by Liz Long
“A Reaper Made by Death will guide the souls to ascension when they complete their Fate. With the help of an angel, the trapped souls will rise to their destinies. The Chosen One may then decide to rise with them or continue on earth in service of Death.”
A second later, Phineas’s silver eyes came back forward, making him normal again. He shook his head as though to wake up and clear his mind. His eyes didn’t leave my face and suddenly, it felt like all eyes in the room stared at me.
“Um, what?” I asked.
Phineas shrugged, but his expression was thoughtful as he remembered the words. “Sounds like you’re getting another chance to ascend.”
My jaw dropped. “I’m sorry?”
“You touched him and the prophecy revealed itself through an Oracle,” Tessa said. She turned to me in awe, her eyes as big as dinner plates. “‘A Reaper Made by Death.’ He means a Reaper like you.”
“Alistair is a ‘Reaper Made by Death,’” I reminded them. “You said it yourself, Tully.”
“Yes, this could apply to him,” Tully said, his brows scrunched up in thought. “He is an Original, an angel turned Reaper by Death. The prophecy still applies.”
“But the prophecy came at Grace’s touch,” Tessa argued.
Tully didn’t look convinced; I could barely comprehend the conversation. Rhys leaned against the doorway with his arms folded across his muscular chest, quiet but listening.
“What about him? He’s a way better Reaper than me!” The protest came out more like a squeak. I gestured to Tully, my motion too frantic for a Reaper. He spared me a pointed look and I struggled to get the hand motions under control.
“Tessa is correct,” Phineas said. “I know things about people, events; touch is an especially powerful aid to gather those thoughts. Your touch brought forth the prophecy. You are key to the problem at hand.”
I shook my head. “That can’t possibly be it.”
“This is why you were a fluke,” Tully said, his sudden realization looking like a surprise. “If the prophecy does indeed apply to you-”
“Hello, the Oracle has spoken,” Phineas mumbled, but Tully paid him no mind and continued.
“You were meant to become a Reaper and help save these souls. Death chose you the night you died, knew you could help prevent Alistair’s ascension.”
“There has to be more to it,” I said, more to myself than anyone else in the room. “Maybe there’s room for interpretation.”
Phineas scowled. “It’s a prophecy, not a fortune cookie.”
“The ‘Chosen One’ is never a light term,” Rhys said, his face thoughtful. The room went quiet at that while my brain raced with thoughts.
“Alistair thinks he’s the Chosen One since Death held hands with him or whatever. ‘With the help of an angel,’” I repeated, musing over the words. “He probably thinks that applies to him, too.”
“Looks like I wasn’t too far off in asking for help from the winged side,” Tessa said. She shot a pointed look at Tully, whose lips pursed in annoyance.
“And where do you think you’ll find one of those?” Rhys asked, his eyebrow lifting in question. “They don’t exactly make their hideaways known.”
“We’ll have to do some research,” Tessa said with a shrug. “In the meantime, let’s think about Alistair’s point of view.”
I nodded. “So what, by taking Reapers and confusing souls, Alistair can make it look like he’s saving them from demons?”
“Alistair surely has power beyond our expectations,” Tully said. “His magic is older and more powerful than all of us combined.”
“Not helping,” I said to him before turning back to the group. “If he helps those souls pass over, that’s his door to ascension.”
“He needs two more Reapers for his magical number seven,” Tessa reminded us. “He’ll need time to find them or come after you again.”
Tully’s arm twitched, his fingers curling ever so slightly to form a fist. “We can’t exactly stop him. The souls he has need to ascend and soon, before they become lost spirits. We are on limited time.”
“So how do we win? Especially with that ugly-ass Moloch guarding the souls?” I asked aloud, not expecting any answers.
Phineas huffed and rolled his eyes. “Prophecies are like riddles. So guess what? Solve the riddle, save the souls. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got a thousand bucks to win at the track tonight.”
Tessa bristled at the nonchalant attitude. “How exactly could you lose if you can see the future?”
“Oh, I don’t use my gift for gambling,” Phineas replied. “That would be cheating.”
Rhys snorted. Without waiting for our reply, Phineas turned and left the room. The front door shut behind him with a thud. I felt Tessa staring at me, but the only person I could focus on was Tully. The worried look wouldn’t drop from his face.
Rhys stuck his hands in his front pockets, whistling. “This looks like it might get serious. I’ll come to collect my debt later. Say Friday, nine o’clock?”
Tessa could barely protest before he slipped out the door. I put up a hand to stop her angry mode.
“Tully, we have to stop Alistair,” I said to my maker.
His frown was prominent even under the thick red beard. “We have to destroy Alistair.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
We spent the rest of the night sitting around Tessa’s apartment discussing our options. I could hardly wrap my head around the so-called prophecy of ascension. I mean, why would I of all people in the universe be chosen to save fate? I could barely keep my wits about me on a good day.
“Seriously, how the hell do we stop Alistair? The souls can’t be released without their Reapers waking to help them and that’s some serious voodoo,” I said.
Tessa waved her hand at me. “Hello? That’s my area of expertise. Now draw me that symbol on Brady’s hand so I can start the research.”
