Reapers, Inc. - Brigit's Cross (7 page)

With that, John the Reaper turned and exited
the café. Brigit looked at the square black book left on the
counter for her. Slowly, she reached over and slid it before her.
Suddenly, she had so many more questions about everything. She
wondered if the book would answer any of it.

Maggie was already asleep when Brigit
returned to their apartment. Though it was no longer necessary,
Brigit was quiet as she moved through the living room to the
bedroom.

Maggie had finally forced herself to return
to sleeping there the night of the funeral. She had lain on the
sofa for only a few hours before getting up and walking slowly to
the bedroom. Brigit had immediately jumped to her feet and
followed. As Brigit had thought they might, the memories of their
private times together there flooded them as soon as they passed
through the door. She knew, though, that Maggie had gone there to
be enveloped in those memories and to find some comfort in them.
Brigit had followed her so that she too could be enveloped in them
and hopefully comfort her partner as she cried the final tears over
her loss.

As she stood beside their bed, watching
Maggie sleep peacefully, Brigit wondered if Maggie might be
dreaming of her. The serene look on her face gave no indication one
way or the other. Brigit sighed heavily and reached out her hand to
caress Maggie’s cheek. A slight shiver followed the path of her
fingertips on Maggie’s face and Brigit frowned. Maggie’s warmth
under her touch was a reminder that she was no longer warm
herself.

She had thought about everything John
Blackwick had said during her walk home. She knew he was right. The
position he had offered her would provide her the chance to keep
her promise to Maggie. She would be able to watch over her during
the night, to be by her side until that last breath finally came.
The only problem was that Maggie would never know Brigit had kept
her promise until that day came and only God knew when that would
happen.

Silently, Brigit turned and left the bedroom.
She had homework to get to if she was to start her new job with
some sense of preparedness. Maggie had left the lamp next to her
reading chair on. Brigit had noted that Maggie had left it burning
every night since the accident. She wondered if it was Maggie’s
subconscious effort to keep a light on for the lover that was never
coming home, or if it was a reaction to the fear of being alone in
the dark after so many years of having someone by her side.

Brigit set the book John had given her on the
small table by the chair and slowly pulled off her coat. The book
wasn’t very thick. It wouldn’t take her long to get through it, she
was sure. When she was finally comfortable in Maggie’s reading
chair, she picked up the book and opened the cover. Energy emanated
from the pages within and Brigit closed her eyes. She had never
been one to really believe in magic, but she had the instinct that
this book – despite its purpose – was indeed filled with a magic
she would never be able to define. Finally, she opened her eyes
again and steeled herself against the silliness her imagination was
threatening to begin with the thought of magic being real. It was
best to get this over with so she could return to Maggie’s side.
Her eyes skimmed the handwritten title:
The Rules to Reaping
Souls, by: Araxius Herodotus, Reaper
.

Slowly, Brigit turned to the first page.

Rule #1: The Purpose of a Reaper:

The purpose of a Reaper is to collect the
souls of the deceased. Such souls are to be escorted to their
judgments without delay. We are not the judge, merely the messenger
and/or escort. A Reaper is firm and collected and can not be swayed
from the assigned task of assisting the soul to the door to their
fate. A soul’s fate is determined by the events of their lives from
the first moment breath was drawn on the mortal plane. A good life
will be rewarded with the appearance of a door to the Reaper’s left
side. Evil shall be rewarded with the appearance of the door to the
right. Only the Reaper assigned to the task can open these doors.
In the event that the soul refuses to enter and face their fate, it
is the Reaper’s duty to complete their journey by any and all
necessary means. It is required that all Reapers wish the soul
‘eternal peace’ before passing them through the door
.

Brigit read the words carefully, letting them
sink in as she turned to the second page.

