Ghost Market (Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. Book 6)

by Angela Roquet

  I made my way down the main pier of the dock and found Arden waiting for me on the deck of my ship. His skin was as black as the robe he wore, creating an ominous silhouette against the thin morning light bleeding up the horizon.

  “Congratulations on your promotion, Captain Harvey,” he said, offering me his hand as I came on board.

  “Congratulations on your promotion, Captain Faraji,” I replied, giving his hand a firm shake. “Are you excited to be working with Asha again?”

  Arden had previously worked with Asha Dipika, his sailing partner, on the Mother Goose Unit, harvesting child souls exclusively. I got the feeling he missed it. As reserved as he could be, whenever a child soul ended up on the Posy Unit list, he would speak up long enough to volunteer for the harvest.

  “Asha is not happy about the transition,” Arden said, his forehead crinkling. “She has relented for the moment, but she will be petitioning President Fang soon, I suspect. As it stands, she’s scheduled to begin with our unit tomorrow.”

  I nodded. “I hope she knows this wasn’t my doing. None of it was.” I leaned against the deck railing and crossed my ankles. “There’s not much I feel like I can share with you that you don’t already know better than I do, but if you have questions, ask away.”

  Arden opened his mouth hesitantly. If his skin hadn’t been so dark, I would have sworn he was blushing. “Does President Fang know you’ve selected me as the new captain?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Not yet, but I was planning on telling her this morning.”

  He nodded slowly. “When do the captains converge for their weekly meetings?”

  “We meet with Jenni individually. I check in on Tuesday mornings, so my best guess is that she’ll brief you then.”

  “Tuesday?” he said tightly.

  “Yup.”

  There was clearly some gossip to be had there, but Arden was tight-lipped as they came. Plus, the rest of the gang decided to arrive about then. I’d have to harass Jenni later until she divulged.

  Kate Evans and Alex Grayson headed up the lot of merry reapers. They’d been on the Posy Unit the longest. When Adrianna Bates, the former captain, had left to take over the Mother Goose Unit, Kate had been sure the vacancy was hers. She was a fifth generation reaper, but her childish demeanor seemed to cause everyone to forget.

  Molly Driver and Tyler Ives were the newest additions to the team, and the only reapers who had been on the unit for a shorter time than me. My placement as captain had been controversial for a number of reasons, the least of which being that new captains were typically chosen for their experience within a unit. Yeah, I didn’t have any. It definitely didn’t endear me to anyone.

  Horus, the Egyptian god on the council, had pulled some strings—though not because we were such good buddies. It was all part of his elaborate blackmail plan. Now that that plan had been put to rest, there was no reason for me to stay. Still, I was a little bummed to be taking a step down.

  Special Ops was too new to be taken seriously yet. We hadn’t even completed our first mission. And if we couldn’t, there was a good chance the unit wouldn’t survive long enough to even warrant a shitty article in Limbo’s Laundry.

  Kevin strolled up the ramp behind the others. He didn’t have the hounds with him, which seemed to tip everyone off more than anything else.

  Alex glanced around the deck and rubbed her hands up her arms to stave off the morning chill. Her eyes narrowed when they fell on me. “What are you doing back so soon?”

  “Passing the torch,” I said, nodding to Arden. “Meet your new captain.”

  Arden gave me a hard look, as if he’d expected me to break them in more gently. Sleep deprivation seemed to shorten my patience and drain what little tact I possessed.

  “Can’t be any worse than you,” Kate said, folding her arms. She tossed her bangs back and gave me a daring sneer, as if anticipating a comeback.

  I shrugged. “You’re probably right. Well, have fun. Come on, Kevin.”

  “That’s it?” Molly’s mouth dropped open. “That’s all you have to say to us? No explanation? No departing well wishes?”

