The Children of Wisdom Trilogy Page 20

  Penn and I walk together to the common area at the center of heaven. We part ways there. Before he gets too far away, I whisper, “Good luck.”

  He gives a slight nod and walks on ahead. I hope to God this isn’t the last time I’ll see him. If he’s punished for returning to the heavens, it will be my fault. And even though he won’t leave behind a ghost like the human souls who become lost on Earth, I know the knowledge of my failure will always haunt me.

  All the Reapers, me included, gather in the naming room each morning. It’s a large room lined with huge screens that remarkably resemble the newest black LED TVs on Earth on three of the four walls. Names scroll across the screens, and after the one on top is collected and taken home, another appears at the top. This goes on throughout the day.

  We wait anxiously for our assignments, making idle chatter as we do so. I know all the Reapers, and they all know me. But that doesn’t mean we’re close friends, per se. The Reapers are a solitary group, which is part of what attracts me to the Fates. I see how close they are, and I can’t help but want to be a part of that.

  A few of us gather around to chat while we wait for the meeting to begin. Though the conversation veers away from any talk of the surprises, it’s obvious we’re all thinking about it.

  “Yesterday, I had a woman try to reason her way out of coming with me,” Ariel says with a smile. A tall, thin Reaper, she has beautiful blue eyes and jet-black hair.

  “Reason?” I ask.

  “She threw science and statistics at me, giving me things she believed to be facts as reasons for staying behind. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in the heavens, God, or whatever. It was that she didn’t believe it was the right place for her.” She makes a clucking sound and shrugs. “In the end, I had to work late last night because of her delays.” We all shake our heads with her, commiserating.

  “She came with me eventually, but still…”

  I nod, feeling her pain. I’ve been there. The souls who are reluctant to leave Earth can be frustrating.

  We go on swapping stories about our silliest humans and the ones who touched us, delaying thinking about the coming day.

  Even if there isn’t another surprise death, we all know we will have more work to do today than usual. One of our Reapers is on leave. I try not to be too irritated about it, but it really is a terrible time for a vacation. We’re in crisis here, and he’s off gallivanting who knows where. My last vacation was nearly a century ago. I went to Bora Bora and relaxed. It was gorgeous and lush, but it didn’t take long for me to grow lonely—humans can’t see me, and I went alone. I wonder if Nathair is lonely wherever he is. Probably not—most of the other Reapers are loners.

  I take a deep breath and hold it as the head Reaper takes his position in front of us. He walks up onto the platform along the side wall of the long room and clears his throat. We brace ourselves for another surprise death. Typically, he’ll tell us first thing in the morning if an unexpected name has appeared on the list. It’s difficult to see individual cuts on the tapestry with so many millions of threads, so our first indication of a problem tends to be when a surprise name pops up. Once we know who it is, the Weaver has no problem finding the damage.

  “Good morning, fellow Reapers,” Ryker says. His deep voice booms out across the naming room. He has a huge, imposing presence, made even more so by his black-and-white Reaper’s uniform. He’s not someone I’ve ever wanted to question.

  “Here are your day’s assignments.” He pauses and waits for us to receive our lists. As always, they just pop into our minds. It’s like listening to a radio transmission through headphones, except there is no radio or headphones.

  My list is exhaustingly long, but I notice nothing out of the ordinary. I glance at the Reaper next to me, silently searching for any hints at a surprise, but she shrugs her shoulders. Apparently, she didn’t get one either.

  “Thankfully, there have been no surprises today,” Ryker says. “Let’s be grateful for that as we move forward with our day. Good luck.”

  The group mumbles some sort of thanks, and then we separate. No surprises today. That is something to be heartened by as I face my daunting list.

  As a group, we file to the golden gate, and Reaper after Reaper disappears into the mists to pursue his or her first soul of the day. I linger for a moment, watching the others vanish until I am left alone in the mists. I glance to my left, thinking about the black gate and how I’m going to sneak the others into hell to help me save the prisoners. An idea tickles at the back of my mind, but it’s not something I can focus on at the moment. My list demands my attention. Right now, my world exists for Irene Small.

  Irene comes easily. She lived a long and happy life, which is very refreshing for me after the night I had. The rest of my list follows suit. Only a few of the souls resist me, which makes my efficiency outstanding for the day. I even take several names for some others who were having more trouble with their souls. Unfortunately for me, not for them, none of my souls went to the black gate, which is almost unheard of for a day’s work. The one day I want to do some reconnaissance in hell, every last soul goes straight to heaven. I suppose if that’s the worst of my problems, I’m doing all right, but it’s cold comfort.

  By the end of the day, I’ve helped over ten thousand people find their way to their eternal homes. It’s exhausting, but there is nothing more fulfilling for a Reaper.

  For the first time in over a week, I end my day feeling good. Refreshed. But that changes when Ryker summons us to a meeting. The sound of his voice in my head is clearer than if he were broadcasting the message on a radio. “Reapers, please assemble in the naming room at your earliest convenience.” I recognize his tone—it’s not to be ignored—so I rush from the mists to find out what’s happened.