I took the pencil and paper she offered, quickly sketching out the swirls and dots from memory. When I finished, Tessa and Tully stood behind me, frowns on their faces.
“You are sure this is not the inked sign on the skin of the witch and his fraternity friend?” Tully asked.
I wished I could smile at his awkward terminology, but frustrated, I simply shook my head. “BAD’s symbol is useless, a bunch of Greek letters thrown together to make an image. I’m almost sure it’s not magical in any way.”
“I’ve seen this symbol before,” Tessa said with a shake of her head. “Where have I seen that?”
I glanced over my shoulder at Tully. “Ring any bells on your end?”
A slow shake of his head made me sigh in frustration. I slumped back in my chair, glared at the useless piece of paper and the stupid sketch. Tessa beelined for her makeshift library, quickly flipping through a few pages of each spell book.
I raised a finger. “Oh and can I just ask, what kind of hell did Moloch climb out of?”
Tessa shuddered. “I could’ve lived without ever seeing one of those guys.”
“You’ve never seen a demon before?” I asked in surprise.
“I don’t venture underground too often.” Her lips pressed into a wry smile.
“I didn’t know that’s where demons liked to frequent.”
“Oh yeah,” she said, nodding, “if they’re not in Hell, they’re gonna stick to what they know.”
“Lends to that urban legend about alligators living in city sewers,” I muttered.
“Ladies,” Tully said quietly, bringing our attention back to the problem at hand.
“We have to be careful about this,” I said to him, my voice low and urgent. “Who knows what’ll happen with so many souls in the room if he kills their Reapers?”
“You said they’d been claimed,” Tessa said, “will the souls be stuck here forever if the Reapers die?”
“That’s usually how it works. In this case, Moloch will have one hell of a buffet meal,” I said.
Tully frowned. “We need a
plan of attack but I have not the slightest clue on what to do. This situation has never happened before.”
I pulled out a chair at the table and had a seat. “Then it’s time we get creative. Get comfortable.”
Two hours later, we’d pored over half of Tessa’s library collection. I’d seen so many designs and patterns that I wasn’t sure I’d even recognize Brady’s symbol anymore. As I let out a huff of frustration, Tessa cut me off in surprise.
“Here it is,” Tessa said, flipping the book around so that we could see the text. Her painted fingernail tapped to a sketch of the marking. I nodded immediately, recognizing it to be the same thing Brady had engraved into his palm.
I paused to look back at Tully. “This is the same symbol on the floor. I wondered what kept us there even after he let go of me. It’s why you and I had to step out of the room in order to teleport.”
He said nothing, his usually passive expression stormy. I went back to the book.
“The darkest symbol known to a Reaper,” I read aloud. My eyebrows shot up as I looked to them. “That sums it up pretty well.”
Tessa bit her lip. “Keep reading.”
Tully’s meaty hand reached for the book and I pushed it toward him. He continued reading where I’d left off. Even his musical Irish intonation couldn’t make the information sound any better.
“The darkest symbol known to a Reaper, this sigil represents one’s ability to ensnare a servant of Death. The Reaper will be unable to teleport or otherwise escape the confines. With this symbol, a Reaper shall be under the control of the caster.”
“Brady carved that into his hand. Not only has he been planning this for a while, but he meant business,” Tessa said.
“When Moloch crawled out of his hidey hole, Brady said he’d only signed up to help Alistair capture Reapers. He did that using this symbol and brought them back to that dungeon,” I said, thinking out loud.
“There’s still something I don’t get,” Tessa said, frowning. “How do Alistair and Moloch work? What’s he need a demon for if he’s going to use the souls to ascend?”
“I have been giving that some thought,” Tully said, “and I believe it is part of the ruse. Moloch’s very presence endangers those souls. The looming threat of a demon makes their safety more meaningful. Alistair had to search the world for that scythe; I am willing to bet he heard that prophecy nearly a millennia ago and has spent every moment since plotting. Brady summoned Alistair for help with his power, but Alistair brought forth Moloch for his own plans.”
“Makes sense,” Tessa said with a nod. “Brady’s not nearly enough of a threat to raise eyebrows, but Moloch? That’ll do the trick.”
“Yeah, well, Brady didn’t look too happy at Moloch’s involvement,” I said, thinking back to the look I’d seen on frat boy’s face. “Maybe that’s good for us.”
“Where does your sister come in?” Tessa asked.
“He said he chose Allison,” I said, mulling over his words. “He couldn’t have known about me, not without Alistair telling him. He kind of confirmed he’d picked all of the Mades because he knew we’d do anything to save our families.”
“Do you think Brady started dating her before or after he paired up with Alistair? Maybe it was coincidence that he picked the one girl with a Reaper for a sister,” Tessa said.
I shrugged. “I didn’t think to ask. In either case, he cares about her now.”
Tessa scoffed. “You don’t really believe that.”
“I’m telling you, he loves her,” I insisted, ignoring their exchanged looks.
“It doesn’t really matter if he does or not,” Tessa said. I could tell she was trying to keep her voice on a gentle, even keel. “He’s gone too far now; he won’t let anything - or anyone - stand in his way.”