  I paused and let out a long sigh. “I’ve been ordered to head up a new unit. Arden is an exceptional reaper, and he’ll make a great boss. He’s wise and fair and even-tempered. I sincerely do wish you all well. Even you, Kate,” I added, glancing back at the brooding reaper. “I have an appointment to keep, and you have souls to harvest. If you want a bigger to-do, catch up with me at Purgatory later and I’ll buy you a drink.” I gave them a little salute and took off before anyone else could object.

  Kevin skipped beside me to keep up. “Where’re we going, boss?”

  “You’re going back to the condo and taking another look at those files,” I said, heading for the travel booth outside the harbor entrance. “I have an appointment.”

  Kevin raked a hand through his hair. “So you keep saying. You sure you don’t want me to come with?”

  “No.” I stepped inside the travel booth and turned around to face him. “I’ll check in when I can. And I’m serious about looking over those files,” I said, jabbing a finger in the air.

  I waited for Kevin to stalk off down the sidewalk before fishing my ID card out of my bag. The secret throne realm wasn’t so secret anymore, and the council had insisted on adding it as a destination in the booths. Of course, it required special clearance, so the ID cards had been implemented.

  The council, or more specifically, Ridwan, had made a stink when Naledi requested a card for me. She reminded him that it was her realm to do with as she pleased, and that she could, in fact, do whatever she pleased with all of Eternity if he wanted to push the issue. That changed his tune, but it also added another black mark next to my name in his book.

  I inserted my ID card into the slot on the travel booth dashboard and then dropped a coin into a wider slot. It cost nearly three times as much to travel to the throne realm versus just venturing across the city. That was probably breaking Ridwan’s bank more so than my own, so I didn’t mind.

  The travel booth spit me into a newer, recently installed one on the edge of the sunny lawn in the throne realm. It was strange not to immediately and haphazardly find myself in the grass. I peered through the streaky booth glass and took in all the new construction.

  The size of the realm hadn’t changed much, but with all the souls Naledi had been collecting for her Apparition Agency, the accommodations had needed an update. The little cottage that had housed Khadija for over a thousand years—and then Winston for a short span—was still there, but three additional structures had been built into the surrounding knolls. They looked fit for hobbits, and I was sure Morgan was right at home, seeing as how many of the fey were hill dwellers.

  Naledi waved to me from the front porch of the cottage as I stepped out of the booth. She was in a pair of navy slacks and a white, buttoned up blouse—clearly pieces from the new wardrobe Jenni had helped her put together. The vagrant hand-me-downs she was prone to choosing for herself were not inspiring much respect from the council. The new look was definitely more polished, and it added an air of maturity that she hadn’t possessed before.

  “Everyone’s waiting inside,” she said.

  “Everyone?”

  Naledi nodded. “Jenni, Maalik, Ridwan—they all insisted on being present. I told them it wasn’t necessary.” Her brows drew together. “I can make them leave if you want.”

  “It’s okay.” I swallowed and walked up the stairs to the porch. Naledi squeezed my arm and we headed inside together.

  I hadn’t spent much time exploring the cottage. When Khadija had lived there, the fear and awe she filled me with instilled too much respect to poke around. Winston, on the other hand, had been such a little shit that I couldn’t wait to leave.

  My heart hurt when I thought of him and the way he’d given up his life in his search for Naledi after she had disappeared last fall. She’d explained her reasons, and they were sound enough, but it st
ill made me twitchy around her sometimes.

  “This way,” she said, leading me past the foyer and the great room.

  The dark hallway near the back of the cottage was new territory for me, and I was surprised to find a circular stairwell at the end of the passage. It led down into darkness, and I half expected Naledi to fetch a lit torch. When she flipped a light switch, I stifled a laugh.

  Naledi grinned. “I made them update the electrical in here when they put in the new abodes.”

  We followed the stairs down to what I felt more comfortable calling a basement rather than a dungeon now, with its modern upgrades. The floor was polished stone, but fresh paint covered the walls, and the door Naledi opened at the bottom was new and didn’t creak.

  We entered a large room that featured what looked like a massage table. Jenni and Ridwan were arguing in a corner.

