5

A Reaper's Duty

XAVIER

It was a frenzy.

The creatures scrambled forward, shoving amongst themselves to be the first to feed, mandibles dripping with sludge. Every splatter slithered back to them, always moving like feral snakes over their disfigured forms.

The Necrofera couldn’t die by normal methods. They were already dead to begin with, husks of the shifters they once were, blackened skeletons and mindless corpses drenched in their rotten souls.

Souls that we, as Reapers, were sworn to set free.

A creature leapt for Alex in a hungry scream. He ducked and arched his scythe upward, cutting through its chest and severing its NecroSeam with a sharp snap!

With the Seam reaped, the creature’s soul was released from its vessel. The sludge evaporated like muck draining off skin, and its corpse fumbled behind us.

A second beast clawed for Alex’s feet. He jumped and ripped into the creature’s back, pulling the stuck beast toward him before flipping it on its back and tore the blade over its heart.

Snap! The demon’s NecroSeam was cut, and with an agonized scream, it shriveled and died, the black tar evaporating.

Alex jerked his gaze to Jaq. Our friend was busy fighting two demons, his chain-scythe whipping round his shoulders in a wide perimeter.

Alex and I knew to leave Jaq be. His choice of weapon was advantageous for distances, but we couldn’t jump into his fights without being tangled in his chain ourselves. That had been a hard lesson during the early years of our training.

Two beasts scurried for Jaq from opposing sides, and he crossed his feet and spun, his chain swirling around his neck in a smooth whistle as his scythe sliced through one demon’s chest.

Snap!

More black ooze tainted the mist.

Jaq spun on his heels and crouched, swinging his blade upward to snag the second beast’s chest. He ripped it free with a hard, grunting jerk then trotted toward us, the beast’s corpse thumping to the dirt behind him—

A yell split our ears. The black-haired local ducked under a gravestone and scuttled away from the demons now preying on him, panicking as he hollered for help. Blast it, they must have thought him the easier kill.

Alex darted for him, and Jaq followed, the viper hurtling his blade at the closest beast preying on the boy. His blade sank into the creature’s side, and he yanked it backward.

Alex slid between it and the boy, dirt puffing behind him as his feet scuffed to a halt. The boy’s cat ears were folded to the nape of his neck in quivering terror.

The demon Jaq had caught shook itself loose and scurried back, healing its wound.

Jaq and Alex touched backs, the remaining three creatures circling.

“Boy,” my brother barked to the cat behind us, not breaking his gaze from the beasts. “Is that your messenger?” Alex pointed a scythe at the white-cheeked raven still screeching overhead.

The boy sounded puzzled, his voice trembling. “Shade? I… I guess he’s mine.”

“Why haven’t you told it to leave?”

“Told it?” he asked skeptically. “I can’t get rid of it half the time! How the Land am I supposed to—”

“Three whistles.”

The boy stopped. “What?”

“Give three whistles. Do it now, they all understand the Commands instinctually.”

“Well, Bloods, if you know all that, then you do it!”

“We can’t do it for you if it’s not our messenger!” Alex hollered, annoyed. “Now will you shut your Bloody mouth and do it already?”

He winced, but soon did as asked. After delivering three short whistles, his screeching raven soared away to safety. The boy stared after it with wide, puzzled eyes.

“If he doesn’t know basic messenger Commands,” I muttered from the psyche, “I’m betting he hasn’t advanced past the wooden scythes in training.”

My window tilted as Alex cocked his head. “I’d say that’s likely.”

I hummed, considering. “Give him one of ours.”

Alex’s gaze flicked upward. “If his master hasn’t granted him one, he isn’t ready.”

“At least offer him some protection.”

“And if he’s as good as Jaq and takes one of our kills?” He laughed. “I don’t think so. We have claim. He probably doesn’t even use close-range blades, he wouldn’t know how to handle them.”

The boy stammered behind us, “u-um… who’re you talking to?”

“Just offer,” I insisted. “Even if he IS on par with Jaq, we’d still be disrespecting our Brother by denying him kill on a harvest.”

“And I should care why?” sighed Alex.

“It’s the principle of the matter.”

