The Dimension Weaver (Alice the Fallen Mystery Book 2)

by K. H. Pope

  All of the portraits begin to rise off the floor. Each one turns into a puff of white smoke, and all of the trapped people start falling to the ground. Grim reapers start to appear and disappear within the same second, and they are taking some of the souls. I can hear them exhale in acceptance and relief of their finality as they’re spirited away. Now, the entire room is filled with people, unconscious or dead on the floor.

  I begin to feel my body being lifted off the ground. Death has control, and he turns me around so I can look at him. His face is ghostly white with loose transparent skin hanging on his skull. Black, lifeless eye sockets, his nose is missing, and his teeth have black soot at the roots. His face sends horror deep to the very core of my soul. He wills me to look right into his eye sockets. I have no choice.

  He draws me close without touching me and says, “When the time comes, I will come back for you personally...Shamira.”

  Death disappears and releases his hold on me. I hit the floor hard enough, to bump my head. I’m dizzy and still trembling. The pain is overwhelming, and I begin to fade. My name is being called, but it’s not enough to keep me conscious.

  CHAPTER 46

  I am Death. The grim reapers are a part of me, but they move separately. Our purpose is to collect the soul from the shell. We guide them not to Heaven or to Hell but to Limbo for judgement. Their fate is not our concern. The journey of their life from birth to death is not a second thought. What we want is to collect and to deliver. We do not keep the soul, but there are times when exceptions are made.

  Heather Ostberg Freland’s destiny, Heaven or Hell, was not my concern, no more than the other thousands that died in the world at the same time she did. The corruptness of her life meant no more to me than the goodness she did. Now, it more than matters. In light of the revealing truth of a fallen angel, Heather Ostberg Freland’s egregious ways will have consequences she never intended.

  I ride the brilliant sky to an impending judgement. The deed of a single woman has enraged me, and I will be placated. My entrance into the Hall of Judgement grabs no one’s attention. It is not unusual to see Death in such a place. After all, this is Limbo. Thousands of souls arrive simultaneously; almost all of them leave just as quickly. The judges are not one to waste much of their time. But there are exceptions, souls whose lives are so rife with contradiction it takes them years to figure out where to put them.

  I search an aimlessly wandering mass of vacant expressions. Faces blur together, but I easily spot who I seek. Instead of crossing the room, I disappear from my trusted horse and appear in front of her. Heather Ostberg Freland shivers at the sight of me. I grab her by the throat, and we are gone within a mortal second. The moment I’m on my horse, my pale friend blazes towards my domain. The trip is short.

  Our final destination is a desolate black desert. Weakened spirits that were once set against me in their human shells now litter the land. They weep and despair as they drag themselves from one place to another. Deadly never seen before creatures prick them and poison their souls with venom that has no cure. The stab alone is monumental in pain. Sometimes the sand is so hot, they cook where they are. The souls continue to live but must suffer for their transgressions against me.

  My horse lands on the dusty ground. The black dirt rises in bellowing clouds. The desert emits the pungent smell of sulfur and the aroma of vile waste. It never ends, and none of the souls here ever get used to it. They are sick and in pain constantly. The price one pays when they try to cheat me and my grim reapers.

  It is in our nature to reap, like blood in human beings, and every single living soul will be taken. There is no exception when it comes to who they are or what they are, and if someone tries to disrupt our purpose, woe is the least of their worries.

  I toss her worthless soul on the ground right, and at that very moment her equally disgusting father appears next to her, fresh from Hell. Heather Freland jumps away from the tiny insects that sense the new ghostly preys, but the father lies there. His skin sizzles and boils from his years in Hell. My tiny creatures crawl on him and prick his already decaying soul. He screams, and the daughter tries to soothe her father.

  “Please, help him,” she begs.

  “Help does not exist here,” I say.

  “I beg you,” she says. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done. We’re both sorry. Take us back to someplace safe! I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll change. We both will change.”

