Death has a Daughter (DHAD Series) (21 page)

“
At all times?” I asked.

“
As much as a Reaper is able to.  There will be other Guardians there at all times to help you.  You will live with her, and I suggest when you leave here that you go shopping.”

“
Shopping?” I asked, confused.

“
Yes, you start school tomorrow.  It’s your senior year, Cendall.”

“
You can’t be serious, Alicia.”

“
Extremely.  Good day, Cendall.  And I would also suggest figuring out those special powers you have that we’ve talked about.  The quicker we discover their origin, the quicker you’ll be accepted and, not to mention, a bit more useful.” She turned away from me.

“
But wait...what about money, and my name...and...”

“
Check your pocket. It’s all there—your name, and a credit card.  Good luck.” She smiled and was gone.

What had I seriously gotten myself into
?  This year had ended in a way I never saw coming.  The only thing to do now was to go with the flow, I guess.  Time to head to Lacie’s before something else happened and I ended up in my realm’s prison.

I ported to the front of Lacie’s house and went to knock on the front door.  How would this go down?  There were so many questions I needed answered about this assignment.  In class, we learned that Angels were vague, but this was insane.  My eyes took a quick glance around.  There were Guardians everywhere, and they all had a disgusted expression on their faces as I put my hand on the door.  When I went to knock, I heard a small scream of excitement come from the backyard of the house.  It didn’t sound like anyone was in danger, but someone else was here. I jumped to the roof.

“
I’ve missed you so much!” said a girl, who ran over to Trevor, who was in the backyard.  When she got to where he was standing, she jumped up and latched herself onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist as she began to smother him in small kisses.

“
Catherine, stop. I’m at work,” he said as he slowly pulled her off of him.

“
Oh, the girl is fine. You guys just defeated that Demon, and there’s a ton of Guardians hidden out front. She’s fine.  My father cleared me to come, before you got sent away on a mission again.  Aren’t you excited to see me?  It’s been so long.”

“
Yes, it’s just...” he trailed off.

“
Just what?” she asked.

“
Nothing. Never mind,” he said.

“
I know what you’re thinking.”  She giggled, and then put her lips onto his.  My stomach erupted in fire, and I felt my hand reach for my scythe.  Trevor stood still for a moment; maybe he didn’t want her.  My fist would gladly help him remove her.  As I went to take a step, he leaned in closer and kissed her back.  My lips let out a small gasp, and he stopped to look all around him.  I laid flat on the roof so he wouldn’t be able to see me.

“
What?” Catherine asked as she pushed his face back to hers.  I felt my hands tingle. Oh, how I wished I knew how to control whatever electric power had come from my hands that day, because I would like to use it now.  “I know what you want,” she said as she cupped the front end of his pants, and I let out a low growl as an electric current left my hands and struck a tree that was inches from them. 

Well
, I guess that question was solved.  Apparently, anger made it come out. I needed to get out of there now.  To think I’d cried when I thought he’d died.  Maybe I hadn’t been crying over him; like, just over the idea of losing Lacie, because if he was gone, then the agreement was over and there was no Lacie.  Yeah, that had to have been it. 

Lacie and I had
grown into friends as I was protecting her.  That was why I was also crying that day when Trevor had found out he was healed and they could return to their life, that I was now stuck in.  Actually, I’d only cried the day I assumed he was dead, because it meant I had failed, because we were fighting together. 

As
I ported back to her front door, no one answered, so I just walked in.  Immediately, I started to scan the place, when I felt something soft but heavy land on my feet.  My eyes looked down to the floor to see that Lacie’s pug had chosen to sit on top of my feet.  I’d forgotten about this fluffy thing.  It looked up at me and smiled, like it recognized me and was happy I was there.

“
So it is true. This is going to be so much fun!” said Lacie with a smile as she came out of a room to the left.  My lips tried to fight it, but the smile broke through; she just brought it out of me.  At least I had Lacie back in my life; maybe this wouldn’t all be bad.  I hated to admit it, but she’d become to me what I’d imagined having a relationship with a little sister would be like.

“
I don’t know how much fun it’s going to be, but I do know that I guess my all-black attire and mask I’m used to wearing won’t work at your school.  So we need to go shopping, Alicia said.” Her eyes lit up at this.

“
Okay, give me some time to shower. I won’t do my hair or anything, so I’ll be ready in like ten minutes,” she said and ran to the bathroom.  She was way too excited for all of this.  It was nice to have someone that was excited about this arrangement.  The front doorknob made a noise that made my eyes dart in its direction, and my hand reach for my scythe as it was opening.  Trevor walked in.

“
Just me. You can drop your scythe,” he said with a smile.  It took me a second to lower it.  It wasn’t right for me to stab him for what had happened outside, was it?

