Reapers

by Bryan Davis

  I flopped to my seat next to Sing. My limbs felt like jelly. I couldn’t help the prisoners even if I tried. My dear friend lay in the mud… dead. I had failed.

  Alex raised a hand and shouted, “Let them go! All of them!”

  The rifles silenced. Splashing footsteps continued, though they slowly eased as the prisoners realized that they had been set free. At the entrance, Liam deposited children into his van and herded others beyond the gate, a worried expression on his face as he looked at me.

  The entire scene became a blur. I didn’t bother to keep watching. Liam would figure out how to get them all to safety.

  I stealthily opened my hand. A photo stick lay in my palm. It had to be Sing’s. I stuffed it into my pocket and grasped her wrist. No pulse. No movement.

  Erin lifted the sphere at the pedestal and pushed it into her shoulder bag. “Why did you let them go?” she asked Alex. “News will spread about this camp and your planned reaping.”

  “Let them talk. They don’t know what we really planned here.” Alex picked up the silver box and handed it to Erin. “As we discussed, these souls go into the abyss.”

  Erin nodded. “Have Peter put Singapore into my car. He can reap her on the way, and I’ll throw her soul into the abyss with the others.”

  “Good. The worst thing that could happen would be for the daughter of Tokyo to return from the Gateway.”

  “Understood.”

  Alex gave Peter a shove. “Do as she says.”

  Scowling, Peter scooped up Sing’s limp body, pulling her away from my weakened hand. As he carried her to the limo, I followed their progress, counting each slogging step. Although every nerve in my brain shouted for me to give chase, my muscles wouldn’t respond. Alex had obviously drained my energy for this very reason. I couldn’t grant Sing’s last request. She would go to the abyss instead of the Gateway. And where was Misty? In Peter’s cloak or in the abyss-bound sphere? It wouldn’t do any good to ask a liar like Alex.

  When Erin and Peter climbed into the limo, a cloaked figure with glowing eyes sneaked around the watchtower and ran to the trunk. He raised a finger to his lips, then dove through the trunk’s lid and disappeared.

  My mind shouted Cairo! but I kept silent. What could he do to help? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.

  “Well, Phoenix…” Alex reached down and grabbed my forearm. “Can you get up?”

  I flexed my leg muscles. “Maybe.”

  She hoisted me to my feet and wrapped my weapons belt around my waist. Now that she stood within inches, her skin looked more youthful than ever, again no sign of a wound. “I’m sure killing your friend must have stabbed your heart. Even her betrayal couldn’t soften the blow.”

  I blinked at her through the rain. Her voice had taken on a tone of genuine sympathy. It sounded so strange. With the van crashing into the gate, maybe she was distracted and didn’t see that Sing had actually killed herself.

  Alex fastened my belt in place. “I’m sure Shanghai will show up soon. When she does, you’re both free to go.”

  “But… ” I touched my spool and a dagger. I was now fully equipped. “Why did you go to all this trouble just to get me to kill Sing?”

  “Phoenix?” Liam shouted from the van. “Are you coming?”

  Alex waved. “He’s staying. Take the wounded to DEO headquarters. Tell them I said to provide care for everyone.”

  Liam flashed a skeptical look, but when I gave him a nod, he nodded in return. “I will.”

  His van rattled to the outside street, followed by the limo and its smooth purr. Behind the two vehicles, dozens of former prisoners walked away quietly, staying close together as they faded into the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

  Alex focused on me. “You ask why all the trouble? It’s quite simple, Phoenix, and since we’re alone, and since you’re under my control, I can tell you.”

  “Under your control?” I brushed rainwater from my eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “Remember our conversation in your apartment? I told you there was another issue or two, and now you’re learning what I meant.” She showed me her left hand. She wore Misty’s pewter band on her ring finger. “Misty controlled you, but she is dead. And now that you killed Singapore and thereby destroyed your… shall we say… principles, you are mine.”

  “But how could…” Dizziness flooded my brain. I couldn’t think of another word to say.

  Alex laid a hand on my shoulder, steadying me. “I will explain much more later, Phoenix. For now, I will tell you that I know all about Maxwell, your grandfather. You inherited his power… and his weakness.” She picked up the sonic gun and slid it behind her jacket. “Meet me at your apartment. While we’re there, I will tell you about your new condo and see to it that you get an energy charge. I’m looking forward to telling you how you will take over for Peter.”

  I looked into her metallic eyes. The power in her vision was never stronger. “Take over for him?”

  She set a fist on her hip. “Peter was supposed to do what I need you to do, but he failed. After he reaps Singapore, Erin will kill him.”

  “But… but he’s your son.”