  “It’s too late for change.”

  She sobs, “It can’t be too late!”

  “It is for the both of you.”

  “I will pray! I can pray! I will be good!”

  “Your prayers are meaningless to me. Do you even know why I brought you and you father here?”

  She shakes her head slowly.

  “The both of you hid souls from me, 13 to be exact, in your dimension traps.”

  “It was unintentional.”

  “Unintentional or not, it was still done, and you must pay for keeping souls that did not belong to you.”

  “Forgive me! I beg for your forgiveness.”

  “I never forgive. That’s not what I do.”

  She looks down at the blackened dirt, and her tears wet the ground into clumps of soft clay. My desert creatures swarm it and her.

  “Welcome to my Hell.”

  I turn my pale horse, and he gallops like the wind of a hurricane across the black desert. I am not finished reaping in the great land of South Korea. An old nation is looking to spread her borders, regain unity, and bloodshed is the seed of growth. My presence is required.

  CHAPTER 47

  I’m back in the same room where I healed from my burns. I sit up in bed and throw my legs off the side. I feel so much better, well rested with tons of energy.

  A shower is overdue, and I take a long one. I put on some clean clothes and style my hair into a braided bun. From what I can tell in my reflection, I don’t look so bad with white hair. I’ll keep it for a while. Maybe, looking eccentric will do me some good.

  A pretty yellow dress is in the chifforobe. It has short sleeves and goes down to my ankles. Closest thing I’ve ever worn to a dress is a robe. I feel really pretty in it. I can see why some women like to wear them.

  “You look nice,” Priscilla remarks as she enters the room.

  “Thanks,” I respond. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine,” she says. “Buried my father three days ago.”

  “I’m sorry about your dad,” I remark awkwardly. “Have I really been asleep that long?”

  “Yes, you have. You were a mess when you got here. Soot all over your body, glass shards in your skin. You were pretty torn up.” She’s trying her best to be upbeat, but she’s off. Grief has a strong hold on her.

  “Priscilla,” I begin. “I want to give you my sincere condolences, and I want you to hear it from me that I didn’t hurt your father.”

  She exhales and nods.

  “Heather attacked him from out of nowhere. They were talking one minute, and then the next she set...well, you know. I just want you to know that I didn’t want any ill will towards your dad.”

  “Alice, it’s okay.”

  “Are you sure, Priscilla?” I say with a worried look. I’m still not convinced she’s okay at all.

  She smiles, but it’s full of hurt. “You know, John is awake.”

  The change of subject surprises me, but I go with it. “He is. That’s great. Where is he?”

  “In the holly maze,” she answers. “Alice, I have to know the truth. I’m having a hard time with all of this, trying to understand the events at Heather Freland’s house. I was wondering if you could tell me everything that happened between you and Heather before my father got there, and whatever else you can tell me after he arrived.”

  I tell her what she wants to hear, and she listens intently and doesn’t interrupt me at all. By the time I finish, she’s eerily calm.

  She clears her throat and says, “Did you try to help h
im? I mean if you knew ahead of time she was going to attack him.”

  “Priscilla, I did everything I could.” Even as I say this, I’m not sure if I’m being honest. Before President Oliver was killed by Heather, I backed away from them. I kind of knew that a fight was going to break out, but not exactly like the way it happened.

  Priscilla crosses her arms uncomfortably and says, “I ask because I know you didn’t like my father.”

  “I had no idea that she was going to kill him. I had no idea.”

  She considers what I’ve said for a long uncomfortable moment. Finally, she says, “I just want you to know that I do believe you, but if I find out that you lied to me about the circumstances behind my father’s death, I will come after you. No one in this world will be able to stop me, including Ammon.”

  The anger in her eyes tells me she will more than back up her threat. Without saying another word, she turns and walks out. I believe I’m going to keep my distance from Ammon’s house from now on. It’ll be easier for the both of us.

