by Apryl Baker
I waste not another moment. “Hold tight.”
Then we jump.
Chapter Twelve
White. Everywhere. No walls, no ceiling, no floor, no landscape…just endless white expanse. The cold is so intense it burns away every lucid thought, every feeling, every sensation. Nothing but the bitter iciness of winter. My body is numb, the sheer shock of the cold freezing me in place. I’ve never been in here. I’ve fallen through it before, but for never more than a few seconds.
The little girl is shaking. I feel her hugged up against me. She’s as cold as I am. At least that thing didn’t get to eat her. A howl breaks through the silence and we both go still, listening. Several growls sound all around us. We might still be on the dinner menu.
I don’t see anything, but I know they’re here. Is it because I’m not a full reaper that I can’t see the monsters that inhabit the Between? Did I save us from one beast only to lead us into the waiting maw of another?
Where are we?
“We’re in the Between.” I put my arm around her. “It’s the place between the different planes.”
Are there monsters here?
“Yes.” My eyes scan the expanse again, but it remains empty.
Can we go now?
If only I knew how to get out of here, we’d have been gone, like, yesterday.
“What are you doing here?”
I know that voice. I look behind me, and sure enough it’s the reaper who’d told me I could put Eric’s soul in Jake’s body. His glare is hot enough to light a fire under the devil himself.
“Hiding?”
“Hiding? In the Between? Are you crazy?”
“Uh, no, but we were desperate, and it was the only way I could find to get out and keep this little girl safe.”
His eyes swoop down and the hardness in his face eases. It becomes softer, his expression morphing to concern and compassion. “Hello, Hailey.”
“How do you know her name?”
“Reapers always know the names of the souls we look for.”
Huh. Well, I had no clue what her name was.
“What were you hiding from?”
Monsters. They wanted to eat us.
“Eat you?”
I explain to him about the two things we encountered in the morgue, and his expression tightens, the fear in his eyes unmistakable.
“What? What were they?”
“Deleriel has risen.”
“That fallen angel thingy Eli was telling me about?”
“Take my hand, Mattie. I need to get the two of you out of here before the wraiths surround us.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“Take my hand.” I lay my hand in his, and the entire landscape morphs so fast, my head gets dizzy. We are in a forest, the shadows deep and dark. No moon sheds light into the thick trees, but I can see, nonetheless. I can also see the creatures lurking behind the trees, moving like cheetahs, their cries louder, more intense. Black shadows. I think I preferred blind bliss to seeing what wants to eat me.
“Holy crap.”
“Exactly.” The reaper squeezes my hand, and I pick Hailey up. She’s not going to be able to keep up with us on her own.
“Your instincts are getting better.” He tugs on my hand and we start walking.
We’re not running for our lives? Does he really want us to take a nice leisurely walk through the woods, with all the monsters gnashing their teeth at us?
“Shouldn’t we put a little scoot in our boot?” Even I can hear the tremors of fear in my voice. Now that I can see the big bads, I want as far away from them as I can get.
He stops and turns to stare at me, his expression incredulous. “Scoot in my boot?”
“It means to hurry up.” I glance around and hold onto Hailey tighter. “I don’t think walking is going to save us.”
“That’s part of the problem, Mattie. You’re always in a hurry. If you’d stop and take a few minutes to think, you wouldn’t get yourself in trouble so much.”
Seriously, reaper boy is trying to lecture me? “I don’t care what you think about me, but I didn’t save this kid from being eaten just to let these creatures do the same thing.”
He cracks a smile. “I may have misjudged you.”
“Can we run and talk at the same time?” The guy needs to get a move on. I swear, if these things come at us, he’s the first to go. I will drop kick him and run for my life.
“They can’t touch you as long as you hold my hand.” He gives Hailey a reassuring smile, only she can’t see it since her face is buried in my neck. She’s still crying, poor kid.
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m protected from them. That protection extends to whomever I’m escorting. It’s the souls that break away, that wander off or wind up here by accident that are consumed.”
“So it’s a reaper thing?”
“Yes, it’s a reaper thing.” He nods before continuing. “You are only a half-reaper right now. Your gifts are new, just waking up. Over time, you’ll begin to see the Between the way we do and navigate it safely.”
“Over time?” So my ghost skills are going to get a power up? Awesome. All the better to protect myself.
“You are a special case, Mattie Hathaway. Most living reapers never discover their abilities. One has to die in order to awaken those gifts. Even then, the most they can do is see the souls searching for a way off this plane. They can talk with them, get them to look for the light. There’s never been a living reaper who could open the doorway to the Between, let alone see into the light and fight off a full-fledged reaper.”
I shrug. “I got skills.”
“Yes, you do. A unique set of skills we need, especially now.”
What’s he going on about?
“Have you been made aware of your genealogy yet?”
My genealogy?
“Your mother’s family.” He pauses, his face screwed up as if he’s trying to come to some kind of epic decision.
“You mean about them breeding with demons?” It’s not something I want to chat about just now, surrounded by a small horde of hungry wraiths.