Rule #2:A Reaper Shall Not Subscribe to Any
Ideology

As a Reaper, any ideology subscribed to
will not be tolerated. We are messengers for a power greater than
ourselves and we can not allow any one name or tenet to be placed
on that which is beyond our true understanding. All belief systems
must be shed and an open mind must be kept in carrying out the task
assigned to you. In the effort to reduce offence to those souls
still maintaining the belief they had during their mortal days, it
is in the best interest of the firm to not have any belief at all.
No matter the faith the assigned soul claimed to during their
mortal existence, the requirement to wish them ‘eternal peace’ must
be carried out before passing the soul through the door that is
their reward
.

Brigit could see the sense in that rule. It
would be an easy one to follow as she had never really subscribed
to any faith to begin with. She had always agreed that there was a
power out there greater than her self. It was just easier to accept
that notion than all the rules and regulations that no one, in her
opinion, seemed to follow anyway. Finally, she turned to the third
page.

Rule#3:A Reaper Shall Not Pass Their Own

It is in strict accordance to this rule that
a Reaper must abide. Under no circumstances may a Reaper open the
door for one of their own blood or endearment. This includes:
wives, husbands, lovers, children, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, grandparents,
parents or any relative that can be listed on a family tree. A
Reaper unrelated must be assigned the task of passing any relatives
to their reward. In the event that an unrelated Reaper is
unavailable, the task must be put on hold until such a time that it
can be completed by said unrelated Reaper. There will be no
exceptions to this rule – ever.

Brigit reread the rule again as she felt a
spasm of fear begin to roil in her gut. She couldn’t fathom not
being present when Maggie’s time came. Surely there had to be an
exception – a loophole—somewhere. She looked up from the book in
her hands down the hall to the darkness where Maggie was sleeping.
If this particular rule was set in stone, Maggie would definitely
never know that Brigit had kept her promise. A panic began to rise
in Brigit’s gut. She had to find the loophole, no matter what the
consequences of it might be.

Pushing her panic aside, Brigit turned the
page and continued reading.

Traveling to the Reapee

Once you have fully understood your role as a
Reaper, you will be allowed to begin completing your assignments as
they are assigned. Portfolios will be handed out at the beginning
of each work week. Under ideal conditions, the work load will be
evenly dispersed amongst all field agents for completion. Since
Death is a constant force in the mortal plane, there will always be
an assignment to be completed.

The portfolio is the history of the soul that
is to be passed. In it, every second of their mortal existence will
be recorded. Read the portfolio carefully before traveling to the
Reapee. This will expedite the process of passage once you have
arrived at their locale.

To travel to the Reapee, look to see where
they drew last breath. There, you will find them waiting their
fate. From the main office, simply state the location before
stepping outside. On the other side of the door will be the place
you have been assigned to complete your task. Main doorways maybe
used as portals to the next assignment to be completed or to return
to the main office at any given time. Any and all questions
regarding this topic should be directed to your mentor
immediately.

Slowly, she closed the book and returned it
to the table beside the chair. The rules were simple, if not
agreeable. Travel to assignments seemed easy to understand. There
were three more pages to read, but Brigit was done for now. John
would show her the rest of what she needed to know. The third rule
was still echoing in her mind in a voice that she didn’t like.

Silently, she stood and slowly returned to
the bedroom. Maggie was still sleeping peacefully. Carefully,
Brigit lay on the bed and curled herself around Maggie. She could
feel Maggie’s warmth against her body and she focused on it to
quiet the voice that was repeating rule number three over and over
in her mind. Though she was sure it was more out of habit than
actually feeling Brigit’s presence behind her, Maggie sighed deeply
and pushed herself in closer to Brigit. There was no sign of a
shiver that so often ran through Maggie when Brigit touched her. In
fact, the warmth between them seemed to intensify as Brigit
carefully wrapped an arm around Maggie’s waist and held her tight.
Every reason to find the loophole to rule number three was curled
against her and Brigit became determined to find it – no matter
what the cost.

Brigit arrived at 666 ½ Bleecker Street
shortly after sunrise. Maggie had left the apartment early to make
sure she made it to her first day back to work on time. Mama Dee
had tried to persuade Maggie to wait another week; but Maggie had
resisted the notion with the argument that it was only for a week.
Thanksgiving Break was the following week and she would have a few
days to rest up before enduring another month of teaching before
the Christmas Break came around. Brigit had followed her partner
out of the apartment and once they hit the sidewalk, they went
their separate ways for the day.

