Reap & Repent (31 page)

Kylen swallowed. He’d heard stories of the Powers. Legends created to keep demons in line. They weren’t his memories, he suddenly realized, but his demon’s.

“Apparently that’s the only way to ensure it’s good and dead. Forever dead if you know what I mean.”

He did.

With Deacon as a Powers, what had happened to Grim? As the number of reapers grew, Grim had been promoted to Chief of Purgatory over his minions. His power was made all the more fearsome by the fact that few had seen him in the flesh. He was both a ghost story and a superhero for young reapers everywhere. But when demons began escaping from Hell or were
released
to wreak havoc, The One True Light decided that there needed to be a border guard to patrol the realms and keep them in check.

Grim became the first Powers angel, and the only one…until now. Kylen couldn’t wrap his mind around it.
Deacon? Powers?
His first thought was of Kara. If Deacon was now an angel of the Powers, he could travel between the realms. Hell, he could even call souls back if he wanted. Could he call Kara back?
Would
he call back Kara? His mind raced, his stomach clenching at the thought. He set down the bag of chips. He was done eating.

“So you know of the Powers?” Ruth asked, her eyes fixed on his face.

“Yes. Where is Deacon? Take me to him.” He hesitated, then added, “Please.”

“Actually,” she said, reaching for his hand, “we were hoping
you
could take us to him.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ruth laid out the scenario for Kylen, telling him the story from the very beginning, when she and Deacon had first met. She glossed over the rougher patches.

She told him what Deacon had told her about his promotion, and how he’d disappeared from this very house, summoned by Camael. Finally, she recounted Rashnu’s unhelpful response, telling him why they needed his help to find Deacon.

Nate listened from his perch on the futon, some of the story apparently new to him, too.

Kylen stayed silent throughout her monologue, not asking any questions. He did indeed know where a portal was. He’d been awake and aware the entire time the demon had possessed him. It was only his most recent memories that were fuzzy.

Why? He had no idea unless it was the trauma of his injuries. Surely those memories, too, would return with time. Taking them both to Hell was beyond dangerous. Getting in would be easy enough. Finding Deacon and extracting him against the Chief of the Order would be suicide.

He’d been to hell with Orithidon several times a month since his ordeal began. He hadn’t enjoyed any of those trips. Orithidon was a lesser demon, but he held the respect of many of the hordes of Hell for the sheer number of souls he’d claimed for the Dark One. Much to Orithidon’s dismay and Kylen’s relief, even
after all this time, an invitation hadn’t been proffered to meet the Dark One in the flesh.

He had no idea what reception might await him if he were to return. Word of Orithidon’s capture would have made the rounds. Then again, the Dark One was a busy beast. Maybe one demon wasn’t that much of a concern for him. Kylen didn’t know why he was even bothering with all the self-debate—he would go for Deacon. And if these two wanted to commit suicide along with him, the more the merrier.

“So that’s the whole story,” Ruth said, stretching her long legs out across the floor. “Can you help us? Can you lead us to Deacon?”

“There’s a portal in the city that we can use. Darkness will help hide us from curious eyes. Once we’re inside, though …” He trailed off and shook his head. “If he was summoned by the Chief of the Order there’s no telling where he’s being kept. There are cells and cages of all kinds down there. It’s oppressive, the smell is nauseating and the sounds…the sounds alone are enough to drive you mad. He could even be in the palace for all we know.”

“There’s a palace in Hell?” Nate chimed in. “You mean like one of Saddam’s palaces? Seriously.”

“Once we’re inside, we’ll find him. I know it. You get us there, Kylen, and everything else will fall into place,” Ruth promised.

“You’re more confident than I am,” he said, picking at his food.

“Let’s try to get some sleep. It’s almost dawn. If we sleep for a few hours, we’ll all be stronger. At least we’ll have that on our side. Then we’ll pack our equipment and weapons and bring him home.”

“Sounds good to me,” Nate said, rising and walking toward the door.

Ruth caught up to him, grabbed his arm and pulled him down toward her, kissing his cheek.

“Good night, Nate.”

Nate grunted.

Obviously, the guy wasn’t too keen on Ruth’s plan.

Smart man.

