Styx & Stoned (The Grim Reality Series Book 2)

by Brux, Boone

  Finally, breaking the silence, I asked, “What were you before?”

  Her emerald gaze lingered on me a few seconds, the saddest smile I’d ever seen hovering on her lips. “An angel.”

  “Wait.” It was my turn to cross my arms over my chest, a surge of indignation coursing through me. “You were an angel, were kidnapped, and nobody did anything about it?”

  The sad smile turned into an amused grin. “It’s a long, convoluted story, and maybe someday I’ll tell you all the gory details. Let me just say that Cam tried.” She shook her head. “Though I didn’t know it at the time and pretty much hated his guts for an eon, I later learned he had tried. Now we’re partners.” She gave me a mock expression of excitement. “Who could believe my luck?”

  “I thought you were only six-thousand years old.” The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on me.

  “As a demon. As an angel a lot longer.”

  “I will never complain about anything ever again.” I harrumphed and walked to the steps leading to the bridge. “Seriously, I’ve got no problems.” Before climbing, I pinned her with a stare. “And yes, some night we are going to buy several bottles of wine and you are going to tell me all about it. We’ll get drunk. We’ll laugh. We’ll cry.” I waved my hand at her. “You can transform and set something on fire. Whatever we want, but I need to hear the rest of this story.”

  She saluted me. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  Knowing Mara had once been an angel, though tragic, did give me a measure of reassurance. Sure, she was a demon, but she’d been an angel first, and now worked for GRS as a good guy. Not only did I believe she was more good than bad, I was certain I’d made a friend for life. She was like a beautiful secret weapon. If we ever got in trouble, she had a mad demon lurking under the surface that could kick everybody’s ass, not to mention keep me safe.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The front of the pontoons tapped the floating barrels, and the walkway slid across the back when we pulled into the junction. I grabbed a baggie full of gold and held it over my head. “Okay, Hulk, do your thing.”

  He strode to the side of the ferry and glared up at me. “The name is Franklin, not Hulk.”

  A laugh slipped from me before I could catch it. “Franklin?”

  “Yeah, you got a problem with that?”

  Indeed, I did not have a problem with that if I wanted him to open the cabin doors. “Can I call you Frank?”

  His scowl deepened. “No.”

  “Frankie?”

  “No.”

  I cocked my head. “How about Frankenstein, Frankfurter, or the Frankinator?”

  “No.”

  “Okay.” I tossed the bag of gold to him and he caught it in one hand. “Franklin it is.”

  He examined the plastic bag, turning it over in his hand. “What is this?”

  “It’s called a Ziploc. Just slide the white tab across the top to open it.”

  He tried it a couple of times, smiling.

  “They’re handy for storing things, but be sure to keep them away from the river.” I leaned on my elbows and gave him a sarcastic smile. “I’d hate for any those river monsters or soul-sucking water demons to get tangled up in it.”

  “You got any more of these?” he asked.

  “Loads, Franklin, and if you can get us in and out of here uber fast, I’ll give you one every time I pay you.”

  “You got yourself a deal.” He shoved the baggie into a leather pouch tied around his waist and got to work.

  Mara and I moved to the lower deck. When the cabin doors opened, the souls spilled onto the gangway. They seemed no worse for wear, not at all phased by the attack from the lost souls or demons, which kind of irritated me. I had to remind myself that they were dead and I wasn’t, so suck it up.

  The souls of two couples loitered off to the side, out of the flow of traffic, but still on the ferry. Their conversation was animated and I caught snippets of having an acquaintance in common.

  I clapped my hands. “Okay, people, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” When they didn’t budge, continuing to chat obliviously, I walked briskly to the other side of the ferry and waved my hands at them. “Move along. Make a hole.”

  One of the women huffed at me, her lips pursing, reminding me of a dog’s butt.

  “Hey, lady, unless you want a ride back to the river bank and go to the end of the line—a very long line I might add, I suggest you disembark…now.”

