by Nicky Graves
While I had suspected we were in a serious predicament, seeing Azrael cemented it.
The crowd parted as Lucifer walked through to the platform with us. Once there, Lucifer nodded to Azrael. “I see you got my message.”
“I couldn’t resist such an offer,” Azrael said.
“Excellent,” Lucifer said, and then he turned to address the crowd. “The cambion Ranger has come uninvited to our realm, bringing outsiders with him. Now is the time for him to be punished. However, the punishment will be up to Azrael and Riley.”
Ranger stiffened at the announcement, but he didn’t say anything.
What did Lucifer mean when he said the punishment would be up to me and Azrael? If it was up to me, there’d be no punishment.
“Both reapers are looking for the same stone, which I have hidden on Ranger,” Lucifer continued.
Azrael eyed Ranger as if wanting to shred Ranger without delay.
“The only way to get the stone is to kill Ranger.”
The crowd cheered.
“Are you insane?” I yelled.
“Some think so,” Lucifer said simply.
“I’m not killing Ranger,” I shouted above the excited crowd.
“Then Azrael will get the stone,” Lucifer said. “He looks ready to strike now.”
Azrael wouldn’t hesitate.
“There has to be another way,” I said. “This is wrong, and you know it.”
“You forget who I am.”
“I know exactly who you are. Some people might have forgotten. But I learned you were an angel.”
Lucifer laughed. “I haven’t had that title for a long, long time. And it’s a term only humans use. If you knew what angels were capable of, you’d call them monsters. Either way, I’m not one any longer.”
It was pointless talking to Lucifer. I turned to Ranger. “I’m not killing you.”
“Do it,” Ranger said. “I’m dead either way. Get the stone.”
I shook my head. “There has to be another way.”
“There is no other way,” Ranger said. “My body can’t handle the stone. Lucifer must be keeping it stable right now, but he won’t for long.”
“Enough of this,” Azrael said. With his scythe in his hands, he charged at Ranger.
I hurried to intervene. I couldn’t let him kill Ranger. But it wasn’t like I had a scythe or any way to defend myself. Still, Azrael’s scythe would not harm me. Not with our shared DNA.
“What’s going on?” Lawson asked, not able to see.
Azrael raised his scythe, ready to strike Ranger. I dove at Azrael’s feet, hoping to trip him. I almost missed but was able to grab onto his robes. The snakes hissed and struck at me. Their smoke fangs were just as painful as real ones as they bit into my arms.
Azrael struck down at Ranger but only managed to stab his arm. Ranger groaned as the blade pierced him.
Azrael turned. He glared down at me as I swatted off his snakes. They tangled up my arms and legs, making it impossible to gain footing.
“You dare try to stop me?” he questioned.
I winced as another snake bit into me. Kicking out, I attempted to dislodge myself, but the more I struggled, the more riled the snakes became.
“This isn’t right,” I pleaded with Azrael. “Reapers don’t kill.”
“You are naïve,” he said, disdain curling his voice. “And you will never take my place. You are not suitable as an heir.”
“I don’t want to take your place. I don’t want the stones. I don’t want any of this. Just let Ranger go.”
Ranger began shaking violently. It was Basole the Black. It was trying to get out. Ranger was right; his body couldn’t handle it. He was dying, and I couldn’t get away from the snakes to do anything to help him.
A frail older woman crept to the side of the platform. I couldn’t help but notice her. Her eyes were completely white and matched her long white hair. Two small horns poked out from her temples. She was eerie, and yet something about her comforted me.
Azrael looked at her as well, which caused the snakes to pause long enough for me to scramble away from them.
“Go away, old woman,” Azrael said, pointing his scythe at her. “This is not your concern.”
She didn’t move. She just stood there and stared at us with her unnerving white eyes.
Beyond her staring at us, she didn’t do anything to warrant Azrael’s attention or blade. But it gave me the opportunity to get to Ranger. I hurried over to him, ignoring the fact that my bite wounds were oozing.
With the force of Ranger’s shaking body, I knew he wasn’t going to last long. His eyes rolled back into his head, giving him the same eerie look as the old woman.
I reached out to take his hand.
The other stones had seeped into my skin, so maybe Basole the Black could move from Ranger into me.
At first contact, I felt the rage spiraling in Ranger. It was the black stone. And it was only by Ranger’s sheer will that Basole hadn’t consumed him yet.
“You seek to obtain the stones,” a voice said. The voice was inside my head. It was a low, sinister voice. One that belonged to nightmares.
“I don’t want to, but yes,” I said.
“You seek to tear apart the universe.”
“No, I don’t. I’m just trying to prevent useless deaths.”
“The only way to prevent the deaths you speak of is to kill yourself.”
“What?”
“Azrael only seeks your death. You set him on this path. If you die, you prevent all of this.”
“I can’t die. I’m immortal.”
“Find the mortal blade. It can end you. It can end all of this.”
A strangled shout jolted me from the voice.
I was pushed against Ranger. Pain ripped through me. My heart seized. Panicked, I tried to pry myself away, but it caused excruciating pain. My breath came out in sobbing gasps.
