Grim Lost: A reaper's tale (Reaper Files Book 3)

by Nicky Graves

  “Then talk about something else,” I said. “What did Treble learn?”

  “Mostly he learned that Azrael’s weakness is thinking he’s stronger than everyone else. You might have sparked the first bit of fear in him since his creation.”

  If he did fear me, he was good at covering it. The only thing I felt from him was hatred.

  “If we do find the green stone, what’s my next move?” I asked.

  “I think you should tell Lawson and Vance how you feel about them. Especially Lawson.”

  “What?” I asked as Wiltone’s thoughts strayed from my own.

  “Forget the stones for one second,” she said. “You need to be honest with Lawson and Vance. Tell them what you’re feeling.”

  “So, I’ll tell Vance he’s an annoying, obnoxious, blood-drinking hussy. And Lawson is a hypocrite . . . with probable hussiness. Now, about our next step—”

  She tsked. “Fine, go ahead and try to lie to me. But I know your thoughts.”

  “My thoughts are the same.”

  “Yes, but there’s more and you know it.”

  “I’m done talking about them. Are you going to help me with the stones? If not, go bother Treble.”

  “Fine. I’ll drop it for now. But I don’t think Azrael would want the other stones. I’ve been picking up information here and there on the stones. Tubron the Purple is known for confusion. He’s a tormented stone. It would not help Azrael to be confused. Clarness the Yellow is clarity and empathy. Azrael might want clarity, but he wouldn’t want empathy, which would weaken him against you. The only one that might help him is Vanote the Orange. Which is protection and healing.”

  “So, Azreal might want the green and orange stones. But probably not the yellow or purple unless he’s trying to gather all of them.”

  “I think so.”

  “Do I want yellow and purple?”

  “Yes. I had a thought. Azrael is strong, but he’s not very well-rounded. Like, he only thinks about death and how to dominate. He feeds off those weaker than him. But compassion and empathy are never weaker. They’re just different. Azrael doesn’t understand that. I think that might be his downfall.”

  I thought about it for a moment. I didn’t see how a compassion stone would save me from Azrael, let alone his sinister smoke snakes. If I had the stone, would I just give him a hug and tell him he didn’t need to fear me?

  Probably a bad idea.

  “Look,” she said, pointing to the building. “I think he’s coming out.”

  “You better hide.”

  Wiltone disappeared just as Nitlof shut the metal door and locked it. He then straightened and adjusted his wig.

  I swallowed a bubble of laughter.

  As he walked toward me, I tried not to notice that his wig wasn’t quite in place.

  “I’m off to get refreshments,” he said. “What do you desire?”

  God was going to serve me?

  “I could go for a cheeseburger,” I said.

  “A chezebooger?” he asked.

  “A cheeseburger. You know, a hamburger with cheese on it?”

  “Hambooger?”

  He obviously didn’t know about Earth food.

  “Where are you from originally?” I asked.

  “Heaven, of course.”

  “How come you don’t know about cheeseburgers? I thought God was all-knowing.”

  He opened his mouth and then closed it. “I haven’t been on Earth for thousands of years. You must have different food now. How about wine and fish?”

  “I’m not the legal age to drink yet,” I said, wondering what his reaction would be.

  “Legal age? To drink?”

  “You have to be twenty-one to drink alcohol. At least in the United States.”

  “United States?”

  “Of America.”

  “America?”

  He scratched his head, making his wig shift. “A lot has changed. I guess I must make another visit there soon. Tell me, do they still believe in God?”

  “Some do. Some don’t. Some pray to the devil instead.”

  “Heretics! I must go soon.”

  “No time like the present. Maybe you could bring me a cheeseburger on your way back.”

  “I . . . I’ll see what I can do.”

  “You’re God. You can do anything.”

  “Yes . . . yes, of course. I’m God. I can do anything.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or himself.

  “I’ll go now. Make yourself comfortable until my return.”

  “Okay.”

