by Boone Brux
A wicked grin split his face. “I want to capture your face when you see your porter for the first time.”
Jackass.
I jabbed an accusing finger at him. “What about the no tell rule? You can’t show the picture to anybody.”
“I can’t show non-GRS employees. However, I can post it on our inter-office web page.”
I looked at Constantine, my finger remaining aimed at Nate. “Can he do that?”
“Yeah, sorry, it boosts employee morale.” He patted me on the shoulder and another zing of electricity shot through me. I flinched and scowled. “And I’m sure this won’t be the last time he captures the moment. Nate loves this shit.”
I lowered my arm but continued to glare at my partner. “Okay, but remember, two can play that game.”
“Bring it on.” His gaze captured mine. Clearly he didn’t think I had revenge in me. Ha, the joke was on him. I had kids. Conniving was my middle name. “Are you going to call or should we go home for the day?” he continued.
“I kind of like the idea of calling it a day.”
“Not an option,” Constantine said, putting an end to our bickering. “Now, if you’d be so kind.”
Determined to show Nate I was made of stronger stuff than he believed me to be, I took a big breath and called, “Porter.”
Nothing happened.
Constantine shifted, crossing his arms. “Try again.”
Even his simple request sounded like a command. Again, a tiny niggle of doubt that he was just a reaper ghosted through me. I cleared my throat. “Porter.”
My heart beat sped up when a think pink line of light appeared at the end of the room. Instantly, I cued in on the pink and a tiny wave of relief washed through me. I hadn’t considered I might get a female porter. The tension eased from my posture.
Just like at the Holiday station, the light widened and spread, forming a door. I glanced at Nate but the jackass still had his phone pointed at me. I ignored him and turned back to the diming light. Seconds ticked by as the scene solidified. For some reason I couldn’t blink or look away. It was like opening a secret Santa gift at an office party. Would it be something good inside or a gag gift? After what seemed like forever, the door slid open.
Nate’s camera clicked to my right a few times, but I was unable to look away from what I could only describe as the biggest gag gift ever. I pointed. “What—the hell—is—that?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Well, it certainly wasn’t a woman, but I wasn’t sure it was a man either. Creepy transvestite circus master came to mind. Its yellow eyes peered at me over the top of small round sunglasses. Tall and thin, its stance almost feminine. A shiny gold blouse draped its torso and bright purple leopard leggings hugged long, slender legs. The only masculine thing about the porter was the heavy heeled black boots. Spikes gutted from the sides and chains circled the ankles. Definitely a deterrent for getting too close—like I needed another reason not to get near this…porter.
“Oh crap,” Constantine said.
I whipped around to face him. “Crap what? Why crap.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nate added. I spun to him. He lowered his phone/camera. “This can’t be right.”
“Oh my God, would somebody tell me what’s going on!”
“That’s—”
“Hal Lee Lewya,” the porter cut in with a deep purr. Okay, I went with male. He gave a low bow. “At your service, pretty lady.” Hal straightened and smiled. A single gold canine winked at me, making him look like a 1980’s music video star. “And you must be my new reaper.” He tipped a tiny purple top hat in my direction. “A pleasure to finally be reassigned.”
“More like a surprise you’ve been reassigned,” Nate said.
“Why?” My gaze bounced between Constantine and Nate. “Why a surprise?”
“Hal had a little trouble with his last reaper.” Constantine took a step forward, partially blocking my view. “Decided to take him on a little trip to Hell.”
“What do you mean?” I remembered Nate telling me not to touch Pick. The reason was sinking in. “Like Black Friday at Target trip to Hell or literally a trip to Hell?”
“Literally—” Constantine let the rest of his statement hang in the air.
Hal waved a bejeweled hand in the air. “You got him back. I don’t know what the big fuss was.”
The floor shifted almost imperceptibly under my feet. My heart jumped to my throat. Earthquakes in Alaska are common, but I still hated them. I glanced at Nate. With a flick of his hand he motioned me closer. Seemed like a good idea for protection’s sake. Obviously there was a lot going on I didn’t understand.
