Scythe

by M K Mancos

  “Oh, so you aren’t talking about a universal superpower for all cops?” She gave him a teasing smile.

  “Hell, no. What’s the use of having powers if everyone else has them? They aren’t so super then. Kind of spoils the whole groove.”

  They turned onto a quiet street, heading for the municipal park. Josiah parked the car in the lot and turned off the engine. “I thought we’d take a walk.”

  “Good plan, Detective.”

  Trinity Square Park was located away from Water Point Station’s main drag. The property abutted a Catholic church that was built in the late 1800s. It was a gorgeous, Gothic piece of architecture that had appeared in magazines, calendars, and even a horror movie or two over the years.

  They started down the shrub-lined walk. The moon sat large and bright in the sky, tracking their progress. Lights were placed in alternating rows, casting a low, golden glow over the pavement. The fixtures were made like old gas lamps, adding to the charm of the overall atmosphere.

  Keely had always loved this particular park.

  In the spring, the crabapple trees bloomed light pink flowers. When the petals fell, fluttering from the trees, it reminded Keely of walking through a fantasy novel. There was such an otherworldly quality to it. Looking up, she wondered if the trees were beginning to bud.

  Josiah took her hand, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. “You’re the easiest date I’ve had in a long time.”

  Keely exploded with laughter. “Is that supposed to be a compliment? Or confidence that you know you’re getting some tonight?”

  “Am I getting some?”

  “After that comment, I might need to reevaluate.” She squeezed his hand.

  “I only meant I didn’t have to plan some elaborate night of five-star everything just to make you smile. It’s a really nice change for me.” He tugged on her hand, pulling her closer to his side. “And just so there is no misunderstanding, if you would have wanted me to, I’d have gone to the nines to please you.”

  Keely smiled at him. “I’m not about the flash, Josiah. I’m about the substance.”

  “I knew that when you told me to call you Persephone.” He stopped then turned to her. Taking her face in his hands, he gazed into her eyes. “I really want this to work between us.”

  She couldn’t suppress the dreamy sigh that escaped her. “I do, too.”

  Then he was kissing her again.

  She’d been waiting all night for this.

  Keely had always considered herself a very strong and independent person. She didn’t require validation from others to know her worth. But there was something about being with Josiah that made her realize relying on someone wasn’t such a bad thing. Needing someone didn’t necessarily mean she was weak—it only meant she was human.

  He pulled away and turned to start walking again. “So, tell me about your family. I know they live in Short Hills and you have two brothers, but that’s all.”

  Keely leaned into him as they continued on their walk. Night insects buzzed from the grass and trees, creating their own symphony. She listened to them for a few minutes before answering him.

  “My parents are wonderful. There’s no other way to say it. I didn’t have trouble with them growing up. I never felt they didn’t understand me or like they were out of touch. In short, they were pretty perfect. Now, my brothers are a different story.”

  “What are their names?”

  “Frank and Cliff.” She couldn’t help the little smile that came to her mouth as she thought about them. “We’re very close now, but in high school, I would have given anything for a house full of sisters.”

  Josiah gave an understanding grunt in the back of his throat.

  “What does that mean?”

  “I sympathize with the guys. I have a sister of my own.”

  “Younger or older?”

  “Younger. She’s a doctoral candidate in archeology. She’s overseas right now on a dig.” The sadness in his voice was palpable.

  “You miss her?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.” There was a beat of silence, then, “Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud as hell of her. I just wish she was a little closer to home.”

  “That’s so incredibly sweet.” She turned to give him a kiss and stopped in horror.

  Josiah stared at her for a moment before turning to look behind him. “Oh, Christ.”

  A young woman lay on the ground, covered in blood. Her light-colored jogging suit was soaked through. Her gaze fixed on a point only the dead could see.

  In one swift move, Josiah had his gun free of the holster. He scanned the surrounding area as he leaned over the body. “There’s no pulse.”

  A light breeze ruffled the tree limbs above, sending moonlight dancing across the scene. In that brief moment, Keely clearly saw the ragged severed ends of the life-cord as it floated back down to the body.

  Oh, God!

  It looked like something had gnawed it in two.

  Tears burned in Keely’s eyes.

  The poor woman’s soul was lost to heaven and reincarnation. Where would it go? What horrors did she face beyond the veil?

  “Call it in. Tell dispatch I’m with you. Don’t touch anything. I’m going to have a look around.”

  Keely fumbled in her purse for her phone. A reflection on the shiny screen had her looking over her shoulder. Midnight stood behind her.

  “Josiah!”

  “Keely!” Josiah doubled back, gun pointed at Midnight. “I’ve got you now, you sonofabitch.”

  Midnight turned with a swirl of his long, black trench coat. As he ran, the sides flapped out behind him like a demon’s wings. Josiah gave chase.

  With shaking hands, Keely punched nine-one-one. The dispatcher came on the line and Keely gave him the information.

  “Where is Detective Adler now?” the dispatcher asked in a calm, even voice.

  “I don’t know. He’s chasing a man through the park. I lost sight of them.” Her gaze kept straying to the dead woman. Blood pooled in a crimson halo around her head. The killing had been as merciless as it had been brutal.

