“Busy night?” Kaah looked up from where he was sitting on the couch with Jodi tucked under his arm, both of them still in their jammies and enjoying their morning coffee.

“It was actually, I really could have used some help.” Sibs laughed as he hung up his bag. He had just got home from the office. In the past six months, Kaah had decided to give the kid more responsibilities. They still had to keep it from the UPO, but with some help and a cloaking potion, if by some chance that Sibs needed to bone up, he had a way to appear to be one hundred percent authentic reaper.

“Hey, I only take a night off every so often.” Kaah grinned as he tightened his grip around Jodi’s shoulders. “I haven’t had this type of distraction in many millennia, she is hard to resist.”

“Sorry, Sibs, I’ll make sure I keep the reaper hostage taking to a minimum.” Jodi laughed.

“Don’t you dare, you take what you want, baby girl.”

“Please, don’t call her that in my presence, I want to keep my tacos down.”

“Aww,” Kaah laughed, “feeling unloved?”

“Jay still says no.”

The sound of riotous laughter filled the room as Kaah’s laugh hit full belly laugh status. “Two things Jay loves, the Boneknapper and women, neither of which you have.”

“But, she is amazing.”

“That she is, just not into you like that.”

“Maybe I need to get a Boneknapper?”

Kaah shook his head and said to Jodi, “He has it bad for her.”

“Maybe I could fix you up on a date with one of the girls at the office? Indi is single, and she likes fun guys.” Jodi shrugged.

“You’d do that for me?”

Jodi’s arms shot up in defense. “I’m not promising she will say yes, but I’ll ask her.”

“You’re going to make us double date, aren’t you?” Kaah grinned down at his deliciously, beautiful girlfriend. He couldn’t believe that a woman as smart, sassy, beautiful, and intelligent as Jodi would have fallen in love with a bone head like him. Sometimes destiny has a way of surprising even the reaper.

“Mayybe.” she smirked back.

“Order ahead the whiskey, I’ll be needing a lot.”

 

Rork walked in, the phone to his ear. “Yes, yes I’ll let him know.” He pressed end and flopped down into the sitting chair opposite the couch.

“Trouble?” Kaah asked.

“Where you are concerned it seems to be a constant, only the depth varies.”

“What’s happened?”

“There is a formal investigation being launched into the position of the reaper and whether it needs to be reassigned to a new entity. You have been the reaper for longer than any other in recorded history, the sloppy handling of this debacle has drawn your longevity into question,” Rork said.

“Let them investigate, let them come and talk to me.” Kaah snorted dismissively. “I got it sorted, wasn’t my fault it happened in the first place. One would think they would be kissing my proverbial scythe for fixing it before the human race was served up as a meal.”

“It isn’t so much that,” Rork said slowly.

“Then what?”

“The fact that humans are being made aware of your presence, the fact that Chris Keeper filed a formal complaint about you.”

“That’s a fabricated piece of trash, and he knows it. I didn’t trespass, he invited me in.”

“Did he?” Rork tilted his head. “When the portal came in, you were sitting on the edge like a child in a candy store. He claims you pushed your way into the basement and called him a hijo de puta?”

Kaah snorted. “I’m sure he’s heard worse.”

Rork sighed. “In either way, the formal complaint must be investigated. Putting Jodi, Carol, and Sibs into the spotlight.”

“We have your back, Kaah.” Jodi smiled softly.

“And my front from memory.” Kaah grinned as Jodi playfully smacked his arm. “What? Too much?”

“Yes, way too much.” Sibs nodded.

“Jealousy is a curse.” Kaah’s loved up smile was hard to be angry at. He had finally given in to caring for a human, and no matter how the future played out they had agreed to hold on and jump together. To love each other for as many days as life gave them to share.

“Anyway,” Rork said as he leaned forward to look at Kaah earnestly. “This storm isn’t going to go away, Kaah. For now, you are the reaper, how long you stay, might very well rely on how well your friends can lie for you.” Rork leaned back in the chair, his short legs dangling over the edge. “Carol kept you out of the mainstream with the string of bodies, that seems to have subsided now, with confirmation that Humphrey Taylor was a notorious serial killer.”

 

“Who would have thought that in Auberon’s hunger to find a body quickly, he would have actually chosen that of a wanted killer? Luck was on our side with that one.”

Rork nodded. “Convenient, yes, still tricky to maneuver. Thank goodness Carol knew what she knew and was able to steer the investigation how we needed it to go.”

“Indeed, but I’ll be okay.” Kaah smiled and squeezed Jodi to his side. “I am the reaper, immortal, no bureaucratic red tape is about to take that away from me.”

“You might be immortal, but you are replaceable.”

Kaah harrumphed, “Impossible.”

“I’ll remind you of that when we meet the new portal guardians.”

His eyebrows shot up as if remembering something he had forgotten. “That’s right, when does that happen?”

“Tomorrow, it was lucky for the Keepers, that the UPO felt they had been unfairly treated, and instead of terminating them, they got relocated. For us though? We get new neighbors, and Deadend gets new portal guardians tomorrow.”

“Until then?” Kaah asked.

“It’s business as usual.”

“Awesome.” He stood up, turned, and scooped up Jodi off the couch and over his shoulder. Her laughter bounced around the room as he walked off toward his room.

“I’ll be busy for the rest of the day.”

He placed a sock on the door handle and shut it behind him.

 

“This will wear off eventually, right?” Sibs asked.

Rork shrugged. “The reaper is in love, who knows what will happen next.”

Hope you enjoyed your visit.