  “The house and building are off-limits.”

  He really needed to learn about human tendencies. Telling me not to do something guarantees I’ll do it.

  He gave me one last glance before hurrying off in the direction of the gate. I gave him a few minutes before I stood from the chair and walked to the building. I glanced toward the gate to make sure he hadn’t changed his mind before I grabbed the handle and tried to open the door. It didn’t budge.

  “Treble, can you get inside and open it?” I asked.

  A blue puff of smoke withdrew from my body.

  “It’s disturbing when you do that,” I said.

  “Nasty place. Nasty!”

  He was forever thinking everything was nasty.

  “If you unlock the door, we can get out of here sooner.”

  He didn’t look enthused, but that was normal.

  I sighed. “What will it take for you to unlock the door?”

  He grumbled for a moment and then stroked his long beard. “Happy juice.”

  “I’m never going back to Charlie’s,” I said. “Did you forget what happened the last two times we were there?”

  He grumbled again.

  “Treble, we can’t trust anyone there. Lawson was right about that.”

  It was sad to think Vance had assisted with my first downfall there. And Lawson was responsible for the second.

  “Please,” I said.

  With another grumble, he swept under the door and unlocked it. Normally he’d put up much more of a fuss. Either I was wearing on him, or he knew he only had one option unless he wanted to be stuck here.

  When the lock clicked, I opened the door and peered inside. It was dark, as I expected.

  “Can anyone see a light switch?” I asked as I felt along the wall for one.

  Treble cast a blue hue, but the building was too vast to make his light effective.

  “I can’t see anything,” Wiltone said.

  A wisp of air chilled the back of my neck. I touched my neck to stall a series of shivers and continued looking for a light switch.

  “Treble, I know you can make the light brighter,” I said.

  With a flick of his hand, several orbs of light appeared and floated up to the tall ceiling.

  I scanned the large space that was crowded with dusty old machinery. Judging by the creaks and groans coming from the gears, it needed either maintenance or the scrap yard.

  “What do you think this equipment is for?” Wiltone asked.

  “I have no idea. And I don’t know why he was so adamant not to show me.”

  I wove deeper through the machinery and arrived at a console of some sort. It had a panel of knobs and switches, blinking red lights, and a black-and-white monitor that showed nothing but static.

  “This place gets more bizarre by the minute,” I said. “I think we should go back to the dead zone.”

  While I didn’t want to give up on the green stone, I did not like fake heaven with its groaning gizmos and crazy pseudo-Jesus at the helm.

  “Maybe there’s a way to break whatever charms Nitlof put in place so Lucifer can come here himself,” I said.

  Wiltone frowned. “If Nitlof knew any sort of wizardry or charms, this place would run a lot better.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, first off, he’d be able to build an actual house, instead of just placing a prop on the hill. And secondly, he wouldn’t
need machinery. He’d be able to do everything through charms and spells.”

  “So there aren’t any charms here?” I said. “Why can’t I shift?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe he can only do a few simple charms. But if they were so simple, Lucifer would have no problem gaining entry here.”

  My stomach soured. Did Lucifer set me up again? Or was there something else going on here?

  “Let’s just finish our sweep of the building and then leave,” I said.

  Wiltone and I each took a section and began searching, while Treble muddled along, grumbling to himself about nasty God, nasty Lucifer, and nasty cherubs.

  I stopped at that.

  Cherubs?

  Was he talking about the ones outside? I scanned the ceiling to see if there were any cherubs up there. I really hoped there wouldn’t be. This place was unnerving enough without them peering down from overhead.

  In the corner, just beyond the glow of the orb, I saw a pair of eyes shining in the shadows. Something was definitely up there.

  “Guys,” I said, trying to suppress panic, “there’s something in here with us.”

  “What is it?” Wiltone asked.

  I pointed to the spot to find the eyes were no longer there.

  “It’s gone.” I scanned around the area. There were too many blind spots with the machinery. It could be anywhere.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said, inching my way toward the exit while they followed.

