Reaper Unhinged

His body arched violently, and I was thrown off. The malignant rushed toward me, their mouths open hungrily, but they didn’t attack. I scrambled away, summoning my scythe and breaking into a run. I needed space to connect with the ether.

Come on. Ether, I need you. I need…I came to a stop and squeezed my eyes closed as my scythe pulsed. The energy within it was a palpable force tingling up my arm. Aunt Lara’s remnant was a swirling confusion spiraling up and into the blade, and then there was something else—a dark expanse filled with stardust at the periphery of my consciousness. The ether.

Go.

I willed Aunt Lara.

Go now.

My heart ached as she left me, and then something crashed into me from behind. I hit the ground hard, face scraping dirt and rock. Warm liquid stung my eyes. Blood. I was bleeding. Uriel flipped me onto my back, and his hands went back to my throat.

“You’re not the reaper for this job,” the malignant said. “And this will be a message to you all.”

His eyes glowed, black veins blooming to life beneath them and clawing down his cheeks.

There was only one thing left to do. “I’m sorry,” I choked out.

And then I stabbed him in the side with my obsidian dagger.

Uriel’s grip on me tightened painfully, and then he let go, sliding off me as he tried to get away from the blade sticking out of him.

I yanked the dagger out and shoved him off me. He stayed down, clutching his side as his minions closed in.

“Stop,” he said. “She won’t risk killing him.”

His voice was strained and tight with pain as he swayed on his feet. The thing inside Uri was hurt. It had probably forgotten what that was like. But if he was going to inhabit a corporeal form, it was only fair that he got to experience all the perks.

Time to use this to my advantage. I kicked him in the face before summoning my scythe and raising it, ready to stab.

“What? What are you doing?” The malignant sounded genuinely perplexed. “You’ll kill him.” His eyes widened as it dawned that I might be serious.

“Maybe, but I suspect he’d rather be dead than play host to the likes of you.”

I swung. He screamed. His minions attacked, but they were too late. My scythe buried itself in Uriel’s thigh.

“Time to vacuum you up, fucker.”

The blade glowed and turned crimson. Uriel threw back his head in a silent scream, and then his body sagged and he slumped onto his side, unconscious. I yanked the blade out and turned to face the other malignant.

“Your leader was wrong. I can take you. I can vacuum you up and spit you out somewhere ten times worse than this place. So, tell me, what’s it gonna be?”

They lingered for a moment, but when I took a step toward them they scattered.

I stared at my scythe’s crimson blade and then down at Uriel’s unconscious form.

Fuck this place.

It was time to go home.

Chapter Four

Luckily it was nighttime by the time we got out of Purgatory and back onto the train. People steered clear of the large bleeding man and the woman with the lethal glares – yeah, that was me. I was done with the celestials’ bullshit and lies.

So fucking done with the lot of them.

Uriel could have died back there, and I…I had no idea what had happened in the Edge, but I did know that Cassius hadn’t given me all the information I needed to free the souls.

How the hell did Mal do this job? How did he control the malignant? How did he maintain such a chilled attitude when Purgatory was his domain? His shitty moods and his acerbic tongue when we first met made even more sense now. Fuck, working in Purgatory would sour anyone.

I’d ejected the malignant before we left Purgatory because there was no way I was carrying that fucker around with me, and now my focus was on Uriel.

He was pale from blood loss, but he was healing, thank goodness. Still, he needed Petra’s attentions to speed things up.

The train rocked on the tracks, and I supported Uriel, slipping under his arm to take his weight and hooking my free arm around a pole to keep us upright. The contact felt strangely intimate and yet perfectly natural, and it hit me again how close I’d been to losing him.

I’d known him for as long as I’d known the guys, but we’d only had a handful of moments together, and yet the thought of losing him had panic blooming in my stomach. There was something pure and good and compelling about Uriel. He soothed my soul. And it wasn’t just his aura that was addictive.

“Fee? Are you all right?” he asked.

Was I all right? Fucking hell. He was the one that had been hurt. I’d hurt him. “I’m sorry.” I looked up, and my nose brushed his jaw.

“You saved me,” he said. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“I stabbed you. Twice.”

His chuckle ended in a cough. “Worth it.”

I couldn’t help but smile. His attention dropped to my mouth before flicking away quickly. There was something in that gaze, something new, and it made my pulse pick up.