“Oh, well then, far be it from me to stain something as sacred as the principle.” He snorted. “Sentimental ass…”

The boy gave an audible swallow. “What the Land are you… C-can you just hurry up and kill the things already?”

Jaq spat venom at the dirt. “No worries, newbie, there’s only three of ‘em left. We’ve hunted more than that hundreds ‘a times, no problem.”

“Oh, Bloods, I’m gonna die…” The boy hugged his knees and gulped down terrified gasps, burring his face in his shaking hands. “Are all Reapers this suicidal?”

My vision narrowed from the psyche, watching the boy through my window. “Death’s Head…” I mumbled curiously. “I don’t think he knows.”

“So it would seem,” Alex said, hefting his shoulders. “That would explain his ignorance, at the least.”

The boy scratched his head vigorously, shouting, “Who are you talking to?!”

The demons were closing in. They seemed fully healed and ready to strike.

My brother flicked his eyes up briefly. “I’ve already killed three, and Jaq’s had his two. Your turn, if you still want a go at them.”

The boy’s voice cracked behind us. “I can’t kill those things!”

“Not you. You’re obviously newly chosen.” Alex jerked his head upward, which was a gesture meant for me. “Well then? Hurry and take your turn.”

I pushed myself toward the window in the black void surrounding me.

Once my head passed through the window, I was brought out to the ‘conscious’ world. Alexander’s scythes weighed down my hands; the warm air touched my skin again and, relieved to feel, I gripped the metal hilts with tight fingers.

A demon scrambled for me. I ducked and sliced its neck with one scythe while my other blade shot into its chest. I tore through its heart with a snap and shoved the corpse aside.

The second beast came next, and I blocked its claws with one scythe and plunged the other into its heart. Snap! Another Seam reaped. The demon’s skeleton clattered to the dirt.

I pivoted to the final creature, frozen where it stood.

The demon glanced at its now dead companions, then swept its glowing eyes at me. I sighed and stepped toward it, my pace lax. This seemed to startle the thing. It gave a bleating squeal that dripped black saliva and scurried away from me.

I put away one scythe and tossed a hand behind me to signal Jaq, and I heard the viper give a heave. His chain-scythe flew into view and the blade hooked deep into the beast’s back.

The demon screamed a shattering howl, like glass against stone, and fought to crawl away like a beetle pinned in place, its legs wiggling uselessly.

I swiveled one of my scythes idly, strolling over as the frantic creature writhed against Jaq’s chain, the thing leaving claw marks in the dirt.

I took a deep breath, knelt, and jammed the long end of my scythe into its spine with a squishing plunge. The thing gave a final shriek as the blade pierced out the other side of its chest, and I twisted the scythe over its heart.

Snap!

It was done. The last rotten soul was released from its expired vessel. I gave a calming sigh and raised the blade to my chest.

“Nira Cleanse these souls of their rotten state.” I bowed my head at the corpses surrounding us. “The Void is but a temporary house for your lost spirits, and with the guidance of the Mother Goddess, may the Great Unknown await you. Mercy befall your fate. Peace and safe passage to your rejuvenation. Mu necros nechshali yettek…”

I finished the prayer and glanced at Jaq, who’d saluted with a fist to his chest as well.

With the danger gone, I reverted my scythe back to its smaller, spherical form, and replaced the ball back on its magnetic holder around my neck, joining the one I’d put away earlier.

I felt Alex wanting to take my place again. He asked to do the honors of removing the corpses. As if I had much choice. The cleanup would have to be conducted by Alexander regardless. I wouldn’t be any help with that, and neither would Jaq.

I allowed Alex to switch with me. As he took control, the touch of warm air vanished. I found myself back in the empty void with only the large window of my brother’s vision to stare at.

Alexander raised a hand to the ruined corpses and skeletons. A birthmark of three black diamonds was displayed under his knuckles, and as my brother exhaled a long sigh, the mark began to gleam. The diamonds changed white and shrank, swirling over his skin, and soon enough, it morphed into a Death mark, looking like two scythes leaned back to back, gleaming white from below his knuckles.