  “How are we supposed to know if this procedure even works?” the angel said, waving a hand at the table.

  Jenni jaw flexed. “We’ll bring in some souls and test her if that will make you feel better.”

  “She could lie and we’d never know.” He turned to watch me come into the room and snorted his displeasure. “She’s been hiding it from us for this long. What’s to stop her from doing so again?”

  “Are you doubting my abilities?” Naledi asked, stopping beside me. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at Ridwan. He glared right back.

  “I’m doubting your intentions,” he said.

  “We’re not here to fight.” Maalik put himself between them and held up his hands. “You asked to observe,” he said to Ridwan. “So observe.”

  Ridwan pressed his lips together and lifted his chin, turning away from us. His wings shuddered violently, like a disgruntled rooster.

  Naledi directed me over to the table. “You’ll be more comfortable if you lie down.”

  “Is this going to hurt?” I asked, dread swirling in my stomach. I’d been so worried about the aftermath that I hadn’t even considered what the process would be like.

  Naledi gave me an apologetic smile. “It’s not going to tickle, but I’ll do my best to make it quick. I can also wipe your memory after, so you won’t remember the pain.”

  “Why didn’t you ask Meng to whip up a tea for that?” I asked, handing her my messenger bag for safekeeping.

  The table didn’t look so inviting now. I frowned as I eased back onto it and folded my arms over my stomach.

  Maalik stepped in closer and took my hand. “There was concern that it might affect the results.” His eyes flicked up in Ridwan’s direction. “But I’ll be at your side the whole time, for moral support.”

  “Thanks,” I said, trying not to let my voice crack. I didn’t like showing weakness, least of all in front of Maalik, but I had no idea what I was in for. Even I wasn’t foolish enough to presume everything would be okay.

  Naledi rubbed her hands together and then held them palms down over my torso. “Ready?” she asked, giving me a tender look.

  I swallowed hard and nodded. My eyes rolled up to the ceiling, trying to find a source of distraction. It worked for a few seconds. The wide plane of drywall was lit by an inset light that ran around the perimeter of the room, almost like a fancy home theater. I tried to picture Naledi, Morgan, and Father Ron having a movie night down here and grinned.

  Then the sound of static filled my ears, and my body tensed like it was trying to solidify into concrete. I felt Maalik’s hand squeeze mine as a high-pitched noise tore through my head. It wasn’t until Maalik shouted my name that I realized the sound was coming from me.

  Chapter 6

  “Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.” —George Bernard Shaw

  I awakened upstairs in the great room of the cottage. There was a soft ringing in my ears, and everything was too bright, like when you wake up from a nap at the beach and the sun’s peeking past the rim of your umbrella.

  “Hey there.” Morgan sat on the couch opposite me, her legs folded up beside her as she read from an old book, the leather cover split and peeling away in places. In her vintage, red dress, she looked like a gothic Alice in Wonderland.

  “How long have I been out?” I asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

  “About two hours,” Morgan said, glancing back down at her book. “You just missed Maalik. He left ten minutes ago.”

  “Where’s Naledi?”

  “Meeting with Horus. I’m not supposed to know, but I hear things,” she finished in sing-song. “She said you’re supposed to take it easy and rest up for the meeting tomorrow morning.”

  There was a general tenderness spread throughout my body, as if maybe I’d fallen down a flight of stairs. My joints felt numb and loose, but there were no obvious bruises anywhere. A fading pins-and-needles sensation itched along my skin, and I tasted sweat on my lips.

  As my eyes adjusted, I took a closer look at Morgan, really focusing along her outline where her aura should have appeared. Nothing.

  “Super.” I found my bag on the coffee table and pushed myself up from the sofa. As I stumbled for the door, I added a headache and dizziness to my list of side effects.

  My last memory was of Maalik’s worried face looming over me. I was guessing Naledi had gone ahead and removed the rest of the ordeal. It was probably for the best.