666 ½ Bleecker Street was a thin door nestled
between 666 and 668 Bleecker Street. As Brigit stood in front of
it, she searched her memory in an effort to see whether it had been
there before her accident. She couldn’t remember seeing it at all.
Yet, Bleecker Street was not a neighborhood that she had really
frequented during her life. Any memory, if it existed, would have
been brief and most likely forgotten.

A small plaque was mounted next to the thin
door. She only had to glance at it briefly to know it read:
Reapers, Inc., Est. 34 A.D
. As she opened the door, she
wondered where the original office had been once upon a time. New
York City was only a couple of centuries old. There were no
buildings on this particular spot in 34 A.D... Surely, this office
was a relocation of the original.

Doors with frosted paned glass lined the hall
behind the main door. Her footsteps echoed off the dark wood
paneled walls as she walked slowly down the wood paneled floor. A
door was opened at the end of the hall and Brigit could see a dim
light burning within the room beyond it. Glancing to the ceiling,
she was amused to see the faces of gargoyles peering down at her as
she passed beneath them. Gargoyles, she knew, were protectors from
evil. It amused her that the offices of the Grim Reaper would be
decorated with such emblems of superstition.

“You’re here,”

Brigit’s attention was pulled from the
grotesque faces lining the ceiling to the opened door before her.
John Blackwick was standing in the doorway, his short frame
blocking the dim light behind him.

“You had your doubts?” Brigit asked as she
continued the short distance to his office.

“Not at all,” John replied. “Come in.”

Brigit entered the office and glanced around.
The room was larger than she had thought it would be. Bookshelves
lined the walls, standing as tall as the ceiling. Black bound books
without titles were crammed into the shelves. To the right of the
room, Brigit took note of the wall of boxes that had been stacked
in front of the bookshelves lining the real wall. John’s desk was
spacious, she imagined, when it was clean. At the moment, it was
covered in hundreds – if not thousands – of portfolios stacked
neatly. A small space was clear, revealing the dark mahogany wood
that supported the work load he had lain out for himself.

“Did you read the guide?” John asked as he
walked around the desk and resumed his seat behind it.

“The bulk of it, yes,” Brigit replied.

“Good. Are you ready to begin, then?” He
asked. He began sorting through a short stack of portfolios before
him.

“No time like the present,” Brigit answered
as John stood again and picked up three of the portfolios that he
had separated from the pile. She watched him stuff them inside his
suit coat pocket and then look at her.

“Take a walk with me,” he instructed.
“Unfortunately, we have no time for proper training. Per the
handbook, you’re supposed to wait until we are sure you understand
your role as a Reaper before being turned loose in the field. Since
we are the only Reapers in the world at this time, you’ll have to
do on-the-job-training I’m afraid. Ask any questions that come to
mind as they come. I’ll do my best to answer them,” he promised as
he walked to the door of his office.

Brigit watched him pause long enough to pull
a long black walking stick from the bronze umbrella holder sitting
against the only bare space on the wall. There were a couple of
others there that looked as if they had seen better days. Brigit
wondered what John could have done with them to beat them up so
badly. A question came to mind as they began walking down the hall
towards the door that had let her in.

“What do you mean we’re the only Reapers in
the world?” she asked.

“They all retired about six months ago. I’ve
been doing this on my own since then. When the Bailey caused your
accident, I saw an opportunity to start re-growing the firm,
especially after I finally received your file. Per your portfolio,
you’re an assistant
extraordinaire
. I have the need for such
a qualification. With your help, I believe we can rebuild the firm
and re-open the other continental offices once we have the
appropriate staff. Shield your eyes,” John instructed gently before
opening the door and allowing Brigit to pass by him. Before she had
time to register what he had told her to do, the intensity of the
light just outside the door blinded her.