Reap & Repent (25 page)

Nate walked in as she was admiring it. Unamused, he reached forward to take it from her.

“No,” Ruth said, stepping out of his reach.

“You’re going to get hurt. If you want a weapon, take your mace or stop and buy yourself a Taser or something. That thing isn’t going to lead to anything good.”

“I think that’s the point of a deadly weapon, don’t you? We’re not facing puppies here, Nate.”

“We don’t know what we’re facing. Maybe he’s not even in trouble, Ruth. Maybe he wanted some time away.”

“Really?” she asked incredulously as she folded the blade closed and slid it into its scabbard. “Naked? You think he’d flash himself away somewhere
naked?
”

Nate turned his back to her and walked over to the kitchen window, obviously trying to process the whole strange situation.

“Probably not, but what if you run off half-cocked, and he comes right back? Then we’ll have to find you and save you, and… Jesus, it’s never going to end. It’s going to be one emergency after another.”

“Good that you know a thing or two about emergencies, then. I’m going after him, Nate. You’re not going to stop me.”

Nate bowed his head, defeated. “At least fuel up this time.”

“I intend to.”

Nate followed her into the kitchen and began pulling food from the fridge and cabinets. They already needed to make another grocery run. Ruth didn’t have time to worry about it now. She ate six Hot Pockets turnovers, a box of Toaster Strudel pastries, three cans of soup, and drank a boxful of Capri Sun juices.

She didn’t own a scale, but she knew from the gap in the waistband of her jeans that she had lost weight. It made her think of that Stephen King book
Thinner
where the main character had been cursed to lose weight until he died. Maybe King knew a thing or two about this crazy world she’d been thrown into.

When she couldn’t stuff in one more bite, she slipped on her shoes and hoisted the backpack. She realized with a frown that she didn’t even know where to start. No way was she going back to the hospital. Even though it was unlikely
that she’d be questioned, she didn’t feel like pressing her luck without Deacon to back her up. And for all she knew having Nate along for the ride might mess with her reaper mojo.

Then there was the whole waiting for someone to die thing. Ideally, she would find someone who was already dead…and alone. She cursed herself again for not getting the internet hooked up. Now she was going to have to fly blind.

At least she and Deacon had been to several cemeteries yesterday—
It was yesterday, right
?—so she knew where to look. Panther Valley would be the most secluded, but it was also a long shot. Hundreds of local founding family members were buried there, but these days there wasn’t much action there. She would have to go systematically from cemetery to cemetery looking for a fresh grave and hoping for the best. It was a terrible plan. It was the only plan she had.

She decided to try Maple Park Cemetery first. It was tiny, but it offered more cover with all its giant oak trees, and it was in a much quieter part of town. Broad daylight might not have been the ideal time for what she was attempting, but her options were limited.

She told Nate her plan, such as it was, and he shouldered a backpack of his own. He had tucked what looked like a butcher knife just under his belt loop, and it was lying flat against his hip with a piece of cloth bundled around the blade in a homemade sheath.

“Are you sure you want to come, Nate?”

“I’m not letting you do it alone.”

“Suit yourself. Ready?”

“I hope so. Promise me you won’t pull that scythe out in public.”

“Only if absolutely necessary.”

“So how does this work? Or not.”

“Deacon said that reapers can take things or people with them if we’re strong enough and if the passenger has enough supernatural ability.”

“And if I don’t?” Nate asked, skeptical. Ruth didn’t blame him for being concerned. She wasn’t exactly a pro at any of this.

“You’ll stay here. Don’t worry. You’re not going to get cut in half or anything. You can either travel or you can’t. It’s that easy.” She parroted Deacon’s teachings with false confidence.

Nate muttered something under his breath, but all she could make out was “easy” as he moved to the center of the living room. Ruth held out her hand to him. He took it reluctantly, and she slid her arm around his waist, snugging herself up against him. Ruth was pretty sure that Deacon had been serious about the not getting cut in half thing, but just in case, she thought it was a good idea to have some full contact going on. She didn’t want to have to deal with a severed hand or something worse when they landed.