  It’s highly unusual for there to be a meeting at the end of the day, and they are rarely used to announce good news. My stomach twists itself into knots as we file back into the naming room to hear what Ryker has to say.

  He doesn’t speak until we’re all gathered before him. “Thank you for coming back,” he says. “I know you are all anxious for a break. Today was a wonderfully productive day, thanks to the extra efforts of a few Reapers. When we all come together as a group, it’s a beautiful thing,” he booms. But I can tell by his stiff posture and stern expression that he didn’t just bring us here to thank us.

  “But that’s not why I’ve kept you late today. I have some news. Nathair is officially missing.” A collective gasp sucks the air from the naming room as we all try to absorb this unexpected news. Nathair is missing? How can such a thing even be possible?

  I immediately wonder if this is somehow connected to the surprises, and if so, is Nathair the one orchestrating them? I can’t imagine a Reaper purposefully cutting lives short, so I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt… for now. But the questions linger.

  I’m still struggling to comprehend the news when Ryker continues. “We suspected foul play back when he first disappeared over a week ago, but we wanted to confirm he was indeed missing before announcing it to you. I can assure you that those of us in upper-level management are doing everything we can to find him. I even have a few Archangels on the job. Unfortunately, the only thing we know for sure about his sudden departure is that he isn’t on leave. He didn’t take vacation. And he hasn’t reported his whereabouts to anyone in the heavens.”

  He pauses and surveys our faces. I glance around to see what he sees. The expressions around me are filled with anger, confusion, and fear. I must say, I’m leaning toward fear myself, but it’s not just me.

  “Are we in danger?” someone up front shouts out. There’s an edge to her voice that makes me turn back to look at Ryker for reassurance.

  His face is stony and expressionless as he says, “There’s no evidence to point to any of you being in direct danger. Let me repeat that. We do not believe you are in danger. At all. We are not sending you as lambs to the slaughter.”

 
; I clear my throat, but someone else beats me to the punch. It’s a Reaper behind me. Sophia. She came on shortly after I did, so her seniority should help her stay grounded. Still, the fear in her voice is unmistakable when she asks, “How do you know for sure?”

  He pauses a moment before answering, as if searching for an answer that will satisfy us. “I suppose we don’t. But the information we have indicates there’s no reason for the rest of you to be concerned. For now.” The end of his statement makes me wonder. What does he mean for now? Is there more danger ahead? Does he believe the missing Reaper is only the beginning of our problems, and if so, doesn’t that mean the rest of us are in danger? Does the danger stop with us? All signs point to no, that it doesn’t, and it’s more than a little troubling.

  As more and more questions race through my head, I select the one that seems most pressing. “Excuse me, sir. But do you think this is related to the surprise deaths?” I ask, taking care to speak loud enough for him to hear me, but not so loudly that it seems like I’m demanding something. It’s a fine line in such a large group.

  His expression softens when he sees me, and he sighs. “I don’t know, Michaela, but the timing is certainly coincidental. He disappeared right around the time the surprises started popping up. I just don’t have enough evidence to make a conclusive link between the two events.”

  “But you know enough to say we’re not in danger?” a loud, angry voice calls out. “Who’s to say another one of us won’t end up ‘on leave’ by the end of our next workday?” The man is two rows in front of me, and I immediately recognize him. Heth is my Webber. I try very hard to get along with everyone, even Webber, but this guy tests my patience. It’s as if his only source of joy is to antagonize everyone around him. No one is safe from him, not even our boss.

  Ryker stares hard at him, but he doesn’t back down. They share a few silent, tense moments, and I have to remind myself to take a deep breath. This is their battle, not mine. “That’s right. As I’ve already explained, you’re not in danger,” our boss says, as if daring the defiant Reaper to question him further. When he doesn’t, Ryker relaxes his jaw slightly and adds some words of encouragement. “I know this is difficult news to take. Never in the history of our existence has one of us gone missing. Believe me when I say we are doing everything we can to not only get to the bottom of this, but also to keep the rest of you safe. Never forget who is in control around here. Try to take comfort in that.”

  He excuses himself and walks off the small platform. The crowd parts for him as he makes his way to the door. We watch him go in silence, but the moment the door clicks shut behind him, the murmurs turn to rumblings.

  It just doesn’t add up. Nathair is what I’d like to think of as another gray thread. He’s a friend of Heth’s, but he keeps to himself, never openly criticizing others or drawing attention to himself. I always figured they were friends because Nathair lets Heth do whatever he wants, and Heth likes that in a companion. The questions return to my mind. What if someone else got to Nathair, and he’s just going along with them? What if that person is really the cause of the surprises… and Nathair is helping?

  “This is an outrage.” Someone interrupts my thoughts. “How could they knowingly endanger us this way? We’re sitting ducks.” I turn to argue the point, but someone else joins the bandwagon.

  “I’m not going to work again until this is resolved,” a woman says. She’s new, and only finished her training last week.

  “How can you abandon your post so readily?” I ask. “You haven’t even been working with us for that long.”

  She glares at me. “You want to put yourself in danger, go right ahead. I’m not stopping you. But you don’t have authority over me, so excuse me if I don’t care what you think of me.” She pushes past me on her way out.

