been hard for her to understand why you had to leave so abruptly,” Cutter noted, folding his arms against his chest. Ru had told Candice that she had some information that could help her track down her birth mother, which was true, but she never would’ve guessed the rest of the story.
“Yeah, she kept telling me I should wait until the summer, which under normal circumstances would make sense. Of course, I couldn’t tell her anything else. Like about the Reapers wanting to claim my soul.”
Cutter snickered, despite the seriousness of the comment. “No, that might be a little hard for anyone to swallow. But, I guess you know that.”
Ru nodded. It had taken her quite a few weeks, and lots of demonstrations of supernatural ability, before she’d come to the conclusion that Cutter and the rest of the Keepers were telling her the truth. “I think your made up story that your mother is terminally ill was a little bit easier for people to grasp, though the staff meeting this week was much more somber without you as the female teachers’ eye candy.” She wondered if that was a bit too much to say, but the thought occurred too late. A blush began to creep up her neck. Would he think she was including herself in that group? “Anyway, Coach Clark sure misses you, though I secretly think he likes being the only guy again because now everyone who was doting over you has returned their attention to him.”
A crooked smile spread across Cutter’s handsome face. “Coach Clark’s a good guy. And he wasn’t kidding when he said his wife could bake cookies.” He let out a wistful sigh. “I’m gonna miss those.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with my cookies?” Ivy Uriels asked, coming in from the kitchen. She wore an apron over her jeans and pink sweater. Her very long blonde hair, which was just about the same shade as Ru’s, was tied up in a massive bun at the back of her head. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour. I know it’s a little early, but I figured you guys had a lot to do tonight.”
“Thank you,” Ru said, smiling in her direction. She was probably the only person in the history of the world who stayed late on their last day at work, but she couldn’t pull herself away. She’d only had a few personal items to bring home because she’d decided to leave the rest of the immense collection of teaching tools she’d amassed over the last few years for her replacement. There was a box in the back of her Enclave with mementos, important papers, and a picture of Piper from her desk in it, not to mention lots of student gifts that proclaimed she was The World’s Greatest Teacher or #1 Teacher, but she’d get that later. The sun was beginning to go down, and Cutter liked to take full advantage of the evenings for her training because most of her work would be done that time of day. He thought it would help her concentrate. So far, his theory had been less than convincing, but Ru was
determined to figure this out, one way or another.
“Did it go okay?” Ivy asked, a concerned expression on her pretty face. She looked like she wanted to ask more but was being tentative.
Ru nodded. “It was hard, but I’ll survive.”
“Awww,” Ivy opened her arms, and Ru stepped over and hugged her new friend. She hadn’t known Ivy very long, but of all of the Keepers she’d met, she would definitely be Ru’s candidate for most-like-an-angel, if that were an award. Since Keepers were half-angel, one might think they’d all be as good natured and kind as Ivy, but she had the other three beat, hands down. Not that Cutter, Rider, and Lyric were bad people or anything. They just definitely seemed a bit more human than Ivy.
Determined not to cry again, Ru stepped back before Ivy could cause such an emotional reaction with her empathy. “Where’re the other two?” she asked.
“Rider is working on the new bathroom upstairs, and I think Lyric is looking for information, trying to figure out where the portal might be. She might also still be trying to decipher your scars.” Ivy looked down at her apron as she spoke. Ru was impressed that, no matter how messy the dish, Ivy always managed to keep herself tidy, and everything she cooked was delicious.
It had only been a couple of weeks since Lyric had taken a picture of Ru’s scars, the ones she had been given her true name, Rune, by her mother for, but she hadn’t had any luck getting a clear translation yet. Ru knew Lyric Gabriels well enough already to understand she wouldn’t give up until she found an answer. She nodded at Ivy and managed a small smile.
“Still not sure why Rider’s putting another bathroom in a house we probably won’t be staying in long term,” Cutter commented. “But if it gives him something to do….”
“I think he’s tired of there being three girls and only two bathrooms,” Ivy chuckled, stepping back toward the kitchen. “Personally, I wouldn’t mind if he had his very own restroom.” She made a face as if to say Rider Michaels had a habit of stinking up the other bathrooms, and Ru couldn’t help but chuckle. Rider was something else, that was for sure.