“The big fuss is that,” Constantine said, “he’s spent the last nine years in a mental institution because of what he saw. And this isn’t the first time you’ve pull a stunt like this, or do you need reminding?”
When Constantine spoke his voice was set low. Power rolled off of him, as if emitting an invisible electrical charge. The light on the wall flickered. I took another step toward Nate. For the first time I really looked at Constantine. Not just his chiseled body and stunning face, but all of him. I assumed he was nothing more than a GRS bigwig. Now I wasn’t sure he was even human. The way Hal Lee Lewya cast his gaze toward the floor told me I was probably right.
“No, you don’t need to rehash my sins. I assure you, Constantine, I have learned my lesson and have been thoroughly punished.” Hal lifted his stare. “Enough to satisfy even you.”
“I doubt that.”
Silence blanketed the room. Unsure what I should do, I cleared my throat. That drew everybody’s attention. “Soooo, is Hal my porter,”—which I seriously hoped he wasn’t—“or am I to be assigned somebody new.”
“No.” Constantine looked at me. “He’s yours.” He paused. “Sorry.”
Oh goodie.
I was learning that things at GRS were what they were, and there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. “Well then…” I turned to Hal. “My name is Lisa Carron.”
Hal’s yellow eyes drifted slowly down my body and back up to rest on my face. Okay, I needed a shower after that little perusal, but I ignored his rudeness. Or maybe he wasn’t being rude. Maybe a thorough body scan was considered proper behavior for one of the Netherworld’s minions. At that point I didn’t care. I just wanted him gone.
His long slim fingers toyed with a wide metal cuff at his wrist. “Lisa.”
The velvety purr of his voice wrapped around me and tugged me forward. I stepped toward him and Nate grabbed my arm. My gaze tracked from his hand to face.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
“What?” It took a couple of seconds for the situation to register. “I mean…” I glared at Hal. “That wasn’t very nice.”
He shrugged. “A little porter humor.”
“What, luring me in so you can drag me to Hell too?”
“You hurt me.” He pressed a delicate hand to his gold shirt. “I told you I’d learned my lesson.”
“No,” I pulled my arm out of Nate’s grasp, “you said you’ve been punished. It’s not the same thing.”
He tilted up his chin and laughed. “You’re clever, Lisa Carron.” Slowly his laughter died. “I will remember that.”
Unsure what that meant, I looked at Constantine. “Are we done here?”
“Yes, I think that’s quite enough for today.”
I looked at Hal again and mimicked Nate’s dismissal of Pick. “Our transaction is complete.”
With that Hal bowed and stepped backward into the elevator. “Until next time, Lisa Carron.”
Again the urge to move forward gripped me but this time I was ready. It took all my will but I remained rooted to my spot. The doors closed, swallowing Hal and releasing me from his compulsion. I slowly turned to face the boys. “Okay, would somebody please tell me why I’ve got a psychopath for a porter?”
“I wish I could, Lisa.” Constantine ran his fingers through his thick hair, worry etched
his face. The locks fell back into place, but I didn’t find them so alluring this time. “I’ll check into it and let you know.”
“He’s dangerous,” Nate said. My gaze cut to him. “I know I give you a hard time, Carron, but I’m serious when I say you can’t handle him.”
Normally I would have bristled at the insult, but not this time. “No argument here.” I rubbed my arms, trying to chase away the lingering effects of Hal’s creepy impulse touch. “Don’t reapers have some kind of talisman against their porters? Maybe a magic potion I can drink every day?”
“There are a few things but they’re rare,” Constantine said.
“Like what? I’m willing to try anything.” Whatever I had to do to keep out of Hal’s reach, I’d do. “Eat eye of newt. Circle a grave three times at midnight on All Hallow’s Eve. Paint myself green and hop around in the front yard, naked. No matter what it is, I’m all in.”
“It’s not a matter of doing something as it is having something done to you.”