She tightened her grip around him and concentrated on Maple Park. Her skin tingled, and in no time, she was squinting her eyes into the bright sun filtering through the hundred-year-old oaks in the middle of the cemetery. She congratulated herself on landing on her feet. And further congratulated herself when the worst thing to happen to Nate was that he projectile-vomited from motion sickness.

Yep, been there. Done that.

Glancing around to make sure that no one was gaping at their sudden appearance, she was relieved to find that they were alone.

Completely and utterly alone.

“Jesus Christ!” It seemed as though Nate had once again found his religion.

While he got himself back together, figuratively speaking, Ruth made an assessment of their situation.

No cars on the streets. Good.
She made a quick scan searching for any freshly turned earth in close proximity to them.
Nope.
She was going to have to canvas the grounds and hope that she found a fresh grave that Deacon hadn’t already visited.

She walked through the cemetery, Nate trailing behind her, clearly not quite recovered from his first five-ticket ride through the subway.

Rookie.

In the far back section, she found what she was looking for. The turf was raised a good six inches on top of the freshly turned ground. She noted the headstone,
Earnest Bradley Stone 1931–2013.
Eighty-two. Good. No way was she ready for a young one. She glanced around again, making sure that no one was watching her.

Kneeling at the edge of the grave, she placed her open palms on the soft turf, pressing down into the ground. Summoning what energy she could, she pushed it down as she had seen Deacon do.
Nothing.
She closed her eyes and tried
again. Imagining the orange glow surrounding her and flowing down into the grave through her hands, she reached for Earnest. Imploring him to come forth.

She was startled when she felt a sharp tug, like a fish on a line, and she let out a little gasp of surprise when Earnest’s soul came streaming up through the soil. Jumping to her feet, she found the spirit staring at her. His misty gray form hovered before her, her heart beating so hard it was painful.

“Hey, Earnest,” she said softly, wiping her dusty palms on her jeans while the elderly man’s spirit hovered, looking thoroughly confused. “I guess there’s no need for a long conversation here. Just so you know, I’m a reaper, and you’re my first soul. So, give me a break if you can.”

“You have one? A soul? Already?” Nate asked, his eyes the size of softballs.

“Apparently. Do you see him?”

“No.”

Interesting.
She had no idea what that meant. There really should be a handbook for all of this.

Ruth stepped forward and reached out to Earnest. She imagined the orange glow again and let it envelope both of them as she opened her mouth and inhaled deeply, willing him to enter her.

Oh please, oh please, oh please,
she pleaded as Earnest began to shimmer and quiver in the bright sunlight. Sure enough, he stretched long and thin, and then streamed down her throat and into her body. She didn’t know whether to be excited or disgusted. She felt like throwing up.

Instead, she swallowed hard and took some deep breaths, wondering what would happen to Earnest if she hurled.

It was a toss-up as to who was more surprised by her success: her or Earnest. Nate remained clueless.

“It’s done.”

“And I missed the whole thing?”

“What can I say? Some of us got it. Some of us don’t.”

Ruth couldn’t believe she’d gotten so lucky. Thank God Kylen—and whatever other demons might be lingering around—had missed this one. There were probably other souls that needed to be reaped, but she wasn’t about to press her good luck. She walked over to a large walk-in crypt, which could offer her some protection from prying eyes.

Deacon had assured her that once she was carrying a soul, she would be completely unnoticeable. Still, she felt naked and anxious without the cover of darkness… But the thought of doing this alone at night was terrifying, too. She was going to have to get a whole lot tougher, and quick.

Even though she didn’t feel like it, she pulled the cheesy crackers from her backpack and a can of protein shake, gagging them both down.

“So the soul is in you? Right now? You don’t look any different.” Nate was watching her as if she might sprout another head at any moment.

“What about my eyes? What color are they?”

Nate leaned in, then startled backward. “They’ve changed. They’re gray.”

“That’s the soul.”

“That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever
not
seen.”