  I stand there as the rest of the Reapers file out around me, a loud handful of them spouting off phrases like “I won’t stand for this” and “the humans aren’t worth it.” Finally, they’re all gone, and I’m alone in the naming room.

  My stomach is curdling. I want to throw up, but I also want to rage at them. How can they be so selfish? Reapers are made by God to be compassionate, understanding beings. We’re supposed to think of ourselves last. Granted, we’ve never been in any real danger before, but still… I stand there, staring at the closed glass doors as disgust and rage war inside of me. But I don’t have time to dwell on the problem.

  I have a date with the Fates.

  4

  They’re all waiting for me in my room when I get there. I spent the short walk back fuming about the irresponsible Reapers threatening to quit. My inner conflict must be playing out on my face because Galenia, Horatia, and Penn all ask, “What’s wrong?” in unison. Webber is the only one who doesn’t seem to notice my distress.

  “One of the Reapers is missing.”

  “What?” Galenia asks, horrified. “How can that be? What happened?” Her questions are no different from my own, so I just stand there and stare back at her for a moment. Finally, I say, “I don’t know. The head Reaper didn’t have any answers for us. He just assured us that we’re not in any danger.”

  “How can he know that?” Penn asked.

  “He wouldn’t knowingly lie to us, so he must truly believe it. But maybe he’s just in denial. My instincts are telling me this must be related to the surprise deaths. It’s too coincidental.”

  “Do you think the missing Reaper opened the prison?” Penn asked.

  “I…” My mouth hangs open. I don’t want to admit it, and it stings to have it out in the open. “Why would one of our own do that?” My mind races at the possibilities. What would he stand to gain from cutting those humans’ threads short and then trapping them in that place? Still, the two had to be related, right?

  “I don’t know,” Penn answers, clearly frustrated as he paces around the room. “But it makes sense that a soul from the heavens is involved. How else could they access the prison… or the tapestry, for that matter? Do you think there are larger forces at work here?”

  It’s not something I want to consider. If faced with the devil himself, I’m not sure the five of us could win. So I ignore the question entirely.

  “How could one of us do something so horrible? We all know the humans are important. They’re the whole reason we’re here. Without the humans, we have no purpose, no need to exist. I just…” Tears choke the rest of my words away.

  Galenia puts a hand on my shoulder. “I know. You can’t understand how someone among us could do something so evil. I don’t either.” She rubs my back as the tears stream down my face.

  Horatia is the one who breaks the silence. “So what are you going to do, Michaela?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, confused by her question.

  “Are you going to keep working?” She says it as if the choice is truly that black and white, without a million variables muddying it up.

  “Well, of course. If I quit because I’m scared of something happening to me, think of all the human souls that might be left behind to wander the Earth.” I shudder, but I don’t let myself dwell on it. “Do you think the others will really refuse to work? Honestly, I assumed it was a lot of talk, and they’d reconsider after having some time to cool down. I don’t think any of them will actually go through with it, do you?”

  Penn looks at me and wrinkles his chin. “I hope you’re right, Michaela.”

  I shake my head. We have bigger problems at the moment, and I struggle to focus on them. “Well, this is a problem for tomorrow. For now, we have plans to make,” I say, forcing a smile. “Did you learn anything useful from the Keepers, Penn?”

  Penn nods. “I learned everything I could about hell. It’s full of mazes, traps, torture chambers, and things worse than you can imagine. This won’t surprise you, Michaela, but our rescue attempt isn’t going to be fun at all.”

  Webber scoffs, earning glares from everyone in the group, even sweet Galenia. I wonder, not for the first
time, if it’s right for us to force Webber to participate in our plan.

  “It seems like there are a few main areas of hell,” Penn continues, and I nod, familiar with the levels of hell. “Like all the mazes are in one spot, the torture chambers are somewhere else, and so on. Michaela said the prison of souls is on the outer circle, so with a bit of luck, we can get in and out undetected.”

  He looks to me to confirm this hope, but I’m not sure I can, so I just shrug. “Demons constantly patrol the outer circle. If we’re bringing seven human souls with us, we’ll be seen. I can guarantee it.”

  “So how do you propose we do it?”

  “Getting out will be a problem, but I have some thoughts on how we might get in.” I hesitate, not sure what they’ll think of my plan, but I’ve been chewing it over since I walked into the mists this morning. I think it might work.

  “Let’s hear it. If we can get in, maybe we can wing it on the way out,” Penn says, taking a one-step-at-a-time approach. I smile at him, appreciating his newfound humanity. Before his banishment, he was very cautious about following the rules. But now he’s ready to wing it at a moment’s notice, and I love that about him.

  “Since we’re about to be a little shorthanded, no one would think twice about me training new Reapers.” I pause to let that sink in, and then take a look at each of them in turn. “In fact, new Reapers often get tours of heaven and hell, so they can empathize with the souls they help transition. The only thing that would be out of place would be to have more than one trainee with me. However, given the circumstances, I believe I could get the demons to look the other way quite easily.”