1 Graveyard Shift

by Angela Roquet

  He turned to leave again, but Mrs. Henderson latched onto his arm. The little old lady had been so still and quiet that we had almost forgotten she was there.

  “Duat? What’s Duat? There’s no Duat in the Bible! Where are you people taking me? Oh! Sweet Mary! Mother of Jesus, help me!” Mrs. Henderson fell to her knees and squeezed Grim’s hand between her own as she began sobbing the Lord’s Prayer.

  “Someone get her off me,” Grim growled.

  Saul whimpered at my feet, bothered by the wailing. Kevin moved to help first. I think pulling the soul from her body made him feel somehow responsible for her.

  A crazed dove fluttered through the doorway past Grim and attempted a landing on the conference table, but instead stumbled over itself and rolled off the far end with a pained coo. Holly Spirit stood and dusted loose feathers off the sleeves of her robe. Her face flushed.

  “I got a 911 page from Mary. What seems to be the problem?”

  “This is all part of the amendment Isis ordered last month. If I remember correctly, you signed it,” Grim answered.

  “I did, but I didn’t realize good Christian souls were going to be terrorized in the process.” She folded her arms and frowned at Grim.

  Holly didn’t take crap from anyone. Several years after the feminist movement in the human realm, she led her own feminist movement in Heaven. Eventually, she even won over her father, who nominated her for a position on the council. The running joke is that he only did it to get her out of Heaven for a while so he could breathe.

  “Who are you? And what do you think you’re doing bargaining with my soul?” Mrs. Henderson loosened her grip on Grim and twisted around to examine Holly.

  “I’m Holly Spirit. I’m here to help you.”

  “You mean the Holy Spirit?” The woman looked confused.

  “No, I mean Holly. Your scriptures are flawed, but not so badly that my father has found the time to correct them,” she huffed. “Christ, I am getting so tired of explaining this to people.”

  “How can you call yourself the Holy Spirit and then take the Lord’s name in vain?”

  “It’s Holly, got it? And Christ is my brother. I’ll use his name however I want.”

  “No, no, this is all wrong.” Mrs. Henderson curled herself into a ball on the floor and began sobbing to herself.

  Holly rolled her eyes. “Grim, I don’t think Isis had this in mind when she ordered that amendment. Have Meng Po mix a tea for her or something. I don’t want to be getting emergency pages from Mary and Jesus every time you traumatize a soul. My schedule is busy enough.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Grim agreed. “Ellen! Get Meng up here now.”

  “On it,” Ellen answered from the next room.

  “Thank you,” Holly sighed. In a blink, she turned back into a dove and fluttered out of the room. Coreen watched anxiously. I decided I would have to get her some chew toys. Maybe she would warm up to me then.

  Kevin stayed close to Mrs. Henderson, trying to comfort her as we waited for Lady Meng. After twenty minutes, she finally arrived.

  “Ah, look like you find more than one use for me, young reaper,” she cackled at Grim.

  “I’m just trying to make sure you earn your position on the council,” he countered.

  Meng smiled, multiplying the wrinkles on her face until she looked like an expired potato. “I am pleased to.” She gave a bow.

  A little Chinese girl peeked into the room. She held a tray of teacups that rattled in her tiny hands.

  “Come,” Meng said.

  The girl entered the room and kneeled, lifting the tray up to her master, only to find herself eye to eye with Saul. She trembled, rattling the tray, until Meng stilled her with a sharp smack from the fan dangling off her wrist.

  Meng examined the tray carefully before lifting the lid of a wooden box and scooping a variety of herbs into a cup. Then she filled the cup with steaming water.

  “Sit her up,” she ordered Kevin.

  He took Mrs. Henderson by the shoulders and lifted her. She didn’t seem as afraid of Meng as she had been of Holly. Although Meng came from the Chinese Hell, it was hard to find her withered frame intimidating, if you were a fresh soul anyway. Everyone else knew what she was capable of.