His fingers leaked with black and violet lights, stretching and cradling the scattered pieces of corpses. Like a morbid conductor beholden to his orchestra, my brother weaved his shining hands in the night, the small glints of violet rippling after each solemn stroke and punctuated slash.

One by one, the bones clattered back together, the rotten, decayed puzzles piecing themselves in their proper spaces as though performing a ballet for the Seamstress.

But Alex’s concentration was thrown when the civilian gave a startled gasp behind us.

“N-Necrovoker…!” he stammered, not so much out of fear, but rather of confusion and awe. “You’re a Necrovoker?”

Alex glanced away from his eight boney puppets to give a humble nod. We saw the boy’s cat ears had receded, calmer now that the beasts were dead, but he seemed disgusted by my brother’s new company… and yet couldn’t look away.

Alex hummed. “I take it you don’t see many corpse-raisers up here?”

The boy shook his head.

Alex rolled his neck, and I heard a zipper of small cricks. “Well, I suppose it should come as no surprise. Death is Grim’s element, not Everland’s…”

Mal, Alexander’s raven, fluttered down from the sky to perch over my brother’s shoulder. Jaq’s crow, Bridge, came to perch over the viper’s arm as well, and the white-cheeked raven landed on the new boy’s lanky hair.

While Alex had his new ‘friends’ line up before us, Jaq wrapped his chain around his wrist. “Ya got some guts, ya know,” Jaq muttered to the shaken local. “Could’ve gotten yourself killed, goin’ after ‘em like that without a scythe.”

“Yes, we can all agree that was a terribly stupid thing to do,” Alex said, tapping a finger to his chin in thought. “Now, more importantly, what do we do with a Reaper who isn’t aware he’s one himself? I can’t say I’ve ever come across such a case, but here we are.”

The boy looked skeptical. “I… what? I’m not a—”

“Yes, you are,” Alex contradicted. “Rather, you’re a fellow apprentice.” Alex unzipped his jacket to show the boy our badge that was pinned to the inside pocket. The badge held a silver raven in flight, and within an ebony rectangle read the words ‘Reaper Apprentice’.

Jaq had a similar badge pinned to his belt. Alex gestured to the boy’s raven. “That messenger chose you recently, I take it?”

The boy lifted the raven off his head and instead held it in his arms. “Uh, I mean, I wouldn’t say chose… Shade just started following me a couple years back.”

“A couple years?” We all echoed, though my response wasn’t heard, except by Alexander.

Jaq rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “Bloods, kid, you’re farther behind in your trainin’ than I thought!”

He ducked his head sheepishly. “Look, I’m really not a Reaper.”

“Not yet, true.” Alex’s gaze flicked to the boy’s scratched shoulder, which was crusted with blood. “Regardless… it looks like you need a Healer. Shall we take you to a Clinic?”

The boy gripped his shoulder, looking at the cuts. His expression turned sick, but he swallowed and shook his head. “I’ll get my little sister to heal it at home… She has remedy Hallows, and it’s not that serious.”

“Then let us take you there,” Alex offered. “In case you run into any more… trouble?” He nodded to the clattering bones still standing at Alexander’s command.

The boy shuddered. “S-sure, yeah… uhm, thanks…”

Jaq scrutinized the corpses with a sniff. “So, what do we do with them? If we file a report, Mistress will know we ran into trouble on our first day. She might summon us back if she thinks it’s too dangerous.”

Alex grimaced. “We’ll leave them here. Drop an anonymous tip at a Raider’s station explaining it. They can retrieve the vessels on their own time.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jaq approved.

Alex had the corpses lay themselves neatly behind the tree, and after he dismissed his Hallows, the violet streams of light around the corpses faded. His white Death mark changed into the black diamonds again on his right hand.

He turned to Jaq, who was staring at a grave under the twisted, dehydrated tree.

“Hold up,” our scaled friend’s eyes narrowed at the gravestone. “Isn’t this who we’re lookin’ for?”

Alex crouched before the grave and read aloud, “Sirra-Lynn Abigail Treble.” He laughed and patted the viper’s back. “This is it! Good work, Jaq.”

The local boy seemed nervous to ask. “Why were you looking for that grave?”

