by L. L Hunter
“Oh, then why are you here? I don’t understand.”
“I am here to offer you a job.”
A job? I was confused.
“I know what you may be thinking, ‘why is the Gatekeeper to the Realm of Death offering me a job?’ Well, the thing is, I need someone to take over the business when I retire.”
“Wait, let me get this straight,” my head was still reeling. Who was this man? And why did he want me? How did he find me? “You want me to take over your business of reaping?”
“It is a very important job.”
“I… I don’t understand why you want me. I mean I barely even understand the full extent of my trait. I’m trying to hold it back, not exploit it.”
He stepped forward into the light and I saw his face. He looked like a lieutenant of the military. He was handsome, but not so much that I wanted to date him. That would be gross.
“Look, I have to go. Places to go, people to reap. You’re a smart girl, think about it.”
Before I could say or ask him anything else, he was gone, vanished. I blinked and put my hand to my forehead. I suddenly wasn’t feeling very well. Luckily, a black town car pulled up less than a minute later.
“Eden, there you are. Jump in.”
I was glad for the familiar face. I smiled at my uncle and slid through the door, which he held open for me.
“Thanks. You have no idea the night I have had.”
“You can tell me all about it once you have had some sleep.”
Sleep, yeah. That was the last thing I wanted, but the first thing I needed. I don’t remember how we got there, because as soon as my butt touched the seat and my head touched the headrest, I was asleep.
The next sounds I heard were not the sounds of morning. Of birds singing, and lawnmowers. They were of whispering voices, close but distant.
“She said she’s been having visions, or dreams?”
“It’s starting.”
“But it’s too early, she’s only sixteen.”
“What if she doesn’t want it?”
“It’s the only way. She’s not safe there. She’s endangering the lives of everyone around her.”
Who were the people who were talking about me? One sounded familiar. Uncle Adam? But the other voice, I couldn’t recognise. Or could I?
“She’s waking up.”
My eyes fluttered open and I saw two faces looking down at me. As soon as I saw the other in the room, I quickly squeezed my eyelids closed again.
“Eden, you shouldn’t have run.”
“No. You can’t be here.”
Hopefully, it was a dream and as soon as I opened my eyes again, he would be gone. I tried again. I opened one eye, but he was still there. I decided to face the inevitable. I crossed my arms and sat up, giving both the men whom I shared blood with, an intense glare.
“Eden, sooner or later, you knew this was going to happen.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You can’t deny this any longer.”
“Yes, I can. And I will.”
I looked away. But they weren’t giving up.
I groaned. “What am I doing here then? With you?”
“I am your father. I am here to help you.”
“By kidnapping me? You betrayed me, Uncle Adam.”
“I’m only trying to help you, Eden. You need our help,” my uncle replied.
“I was fine on my own.”
“No, you weren’t. You have killed far too many people by accident. We’re going to teach you how to control your trait.”
“That’s ironic, coming from the leader of the most infamous demon cult of our time,” I directed this comment at my father.
“It’s the truth, Eden. Now you can either accept our help, or decline it. But the longer you put it off, the more innocent people you will kill.”
I said the next few words as a joke, “So, I can make a business out of this, right?”
My uncle’s eyes grew wide, and my father chuckled. “Sounds like you got your sense of humour from me.”
I sighed. “Unfortunately.” Thankfully, they hadn’t cottoned on to my hint that the Grim Reaper himself had offered me a job. Or had they? My uncle was studying me intently to see if I might decide to run.
“One question before we start my so called training,”
“Sure,” answered my father.
“Shoot,” my uncle replied.
“Does my mother know where I am?”
A huge grin appeared on my father’s face, I guess that answered my question.
“I told you this was a bad idea, Lakyn.”
“Relax, if she stays with Rachael, who knows how many more people she would have killed, or how bad the visions would have gotten. She is much better off with us.”
“Fine, you’re right. I just hate defying my sister.”
“Everyone hates defying Rachael.” My father chuckled.
And so, that was the beginning of my training. My goal was to learn how to control my trait so I could return to the Michaelite Sanctuary, to my mother, and to Asher.
My stomach flipped over, causing a sharp pain to pulsate through my body.
Asher.
I clenched my fists. I hoped Jaz wasn’t going to make the most of my absence and stake her claim on Asher. I suddenly realised that I missed him. I wanted to call him to tell him I was okay. But I couldn’t. I had to control myself before I could go near him again. I couldn’t let the fate the Sacred Tree churned out for me come true.
“Get some sleep, Eden. We will start in the morning.”
“Great.” I gave them a fake smile and they took that as permission to leave me alone. As soon as I was, I had to restrain every urge not to dial or text Asher. Maybe I should make my Dad take my phone away just as the butler had at the Michaelite Sanctuary. I was beginning to understand their logic. I stuffed my phone under my pillow. But it was no use. It began vibrating, telling me of an incoming text message.
“Gah!” I pulled it out and unlocked the screen. My heart fluttered in my rib cage. It was from Asher.