“Oh, it gets better. Next stop… Purgatory.”

Ruth stuffed the empty can and wrapper back into her pack and offered a silent prayer. Considering what Deacon had told her about Grim becoming a Seraph and his own heavenly promotion, her prayers suddenly felt much more personal. A few short weeks ago all of this would have seemed like a fanciful fairy tale to her.
Now?
She had a soul inside her
that wasn’t her own,
and she was headed to Purgatory…again.

“Let’s go.” She wrapped her arms around Nate’s waist and closed her eyes, letting herself swirl through the consecrated subway to Purgatory.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ruth landed in Purgatory.

Alone.

For whatever reason, Nate had been allowed through the consecrated subway, but he was apparently
not
allowed into Purgatory. She briefly considered flashing back and trying to take him home again, but she was probably already pushing her limits.

Ruth took quick inventory of her surroundings. It seemed as though everything in the Great Beyond’s clearinghouse was business as usual. She snorted to herself. It was ridiculous to even think that
anything
could be usual about Purgatory. This routine was already becoming way too…routine.

Rashnu resided on his usual perch—both of them. She walked toward him, exuding a confidence she didn’t have. He was not going to intimidate her this time. She was on a mission. She was a reaper. And by God, he was going to help her get the answers she demanded or…or something.

She wasn’t sure what she could use to blackmail an angel into helping her, but she was hoping for some creative ideas to spring forth once she got rolling. And that was the extent of her plan. Bend Rashnu to her will. Find Deacon. Take him home.

Flawless.

There were two other reapers in front of her. She studied them carefully this time. She was done avoiding eye contact. She wanted to know exactly what she was up against, and what sort of creatures she could expect to meet in the
course of her work, no matter how slimy and disgusting they were. And geez, but they
were
slimy and disgusting. She was thankful that the initial nausea she’d experienced after consuming Earnest’s soul had passed and the snacks had given her a second wind, or she would so be tossing some cookies right now.

Rashnu caught her eye and gave her a startled nod of his head.

That’s right, you’d better acknowledge me, you winged freak.

She approached and managed to keep her sassy comments inside her head…for the moment anyway.

“We meet again, my dear. Sadly, there is never enough time to get more properly acquainted.” He readjusted his robe, casting his eyes about the rambling crowd of reapers. “I assume that Deacon must have instructed you well for you to be here again so soon, alone?”

“It was more trial and error. And Deacon was taken.”

Rashnu lasered his sharp stare at her. “Taken where? By whom?”

“That’s what I was hoping you could help me to figure out.”

“Indeed,” he said, as he stepped down from his platform. He raised his gaze to the other end of the depot, sending the rest of the reapers in line in an about-face toward his alter self.

“Well, my dear, it seems that get-to-know-you meeting will happen after all. Come with me.”

Ruth followed Rashnu as he led her through the crowd to a tunnel in the center of the back wall of the terminal. The stone tunnel was dimly lit, but the lights brightened when Rashnu crossed the threshold. Ruth looked around to
determine the source of the light, discovering it was Rashnu himself casting a bright white glow before him. Darkness closed behind them, and Ruth’s heart fluttered with a flash of panic.

One trip down a dark tunnel in Purgatory had been quite enough for her. Maybe she was in over her head after all. No one would find her down here if Rashnu chose not to release her. Could she get trapped in Purgatory?

They continued down the corridor for many long minutes before they came to a large, ornately carved wooden door. Rashnu placed his palm on it, sending a warm orange glow into it, which swung it open.

The room was huge and lavish, filled with velvet-upholstered couches dotted with richly colored pillows. Satin curtains hung over nonexistent windows and sparkling gold accoutrements bedazzled every surface. A spectacular glittering chandelier hung from the center of the room, and she was pretty sure that the jewels that were dangling from the arms of the fixture were obscenely large diamonds. She could see no obvious source of the light coming from the chandelier, but the light reflected off the stones in prisms of color along the white-washed walls of the room.

Rashnu motioned to a couch. “Sit.”