“Yes.” He looks away from me, his face morphing to one of stern determination. “We try not to interfere, to let things run their ordinary course, but there is nothing ordinary about you. You need to understand the role you play. This is the only place we can talk about this. No one can hear us here.”
Crap on toast, this doesn’t sound at all good.
“You are part demon, part reaper, and something else. Something that’s hidden even from me. That is the part that scares the head honchos upstairs. You’re unpredictable. You’re loyal. What you did to save Dan…what he did to stay with you? That scares them, Mattie, but they need you. It’s why you’re still alive. They need you.”
I am part demon? Holy fudgepops. I want to throw up.
“Focus, Mattie! We don’t have much time. You’re a perfect storm, the perfect trifecta. Part demon, part reaper, part something undefinable. Figure out what that last part is, and you’ll be able to protect yourself from all of them.”
“Wait, protect myself from everyone?”
“Mattie, the moment you defeat Deleriel, they’ll eliminate you.”
Eliminate me? What the…? “Wait just a minute, buster!”
“There’s no more time.” He glances to the right, and I see the pathway winding to a doorway. It’s the doorway I can sometimes see in the light. The one with two paths, dark and light. He takes Hailey from me. “I will take her from here. Remember what I said. Be safe, Mattie Louise Hathaway.”
When I blink, I’m back in the elevator. It dings and the doors open. I’m back on the third floor. Jake’s floor. I stumble forward, getting out of the elevator as fast as I can. I’m dying of thirst, but no way am I getting anywhere near that elevator alone.
Dan’s still sitting where I left him. When he sees me, he gives me a little wave. “I thought you were thirsty?”
“You
over your shock yet?”
“So I had a freak out moment. Sue me.”
“I just had an epic freak out moment, so keep your virtual millions.”
He quirks an eyebrow in question, and I tell him about my morgue adventure and then my chit chat with Reaper Boy. He listens, never interrupting me. When I’m done, he sits back and rubs his chin thoughtfully.
“So you’re telling me not only do we have to worry about demons, but angels want you dead too?” He laughs.
He laughs? I’m panicking, and he’s laughing? “What gives? This is not funny, Officer Dan.”
“Yeah, it kinda is.” He doubles over, he’s laughing so hard. “Only you could piss off Heaven and Hell.”
“Do I look like I find this funny at all?”
“Mattie?”
Dan’s laughter dries up as soon as we see Mrs. Owens standing in the doorway leading to Jake’s room.
“He’s awake if you’d like to see him.”
I scramble off the chair I’d collapsed in and move swiftly toward Mrs. Owens, only half listening to her. He’s awake.
He’s not sitting up and talking. I didn’t expect that. I mean, he was shot, after all. The physical body needs to heal.
“Jake, honey, Mattie’s here to see you. Do you remember her?”
He turns his head and looks at me, his eyes so blue they could make the clearest sky weep from envy. He blinks them several times. “I know you.”
“Of course you know me.”
“He’s having some memory problems.” Mr. Owens shuffles around the bed, cutting off my view of him. “He doesn’t know who he is, who we are. It’s a blank slate. And his eyes…”
“His eyes?”
Mrs. Owens takes a shuddering breath. “Jake’s eyes have always been brown, but now they’re blue.”
Oh no. Why are his eyes blue? The soul isn’t supposed to make physical changes. At least I don’t think so.
“I don’t care.” Mrs. Owens voice is soft, calm, even. “I have my son back. His eyes could be purple and his skin blue and I wouldn’t care.”
Mr. Owens places a hand on my shoulder. “We don’t care. Even if he has to learn to love us all over again, we don’t care.”
“All over again?”
“The doctors say he may never regain his memory. They don’t know everything about the brain, but they do know he was clinically brain dead. His memory, everything that made him Jake, it could all be gone.”
“I’m so sorry.” Had I been wrong to do this? It’s just like taking Jake from them all over again.
“Don’t be, Mattie. He’s our son. We love him no matter what. We always will. He’ll get to know us again, to love us, to understand how much we love him.”
“Can I have a few minutes alone with him?” I need to see what’s going on with him. I can only pray Eric remembers who he is. His soul is confused right now. I’m not surprised he’s having issues adapting and that his memory is scrambled.
“Of course. I think we’ll go find some coffee.” Mr. Owens places his hand on the small of his wife’s back and leads her out the door, leaving me alone with Jake…Eric. I’m not sure what to call him.
I go further into the room, and my heart breaks at the confused frustration on his face. “Hello.”
“I know you.” Even his voice is beyond frustrated.
“Yes, you do. I’m Mattie.”
“Mattie.” He says the word, trying it out.
“Do you remember your name?”
“They told me it was Jake.” He scrunches up his nose, and I know the name doesn’t sit well with him. “I don’t know…I just can’t remember anything.”
I sit on the edge of his bed and take his hand in mine. “I know it’s scary. You feel all alone, but you’re not. You have me and your parents. I promise you’re not alone.”
He’s staring at his hand in mine, his eyes a little unfocused. “I know that I know you, Mattie Hathaway. I know it.”
He said my last name. He remembers me. Maybe. He could be accessing the part of Jake’s brain where his memories were. Do your memories leave with your soul, or does your brain work like one big hard drive, storing things in different files and folders?