  A guy, who must have been her husband, wrapped his arm around the woman and herded her off the ferry, managing to give me a withering glare in the process. When I was certain they had fully disembarked, I rejoined Mara.

  “I’ve noticed a lot of couples die together. I wonder why.”

  “Car accidents, house fires.” She gave me a serious nod. “You’d be surprised how many sex-related deaths there are, especially in the geriatric community.”

  “Oh, don’t tell me that.” I covered my ears with my hands. “Because those are the people I’ll have to reap.” She laughed but didn’t disagree. The cabin door sealed again and the gangway pulled back. “We’re doing a lot of runs today, Franklin, so be ready.”

  He braced his legs against the floating dock. “I’m always ready.”

  “No doubt,” I muttered.

  Now that we’d discovered the tricks of the trade, we were able to do four more, incident free runs before stopping for the day. I had to hand it to Franklin, he was ready for us each time the gangway slammed across the back, getting the passengers unloaded in minutes. By our third delivery, he’d even taken to yelling and clapping at the passengers, using my lingo. I think the plastic baggies were a big motivation for him.

  By the time Hal dropped us off at my room, we’d put a small dent in the waiting crowd and were exhausted. I glanced at the clock and groaned. “It’s not even noon.”

  “I don’t care,” Mara said. “I’m going to take a nap.”

  “I need a shower.” Lifting my arm, I sniffed. “I smell like a coconut from my suntan lotion.”

  “Oh, that was you? I thought I smelled coconut on the ferry. And lime.” She smiled. “Now I want a pina colada.”

  “Go take a nap.” I pushed her toward the door. “We need to stay sober.” When I released her, I blew out a breath. “No doubt we have a lot more ferrying to do today.”

  “Party pooper.” She pulled the door open. “I’ll text you later.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Get some sleep.”

  I closed the door behind her and pressed my back against the wood. The room was empty and I wondered where Tandy was—hopefully far from Charon. I’d warned her and at the moment, that’s all I could do.

  No doubt Nate would be calling me in the near future. Then I remembered his brush with the demon this morning, actually, not too long ago now that we were back on the physical plane. He hadn’t looked so good when he’d left the hall—and he’d kissed me. I reminded myself it had been a stress kiss, or a glad-to-be-alive kiss. Nothing more.

  Still, I needed to make sure he was all right. I dug my phone out of my purse and dialed. The phone rang once and then went to voice mail. Maybe he was lying down. When the beeper sounded I said, “Hey Nate, I wanted to check on you and make sure you’re okay. I’m going to jump in the shower, but call if you need anything. Otherwise we can meet up later.”

  Nothing else came to mind so I ended the call. Despite our constant bickering and his obvious lack of confidence in my skills, I cared about Nate. Having a demon inside me had been awful, but not as invasive as it had been for Nate. Where I’d been able to resist the demon and push it out, he’d been consumed by it in a matter of seconds. He fancied himself one of the best reapers, and had the awards to prove it. Being helpless must have come as quite a blow to his ego, but he was a survivor, and he’d deal just like the rest of us did.

  My shower was quick and sleep was impossible. After putting on fresh clothes, I decided to go downstairs and maybe grab a quick bi
te to eat. I now viewed the breakfast restaurant as my place, having eaten there three times. I slid into the booth in the corner, trying to hide from the world, and ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a diet soda.

  When the waitress was gone, I pulled out my phone. Bronte would be in computer lab and from what she’d told me, the students worked independently. I dialed her number. If she couldn’t talk she’d let me know, probably by not answering or hanging up on me.

  “Yo.” Her voice sounded on the other end of the phone, and I suddenly had to blink back tears. It was so good hearing someone from my normal, boring life. More than anything I wanted to be home, waiting for my monsters to run through the door, dropping coats and backpacks on their way to raid the refrigerator.

  “Yo yourself.” I fought to keep my voice steady and light. “What are you doing?”

  “Broadening my mind. Planning for my future. You know, the usu.”

