“You don’t know what I’d set in motion for what I want.”
I shook my head, stood, and tapped into my Reaper senses. The network, connection to every human’s fate, slammed into me at once. The onslaught of terrifying emotions was almost too much. Cries, screams, waters roaring, winds howling, people dying. I tapped into chaos when I reopened the link. As much as I wanted to help them all, I couldn’t.
“What are you doing?” Luke asked, then I felt his tail brush my pants leg.
I focused on the two I saw out of the book. When I found them, I faded into a quaint town in the human world. Luke hadn’t even realized my intentions. At least I got out of Hell before he blocked my abilities again.
I listened outside the two-story home until I heard the teenager with her mother.
“The ones on the news. Those heroes. They will come, won’t they?”
At the young girl’s words, I jumped onto the balcony. I could smell the stench of the wolf demon in the home before I neared the sliding glass door.
“That wasn’t real, sweetheart.” the mom said. “People don’t have that type of power.”
A large bang came from downstairs.
The girl whimpered. “Yes, they are. They saved people in Paris and Kansas. Cameras have caught them all over the world, and they always show up when monsters appear!”
She had to be talking about my family. The ache from her words was like a giant ball stuck in my throat. I slid open the door. The breeze rustled the white curtains over the glass. I stepped into the room at the same time as the demon, but it didn’t see me. The ugly mutt started salivating as it eyed the closet door. I materialized my scythe, letting the weapon morph into a small sword. The bracelet heated my skin, warning me to return to Hell, but I ignored it.
As the girl’s voice pitched with panic, her mother quickly murmured, “Okay, okay. You’re right. A dog-like creature is in our home. Maybe people with power exist. Let’s pray. They might come if we do.”
The wolf demon charged quickly, yanking the door open. The women screamed, the beast lunged, but I was quicker. I plunged my blade into the back of the demon’s head, then I faded downstairs and killed the last two ransacking the kitchen.
I stared at the dark blood dripping from my weapon, and my shoulders slumped forward. “I’m sorry. We’re not the heroes.”
I saved them that time, but I couldn’t the next. The weight of Dad’s job felt so heavy suddenly. We were always doomed.
If we survived, if anyone did, we still had a life to save after the end. That was what mattered.
Every time I lost hope; I filled myself right back up with words of courage.
“Wait!” the teenage girl screamed.
“Jessica!” the mom hollered.
“It was one of them. I know it.”
The bracelet began shaking. I faded back to Hell before they found me downstairs. An angry horned devil lunged at me as soon as I returned.
Luke grabbed me by my biceps and pressed me against his bare chest. I smelled burned marshmallows and hated how his scent and touch felt right even when wrong. “What were you thinking?” he asked.
I lifted my chin defiantly. “You expected me to do nothing after I saw they were about to die?”
“You’re a Reaper. You know exactly what’s happening. I know you guys haven’t been attempting to save anyone.”
“And you think that choice is easy?” The fury inside me intensified, as did the hurt of what the Reapers couldn’t do. “We had to block our senses because the death and destruction were so overwhelming. We are one family. It’s not possible to save so many!” I grabbed my forehead. “Hades, why did I tell you? That will probably please you. So yes, I know what’s happening, but I don’t let myself see it. If I see it, I react.”
Luke narrowed his eyes, then sighed. “I’ll burn the book.”
“Burn it?” I snarled. “Why do you even have it?”
“Are you questioning me right now?”
“Are you as terrible as you wish me to believe?” I asked, swallowing nervously. “Or are you just someone forced to handle rotten souls?”
He suddenly seemed more imposing when he said, “You know who I am, Kitten.”