  Mrs. Henderson took the cup from her and sipped its contents in between shuddering sobs. At first, nothing happened, and I began to wonder if old lady Meng was really as good as everyone made her out to be. But then, Mrs. Henderson sat up straight and dropped the tea, scattering soggy herbs over the carpet. Her hair shifted from gray to dark brown, then black as her curls uncoiled themselves and grew past her shoulders. Her features lengthened and her skin darkened. In a matter of seconds, Mrs. Henderson had transformed into a young Egyptian man.

  “How you feel now?” Meng asked.

  “I am ready to meet Anubis,” he answered bravely.

  “So you shall.” Meng nodded to her servant girl, who quickly gathered the abandoned teacup and hurried out of the room. Lady Meng followed her out.

  “Well, you should get going.” Grim turned to me. “Horus and Anubis are probably wondering what’s taking so long.”

  Kevin didn’t seem as compelled to touch the soul, now that it was a man. This wasn’t something you learned about at the Reaper Academy. Peeling away past lives was reserved for very few deities. Reapers weren’t typically present for such activities. I knew it was a first for me anyway.

  “Follow me,” I said.

  Josie and Kevin helped the soul to his feet and followed me out of the conference room with the hounds trailing behind. We filed into the elevator.

  “Did you see that child soul?” Josie asked as the doors closed.

  “How could I miss her?” I had never seen a child soul in Limbo before. The Fates had strict rules on what kind of souls were allowed to work in the factory. No children was near the top of the list, along with no martyrs, after the strike incident.

  Josie squeezed my arm. “Jenni retrieved her last week. She said Grim took her before she could deliver her to her afterlife. He said he had other plans.”

  “So Jenni finally got her license for China?”

  “Yeah, but don’t you think it’s a little odd that Grim would allow Meng to take a child soul as a servant? The Fates are probably having a fit.”

  “Something tells me Grim would give Meng just about anything she asked for. She’s not on the council because he likes her. There’s something he must want from her.”

  “That woman’s vile.” Josie shook her head.

  When the elevator doors opened, Horus and Anubis were waiting for us.

  “Let’s get this show on the sea,” Anubis laughed, tossing a robe to our soul.

  Walking to the harbor would be simple enough. Our catch would almost look like another Egyptian deity. Only those who looked closely would be able to see the ashy haze that marked him as a soul. The problem was, we all knew too well that Seth would have plenty of eyes watching.

  Chapter 19

  “Religion is the fashionable

  substitute for belief.”

  -Oscar Wilde

  “You see anyone overly interested back there?” Horus gripped the deck railing and glared back at the city, a mere sliver of land fading behind a thick fog in the distance.

  “No, but that doesn’t mean we should let our guard down.” I squeezed the handle of my scythe.

  Josie had hurried off to our cabin to fill a second and third quiver. After finding herself empty-handed when Coreen was taken, she was determined not to let it happen again. That and she was still avoiding Horus.

  Kevin made sure our soul was comfortable, while Anubis kept watch up front.

  “Great job on the ship, by the way.” I ran my hand over the new railing. There wasn’t a trace of blood on the deck floor, and the damaged woodwork had been repaired so well, not a single flaw could be found.

  “It was the least we could do,” Horus said.

  “So, Wosyet decide to stay in Du
at?”

  “No. The Fates won’t talk to me. The only thing they despise more than dealing with other deities, is dealing with men in general. Grim made sure of that. Sure, they support him, but not out of admiration. What do you think would happen to their factory if Grim had the council sign an amendment to allow another soul insertion business? They’re already upset about Meng trying to alter their purification methods, not to mention the child soul Grim gave her without their approval.”

  “I see.”

  “Wosyet decided to stay in Limbo this time. No one will miss her in Duat,” he laughed. “I’m sure Josie is glad for her absence.”

  “Well, we have no use for her out here.” I cleared my throat and folded my arms over the railing.

  Horus bit his lower lip and took a step closer to me. “I hate that there is all this tension between Josie and I.”

  “I know.” I looked away from him. This was not a conversation I wanted to have.

