Reap & Repent (26 page)

He walked over to a mirrored bar that lined one wall and poured two drinks, presenting one of them to her.

“Tell me what happened. Leave nothing out.”

Ruth took the drink. She wasn’t a big drinker, but she was willing to give it a try. However, she did worry about what it might do to Earnest.

“Do you mind if we do something about the soul I’m carrying first?” she asked, clasping the drink in her hands.

“Ah, yes, details. Well, out with it.”

“Uh, again, not so sure about the extraction part. I got lucky on the consumption side of things.”

“Deacon has still taught you nothing?” He downed his drink in one quick gulp and looked longingly at the bottom of the empty glass before setting it on the table before him.

“Well, it’s simple enough. You must expel the soul the same way you drew it in, only in reverse. Summon your light energy, and let it fill your solar plexus chakra, and then use that energy to push the soul from your body through your throat chakra. Later you may allow them to exit through any or all of your chakras, but for now that will be the easiest. See, it’s simple. Much better than having it ripped out, don’t you think?”

Ruth had studied chakras a bit when she’d researched aura colors long ago, but she’d never thought she would do anything substantial with that knowledge. She wouldn’t have even believed in it at all if not for her own strange and unexplained ability.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

Ruth didn’t like being pressured, but at least there wasn’t a huge audience this time. She closed her eyes and imagined her energy growing. As it began to build, she felt a warm tingle in her chest, which she allowed to grow until it
threatened to burst out. She opened her mouth and threw back her head, pushing Earnest forth. He flowed out in a gray mist and hovered above her head, unsure.

Rashnu pushed an orange ball of light at him, and he streamed out through the closed door, on his way to God only knew where.

“Much better,” Rashnu said, turning his attention back to Ruth. “Now, where were we?”

Ruth struggled to regain her composure. “Deacon is gone, taken. I thought you might know where… Actually, I thought
you
might have taken him,” Ruth said, bringing the glass to her lips.

“How was he ‘taken’ exactly?”

“He began to flicker as if he were about to flash, but he didn’t go willingly. He was trying to
keep
from flashing.”

“Was there anything else? Anything unusual?”

“The morning light was streaming through the window and for a minute there, he was surrounded by it. He almost looked like …”

“An angel?” Rashnu finished for her.

She downed the contents of the glass in one gulp, choking as the warm liquid slid down her esophagus like hot broken glass, settling above her heart. It burned like fire. “What the hell was that?” she gasped.

“I like to call it Daddy’s Little Helper.” He smirked.

“More like Daddy’s Little Killer.” She coughed.

“Yes, well, I find it helpful in stressful situations. You might, as well.”

She doubted that. “So where is Deacon…exactly?”

“Powers can only be summoned by the Chief of Powers. Unfortunately, the current chief, Camael, has fallen and is otherwise engaged in Hell, commanding his legions. Grim will be the new Chief, but until that officially happens, Camael retains the power and the right to summon his charges.”

Ruth swallowed hard, rubbing her chest, trying to ease the lingering burn of the liquid. “What would he want with Deacon? How do we get him back?”

Rashnu snorted. “There will be no ‘we.’ It’s not possible to go marching into Hell and back. Not even for a reaper. It’s generally a one-way trip unless you’re a demon. You aren’t part demon, are you?”

“I don’t think so, no. Why did he summon Deacon? What’s happening to him?”

“Nothing pleasant, I am sure. It’s Hell. Camael is not to be trusted. His fall was a great defection, and even after all these millennia, he is constantly trying to corrupt those on our side.”

“What about Grim—can’t he rescue Deacon? Isn’t he the one who promoted him in the first place?”

“Until Grim is installed as the new Chief, I’m afraid not. The reactivation of the Powers was…unexpected. It will take some time, but be assured we shall rush to make it happen. Deacon is invaluable now. We should have perhaps foreseen this possibility. Regrettably, there have been many distractions and disasters as of late.” Rashnu crossed to the bar and refilled his glass. He tipped the bottle toward Ruth. “More?”

