by Liz Long
“All right, fine, no angels. Geez,” she said as she dropped herbs into a mortar and used the pestle to grind her ingredients. “What do you suggest?”
We both spared a look back at Tully, who hadn’t moved from his spot. I didn’t even think he’d moved his gaze from the same spot on the wall. Tessa and I turned back to one another.
Tessa grimaced. “I was hoping not to involve anyone else, but we’re low on options.”
Before I could question her statement, she whipped out her cell phone and hit a few buttons. With a roll of her eyes, she disappeared into the kitchen. She mumbled a few things, including what I thought was her address, and reappeared, phone in her back pocket. I raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed.
“Sometimes you have to suck it up and play nice,” she said. Without another word, she went back to finishing her protection spells.
“Mysterious head games are Tully’s special department,” I said, annoyed at the lack of information.
I turned my attention back to Tully; whether I should feel bad or not, sympathy still flooded through me at his situation. I couldn’t even begin to wonder what he was thinking. I’d only been his mentee for three years and I would be crushed if he betrayed me the way Alistair did to him. Then again, it sounded as though their relationship had always been complicated.
Tessa leaned in to whisper to me. “I called—”
Before she could finish her sentence, someone knocked on the door. Tessa scurried to answer it and I was surprised to see Rhys the shapeshifter walk in behind her.
“Uh, hi,” I said to him.
He grinned at my reaction. “I hear we’re having a bad day.”
“One way of putting it,” I muttered.
Rhys smirked at Tessa. “Told you there was a witch involved.”
Tessa scowled. “Bite me.”
“Anytime.” Rhys looked over at Tully, the playful grin dying from his handsome face. “What happened?”
Tessa broke it down for him while I waited for Tully to snap out of it. His weird shock had to wear off eventually, right?
“Well, that’s certainly not a heartwarming adventure,” Rhys said once Tessa had finished. He gave us a puzzled look. “But why bring me into it?”
Tessa cleared her throat. “I called you because you helped Tully on information about the Reapers disappearing. I was hoping you might be able to do us another favor.”
Rhys shook his head. “I didn’t help the Irishman for a favor. I helped him for cash.”
“Then let’s talk figures, because we have to figure out a way to stop Alistair and right now we’re lost,” Tessa said in a no-nonsense tone.
“Why not try a medium? See if they can talk to one of your spirits,” he said, nodding his head at me.
Tessa scowled. “The problem isn’t the spirits, genius. We need help.”
“All right, I might have something,” Rhys said.
“And how much is this going to cost us?” Tessa asked.
“I’ve got a better idea,” Rhys said, a bit of mischief creeping into his face. “I’ll do it on one condition.”
“Name it,” I said before Tessa flipped him the bird.
He nodded to the pretty witch. “You go out on a date with me.”
“There’s not a love potion in the world that’ll make that happen,” Tessa said with a snort.
“One date with me and you won’t need a love potion,” Rhys replied. He actually winked at her. I almost slapped my hand over my face.
Tessa balked, arms crossing over her chest. “You’re better off with someone who actually wants to be there, shifter.”
“Not that this isn’t incredibly entertaining for me, but can I ask why you’d want to date someone who’s been nothing but rude to you?” I asked, my hand raised slightly. Tessa glared at me and I shrugged.
“Look at him,” I said, gesturing to the well-built man in her living room. “Even if he couldn’t change his appearance, he doesn’t exactly need to beg for dates.”
“For the record, this is truly how I look,” Rhys said, pointing at himself.
“It works for you,” I said before I could stop myself. “So why is your fee a date with Tessa?”
“The witch has spunk,” Rhys said with a smile. “I like the feisty ones.”
Tessa sputtered and I snorted, holding up a hand at both of them. “If she agrees, you figure out what it is we need to know?”
Rhys shrugged. “Those are my terms. Take ‘em or leave ‘em.”