  Before we could escape, something dropped in front of us, making Wiltone squeal. I would’ve probably made the same high-pitched noise, however, fear made all body functions come to a halt. Paralyzed, I stared ahead of me at the towering beast.

  Its talons were the size of my arm. Sharp fangs protruded from all four wolf-shaped heads. Its fur was matted with dried blood.

  The beast crouched on all four muscular legs and roared.

  11

  As the beast roared, Treble spiraled into a vortex of smoke. He rushed toward the monster. But with each attack, the beast deflected with just a swat of his tail or a nip of his fangs.

  After several attempts to run off the beast, Treble retreated.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “I have never encountered a life-form like this,” he said. He took a peek at his arm. Even though Treble took the form of blue smoke, I could tell the monster somehow had hurt him.

  “Are you injured?” I asked.

  “This beast is from Life.”

  “It’s one of the stones?” I asked.

  “Can we have this conversation later?” Wiltone pointed at the creature, which was drawing closer, his talons scratching against the concrete floors.

  He blocked the way to our exit.

  “Did anyone see a back door?” I asked.

  They both shook their heads.

  “Let’s withdraw and see if we can get around him,” I said.

  We scurried back through the maze of machinery. The beast followed. His body was too large to squeeze through some of the machinery, so he just plowed through.

  The machinery snapped and popped as electricity wires broke free.

  We came to a halt. Whatever exit we might have once had was now destroyed in a sea of twisted metal that littered the ground. We were trapped.

  “Options? Suggestions?” I called out.

  “If this is a life stone, you must touch him,” Treble said.

  “Touch him?” I barked.

  “You must bond with him,” he said.

  I glanced at the four heads that all looked really pissed off. “He won’t let me close enough to touch him, let alone bond with him.”

  “There is no other choice,” Treble said. “You have to bond with it.”

  We cowered behind a tower as the beast struck out with a long forked tongue.

  “If this thing is Cassoon the Green, I can’t bond with it,” I said. “I have to give it to Lucifer.”

  Although why Lucifer would want this thing was beyond me. But maybe a four-headed creature with rage issues was a perfect pet for the devil.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Wiltone said. “We can try to remove the bond from you later.”

  So far there hadn’t been any way to remove my bond with a life stone. Which meant I’d have to break the deal with Lucifer.

  There was nothing I could do about it now. Not when we were cornered and I couldn’t shift to safety.

  All I had to do was touch the monster currently snarling and chomping at our hideout. Its breath gusted past us.

  “I’m going to get my arm bit off,” I said.

  “You’ll be fine,” Wiltone said, clearly lying as she hid behind Treble.

  With a curse, I attempted to suppress the fear that coursed through me. My hands shook, and my legs were no better than rubber. “Treble, can you distract him so I can get to him without him biting off my head?”

  Treble puffed larger, blue smoke swirling. The beast eyed him as Treble floated through a leaning tower. It gave me a split second to hurry out. But only a split second. Because while one head was distracted with Treble, the other three were not.

  There was no way I’d be able to touch the monster without becoming a chew toy.

  Racing through the wrecked machinery, trying to dodge the beast, I clamored around twisted metal structures and jumped over tongues that flicked at my legs.

  And then I saw the exit door. I could escape and regroup.

  Hurrying through the door, I slammed into Nitlof. He clutched a fast-food bag. A gold cardboard crown was perched on his skewed wig.

  “What were you doing in there?” he demanded, righting his wig and cardboard crown.

  A roar filled the air. The building wall burst as the beast rammed through it. Concrete shot all around us.

  Nitlof stared in horror. “You’ve awoken it! You idiot!” He dropped the bag and ran as fast as he could toward the golden gate. His waddling form blew past me as the beast roared again.

  I ran after Nitlof. The sounds of growling and crumbling structure were right behind me. I hazarded a peek back to find columns toppling as the beast pushed through them. The clouds that had been continually floating along the ground began to disappear. The sky that had been blue now looked like melting paint.