* * *

Kylen’s dreams were filled not with images of the souls he’d stolen under Orithidon’s command, but of Kara.

Beautiful, fierce Kara.

He hadn’t let himself think of her, much less dream of her, since the day he was possessed. He hadn’t wanted that bastard demon to have the pleasure of even one memory to hold over him. To taunt him.

At first light, he awoke and stared out the window. Lying alone in his body, aware and alive for the first time in so long, Kylen no longer feared death. He’d
lived
his death already. The true and final death would be a relief at this point. If Deacon could by some miracle bring Kara back with his new promotion then…maybe …

If not, he had nothing to live for, not really. Once Deacon was safe, again, he would make his request. If he was refused, he saw no reason to continue on. He’d ask to be reaped. Maybe Deacon would do it for him this time.

Deacon owed him that. And more.

They had been like brothers once. Deacon had made a solemn bond to kill him if he was ever overtaken, but had he? Of course not. Kylen had hoped to free Kara’s soul, keep Deacon safe and then await his end. But the wait had lasted forever, and the end had never come. Orithidon had kept him far away from Deacon and anyone who was even remotely family. Until the demon had decided to make sport of Kylen’s misery, bringing him back again and again through the years.

He closed his eyes and almost allowed himself to pray, but quickly stifled the urge. Kylen looked at the clock on the wall. He’d slept nearly seven hours. That was more than enough.

He rolled off the bed in the only clothes he had and went off to explore the house.

* * *

Ruth woke to the smell of food cooking again.

Deacon?

She leaped out of bed and raced to the kitchen to find… Kylen. He stood at the stove as Nate buttered toast, hot out of the toaster. She couldn’t hide her disappointment. She plopped down in a chair at the kitchen table, her unbrushed curls bouncing into her eyes.

Ruth knew Nate wasn’t keen on her plan, but she also knew that he would help. She prayed that they could trust Kylen. He hadn’t given them any reason not to yet, and he had stuck around when he could have flashed at will. Ruth was determined that Deacon would be home by the next sunrise. Back in her life and back in her bed…where he belonged.

Both men were dressed and ready for what the night had to offer. She needed coffee. Lots of it. Some of the bravado and confidence of last night had faded, and she was beginning to doubt her own plan. Her own skills.

What if she got them all killed? It would be her fault. She’d lived in fear for so long, and she was only now realizing that she’d been afraid of all the wrong things. She hadn’t needed to fear the auras. She should have feared what she couldn’t see, not what she could. Now her eyes were wide open. She needed a shot of encouragement.

Kylen sat a hot mug of coffee before her and gave her a tentative smile, the first she’d seen from him without his creepy demon eyes. He looked so much better that it would have been unbelievable that he was the same person if she hadn’t witnessed the transformation herself.

Ruth’s heart melted. He might be a big, bad, recently demon-possessed reaper, but his humanity was at least somewhat intact.

Thank God,
she thought.

With Nate’s magic and whatever was inside her, they had managed the impossible. And the impossible had just handed her a mug of coffee. She felt a
little like Frankenstein must have after he’d animated his monster. She hoped her story ended better.

Kylen joined her at the table, setting a plate of bacon, eggs and toast before her.

“I might have an idea for finding Deacon once we get through the portal,” Nate said, picking at his food.

“You do?” she asked, excited. Anyone’s plan had to be better than hers.

“I looked up a location spell. I’ve got everything I need except a few of the herbs. I’ll have to stop by my apartment and pick them up. Once we’re past the portal, we’ll have to find a place to hide for long enough to perform it.”

“Oh, Nate! Have you done one before? How can I help?”

“I haven’t, but I’ve seen others do them…for lost pets. I’m pretty sure if you give me a drop of your blood since you…since the two of you…know each other so well, it should be a little easier to find him.”

Oh, if only it could be that easy to find him. Nate had never trapped a demon before Kylen, and a location spell had to be easier than that. Hope filled her heart again.

The atmosphere at the table was tense, but her confidence was renewed. Kylen was still here, Nate had half a plan to help, and the day was bright and shiny, for a few more hours at least. Then the real challenge would be upon them, but the only way past adversity was through it. And she planned to blow it to pieces.

