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Chapter 122
An unfamiliar smell invaded her senses as Ru tried to remember where she’d been and what she had been doing. The ringing in her ears was almost intolerable, matched only by the pain in her head. The smell of scorched earth was not a familiar one, but she recognized it as she slowly sat up.
Everything came rushing back to her all at once. The portal. The demons. Her father. The Reapers. Her team. Ru turned, bracing herself for what she might see. Behind her, crumpled bodies littered the ground. No one was moving. Ru cried out in anguish, wondering if closing the portal had somehow caused her to kill everyone, including her friends.
As tears poured down her cheeks, she managed to pull herself up off of the ground, digging at the earth with burned palms as she found her footing. She realized someone else was moving, however, and she wiped the tears from her eyes to assess the situation.
At the top of the ravine, across the way, a figure stood. He,
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Reaper's Hollow Chapter 123
Ru heard someone calling her name from a distance, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see who it was. The voice sounded faintly familiar, though she couldn’t place it. It wasn’t Liddy Brown, of that she was sure. How many times had she been startled out of a sound sleep by the sound of her adoptive mother’s voice ricocheting off of her brain? Bedroom lights flipped on, blankets torn off. Or better yet, a slap to the face for some transgression she hadn’t even known she’d been guilty of when she’d gone to bed the night before. Ru settled into the relief that whoever was calling for her, it wasn’t the wretched Liddy Brown. Now, there was shaking, though, and the voice’s persistence intensified, as if the person could annoy her awake. Reluctantly, Ru strained to open her eyes, pushing up with her hands as she did so and making contact with the shaker. Her muscles felt stiff, and as her eyes flickered, she realized the bed she was sleeping in was unbelievably uncomfortabl
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 124
Ru's eyes flew up to meet Cutter's. “What do you mean? The man trying to get through the portal?” He nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t think so either. I mean, not after a few minutes anyway. But who… what was it?” “It was a demon trying to trick you. Demons feel different than Reapers. I’m sure you sensed that.” Ru nodded. Last night had been her first experience with demons, that she had recognized anyway, and she distinctly remembered the sensations coming from the bull and bird-creature being different than the Reapers. “Why was it easier for me to send the demons back to Hell than the Reapers?” “Because the Reapers were ready to fight. Those low-level demons weren’t aware of what was happening. They just saw an opportunity to escape.” “Those were low-level demons?” Ru asked, surprised. Cutter nodded. “The more powerful ones will be more difficult to capture and destroy.” Ru shook her head in disbelief. She hoped she would never come face to
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 125
Accessing Hell from a portal wasn’t quite possible from Nat’s current location, so when his father had summoned him, he’d had to comply through other means. Meeting Azrael, even in another realm, could be both uncomfortable and dangerous, so as Nat waited in what appeared to be an antechamber in a palace he’d never visited before, he paced the floor. The room was poorly lit, with black marble flooring which transitioned to dark stone where it met the walls. There were no windows, and even the ceiling, with its ornate flying buttresses, was ominous. The gloominess matched his mood, and he feared, would fit his father’s disposition as well. Failing at holding Ru off under the circumstances was almost inevitable. He’d been demanding more assistance from other realms for weeks as she grew stronger. It seemed those who commanded the demons felt there was little use in wasting their resources on an elementary school teacher who didn’t even know how to levitate, but they we
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 126
Ru opened her eyes to take in an exquisite sunset full of pinks and oranges beginning to slip beyond the horizon. Though she stood in a desert where the sand was painted in similar tones, there was a light breeze and she didn’t feel hot, nor was the air dry. Off in the distance, she spied an oasis and headed in that direction, her boots seeming to stay on top of the sand perfectly without a cloud of dust following. The oasis consisted of four palm trees that shaded a center area where comfortable wicker chairs with plush white cushions sat at each corner, and a table full of fruit and tropical drinks sat in the center. Her hostess occupied one of the chairs and smiled as she approached. “Ru, how are you?” “I’m okay,” Ru nodded, taking the seat Cinder offered to her “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. How are you?” “Busy,” she replied, though she smiled. “I hope this place is inviting enough for you. I know the heat can get to some people, but I’ve always
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 127
Cutter waited anxiously for Ru to return to her body. As much as he wanted to accompany her when she met with Cinder, he knew he had to start letting her do things on her own, particularly now that she’d proven she was every bit as capable as he’d thought she would be. She was gone for about twenty minutes before she started to stir in his arms. She’d insisted on using the dark room to make the leap even though he was sure she would’ve been able to do it from anywhere, including her bedroom, which would’ve been more comfortable for her. But when she asked him to hold her while she was gone, he hadn’t complained. Cutter illuminated the room with his hand and saw Ru’s eyes fly open. They were wide, as if she was running from something or was shocked to discover she was back. “Are you okay?” he asked, studying her closely. Ru’s face broke into a smile. “I’m okay,” she replied. “But I don’t think your sister likes me anymore.” Tilting his head a bit, he a
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 128
“That is not what the dark room is for!” Rider shouted as Ru and Cutter slipped out into the hallway, their clothes askew and their hair more than a bit mussed. “Sorry, not sorry,” Ru replied with a shrug, though she really was a little embarrassed. What had just happened in there would’ve never been a choice her old self, the one before she found out her true identity, would’ve made, but she wasn’t ashamed of what they’d done. “It isn’t what you think,” Cutter replied, though the smile on his face assured her that he wasn’t complaining. Rider stood across the hallway, his arms crossed. But there was more than a hint of merriment in his blue eyes. “Kids these days,” he mumbled, as if he were decades older than them. “Well, I’m sorry I had to interrupt, but Lyric has some important information. She would like for us to meet her downstairs in the parlor. Once we are all decent.” Without dropping his eyes, he gestured at Ru’s top, and she looked down to see that
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 129
“Good—because having a map that just says map isn’t very useful.” Ivy’s observation was agreed upon quickly by the rest of the group. “Right. I was stumped. So, I looked at the picture more carefully, and I realized the letters were not straight cuts. Some of them were curved where they shouldn’t be. They didn’t look quite the same as they would if they were simply renditions of the letters.” She paused, and no one took the bait this time, so she continued. “They were made of numbers! Each letter is made up of a different set of numbers.” “I don’t see how we are getting closer to solving this,” Cutter said, shaking his head. “You guys! Don’t you see?” Lyric held up a piece of paper showing three pairs of numbers. “The numbers aren’t just numbers! Can’t you see what else they are?” “The phone number we call to get the men with the white jackets to come and take you away?” Rider asked. “Or take us away….” Cutter concurred. “No! They’re c
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 130
Ru's breath caught in her throat at her mother’s words. “So… Dad could be a regular person, if he wanted to?” “Honestly, it wouldn’t even matter what he wanted, Ru, if you cast the spell on him, or any other Reaper for that matter, they would become human.” “And what would happen to their power?” “Well, that was part of the problem before. Your father didn’t want me to cast the spell because, according to what I’ve read, there has to be a willing vessel to absorb the Reaper’s powers. I thought I could do it, that I could take it in, and then destroy it with my Keeper blood. Or possibly banish it while it was free of a body. But your father didn’t want to take the chance.” “You think I can do it because I already have Reaper powers?” Ru asked. “Yes.” The idea made sense. “But… what if it makes me a full Reaper? What if it throws me out of balance?” “I really don’t think that will happen, Ru. I think you are powerful enough to ta
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