Page 5 of Reaper Unhinged
Our hunger is stronger. We are legion.
Legion, my ass. They couldn’t possess us. We could fight them off.
We wish to see, to feel. We wish to taste.
An idea formed in my head. “Do you want to go back into the fucking scythe?” I held up my glowing blade. “Because I will happily vacuum you all up.”
Please don’t test me. If I did that then I wouldn’t be able to free the pure souls. I’d be saddled with these fuckers.
You cannot hold us. You are not him. You are not one with our world.
Dammit. Malachi would have come in useful right now. I swung my scythe again as they moved in.
I caught movement beyond the horde, a shimmer in the air. “Three o’clock.”
“I see it,” Uri said. “You need to go. I’ve got this.”
“Like hell am I leaving you.”
“It’s been a long time since I had a proper battle.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and when I glanced his way, I caught the grin on his face. Anticipation of bloodshed. Anticipation of battle. “I could do with a little exercise. I’ll be fine. Go before the doorway closes.”
He was a celestial. He was a warrior. If he said he could handle it, then I trusted him. The shimmer was shrinking, ready to move, and if it vanished, we might not find it again.
It was now or never.
“Go!” Uriel ordered.
He rushed forward, swords blazing as he cleared a path for me through the malignant. The spirits screamed in anger and rage, but parted to avoid the sting of celestial light, and then I was through.
“Run!” Uriel bellowed.
I sprinted toward the shimmer, focusing solely on it, afraid that it would melt away at any moment. The spot was a disc in the air, three feet off the ground, and it was shrinking.
Shit.
Uriel’s exultant whoop rose up behind me. Damn, he was having fun. Who knew the celestial had a wicked streak.
The disc was less than a meter away now. Time to jump.
The malignant’s pained screams followed me into the Edge.
* * *
I landedon cream tiles in a corridor lined with white doors. The corridor tunneled into the distance until it was nothing but a dot. The doors were unmarked and all looked the same.
This was the Edge?
What was behind the doors?
I took a step and a beam of light shot down out of the ceiling, blocking my way. “Identification required.”
The voice was grating and mechanical, as if it hadn’t been used in a long while.
Um…shit. “Dominus Reaper Seraphina Dawn.”
“I’m sorry. You do not have access to the archives. Press the blue button to leave.”
The wall beside me pulsed, and then a blue button appeared. It flickered, going translucent and then solidifying again.