  I walked across the lawn in a daze and took the travel booth to Holly House. Part of me wanted to lie back down and take another nap, but the more responsible part wanted to see if Kevin had found out anything new from the files.

  Warren appeared in the entrance of the parking garage again, like he’d been waiting there for me since I’d left that morning.

  “Heya, lady!” he called. “You check out that soul gauntlet yet?”

  “That what?” I lifted an eyebrow as I punched in my code on the security box.

  “The prototype I dropped off yesterday,” he said, opening the front door for me.

  “I told you, I’m in the middle of a big assignment. I haven’t even been in the field since we last spoke,” I said, quickening my pace toward the elevators as much as my dizziness would allow.

  “Okay, well let me know when you get a chance.”

  “You bet.” I fingered the up button and impatiently watched the floor numbers descend.

  Warren headed back to the garage with slumped shoulders, passing Holly Spirit along the way. Her eyes twinkled with ill intent, and she managed to slip inside my elevator before the doors could close me in.

  “You’re looking well,” she said, her lips curling up with false cheer. Her wings fluttered delicately and folded against her back, right under the mound of golden curls pinned at the base her neck. “How did your procedure go?”

  I frowned and inched away from her. “Okay, I guess.”

  “Ah, that’s right. Ridwan said your memory was altered. That must be terribly disorienting.” Her angelic eyes took on a mocking softness.

  “I’ll be fine. At least I don’t have to worry about the council viewing me as a peace treaty breach anymore.”

  “Now you just have to face judgement for conspiring with Grim.”

  I tried to hide my loathing behind a smile, but my face pinched uncomfortably. “Another accusation of Ridwan’s, I’m sure. Guess I’m lucky there are eight other members on the council besides him.”

  “Seven.” Her smile grew sharper. “Horus has been suspended until his own trial.”

  The thinly veiled allegation made me bubble with anger. I wasn’t a big fan of Horus. Hell, I had more reason to dislike him than most. But Holly rubbing it in that I was short an ally made me want to press all the buttons in the elevator so she’d have a nice long journey back to the lobby.

  The doors chimed as they opened onto the tenth floor. I stepped out into the hall, eager to get away from Holly and her plastic persona.

  “Feel better soon,” she called after me as I hurried toward my condo.

  I nodded, not trusti
ng my voice, and stuffed a shaky hand down in my bag to find my keys. As soon as I heard the elevator doors close, I paused and leaned against the wall of the hallway, waiting for the dizziness to pass and my heart to slow its murderous march.

  I was so done with Holly House. If I survived the council’s decision, I was out of there. But I’d let Saul take a steaming shit on the white rug in the living room first. Pet deposit be damned.

  I entered the kitchen grumbling my evil plans under my breath and found Kevin slouched in a chair at the dining table. The files, which I’d left in neat rows, were now a disaster. Most of them lay open, their guts spread and scattered to the point that there was no way to tell which folder they went to.

  “I got nothin’, boss,” Kevin said, dragging his hands down his face until his eyes sagged miserably. “I was at the very top of my class. I really thought I’d find something and save the day.”

  I shrugged. “Me too, grasshopper. Maybe we just need a palate cleanser.”

  “Huh?” He cocked his head at me.

  “Go grab your jacket.”

  Kevin didn’t argue. He headed back to his room, while I filled the hounds’ dishes with kibble. I didn’t expect to be back in time for dinner.

  I hurried Kevin downstairs and through the lobby, not wanting to risk another encounter with Holly or Warren. Feathered company just wasn’t rubbing me right today. Maybe having my status reduced, however secret it had been, made me resentful. I wasn’t a special snowflake anymore, and I needed time to let that fact sink in.

  The sidewalks outside were still light on soul traffic. How strange that a lack of ghosts made it seem more like a ghost town than ever. It was the sort of philosophical question I would have enjoyed discussing with Josie. My throat tightened as I cast Kevin a sideways glance, wondering if he thought of her as often as I did.