I have no clue what I’m doing here. I should have asked Reaper Boy before he kicked me out of the Between. Only he was too busy giving death warnings.
“You look upset.”
“No.” I do my best to keep my tone reassuring. “I’m not upset. You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake.”
“I don’t think my name is Jake.” He searches my eyes, looking for any hint that he’s right. I don’t know what to tell him. Could filling in the blanks do more harm than good right now?
“Why don’t you get some rest? I think that’ll help you get your memories back faster than anything else. Besides, it’s not every day you survive a gunshot wound and a head injury. Get some sleep, Jake. We’ll be here for you when you wake up. Promise.”
He nods, his eyes already drooping, and I stand and cut his overhead light off.
There is one person I can talk to about all this who might know what to do.
But am I willing to talk to him?
For Eric? Yeah, I am.
Chapter Thirteen
Dan’s sitting in the passenger seat looking disgusted. He’s not Super Man. He has limits. The man almost died from a head wound, and he’s not well. If it were up to me, he’d be right there in the hospital next to Eric. Even the doctors advised him to stay overnight and let them monitor him, but he refused. I didn’t learn that little tidbit of information until we were in the car, getting ready to leave. So I pitched a fit and made him let me drive.
“What do you know about the missing kids case?” I need to learn as much as I can. If Deleriel is taking them and they seem to keep finding me, I’m pretty sure I’ll have to stop him in order to keep those creepy little yellowed eyed monsters away from me.
“They’re not missing anymore, Mattie.”
“I know, but it’s easier to say that instead of saying all the murdered kids, okay? What’s happening to them is awful.”
“I know.” He lets out a heavy sigh and turns to face me. “Zeke and I were talking last night. We think the ghost that attacked you at his place was one of them. Whatever is happening to them is beyond awful. They’re being tortured in ways I can’t even imagine.”
I still don’t remember that. Yet another thing to discuss with the Spook Doctor.
“What else do you know? Were you even there when they started to disappear?”
He nods. “For the first couple, yeah. It wasn’t my case, though, so I only know the basics.”
“Can you get a hold of the files?” I know it’s a lot to ask, especially since he’s in trouble over looking into the deaths of the girls whose ghosts tried to kill me a few days ago. I don’t think his captain has had time to chew him out yet.
“Probably.” He fiddles with the radio, finally settling on Kiss 95.1 and turns it down to barely a whisper. My favorite station. Dan has no real favorites. He just listens to whatever station is playing music he likes. “Brody is in charge of the investigation.”
“Awesome. He loves me.”
“Yeah, but it’s not you who has to ask him to see the files, now, is it?”
True.
“I’ll figure something out.” He rubs his head, his eyes closing.
“Headache?”
“Yeah. It’s gotten worse since I picked up that toy. I honestly thought it was a brain bleed or something causing the visions. I hoped it was.”
“Is it every time you touch something or just some of the time?”
“I’ve touched stuff since I woke up and I’ve only had two visions. Once with that toy and once with Eli. It’s kind of random.”
Or is it? “Dan, do you think you’d be willing to try to use your vision to help Kayla?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean maybe pick up the teddy bear we found this morning, and
…”
“No.”
“I know all this supernatural stuff isn’t what you wanted, Dan, but if we could…”
“You don’t understand, Mattie. What if I pick it up and I see what they did to her, are doing to her?” His voice is haunted, bleak. “I don’t think I can handle that.”
Sometimes I forget he’s not used to seeing the violence I am. Ghosts in all their mutilated glory have been haunting me since I was five. Dan? A couple weeks at best. Plus, I know there’s nothing I can do to help the ghost who seeks me out. With Dan’s ability, he could very well see someone torturing Kayla, and he’d be helpless to do anything but watch. He’s a cop. His first instinct is to protect. It would haunt him forever, but there is something he’d never be able to forgive himself for.
“But what if you could actually save her?” I ask softly. “Could you live with yourself knowing you might have done something to prevent her death?”
After that, the car ride goes silent. Even the gentle hum of the radio seems hushed. I know asking him to do this is horrible, but I know that little girl. I talk to her. Sometimes when no one else is around, I’ve even played hopscotch with her. She’s a good kid, and if there’s something I can do to bring her home, I will. Even if that means asking Dan to do something he’s not comfortable with.
When Dan finally speaks, his voice is calm, but so quiet it’s almost a whisper. “Drive to the station.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dan
CMPD is a war zone when we finally get there. A missing kid will do that, especially one who might be the next victim of our serial killer. Mattie tensed up the moment we entered the building. She’s got a rap sheet half a mile long, though. Most of the cops know her too. She’s rubbed them all wrong at one time or another when she got hauled in. To be fair, since I’ve met her, she hasn’t been brought in for anything other than to answer questions about her mother.
Well, there was that incident of breaking and entering she roped me into helping with, but she managed to sweet talk our way out of that one.
I shake my head ruefully. She suckered me into committing a crime to help out a cat that turned out to be a boa constrictor. The things that girl has gotten me into over the last year.