  Sirens neared.

  Flashing lights filled the park, dancing crazily off the reflections of the church’s stained-glass windows across the commons. Keely remained on the line with dispatch so the uniformed aspect of WPSPD wouldn’t come across the park guns blazing and shoot her.

  The police descended on her, securing the crime scene and beginning the arduous task of documenting evidence. Keely stood about fifty feet away from the action, watching the direction Josiah had run. Where had he gone? Did some portal open, sucking him into a nether dimension?

  Whatever happened to the jogger after the beating had been done by someone with the otherworldly know-how or at least a passing knowledge of how to locate the soul cord. Visions of the ragged end pierced her through.

  How could anyone knowingly deny someone of her afterlife? Even if she didn’t want to be a Scythe, she’d still never step between a soul and its reward.

  Josiah came into view, walking with an attractive brunette. Only the rumble of their voices reached Keely. He glanced around the milling people. When his gaze found her, he came over.

  “Are you all right?” He brushed a hand over her cheek, his eyes searching her face. Gentle. Tender.

  “Fine.” She returned the favor, cataloging every detail of his expression. “You know, if you were worried this first date wouldn’t be memorable, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

  He gave a pained smile. “This isn’t what I had in mind.”

  “Me either. One night without seeing a dead body is all I ask. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things.” She wanted to know if he’d caught Midnight, but was afraid the man had slipped away like a malevolent shadow. There was definitely more to his story than either she or Josiah knew.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. “Here, take my car and drive yourself home. I’ll have Shelia drop me off when w
e’re finished here.”

  Keely nodded in the direction of the hot brunette he’d been walking with. “Is that Shelia?”

  The shadow of an amused smile curved his sensuous mouth. “Yes. She’s my partner. And not my type.”

  “You’re very quick to deny it without me ever asking.” Keely folded her arms under her breasts.

  “I just don’t want any misunderstandings. Besides, if her husband thought for one moment there was anything going on between us, he’d break me like a twig.”

  “Tough?”

  “Owns his own dojo.”

  Another cop called for Josiah. He gave the man a signal that he’d be there in a minute. “Let me walk you back to the car. I don’t want you going through the park alone.” He took her elbow, guiding her back the way they’d walked earlier.

  Keely gently extricated herself from his grasp. “It’s fine, Josiah. I’ll meet you at my place later. You look like you have a lot to do here.”

  He let out a breath and looked off in the distance, before letting his gaze come back to hers. “I hate this.”

  Keely didn’t know what else to do, so she leaned up and kissed him. When she pulled away, she gave his chin a slight tug—something her mother did to her to say everything would be fine. “I’ll wait up.”

  His comment was cut off as she walked away.

  A chill breeze began to rustle the naked tree limbs. They rattled like bones in a graveyard. Damn but it was creepy. She felt as if a thousand eyes were trained on her from the hedges. She gathered her leather jacket closer to her body and increased her pace.

  Halfway to the car, she did what she’d wanted since spotting the body in the underbrush. “Samson? Samson, I need to talk to you. Please meet me at my apartment if you hear me.”

  She came around a tall cluster of azalea bushes, following the sidewalk to the parking lot. Leaning against the hood of Josiah’s car stood Samson, looking at her with fierce eyes. “Whatever it is you want, make it quick, I have much to do this night.”

  Keely hit the remote lock. “Get in the car. I’m not going to talk to you here with cops crawling all over the place. They’ll arrest you for wearing the same damn outfit as the suspect.”

  “They can’t arrest me if they can’t find me,” he pointed out as he opened the car door and got inside without further argument. At least that was easy. Trying to convince him of what she saw and getting an explanation might be a bit more difficult.

  She walked around to the driver’s side. Josiah’s legs were longer than hers so the seat required quite a bit of adjusting before she was comfortably situated enough to drive. When she finally had the seat and mirrors where she wanted them, she turned to Samson.

  “Do you know about the murder tonight?”

  “There were a lot of murders tonight. Be more specific.” All right, so he wasn’t going to make it easy on her.

  “A young jogger. Female.” Keely pointed out the windshield toward the interior of the park. “Horribly brutal.”

  “And?” Samson lifted a brow as if none of this affected him. As if humans dying on his watch weren’t his duty.

  “And someone beat a Scythe to the severing. The cord looked like something chewed it.”

  He shrugged one of his big shoulders. “That’s what happens when we don’t have enough Scythes to cover the territory. Death, Inc. gets there before we do.”

  Guilt sank her stomach to somewhere near the tops of her boots. “I had an awful feeling you were going to say that.”

  “Too many deaths, not enough Scythes. Some souls fall through the cracks. It’s a simple matter of not having enough workers to care for all our clients.”

  Outraged at his cavalier attitude, Keely slammed the car into gear and sped from the parking lot. “Listen here, buster, it’s not those poor souls’ fault you can’t get to them in time. Why should they have to pay the price with their afterlife?”

  “I don’t make the rules.”

  “No, but you can try to stop them.”

