The Glass Dagger (Afterlife Chronicles Book 1)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “No, as I distinctly remember you making me pay for that mistake yourself, but it certainly ended well for the one who cashed it in. Speaking of which, how is your lovely soul’s keeper these days, still calling my past employer a dear friend?” At this Mr Draven couldn’t help but let his growl be heard by the rest of the room. However, it wasn’t his reaction that Carrick stepped back from as the giant in the room took a menacing step towards him and snarled a threat that sounded as though it came from the Devil himself,

  “Speak of her again and I will finish what we started that day, Reaper.”

  “Ragnar,” Mr Draven warned holding up a hand and making him stop before this blood oath could turn into a blood bath.

  “Ah, still not forgotten about that, I see.” Carrick said after making a clicking sound with the side of his mouth.

  “No…I…Have…Not.” Ragnar replied, no doubt spitting venom if he could.

  “I suggest you put a leash on your Viking, Dominic, before he finds history repeating itself.” Carrick said looking casually at his nails as though getting off topic was boring him.

  “Over our dead bodies, Death Dealer.” The Albino said cracking his pale knuckles and nudging the Japanese guy next to him who nodded his agreement silently.

  “Well why not, it is after all the business I am in.”

  “Enough!” Mr Draven shouted slicing his hand through the air and looking back at his men, giving them a slight nod of his head, telling them without words to stand down.

  “Does anyone else get the feeling we are missing the major plot of the story here?” Zane asked Theo, who could only nod in reply.

  “Hell, it’s like starting Game of Thrones at series two and wondering whose head that is on the spike.”

  “Eww.” Janie muttered in response to Zane’s unique running commentary, whereas Ena’s was to say,

  “Seriously, were you dropped on your head as a baby or have you always been this socially unbalanced?”

  “Nah, I will have you know that these mad skills of perception and envied wit have taken years of fine tuning and hard graft, none of which is down to any injury my head has undergone.”

  “Just wait and give it time, I’m sure I could help you out with that last part.” Ena muttered back making Theo frown and bite out,

  “Hardly the time here guys, can we at least wait until after I am dead in this blood oath bullshit?”

  “Sure,” Zane said at the same time Ena replied with,

  “No problem.”

  “Gee thanks guys, your concern is overwhelming.” Theo said dryly and then turned kind eyes to Janie when she said,

  “For what it’s worth, I hope you don’t die and a blood oath just means that if he ever needs surgery that you have to donate some of your blood for it…not all of it tho’!” She added quickly looking from side to side as if her innocent thoughts just slipped into the dark side for a moment.

  “Theo, come here.” Mr Draven’s voice brought each of them back into the room, except maybe Ivan as he looked like he really needed subtitles to understand what on earth was going on. He also strangely couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the other giant in the room, who was probably the first person he had ever seen to rival his own colossal size.

  Theo took a deep breath and knew there was no other way out of this. All he could hope for as he took the few steps needed to where they were stood was that his trust in Mr Draven wasn’t a misguided and foolish one.

  “You did this…yes?” Theo looked to where Mr Draven directed his question by nodding to the now scarred briefcase and after swallowing hard, he held his head high and folded his arms across his chest before admitting,

  “Yes, I did this.” He then looked to Mr Draven to gauge his reaction to this news and was surprised when he noticed the obvious hint of respect flicker in his eyes along with the strange flash of purple that quickly flooded his irises for a brief moment. Carrick gave him a sneering smile that spoke volumes of his annoyance, which strangely made the giant named Ragnar growl, shocking not only Theo but the rest of his young group of misfits.

  “Very well.” Mr Draven said after a deep sigh, as if finally admitting defeat. He then turned to Carrick and snapped,

  “Carrick, set your terms.” Carrick bowed his head in acknowledgement and continued getting to the root of the matter and the reason for his intrusion.

  “Theo Quinn, you have exactly one single lunar phase to make right the wrongs you have inflicted and in doing so restoring the balance between life and death. If these terms are not met or honoured by this time passed then your soul will be forfeited and used as payment for such order to be restored.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Theo gritted out hating the idea that he owed anyone anything, let alone the man who took his mortal life.

  “It means you have one month to get me my power back or…”

  “Or what?” Theo snapped feeling his anger once more claw away at his insides desperate to get out and free them both of this new burden. Carrick simply gave him a taunting grin, pausing for a moment, as if he could see for himself the effect he was having on Theo’s inner Demon. Then he tried to snap the thread of control altogether, when he leant closer to him and finished off his deadly sentence…

  “Or… I take your soul.”

  11

  A Bloody Handshake with

  Death

  “What!? Is he for real?!” These were Theo’s words exactly only this time someone else beat him to it and not surprisingly it was from his friend Zane, who this time didn’t sound like he was joking around. Mr Draven held up his hand demanding silence and gave Carrick a reprimanding look of annoyance before issuing another order,

  “Explain further Carrick and be done with it.”

  “Your soul is mine to sell to the highest bidder to use to bargain for my power back.” Carrick snarled back in response to both Theo’s attitude and Mr Draven’s forceful demand.