  CHAPTER 48

  The outside temperature is cool, and unfortunately, I don’t have a jacket. Nonetheless, it doesn’t stop me from looking for an old friend, or is he more? Maybe, we’ll talk about that today. I walk the maze at an easy pace hoping to see John at any moment. I don’t find him inside, but I do see him sitting on a bench beyond the exit of the maze at the edge of a pond.

  The closer I get to him, the harder it is for me to breathe. The last time I saw him, he wanted to kiss me. He tried, but I wouldn’t let him. I’m not sure if I’ll let him this time, either.

  I sit beside him slowly. John looks so good. He’s wearing a light blue cotton shirt and light brown slacks. I usually like to see him in a suit and tie, but this time I’m glad he’s dressed down. I get to see a more casual, softer side.

  “How do you feel?” I ask as I smile at him.

  “I feel great, and you?”

  So glad to hear his voice, to have him with me again.

  I answer, “I feel great, too.”

  “I want to thank you, Alice.”

  “For what?” I ask curiously.

  “You saved me.”

  “You don’t have to thank me for that.”

  “Yes, I do,” he says. “You know, you’re considered a hero in the Magi Elite. You saved a lot of people.”

  “I’m not a hero.”

  “No one would have done what you did.”

  “I’m just glad nobody had to.”

  “I was told you were in a trap, too, but you got out.”

  “I was,” I answer, “but I have no idea how. It was building around me, and then it broke apart. I didn’t use my powers.”

  “I have a theory on that.”

  “What’s your theory?” I ask curiously.

  “Your punishment as a fallen angel is to wander the Earth until the end of time. You can’t walk the Earth in a dimension trap.”

  “Okay,” I say as I look over at the water. “But it doesn’t explain how you were set free and not the other people in the room.”

  John thinks for a moment and says, “I was told you had my picture when you were trapped.”

  “I did.”

  “That means my trap was in yours when it was forming. When another dimension is within another and the greater one is unstable or falling apart, the one inside becomes the same way.”

  “Is that a guess?” I ask him.

  “Yeah,” John answers, “it’s a guess.”

  “Sounds good to me. I don’t have an explanation.”

  He stares at me. It’s awkward, feels like we’re supposed to hug or kiss. But I can’t. I won’t.

  I have to keep the subject away from getting personal. “So, Vanessa and the others are back with their families?”

  John nods and says, “She is. Everyone was back to their normal lives within a couple of days of being freed.”

  “That’s good.”

  “How did you get Death here, anyway?”

  “I told him that he was outsmarted, that a witch cheated him out of his souls. He didn’t like that.”

  “Maybe, we should have gone to him in the first place.”

  “Death wouldn’t have freed Vanessa because it wasn’t her time, and really, we only knew about Vanessa and Timber as a certainty. They were young, and he wouldn’t have bothered with them.”

  “Really? You’d think he’d want to free them.”

  “Death and grim reapers only purpose are to collect souls and guide them to Limbo, not to rescue them from natural or supernatural circumstances. The only time Death cares about the means to human death is when that means interfere and stop human death. It pisses him off when their timing is altered or souls are hidden.”

  “I was told by Inspector Renald why Heather Freland was making the traps, but how did you figure out she was making them?”

  “Due diligence, and help from the Nottowon chief.”

  “I told you that you’d be a great investigator, Alice. You have nothing but time, and you could use that to help so many people.”

  “That’s what Chief Natrik said. I was thinking about starting a detective agency. Still not very good at it, though.”

  “You’ll be great at it with time.”

  We sit quietly for a long while. His company means more to me than anything, and I can’t even say it to him. Telling him how I feel is a huge issue. It makes me afraid and nervous, and I can’t pinpoint why. It’s not like I’m going to die from it or be eaten by the love bug or something. I’m just confused, I guess.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” John says. “I have something for you.” He hands me an envelope. Inside is a note, and it reads:

  You’re the coolest.

