A buzz of energy ripples along my skin. Wow, these supernaturals have way more ectoplasmic juice than a human. The sensation hums through my body, giving me a jolt of pleasure and at the same time feels like it’s draining me.
“She says she’s sorry too and that she understands.” I take a deep breath and exhale. I’m not sure how much longer I can handle the energy she’s pouring into me, or maybe sucking from me, so I decide to move the reaping along. “Hal.”
“Who are you talking to?” Asa asks.
“My porter.” I grip Joanna’s hands tighter. “He’ll take Joanna where she needs to go.” I glance around the room but there’s no expanding light that indicates his arrival. “Hal.” The damn porter is so contrary. Showing up when I don’t need him. Not making an appearance when I do. Clearing my throat, I look at the ceiling and holler. “Hal Lee Lewya, get your ass up here!”
I say up because I always assume he’s mucking around in Hell. It seems to be one of his favorite hangouts. And he’s made it quite clear he’d like to take me for a spin around the ninth circle of Hell just for fun. That’s why I keep my distance. Hal’s last reaper ended up in a mental institution after experiencing one of Hal’s hellish joyrides.
Five feet from us a thin line of pink light stretches. “About frickin’ time,” I mumble.
“Is he here?” Asa looks around the room. From his expression I can tell he’s skeptical.
“You might want to come and stand by me, Asa.” Hal doesn’t seem to have any effect on humans, but vamps might be a different story. “Just to be on the safe side.”
Asa’s eyes narrow, as if deciding if I’m serious. After a few seconds, he strides to where I’m standing. “I’m not saying I believe you, but—I’m not saying I don’t.”
“You don’t have to believe me.” I give him a humorless smile. “Doesn’t affect my job one way or the other.”
The light expands, dims, and an elevator door slides open.
“What the hell is that?” Joanna asks.
“That is Hal Lee Lewya, my porter.”
“Lisa, so nice to see you again.” He bows, tipping his orange leopard top hat at the same time. When he straightens his gaze skates to Joanna. “And what do we have here?”
Unlike the other times I’ve had a soul ready for him, Hal doesn’t sound all that pleased. “This is Joanna.”
“I didn’t ask who.” His upper lip curls in a partial sneer. “I asked what.”
Oh shit, was he seriously going to raise a stink about transporting a vampire? Maybe I was supposed to call a different porter, somebody who had experience with supernaturals. I decide to play it cool and act like I know exactly what I’m doing. “You know what she is so why are you asking?”
“I don’t do vampires.”
I would have propped my fists and my hips and scowled at him but I didn’t want to let go of Joanna. So I paste on my best glare. “You’re going to transport this vampire and whoever else I have for you.”
“Says who?” His yellow eyes peer at me over the top of his tiny round glasses, challenging me.
“If you don’t take these reaps I’m going to tell Constantine.” My smile spreads and I shake my head. “Never mind. When Constantine hears you wouldn’t transport the souls—souls he specifically sent me up here to reap, I’ll get a new porter. Which is great with me. So, bye-bye.”
Hal harrumphs and looks at the ceiling. There’s many layers to Hal, more than I could unpeel in my lifetime. But I’ve learned to read him in our short time together. One thing is certain. He’s afraid of Constantine.
“Fine.” He snaps open a black feather fan and waves it in front of his face. “I’ll reap your vampires, but it’s going to cost you.”
“Cost how?” No way am I giving up my soul or even touching him.
“Gold, sweetie. I do this as a specialty, but the ferryman isn’t so accommodating. He requires payment.”
“I’ve never had to pay before.”
“You’ve never reaped a vampire before.” He levels his gaze on Joanna. “They take special handling.”
“What’s going on?” Asa asks.
“Hal wants to be paid—in gold.” I look at him. “You don’t happen to have some gold bullion on you, do you?”
“No.” His hand dips inside his pocket and pulls out a circular piece of metal. “All I have is my challenge coin.”
My dad has a similar coin from his time on the police force. “Is that for serving in the war?”