“This soul is missing from Grim,” Alex explained.

The boy’s bronze face blanched. “She’s on the surface?”

“Our Mistress sent us here to find her.” Alex twisted to search the cemetery for signs of a wandering specter. “Though… It doesn’t look like her soul is present. Brilliant… I suppose we’ll have to look at her old home next, or perhaps query her next-of-kin.”

“Well, I got nothing,” the boy muttered. “And she’s not at home, either.”

Alex narrowed an eye at him. “Er… I don’t think we were properly introduced. Who are you?”

“Oh, uhm, Octavius Treble.” He waved at the grave unceremoniously. “Sirra-Lynn was my mom.”

Alex scratched his chin with interest, I could hear the rough scrape of his nails against his recently shaven skin. “Her son, eh? Convenient… If she’s not at home, do you know where her ghost may have gone?”

The boy, Octavius, shrugged. “Not really. Oh, but maybe Rochelle’s seen her in Nulani? They were good friends, she used to visit there a lot before she… well…”

Alexander cleared his throat, staying on topic. “And where is Nulani?”

“It’s the next town over, just eastward. It takes hours to get there though, since you have to cross over the wastelands first.”

Alex clasped a hand over Octavius’s shoulder. “You can explain on the way. I think we’d best leave tonight and arrive by morning. I suggest you hurry and pack.”

Octavius blinked. “You want me to come?”

Alex cocked an eyebrow and pulled out his informational pamphlet from his pocket, flapping it in a gesture. “Sir, we are tourists. I don’t know the first damned thing about this surface of yours, and I personally would prefer to avoid any delays caused by our utter ignorance of this terrain. Your mother’s afterlife is at stake—and I will not fail my final assignment because I got lost. We need a guide. And who better to guide us than the son of the very woman we’re tracking?”

Octavius blushed and rubbed his neck. “Oh… yeah, that makes sense, I guess…”

“Besides.” Alex rolled up the pamphlet and stuffed it back in his pocket, exhaling. “We don’t know this ‘Rochelle’ woman or what she looks like. You sound familiar with her, so this task would go far more smoothly if we had someone to point us to her.”

“Oh, right,” he laughed nervously.

“Though,” Alex continued, “you really ought to see to your injuries first. Never leave a fellow soldier unaided, as Mistress often stresses.”

He glanced at the gashes on his shoulder. “It’s really not that bad. It’ll probably leave scars, but right now it just needs some disinfectant.”

“Excellent idea—you can pick that up while you pack.” Alex pushed him forward. “We’ll have to tell your father, also, it’s standard procedure to inform the spouse of such things.”

“U-um, if you can find him, sure, go ahead and tell him… But he hasn’t been home for years.”

Alex stopped and turned to him, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“He… he sort of… left, after Mom died.” His voice fell morose. “My older sister just takes care of everyone now, so…”

Alex gave an awkward cough. “Oh… I see… Khm kmm, we’ll just, er, explain it to your sister, then… Your mother could be in very serious danger. If any demons find her, like these ones here, she won’t have a way to defend herself. Not without an escorting Reaper.”

Octavius scratched his head. “Well, I don’t want her to be eaten…”

“All the more reason to come.”

He pursed his lips, and a hint of excitement flashed when he glanced past the cemetery gates.

“All right,” he announced, “I’ll come. It beats scrubbing tables, anyway. I just need to convince Mikani—”

Alex gave a hard thump on his back, making Octavius lurch forward and his raven flutter in his arms. “We’ll sort it out,” Alex said. “This search will be far smoother if we have Mrs. Trebles’s son with us.”

Octavius hugged his raven tighter and stared at his feet while making his way down the hill in front of us. When he glanced back, I caught his thrilled, disbelieving look, as if he’d been searching for some excuse to leave for years.

“Well, that was a stroke of fortune if I ever saw one.” Alex muttered to me. My window bowed upward when he grinned. “It won’t be long now, Xavier. Once we find this ghost, we should find you. Then, with luck… we can keep our oath.”

I smiled at the reminder. “Born together.”

“Die together,” he finished, voice hardened. “We’ll fix that, soon enough.”