  Thanks for finding my brother.

  Adam

  That kid is the greatest. So happy he’s reunited with Geoffrey.

  “This is what it’s all about.” I fold the note and place it back in the card.

  “What now?” John asks. “Do you want to meet Vanessa and the others?”

  “They don’t even know me, John.”

  “At least, you should go see Vanessa. She was told what you did for her, and she wants to meet you.”

  “Will you go with me?”

  He warmly says, “I’ll go to another dimension with you.”

  “Yeah, you almost did.”

  He needs to stop it with that cute grin. I might just give in and kiss him for real this time.

  CHAPTER 49

  We’re back in Cactus, Texas, where the investigation first started. It seems only fitting to be here at the end, to see the results of all that I’ve done.

  John knocks on the door softly, and we listen for sounds from within. He looks at me, and I smile at him.

  “I missed you, Alice.” A replay of the last time we stood on these very steps. How sweet.

  Before I can answer him, the door opens. Olivia Brenlich sees us both, and she hugs me before I can stop her. Olivia thanks me over and over, and that’s all I can do is nod and pat her back. It’s not long before her guardian angel appears. While Olivia is giving John a hug, I nod at the guardian, who is just as happy. We’re invited in, and Olivia leads us to the sofa once more.

  Vanessa comes out of the kitchen. She has a glass of water in her hands, and she’s wearing shorts and a long sleeve shirt. She’s a stunning girl, petite with long brown hair. Her sad eyes make her look tired, almost older than she should. She stares at me. She knows my face.

  “Someone is here to see you, Vanessa,” Olivia says.

  “You were the one?” Vanessa walks over to me. “You were the one who I saw so many times while I was in the trap.”

  “I had a feeling that you knew I was looking at you, and you knew exactly where you were.”

  Vanessa looks down at her hands. Her shoulders are trembling.

  “It’s alright, Vanessa. It’s over.”

  We sit on the sofa together, and she cries. Olivia stands on her other side, gently
rubbing her shoulders. John takes a seat in a chair across from us.

  After a moment, Vanessa says, “I believe that’s the first time I cried since I’ve been out. I think I should have done it sooner.” She laughs to ease the tension. “Every time I think back to that night, I can’t help but to feel so stupid.”

  “You’re not stupid,” I remark. “You made a mistake. That’s all.”

  “Mrs. Freland made it sound like it would be so easy. Follow the previous signs in the book. The conduit will stand out like a speck of pure light in the darkness. Do not deter from the path. She had me so convinced that I could find that stupid rock, but I see now, she was clueless.”

  “How did you meet Mrs. Freland? Through your job?”

  “Actually, through Melissa.”

  “I met her,” I admit. “You two were friends?”

  “I thought we were. We’d hang out. I’d eat dinner at their house sometimes. They made me feel like I was part of the family. Her mother gave me a car. It was so gorgeous.”

  “You didn’t think it was kind of strange that your friend’s mother would just give you a car?” John asks.

  “I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to turn it down.”

  “Can you tell me what happened on that last day?” I ask. “Starting from the point you left home that morning.”

  Vanessa clears her throat and thinks back to those last moments. She finally remarks, “I went to work, and I went to see Mrs. Landon about some ideas for the celebration in March. When it was time for lunch, I met up with Timber. He’s my friend.”

  “We found a portrait of him, too,” I remark.

  “I bet he kept asking around for me after I disappeared, and Mrs. Freland put him in a trap. He didn’t like Melissa. He had that intuition. He could tell when people were up to no good. I didn’t listen to him. Wish I had of. Anyway, when I came back to work, Mrs. Freland was waiting for me in the parking lot. She told me that the Full Moon Masquerade Party was happening that evening. She wanted me at her house right after I got off work. She wanted me to prepare for the search. You know about the meteorite, right? The conduit is what Heather like to call it.”