Tessa’s sour expression only seemed to amuse Rhys. She spared a glance to Tully and I gave her a wide-eyed look. When she still didn’t respond, I made a frantic hand gesture. She managed to spit out her answer through gritted teeth. “Fine. One date. That will be the last one.”
“Spectacular. I’ll work out the details,” Rhys replied cheerfully. He glanced at Tully, then back at us. His expression turned thoughtful. “Alistair mentioned a prophecy?”
We nodded. Rhys stepped closer to Tully, snapping his fingers by his ear.
“I am deep in thought, not an idiot,” Tully said crossly. He waved his hand for Rhys to back off and I gave my mentor a worried look. It wasn’t like Tully to react this way, his emotions clearly on the surface.
“Never said you were,” Tessa said swiftly. “Feel up to sharing with the group?”
“Not at this particular moment,” Tully said, his tone clipped. He went back to staring at the wall and I tried hard not to roll my eyes at his rudeness. His attitude was not helping matters.
“About this prophecy,” Rhys tried again, “I know an Oracle. He might be able to give me some insight on this supposed destiny thing.”
“An Oracle?” Tessa asked, her voice tinged with curiosity. She’d never admit it, but I could see she was a bit more impressed with Rhys at the idea he had such powerful friends.
“Yeah,” Rhys said. “He owes me one after I took pity on him and gave him all his money back. Guy’s got a serious horse racing problem.”
Tessa’s face fell and I stifled a laugh. We bid Rhys farewell as he stepped out, promising to return soon.
“It won’t take long, maybe a couple hours. Plus we need to talk about where we’re going for dinner,” he said to Tessa. He slipped out the door before she could respond, though her annoyed face said it all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“The nerve of that shifter,” Tessa grumbled. She returned to her spells and used them to reinforce the magical locks on her apartment. At least with her handiwork, I trusted we’d be safe. I said as much to her and she nodded, her lips pursed.
“I’m going to flip through my books, see if I can find any relevant spells. Maybe you can snap Tully out of it,” Tessa said to me in a low voice. I barely nodded at her as she slipped out of the room to the back where she kept her materials.
I turned back to my mentor and had a seat next to him on the couch. “Stating the obvious here, but it sounds like we need to talk.”
Tully’s hair quivered as he shook his head an inch in either direction. “Alistair and I, we’ve never been close. But to hate everything the elders, himself included, have created…”
“Mades were necessary to fixing the overpopulation problem,” I said, not hiding my frown. “Just because he hates it doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.”
“He said he had to make me.” Tully faltered, a catch in his voice. “What if it wasn’t my destiny?”
I paused at the sad undercurrent in his question. Anything I said might be the wrong move. My mouth opened and closed, but I had no idea what to ask. To my surprise, he met my gaze and flinched. An emotion I couldn’t pinpoint crossed his face.
“It was fate I ran into you that night,” Tully said suddenly.
“What?”
“Fate,” he repeated, eyes finally back on me.
The statement floored me. He had never mentioned fate before; I’d only thrown the term around in jest, never really considered it. Now that it was out there, suddenly I had question
s about everything.
“How can it be fate,” I asked, “when you told me that night I wasn’t supposed to die?”
His left eye twitched, an irregular movement, and suddenly I had no idea what to think about anything. A whooshing sound filled my ears; it felt like the earth had dropped out from beneath me. My entire existence was crashing around my feet.
“Tully, was I supposed to die?”
He sighed. “I did not know at the time; I truly thought you were a fluke.”
I gaped at him. “Is that why you made me? Because you thought I was a fluke?”
He shook his head, shaggy red hair shaking with the motion. “I saw you at the hospital, believed in your abilities…you reminded me of Alana.”
The moment the name left his lips, he looked regretful. We were in too far, however, and I couldn’t let it go by without asking.
“Tully, who is Alana?”
He didn’t meet my eyes. “My daughter.”
Tessa could’ve knocked me off the couch with one of her owl feathers right then. Tully had never mentioned his family before, not in this fashion. I could hardly believe it. He hurried to move past my surprise.
