Styx & Stoned (The Grim Reality Series Book 2)

by Brux, Boone

  “Not yet. We’re batting around some ideas.” He smiled at me, but it didn’t radiate through his eyes. “Some possible changes for the future.”

  “Well, as long as we can get this done by Sunday.” I laughed and Tabris’s smile tightened. “I’ve got a third grade choir concert to go to.”

  “A concert.” His body remained perfectly still and his face blank—except for his eyes. If someone could stare sarcastically, then that’s what Tabris’s eyes were doing. OMG, she’s got to be kidding practically emanated from his amber orbs, but I wasn’t fazed. I would be back for that concert. He slowly stood. “Thanks again for the update, and great job with the ferry.”

  Though polite, we’d definitely been dismissed.

  “You’re welcome.” I backed up a few steps. “And thank you for the pot of cash.”

  “You earned it.”

  With that, Mara took my arm and discreetly, yet forcefully, guided me out the door. We didn’t speak until we rounded the first corner.

  “I’m sorry, but did you get the impression he wasn’t telling us everything?” Mara asked.

  “Yes, I definitely got that impression.” I glanced over my shoulder. “And now I’m officially the new ferryman, and officially getting paid for it. How did I officially get a job I never applied for?”

  “This all seems very sketchy on their part.” She nodded. “And he never did tell us how we’re supposed to convince Charon to return.”

  I stopped and spun toward her. “What if they don’t want him back?”

  “He has to go back. Who else would they get?”

  We stared at each other, neither of us wanting to answer that question. Me. I was the only option, but that was crazy. I had a family and laundry. No way could I be the next ferryman. Then again, hadn’t I said the same thing about being a grim reaper?

  Chapter Thirteen

  A text alert dinged in Mara’s pocket. She pulled out her phone. “Cam needs me in one of the banquet rooms.” Slipping the phone back in her jacket, she sighed. “I wonder what’s going on now.”

  “Nothing bad, I hope.” Events and responsibilities seemed to be piling up on all of us. “I’m going to go take a nap. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Okay.” As she started down the hall, she said over her shoulder, “I’ll call you later.”

  “Roger that.”

  The possibility of a nap pulled me to the elevator. I prayed Tandy wasn’t in the room, but it wouldn’t matter. At this point, I could sleep through a train crash. It wasn’t just the physical strain of ferrying and attending the conference. It was also the emotional burdens heaped on me.

  Not telling Nate about our extracurricular activity was starting to feel more and more wrong. As much as I hated to admit it, he was much better at taking a situation and viewing it from all sides. I worked from emotions, where he worked from logic. Though I was only going on gut instinct, it felt as if a lot more was going on than Tabris cared to share.

  Only the hum of the air conditioner greeted me when I opened the door to my room. It was blissfully empty. I tossed my purse on the chair, kicked off my shoes, and crawled into my already-made bed. Snuggling under, I found a comfortable position and closed my eyes.

  The seconds ticked by but my body refused to relax. I turned to lie on my other side and blew out a breath, trying to quiet the thoughts bopping around in my head. After another few minutes I rolled to my back and let out an exasperated growl. No matter how much I wanted or needed a nap, I wasn’t going to get it.

  I threw off the covers and sat on the side of the bed. Attending classes seemed like unnecessary torture right now. At this time of day, the kids were in school and my mom was at her yoga class, so I couldn’t even call home. Still, I needed a little down time.

  I dug in the dresser and pulled out my black one-piece swimsuit. If I could find a lounge chair in the shade by the pool, I might be able to relax enough to read the book I brought. The sunscreen I’d brought was thick enough to not let me burn during a solar flare. I tossed the bottle, a towel, water bottle, my book, and sunglasses into my bag. Over my swimsuit, I put my black sweatpants and T-shirt back on. Not traipsing through the hotel in a sheer cover-up was a favor to all hotel guests. I shoved my feet into black flip flops, grabbed the room key, and headed to the pool.

