“Where are the bodies?” Maxon asks, holding his scythe out at his side, ready for a fight. June turns and motions for us to follow.
It’s strange how everything else is fuzzy, but the body that contained the soul we’re supposed to reap is clear as day. He’s lying halfway out of the windshield. Glass cuts into his stomach and his eyes are wide open. The wife is flopped forward in the driver’s seat, neck obviously broken.
Maxon holds his hand over the bodies and closes his eyes.
“They’ve been stripped,” June says.
“They have. But…but how?” Max holds his hand over the body of the man and closes his eyes. “It doesn’t feel demonic.” He reaches into his cloak pocket and pulls out the rune again. It’s still glowing green.
“Do you think they realized they’re dead and….and I don’t know.” I shake my head and look back at the minivan. A police officer has arrived and is running toward the van. He tries the door but it’s stuck.
Come on, come on. I clench my jaw, watching. Doing nothing hurts, and standing here watching people die seems wrong. So wrong. The officer tries the rear sliding door, but it doesn’t open either. He can crack a window, and the kids can crawl out that way.
But then I hear a baby cry.
Babies are strapped into car seats, and it’s going to take time for the kids to crawl out and the officer to get in and pull the baby out before the car explodes.
Come on, open the damn door!
The front passenger door flies open, and a chilly wind sweeps across the astral plane. Shit. Did I just do that? I didn’t mean to…but the officer is reaching inside. Two kids get out and run away, as the officer tells them to do.
“Addy!” Maxon says in a tone that lets me know he’s been calling me for a while now.
“What?”
“We need to—oh shit.” The rune in Maxon’s hand starts to slowly turn yellow. “Demons have found us.”
An ear-piercing scream rings out, and we all jerk around and see a woman floating above her body. She stares down at herself, crying, “No, no, no, no,” over and over.
“Get her,” Maxon tells June and Hadwin. “Take her to the afterlife. We’ll go after the demon.” He spins, holding his hand out in front of him. The rune fades from yellow to orange.
The demon is getting closer, and I glance around, starting to get worried. Where is Professor Dal, and our back up? Or are they not interfering because he thinks we can handle this?
A loud bang reverberates through the astral plane, and I look through the fog to see that the van exploded. I gasp, hand flying to my mouth. Did all the children get out?
The baby?
The woman driver, who I’m assuming is their mother?
My heart jumps into my throat as sour guilt threatens to come up with it. It’s not my job to save people, but to save their souls.That’s what matters in the end, right? It’s what guides humanity. Gives them something to believe in. Drives them to be good people.
Don’t be a dick, get into heaven.
“Reeeaaaaapppppeeeerrrrrsss,” a deep, throaty voice rings out, echoing endlessly around us.
Maxon shoves the rune back in his pocket and holds up his scythe. The demon is here, and June is struggling to get the soul to come with her. We have to protect them, give her a chance to either convince the soul to go willingly or to cast a spell and force it to follow.
As I’m turning back around, I see the spirit of the police officer standing above his body. He gave up his own life, using himself as a shield from the explosion The baby is on the ground, half covered by his torso but alive and crying.
“Hadwin!” I call, but there’s no time. A demon jumps from behind the wreckage, sailing over an overturned car in a single leap. Like the first demon I fought, it has cloven feet that click against the pavement as it moves in for the soul.
Five red slashes cross its face, and black horns twist up from its head. The demon growls, thick yellow saliva dripping from its snarled teeth. I hold up my scythe and golden light pours from my hands. The blade doubles in size.
“Another meal hand-delivered,” the demon sneers. “We’re going to get used to not having to work for our food.” It tips its head up and sniffs the air. “And you, reaper, smell delicious.”
Last time, I went solely on instinct, adrenaline and fear fueling my every move. I’ve been trained now, yet every move still comes naturally. The scythe whooshes through the air as I jump, flying several feet off the ground. I bring my arms back, ready to swing them forward and bring the scythe right into the demon’s neck.
Power vibrates through my entire body, and I let out a yell as I go to slash the demon. But the demon throws out a clawed hand and a blast of energy hits me hard in the chest. I fly back, skidding against the pavement.