“Not really. It’s a symbol for my battalion, the 503rd Infantry Airborne. It’s awarded for excellence. I carried it with me throughout my tours in Afghanistan.” His thumb rubs the embossed face for a second and then he hands it to me. “Maybe this will work.”
“No.” I can tell it means a lot to him. “We’ll figure out something else.”
“Take it.” He shoves it at me again. “It’s fitting that I use it to help Joanna.”
I hold onto the ghost with one hand, but reach with the other and lay it on Asa’s wrist. “Are you sure?”
Hal’s says, his interest piqued, “What is the young man offering?”
Asa stiffens and slowly turns. “Holy shit. I see him.”
“You can?” Nobody but the souls I reap have been able to see Hal. I feel the least I should do is introduce everybody. “Asa, this is Hal, my porter.”
Hal straightens, and tosses his shoulder length curls over his shoulder. What a peacock.
“It’s an army coin. Kept me alive and focused while I served.” Asa clutches the small disc to his chest. The action is overdramatic. “Now that I think about it, I don’t want to give it up.”
I suspect his resistance is all show. This vampire is smart, zeroing in on Hal’s true nature. If he can’t have something, the porter wants it all the more.
“No, no, you offered and you can’t rescind on our bargain.” Hal leans out the elevator door but is unable to go any further. “Toss it here and I will transport the young lady to her destination.”
Asa hesitates just long enough to make a good show of it, then tosses the coin to Hal. The porter catches the enameled metal easily. He examines it for a few seconds and smiles. “Yes, this has value because it means something to you.” He looks up, his pleased expression disappearing. “But from here on out I require gold. Charron doesn’t deal in trinkets such as these.”
I have no clue where we’re going to find gold. Maybe Asa has an idea because I’m not giving up the few pieces of jewelry I own for this job. “Thank you, Hal. I appreciate your cooperation.”
“I don’t want to go with him.” Joanna yanks against my grasp. “I’m staying here.”
My body jerks and I nearly lose my balance, but Asa catches me. “Joanna, calm down.”
She lurches again. “You can’t make me.”
“What’s happening?” Asa wraps his arms around my waist, holding me steady.
“Wow, she’s really strong and doesn’t want to go.” I almost lose my grip on Joanna, but tighten my clasp. The pleasant buzzing I’ve been feeling turns to a raw burn. My legs start to quiver and I feel like she’s sucking the life out of me. “Joanna, please stop.”
Her gaze becomes unfocused and I can tell her lucidity is slipping away. “You can come with me.” She smiles and my blood turns to ice. This is not a woman I’d ever want to be alone with. Suddenly I’m glad Asa is with me. “We’ll go together.”
“No!” She jerks me out of Asa’s arms and launches us toward Hal. I’m off balance so I can’t stop our forward momentum. Thoughts of being sucked into the elevator send a wave of panic through me. Though I try to regain my footing, she’s too strong. “Joanna, let go!”
Chapter Four
Asa
I grab Lisa firmly in both hands and yank. It’s as if she’s being drawn forward by an unseen force. With one more tug, she stumbles back against my chest. The freaky door to I don’t know where closes while we watch. My arms wrap around her as I scan every corner of the room. The
re was no mistaking the panic and fear in her voice, something certainly had her in its grip a moment ago, even if the only thing I saw was the weirdly-dressed guy with the gold eyes.
“Thanks. That was a close call.” Lisa’s hands are pinned in front of her. “You supernatural types are certainly a challenge to reap.” A nervous giggle escapes her as she flattens her palms against my chest. My slow heart beat picks up, sending blood to areas I haven’t used in quite a while. Good to know all of me isn’t undead.
“Wow,” she croaks out. “You’re really built.”
Satisfied the threat has passed, I glance down at the tempting woman in my arms. Her blue eyes stare at me from under spiky blond hair. Do I respond? Damn, she’s cute when she’s flustered. A slow smile spreads across my face.
“Is that a gun in your front pocket?” she asks, innocence dripping from her tone.
My fangs itch to descend and I tense. I can’t believe I’m sporty a woody the first time her body connects with mine. Might as well go with it, it’s not like a little harmless flirting will lead to anything.
