She scooted her chair closer and pulled me into a sideways hug. “You’ll spend Christmas Eve with me. We’ll have trifle and pigs in blankets, and we’ll stay up all night chatting. Anna will be here too. She’s shy, but I told her no more hiding. We’ll have a fab day, and you’ll be here to say goodbye on the twenty-seventh.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and held her tight. “What will happen to the children?”

“Don’t you worry. I have that all arranged,” Aunt Lara said. She pulled back. “I don’t want you to be sad, Fee. I want you to be happy for me. Anna is coming with me. We get to ascend together along with three others.”

She released me, her expression searching.

I needed to do this for her. I needed to let her go. I nodded. “I’ll be here. I’m looking forward to meeting Anna.”

Aunt Lara exhaled in relief, and her face lit up again. She reached for the teapot and topped off our mugs.

“Well, that wasn’t so hard.” She buttered a scone, slathered it with jam, and plopped a dollop of cream on it before passing it to me. “Now, eat up and tell me all about Grayson.”

It was late afternoon by the time we left Aunt Lara’s, and Dayna walked me back to my voralex. The streets here were frostbitten, but the snow was only a thin blanket. It crunched under our boots, satisfyingly loud in the silence. The later afternoon sun painted the world orange and yellow, as if we were looking at it through tinted spectacles. This place where the dead roamed was truly beautiful. There was a serenity and peace about it that touched my soul.

Part of me didn’t want to leave just yet, but I still had to go to the Beyond to check on Uriel. I’d been loath to leave Aunt Lara’s too soon, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible.

I’d already sent Azazel a message not to pick me up. I hadn’t told him about my gift from his mother, though. I wanted to surprise him. Dayna had also sent Sariah, Nox, Freya, and Nix a message to come in so I could reap the souls they’d gathered. I figured if I was making an unscheduled trip to the Beyond, I might as well take a batch of souls with me.

“You’ll need at least an hour with the voralex,” Dayna said. “If you’re not staying the night.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow, and I’ll stay the night then.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about your aunt,” she said. “To be honest, it was a bit of a shock. We aren’t scheduled for an ascension for another six months.”

“I always thought the souls that made it to Deadside were fast-tracked, you know?”

“It’s a common misconception. We do a batch of five every year. The orders for ascensions come from the Beyond, and we’ve had years where no ascension has happened.”

“So, what happens on the day?”

Dayna looked over my shoulder. “The souls go inside your voralex and don’t come back out. I assume the voralex portals them to the Beyond, to ascension.”

Yeah, that sounded all very good, but… “What is ascension? What makes this different from when I take souls to the Beyond in my scythe?”

“From what I’ve surmised, the souls collected by the reapers are recycled and reborn, and the souls sent to Deadside ascend because they’re at the end of their journey. They get to rest, to become one with the divine force.”

“And you believe it?”

Dayna pressed her lips together. “I know this is hard for you because it’s so new, but I’ve been doing this for a long time, even before the humans knew about us. The Beyond has a system, and we reapers are contracted to be the cogs that make sure it works. The only difference now is that humans are aware of our existence and the existence of ghosts.”

We were almost at my house, and I spotted a figure loitering outside the gates.

“Jen?” Dayna called out.

Jen turned to us with a frown. “Hey, Dayna, Fee. Hi.”

“What are you doing out here?” Dayna asked.

“I…” She looked momentarily thrown. “I wanted to stretch my legs, I guess.”

“Are you all right?” Dayna lightly touched her shoulder, but Jen pulled away.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You haven’t been yourself for a couple of days now.”

Jen rubbed her forehead. “I just feel fuzzy. You’re right. I might be coming down with something.”

“Come on.” Dayna slung her arm around Jen’s shoulder. “Let’s pack up your things so you can go home early.” She began to lead her away.

“What about the ascension prep?” Jen asked. “I need to be here for that…”

Dayna looked over her shoulder at me. “Juice up, and I’ll see you at HQ in an hour.”

“Dayna?” Jen said. “I don’t need time off. I don’t want to miss the ascension.”

I pushed open the gates and headed up the path to my voralex, my mind flipping back to ascension, churning with information and more questions based on what Dayna had told me. Maybe Uriel would be able to tell me what happened behind the scenes.

