The Children of Wisdom Trilogy

by Stephanie Erickson

  My eyes dart back and forth as I stare at the ground of the healing room, as if I might find answers to all my questions written there.

  “But he still wants me to collect Lily?”

  “Yes. That much was clear,” Galenia said. “I was here when he came to visit. He was explicit on that point.”

  “I wonder why.”

  “I think he trusts you more than the other Reapers,” she offered.

  I walk to the window, considering everything that had happened—all we’d accomplished and all we hadn’t. The galaxies outside the floor-to-ceiling windows are an awe-inspiring view for me to watch, complete with shooting stars streaking past us.

  “The souls,” I say into the window, wondering what happened to them. Were they too far gone, or did they make it to heaven?

  “They spent some time here with the healers, and the one you carried out is still here. She was in pretty bad condition. They said if we hadn’t gotten her out right then, she would’ve disappeared like the others. She’ll join the other two in heaven today, I think.”

  “Are the Archangels going to take her there themselves? I don’t want them to end up in that… in that place again.” My questions come out in rapid-fire succession. Penn walks up behind me and puts his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me. I turn, falling into his open arms.

  “They’re okay. They let Galenia and Horatia watch them go to heaven.”

  “It was beautiful,” Galenia says through shining eyes. “A host of angels welcomed them, singing joyful songs.”

  I take a deep breath. They are safe. After a few beats, I pull back from him. “We survived the Cleanse, Penn.”

  “I know,” he says. “I didn’t intend to cease existing in that place.”

  “When I saw you trying to free Kismet, I wasn’t so sure.”

  He frowns and looks away.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, immediately regretting I’ve reminded him that she’s still in there. “We will get her out. I promise.”

  “Why are you so sure she’s still in there? Wouldn’t the Cleanse kill her?” He seems despondent, and now I know why. He thinks we’ve failed them.

  “No. Penn, oh my gosh, no. The Cleanse only burns intruders. They would’ve been left untouched. If they aren’t there by the time we get back, it’s because we took too long, not because they burned in the Cleanse. We will get her and Andrew out of there.”

  “Or die trying,” he said quietly.

  “Hell hasn’t killed me yet.”

  There’s a look of such desperation and vulnerability on his face. Before I know it, he’s scooped me back into his arms and is holding me so tightly that I can’t breathe.

  Galenia and Horatia walk over to join us, and soon, their warm arms are wrapped around us too. Webber just looks on, maintaining his uncomfortable stance and watching us from the corner of his eye.

  “We won’t fail them. They’re your greatest creations,” I say quietly, reassuring myself as much as the others.

  Penn brings his hand up to my head and smooths my hair. “We only fail if we give up.”

  17

  The next day, I’m released first thing. As I get out of bed to meet with Ryker before starting my day, I can’t help but hear Penn’s words in my head. We only fail if we give up. He’s right. Even if we only save one of them in the end, it’s better than abandoning them all to their fate, right?

  Ryker’s office is situated between the naming room and the gate leading outside. I walk to it cautiously, not sure what to expect. What can I say to him? I have no apologies to make for my actions last night, particularly since God seemed to encourage me.

  I knock tentatively on his door, and he responds immediately. “Come in.” Even through the door, his deep voice rings loud and clear.

  “You wanted to see me?” I smooth my brand-new dress as I walk into his office. The healers did amazing work; there aren’t any scratches on my knees and my burns are completely healed. The only wounds that remain are the ones on my heart.

  He gestures toward the plush black velvet armchair across from his white desk. The entire office is decorated in black and white. The cupboards are black, the flooring is white, the art on the wall is black and white, and even his accessories match the décor. It doesn’t surprise me. The entire wing is decorated like that.

  “You’re looking better.”

  “Thank you.” I deliberately keep my answer short, not sure where he’s going with this.

  “First, I want to talk business with you. Just so you know, we’ll be relocating any dissenters who continue to refuse to work.”

  I frown. I’ve been expecting this. The only reason the punishment didn’t come sooner is because there was a group of them, and we are so short handed. Still, I’m surprised by the leniency of the punishment.

  “Relocation?” I pry.

  “Yes. Until we can agree on a consequence for their actions, we can’t have them idly sitting around the heavens. We need workers. And there is some disagreement as to an appropriate punishment. When the vote is unanimous, sentences will be served. If necessary, God will lay down the final vote, but we’ve been given some time to resolve the issue on our own,” he explains.

  I nod. Division among the heavens must mean some of the heavenly beings in charge want the dissenters eliminated, and some don’t. It seems harsh, but after what I’ve seen and been through, I get it.

  “I understand,” is all I can think to say.

  He looks at me with a kindness he doesn’t often reveal. “I’m sure you do.” As he clears his throat, his stern expression returns. “We’ve managed to get a handful of new recruits from higher up, but it wasn’t easy. Now, we’re working hard to get them on the fast track, but for the time being, it’ll be tight.”

