Grace stiffened, but kept her voice cool and calm. “I get along just fine with my hunting.”
Not getting the reaction he hoped for, Rasputin descended a few more stairs and looked at us. “I have not seen your Boude in days, which is a shame. He is helpful to me in running my errands. Maybe he met another, whole young vampire, and is teaching her the ways of the undead.” He looked at Grace and gave a shrug.
It was Grace’s turn to squeeze my hand. None of us said anything.
Rasputin went on, “If you see him, please send him back to me. Or let me know if he’s dead, so I can get a new errand-boy.”
We were all pissed and glaring at him, but we all knew better than to say something stupid that could bite us in the ass later—or in the neck sooner.
“Is this all you wanted from me? To inquire about the location of our flame-haired friend?” Rasputin raised his bushy eyebrows and stroked his beard.
“Yes, that’s all we needed,” I answered.
“Ah, then I have answered you. You can see yourselves out.” He turned to go back up the curving staircase and dismissed us with a wave of his hand.
We got out of there without another moment’s hesitation.
As I walked back into the fields I felt myself start to relax. To most people, it wouldn’t be the happiest of places, but to me it was home.
I saw Soren and Billy digging in the distance, and when Soren saw me walking towards him he dropped his shovel and came to meet me, grabbing me in a hug so tight it took my breath.
“I was so worried about you,” he said with his face buried in my hair.
“I’m OK,” I reassured him.
“Did you learn anything?” he asked.
“Maybe, but not enough to really help us yet.” I pulled away from him just enough to look him in the eyes and catch my breath. I was so happy to see him. “How much longer are you going to dig?” I asked.
“I think I’ll do a few more before stopping,” he said.
“I wouldn’t mind burning off a little of this stress too. Let me get changed and I’ll join you,” I said.
He pulled me in close again; he had been really worried. “Just save some energy for later, for private,” he whispered.
His words made my stomach tighten. “Of course,” I breathed.
I went into my house, still frustrated I had had to leave Grace with Andreas, and without any good answers. The worst part was not being sure where to go from here: I didn’t know who to ask next, or what to do.
I changed my jeans and shirt and went out to dig. “Hey, Billy,” I said as I walked up beside him.
“Hey, Hel, did you find your friend?” he asked, and his eyes showed genuine concern.
“No, not yet. Something fishy is going on,” I said as I started digging.
“Doesn’t surprise me if that Rasputin character is behind it all,” he said as he worked on filling in his empty hole.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what it comes down to,” I agreed.
We all worked in silence a while and I was glad. I knew I could talk to the guys about everything if I needed or wanted to, but I had done enough talking for the day and it hadn’t gotten me anywhere. Quiet was good, and I knew they understood that.
I was digging up my second body when my watch started beeping and startled the hell out of me. I looked at it like it had just said my name, and saw that it was flashing the numbers 5-0-0.
“You’ve hit your five-hundred mark. You’ve got to check in at the assignment hall and get it reset,” Billy explained.
“What do they ask when you go in?” I had only ever been there when I was first assigned, and being newly dead, I wasn’t very focused.
“They just ask you if you want to continue the work you’re doing, and make sure no complaints have been filed against you. It’s no big deal,” Soren assured me.
“So I shouldn’t do anymore work until I go there?” I looked down at my half dug grave, and thought about the person waiting to wake up.
“You can finish that one, the time just won’t be counted for it,” Billy said.
I’d only be losing about an hour by finishing it up. That seemed like the right thing to do, instead of leaving the person to wait on me or another reaper. So I finished digging up the older woman, who wore a pretty red dress, and a red and purple hat. She disappeared, and I realized it had been a long time since I’d had to walk anyone into town to get assigned. The majority of souls were spoken for, given all the religions of the world, but I still usually had to take one or two into town during the hours that I worked. I shrugged it off as a fluke and began filling in my last hole.
Soren stopped working for a moment and asked, “Are you going into town now?”
“I hadn’t planned on it, I thought I’d make myself a sandwich and rest a while,” I said.
Soren looked over at Billy who was still whistling and digging. I didn’t think he ever stopped working or singing. “Do you want me to hang around a while longer?” Soren asked the skinny guy.
Billy grinned and shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Go on, I know y’all want some time alone.”
Soren smiled, and I thought I saw a faint blush across his cheeks. Billy had caught us together one night, and had done nothing but encourage the match since.
I smiled at Billy, and took Soren’s hand as we walked back to the shed to put away our tools.
“My place or yours?” he asked.
“We always go to mine, and I probably have more food than you right now. Or did you want to go to yours for a particular reason?”
“Just wanted to offer,” he laughed.
I pulled items out of the fridge for turkey sandwiches and grabbed us a couple of beers. The food was simple but good after my long day. My stomach was full and happy, and the beer had calmed my busy brain.
I sat across from Soren and watched him as he finished his own drink.
“Yes, why are you staring at me?” he asked with suspicion in his eyes.
“I just think you’re really handsome, and I like having you here,” I said.