  “I know there aren’t any laws restricting us from having a public relationship, but it’s still frowned on by many.”

  “Like Seth?”

  “It’s not that I care what he thinks. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to Josie because of me. You understand, don’t you?”

  “I think I do.” I smiled softly. I felt the same way about having her on the team.

  “Maybe you could talk to her?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think so,” I laughed. “I don’t go nosing around in Josie’s business, and she doesn’t nose around in mine. I plan on keeping it that way.”

  “I understand.” He sighed and rested his arms on the railing next to me. “If only I could get her to hold still long enough to talk to her.”

  Josie emerged from our cabin with three quivers packed full of arrows. She had her bow and another larger one tucked under her arm. She looked up and her eyes paused on the few inches of railing between our arms. I started to move back and stopped myself. Josie knew better than to suspect anything between me and Horus.

  “Where’s Kevin?” she asked.

  “With the soul. His first one-on-one,” I laughed. “He should be finished by now.”

  “Good. I want to give him his first lesson in archery. I know he’s your apprentice and all, but I figured since you aren’t too thrilled about having him, I would help you out and teach him a few things.” She shrugged, forgetting that her arms were full, and dropped the bows.

  “That’s not a bad idea. We can always use another long range,” I said.

  “Yeah, good then.” She snatched up the bows and nodded politely at Horus before hurrying away to find Kevin.

  Horus let out a slow sigh. “She likes him.”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged.

  “That wasn’t a question.”

  “Whatever you say.” I frowned and glanced over his shoulder. A pair of black birds were following us. Except, these birds had faces and breasts.

  “Harpies.”

  “What?” Horus followed my gaze. Light shot out of his eye, and the falcon I had seen the day before dove out of the clouds.

  Coreen and Saul appeared at my feet. They growled at the bird. Two black jackals followed Anubis as he joined us. They were his animal to call, the way the falcon was Horus’s. Their snouts were narrower and their bodies leaner than the hounds, but their bite was twice as bad.

  Even though Grim and Anubis were old friends, the council still refused to grant the god extended privileges in Limbo City. If they allowed him the right to call his animal on neutral grounds, they would have to allow it for all the gods. It was a recipe for chaos and an open invitation for terrorist of every afterlife. Yeah, I know I bend the rules, but some just aren’t worth the risk.

  “I saw your light,” Anubis shouted to his brother.

  “It’s alright. Keep watch up front.” Horus’s eyes never moved from the Harpies.

  Anubis turned and rushed back to the front deck. The Harpies split apart when they saw the falcon. They distanced themselves, hoping to stall us from attacking.

  Horus signaled his falcon and it darted for the closest hag. The harpy slowed her flight, while her partner sped up, causing the falcon to dive at the other. They switched again. Horus frowned and the light in his eye flashed twice, signaling the bird. This time, it stayed on course.

  When the first Harpy neared, she drew a sword. It was no match for the falcon, but she pressed onward, piercing through his wing as he snapped through her middle. She fell to the sea with a shriek, and the falcon swooped around, abandoning a good meal to stop the second Harpy.

  Her features sharpened as she closed in on our ship. Sticky, black eyes glared out of her shallow face, while spit as dark and thick as tar leaked from her mouth and dripped down her chin. She was an assassin of Caim’s. I had no doubt that he sent the hags to scope out our ship and see if any more deities were laying in wait. But why was he targeting our ship? We had defeated him twice now. If he was hunting for souls, he should have been going after ships he thought he could take and ones carrying more souls than we were.

  I just didn’t want to believe that he knew about the soul Grim had us looking for. He couldn’t know, unless someone directly associated with the council had been making contact with him. How could a demon in exile know what, when, and where?

  The falcon covered the distance with a powerful thrust of wings, snapping through the harpy’s legs and jerking her flight to a halt, like a pigeon being sucked in by a jet engine. A strangled cry slipped from her before the bird reached up with his talons and tore off her winged arms. He flipped her torso over his head and swallowed it whole before ascending back above the clouds.