Basole the Black passed through me and back out. For an instant, his rage coursed through me, and then he was gone.
After a moment, my heart began to beat again, but I was stuck against Ranger. My back was in agony. I peered behind me to find that Azrael had used a sword to pierce through both me and Ranger. It skewered us together like a shish kebob.
“Tell your mom I love her,” Ranger whispered just as he sagged against me, digging the blade in more.
“No, tell her yourself,” I said as I grappled to keep him upright so he wouldn’t injure either of us more.
When Azrael pulled back the blade, Ranger and I fell in a heap of blood and anguish. Ranger bled out in front of me.
No!
I scrambled to stop the bleeding, but there was so much.
Azrael laughed right before he vanished with the black stone.
Lucifer was gone too.
In fact, everyone was gone, except Lawson and the old woman.
“He’s dead, girl,” she said. “You should go.”
“No. There must be a way to save him.” I wiped tears away.
“There is no way to save him. He is gone.”
“But where is his soul?” I asked, looking around me. “If he’s dead, I should see his soul.”
“He’s a demon. Lucifer has already collected him.”
“He’s in hell?” I asked.
“Hell is a term humans use. He is where he belongs.”
“No, he belongs with me.” I straightened, wiping my bloody hands on my jeans. “Where do I find Lucifer?”
She squinted at me. “You do not possess the strength to fight Lucifer. Nor do you have the strength to fight Azrael. Yet, I see the mark on you.”
“You see the mark?” I asked. “Azrael said he couldn’t see it on me.”
“I see it as plain as the nose on your face. You are the heir, Riley Graves.”
I tried to hold back the tears. I really did. But Ranger was dead, Azrael had Basole the Black, Treble and Wiltone were MIA, and I was covered in blood and had a gaping hole in my body. I could
n’t do anything right, and I was a hazard to everyone. Maybe the voice was right. Maybe I should find the mortal blade and end the suffering I was causing everyone.
“What’s going on?” Lawson demanded, still not able to see.
The woman hobbled over to Lawson and placed her hand over his eyes. When she lifted her hand away, Lawson blinked and then looked at her. He then looked at me and over at Ranger.
He hurried over to feel Ranger’s pulse.
The woman touched my hand. “Find the mortal blade,” she said. “But don’t use it on yourself. Use it on Azrael.”
“Where do I find the mortal blade?”
“Treble the Blue will lead you to it.”
“How do you know so much?” I asked.
“I’ve been around a long time,” she said. “Take your friend with you.” She pointed to Ranger. “Do not leave his body here to get vandalized.”
Lawson stood from Ranger’s lifeless form. He cursed and turned his back to me. I knew he was trying to keep me from seeing his emotions. But I felt his torment at the loss of his friend.
“Let’s go,” Lawson finally said, reaching for Ranger’s arm. “Meet me at his place.”
As soon as he shifted, I looked back at the woman, but she was gone.
26
It was a day later when we stood in a reaper-built park in the dead zone. Ranger lay before us on a pallet heaped with straw. We were standing just off the shore of a large sparkling lake. The scenery was gorgeous, but all I could see was Ranger lying dead in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Others were there too. A few familiar faces that I recognized as reapers from past transitions. And several others that I didn’t recognize.
I leaned over to Lawson. “Are they all reapers?”
He glanced around. “Most. A few cambions as well.”
Two men stepped forward to Ranger. They said something in a language I had never heard before.
“What are they saying?” I asked.
“It’s a demon custom,” Lawson whispered. “They are granting him the power to return.”
“Can he?” I asked.
Lawson shook his head. “It’s just an old custom. A demon might be able to jump into another host body if he’s dying. Ranger didn’t have that option when he died.”
“He could have used one of us as a host until we found him a body.”
Lawson shook his head. “If a demon jumps into another body, he takes over. The person dies as a result, though their body still lives. Anyway, Lucifer collected Ranger’s soul, so it’s not an option. Ranger is gone.”
I looked back at Ranger as he was being covered by a black cloth. The two men eased the pallet into the water and cast Ranger’s body out onto the lake. They began chanting, the sound harsh to my ears. It sounded more like they were cursing Ranger than sending him to the afterlife. After a few minutes, the black cloth ignited into flames. It lit the entire pallet on fire.
One by one the men left, but I stood on the shore and watched as Ranger drifted farther and farther from me.
Lawson stood next to me.
“We’ll need to find the mortal blade,” he said.
“I have to find Treble and Wiltone first.”
“I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing by going with Ranger to the dark lands,” Lawson said. “I ended up making everything worse.”
“You didn’t make it worse. Lucifer and Azrael did. But we need to work as a team from now on. No more drugging me and handcuffing me to Vance.”
“I already told you that I didn’t tell her to drug you or handcuff you, especially not to Vance. I only told her to keep you occupied.”
“She certainly did that. After Vance and I woke up handcuffed together, he dragged me to a vampire to pick the locks. Juliette showed up and demanded the red stone.”
“What happened?”
“She was really mad. Wanted to summon Bornor. But Vance said something about claiming me and she backed off.”
“He claimed you?”
“That’s what he said. Is that some old vampire thing?”