He smiled and stood up, walking around the table until he stood in front of me. He was tall and broad, and the way he was standing in front of me put my face in a precarious place near the front of his jeans. I chuckled.
He lifted my chin to look up at his face, and the heat from his gaze made my giggles fade in favor of something more fierce.
“Come on,” he said, inclining his head towards the bed.
I was feeling feisty and a little defiant. “No,” I said, letting my eyes burn into his.
My words caught him off guard. “Did you just say no to me?” He tried so hard not to let his amusement show.
I was full on smiling now, but I wasn’t about to give in. “No: if you want me, take me here.”
A wicked smile crossed his face. “I see what game you’re playing.” He bit his lip and gave a small tug on his beard as he tried to decide what to do with me.
His gray eyes looked silver in the light, and my heart fluttered at the thought of what could be coming next.
He leaned down over me and twisted his fingers tightly in my hair, pulling my head back to look at him. He kissed me until I sagged against him, then he pulled my hair until I gasped against his kiss. He pulled away and said, “On your knees,” in a voice that made my skin prickle.
I did as I was told, and by that time he had his pants unbuttoned. I took him into my mouth and held onto his hips as I playfully teased and sucked. He groaned and grew harder in my mouth, sometimes moving his hips forward, making it hard for me to avoid fighting against him.
His hands were on the back of my head pulling me closer, and I tried to take him all the way down before I was ready. I gagged hard and pulled back, my eyes suddenly teary. I glanced up at him and a look of concern crossed his face. I smiled to let him know I was OK and went back to the job in front of me.
I licked and sucked faster and deeper, as my throat allowed, and found a go
od rhythm, until he pushed me away and gasped, “Enough!”
I stood up, smiling at him as he leaned against the table to regain his composure. I couldn’t help feeling a bit proud whenever I made him so close to losing control.
“Stop gloating and take off your clothes,” his gruff voice commanded.
I hesitated only for a moment, and then kicked off my boots and stripped out of my work clothes. I watched Soren watch me as I undressed, and his eyes on my body made uncomfortable in the best kind of way.
Once I was naked, he walked over to me and ran his rough hands down my shoulders to my breasts, gently squeezing and making my eyes flutter open and shut. His hands went down to my stomach, then his fingers slipped between my legs.
He smiled and shuddered, feeling how wet I was. “Glad to feel you enjoyed yourself”.
“Pleasing you makes me happy,” I whispered.
He walked me back towards the kitchen counter with his hand still between my legs. “You make me all kinds of happy,” he said. “Now turn around and bend over.”
Again, I did as I was told and felt my face redden. This was such a vulnerable, exposed position, it required trust and intimacy to enjoy. And as I felt him push into me, so deep this way, I enjoyed it—so much.
He kept me against the counter until my legs were tired of holding me up, and then he picked me up and kissed me with a crazed kind of passion, and threw me on the bed. There was no break, though; my legs were on his shoulders, and I kissed the sweat away on his brow.
I screamed my orgasms against his chest over and over until the sex no longer felt good. I wiggled against him until he paused and looked down at me. “OK, you have to finish or stop.”
He laughed and kissed me, and slowly rolled off of me. My body was wet with his sweat, and I was suddenly cold not being against him. I pulled the blanket up around me while he cooled off.
“Sorry if that was too much,” he sighed, still feeling a little breathless.
“I can take a lot, but at some point my body just says, ‘we’re done.’”
“I can go as long as you enjoy yourself,” said Soren.
“Are you ever going to let yourself finish with me?” I asked. I couldn’t help it. I loved sex with him, but I always felt selfish, even though it was obviously his decision not to come.
“I almost did just now,” he said.
“On purpose or accidentally?” I asked.
He laughed. “A combination of the two.”
This made me laugh. “You should have.”
He nodded, and I knew that was all I was getting out of him.
Having cooled down, he pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “Sleepy?” he asked.
“No, but I’d just like to rest here awhile.” I let my fingers run across his arm and chest as I rested.
“Tell me about your time in the Quarter, if you’re not too tired.”
So I relayed my minimal findings to Soren, about Jeremy the shopkeeper, and my thoughts and concerns about whatever Rasputin was up to.
“Hel, I don’t like you being a part of this. I know I can’t stop you and that you feel obligated, but I wish you would find a way out.” His voice was deep and serious.
“I don’t like it either, but I am a part of it. I’ll try not to ask you to help, but can you just support me in this?” I raised my head up so my eyes could meet his.
“Don’t be afraid to ask me for anything. I’ll do whatever you need.”
In his eyes I saw the warrior that lived deep inside of him, the dark part of him that fought and killed as needed to protect and survive. It was strong and threatening, and in that moment I was so glad I had him on my side.
I don’t think I ever would have been able to tear myself away from Soren if he hadn’t had work he needed to do. More than that, he knew I had things to do, and that I wouldn’t be the first to move. So, once he kissed me and left my place, I dragged my lazy butt out of bed and took a long hot shower.
The first thing on the agenda for today was heading to the assignment hall to get my watch reset.