  “Was my son. You’re my son now.” She reached into her jacket pocket and withdrew a thin chain and medallion. She draped the chain over my head and guided the medallion down until it rested on my chest where it glowed like a phosphorescent coin. From her jacket she withdrew a vial filled with red liquid, flipped the cap off, and poured a drop onto her fingertip. “Erin provided me with this supply of your blood.” She smeared the drop over the surface of the medallion on both sides, smothering its glimmer. “Now I can track you when I send you to do my bidding. I will explain more when you come to your apartment.”

  She recapped the vial and glanced at the camp’s entrance. “I’d better go. I will see you soon.” As she walked toward the Hilton, her shoes squished in the mud. “Don’t worry about the dead bodies. I’ll send someone to pick them up.”

  I scanned the jail yard. The two executed prisoners lay in the mud, two more broken shells, two more deaths, two more tragedies. Yet, a couple of hundred had escaped. The guards might have wounded a few more, but they managed to get out. At least we had succeeded in some measure. But at what cost? Misty. Sing. Colm. The losses felt like a tourniquet around my heart, squeezing my life away.

  Another squishing sound approached from the direction of the gate. I looked that way. Shanghai limped toward me, grimacing with each step as she leaned on her staff. “Phoenix! What happened? I just talked to Liam. He said Sing is dead!”

  “She… I… I mean, Alex tried to get me to… to shoot her, but…” My voice fractured into pieces. I couldn’t say another word.

  Shanghai wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “It’s okay, Phoenix. Take your time.”

  Her body was warm, though wet. I returned the embrace with weak, jittery arms and swallowed to loosen my throat. “I held… the gun. I wasn’t going to… to shoot. I saw Liam… coming, so I thought we had a… a chance, but Sing reached around… and pulled the trigger.”

  “I see. Another Alex ultimatum.”

  I nodded. “Alex said she’d let them go… if I killed Sing.”

  “So Sing traded her life to help the prisoners escape.” Shanghai pulled back and looked me in the eye. Tears tracked down her cheeks. “She must have known you’d try to fight your way out, that you would die trying, so…” She bit her lip hard. “So she saved your life, too.”

  “She did. That’s just like her. She…” My throat caught again. “I… I can’t…”

  “Oh, Phoenix.” Shanghai embraced me again. As we wept together, light spasms rocked our bodies. Seconds passed—heavy, painful seconds. How many? I couldn’t tell. Grief ravaged my mind. But I couldn’t let the torture strangle my resolve. I had to move forward, figure out the puzzle, rescue Misty’s and Sing’s souls.

  As Shanghai cried on, she hugged me more and more tightly. With her hand still clutching the staff, the wood pres
sed against my back. “So… ” I cleared my throat. “How’d you get your staff?”

  She drew back and held the staff in front of me. “It was really strange.” She brushed away tears. “I found it in Liam’s van when I ran to him for help. He had no idea how it got there.”

  I exhaled heavily and brushed away my own tears. “So you’re the one who brought Liam here.”

  “I heard his van idling close by. He seemed like our only hope.”

  I glanced at the broken gate lying on the wet driveway. “Where were you when he crashed into the camp?”

  “Over there.” She gestured with her head toward the street’s parking area. “Fighting a guard who was trying to shoot the van’s tires. He was a tough customer.”

  “Then you saved most of the prisoners.” I curled my aching hands into fists. “I couldn’t save Misty. Or Sing. Or Colm. Just when they needed me most, I failed. I couldn’t lift a finger to help any of them.”

  Shanghai gripped my arm. “You didn’t fail, Phoenix. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. For three years you’ve risked your life to help the desperate people of this city, and you sacrificed everything you love to save those innocent prisoners. In my book, you’re a hero.”

  Her words felt like a warm blanket, comforting in spite of new pain cramping my legs. “You are, too, Shanghai. You’re amazing.”

  She smiled. “Thank you for saying so.”

  My knees buckled, but Shanghai held me up and pushed the staff into my hand. “You look like you need this more than I do.”

  I gripped the middle and leaned on it. The cramping eased. “That helps a lot. Thanks.”

  “And let me give you something else.”

  “What?”

  “Everything I have to give.” She depressed her valve, making the center of the clasped hands protrude. Her smile quivering, she pushed close and connected her valve with mine. As we embraced again, now chest to chest, she hummed, “I can’t imagine how much you must be hurting, but I’ll do everything I can to ease your pain.”

  Energy flowed into my valve—warm and refreshing. It seemed that Shanghai’s love flowed with it, the combination strengthening my heart along with my muscles. Every passing second brought relief, vigor, and hope. With Sing’s photo stick in my possession and Albert’s soul still available to provide me with information, maybe we could get to the Gateway and the abyss. Maybe we could stop Erin and learn the mysteries beyond the veil. “You’re already easing my pain, Shanghai. It feels wonderful.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t give you much.” She detached our valves but stayed close. Her lips drew within an inch of mine, as soft and inviting as ever. “But I can give you my love.”