“No, darlin’. My gun is strapped to my right thigh.” God, it feels so nice to be touched. “On the outside of my leg.”
“Oh!” she squeaks. Her hands jerk on my chest and a blush spreads across her cheeks.
Damn, that just makes me want her more. My canines elongate and Lisa reacts, a shudder traveling down her back.
Maybe it’s too much for her. I unwrap my arms and step back, putting distance between us. A depressed sigh leaks out of me. “Joanna told you what we are. You’re a reaper, who are you to judge?”
“Judge? Is that what you think I’m doing? What, a girl gets a little apprehensive when the guy snuggled up next to her has growing fangs and all of a sudden she’s judgmental?” She adjusts her shirt, drawing my eye to her luscious boobs. Lisa catches my look and clears her throat. “Hello? My eyes are up here.”
I glance to the corner where the glowing door disappeared. Why does this shit have to be so hard? I’m crazy to think a normal woman would want anything to do with me. I mumble “sorry” and sit in a club chair by the shuttered windows, adjusting my semi-hard state absently with one hand. “I don’t blame you if you were judging. After all, I did kill that woman you just reaped.”
“Hold on now. Joanna said she left you no choice. Was that true?”
I shrug, and stare at my hands on my thighs. “Vivian didn’t think so. She was pretty pissed.”
Lisa’s tone sounds contemplative, “She’s the head vampire, right?” At my nod she continues. “Well, it sounds like she acts as a parent to all of you here. I see why she’d be a little bent when one of her charges dies. My daughter was in a car accident last fall and ‘bent’ doesn’t begin to describe how I felt. More like distraught and borderline suicidal. Cut the old gal a break.”
A grim smile curves my mouth. “I bet she’ll be interested to hear that we truly do have souls.”
“Was that ever in question?” I glance at her sharply and it’s her turn to shrug. “Hey, how would I know? Who am I to question who has a soul or not? Sure, I’ve read books and watched movies about the ‘undead,’ but what does that term really mean anyway? How are you guys—for a lack of a better word—‘made’? It’s obvious if you have a soul. You were human once, right?”
Once.
I wish I still was. There’s so much I’ll never get to have or do now that I’m like this. No family, no children, just me… alone… forever.
Buck up. You have Eric. And your dad is alive, so is your aunt.
Yeah, for now.
I steel my thoughts and push the old issues away. This existence here in Alaska is better than living with my aunt in Manhattan and I know I could be much worse off. My thoughts drift to Afghanistan and my face hardens. Yes, there could always be worse times.
“Whoa, now.” Lisa pulls me back to the present. “Your face got all spooky distant. Did I say something wrong?”
I stifle the urge to lean forward and hold her hand. There’s no way she’d want some blood-sucking fiend like me touching her. “It’s not you. I was thinking about when I was turned.” I meet her eyes and see something directed at me I haven’t seen in a long while—compassion.
“Can you tell me? I’d like to hear how it works.”
“I was serving my fifth term in Afghanistan.” Hesitation and uncertainty grip me, I haven’t spoken of my ordeal with anyone. “It was… hell.”
Lisa leans forward in her chair, reaching out a hand and dropping it at the last instant. “What happened?”
I shake my head, unsure how much I want to relay. “Some parts are a blur. After three weeks in the field, we were on our way back to base camp. All I could think was how much I wanted a hot shower.” The smell of Wet Ones leaps into my mind. “We had to conserve water on those trips and the baby-wipes didn’t cut it for bathing.” My lips turn up at the corner. “My Aunt Cali used to send them by the case. We used the pre-moistened towelettes for everything—from cleaning our guns, scrubbing dust off the windshield, to wiping our—” I catch myself in time. “You get the idea.”
I risk a glance over at Lisa. She’s listening raptly, no judgment or fear on her heart-shaped face. “It was really dark that night, when we walked into the desert.” The night comes back to me, crystal clear, the memory chilling my slow-beating heart. “We stopped to relieve ourselves, each of us wandering into the darkness twenty feet or so from the humvee.” God, what idiots we were. Thinking we were safe so close to base camp. “I was jumped from behind. It happened really fast. I thought for a second one of my buddies—piling on as a joke.”
