Styx & Stoned (The Grim Reality Series Book 2) (18 page)

“Wow.” I shook my head. “I never
realized how hard it was for you.”

“Meh.” She waved away my empathy.
“It is what it is.”

“Which is a lot. I have a hard
enough time staying out of the fast food drive-thru. I’d be a maniac if I were
a demon. Make every wrong choice. Choose the easiest path. Only consider my
needs. Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad.” I smiled. “Maybe just once a month
or so.”

“You wouldn’t be a maniac.”
Kneeling, she picked up one of the speared poles. “You’re too good by nature.”
She rose and shoved it into the holder on the mast. “Too perky.”

“Perky?” Never had that been a word
used to describe me. “I think I take offense to that.” I walked to the other
pole and picked it up. “I’m dark and complex.” That was the description my
daughter used about herself. From Mara’s snort, it was obvious she didn’t
agree. I shoved the spear in its holder. “Can I ask a personal question?”

“Of course.”

I turned to her. “How did you
become a demon?”

“Kidnapped.” Her lips pressed into
a thin line and her gaze skated to me. Clearing her throat, she folded her arms
over her chest. “Ironically, by a demon named Mara.” As if remembering that
awful time in her life, her features pinched and then relaxed again. “He’s the
one who tempted Buddha—a real bad guy. He kidnapped five females, locked us in
the bowels of Hell, and turned us into demons.”

“That’s horrible.” I wasn’t sure
how to reply to her startling revelation. “So sorry” sounded lame and didn’t
scratch the surface of how I was feeling. “How long did he keep you there?”

She lowered her arms and absently
shook her head. “I don’t know. A thousand years. Two-thousand. Long enough to
change our way of thinking and believe Mara knew best.” She sneered. “Long
enough not to rebel against him.”

The very idea of what she’d gone
through made my heart clench. Silence stretched between us while I struggled to
wrap my head around everything she’d told me. Now that I’d had the great
displeasure of encountering true demons, the idea of being locked in the worst
part of Hell for a thousand years was comprehensible.

Finally, breaking the silence, I
asked, “What were you before?”

Her emerald gaze lingered on me a
few seconds, the saddest smile I’d ever seen hovering on her lips. “An angel.”

“Wait.” It was my turn to cross my
arms over my chest, a surge of indignation coursing through me. “You were an
angel, were kidnapped, and nobody did anything about it?”

The sad smile turned into an amused
grin. “It’s a long, convoluted story, and maybe someday I’ll tell you all the
gory details. Let me just say that Cam tried.” She shook her head. “Though I
didn’t know it at the time and pretty much hated his guts for an eon, I later
learned he had tried. Now we’re partners.” She gave me a mock expression of
excitement. “Who could believe my luck?”

“I thought you were only
six-thousand years old.” The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on me.

“As a demon. As an angel a lot
longer.”

“I will never complain about
anything ever again.” I harrumphed and walked to the steps leading to the
bridge. “Seriously, I’ve got no problems.” Before climbing, I pinned her with a
stare. “And yes, some night we are going to buy several bottles of wine and you
are going to tell me all about it. We’ll get drunk. We’ll laugh. We’ll cry.” I
waved my hand at her. “You can transform and set something on fire. Whatever we
want, but I need to hear the rest of this story.”

She saluted me. “Aye, aye,
Captain.”

Knowing Mara had once been an
angel, though tragic, did give me a measure of reassurance. Sure, she was a
demon, but she’d been an angel first, and now worked for GRS as a good guy. Not
only did I believe she was more good than bad, I was certain I’d made a friend
for life. She was like a beautiful secret weapon. If we ever got in trouble,
she had a mad demon lurking under the surface that could kick everybody’s ass,
not to mention keep me safe.

The front of the pontoons tapped
the floating barrels, and the walkway slid across the back when we pulled into
the junction. I grabbed a baggie full of gold and held it over my head. “Okay,
Hulk, do your thing.”

He strode to the side of the ferry
and glared up at me. “The name is Franklin, not Hulk.”

A laugh slipped from me before I
could catch it. “Franklin?”

“Yeah, you got a problem with
that?”

Indeed, I did not have a problem
with that if I wanted him to open the cabin doors. “Can I call you Frank?”

His scowl deepened. “No.”

“Frankie?”

“No.”

I cocked my head. “How about
Frankenstein, Frankfurter, or the Frankinator?”

“No.”

“Okay.” I tossed the bag of gold to
him and he caught it in one hand. “Franklin it is.”

He examined the plastic bag,
turning it over in his hand. “What is this?”