  “And how am I supposed to do that exactly, take a trip to the supernatural tailors and buy you a shiny new briefcase?” Theo argued back and Zane was about to take a step forward and fist bump his friend when Ena put her arm out, shook her head and said,

  “Don’t even think it, frat boy.”

  “I know not how you will do it and don’t care for that matter, as it is for you to figure out yourself. Now are my terms met or should I just save you the bother and take your soul now as payment?” Carrick said, this time being the one to fold his arms.

  “Oh gee, let me think on that one…death now or death later…oh how will I decide?” Theo replied sarcastically.

  “Careful boy, respect for those with greater knowledge of this world is a lesson you would do well in learning…now accept my terms and be done with it.”

  “Fine, I acc…”

  “Wait.” Mr Draven said swiftly stopping Theo from making any further mistakes.

  “My Lord?” Carrick questioned looking puzzled.

  “You have not yet heard the boy’s terms in return.” Mr Draven stated frankly and Carrick, instead of giving in to exasperation or argument against someone who was obviously his superior, he simply motioned with hand and said,

  “Very well, which of my terms are you opposed to, boy?” Theo thought a moment but instead of saying that what he was actually opposed to was being called ‘boy’ by everyone, he thought it best not to waste what was most likely his only opportunity to turn the tables round enough to not cause his death…again.

  But the problem with this was that he didn’t have a clue as to what terms he could set, as he doubted very much that he could get away with ‘if I fail then you give up your soul instead’. Nope, somehow, he didn’t think he would get away with that one. So, he did the only thing he could think of and that was to turn to the only man in the room who would have any hope in helping him.

  Mr Draven knew the second Theo’s eyes sought out his that the boy needed guidance and he had been wracking his brain trying to think of the best way of g
etting him out of this situation. He would have taken his place if it were allowed and he even knew from experience with the Death Dealer he’d had in the past that if there were another way, then he too would have taken it.

  Carrick wasn’t a malicious character but one simply dedicated to the job which he had been cursed with. But facts were facts and Theo had unknowingly unleashed something upon that case that meant doing his job was no longer an option. Not considering the source of the Reaper’s power lay mainly within the simple leather briefcase, one that was now tainted by the touch of a powerful but adolescent supernatural boy who had no control over the gift he had just had bestowed on him by the Gods themselves.

  So, fearful for the boy’s future in his world, he pushed the limits of terms set as much as he could in the hope that the extra time would help his cause.

  “Terms will be set and carried out within three months not one.”

  “Absolutely not.” Carrick said frowning but instead of Mr Draven getting angry and reminding him of who he was talking to, he simply laughed once and said,

  “What’s the matter Carrick, never heard of taking a vacation.”

  “Forgive me for saying my Lord, but you have clearly spent too much time around humans. Death doesn’t take time off.”

  “Oh no, three months without Death walking around collecting souls…sounds like a nightmare to me.” Zane said sarcastically to the others, after cocking his head to the side and holding up an invisible noose.

  “Sounds like a great thing to...oh, you were joking weren’t you, that explains the hanging thing doesn’t it?” Janie said looking to Ena and correcting herself, blushing red whilst doing it.

  “Uh… yeah.” Zane replied leaving out the obvious ‘Duh’ sound so as not to embarrass her further.

  “Well lucky for you you’re not the only Reaper out there and I am sure the others wouldn’t mind picking up the slack for a time.” Mr Draven added

  “Yeah, three months sounds better to me.” Theo agreed crossing his arms and feeling suddenly smug.

  “Fine…there goes my bonus this year. Is that all?” Carrick said grumbling to himself.

  “Wow, just imagine the Christmas party, what do these guys get from their secret Santa…a scythe sharpener?” Unsurprisingly this came from Zane and this time Ena couldn’t pretend not to find it funny but instead hid a secret smile behind her hand.

  “What be a sc...scc…thing you speak of?” Ivan said getting stuck on the word and looking down to Janie for help.

  “Seriously, after everything that’s happening right now, this is the question he decides to ask?”

  “A scythe. It’s a weapon traditionally used by the Grim Reaper in fiction.” Janie said sweetly ignoring Zane’s comment after giving him a disapproving look, obviously feeling quite protective over the big guy.

  “See that guy’s curved blade at his leg.” Ena added trying to help, nodding towards the Albino but this was where Zane butted in, popping his head around her shoulder and added,

  “Yeah, think that but way bigger and on the end of a big stick.” Ivan just frowned as if he was trying hard to piece together the mental image and this was when Theo took a step back and mumbled under his breath so only his friends could hear,

  “Seriously guys, not really helping my case here.”

  “Theo, is there anything else you would like to add?” Mr Draven asked looking back at him and Theo thought on that a moment. The problem with this question was that Theo really had no clue what ‘setting right his wrongs’ really entailed, so what exactly could he add to his terms he didn’t know. So, instead of thinking about what he would have to do, he decided to focus on what he knew he wouldn’t do…

  His limits.

  “Yeah, there is.”

  “Shocking.” Carrick muttered under his breath before adding,

  “Very well, proceed,” in a bored tone that suggested he had wanted this over and done with the second he had first walked into the room.