Lisa’s warm hand rests on mine, her hesitant touch more kindness than I expected. I stare at her soft, pale skin, basking in her warmth. “When I woke I had no idea how much time had passed. Some god-awful stench of body odor and rotting meat surrounded me.” The young mother’s hand tightens on my own, encouraging me to keep going. “Worse than mine and my buddies stench, if you can believe that. There was pressure on my chest. And at first I thought maybe I’d been mistaken for dead and was under another corpse, awaiting transit.”
I quickly meet Lisa’s eyes and glance away, shamed by my fear of that night. “But then the body moved. It took me a moment to realize something warm was trickling down my neck… then I heard a gurgling sound and the shadows came together and I knew. Something was at my throat… feeding on me.
“I screamed and screamed, my arms flailing at whatever was on top of me. It pulled off my neck and stared into my eyes… and everything went dark again.”
“Oh God. How awful.” Lisa swallows and tugs my hand away from my lap to hold it in both of hers. “What happened next?”
I shake my head. “I’m not really sure. It wasn’t until later I learned how a vampire was made. You must be drained to the point of death, with your heart about to give out, then fed blood straight from a vampire for the ‘change’ to occur. Later that night I woke again, this time alone, miles from camp. I had all my gear with me and my chest was covered in dried blood. I checked and had no injuries, even the wound on my neck I thought I had was gone. I used my equipment to stagger in the correct direction toward camp.
“Eventually, a couple of soldiers on watch found and took me to the infirmary. I was quickly stripped of my clothes while they checked carefully for any wounds. They questioned me and I couldn’t think of anything to say that made sense—who would believe me? It happened to me and I wasn’t even sure what the hell really happened. I was given a bed and told not to leave, they wanted to observe me until my memory came back.”
Lisa’s thumb rubs over the back of my hand, soothing my jangled nerves. Has any woman cared enough to touch me in comfort since my aunt?
I want to rush through the rest, and gloss over the details, unwilling to share the agonizing moments when I almost fed from my comrades. That twist of a sickening hunger in my gut for something so disturbing—I wanted to die. If I hadn’t left when I did who knows w
hat would have happened. No, I won’t share those parts.
I stand, pulling my hand from hers and run the warmed skin over my shaven head. “Once I realized what I was, I left. I didn’t want to kill anyone or risk accidentally turning them into a soulless creature of the night.”
The reaper cocks her head at me. “You’re being hard on yourself. My husband died in a car accident almost two years ago, which unfortunately left me alone, almost penniless, with our three kids. I don’t know specifically what you’ve experienced, but I understand the pain and confusion of loss. And you’re not so soulless from what I witnessed. Doesn’t that count for something?”
A new peace fills me at her observation. The same sense of purpose that filled me when I joined the Army almost a decade ago creeps across my awareness. “Yeah, maybe it does.”
Before we have a chance to say anything else, my phone rings. I dig it out from my pocket and see it’s Vivian.
“I have to take this,” I say to Lisa. “Why don’t you get settled in?”
She nods, her big blue eyes so filled with emotion I have to turn away before I give in to the urge to wrap my arms around her again.
I step into the hall, closing the door behind me, and click answer on the tiny screen. “Yes?”
“How’s it going so far?” The calm cool voice of Vivian reaches me. “Has she reaped any ghosts?” A note of disbelief colors her question.
“Oh, yeah. Turns out we do have souls and we’re a little more hard to ‘reap’ than an average human.”
“Really?” she sounds excited and slightly doubting. “That’s absolutely fascinating. Are you sure? Did you actually see her reaping a vampire soul?”
“No, I didn’t. I did see the doorway though. But there’s no way she was faking her conversation with Joanna. She said stuff even that John Edwards guy from Crossing Over would never have known.”
“Who?” she asks.
Before I have a chance to answer I hear Rafe’s voice in the background. “TV show, liebling. Psychic medium who talks to dead people.”
“Is that like the Bruce Willis movie you made me watch, ‘I see dead people’?”
Death Times Two Page 3