“No thank you,” she choked out. Any more of that stuff and she’d be coughing up a lung…or worse. “Well, there must be some way to get to him sooner rather than later.”

“Dear, even
I
cannot just
go
to Hell, no matter how much you might wish that I could. The portals are ever changing, and even if you managed to find one, you would be lost in the endless labyrinth of Hell’s circles for the rest of your existence. Trust me. It’s not a pleasant way to go. The only way into Hell is with a guide. Someone who has been there. Someone who knows how to find a portal. Someone who knows how to get around once you arrive. Unless you have a demon friend in your pocket, I know of no other way. Let me suggest that you return topside and continue with your…
work
until you are instructed otherwise. Camael is nothing if not persistent, so I would not expect to hear from Deacon anytime soon. But once Grim is appointed, we will make arrangements for his retrieval.”

Ruth stood before him, defiant. “If you won’t help me, I’ll find a way without you. I won’t leave Deacon to hang.”

“You are perhaps stronger than you appear, dear one. God bless. In the meantime, I’ll send a replacement reaper to cover Deacon’s territory while he is indisposed. Now, let us go. We both have work to do, yes? The dead are ever dying.”

Ruth followed Rashnu back through the tunnel and into the depot. Reapers went about their work, oblivious to her troubles. She was not bestowing BFF status upon Rashnu for his complete lack of help. She would find another way.
She would. Even now, Deacon could be suffering. She knew that if she was the one who was missing, he would scour Heaven and Earth to find her.

All she had to do for him was go to Hell.

Chapter Thirty

Deacon was in Hell. Literally. In all his two hundred and six years, he’d never actually been to Hell. As he sat naked in a stone cell, listening to the screams and moans that emanated from every direction, he decided he didn’t want a tour. On the upside, it was stifling hot in his cell, so at least he wasn’t cold. On the downside, he was still naked…
and in Hell.

He’d yet to meet the one who had summoned him. Shit, he didn’t even know he
could be
summoned. One minute he’d been about to make love to Ruth and the next he’d started to flash…against his will. He’d tried to fight it, but the pull had proven too strong.

Ruth must have freaked.

He squatted with his back against the wall, facing the cell door, ready for whatever approached him. What he thought he was going to do—naked and with no weapon other than his body—he had no idea, but he didn’t plan to stay here one minute longer than necessary. Of course he’d tried to flash nearly fifty times, but his efforts had only succeeded in exhausting him more. He needed sleep, but he didn’t dare take the chance of making himself any more vulnerable than he already was. Which was plenty. Besides, who could sleep with all that infernal noise?

No wonder they called it Hell. This was torture.

His head bobbed on his neck despite his determination to stay awake. He was damned for sure. Leaning his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes. Just for a second.

* * *

Nate paced the cemetery on shaky legs. He had no idea how long Ruth would be gone, or if she would even come back for him. Surely, she’d come back for him. Right? If she was as weak as she’d been when he found her at her home, he had no idea what he’d do. He’d have to call 911, but how would he explain himself or her? He just prayed that she’d materialize soon and everything could go back to normal.

His gut told him Normal was a town he’d never see again.

He thought about the last time he’d found himself unexpectedly alone in a cemetery. At least this time it was still daylight.

The world seemed like a much more dangerous place now. He’d grown up working with the supernatural, but he’d never experienced anything like this before. Given the enormity of the forces they were dealing with, something could happen to him, something bad.

Even though his adoptive parents lived nearby and he retained active ties with the coven, he didn’t visit very often. If he went missing, it would be months before any of them went searching for him. At least his lack of regular contact made them less of a potential target. Hopefully it would keep them away from whatever danger he was attracting to himself through his involvement with Deacon and Ruth.

As far as he could see, danger and death were the main ingredients of this life. He was a healer. Not a warrior. Not a reaper.

* * *

Ruth made her way to the portal out of Purgatory, her mind churning. Rashnu had mentioned something about portals to Hell. That was the one piece of useful information he had imparted. Otherwise, all she’d gotten from him was a headache from that stupid drink.