  The place was packed and none of the women there looked like they’d never let the juicy goodness of a hamburger pass their lips. Normally, I would have been intimidated but my view of what was and wasn’t important had changed over the last twenty-four hours. I’d captained a ferry on the river Styx. I’d met angels, demons, and a primordial deity, and I’d saved Mara from a freakin’ horde of water zombies. A little more junk in my trunk didn’t even ping my self-confidence radar.

  Already it was getting hot. The sun reflected with blinding strength off the rippling surface of the pool. I fished my polarized sunglasses out of my bag and put them on. Instantly, the glare cut to a tolerable level and I realized my first assessment of the pool had been wrong. It was packed, but the majority of the lounging people were spirits. My stress level amped up. We must have ferried over two-hundred-thousand souls last night. Why were they still popping in?

  Ignoring everybody, dead or alive, I worked my way around the gigantic pool to a row of orange cabanas. A few had been taken by living people and another claimed by the ghost of a fat guy, wearing thick gold chains. Wanting to stay as far from him as possible, I chose the cabana on the end and spread my towel over the beige cushioned lounge chair. I had no idea if these cost extra or if I was supposed to reserve it first, but I figured I’d play dumb until they kicked me out.

  The heat felt good and the sound of splashing water soothed me. Little by little, the tension eased from my shoulders and neck. It was nice out here, away from the convention hubbub and pressing matters. I felt safe inside the cabana, almost like the paranormal world couldn’t touch me out here—almost.

  A shadow fell across my chair and I opened my eyes, shielding them with my hand.

  “What a coincidence.” Charon stood above me, smiling. “Do you mind if I join you?”

  Yes! I should have been excited about getting one-on-one time to try and convince him to return to Styx, but at that point I just wanted to be alone—to not have to talk, lie, or connive. I forced a smile. “Of course I don’t mind.”

  He pushed a lounge chair over until it was a mere foot from me. This guy needed a lesson on personal space. Once he was settled, he folded his hands in his lap and looked at me. “Did you have a good time last night?”

  “Yeah, it was quite a party.” I sat forward and grasped the back of my chair, pulling it up a few notches so I wasn’t lying down. “Did you ever find your elephant?”

  “Not my elephant.” Charon stroked his goatee. “A beloved pet of one of my guests.”

  “A pet?” I shook my head. “Gee, I won’t even let my kids get a cat.” I settled against the chair and let my gaze roam over the pool area. “Lots of spirits.” I looked back at him. “More today than yesterday.”

  He stared at the frolicking ghosts, a smirk quirking up the corner of his mouth. “There sure are.” His gaze skated to me. “Guess they haven’t replaced me yet.”

  “Guess not.”

  “You said last night they’d mentioned something about giving the ferry run back to my brother.” Though he didn’t look at me, his tone was definitely digging to see what else I knew about the situation. “Perhaps you misunderstood them.”

  You wish I misunderstood them. “Maybe.” I smiled and shrugged. “I’m just a reaper—low man on the totem pole.”

  “I highly doubt that, Lisa.” Now he did look at me. “Lowly reapers don’t meet Nyx.”

  “That’s only because your brother is my porter.” I screwed up my face, working up my best lie. “It has nothing to do with me personally.”

  He harrumphed and shifted to face forward in his chair. Stretching out his legs, he unbuttoned the sheer black shirt he wore
to expose his chest. There was no arguing—he was a good-looking man. I glanced away, feeling pervy about finding my grandfather good looking, even if he was a thousand times removed.

  This was probably a great opportunity to work Charon toward returning, but there were things that weren’t adding up for me. Tabris had said only a few could ferry and none of them were available at the time. He must have meant to permanently ferry the boat because the living couldn’t survive. That had been the reason behind Charon replacing Hal. But there were still things that didn’t add up, like why did Tabris choose me to ferry? Was it simply a coincidence of Hal being my porter and Mara my friend? Or, was there some other reason I was chosen? “I’m curious. If you’re the ferryman, why can’t any of your offspring take your place and run the ferry?”

