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I walked onto the green like a prisoner walking into the jail yard for the first time, lost and wary of the fact not one reaper was visible. My mother flanked me on the right, Julia on my left and Lazarus followed behind. I scanned the growing crowd with my hand resting on the hilt of the knife, waiting for the worst.
Night settled faster than it did in the height of the summer and we weaved our way to the boardwalk and the beach beyond. A ribbon barrier blocked off the beach from the gathering hoard and I glanced at the array of beach blankets and folding chairs littering the lawn in anticipation of the fireworks.
Low tide left a hefty stretch of beach before us and at least three football fields beyond the breaking waves sat the barge. I brought the binoculars to my eyes, scanning the two boats flanking the barge. An empty dinghy was tied to the right side of the barge and I wasn’t able to see the contents below the rim of the boat, especially with the pale grey cover snapped over the aft section.
Another boat sat anchored on the other side within reach of a small ladder. This one carried a small group of men tasked with lighting the display. I lowered the binoculars and turned toward Lazarus. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to save everyone, especially the people on the other side of the barge.” I handed him the binoculars.
He surveyed the sea and lowered the spyglasses, handing them back to me.
“Where are all the reapers?” I asked.
Lazarus turned and scanned the crowd and his mouth formed a frown. “They’re here but they’re all wearing glamours.”
I turned toward the crowd and my jaw dropped. I didn’t know who was who and my gaze shot to Lazarus. “How am I going to take them out if I don’t know whether someone’s a reaper or a person?”
Lazarus dropped his gaze to my hip. “Listen to the knife,” he said.
My heart banged against my chest and my palms broke out in sweat. Full panic mode took over and it was ugly. I sat down on the edge of the boardwalk and leaned over, dropping my head to my knees to stop the rushing roar that filled my head. I squeezed my eyes closed, ignoring both Julia and my mother as they tried to gain my attention.
Breathe.
The word whispered in my ear, the tone familiar and calming. It took me a moment to recognize the voice and I almost laughed. It was mine. My inner voice that always calms me before a game or a karate match and I listened, counting my breaths as I drew them in slowly and exhaled in the same manner.
The world stopped spinning and I turned my face toward my mother. “I’m okay. I just needed a minute,” I said and sat up, scanning the area again. “Let’s go over there, it’s in the shadows and we have the rocks at our backs so no one can sneak up behind us.”
“I don’t think they’ll let us go beyond the tape,” my mother said and I rolled my eyes and hopped to my feet. I walked the length of the walk, with them trailing behind me and when I reached the corner where the rock wall cast a shadow, I jumped down on the sand and turned, putting my hand out to help Julia and my mother follow suit.
Lazarus was next.
I pointed for the three of them to slide by the cone and settle in the corner of an alcove and I stood watch, backing up only when they had disappeared into the shadow.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The sharp words broke the quiet at this end of the beach and I turned, staring at a cop who stood with his arms crossed.
My hand dropped to the hilt of the knife and I offered a smile. “I’m sorry officer, but I think I dropped my iPod on the beach earlier today and I was just looking for it.”
He took a step closer and the knife started its warning vibration.
Something about using a cop as a glamour rubbed me wrong and I straightened my back and gripped the handle of my knife. He reacted by dropping his hand to the butt of his gun. Motion behind him caught my attention and I realized the officer wasn’t the danger, but the dark figure behind him was.
“Duck,” I snarled and actually felt the command escape in a rush of wind. The cop fell to his hands and knees and I launched the knife at the chest of the reaper, the blade pulsed with light and landed true, erasing the glamour and leaving a black cloak flailing in pain. The first note of the band drowned the wail of the reaper and I leapt over the crouching cop, grabbed the handle of the knife and twisted the blade into the reapers bony ribs.
After the dust devil settled, I turned toward the kneeling police officer, sheathing the knife and shrugging. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes kept jumping from the space behind me and back to me and I could see the confusion muddled with terror in his eyes. “What was that?”
I bit my lip, glancing toward the crowd and then looked at the ocean before bringing my gaze back to his. I had made the man duck, I felt the power leap from my chest and bend him to my will. It was a heady feeling and a responsibility I did not want.
“You never saw me or the reaper. Now move along,” I whispered, hoping there was still a little of the unwanted capability left.
Like a good soldier, he blinked and turned away, wandering back toward the crowd.
I stared after him and then backed into the shadows, feeling for the cold rocks and praying no one on this side of the realm or on the other side saw that little display of power.