Chapter Twenty-One

Cora

Elijah Blackwood isn’t what I was expecting. He sounded younger on the phone, but the man taking the seat opposite me is probably in his mid-forties, hair silver at the temples, face all harsh inquisitive lines. His eyes are an eerie shade of blue that’s almost green, and his mouth curves up at the corners as if he’s on the verge of smiling. He’s of a lean build and not the usual six-foot height I’m accustomed to with all the reapers and the Loup I’ve been hanging out with, but there’s a charisma about him that’s undeniable.

“I couldn’t find any information on you,” he says.

“Nice to meet you too.” I give him a closed-lipped smile.

Leanna wanders over. “Are you ready to order?” She’s practically eating Elijah up with her eyes.

He doesn’t even look at her. “No.”

“O-kay, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Don’t,” he says. “I won’t be here long.”

Leanna makes a face behind his back as she leaves. One that clearly states she’s revised her opinion and now thinks he’s a cock.

I can’t say I don’t agree. “Are you always this rude?”

He gives me a flat look, as if my question is too inane to deserve a response, and my hackles rise. I take a sip of my hot chocolate to stop the sarcasm from bubbling from my lips. I need this wanker’s help.

So, instead, I give him my sweetest smile. “Did you find out anything about the tulpas?”

“There are no rogue warlocks in Necro City with the power to create the kind of tulpas that you described,” he says. “But I have verified your assertion that such creatures exist.”

“And how did you do that?”

“I have my methods, although, without your tip, I wouldn’t have known to utilize them.” His gaze bores into mine. “Just like I know what you are.”

Gooseflesh breaks out over my skin. “Really? And what am I?”

“You’re one of them. The tulpas that shouldn’t be possible, so why are you hunting them, huh? I don’t like games, Cora, or whatever your name is. It’s a waste of my time, and I don’t like people who waste my time.”

“And yet you’re here, so you obviously don’t think this is a waste of time.”

“I can’t do my job without all the facts, and you didn’t give me all the facts.”

“Maybe I would have if you hadn’t hung up on me so fast my head spun.”

He sits back and tucks in his chin, conceding my point. “Then we’ll start again. Tell me what you know about these tulpas.”

“Order a beverage.”

“Excuse me?”

I sip my drink and shrug. “You heard me.”

His severe expression cracks under the force of a slight smile that hits me in the chest like a physical blow. Damn, that simple smile turned the austere ass into hot smolder dude.

He arches a brow, and I swear he can read my thoughts because he drops the smile and raises his hand, index finger up, to summon Leanna. He doesn’t bother to look over his shoulder at the counter to see if she’s spotted him.

Arrogant much?

She flips him off, taking advantage of the fact that he can’t see her.

I bite back a smile as she finally sashays over.

“How may I help you?” Her tone drips with sarcasm.

This time Elijah turns to look at her. “I apologize if I was rude earlier. May I please have a pot of tea.”

Leanna looks surprised but masks it well. “We have Earl Grey or breakfast tea?”

“Earl Grey, please.” He turns back to me when Leanna leaves. “Now, tell me everything.”

Obviously, I don’t tell him everything, but I tell him enough for him to know that a group of hooded tulpas are after my friend, intent on killing her, and we don’t know why.

“And if the culprit controlling these creatures isn’t a rogue warlock, then I’m back at square one. These fuckers are after my friend, have attacked her three times now, and almost killed her. I need them out of the picture.”

He’s studying me like I’m a specimen under a microscope. “She made you well, didn’t she? With the burning desire to protect her. How can you be sure she’s telling you the truth?”

My ire rises. “I’m not under her control.”

“You’re a tulpa. You’re alive because of her. You’re connected to her.”

“I’m different.”

“Is that what she tells you?” His smile is pitying, and my stomach’s suddenly in knots. “Tell me, Cora, what do you do for yourself? What is your purpose? What is your goal?”

I open my mouth to unleash, and panic grips me because he’s fucking right. Everything I do, everything I am, revolves around Fee. It always has. The only thing that I’ve done that was for me was sing at the tavern a couple of nights a week, but telling him that sounds lame.