  “We should keep watch on all sides of the ship. There might be more.” Horus’s eye faded back to their normal coffee-brown.

  I went to find Josie and Kevin. They would have to stand watch too. I found them at the head of the ship with Anubis. Josie grabbed Kevin’s elbows and maneuvered him into the correct position with the bow. He squinted down the length of his arm at the arrow resting above.

  “Did Horus take care of the Harpies?” Josie asked.

  “Yeah, but maybe you two should practice on the north side of the ship. I think it’s obvious now that Caim could attack from any angle.”

  “Sure, no problem.” Josie grabbed up the quivers and led Kevin around the deck. Anubis’s jackals had vanished like the falcon, but he still maintained a steady watch over the sea.

  “So, were those the dogs that everyone swears by?” I asked.

  Ancient Egyptians would take oaths and swear by the dog in honor of Anubis. They would even burry their deceased canines in special tombs dedicated to him.

  “I suppose,” he smiled, still gazing over the sea. “Would you swear by your hounds?”

  “I don’t know them that well yet, but they’ve been trusty so far.”

  “I don’t think Caim will attack again. By now, I’m sure he knows I’m here. When his Harpies don’t return, he’ll retreat, saving his legions for the final battle.”

  “Let’s keep an eye out, just in case.”

  “Horus has got that one covered,” he laughed.

  We made it to the gates of Duat without any more surprises. Osiris and Isis were waiting for us. They eagerly accepted the soul and escorted him away like a favored grandchild. Horus turned to the rest of us and smiled.

  “You have no other business to attend to, I assume. Why don’t you stay and observe the ceremony? It doesn’t happen often these days, and it really is a treat to see.” He eyed Josie hopefully.

  “I insist,” Anubis added, trying to help his brother out.

  “Sounds like fun.” I nodded in agreement.

  Josie glared at me, but I knew better. Who wouldn’t be excited about an opportunity to visit the Hall of Two Truths and witness the Weighing of the Hearts ceremony? It was like witnessing a planetary alignment, and happened just about as often.

  “Follow me.” Horus led us through the gates and inside the tem
ple of Osiris.

  It was a modest place, resembling the deteriorated tombs of Egypt with fading hieroglyphics spanning the walls. It wasn’t until we reached the entrance to the main hall that we saw any signs of remodeling.

  A small office hid in the corner, just outside the Hall of Two Truths. Horus ushered us inside, where the goddess Ammit sat behind a desk painting her nails.

  “Oh! Hi.” She blushed and stuffed the bottle of polish in a drawer.

  “Aren’t you going to the ceremony?” Horus asked.

  “Yeah, though I hardly know why. That soul doesn’t look nervous at all. I doubt I’ll be needed. I’m just waiting for someone to come and watch the phones.”

  Ammit was the demon-goddess who devoured the hearts of the unworthy, dooming them to a lengthy sentence in Duat’s more colorful regions. Since the number of souls who passed through Duat had decreased so drastically, she had been given the position of secretary in the temple office. Still, on the rare occasion a soul did come through, she was required to be present for the ceremony.

  “You have some extra robes in here somewhere, don’t you?” Horus glanced over the cluttered shelves behind her desk.

  “Yeah, check the closet. Is this your first time?” She turned to smile at us.

  “Yes,” I answered. Josie and Kevin nodded.

  “How exciting! Not many reapers come to visit.”

  “That’s because they never have any souls to deliver here,” Horus laughed.

  He rummaged through a closet and found three white robes for us to wear over our black ones. Had our skin been darker, we might have gone unnoticed among the Egyptian deities. But along with raven hair, all reapers are created as pale as death. Well, as pale as Grim anyway.

  “There you are!” Thoth entered the office in his ceremonial headdress of overflowing ibis feathers, crowding us all into each other’s personal space. “I saw Osiris escort another soul into the hall, so I knew you had to be around here somewhere,” he said to Horus, and then gave the rest of us a puzzled look. “Oh! The reapers are staying for the ceremony?”