On my way to the city, I stopped in the field and asked Soren and Billy if there was anything I could bring back for them. They both declined, and I was on my way.
Normally there was a line of thirty to forty people standing outside the doors of the building: people we had reaped, the ones who hadn’t disappeared. They waited here in line, just like I had done, until their names were called, and they were assigned their new position and told how much time they had to work off.
Today there was no line—no line at all. The strangeness of it struck me, and I recalled my thought from my previous hours of digging. Everyone had just been disappearing. And the more I thought about it, I couldn’t remember the last time Soren or Billy had taken someone to be assigned, either. Are all the souls claimed? I wondered. That just didn’t feel right.
I walked through the small side push-door, instead of through the elaborate front doors meant for the first time guests.
Hardly anyone was inside, and when I walked up to the desk, the woman behind it acted like she wasn’t quite sure where to send me.
“Are you getting assigned?” she asked hopefully.
“No, I’m here for my five-hundred hour reset,” I said.
The woman was skinny, with a rather distinct looking nose. “Oh.” She clearly seemed disappointed. “You can go on into the assignment office. There’s no wait today.” She pointed towards an office across the hall where the door was open.
I remembered the office from the day I arrived, and wondered if it would be the same woman I met before. I stepped into the doorway and cleared my throat so the person at the desk would realize I was entering.
“Ah, hello.” A vampire with eyes as black as Rasputin’s looked up from the book he was writing in. His gaze took me in, and he smiled. “Ms. Pierce, I believe?”
I was not prepared to see a vampire holding this position, and my surprise caused me to freeze in the doorway.
“Please come in,” he said, and gestured towards the oxblood leather chair. His smile was warm, and he seemed to be genuinely friendly.
I walked over and took a seat. “Forgive me, I wasn’t expecting to see you. Last time it was a…” I tried not be insulting to the vampire, but he finished the thought for me.
“Human?” he asked.
“Well I was going to say woman, but yes.”
“Please don’t let me make you uncomfortable. I like getting out of the Quarter from time to time, and I enjoy helping people get settled with this job,” he said. He held out his hand to me. “My name is William.”
William the vampire had olive skin and short, neat, chestnut brown hair. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, and overall wasn’t unattractive to look at.
“Nice to meet you William,” I said.
He pulled a file out of a drawer and opened it up. “You’re our only female reaper. That must be quite an interesting job. Are you still happy with that position?”
“I am,” I said.
“Well, we don’t have a lot of people vying for that job, and souls need reaping every day, so at least you know you have job security,” he smiled, and I caught a glimpse of fangs.
I smiled politely at him.
“Could you please hand me your watch, so I can get that reset for you?” He was still looking down at my file, but his hand was out waiting for my watch.
I took the band off of my arm and passed it to him. He fiddled with the two small dials on the side for a moment, wrote down some numbers in my file, then handed it back to me.
“Do you have any questions for me?” he asked.
“Not about myself. But can I ask why there isn’t a line today? It’s been a while since I have reaped any souls that weren’t claimed. It seems strange.” I waited for his response.
My question didn’t seem to give him any pause or concern. “You know, we go through times like this. Sometimes we having a line that seems never-ending
with souls needing assigned, and other times we go long periods without a single one.” William certainly had a higher level of charm than most vampires that worked with humans. Even Boude and Andreas, who were very likeable, had an eerie quality that always reminded you they weren’t quite human. But, if William’s eyes hadn’t been a giveaway, he could have easily passed.
Another thought occurred to me. “Sorry, I don’t mean to take up your time, but I do have one more question.”
“Of course.” His eyes flicked out to the hallway, and I wondered if someone else was waiting to come in.
“Do you keep records of where the souls go when they disappear?” I asked, thinking about Raphael, and also, Soren’s wife.
“Yes, we have records on all the souls, whether they are assigned before or after they get here.” His fingers tapped on the desk, and I got the impression he was ready for me to be on my way.
“Would there be a way for a human to access those, to say, find a child or spouse?” I put on my sweetest smile.
William suddenly looked very uncomfortable as he leaned back against his chair and crossed his arms over his body. He tried to cover with a smile. “I’m afraid not, Ms. Pierce. That’s something you have to have high job clearance to access.”
“I see.” I adjusted my watch as I put it back on my arm and stood up. “Well it was a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for getting me reset.”
William stood up and said goodbye as I walked out of his office door.
On my way out, I pretended to get lost and turned the wrong direction so I could check out a few more of the offices. For the most part, my presence was ignored. I peeped in the doors of a few more offices down the hall, and everyone was hard at work looking through files and taking notes. To my shock, and ultimate horror, as they looked up I saw each of them were black-eyed vampires.
I got out of that building before anyone could recognize me or realize I was trying to snoop. I made my way down the street and flung open the door of Andreas’s boutique, looking around wide-eyed for a familiar face.
Andreas was helping a customer, but quickly excused himself to come see about the crazy woman who had just practically charged through the door, i.e: me.
Digging Up the Dead Page 5