  I slid back. “I… I can’t.”

  Tears sparkled in her eyes. Her fingers ran along my hand until they found my pewter ring. “Too soon?”

  “Yeah…” I nodded and looked down. “Too soon.”

  “I understand.” She kept her hold on my hand. “So what’s next?”

  “Back to my apartment. I’ll tell you on the way.” With help from the staff, I walked toward the broken gate while she limped at my side, an arm curled around mine. “I’m going to need all your brainpower to figure out how to rescue Sing and Misty from the abyss, but it’ll help that a spy stowed away in the limo.”

  “Cairo?”

  I smiled in spite of the crushing grief. “You’re as smart as they come.”

  When we exited the camp, we stood side by side and gazed at the sun rising behind the Chicago skyline. Though veiled by the usual meltdown haze, it seemed brighter somehow, as if it were trying to break through the mysterious fog that cast a shroud over the entire world.

  Shanghai leaned her head against my shoulder. “So how are we going to do this? Do you have any clues?”

  “Just something Sing gave me.” I withdrew the photo stick and watch from my pocket and laid them in my palm. “It’s her photo stick, and she said to follow her to the Gateway, to search my watch, and the medallion is the key. I’m guessing she means the medallion she was wearing, but it went with her body.”

  “I saw her medallion. Any clue what it is?”

  I lifted the one Alex gave me. As my mind cleared further, a connection clicked. How could I have missed something so obvious? Images flashed—every time the medallion slipped from Sing’s tunic and into sight. She wanted me to see it, but she couldn’t tell me why. Otherwise I would have put a stop to her suicidal plans.

  I whispered, “She said to follow her to the Gateway. Her medallion is a tracking device, and Alex has a way to locate it.”

  “Sing’s been wearing it for a while,” Shanghai said. “She must have been planning this all along.”

  I swallowed. The truth was so hard to believe, it seemed unwilling to come out. “Sing wanted to die,” I said. “It was her only ticket to the Gateway.”

  “It’s all… all so surreal.” Shanghai took the watch and studied it. “Sing blazed the trail. Now we have to follow it. We’ll see what’s on the photo stick and try to find the Eagle.”

  I tightened my grip on the staff. “Maybe the Eagle will find us.”

  “You mean the staff? Do you think the Eagle left it for us?”

  I nodded. “Maybe to let us know she’s ready to help.”

  “But how could she get it? I left it with Mex’s body.”

  “Who knows? I’m just guessing.” As I pushed the photo stick back into my pocket, Bartholomew’s words echoed in my mind. If one of you chooses to die, I can send your soul to the Gateway. There you will be able to transfer your friend back to this side, and he can be restored to his body.

  I let out a sigh. Erin wouldn’t bother to preserve Sing’s body, so there was no hope to revive her, even if I wanted to.

  “Is something else wrong?” Shanghai asked.

  “Just that we need to hurry. Alex will be at my apartment with more energy for me, and she’ll show me how the tracking device works.”

  “I’m all for that.” Shanghai pushed the watch into my pocket. “But you’re nearly out of gas. We’ll need transportation.”

  I extended my thumb. “Let’s see if hitchhiking will work for a change.”

  “Maybe someone will risk it. Your apartment’s not far.”

  “After that, we’ll get to the bottom of all the Gatekeeper’s secrets.”

  “As long as we’re together.” Shanghai regripped my hand. “For Sing?”

  “For Sing.” I took in a deep breath. “Let’s find out what’s beyond the Gateway.”

  Other Books by Bryan Davis

  Dragons in our Midst® series

  Raising Dragons

  The Candlestone

  Circles of Seven

  Tears of a Dragon

  Oracles of Fire® series

  Eye of the Oracle

  Enoch’s Ghost

  Last of the Nephilim

  The Bones of Makaidos

  Children of the Bard series

  Song of the Ovulum

  From the Mouth of Elijah

  The Seventh Door

  Omega Dragon

  Dragons of Starlight series

  Starlighter

  Warrior

  Diviner

  Liberator

  Tales of Starlight series

  Masters & Slayers

  Third Starlighter

  Exodus Rising

  Echoes from the Edge series

  Beyond the Reflection’s Edge

  Eternity’s Edge

  Nightmare’s Edge

  Standalone Books

  I Know Why the Angels Dance

  The Image of a Father

  Spit & Polish for Husbands

  To learn more about Bryan’s books, go to

  www.daviscrossing.com

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  Copyright © 2014 by Bryan Davis

  Published by Scrub Jay Journeys

  P. O. Box 512

  Middleton, TN 38052

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  Table of Contents

  Reviews for Reapers

  Other Books by Bryan Davis

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six