They all finished their breakfasts. Another crazy thing about this new life was that her internal clock was totally screwed. It seemed like one day bled into the next. She hadn’t picked up her mail from the P.O. box in days. Her life had never been normal, but this was impossible. There was going to have to be some serious domestic restructuring when all the chicks came home to roost.

She picked up all of their plates and set them in the sink. “I’m going to pack my backpack, and then I’ll be ready to go.”

They nodded, and she headed back to her room.

Ten minutes later, they all three stood in the center of her living room. Nate gave Kylen a backpack, and they were loaded for bear.

“I guess my apartment is the first stop.”

“Lead the way,” Ruth said, taking his hand and reaching for Kylen’s.

“What?” Nate asked.

“You’ve traveled through the pathways now. You yourself said that you’ve even done it alone before. What if I’m not with you sometime, and you need to get back? You can do it. I’ll give you a little boost so that we can spread out our energy, but that’s all.”

“Are you insane? I can’t do this alone.”

“You can
try.
What is there to lose? Just imagine where you want to be and hold it in your mind. You can do this, Nate.”

Kylen shook his head in disgust. “Now would be good.”

Ruth laughed and Nate fumed. He closed his eyes, and in moments all three of them faded into the consecrated subway.

* * *

Somehow, they all managed to land upright in Nate’s apartment. Definitely an improvement. Nate was shocked to have succeeded. And even though he was visibly shaken, he rushed about his apartment, quickly collecting the supplies he needed.

“You’re up, Kylen. This is your rodeo now,” Ruth said, squeezing his hand and reaching for Nate’s.

“More like a circus,” Kylen said, staring her in the eyes as they began to swirl through the subway again.

* * *

They landed at St. Agnes Cathedral. The same church Ruth had managed to flash from after leaving the hospital. Kylen walked straight to the prayer garden. The gate unlocked when he touched it.

“This is the portal to Hell? The prayer garden at a church?” she asked, disgusted and confused.

“Sure,” he said, walking over the statue of Mary praying. “Catholic, right?”

Kylen placed his hand on the head of the statue and looked at them, amused with himself. Ruth was trying to wrap her mind around it, but she gave up. She joined him and put her own palm against the cool, smooth granite. Nate sighed and followed suit.

They spun and sputtered through a long tunnel of red strobing light that made Ruth’s head hurt. Her stomach turned as she tried to close her eyes, but the
light strobed against her retinas just as intensely whether her lids were open or closed. They seemed to slide through the tunnel forever. It was much longer than was comfortable and about ten times as long as her trips to Purgatory. A carnival ride gone bad.

When she was sure she was going to vomit, they crashed to a stop at a dusty crossroads. Red fog hung low as far as she could see, which wasn’t very far at all. Nate landed hard but stood up quickly, dusting red clay off his jeans. Kylen frowned as he looked down the road at the red glow in the cloud-covered horizon.

“A crossroads demon is coming our way. I’ll do the talking,” he said, walking forward to meet it.

The two of them stayed put, happy to let Kylen handle it.

Ruth couldn’t hear what was being said, but the demon was nothing like the black smoky mist she’d seen stream from Kylen’s body. This creature was a nightmare incarnate. Skeletal, almond-shaped eyes gazed at them appraisingly as it chatted with Kylen, blinking vertically every few seconds. Shiny black skin draped across its bony form, fitting loosely and bunching in folds and wrinkles at its joints. And the smell. My God, the thing was wretched. The stench emanating from it burned her eyes like mace even though it was a good ten feet away from her.

It seemed to be familiar with Kylen. No obvious alarms sounded. Kylen looked back and pointed toward them occasionally, making the demon laugh. A sound she hoped never to hear again. When the demon lurched in their direction, Ruth jumped. Nate held his ground, unflinching. The creature cackled as if it had
cracked itself up and turned, retreating back into the red fog. Kylen returned to the crossroads.

“What was that all about?” Nate asked gruffly.

“He’s a crossroads demon. He makes deals. I made one.” Kylen stared ahead down the road.

“What kind of deal?” Nate pressed.

“The Boss can’t leave Hell without a host body. I told him I brought him two willing hosts.”