“I believed you would make an exceptional Reaper if you could not be alive on Earth.”
I took a deep breath out of habit, attempting in vain to calm my nerves. “You’re always preaching about meant to be and purposes. Why did I die?”
“Perhaps your death has a bigger ripple effect than we realized.”
My anger stalled, confusion replacing the hurt. I furrowed my brows. “Which is what?”
His shoulders went up in a helpless shrug. “That I do not know yet.”
“What do you know?” I shot back, not caring about my tone. Tully didn’t move, blue eyes dropping to his lap. That one gesture made me take a breath; I’d never seen Tully emote guilt and had no idea how to react.
The silence sat between us and I chewed my bottom lip. We looked around at everywhere but each other as he waited for my next move. Logic pulled at me; I could stay angry, sure, but what was the point? I was already dead, with no hope of being alive. I’d never have my family or old life again. My focus had to be Ally and the other souls now, on her survival so she could do whatever it was she was meant to do.
“Tully,” I tried. Still his eyes stayed down and I put my hand on his arm to make him face me. The rare physical contact made him look up at me. “Look, I’m…a little surprised. Stunned, really, but I know you did something incredible for me.”
His eyebrows came together in confusion. “You are not angry for my keeping you from moving on?”
I shrugged. “We both know I didn’t want to do that. I mean, I guess I would’ve, but it wouldn’t have been easy for you.”
“Yes, you are rather…feisty.” The corners of my lips flickered and he visibly relaxed. “I thought…your body was too damaged to return to life. I worried if I did not offer the choice, you would decide to stay on earth and become a spirit. I did not want that for you. You could do more for humanity as a Made.”
It was my turn to look down at the ground. I knew then Tully had truly saved me. Spirits grew more vengeful the longer they roamed, angry and bitter at the world passing around them…at the world moving on without them. I remembered my feelings on the night I died like it happened yesterday. With my confusion and panic, I would’ve chosen to stay behind and become something I never wanted. It was what would happen to those souls stuck in Alistair’s underground room.
I gave him a wry smile. “Isn’t it funny that Alistair wound up becoming sort of a spirit of our kind?”
The moment the question left my lips, I regretted it. For a moment, Tully looked a million miles away, his expression sorrowful. I sighed with relief when he didn’t retreat back into his own thoughts. The sadness in his next question tugged at my heart.
“On the other hand, Reapers are supposed to be emotionless, with only one purpose. I’m beginning to wonder if we aren’t just spirits of a different type?”
“Of course not,” I said. “The problem, at least with Mades I’m sure, is that we care too much. We had human emotions and understand more than Trues ever could. They never grew with humanity; they only watched from afar and paid attention to the bad stuff. We’ve had to learn how to move on and keep going despite all the despair we’ve seen.”
“And Alistair seems to think he’s found a way to escape,” Tully said, his tone black with anger. “How much destiny will he change if Reapers can now die and ascend?”
“Well, we probably don’t need to spread that around,” I said, my hands coming up in protest, “the last thing we need is supes thinking we can control souls; they’ll blackmail us if they get their hands on that scythe.”
Tully’s face darkened. “Agreed.”
“I understand now more than ever: we should never be allowed to interact with destiny. That’s not fair to souls that need to move on. We have to keep the balance, the natural order of things.”
“Natural Order,” Tully murmured. When he remained quiet, I prodded him.
“You’ve been a Reaper for a long time,” I said. “I’m new to this life, but I’m not stupid. Playing that super serious role you take on doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten what it means to be human; it means you refuse to remember.”
My mentor’s mouth dropped a bit, his eyes flicking to either side as he wondered how to respond. I’d never been so blatantly honest with him.
“I get that after so many years of humanity, things probably look a little bleak,” I continued, my gaze unwavering. “But look at Alistair; he’s an Original and knows anger, hatred. Angel or not, that’s a human trait.”
“That’s an evil trait,” Tully mumbled.