  Usu was short for usual. I know this because I’m a cool mom and am well versed in all the current slang. Also because Bronte corrected me in her annoying mocking tone when I thought it was a German term, like uber, which I also know how to use now.

  “Sounds like fun.”

  She snorted. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting ready to eat a giant cheeseburger. You know, the usu.” That actually got a chuckle from her. “But before hogfacing my lunch I wanted to check on you, see how you’re doing.”

  “You mean am I surviving Grandma’s house?”

  “That’s part of it.” Bronte’s behavior had been sporadic at best over the past few months, talking to herself, starting easily if I surprised her, cloistering herself in her room. All of it could be normal teenage behavior, but I wanted to make sure. “So, how is Grandma?”

  “Crazy as ever. She spoils the boys.” She paused for a second. “When are you coming home?”

  There seemed to be a little more to the question. “Sunday, but sooner if I can finish up here.”

  “Good. I miss my bed.”

  “I miss my bed, too, and you kids.” The waitress set my soda and straw on the table. I pulled it toward me. “Well, I just wanted to check in and make sure there were no problems.”

  “Everything is cool here.” I could hear a man’s voice in the background, probably her teacher. “I’ve got to go.” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “We’ve got a substitute today and he’s being over-the-top vigilant.”

  “All right, well, I love you.”

  “Love you, too,” she rushed out. “Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  The line went dead before I got the entire short word out. I sighed and dropped my phone back into my purse. Suddenly I was tired, not physically, but mentally and spiritually. I wanted to go home. I wanted the spiritual world to be right again. But most of all, I didn’t want to be the one responsible for getting it back on track.

  I ate my burger in relative peace, and the only interruptions were the waitress refilling my soda and my own invasive thoughts. Neither Mara nor Nate had called or texted, so I wandered into the casino after lunch and took up residence at a penny slot machine.

  I fed a twenty into a machine and for the next half hour mindlessly hit the max bet button, winning and then losing. In the end, I cashed out with six dollars left. My heart wasn’t into gambling. Those were words I’d never thought I’d hear myself think.

  As I wandered through the casino, I noticed a lot fewer spirits than the previous night. Maybe ferrying had made enough room for the backflow. Which meant the riverbank would probably be full again. I wasn’t sure how we’d ever catch up. At this rate Mara and I would have to ferry around the clock. Five trips had been exhausting and kind of boring. Besides always having to be on alert and the subtle landscape changes, we were basically running the same course. Knock on wood, no new creature had attacked the ferry, but it made for a boring ride.

  It was nearly two o’clock and still no word from anybody. Taking the opportunity to shop for the kids, I wandered along the Grande Canal, window-shopping. I realized I hadn’t checked my account to see exactly how much money I actually had. Though I wanted to get the kids something nice, I didn’t want to go overboard and spend money I didn’t have.

  When I pulled up the bank app and logged onto my account, I nearly dropped my phone. In savings, I had over three-hundred-thousand dollars. I stared at the amount, not believing what I was seeing. Sure, Tabris had explained I would be getting paid for ferrying, but I’d figured with it being so crowded, no new souls had been reaped—or at least hadn’t gotten past the arch.

  No wonder Charon had been pissed. I scowled at the long-board displayed in the shop window. Greedy bastard. He’d been collecting gold for centuries and he was throwing a hissy fit because now he wasn’t getting paid?

  “Well tough titty,” I said, before marching into the store.

  By the end of my shopping spree, I’d bought each of the boys a skateboard and three new video games, my mother and father some fancy chocolates and a blinking Vegas refrigerator magnet, and Bronte the coolest pair of women’s motorcycle boots I’d ever seen. They had skulls embossed on the sides and a chain around the ankle with a skull charm dangling from it. Even though this smacked of my reaper job, my daughter was every bit a quasi-Goth girl, and would appreciate these boots. Besides, if she didn’t, I’d wear them. I also got her a black leather jacket that had a steampunk feel with its double-breasted buttons at the waist, but wasn’t too theatrical.