“Eden, where are you? Are you OK? Please call or text me!” His message sounded desperate. Of course he was desperate, Eden! You just ran out on the boy without as much as a backwards glance. The other half of my brain screamed at the less rational side.
“It’s for his own good!”
“Argh!” Was I going crazy talking to myself? I knew I needed to do something, and fast, to distract myself from contacting Asher. I ripped the covers off, and jumped out of bed. Here, wherever I was, there was no pretty garden in which to dream away my thoughts. So I had to make do with what I had in front of me. And that was a strange and unfamiliar apartment. I crept over to the door and cracked it open to listen for any movement or noise outside. I could hear the distant sounds of sleep. Soft snores filled the hallways. That was my cue. I grabbed my black hoodie, slipped it back over my head, and stuffed my phone into my pocket. I tied my shoe-laces and tried to sneak out of the house as softly as I could. I flinched when my sneaker squeaked and squelched. I cursed myself silently for my love of puddle jumping. I listened and waited for sounds of stirring, but there were none. I breathed a sigh of relief and made my escape. When I opened the front door and stepped outside, I realised I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know the town, or if I was even in England anymore. I decided to go for a walk to clear my head.
The midnight air was cool and fresh on my skin. It cooled conflicting thoughts about my situation, my possible fate, and about Asher. It wasn’t long after I had begun walking down the unfamiliar street that I came to the end of it, and at the beginning of a pier. The pier seemed familiar as I stepped out onto it. The wooden planks creaked beneath my sneakers and water washed against the pylons not far beneath. When I reached the end of the pier, it struck me why it was so familiar. It was the same pier from my dream, where the hooded figure had visited me in a ferry. As I stared out into the abyss, a light appeared in the darkness, just like in the drea
m, travelling closer. Was I dreaming again? I tried to pinch myself, but it wasn’t working. I wasn’t waking up. It only meant one thing—I wasn’t dreaming. I began looking around to see if anyone else was here, but I was the only one on the pier, or even near the pier. So if I screamed, I realised that no one would hear me. My heart rate increased as the ferry drew closer. After a few minutes, the boat docked and I realised that in it, sat the same hooded figure I had seen in my dream, and somewhere else. He seemed much more familiar, as if I had met him in my waking hours. When the hooded man stepped out of the small wooden boat onto the pier, causing the boat to rock from side to side and the lantern to swing, bouncing its light over both our faces. That was when I recognised him. I had met him before.
“No!”
The reaper grinned and dropped his hood. It was him—the reaper who had offered me his job under the streetlight.
“Hello Eden. Long time no see. I’m guessing the reason I find you standing here again is because you have considered my offer?”
“No. I just want answers.”
The Reaper cocked his head to the side and then sighed as if he was growing impatient with me. “Sweetheart, in order for me to give you answers, you need to accept my offer.”
“Nope.” Defiantly, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t do deals with the devil.”
The Reaper snickered. “Darlin’, I am not the devil, as that title belongs to Lucifer. Who mind you, thought he could control me and bend my will to his, but I work on my own.”
“You know Lucifer?” I gasped.
“But of course, and so does your father.”
My eyes must have bugged out of my head. I couldn’t begin to wrap my head around this revelation.
“Wait, you said my father knows Lucifer. You know my father?”
“But of course, he hired me.”
“But you just said you work alone.”
“What I meant by that was, I don’t let people boss me around. I am my own boss. But I am doing a favour for your father.”
Could it be true? I was afraid to admit it, but I knew the rumours enough to know the truth. What if my father had hired The Grim Reaper to kidnap me?
“And what favour is that?”
“To help you learn more about your trait. See, he knew you would run away.”
“Only because I needed answers they refused to give me. And because I was too dangerous for him.”
The reaper smirked. “Ahh, I see. There is a boy.”
Oops!
“Um… did I say that? There’s no boy.” I couldn’t let him find Asher.
“You don’t have to pretend, sweetheart. I know whom you’re trying to protect. And the sooner you come with me, the sooner it can be done.”
“What? What can be done?”
“Will you ever stop pestering me with your stupid questions, impatient child? Get in the boat.”
Geez, he was bossy and grumpy.
“Wait, I don’t know you. I am not getting in the boat with you. My mother told me never to trust strangers.”
“Your mother is beautiful and wise. I can see what Lakyn sees in her.”
“Don’t talk about my mother like that!”
“Fine. If you don’t get in the boat now, you will never see your mother or your boyfriend ever again.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“No, it’s the truth.”
“Whatever. I’ll only get in if you tell me your name.”
“Fine. My name is Abraham.”
I wasn’t expecting a name so… ordinary. I was expecting something more like Karin, the ferryman who took souls over to the Realm of the Dead. But maybe Abraham had replaced Karin?
“Nice to meet you, Abraham.”
I knew I was an idiot for stepping into that boat, at the time anyway. But little did I know, as soon as my sneaker touched the rotting wood of the ferry, I had opened Pandora’s Box and the window to my fate.