“Sure, but if Reapers weren’t supposed to care, then even the elders could avoid emotion. Alistair might know anger, but the others know empathy, or we wouldn’t be here. If they didn’t care, they would’ve let souls wander the earth and found their own way back to paradise. Maybe we’re supposed to feel something, no matter what we are or how old we become,” I said with a small shrug.
Tully met my eyes, a tiny smile playing on his lips under the facial hair. “You are smarter than I give you credit for.”
I grinned. “Yeah, that’s true. But that’s okay; obviously I have a great mentor who’s helped me get to this point over the last few years. One that is certainly the opposite of his own maker.”
We exchanged a meaningful glance and I could almost feel his resolve tighten. Tully wasn’t one to simply sit back and let the world crumble around him. He lifted his hand to touch my shoulder and paused as though he thought better of it. He instead chose to nod at me, his arm back to his side.
“If we must take a stand, then we will choose to save those souls,” he said.
“And if we have to use that fancy little scythe thing on Alistair?”
The dark look on his face didn’t change. “So be it.”
A knock sounded at the door and Tessa went to answer it. She walked back into the living room, talking to someone else as she asked, “You’ve only been gone an hour. Already find out what that prophecy’s about?”
“I did you one better,” Rhys replied. His tall form strode in after her, with a rakish grin and not a hair out of place. “I brought the Oracle to you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
My jaw dropped as Tully, Tessa, and I exchanged glances. They looked as anxious as I felt; what information would the Oracle provide us? An even darker thought crossed my mind: what if he said we were going to lose to Alistair and his demon?
Tessa regained her composure first, raising her arm to usher them in. “He’s welcome here.”
We held our breath in the split second before the Oracle stepped in; even Tully looked worried and that was enough to frighten me. A shadow crossed the doorstep before its owner came forward, dark wood creaking beneath his feet. I braced myself as he stepped in the doorway, my breath coming out in a whoosh at his appearance.
>
The mighty Oracle, an all-powerful, omniscient, magical being capable of foreseeing the future, wore socks with sandals, stained khaki shorts, and a bright yellow Bermuda shirt that did nothing for his complexion.
“Guys, this is Phineas,” Rhys said.
My nose wrinkled in disappointment and I could almost feel Tessa deflate next to me. This dude looked like something out of a 1980’s beach movie that probably had something to do with retirement. Wrinkled olive skin and unkempt gray hair and beard completed his unimpressive ensemble.
“Look, I only got ten minutes, I got a race to win,” Phineas said. His Jersey accent made me wonder how that had happened when he was probably thousands of years old.
“How…?” I trailed off, not wanting to offend him.
He noticed my questioning look and shrugged. “Jersey’s loud, crowded, and hot as hell in the summer. Just like ancient times in Greece, I love it.”
I hid a smile behind my hand as Rhys hurried to shut the door after him. The shapeshifter spun on his heel, a cocky grin on his face. “Okay, so I did my part and brought the guy. You’re driving this bus now.”
Phineas kept his gaze on me and I noticed his eyes, a piercing silver gray that seemed to pin me in place. As he spoke, the bright marbles didn’t leave me. “What do you want to know?”
“The prophecy that Alistair heard,” Tully said before I could open my mouth. Phineas turned slowly to face him. “My mentor - I mean, the Original Reaper said he knew of a prophecy that spoke of souls and ascension.”
The Oracle raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on his face. “Souls and ascension? You know that relates to a few dozen or so, right? You’ll have to be more specific.”
Tully’s face fell. I jumped in to explain.
“That same Reaper is trying to ascend.” The Oracle’s brows furrowed and I pushed forward. “A demon is involved and it’s turning into a big mess. We’re talking souls’ destinies here. Please, can you help us?”
I stepped forward and touched his arm. The moment my hand made contact with him, the air around us crackled. Phineas stiffened to his full height. His eyes rolled back, irises disappearing to a solid silver sheen; it was so creepy I immediately withdrew my arm. Phineas didn’t flinch as he spoke, his tone sounding far away.