  My frown deepens as I consider how long it takes to get recruits—we only get a new Reaper maybe twice a decade to help with the rate of population growth on Earth and account for the occasional retirement—so serious exceptions have been made for us. Even so, it takes considerable time to train recruits. There are manuals to study, tests to pass, tours to take, and mentoring. I haven’t even been assigned a recruit as far as I know. There’s no possible way they’ll be ready for the field any time soon.

  “In fact, I think you’ll be happy to learn that I’ve put Miette in charge of training them. She has a good heart. I think it will be a good experience for her.”

  I smile, in spite of the circumstances. My shy friend will have to come out of her shell now.

  “There’s something else. We’ve devised a way for the Reapers in the field to shield themselves from the ghosts.”

  “The others have been told about this?”

  “Yes.”

  He goes through the details with me, and it seems pretty simple. Think of your assignment, and only your assignment. Surround yourself with the soul’s energy. Additionally, we’ll be given more information about each assignment to read over, and short clips of their life will play as we walk through the mists to retrieve them. It will take longer to do each job, but it’ll be safer. And I like the idea of learning more about the people we take home. It will help us make a deeper connection with them.

  “You know, this approach might actually be helpful in other ways. They might come with us faster if they’re more comfortable.”

  He smiles at me; it’s a tired smile, but it’s a smile nonetheless. “And that’s why I like you. You take these changes in stride, always looking for the positive. Michaela, I rely heavily on you. You are one of my most trusted Reapers, perhaps my most valuable.” He leans forward on his desk, resting his elbows on the top, and intertwines his fingers. “In short, I need your help.”

  “Thank you, sir. That’s very kind of you.” I shift uncomfortably, waiting for what’s to come.

  “I have a feeling the incident in hell had something to do with the surprises. Although you’re usually a follower of the rules, I also know you’re not the type to sit by idly as the world falls to p
ieces around you. You know more than you’re letting on.”

  Clearing my throat, I avoid eye contact with him.

  “Yes, well. I just wanted to tell you to be careful. We’d be lost without you.”

  His deep brown eyes are clouded with concern when I finally meet them. I open my mouth to speak, but the words don’t form, so I close it again and lean back in the chair, totally at a loss. It’s the furthest thing from what I expected him to say. The reprimand I was expecting ended up taking the form of praise.

  “Thank you, sir,” I manage to squeak out while I look at a particularly interesting hangnail on my index finger.

  “Thank you and…” He waits for me to fill in the blank, but I’m not sure what he wants. I can’t promise him anything.

  He sighs heavily. “And you’ll be careful?” he finally adds.

  I nod quickly. “I will be careful. I am being careful.”

  “If those burns were a result of you being careful, I’d hate to see you being reckless.”

  A smile cracks my face in what feels like the first time in days. It feels good. “Me too, sir. Me too.”

  “You’ll be easing back into your workday with just the one name. As we did yesterday while you were recovering, we divvied your daily allotment of 2,500 souls among the remaining reapers. Those who’ve stayed with us have been very devout and pulling long hours into the night to make up the work. They’re all pulling for you, Michaela. None of us want you overdoing it today.” He looks hard at me, and I nod, letting him know I understand. “Now, get to work,” he says as he leans back in his chair and shifts his attention to the holographic screen off to the side. To me, it displays a beautiful tropical beach, but I’m sure he sees something else entirely. Security in the heavens isn’t top of the line for nothing. And yet, evil has still found its way in.

  I stand to go, but he stops me before I’m out the door. “Michaela, one more thing.”

  As I turn to face him, standing half in and half out of his office, he says, “Good luck today. I know this won’t be easy.”

  I nod. “Thank you,” I say. And then I close the door behind me.

  I walk to the door without stopping in the naming room. I have my name. It’s all I hope to accomplish today. I don’t need to get riled by the other Reapers, the dissenters who refuse to work. I don’t need to see the terrified faces of the ones who are still working, knowing what we’re walking into, despite the supposed safety measures in place. We’re the ones testing those measures after all. No. I don’t need to think about all that. All I need is Lily.

  So I walk back into the mists, thinking only of her.

  The safety measures Ryker and his team developed work brilliantly. The ghosts don’t come near me. It’s as if I’ve created a bubble made of thoughts of Lily and her family, based on all the memories I watched in the mists as I made my approach. I watched her grow from a bright-eyed, curly-haired little spitfire to a total teenaged handful. But it’s clear her parents love her, and she loves them back. Ryker was right. This won’t be easy.

  Then I spot Wyatt leaning against the wall in the hallway outside Lily’s hospital room. He smiles, although I can’t see it through his shaggy beard.

  I want to hug him, but I know our worlds can’t collide that way.

  He walks over, hands in his pockets, and nods at me.

  “Wyatt. So nice to see you. What are you doing here in New York?”

  “Had a visit yesterday from a fella named Ryker.”

  “Oh?” I ask.

  “Scared the dickens outta me to be honest. Thought he was comin’ for me.”

  I laugh. It feels good. I need this before I take this child’s soul.

  “He told me you might need some extra help today. That this girl’s special.”

  “She is.” I glance at the door to her room, behind which I can hear the soft murmurs of her family. Her time is soon, and the thought fills me with sadness.