Chapter Eleven
Eden
Our boat drifted further into the mist. It was getting darker and calmer out here and I didn’t like it. Like my dream, there was an overwhelming sense of impending doom approaching. But I brushed off the feeling and went for the ride. I realised now that I should have told Asher everything. Maybe then he would understand why I had to leave him. Maybe my mother would let him know. Deep down I counted on her to tell him. But I also knew, that with him being human, he shouldn’t know about my world. Yet he did. His people dedicated their lives to researching Nephilim, so I was being a little unfair, I realised. I felt an overwhelming need to turn back then. Sensing my fear or regret, Abraham replied to my unspoken words.
“There is no going back now.” My mouth must have been hanging open because he snickered and added, “The closer we get to the Realm of Death, the more I can hear your thoughts. So try keeping your inner teenage angst to yourself. Okay?”
I scowled. The sooner we got on with my so-called training, the sooner I could get out of there and back to Asher and my mother.
By the time the mist and fog had intensified, I had no idea how much time had passed. Did time even exist here?
“We’re here.” Abraham announced a little while later. I squinted, trying to see ahead, but I could only see mist, fog and more mist and fog. But a second later, I was jolted forward as the ferry bumped into another dock. It was so unexpected that when I was thrown forward I collided with Abraham’s back. I quickly righted myself, but I had to touch his back in the process. The mere thought of it made me cringe. Abraham laughed as he stepped out of the old wooden boat and onto the new pier. I went to do the same, but I discovered a hand in my face.
“Ugh!”
“Allow me.”
Yikes, the creepy guy had some manners, too. I reluctantly took his hand. It was a good thing I sensed it, as I certainly couldn’t see it. My sneaker found the pier and I stepped up.
“So, what exactly is this place?”
“The Realm of Death. Have you never heard of the Realm of Death?”
“Yeah, but in a bedtime story. I never thought it might be a real place. So, what’s its purpose?”
Abraham took a deep breath. And on the exhale, he answered my question. “The Realm of Death is the place I take souls to, Human souls. It is eventually where all souls end up.”
“Then shouldn’t it be called The Realm of Souls?”
“That is another one of its names.”
“Names? It has more than one?”
“Yes.”
I had a million and one more questions to ask, but I didn’t press on. I was probably bugging the heck out of him by now, me being a mere teenaged Nephilim, after all.
The walk to the gateway was short. It was only at the end of the pier. I didn’t know what I was expecting the gateway of the Realm of Death to look like. A magical portal, maybe? A magic tree? But not this. It was a mausoleum. I smiled at the irony of it.
Well, if the shoe fits…
“What are you smiling at?” He considered me as if I were an insect he was thinking about flattening.
“It’s a mausoleum.”
“Yes. What else should it be?”
“I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t expecting something so…”
“So… what?”
“So… death-related.”
“I know. Quiet poetic, don’t you think?”
“Definitely.” I watched as Abraham approached the door to the mausoleum and pushed the door open. It made a groan and slid back. Only darkness awaited us. I shivered. I didn’t know if it was from cold or fear, but I didn’t want to go in there.
“After you,” he offered, making a sweeping gesture of his hand to usher me forward.
“Um… okay.” I slowly and reluctantly moved forward towards the threatening darkness of the mausoleum, looking back over my shoulder to see if Abraham was coming. He stood there watching me, lantern staff in hand, and black cloak flapping in the wind.
“What? I am coming.”
> “It’s so… dark.”
“Then grab a torch from inside.”
“There’s a torch? Where…” I didn’t need to ask, because the answer smacked me in the face. Literally. I reached up to the right, grabbed for the protrusion, and tugged. It came loose and automatically lit. I gasped and looked back over my shoulder at Abraham. He shrugged and a slow smirk appeared on his face. So he had done it.
“Ready now?” he asked impatiently.
“Yes.” I said reluctantly. Swallowing hard, I stepped into the darkness.
In front of me, lay a gaping hole. Was I expected to enter?
“Go down the stairs.” Abraham’s voice behind me almost made me jump out of my skin.
“O… kay.” I realised my voice had come out shaky. I was more scared than I thought. Raising the torch high above my head, I stepped forward and placed a sneaker on the first step and my next foot automatically followed. Soon I was almost at the bottom of the short staircase into an unknown abyss. Who knew what awaited me below? A funny thought occurred to me, which made me smile. I wonder if Abraham had a guard dog?
“I do have a dog, two in fact.”
I cringed. Crap! I had forgotten about how loud my thoughts were.
“Will they bite my legs off when I enter?”
“No. Their only job is to make sure souls don’t escape.”
“Have you had souls escape?”
“More than I can count.”
When my shoes touched the bottom I realised I was standing on a weird looking path. With each step I took, it shimmered and changed to different colours.
“What is…?” I was lost for words.
“The path is made of a mixture of old souls and misguided Nephilim wings.”
My face must have registered my shock because Abraham added, “don’t worry, they are from long ago. Keep walking.”
I had to walk the rest of the way to the building with my head down because I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sparkling path. Every now and then, I saw a soul dart past like a fish, which made me jump. I almost didn’t want to walk on it. But a firm hand on my back kept me moving forward.