“
Where’s Lacie?” he asked.

“
Showering. We have to go to the mall to get me some human clothes for school tomorrow.” He laughed at this.

“
With that look of excitement on your face, you’d think you were being sent to hell.  But you would like that better, wouldn’t you?” Trevor said, probably expecting a laugh.

“
Back to clever comments, are you?” I snapped.

“
Sorry, I just don’t do well in awkward moments,” Trevor said, and my eyebrow rose.

“
What’s awkward?”

“
Well, I don’t know...I just haven’t seen you much, and the last time I did….well, you were there…chaos ensued….You don’t feel awkward, Cendall?”

“
Not at all. Why would I?”  My body trembled inside. I had to stay strong; I couldn’t explode, because then he would know I cared.

“
Well, I’m just going to say it.” He took a step toward me and reached for my hands, but I put them at my sides.  “Thank you for saving me, Cendall.”

“
You’re welcome,” came out in a tone that was nicer than I had intended as I tried to keep my composure.  But my body was raging with anger, and something else I didn’t want to think about.  He seemed to notice something was off and took another step towards me.

“
Are you okay?” he asked as he locked his eyes onto mine.  He was way too close now.  He was just inches from my face. My head started spinning.

“
I’m fine.  It’s just been a long day,” I lied, as I slightly turned away from him and tried to stare off into the distance.

“
Cendall, I have to know something,” he said at a whisper as he got even closer and slid a hand on the small of my back, gently turning my body so I had to face him once again.  His cool breath touched my lips and my mouth watered, as I could practically taste his essence.  It was not a good idea being this close to him; he smelled so delicious—like a fresh breeze that remains after a spring storm.  This needed to stop before I lost control.

“
If it’s why I saved you, it is because Lacie needs both of us.  We work well together as co-workers, and that’s what I was thinking of when I saved you.”

“
Co-workers?” he asked and his eyebrows rose.

“
Yeah, co-workers. We work well together, Trevor, and especially now that Lacie is actually my assignment, we need the best team around her to protect her from that thing.”

“
But....Cendall...”

“
No buts.  Don’t go all mushy on me now, thinking I’d saved you for some other reason.  You saw what happened when I wasn’t there—she and a ton of others were almost taken.  You’ll just owe me one,” I said and was finally able to take a step away from him.

“
Yeah, but you saved my life; I just thought....Well, the truth is, I just see you in such a different light now and I have for a while—even before you saved my life and I…”

“
Trevor.”

“
Cendall…you’re sure?”

“
Yes.”  Another lie. This was really becoming a bad habit of mine.

“
So all you want in exchange for you saving me is for me to owe you and for us to continue to just be co-workers...not even friends?”

“
Yes…that’s what I want.” Only half a lie. I did not want to be this Guardian’s friend.

“
But that ki...” He stopped his speech abruptly as Lacie walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a purple towel, with dripping, wet hair.

“
Hey Trevor, you should come with us to the mall,” she said quickly and went into her room to change out of her towel.

“
Looks like my shift has started. It’s time to go shop,” I said with a forced smile as I turned my back to him and walked into the kitchen.  I looked around the red, white, and blue kitchen that was filled with American flags and ceramic roosters, as a tear rolled onto my cheek.  Life as I knew it had done a complete 180 in just a year.  My father, Dave...would I ever get to see them again?  Had I truly made the right decisions leading up to this?  For my whole life, I wanted to be a Reaper, and once I finally became one, it was stripped away.  What did that make me now?

The END…for now

Death’s Dilemma, Book Two in the DHAD Series, Coming in August 2014

For more information on the series and the author visit www.deathhasadaughter.com

Continue reading for a Bonus look at Cendall’s exam that she took in Chapter 2.

Cendall
’s Exam

Name:
Cendall

Please define the following:

Grim Reaper
–
Bringer of death (AKA Me). Fights against Guardians to collect human souls at their vulnerable times, and then carries their souls to the cells to await their final judgment. Certain Reapers may obtain special skills, like super speed, strength, or agility that will aid in their collection of souls. All Reapers are also able to read a human’s history by a simple touch of their skin, and have a fifth sense about others of their kind being around. All Reapers are able to teleport from place to place, and are able to stay invisible to the human eye, unless they choose to reveal themselves. 

Reapers can also sense when their enemies are near.  The ability will vary from
Reaper to Reaper.  Reapers can stay hidden until they choose to reveal themselves.  Once they start acting in combat, or are touched by Guardians or something that is not human, they are instantly revealed.  This is why it is best to be sneaky, invisible, and quick to Guardians’ eyes, as it’s much easier to obtain a soul if your being there is never revealed. 