  I’d definitely splurged, but figured my kids deserved to have something nice for once. Wanting to dump my purchases in the room, I climbed into the elevator. Before the door could close, Charon slipped in—again.

  I grunted with irritation. “What is it with you and this elevator?”

  The doors glided shut and he spun on me. His glare pushed me back into the corner. “Who is it?”

  “Who is who?”

  “Who’s ferrying? I know somebody has taken over.” He took a step toward me. “Who is it?”

  Geez, the guy had a real personal space issue. I tugged my bags up to my chest like a shield. “I don’t know.” His eyes narrowed on me and I scowled back. “Why do you care? I thought you were retired.”

  “That’s not the point,” he said, as if I were completely dense.

  “Exactly. You being retired isn’t the point, because you had no intention of staying retired.” I dropped my arms to my side, the bags crinkling against my legs. “What did you think was going to happen, Charon? They’d plead and beg you to come back?” I pursed my lips and gave him an assessing stare. “Let me guess, this isn’t the first time you’ve pulled this.”

  He sputtered a few indignant grunts, bristling at my accusation, but didn’t deny it.

  “Well, guess what?” I reached around him and punched the twenty-sixth floor. “They didn’t fall for your crap this time.”

  “So there is someone.” He stamped his walking stick against the floor. “Tell me who it is.”

  “There’s no way in hell I’d tell you.” I inched toward him, backing him to the door. “Do you want to know why? Because this morning I had to help capture two demons, one of which thought it would be a lot of fun to first take a turn inside me, and then my partner’s body.”

  His heels hit the door and he pressed his back against the metal. “So?”

  “So.” I leaned in, bringing my nose a couple of inches from his. “If you want your job back, I suggest you tuck your tail and go beg Tabris for it.” The elevator hiccupped to a stop and dinged. “I just hope it’s not too late.”

  The doors slid open, causing Charon to jump aside. Without another word or glance, I marched out of the elevator. On the outside I might have looked tough, but inside I was praying he’d take my advice. I wasn’t sure how much more ferrying I could take—or GRS at that point.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I’d barely dropped the bags on the floor when a knock rapped against my door. Opening it, I found Mara waiting on the other sid
e. “I couldn’t sleep.” She strode into my room. “I texted Cam but all he said was he was in a meeting with Tabris.”

  “I haven’t talked to Nate, either,” I said, closing the door.

  She paced along the side of the bed. “I don’t like it. Something is up.”

  “Well, Charon just cornered me in the elevator and he is big time pissed.” I plopped onto the bed and leaned back, bracing myself with my arms. “You know, he had no intention of staying retired.”

  “Figures.” Mara perched on the chair next to the bed. “What a douche.”

  “Seriously.” Neither of us spoke for a few seconds. Then I said, “What should we do?”

  “I hate to say it, but I think we should ferry. The more souls we deliver the quicker things can get back to normal.”

  “Yeah, and I’m worried about more demons showing up.” I sat forward, ignoring the pang of dread weighing in my gut. “All those souls are like sitting ducks.”

  “Agreed.”

  We both stood and for the second time that day I called Hal. When the light expanded and the door slid opened, his look of surprise was genuine. “Again? So soon?”

  “Gotta get it done and right now nobody seems to need us,” I said.

  “You’re going to burn out.” He closed the doors and peered at me over his silver sunglasses. “Like a two-wicked candle.”

  “I’ll be all right.” I wasn’t so sure that was true. Each time I stepped onto the physical plane after being at Styx was like taking a deep cleansing breath, almost as if being in the netherworld stole a tiny bit of my life each time I was there. I nodded, more to reassure myself than Hal. “Really, I’m fine.”

  He didn’t argue, but I could see he didn’t agree. I guess his concern should have made me happy, but all it did was confuse the situation more. A lot of souls depended on me—for the greater good and all, but deep down I knew I couldn’t continue much longer. And, I had to wonder about Mara. She liked the physical world—it dampened her demon urges. As I looked at her now I could see the signs of strain around her eyes. Of course her strain made her look exotic and sensual, where mine just made me look tired.