I covered my fluster by clearing my throat. “Let’s hope someone hasn’t called the police.”

“In this part of Necro? Unlikely.”

I’d forgotten how well he knew the city, and how much he loved parts of it, but there was no forgetting the fact that he’d been possessed.

“Uriel, we need to figure out why the malignant was able to possess you.”

He gripped me tighter and rested his chin on my head. “I know. I know.”

Cassius, buddy, I’m going to be paying you a visit. Soon.

Grayson picked us up at the station, bringing the van and Petra with him. Thank goodness for the mobile phone Dean had picked up for me a day ago. By the time we got back to the house, Uriel was unconscious, and Dean and Bastian had to carry him into the house. Keon stepped out of the lift with Cora as Grayson and I entered the lobby.

“What happened?” Cora asked.

I flopped down on the sofa. “So much shit.” I filled them in on the trip, the archive, and how I’d been ejected without knowing how.

“Poor Uriel,” Cora said. “He hasn’t had the best luck, has he?”

“But he lives,” Keon said. “Thanks to your quick thinking.”

Quick thinking that involved stabbing him with my scythe.

“I guess not just any Dominus can navigate Purgatory freely,” Cora said with a grimace.

“The scythe chooses its wielder, and each scythe comes with a domain,” Keon said.

“Malachi was chosen specifically for his resilience to that accursed place. However, you were able to siphon a malignant, even though it isn’t your calling. That takes great force of will. The fact the malignant inside Uriel didn’t kill you means the celestial was fighting it, which also takes immense force of will.”

There was respect in Keon’s eyes as he looked down on the celestial. “The mander root the shaman is using will speed up his healing. He will be back to normal in the morning.”

Petra tutted. “And what do you know of herbs, boy?”

Keon blinked at her. “I could teach you a thing or two, old lady.” He smirked. “If you ask nicely, I may even bring you some medicinal roots from the Underealm.”

She sucked in her cheeks. “Could you now? In that case, maybe I’ll brew you some sincture tea.” She shrugged. “To be nice, of course.”

Keon looked confused.

It was Petra’s turn to smirk. “A little concoction that will mask your true appearance to the human eye, at least for a few hours.”

Keon’s eyes narrowed to slits, and I wasn’t sure if he was offended or considering her offer.

“There’s nothing wrong with his appearance.”

Cora stared at me.

Wait, had I said that?

Now everyone was looking at me. I cleared my throat. “He’s a daemon. That’s what daemons look like.”

God, what was wrong with me? He didn’t need me to stand up for him, especially not in this situation where it was obvious Petra was trying to do something nice for him.

My brain was obviously fried from my trip to Purgatory. A wasted fucking journey where I’d only been able to save one core and almost got my backup killed. Urgh.

“The tea could come in handy,” Cora said. “Allow Keon to come out with us during the day.”

Keon’s brows shot up. “Yes, I want this tea.”

“It’s a deal then,” Petra said. “I’ll make you some tea, and you bring me roots from the Underealm the next time you go.”

We fell into silence, and my attention went back to Uriel, sleeping peacefully on the sofa. The guys had stripped off his jacket and shirt, and his side was swathed in bandages. Someone had slit his jeans, and Petra had bandaged his thigh wound.

He looked like a designer angel with his mussed dark hair and unwittingly stylish stubble. The knot in my stomach loosened as the last of the adrenaline that had flooded me dispersed.

It could have been so much worse, but, “It shouldn’t have gone down like it did. Uriel shouldn’t have been possessed. The fact he was means that he isn’t full celestial.”

Grayson padded over and handed me and Cora each a mug of coffee. “I have to head out on patrol,” he said. “We got a lead on a vamp nest, and we’ve been staking it out in the hope that the super vamps will attack.”

Yeah, we needed to make sure business as usual didn’t slide. I nodded wearily. “I’ll down this and get changed, then we can go.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss my forehead. “I think you can sit this one out.”

I didn’t even have the energy to argue. “Thanks.”

He left with the pack a few moments later.

“The celestial didn’t know,” Keon said. “He wouldn’t have risked your life by going with you if he thought he could be possessed.”

“I know.”

“So, what now?” Cora asked.

“First thing tomorrow, I pay Cassius a visit.”