  “You can thank my mother for that.” He scooped his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes. “It was one of the conditions for me taking the helm. I can create a legion of grim reapers but none of them can ferry.” Shifting again and settling against the lounge chair, he gave an indignant sniff. “It seems a little short-sighted on her part if you ask me.”

  “Yeah, it does.” A dull ache throbbed behind my eyes. I didn’t know if it was from the heat and reflecting sun, or trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. My phone erupted in my bag. I jumped and fumbled inside, pulling it out. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Lisa,” Mara said. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

  “You didn’t. I’m at the pool, talking to Charon.” I thought that would make her happy, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

  “I was wondering—” She grunted. Then came the sound of shattering glass. “If you’re not too busy, could you text Nate, and both of you come give Cam and I a hand?”

  Cam’s distant shout and then what sounded like toppling chairs interrupted Mara. A series of scuffles erupted, as if she’d pressed the phone to her chest and then she barked something at Cam. I held the phone away, looking at it, and then pressed it to my ear again. “What’s going on?” When she didn’t answer I raised my voice. “Mara?”

  “Yeah, sorry,” she panted. “Hall D. Hurry!”

  The phone call ended. Not wasting any time, I texted Nate and then stood. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Anything wrong?” Charon cracked open one eye to gaze curiously at me.

  “Nothing you need to worry about.” I tossed all my stuff into my bag and hastily dressed. Mara asking Nate and I for help, mixed with the angry shouts, meant something was definitely wrong. “Catch ya later.”

  “You can count on it,” he said, closing his eye again.

  I jogged through the hotel to the convention center, which in itself was amazing. I don’t run, not even walk-jog, unless my life or the lives of my children depends on it—or if the liquor store is about to close. Though I knew where a couple of the rooms for our events were located, I had to stop for directions. Rounding the corner, I saw Nate hauling butt from the opposite direction. We arrived at the doors at the same time.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  I shook my head, breathing a little heavier than I was proud of. “I don’t know. Mara didn’t explain.”

  The hulking security guard who had been stationed at the door of the Expo Center now stood in front of the double doors, hands folded in front of him, legs spread wide. When he saw us he stepped aside and flicked his head toward the room, not speaking. My nerves were strung tight and the fact that Mara and Cam needed a guard outside the door didn’t help calm me at all.

  We reached for the door handles at the same time and yanked the doors open. The chaos and destruction inside stopped us in our tracks. Dozens of tables had been upended, their tablecloths tossed about the room. Glittering glass shards sprinkled the dark carpet and an empty gold frame rested against the wall near the door.

  “Don’t let them escape!” Mara shouted.

  I didn’t know what them was, but Nate and I tugged the doors closed and turned back to the mayhem. Cam and Mara stood in different areas of the room, looking up. My gaze tracked to the ceiling.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Nate whispered.

  “What—?” I grabbed his arm and pointed. “—the hell is that?”

  Attached to the ceiling, directly above Cam, its yellow eyes blazing, was a skeletal creature straight out of my nightmares. An identical monster skittered up the back wall. It slithered like a lizard, its arms and legs moving independent of each other. Chills raced up my neck and I couldn’t help shuddering against this things unholy movements. Mara tracked its path up the wall, never taking her eyes off it.

  “Demons,” Mara said, pointing to her right. “We need you guys to hold that mirror up.”

  My eyes snapped to where she directed. A rectangular mirror set in a silver frame rested flat on the floor. It stretched about three feet across and was a lot nicer than the ones in the Expo Center.

  “We’re going to drive them toward it,” Cam said. “But make sure the demons don’t touch you. These guys are nearly impossible to get out once they’ve possessed you.”

  “Possessed me?” Even though I knew I’d heard him correctly, the question had to be asked. “As in invading my body?”

  “Yeah.” Mara leapt for the demon but missed, landing squarely on her feet again. The thing continued to creep along the top of the wall toward us. “Remember The Exorcist and those demons locked in the bowels of Hell?”

  “Yes?” Nate and I scooted toward the mirror lying on the ground, never taking our eyes off the creatures.

