Death has a Daughter (DHAD Series) (20 page)

Alicia teleported me to the front doors of a place I
’d been many times before.  She told me to wait a minute so she could get in and take her seat, then she went inside.  After a few minutes, I pushed open the large, stained glass, wood-framed doors.  All at once, it felt like everyone’s eyes rushed towards me and started placing judgment.  I’d been here before, while in training, but at that time I was just an audience member watching the souls get their sentencing. 

Now
, I was in their shoes, being sentenced in the judgment room.  I started to walk down the aisle and looked to the left side of me to see pews filled with faces that I’d seen all the time in my realm.  Parents of fellow Reapers I’d trained with, my neighbors, and it seemed like my entire training class was here.  They must have told the entire realm while I was in purgatory.  I looked away and glanced to the pews on my right that were filled with unfamiliar faces, that I knew to be Guardians, giving me the evil eye.  The only one I recognized was in the very front. 

Trevor gave a sad smile and
a wave.  I felt my eyes start to water, forcing myself to look away and keep walking forward.  Looking ahead, I saw eight judges.  Four from my realm and four from the Guardian’s realm.  One of them was Alicia and she gave me a polite smile. 

My feet
came up to a small, wooden wall about waist-high that had a swinging door in the center.  This waist-high, wooden wall was what separated the crowd from the court session that was about to begin.  This courtroom was usually used when a soul’s final resting place couldn’t be agreed upon. 

My hand pushed the swinging door open and
I looked to my right and left.  There was an open table and bench on each side.  Which one was I supposed to sit on?  In the trials I used to watch, our side would sit on the left, but what side was I on now? I’d betrayed the Reapers, and I certainly didn’t fit on the Guardians’ side either.

“
Over here,” I heard Dad call, and I walked over to the table on my left.  I hadn’t seen him before, probably because he was in the very first row that was behind the wooden wall. 

“
You sit on this side,” he said again, and I took a seat in front of him and the wall.  The judges, it appeared, weren’t ready to start yet.  I took a deep breath and continued to look around.  Where were the escape routes in case things went really bad?  To my disappointment, the only door was behind the judges’ podiums.  I’d already tried porting when Alicia first left, and several times while walking with no success.  The court either had wards up forbidding it, or that curse was still affecting me.  I started to stand back up in panic, when I felt my father’s hands on my shoulders.

“
You’ll be fine, Cendall.  Everything will be okay in the end….And if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.  Remember that.”  He’d said these words to me many times when I was younger, to calm me, and it seemed to work a little.

“
All rise,” said Herald as he ported into the room.  How did he do that?  He must be able to port in but not out.  At his words, the two judges in the center nodded at one another, and then the Underworld judge stood and everyone went silent.

“
You are brought here, Cendall, on charges of being a traitor to your realm. Do you have anything to say?”  My eyes watered at the word ‘traitor’ and I clenched my jaw so hard that my molars were grinding together.  I took a deep breath to attempt to hold back the tears that began to pool in my eyes.

“
No, I do not,” came out without a glitch, and I sighed in relief as the crowd gasped.  They wouldn’t get the satisfaction of seeing me breakdown.

“
So you admit it then?”

“
Admit to what exactly?”  Herald’s eyes narrowed at my question.  Guess he didn’t like that one.

“
We have those that will testify that they’ve seen you save—instead of retrieve—souls earlier this day.”

“
Oh that…yeah, I did that, but I want to include there was no justification in us being there in the first place.  We were out of training and none of those souls were on our scrolls.”

“
That is not relevant to this matter.”

“
How is it not relevant if it is why I am here?  If we were never brought there, I wouldn’t be here, so it
is
relevant.”

“
Is that so?  Answer me this, Cendall…Where is your scroll?” the head U judge asked. Oh man.  I’d heard stories of his ruthlessness. Everyone belonged in hell by that man’s standards.  The deep wrinkles on his forehead told me his face was stuck permanently in a frown.

“
I do not know,” I lied.

“
Lies!  Every true Reaper always has their scroll on them!”

“
Nope,” I lied again.

“
No, I think you found out about your arrangement that you were supposed to make on your 18
th
birthday, so you turned your back on our realm because you didn’t want to go through with it.  You were so mad that you thought you could get back at us by trying to mess up our system.”

“
That was pretty elaborate.” I laughed.

“
Do you think this is funny?” he screamed.

“
No, I think this is all a joke!  I did not do this to mess up our system.  Hell, I used to live my life by that system, and I continue to do so to this very day.  The arranged mess that you idiots set up for me had nothing to do with my decision made earlier today.  I still believe in our system and what we do; that has never changed.  What has changed, though, is my faith in who is creating the scrolls, which was why I burned mine.  The remaining names on the list didn’t belong there.  I don’t know how I know it, but I just can feel that they didn’t belong, which is why the scroll is no more!”  There—it was the truth.

“
What were the names?  Tell us, and I may believe your story.” He calmed down, expecting me to reveal them to him.

“
I forgot them,” I lied, and his face lit up in fury. This wasn’t going to end well.  But I’d known that from the beginning, hadn’t I?  No matter what was said here, they would never let me continue as a Reaper.  I would be in their prison forever, so why keep my thoughts on their ways to myself?

“
This is over. I’ve heard enough. I’ve made my decision. Does my other council agree?”  He looked to the other judges from my realm. They all nodded.