Her number one goal was finding Deacon and getting him home. Come hell or high water. She was pretty sure which one of those two catastrophes it would be. That’s when it occurred to her.

She knew one person who might have some insight into portals to Hell.

Kylen.

She placed her hand on the portal and zoomed back to Maple Park, where Nate would hopefully be waiting for her.

* * *

Ruth landed just feet away from Nate, startling him into a near cardiac arrest. Damn but it was a convenient way of traveling. Better even than the jet packs that scientists had promised decades ago.

He didn’t think he’d ever get used to popping in and out of places at will. It was unnatural. He had done it twice himself now, and it still freaked him out. Give him the Honda any day.

“I was worried sick.”

Ruth slid the backpack off her shoulders and dropped it by the crypt.

“I know. I’m sorry. We didn’t know if you could go to Purgatory, and I guess we just got our answer.” She rummaged through the pack, setting out the bizarre array of food. He was glad that she’d come prepared this time. “We’ve got some problems, Nate. Big ones. I met with the angel, and he was less than helpful. But I think I know how we can find Deacon.”

“Why do I feel a big
but
coming on?” Nate removed food from his own pack and added it to her stash.

“
But
…there is one tiny thing we need for this plan to work. Deacon is in Hell. He’s been summoned by the Grand Poobah in charge or some stupidity. And if that’s not bad enough, you can only get there via special portals that change regularly. Oh, and it helps if you’re a demon. We are going to need Kylen to take us there. He’s our only way in.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” she said, popping a peanut-butter-covered cracker into her mouth.

* * *

Seriously?
Nate thought.
Hell?

He looked at Ruth, worried that she’d lost her ever-loving mind. And how did she think Kylen was going to get them there when he was still possessed by a demon?

Oh, Hell and no.

Without Deacon, there was no way they could capture him, exorcise his demon and get him travel-worthy. And those were only the most obvious flaws in her plan.

“So what do you propose?” Nate asked, leveling a glare at her.

“We’re going to save him first.”

* * *

Deacon awoke to a low growl emanating from nearby. His muscles tightened, preparing him to spring before he even opened his eyes and locked on to the source of the sound. Outside his cell, a leopard paced back and forth in front of the entrance, its haunches rising and falling with each step. Deacon eased up from the floor slowly as the leopard sat back on its haunches and stared at him.

He’d encountered many creatures in his travels, but this was a first. What he wouldn’t have given for his scythe…and pants, come to think of it.

That was what he was angriest about, that he’d been snatched away as naked as a newborn. It just wasn’t right. He was thanking his lucky stars for the bars of the cell between him and the leopard when they melted away. Deacon tensed. He was somewhat confident that the brute couldn’t actually kill him, but he didn’t exactly feel like spending a long and miserable time healing from a mauling.

As he stared the animal down, the beast began to shimmer, slowly morphing into a humanlike figure.

Not a man, though… It’s something else.

Deacon balled his hands into fists, ready to fight. He could do some damage to a man, even a supernatural one. At least it would be a fairer fight.

“Down, boy, you are not under attack.”

Deacon stayed at the ready. No reason to trust his captor. Now or ever.

“Why am I being held?”

“You cut right to the point. I like that about you. And no whimpering…yet, anyway. Admirable.”

Deacon glared, silently considering various ways to disembowel the beast and escape.

That’s probably what Ruth thought when I appeared in
her
house.

Ruth.
He was worried for her. Had the same assholes come for her? And Nate? Were they being held in similar chambers? He had no idea what was going on. It was time for some answers.

“Again, why am I being held?”

“My friend, I only want the opportunity for a candid conversation with you. And since I couldn’t easily go to you, I summoned you
here,
as is my right as the Chief of Powers. I am Camael. Your boss.”

The name meant nothing to Deacon. He had never paid attention to the hierarchy or bureaucracy of Heaven and Hell. Perhaps he should have taken more of an interest. He was pretty sure the name was meant to spark respect and fear in him. Instead, it sparked more anger. He hated feeling powerless and until recently, that had been the status quo.