  “Ryker flew me out here at a moment’s notice, just to make sure you were able to get your job done.” We share a silent moment as I process what he’s saying. It’s a measure of cooperation the likes of which the heavens and Earth have never seen before. It’s both exciting and sad. But really, we should be working together to stop this, especially since we now know the criminal is likely human.

  Wyatt clears his throat. “It’s not all bad. That one over there isn’t terrible to look at.” He nods toward the waiting area. Fia is sitting in a chair, nursing a cup of coffee. I recognize the striking, grey-eyed woman as Aida, from Penn’s description of her. The man sitting next to her can only be Cody, and Eve is sitting between them, totally distraught. I recognize her from Lily’s memories. The girls were friends. They are friends. I frown and shake my head before retuning my attention to Fia and Wyatt.

  “You should talk to her. I think you’d like her.”

  “You know her?” he asks, a bit of hope in his voice.

  “She’s a very old friend.”

  He doesn’t ask any more questions, and I know Lily’s time is growing short. I frown as I take in the friends and family gathered around this well-loved girl. This isn’t right, and yet, here I am, doing it anyway.

  Wyatt senses my despair. “I’m sorry.”

  “Me too.” It’s good to see him. It gives me the strength to face what’s to come.

  I round the corner and stand in front of the girl’s closed door. In that moment, I turn and catch the eye of the old Fate. She’s staring right at me, a look of deep concern on her face. The other people in the waiting room are totally unaware of what’s going on around them—they’re all silently looking at their phones, talking about what to get for lunch, or simply sitting and staring. None of them notice when Fia stands and walks toward the girl’s room, keeping her eyes on me.

  Long before Fia can reach me, I cross the threshold into her room. It’s time. Fia stops dead and goes to Eve, watching me silently. She knows. I frown and nod at her. She mouths something to me—it looks like, “Stop this,” but I can’t be sure.

  I nod, hoping I caught the old Fate’s meaning.

  Passing through the closed door, I find Lily’s parents sitting on either side of her bed, holding her hands. Her mother, who looks almost exactly like her, reads from a card someone sent to the sick girl. The father is listening as he brushes the hair off his daughter’s face.

  Later, they will say Lily had a stroke. Something that was lying in wait for the perfect storm of conditions before unleashing itself on her fragile, teenage body.

  Her soul looks confused after it detaches.

  “Lily,” I say to her, hoping to offer some comfort. “I’m here to help.”

  She glances at me briefly before returning her gaze to her body on the bed. Her parents are staring in horror at the heart monitor as a nurse rushes into the room. Two other nurses pull them away as they get to work on her body. Of course, it’s a lost cause—the proof is standing right across from me.

  “Lily, come. You don’t want to watch this.”

  Her parents are weeping now, and the look on Lily’s face is so beyond desolated when she turns to look at me again.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Nothing I can’t save you from.” I say, hoping beyond hope that’s true.

  Lily is reluctant to come with me, and I don’t blame her. Nurses and doctors rush into the room. Her parents cling to each other as the monitors scream and alarms wail.

  “Why is this happening?” Lily asks.

  “I don’t know,” I answer honestly.

  “This isn’t right, is it?”

  “No. It isn’t.”

  We are silent for a few moments more before she turns to me. Her gray eyes pierce my very existence, breaking my heart more than ever. “Now what?” The statement is heartbreaking in its simplicity. She knows she’s lost her life on Earth and can’t reclaim it. She’s more accepting and mature than most adults I escort to the other side, let alone any of the surprises I’ve taken up unti
l now.

  “Now, I take you home.”

  “This is my home.” She looks back at her family with longing in her eyes.

  “This was your home. Now, I take you to your new home.”

  “Without them?”

  My breath hitches in my throat as I try to control my emotions. “Without them.” It’s little more than a whisper, but she nods in acknowledgment.

  “I don’t like it.”

  “I don’t either.”

  She looks away from her family and back to me, surprise on her face. “You don’t like your job?”

  “Sometimes I don’t.”

  She frowns. “So why do it?”

  “Because if I don’t, you’ll become one of them.” I nod toward a ghost who happens to be wandering past her room. The doctors threw her door open in their rush to save her, and now we can clearly see him wandering back and forth. He’s wailing in grief, but we’re the only ones who can hear him. The others in the hall will only feel a slight chill, maybe a prickle on the back of their necks. But they’ll never know why.

  “He doesn’t seem very happy.”

  “No. He’s not. I want you to be happy.”

  “Then let me stay here… like I was before.” Somehow, she knows to make the distinction between staying on Earth as a ghost and staying on Earth as a human. I marvel at this young girl’s wisdom.

  “It’s not that easy,” I say sadly. “You’ve been called home.”

  She nods, but there’s a frown on her face. “So I don’t have a choice?”

  “There is always a choice. But if you choose to stay, you stay as one of them. If you come with me, your family will join you when the time comes.”

  Her frown grows deeper as she watches the doorway, as if hoping for another glimpse of the ghost. I know Wyatt is out there, keeping him distracted, so I’m not worried. Still, the ghost seems restless.