The thought of Constantine doing something to me sent a thrill and a little apprehension racing along. Until I’d seen, or more like, felt his power, I would have been all over him like a cheap suit. A little of my bravado fled. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?”
“Not usually.” Constantine gripped the back of his neck and rubbed. “On rare occasions a reaper will acquire an ally.”
I shook my head, not understanding.
“Someone or something adopts them, helps out in little ways. Maybe guides them.”
“You mean like a sidekick?”
“More like a familiar,” Nate said. “You don’t happen to have one of those…do you?”
Automatically my hand went to my neck, searching for the raven charm. I mentally cursed myself for having forgotten my necklace on the bathroom counter this morning. “Maybe.”
Constantine stopped massaging his neck. “You do?”
“I don’t know. There’s this raven named Fletcher. Well, that’s what I named him. Anyway, he’s been following me around, sitting in the trees outside my house.” I shrugged. “And maybe he gave me a raven charm.”
“I take it you didn’t bring the charm with you today?” Constantine asked.
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“The charm protects you. If you had it on, Hal’s compulsion wouldn’t have worked on you.”
“Well, luckily Fletcher adopted me, otherwise…” The idea of being at Hal Lee Lewya’s mercy sent a ripple of dread that wrapped around my bones and squeezed. I swallowed hard.
“Luck has very little to do with this.” Constantine pressed the button on the wall and the doors to Command Central slid open. Before leaving Purgatory he looked at me. “It seems somebody is looking out for you, Lisa.”
I blew out a long breath. “It’s about time,” I mumbled.
Nate moved up behind me. “Why don’t you go home and get that raven charm.” He stepped past me. “Put it on and don’t take it off—for anything.” I nodded. “Take the rest of the day off and rest up.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need to rest up.” The excitement of Hal Lee Lewya’s arrival had anesthetized yesterday’s soreness. At his words, all my aches returned. “I can get my charm tonight.”
“Better to go home and take it easy.” After stepping through the door Nate turned to me. “Tomorrow is Halloween. It will be one of your busiest nights of the year.”
“My busiest night?” I followed him across Command Central. “Why?”
“Halloween and idiotic stunts go hand in hand. Someone is bound to die.” He flicked his head toward the platform. “Have a look.”
A plump woman dressed in a violet pantsuit sat at one of the radars. We approached and I could see a dozen dots jumping around the screen. “Those aren’t all mine, are they?”
The woman turned and smiled up at me. “No honey, just this one, this one, and…” She pointed a purple painted nail at large green blip. “This one.”
“Three?” I said.
“So far.” She laughed. “But the day is still young.”
She seemed to really love her job. “Do we know who they are?”
“I do.” She turned back to the radar. “But you won’t find out until the information is sent to your phone tomorrow afternoon. No sense flaunting temptation in your face.”
“Oh, yeah.” Despite already knowing this, I felt like a chastised child. “Of course.”
“So go home and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Nate wrapped his fingers around my arm and guided me toward the door.
“But—” I wasn’t sure why I was protesting. Probably because it felt like I was being shuffled out the door and everybody seemed to have another agenda but me. “There must be something I can do around here.”
“Nope.” He gave me a little push into the elevator. “Not a thing.” Reaching inside the door, he pushed the ground floor button. As the doors closed, he smiled and gave a little wave. “Have fun.”
I returned a tight smile, but went willingly. Far be it from me to stay where I wasn’t wanted or to refuse time off. More than likely Hal Lee Lewya was the cause of being herded out of GRS, and truth be told, I’d rather have them taking care of that issue without my help. Nothing I could really do about it anyway. I didn’t have pull or a clue as to what was going on most of the time.
On the way home I realized I didn’t have one errand to run or any pressing tasks that needed to be completed. Even the house and laundry were clean. So, I took an afternoon nap. Twenty minutes had been my goal, but two hours later I woke to the sound of my sons’ pounding footsteps.
“Mom,” Bryce bellowed, “we’re home!”