  “What the hell is happening?” I yelled to Nitlof, who completely lost his wig. His bald head was a beacon in the changing landscapes.

  “The machine was the only thing keeping this realm stable, you idiot!”

  I watched as darkness consumed the sky. The once-cloud-covered ground now revealed volcanic rock that glowed with fiery veins. Heat I hadn’t felt before was now beginning to burn my feet. The soles of my shoes were melting.

  Nitlof rushed through the gate and disappeared in a flash. And just as I was about to reach the gate, I heard a noise behind me. A whining, whimpering noise.

  I glanced behind me to find the beast. The ground had crumbled beneath its weight. It was stuck in a blazing trap.

  It would burn.

  I didn’t have time to question or ponder options. The monster, while terrifying, was a life stone. I couldn’t let it incinerate.

  I ran toward it, my shoes nearly gone. I bit back tears as my feet blistered.

  The pitiful noise coming from the beast made my stomach roll. He was in pain. No matter how scary he was, I couldn’t leave him.

  As soon as I neared him, I placed my hand on one of his necks. He bellowed and clawed. I dodged a swipe of his talons.

  He cried in pain and fury.

  Just when I didn’t think I could hold on any longer, he shuddered. A brilliant green light emanated from him and, within moments, his body was consumed by it. The light transferred through my hand and into me. I could barely contain the powerful emotions and energy that charged through me. Only the sensation of my feet burning kept me grounded in the present danger.

  Treble’s blue smoke swirled around me as he protected me from the elements as much as he could.

  With
the green stone safely inside of me, I raced to the gate. The ground further crumbled beneath me.

  As soon as I dashed through the gate, I shifted to my pod.

  Even in the safety of my pod, Treble’s blue smoke continued to swirl around, suppressing the monster that raged within me.

  I hadn’t expected anyone to be in my pod, but Vance was in my living room.

  “Where have you been?” Vance barked. “You just took off. Again!”

  Vance was not safe around me. Not in my current unbalanced state.

  “You need to leave,” I said as Treble disappeared. I sensed both Treble and Wiltone inside of me. While Treble repressed Cassoon, Wiltone soothed.

  Peeling off what was left of my shoes, I found my feet were covered in blood. Gross.

  “What happened to you?” Vance asked.

  I attempted to hobble to the bathroom. I needed cold water on my feet. However, now that I wasn’t running for my life, I found the intense pain unbearable. I crumpled to my hands and knees and began to crawl.

  Vance blocked my way.

  “We’re not done with this conversation,” he said.

  However, instead of being a total jerk as I expected, he lifted me and brought me to the bedroom, where he sat me down on the bed. He proceeded to fetch cold washcloths and wrap them around my feet. “What happened to your feet? And why was Treble spinning around you?”

  “Don’t worry about it. The claim has been lifted, so you can go back to chasing girls. Not like the claim stopped you before.”

  Even with Wiltone inside of me trying to soothe Cassoon, I still felt the effect of his jealous rage.

  “What do you mean the claim was lifted?” Vance asked.

  “I’ll tell you about it later. I can’t right now. You need to leave.” Speaking with Vance would only agitate Cassoon further.

  “I’m not leaving until you tell me everything.”

  The more Vance demanded answers, the more the fury grew. At its core was the green stone, making my emotions spiral. Jealousy that Vance could make out with whoever he wanted, while I had too many other things to worry about. Resentful that he could live his life how he wants. Envy that he didn’t have to deal with Azrael or the life stones. At the end of the day, he could go home and sleep and forget this mess. I could not.

  Wiltone appeared before me, though her shape wasn’t solid like it normally was. It was more of a fog. “I’m trying to calm Cassoon, but you’re not making it easy on me,” she said. “You have to focus on controlling your feelings. Cassoon is magnifying your emotions. It feeds on jealousy and envy. If you don’t calm down, I won’t be able to stop him.”