“
Your decision was made before I even spoke a word,” I said with confidence as I stared up at them.  “It wouldn’t have mattered what I said.  Your track record tells us that you only see things one way.”

“
I’ve heard enough out of you. It is our side’s decision for you to be condemned and imprisoned until we feel you have learned your lesson.”  Once he was done, I heard several cheers from the crowd.  I’m glad everyone was enjoying this.  He sat down and looked over at the Guardians’ judges.  The one in the middle rose, and the crowd again fell silent. This judge, unlike the head judge from my realm, looked like he smiled at least once a year.  Throughout my rant, his expression hadn’t changed, like he was either listening intently or sleeping; I hadn’t decided which yet.

“
Typically, we like to have each realm deal with their own, for we do not live in the underworld so we do not understand your rules or see them in the same light.  This is what we will continue to do with every Reaper that has to be brought to this court.”  So much for hoping that by telling Alicia everything I could possibly have another alternative than my realm’s imprisonment.  I guess he’d been sleeping. The U judges curled their lips in victorious smiles.  “But, as it seems she is not only a Reaper, we will have a judgment in this as well, and we do not condemn her,” the Guardian judge said, and I let out a “Holy shit” as the crowd erupted at this news.  I saw the G judge smile; he had one sick sense of humor, leaving me on a cliff hanger like that. If they didn’t condemn me, though, where the hell would I go?

“
So I’m free to go?” I asked the judge.

“
Not exactly.” He smiled.  “In rulings such as this, where it is a split-decision, you have to be offered a choice.”

“
A choice?” I questioned.

“
Yes, you have two options.  One, go to your realm; they will imprison you and, perhaps, after much torture, will allow you to continue your life with them.  Or, two, you can work with us, and we will provide for you.”  When he said it that way, it sounded like an easy decision; there had to be some catch.

“
How would I work for you?  I’m a Reaper, and surely I wouldn’t become a Guardian?” I said.

“
Oh no, of course not.  We’re not even sure what you are yet, my dear, but we are clear on one thing, and that is that you cannot be condemned.  I cannot reveal the job you will be given, because of obvious reasons,” he said as he glanced to the Reapers’ side.  “But I will tell you that you will not be accepted into the Guardians’ realm.  You will get a lot of criticism from every angle, but at least it’s not imprisonment.”

“
So where would I live then, if I’m not allowed in their realm or yours?” I asked.

“
Earth, of course.”
There
was the catch.

“
So it’s prison, or earth—working for the side I’ve been trained to fight for my whole existence?” I said plainly.

“
Yes, and I need an answer now,” the Guardian judge said.

I took a deep breath and quickly glanced back at my father
. He mouthed ‘earth’ to me.

“
Earth it is then.”  The crowd went crazy at my response.  I could hear ‘traitor’ and ‘how can she possibly be trusted to work for us?’ everywhere.  No one but Father, Dave, and I seemed happy.  The Reapers were mad because I wasn’t going to imprisonment for my actions, and the Guardians were mad because I would be employed by the judges of their realm, which they found outrageous.  Was this really anything new for me, though? I’d never been the most popular kid in class.  The court started to file out, and, soon enough, it was just Father, Dave, Alicia, and I remaining.

My dad came over to me, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek
.  “I’m so sorry, Dad. I...”

“
You don’t have to say anything. I don’t quite understand, but, then, I never fully have.  I have to leave quickly, because they will want to question me next, but that is something I am prepared for.”

“
They won’t condemn you because of me, will they?” I cried.

“
No, they can’t. I’d be lying if I said it’s going to be easy, but I would take anything over you going to our dungeon.  I have one thing to say and then I must go.”  He pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “I love you. Look into where you came from and you will find yourself.”  He let me go and left.  What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“
Cendall,” Dave said with a smile and a deep breath.

“
Dave.”  He pulled me in and gave me a huge bear-hug.

“
I’m going to miss you, and I owe you forever for Chloe. Thank you,” he said and left, leaving Alicia and me there alone.  Chloe must have finally come to while I was in purgatory.

“
So I’m guessing you’re to tell me of my new job?” I asked, and she nodded.

“
Eventually, it will all be okay,” she said with a smile.  “It will be hard at first, but I know our realm will warm up to you.”

“
Hmm...Guardians liking a Reaper? That’s doubtful,” I told her.

“
Yeah, it is, but you’ll change their minds.  Either way, your assignment is similar to what you’ve already been doing,” she said with a smirk.

“
Lacie!” I said with an excited grin.

“
Yes, you will become her protector, like you were already doing, but unfortunately there is a catch.”  Oh shit.  “Well, since that Demon is definitely still after her, we need to up her protection.  She needs someone to be next to her at all times.  Someone she can talk to without her looking like she’s talking to thin air, you see.”

“
Okay…I’m not sure where you’re going with this,” I said, interrupting her to get to the point.

“
Well, you see, Guardians can always be close, but let’s say, for example, a Demon processes her friend’s soul.  Since they are her friend, they’ll be able to be close enough to Lacie that they could one minute be walking next to her and the next stabbing her, before a Guardian would be able to defend her.”

“
Okay, I sort of see where you’re going with this.”

“
Since we don’t legally allow Guardians to reveal themselves to humans, unless it’s an extreme circumstance, we can’t have someone by her side at all times.  Well, I mean, we couldn’t, until now.”  She smiled.

“
Oh no…”

“
Yes, you will be her pretend human cousin who is by her side at all times,” Alicia said, and my mouth dropped.