No kidding. “I’m in here.” I swept the blankets aside and swung my legs over the side of the bed. The boys bound down the hall and launched themselves onto the bed. I bounced several times, laughing. “Have a good day?”
“Tomorrow’s Halloween.” Breck stood and gave two powerful jumps. “Candy.”
“I can’t wait,” Bryce said, throwing his arms around my neck. From that declaration he was on to the next subject. “What’s for dinner?”
I broke his hold and stood. Cooking was the last thing I felt like doing. Actually, reaping was, but cooking came in a strong second. “How does fast food sound?”
A unanimous “Yay,” erupted from both.
“Is your sister home?”
“Yeah, she’s watching TV downstairs,” Bryce said, taking a flying leap off the bed.
“Get ready. We leave in five,” I called to his departing back.
Breck followed his brother, performing the same launch and run sequence. I stopped in the bathroom, fluffed a bit, and went to find Bronte. Like Bryce said, I found her downstairs, snuggled into our big, red beanbag chair. Though she’d taken off her coat, she still wore her favorite black knit hat that had cat ears and a skull and crossbones on the front. She didn’t look up when I entered.
“Hungry?”
She answered with a noncommittal grunt and a shoulder shrug.
“Fast food. Grease and sugar,” I said, trying to coax a reaction from her. Her gaze never wavered from the television. Usually I’d get a cursory glance, but not even a blink in my direction. “What’s wrong?”
“Can I go to Payton’s Halloween party?” she asked, still not looking at me.
The party had completely slipped my mind. Ever since Jeff died, saying no had became difficult. I didn’t like to deny the kids something fun, but I the thought of her going to the party gave me a bad feeling. First off, I didn’t like Kelly Huff. Girls like her bullied or fluttered their eyelashes to get their way. In school I’d gotten the bulling end of the deal. Though I wanted Bronte to make her own mistakes, this one could get her hurt or worse. I didn’t beat around the bush or try to cushion the letdown. “No. I don’t trust Kelly to be a responsible driver.”
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “I knew you wouldn’t let me.”
“Then you shouldn’t be disappointed.” When she
didn’t reply, I tried another tactic. “Why don’t you and Fang have a sleepover? It’ll be fun. Invite a couple of girls. I’ll be going out for a while so you’ll have the house to yourself. Watch a scary movie and eat junk food.”
She looked at me. “Where are you going?”
To reap at least three souls. I went with my standard answer. “Vella’s.” She grunted again. I took it to mean my night would be lame. Better her think that than know the truth. “Come on.” I held out my hands. “Let’s eat, then we can discuss your plans for tomorrow night.”
She stared at my hands for a few seconds and finally sighed. Grasping her fingers, I pulled her to a stand and into my arms, wrapping her in a tight mom hug. Even though she stood there, arms limp at her side, she turned her head and lay her cheek against my shoulder. Obviously she wasn’t that mad.
McDonald’s was packed. Obviously a lot of other parents hadn’t felt like cooking either. The boys made a bee line for the play area, while Bronte and I ordered. After our food arrived, we carried it into the kid zone. Instantly, I was struck by the smell of the cleaning fluid they used. A little Pilipino woman wove her way through the patrons, wiping a table here, sweeping up spilled fries there, and keeping the place clean as clean as possible with so many kids around.
The noise level was ten times that of the adult section beyond the glass. I envied the childless people. Sitting and eating without screams of small children piercing their skulls. We commandeered the corner table, and after brushing sprinkles of lettuce off the bench, slid onto the bright red laminate seats.
I doled out the food, prepping the boys’ kid’s meals for their dine-and-dash dinner habits. Bronte was plugged into electronic life support, completely ignoring me, so I pulled out my new phone and thumbed through the screens. Several icons for GRS scrolled by. I tapped on the skull and went to Rules and Regulations. Man, there were a lot of them. How was one person supposed to learn all these?
It is prohibited to purposely make contact with deceased’s family before or after reaping. I still thought that one was stupid and I wasn’t certain I’d be able to abide by it. I wondered what kind of punishment I’d incur for breaking it.