Unnerved, I sank to the sand and closed my eyes, counting each breath until the thumping in my chest abated. When I opened my eyes, Lazarus knelt before me like a knight bowing to the king.
Utter annoyance braised through me, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. “Don’t do that,” I snapped and stood, walking farther into the shadows until I found my mother and Julia gawking at me with the same awe.
Now I just wanted to burrow in the sand and forget who I was. This little mind trip into the underworld was getting to me more than I thought and I glared toward the crowd, feeling the frustration burning in my chest like a fireball.
Night descended without another encounter and when the last note of the band played, I let the power thrumming in my stomach fill every pore until I tingled all over. I couldn’t do this with Julia and my mother flanking me, so I gave them a nod. “Stay here.”
My gaze traveled to Lazarus and I made a decision based on loyalty. I issued an order, one he had no choice to follow. “For the next hour, you are to stay at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.”
His expression registered shock and then he disappeared with an audible pop.
I glanced back at my mom and shock painted her face but I shrugged. “I’m serious, stay here no matter what,” I said and before I left them at the rock wall, I stepped close to Julia and ran my hand across her cheek and into her hair, pulling her to me.
The kiss turned the burn in my soul to an inferno of determination and I pulled away.
With a nod I turned away from them, willing a cloak of invisibility around them so no human or reaper could see them besides me. I thought of the actual artifact from Harry Potter and wished I had that cloak on hand to keep them safe. Instead, I had to rely on the shadows to keep them out of danger.
My eyesight adjusted to the dark and I saw forms on the barge in the distance and the first spark of fire. I turned toward the crowd and unsheathed the pulsing knife. Pure power radiated through me. “Show yourselves, you cowards.”
My cry to action worked and the glamours wavered, splitting in the light of the first round of fireworks. I was on my home turf and not some random ledge in their realm so when the first reaper charged, I was ready.
“Dust to dust,” I whispered as the first fell. Three more followed and then the legion seemed to get the idea that individual attacks would result in their destruction, so they tried a coordinated attack.
I can’t remember ever moving so fast in any of my belt tests and I’m sure I would have made my Sensei proud, but after the third wave, my arms felt like lead weights and the swirl of sand and death surrounding me made catching my breath next to impossible.
The fireworks display continued and for a moment I wondered if anyone in the crowd could see me doing some weird knife dance in the sand. I started to chuckle at the image I painted in my head and I scanned the legions of reapers that formed a big u-shape surrounding me.
“You can’t stop this, boy.” The sea of black parted and Promethis stepped forward.
“Want to make a bet?” The words sounded labored and tired, but resolute. I reset my form just waiting for the next reaper to step into the ring with me.
“I’ll see that bet and raise you,” Promethis said and waved his bony hand to my right. The legion parted and the cop I coerced earlier stepped forward with my mother and Julia grasped in each hand. He forced them to their knees and pulled out his pistol, placing the barrel on Julia’s temple and waited for further instructions. “See, you aren’t the only one that can control humans.”
A sick sense of loss engulfed me and I stared into Julia’s deep brown eyes. “Don’t you dare,” she whispered when I lowered the knife.
I inhaled the salty, firework-tinged air and looked up at the brightly painted sky before returning my glare to Promethis. I pointed the tip of the knife in the direction of the officer. “It’s not their time.”
The statement hung on the air like the smoke from the fireworks.
“I’ve got the sheet that says otherwise,” Promethis reached under his cloak.
I raised the knife to the sky, willing the heathens on the barge to trigger the explosion, praying the shock of setting it off earlier than they expected would buy me enough time to save my mother and Julia.
The sheer decibels of sound that followed nearly threw me onto the sand, and I stumbled catching myself before I fell, the knife still aimed to the heavens like a beacon. I glanced at the cop. “Drop the gun,” I whispered and the pistol tumbled to the sand at the same moment the energy from the explosion hit the blade.
Pain raced through my arm and I looked at the fiery knife in my grip, grinding my teeth and forcing myself to hold on, to control the power for long enough to harness and bend it to my will.
The line of reapers backed away even as the fireworks finale continued overhead, filling the sky with bright bangs, I lowered the vibrating blade, pointing the tip at Promethis.
“Dust to dust,” I growled and aimed, concentrating on only the reaper hoard around me.
Like the energy that dispatched the tornado, this shot out like a hundred silver lightning bolts, striking the reapers down in one fell swoop and the sand devil that resulted flowed around the four of us in a funnel that nearly reached the lowest firework.
It exploded outward, raining a fine mist of sand over the crowd.
I stood, staring at all the people on their feet clapping and whooping and cheering, then the world spun into blackness.