  “If I am to do this, then I refuse to hurt anyone innocent to get it done.” Carrick raised an eyebrow at him, obviously intrigued by his terms.

  “I care not for how you achieve your task young Theo, just that you do in the time in which you have been granted.”

  “He will.” Mr Draven said answering for him at the same time taking a step forward, placing himself next to Theo.

  “Of course, for how could he not with such a mentor as you to guide him, my Lord?” Carrick said and Theo had to supress a laugh when he heard Zane hide the words ‘kiss ass’ swiftly followed by an unconvincing cough. Unfortunately, Carrick didn’t miss it and shot him a chilling glare before ignoring him enough to carry on.

  “Now that there will be no more interruptions, let’s continue, should we?” Mr Draven nodded and motioned with his hand for him to do so, no doubt wanting to get this finished along with the rest of them.

  “Theo Quinn, you have exactly three lunar phases to make right the wrongs you have inflicted and in doing so restoring the balance between life and death…”

  Theo quickly took a page out of Zane’s book and coughed once reminding him to amend his terms as was agreed. Carrick closed his eyes and sighed before adding to his earlier statement.

  “…Unless of course these actions cause you to harm an innocent soul in doing what is needed in this blood oath. If these terms are not met or honoured by this time passed, then your soul will be forfeited and used as payment for such order to be restored…are you satisfied with such?” Draven nodded and then turned to face Theo telling him the words that needed to be said in order to accept the blood oath and thus sealing his fate to Carrick’s need for power.

  “I accept your terms and leave my blood onto you as it lays witness to our treaty made.” Theo spoke the words and knew what was coming next when Mr Draven nodded to the Albino bodyguard to come forward. He took one step and at the same time drew his wicked looking blade in one swift move making the rest of the teens gasp in horror. However, before a word of protest could pass through their lips, Theo held out his hand and felt the cool steel slice cleanly through his flesh.

  Carrick seeing this, took it as his cue to do the same and ran a single finger down the side of his battered briefcase releasing some kind of hidden mechanism. He then held onto the leather handle and waited for the sound of rotating cogs to click into place before an arch of deadly spikes shot through the palm of his hand, embedded so deeply that the bloody points protruded from the top of his flesh.

  “I think I am going to vomit,” Janie muttered quickly covering her mouth with both hands.

  “Okay so now I am going to be having Hellraiser nightmares for quite possibly the rest of my life…oh and FYI big guy, it’s a movie.” Zane said adding this last bit for Ivan’s benefit.

  “FBI?” Ivan repeated making Zane smack his own forehead and roll his eyes.

  “Ssshh, it’s about to happen.” Ena warned as Theo pumped his hand a few times to get the blood flowing. He then hissed back the burning sensation and instead of complaining about the pain he slapped his hand into Carrick’s awaiting hand and all at once was hit by an immense force of binding power.

  It was enough to almost bring Theo to his knees for the third time that day and each time had been in the presence of Death. Well now Death could take a break because the binding was complete and with it Theo’s new life was held in a suspended state of the unknown. It felt as if his fate was twisting on the end of a single webbed thread like a spider hoping to go unnoticed by the human world, yet knowing that death might come at any moment by a crushing hand.

  “It is done.” Carrick stated, trying to ignore the twitch in his jaw from the immense power that just passed briefly between them. Theo squinted his eyes as he tried to make sense of Carrick’s tense reaction and one look at his new headmaster told him that he was doing the same.

  Theo looked down at his hand as if half expecting to see some kind of mark or residue left there by the death pact they just made but
what he found surprised him even more.

  “Well, with that bit of business now concluded I will be on my way.” Carrick said straightening the lapels of his jacket but the Headmaster wasn’t listening and nor did he look like he cared because he too was staring down at Theo’s hand.

  “I don’t understand, I saw the blade cut through but the blood… even the blood has gone,” Theo muttered to himself so lost in a million questions that when he felt a heavy hand of comfort rest on his shoulder he jolted.

  “Go to them, they need reassurance and balance.” Theo looked him in the eyes and knew by the way he said ‘balance’ that he was referring to what they had spoken about on the roof top. The others looked up to him, that much was clear and Theo looked over his shoulder now to see that Mr Draven was right, the concern painted on their faces was easy to see. So, Theo nodded his understanding and turned his back on the man, who he was now blood bound to, who was walking out of the door.

  “Enjoy your vacation Reaper…I hear Disneyworld is good this time of year.” The Albino said after grabbing Carrick’s arm and stopping him by the door.

  “Very amusing,” Carrick sneered back and jerked himself free before once more straightening his jacket, which seemed to be a habit with him. Surprisingly the next comment came from the silent Japanese man just as Carrick was walking through the door.

  “Yes, and try not to scare the children on the Teacups.” Carrick stopped, turned his head to the side and snarled like a wild cat without words, a sound that made both men smile, knowing they had hit a nerve.

  “Just keep walking, Death.” The Big one known now as Ragnar warned folding his arms and after a brief pause Carrick took his advice and left, looking less than happy about it.

  “Really man, the Teacups?” The Albino said making Ragnar chuckle, a sound similar to that of a freight train powering its way through a station.