  He gave a snort of sound. “If you think we put on pressure to recruit you, you’ve not seen their tactics.”

  “Excuse me, but I have. One showed up at my kitchen table this morning dressed like some Godfather extra, promising me the world.” Keely stopped at a red light. Her blood pressure boiled. She wanted to get out on the highway and drive like a demon on rocket fuel, so much anger ran through her veins.

  Samson turned cold eyes to her. “Do not sign with them.”

  “Hey, I just got rid of you. You think I’m actually stupid enough to go work for the competition?” The truth of her retort banged around inside her long after her words faded.

  The light turned green.

  She didn’t move.

  “I believe it’s customary to press down on the long pedal on the right when this particular color light is displayed.”

  Keely let the words fall on her without reaction.

  Would that poor woman be enjoying the afterlife now if Keely hadn’t turned her back on the Scythes? Even responsibility for one lost soul was too much for her to bear. Tears burned her eyes, blurring her vision.

  A car behind her honked then pulled around. The driver yelled obscenities as he drove by.

  “Waiting on a special shade of green?” Samson asked.

  “Oh God, Samson.” Her arms actually went numb. “I’m a screw up in two dimensions. I guess one wasn’t enough.”

  “Do not cry.” It came out as a command, not a comfort.

  “That woman.”

  “Is lost but not forgotten.”

  Keely looked up. “Did you just quote Neil Young?”

  He gave her a blank look then shook his head. “Why are conversations with mortals so difficult?” He held up his large hand to keep her from interrupting. “I promise you there is a team already dispatched to try to track her soul. Whether they find it or not may greatly depend on the information you can provide us.”

  “I’ll help you any way I can.”

  He gave a quick nod.

  The light had changed back to red, so they had to wait for another cycle to go.

  They rode the rest of the way to her apartment in silence. Once there, she let them in and they trudged up her stairs. For once, the stairwell and apartment were warm.

  She stopped and turned to Samson. “The cold. That’s caused from the agents sent by Death, Inc., isn’t it?”

  “It took you long enough to figure that out. Your higher education at work, I see.”

  “You can be such an ass.” Keely unlocked the door and stepped inside the apartment.

  Samson followed her in, his sharp blue gaze lingering around the apartment, searching.

  “What is it?” Keely watched Samson as he moved around her space, sniffing the air.

  “They were here earlier.”

  Keely shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on the coat rack. “Just as long as they aren’t here now.”

  “Come sit, we need to talk.” He guided her to the living room. Somehow, she got the impression the worst news was yet to come.

  “Just give it to me straight.” She picked up a throw pillow and hugged it to her chest.

  Samson turned to face her. “Death, Inc. doesn’t only recruit and employ Scythes, they have started to target Reapers as well. There is a very good chance the woman you found in the park tonight was killed by one of them.”

  Ice filled her veins.

  Words failed her.

  How could God let this happen? Losing control of mortals was one thing but losing control of part of the heavenly realm was another thing altogether. But wait—what had Ephraim said the night he’d given her the recruitment letter? This was the first time since Lucifer fled that they’d had such a parting of the ways.

  Bile rose to the back of her throat. The dinner she’d eaten earlier threatened to come back up. She hid a belch behind her hand.

  “You need to understand the danger you are in, Keely. They know you’re a trained Scythe as they
most likely know you’ve left the fold. They’ll be relentless in their efforts to employ you.”

  “It’ll be a cold day in hell.” But the word danger remained embedded in her mind. “What kind of danger?”

  “You aren’t of the ephemeral. You can still be killed. If they can’t recruit you in one manner, they may try another avenue.”

  A large lump chose that moment to block her airway. She couldn’t get enough air in or out of her lungs. Oh, wait. She was holding her breath.

  “What about Josiah?”

  “I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you there is possible danger to him as well.” Samson leaned forward a bit, his silky black robe made no sound as he moved. “However, the good detective is not as vulnerable as you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Instinct. Training.”

  “He has to sleep sometime. If they have no gumption about killing an innocent jogger in the park, they won’t think twice about whacking a cop when he’s in bed.” The thought alone had Keely up on her feet, pacing back and forth across her small living space. “What can I do to protect him?”

  For the first time since she’d met him, Samson looked worried. He rubbed a hand across his brow. “Against my better judgment, I think you need to tell him.”

  “Have you lost your freaking mind?” Her arm shot out in a typically Italian gesture her mother often made. “I can’t tell my boyfriend there are otherworldly bandits of death out there trying to off the living and steal their souls. He’ll have me locked up.”

  “You have no choice at this point.” Samson stood as well. “Just as you made the decision to leave the Scythes, you now must make the decision to save your lover.”

  Keely closed her eyes. This wasn’t happening to her. She’d only started a relationship with Josiah. Things were going so well for them. How was she supposed to tell him she’d gotten him involved in a turf war between the Scythes of Heaven and Death, Inc.? It was like a rugby match in hell.

  There was so much to think about. So much to consider. As she stood there contemplating her current situation, a thought occurred to her. “If Death, Inc. is into heavy recruiting as well, who are they getting to do their dirty work? It can’t be anyone with a moral center.”