Every
Reaper carries a scythe that holds enough power to extract a human’s soul—at a vulnerable time—from their body into the holding gem in their scythe.  The power that illuminates from the scythe is also able to withstand spells and block the light that Guardians throw at us.

Destroyer
–
A higher-level form of a reaper.  Works on more difficult souls, at times with a team, to collect and bring back a soul that is protected by many Guardians or Angels.

Filler
–
If it is determined that the soul will rest in one of the levels of hell, the filler takes the soul to its final resting place in hell.

Researcher
–
Researches the soul’s whole existence to help build a case to where the soul’s final resting place shall be placed in either heaven or hell.

Claimer
–
Looks at the Researcher’s findings and makes a claim of where the soul shall reside.  If it is undisputed by the Guardians’ personnel, then the soul will then go to that realm.

Guide
–
Guides lost souls—that wander the earth—to their final judgment.

Prosecutor
–
When a claim is disputed by Guardians’ personnel, the Prosecutor will make a case for the final judgment against souls, when their final destination is in question.  Argues for them to go to a level in the underworld.

U Judge
–
One of three on the underworld side that takes the Prosecutor’s case.  They will rule in a final decision, after hearing both sides, of where the soul shall reside.

U Executive Judge
–
The head judge for the underworld side.  This judge, along with the council of other underworld judges, helps determine where the soul shall reside.  The U Executive Judge has top and final say for the underworld side as to where the soul shall be placed.

Demons
–
Lucifer’s soldiers that at times will possess a human to consume their souls.  They are rarely seen, and Reapers rarely work with them.  If one comes to the scene, the soul is theirs.  They fight against Guardians and Angels for a soul’s possession.  Some higher-level Demons have powers that enable them to decay or destroy a soul at a vulnerable time. For example, their breath fire creates diseases, takes life, administers curses, and so on.  They collect human souls in order to get more legions in different levels of hell, or to create armies to try and face off against Angels.

Guardian
–
Defenders of human souls at their vulnerable times so that Reapers can’t take them.  They hold some magic and may obtain special powers that contradict the ones Reapers are given.  They have an electricity-like power that can leave their hands and acts as a lightning bolt.  They usually excel in powers of speed, strength, and agility.  Guardians, like Reapers, are unseen to the human eye, unless the Guardian chooses to reveal themselves.  The power to sense when enemies are around varies from Guardian to Guardian, depending on how strong they are.  They also can stay hidden until they choose to reveal themselves, but once they start acting in combat or are touched by someone that is not human, like Reapers, they are instantly revealed.

Defender
–
Opposite of the Prosecutor, the Defender argues for the upper-realms’ side.  The Defender fights for the soul’s final resting place to be somewhere in heaven.

G Judge
–
Opposite of our U Judge, the G Judge is on the upper-realm’s council, and after hearing the Defender and Prosecutor’s statements, helps render a decision to where the final resting place for the soul shall be.

G Executive Judge
–
Opposite of our U Executive Judge, they, like ours, with their council, help determine where the soul shall reside.  They have final say for the Guardian side to where the soul shall be placed.

Angels
–
God’s soldiers.  Defends against Demon armies and human possession.  Must be leery if a soul is being protected by one; a team is needed. They are the highest level of Guardian.  Some possess powers that counteract Demons’ powers; for example, healing, creating life, etc.

Describe the basic method of obtaining a soul:
Research, and stalk, until you feel the human’s soul is coming to a vulnerable moment.  Once you feel this coming, you must scout out any Guardians they have.  Once all of this is completed, you wait until the moment that they are coming to a vulnerable state.  By vulnerable state, I mean at a time when the human could possibly die; for example, a car accident, health issue, and so on.  Once you find this time, you can feel their heart call to your scythe, and when this happens, you must defeat the Guardian who is there, if they are protecting the soul.  Once the Guardian is defeated, place the tip of your scythe directly into the human soul’s heart.  If you miss, the soul will not feel it, because it is not meant to harm humans, only to take possession of their soul.  Once you have properly inserted your scythe into their heart, the scythe will collect the soul and the human will die.  You then take it to the Researchers; they extract it from your scythe, and you check the soul off your scroll.  You must only insert the tip of the scythe at a time of vulnerability of the soul, or it will not work.  There is a small window for this opportunity, which is why you have to plan it to the exact second, or the Guardian will win and the soul will remain alive.

Number one rule while obtaining a soul: Don
’t show pity, nor have empathy, for the soul you are there to collect; death is just a part of life.  Number two rule: You can never take a human soul at a non-vulnerable moment.  This means that if you miss getting the human’s soul while they are vulnerable, you can’t then take out your blade and stab them to make the soul vulnerable again.  This is murder, and it is not allowed and is highly frowned upon.  Punishment includes but is not limited to: Being stripped of your scroll, exile, and, in some cases, death.