I huffed, knowing there was nothing I could say to make them change their minds. I’d just have to solve that problem when it came back around.
Tessa sat straight up like a lighting bolt had struck her. “Idea. Probably a terrible one, but it’s more than we’ve got right now.”
We waited for her to elaborate. She gestured to me. “Your boy toy is in BAD with Brady, right? He might know something.”
I was shaking my head before she’d even finished the sentence. “Brady already cleared Matt of any wrongdoing. He’s innocent.”
“I didn’t say he was a bad guy,” Tessa said with an eye roll. “If Brady’s secret society has anything to do with magic, then maybe Matt knows something without realizing it. Stories with a hint of truth and all that.”
Tully, realizing her point, nodded. “It is possible that Brady got his harebrained scheme based off something he heard from them.”
“You mean if they used to have a demon mascot?”
Tessa’s head bobbed frantically now that she’d gotten through. “Exactly. Only you said Brady didn’t look thrilled at the reptile’s appearance, so maybe there’s something else we’re missing.”
“I’m not entirely comfortable bringing Matt into this…”
“No one said he had to know what was going on. Be casual about it. Bribe him with kisses,” Tessa said. We ignored Tully’s harrumph.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Your sister’s soul may depend on it,” Tully reminded me. I nodded grimly; if that was the case, Matt was getting brought into it whether he - or I - liked it or not.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
After arriving at Matt’s dorm room, I had to pause in the hallway to take a deep breath. Brady said Matt had a clean record, but for all I knew, he’d been lying. Worse, he could be the good guy and I could be roping him into something awful. This could be a terrible idea.
Allison’s sweet face flashed in my mind; that was enough to make me steel my nerves. I was willing to face down a demon for her. I couldn’t let a crush keep me from saving her or any of the other souls that needed my help.
Before I gave it another thought, I rapped my knuckles on the wooden door. A few seconds later, Matt opened the door. He grinned at me.
“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you.” He swung the door open, allowing me passage in.
I hadn’t taken two steps in before he wrapped an arm around me. I turned to him in surprise and his lips came down on mine. Against my better judgment, I let myself get caught up in the moment, returning the eagerness of his kiss. It was stupid, especially if he turned out to be the enemy, but I hadn’t exactly been thinking straight these last few days.
After we broke apart, I glanced around his dorm room. Much like any typical boy’s room, clothes were everywhere; a calendar of bikini-clad girls hung over his desk; band posters littered the walls on both sides, his roommate evidently a big concert-goer.
“Are you okay?” Matt asked me, concern in his voice.
I swallowed hard, ignoring the idea that he already knew me so well. “I have a weird request.”
“I love weird requests. Ask away.” He went around me and had a seat on his bed, patting the empty spot next to him.
I had a seat by him, pushing away my desire to ignore the problem at hand and instead kiss him until he couldn’t stand it anymore. I cleared my throat.
“It’s about BAD.”
At that, his handsome face shut down. “Evie, you know I can’t discuss it with anyone, not even you. I said way too much the other night as it is. I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to even talk about it after I graduate.”
“I know, I know, but…what if it were a matter of life and death?”
He gave me a puzzled look. “What on earth—?”
I cut him off. “Listen, you trust me, right?”
“Sure I do, but this is sort of a big deal. It’s not just my secret to tell.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, rethinking my strategy, “maybe you can’t tell me about BAD, but what about Brady?”
His brow furrowed. “What about him?”
“When did he get here?”
“Last year during second semester,” Matt answered,
clearly confused as to where this conversation was going.
“Do you know why he chose this school?”
Something in my question seemed to hit home, because a look of understanding came across his face. “He said his dad went here.”
“Do you think there was anything else?”
He ran a hand through his dark hair. I resisted the urge to run my own hand through it, instead focusing on his words.
“Brady’s always been pretty private. Keeps to himself for the most part, but I do know he’s always wanted to be in BAD. Told me so the first time we ever hung out. He was really into the whole concept, wanted to know everything about it. Seemed like a stroke of luck when we were both initiated.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a guilty look crossed his face. I pushed forward, not wanting to lose momentum. Not like I’d tell anyone on campus his little secret.
“Do you know why he was so obsessed?”
“He said his dad was also part of BAD, if I remember correctly. He wanted to carry on the tradition or whatever.”
Brady had only mentioned his witch mother; I had a hard time believing his story. I tried to think of other questions that might be relevant.
“Allison told me they’ve been dating since the beginning of this semester.”
He shrugged. “Sounds about right. Dudes don’t really pay that much attention to stuff like that.”
A grin tugged at my lips and I nodded. “I’m not asking you to betray your brothers, but what else about BAD can you tell me? Things I’d hear from anyone on campus, for example.”
“Well, only seven members are recruited each year. Kind of our lucky number.”
Seven members, seven Reapers. So there was a pattern here. How was Alistair involved with this?
“What else?” I tried to stamp down the worry in my tone.
Matt laughed. “There have always been stories, even ridiculous ones. Like the one where we show up in people’s rooms at night to warn them about their wrongdoings.”