  “Well, these are their slightly less dangerous cousins.”

  “Shit, shit, shit.” That seemed to be the only word I could form.

  The mirror was heavier than it looked. The metal prickled unusually cold against my palms and I could have sworn the mirrored glass churned like liquid mercury. I pulled my fingers back, making sure to keep them on the frame. No way did I want to find out if these mirrors worked on reapers, too.

  “Ready,” Nate said.

  “Speak for yourself,” I mumbled.

  Never again would I complain about being a reaper. Spirits, even those of violent criminals, were a walk in the park compared to these horrifying monsters. One of the demons leveled its piercing yellow gaze on me. Jagged, black fangs flashed when its thin lips pulled into a jack-o-lantern grin. My grip loosened and the mirror slipped toward the ground. The demon hissed its threat. The urge to run swamped me, and my breath caught in my throat. I knew that thing would run me down in a matter of seconds and nothing the others could do would stop it.

  I tightened my fingers and adjusted my footing, fortifying my determination. Whatever Cam and Mara had planned, I was ready.

  “You okay?” Worry tinged Nate’s question.

  “Yeah.” I inhaled, keeping my eyes locked on the demon. “We got this.”

  The creature hanging from the ceiling didn’t seem to have any intentions of coming down. Propping his hands on his hips, Cam stared at it. “If you don’t come down, I’m coming up.”

  Could he do that? He was an angel, after all. My gaze darted from the demon to Cam several times. I won’t lie, I was seriously hoping to see some angelic awesomeness. Bolts of fire or quaking earth. Maybe trumpets preceding his supernatural smiting.

  What I got was even better. Blue-white light emanated from Cam, surrounding his entire body. The demon hanging from the ceiling cringed and screeched, as if Cam’s brilliance burned. Giant white wings rose from either side of Cam’s spine and unfolded. When completely expanded, he gave several shallow flaps, as if shaking out his wings.

  At the sight, the demon shot with surprising speed across the ceiling, but Cam was quicker. He launched into the air and with a single flap, skimmed a foot below the ceiling. The demon dodged around the wide, round light fixtures, but failed to elude the angel.

  I couldn’t take my eyes from Cam. Imagining what seeing an angel would be like was nothing compared to the full visual. Power thrummed through the room. The demon’s fea
r was tangible and to be honest, I couldn’t blame the thing. The expression on Cam’s face wasn’t anger or even concentration. Righteous determination, as if this were his true calling, the one thing that completed him. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way about anything. Reaping—Zumba—even motherhood—never garnered this kind of reaction from me.

  When Cam tucked in his wings, his body spun like a missile. At that point the demon had no chance. His speed increased, and Cam shot toward it, grabbed its leg, and peeled it off the ceiling. Its talons dug into the plaster but lost its grip. The creature dangled from Cam’s hand, flailing and screeching, but couldn’t get free.

  They circled the room and when Cam headed toward us, I braced my feet and leaned into the weight of the mirror. A few yards away his wings extended, pulling him to a full stop in midair. With what looked like not more than a flick of his wrist, he chucked the demon toward us. The creature spun head over feet, its arms thrashing, trying to stop its inevitable imprisonment.

  When the demon hit the mirror the front wavered as if the creature had jumped on a waterbed. Nate and I grunted against the force. A dull pain ricocheted across my shoulder where the metal frame dug in, no doubt adding another bruise to my already vast collection. No matter how much it tried to get away, the surface held tight. Inch by inch the creature sunk and disappeared under the glass, until the mirror again appeared solid.

  I hadn’t fully recovered from capturing the first demon when the second sprung from the wall. Like a dog, it ran on all fours across the carpet. Its talons ripped at the fibers with each lopping gate, heading directly for me. Chaos erupted. Mara spun and took off after it, jumping onto a chair and literally ran across the tables. Cam dove, coming at it from the opposite direction. Nate and I held fast with the mirror, but to be honest, I was frozen with fear and couldn’t move when I should have.