This is the second location we’ve scoured and they seem to be disappearing without a trace. Nothing is disturbed, there’s no sign of struggle, and we are left with more questions than answers.
“Anything?” I ask Thea and she shakes her head.
“Not even a bad feeling. I don’t seeanysigns they were ever here,” Thea says in a tired tone. She runs her hands through her long brunette hair and I see circles forming under her eyes despite her reaper strength. We’ve spent the entire week going from location to location with no luck, and each day our list just kept growing. Reapers and souls alike were dwindling away and we’re the hope the council is looking at. Yet we are failing. To say we’re stressed would be an understatement.
“Whoever is behind this is bound to slip up sometime. The demons we found were not smart enough to clean up this well,” I point out, trying to convince myself as much as I am Thea.
“Someone has to be working with them, this place doesn’t look dirty enough to be abandoned,” Thea points out, and I notice she’s right. The walls, the floors, even the shelves are completely clean.
I walk over to a nearby workbench and note the lack of grime covering it. Peeking underneath, I realize it’s clean as well. As I’m moving back to stand up, a streak of dirt under one of the bench legs catches my eye. It’s the first sign of activity we’ve found and tentative hope fills me.
“Thea. Help me pull this back?” I call out. She hurries over and grabs the other side. With an unladylike grunt I pull as hard as I can until it scrapes over the concrete floor. Underneath the bench there are specks of dust and grime that were lacking everywhere else. A long dark streak of something fills the crack in the floor and as I point my flashlight beam over it I know it’s blood. “I guess they were here.”
“Gross. Now I want to go shower again,” she shudders, probably recalling the blood we were covered in after fighting our way out of the demon realm.
“How depressing that this is the best clue we’ve gotten,” I sigh. “Come on, Thea, let’s go back. Porta!” We step through the portal and head for Arianna's office. After the first few days of nothing, the Head Councilor just told us to use Arianna as a liaison. Not my favorite assignment ever but I can’t complain.
“We found blood at the last location, but nothing substantial. Any new reports today?” I ask as I walk into her office. She doesn’t even look up at me.
“No,” is her eloquent response. I just roll my eyes and leave. At this point I can’t see a point in giving her any more of my time.
“How did we escape our manly escort today?” Thea asks as we walk away from the office. Even she’s too tired to snark about Arianna’s bitchiness.
“They said not to leave today,” I chuckle and shrug my shoulders. I get their concern, but we aren’t going for active souls, so I don’t see the harm in going without them. This entire investigation has been a bust so far and I can’t sit around while they attend meetings.
We’re almost to the elevator when I hear Arianna call our names. I turn around and send a glare her way, but stop when I see her expression.
“Another reaper is missing. We need you to finish their workload today, despite the Head Councilor’s previous orders. I’m sorry,” she says, and looks genuinely upset.
“Of course, we’ll get right on it,” I agree without hesitation this time. We make our way over to the Gates of Judgment in silence. We’re all too worried about what this really means.
“Who’s going with? We have a missing reaper and they need us to help,” I call loud enough that all three can hear me.
“I’ve got them today,” Sam answers. He turns to talk to a reaper beyond his gate before walking forward. I hear my message indicator and pull open our list.
“Looks like we have five,” I announce before I grab each of their hands and call the portal open. We step into the thick, humid heat of the bayou. It’s the kind of heat that makes your clothes stick to you almost immediately. Someone screams in the distance and I know this one won’t be missing like the others.
We follow the screams to a nearby swamp. A small fishing boat is stopped and people are yelling and frantically reaching into the water below. Alligators are lurking around the boat but they’re too frantic to notice.
“Can alligators and snakes attack us in this form?” I ask Sam. I’m not sure I want to step into the murky water at all.
“That’s why you have me, silly.” Thea laughs. She opens her mouth and belts out a beautiful song. I don’t recognize the language, but I’m drawn to her as she sings. Knowing some sort of magic is involved, I glance at Sam and he seems just as enthralled. Lucky for us, so is the soul. My heart drops as a kid that can’t be older than thirteen drifts out of the water and right to Thea’s side.
“I’m so sorry you died. We are here to take you to the afterlife,” I explain softly. He nods with sad eyes, tears spilling down his cheeks. He casts one last look at his family before following our instructions.
We take the boy to Liam’s gate after an instant answer from the gatekeepers. The boy doesn’t fight us, he just seems resigned and scared. He’s not my first kid reaping, but he’s the first one with a broken heart. I hate it even more than I thought I would. A burning sensation on my wrist lets me know his reaper mark is finished. I look down and smile at crossed hockey sticks.
“That one sucked. That poor kid,” Thea mumbles and I wrap my arm around her.
“I was just thinking the same thing. Though I’m extra glad we made it before he was taken. Thanks for singing, that was amazing.”
“It works better than words,” she says softly. Her modesty never ceases to surprise me. She has incredible skills, but doesn’t let it go to her head.
After a quick moment to breathe I check our next assignment and call the portal. Once we step through, I hear Sam yell as a demon shackles our assigned soul and drags him through its own portal. It closes right as Sam reaches it and I run to his side as he lets out a bellow of anguish.
Now we have definitive proof of what’s happening to the souls. It’s the solid evidence that the council needs but we have no time to focus on that now.
Resolve has me reaching for my boyfriend. He turns to me, pain in his green eyes.