Lawson cursed. “I’ve said I was going to kill him before, but this time I mean it.”
“What is the big deal?” I asked. “Vance got all weird about it too.”
“It’s rare when a vampire will claim anyone. It’s not in their nature to be in a committed relationship. When he claimed you, he created a bond with you. It’s ancient magic. Neither of you can be with anyone else until one of you dies.”
“Wait . . . so, we’re, like, married by magic?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t we get a divorce? Is there an unclaiming?”
“Doesn’t work that way.”
I was stuck with Vance until one of us died? That was scary.
But it didn’t seem like a problem to be concerned about at the moment. Once I found the mortal blade, I’d have to face Azrael. Would I even be around long enough to worry about the claim?
“I’ll deal with it after Azrael,” I said.
“There is no dealing with it,” Lawson said. “You belong to Vance.”
I tsked. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
Lawson reached over and pulled me toward him. Slipping his arm around my waist, I found myself flush against him. And just as his lips touched mine, his grasp released as Vance appeared next to me. As soon as Vance saw Lawson and me together, his expression changed from bewilderment to rage.
Vance charged at Lawson, tackling him to the ground. As they fought, I hurried out of the way.
Had the claim somehow brought Vance to me? Maybe that was part of the old magic.
I was about to try and stop them when a hand touched my shoulder. I glanced back to find Raven.
Her gaze landed on Lawson, who had Vance in a headlock. “Don’t interfere,” she said.
I wanted to yell at Raven. Her drugging and handcuffing had caused the whole claiming thing, but I had no more animosity in me. Not for her, anyway.
“They’ll end up hurting each other,” I said.
With a growl, Vance gripped Lawson’s arm and threw him off.
“As they have many times in the past. But they’ll stop eventually and go their separate ways.”
“Why do they hate each other so much?” I asked. “I mean, I know Vance is a vampire and reapers don’t like vampires, but this seems like more.”
She nodded. “They’re brothers.”
Brothers? I studied the fighting men and couldn’t see a resemblance, but that didn’t mean anything. If they were brothers, why did they hate each other? I can understand an argument here and there, but this was beyond that.
“Why do they hate each other?” I asked.
She hesitated.
“Listen, Vance claimed me, and I have to work with Lawson. I need to know.”
Vance pummeled Lawson into a tree.
Raven sighed. “Okay, but you didn’t hear it from me.”
I nodded for her to continue.
“It was about five hundred years ago. Lawson was engaged to Elizabeth, and his wedding was only a few days away. Elizabeth was pregnant with Lawson’s child. Only Vance knew their predicament. When a plague swept the area, it took Lawson before he could marry Elizabeth. The bodies of the infected were burned. So, Lawson was burned in a pile of bodies and buried in a mass grave. No one knew he would be a reaper. By the time Lawson was able to regenerate and free himself, Vance had married Elizabeth.”
Lawson kicked Vance in the back of the knees, knocking him to the ground.
“What happened then?” I asked.
“Lawson couldn’t return to Elizabeth. Everyone knew he was dead, and they’d think he was a ghost or a warlock. In those times, superstitions were treated as fact. But Lawson did confront Vance. Vance said he was just trying to do the right thing so Elizabeth wouldn’t be an outcast when people found out she was pregnant.”
“And so Lawson was upset with Vance for taking away his family,” I surmi
sed. “But it seems like Vance did the right thing. There was no possible way Vance would know Lawson would return as a reaper.”
Vance punched Lawson in the stomach and was about to slam him with another punch when Lawson dodged and struck back.
“Lawson wasn’t angry at first. He understood that fact as well. While he mourned the loss of Elizabeth and his child, he knew he had a duty with the reapers. He was okay to leave his family as long as Vance took care of them.”
“Let me guess. Vance didn’t take care of them.”
“Well, that’s where the story breaks down. I think Vance tried to take care of them, but it also felt like a burden. Lawson had an important immortal life while Vance had a family and responsibilities he didn’t want.”
“But he’s immortal now.”
Raven nodded. “Yes. From the snippets of stories I’ve heard, a group of vampires came into town. Vance was tempted by immortality. He sought them out and they gave him what he was looking for. But in his transition, he left his family defenseless.”
“They killed Elizabeth and the child,” I said as a wave of nausea caught me.
Raven nodded. “Yes. And since then, Lawson has hated Vance.”
Lawson pummeled Vance with a blow that had me wincing.
I pitied them both. Their feud was centuries old, and no one would ever win.
“I can watch over them,” Raven said. “They’ll get tired soon and retreat. But Treble and Wiltone are waiting for you at your pod.”
“You found them?” I asked.
“They were never lost. Just causing problems at Charlie’s.”
“I’d better go to them,” I said. “Thank you.”
I glanced between the dueling brothers and then at Ranger, who was just a glowing speck in the lake.
It was time to find the mortal blade.
And this time, I had to find it alone. No one else would die because of me.
Epilogue
Supreme Elder Buzzarly waved to the attendant to close the doors. This would be a closed council session.
He stood in the circle as the council members took their seats. When the room settled and all eyes were on him, he said, “Gentlemen, I have called you here for a very important matter.”