“It’s called a Ziploc. Just slide
the white tab across the top to open it.”

He tried it a couple of times,
smiling.

“They’re handy for storing things,
but be sure to keep them away from the river.” I leaned on my elbows and gave
him a sarcastic smile. “I’d hate for any those river monsters or soul-sucking
water demons to get tangled up in it.”

“You got any more of these?” he
asked.

“Loads, Franklin, and if you can
get us in and out of here uber fast, I’ll give you one every time I pay you.”

“You got yourself a deal.” He
shoved the baggie into a leather pouch tied around his waist and got to work.

Mara and I moved to the lower deck.
When the cabin doors opened, the souls spilled onto the gangway. They seemed no
worse for wear, not at all phased by the attack from the lost souls or demons,
which kind of irritated me. I had to remind myself that they were dead and I
wasn’t, so suck it up.

The souls of two couples loitered off
to the side, out of the flow of traffic, but still on the ferry. Their
conversation was animated and I caught snippets of having an acquaintance in
common.

I clapped my hands. “Okay, people,
you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” When they didn’t budge,
continuing to chat obliviously, I walked briskly to the other side of the ferry
and waved my hands at them. “Move along. Make a hole.”

One of the women huffed at me, her
lips pursing, reminding me of a dog’s butt.

“Hey, lady, unless you want a ride
back to the river bank and go to the end of the line—a very long line I might
add, I suggest you disembark…now.”

A guy, who must have been her
husband, wrapped his arm around the woman and herded her off the ferry,
managing to give me a withering glare in the process. When I was certain they
had fully disembarked, I rejoined Mara.

“I’ve noticed a lot of couples die
together. I wonder why.”

“Car accidents, house fires.” She
gave me a serious nod. “You’d be surprised how many sex-related deaths there
are, especially in the geriatric community.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that.” I covered
my ears with my hands. “Because those are the people I’ll have to reap.” She
laughed but didn’t disagree. The cabin door sealed again and the gangway pulled
back. “We’re doing a lot of runs today, Franklin, so be ready.”

He braced his legs against the
floating dock. “I’m always ready.”

“No doubt,” I muttered.

Now that we’d discovered the tricks
of the trade, we were able to do four more, incident free runs before stopping
for the day. I had to hand it to Franklin, he was ready for us each time the
gangway slammed across the back, getting the passengers unloaded in minutes. By
our third delivery, he’d even taken to yelling and clapping at the passengers,
using my lingo. I think the plastic baggies were a big motivation for him.

By the time Hal dropped us off at
my room, we’d put a small dent in the waiting crowd and were exhausted. I
glanced at the clock and groaned. “It’s not even noon.”

“I don’t care,” Mara said. “I’m
going to take a nap.”

“I need a shower.” Lifting my arm,
I sniffed. “I smell like a coconut from my suntan lotion.”

“Oh, that was you? I thought I
smelled coconut on the ferry. And lime.” She smiled. “Now I want a pina
colada.”

“Go take a nap.” I pushed her
toward the door. “We need to stay sober.” When I released her, I blew out a
breath. “No doubt we have a lot more ferrying to do today.”

“Party pooper.” She pulled the door
open. “I’ll text you later.”

“Sounds like a plan. Get some
sleep.”

I closed the door behind her and
pressed my back against the wood. The room was empty and I wondered where Tandy
was—hopefully far from Charon. I’d warned her and at the moment, that’s all I
could do.

No doubt Nate would be calling me
in the near future. Then I remembered his brush with the demon this morning,
actually, not too long ago now that we were back on the physical plane. He
hadn’t looked so good when he’d left the hall—and he’d kissed me. I reminded
myself it had been a stress kiss, or a glad-to-be-alive kiss. Nothing more.

Still, I needed to make sure he was
all right. I dug my phone out of my purse and dialed. The phone rang once and
then went to voice mail. Maybe he was lying down. When the beeper sounded I
said, “Hey Nate, I wanted to check on you and make sure you’re okay. I’m going
to jump in the shower, but call if you need anything. Otherwise we can meet up
later.”

Nothing else came to mind so I
ended the call. Despite our constant bickering and his obvious lack of
confidence in my skills, I cared about Nate. Having a demon inside me had been
awful, but not as invasive as it had been for Nate. Where I’d been able to
resist the demon and push it out, he’d been consumed by it in a matter of
seconds. He fancied himself one of the best reapers, and had the awards to prove
it. Being helpless must have come as quite a blow to his ego, but he was a
survivor, and he’d deal just like the rest of us did.

My shower was quick and sleep was
impossible. After putting on fresh clothes, I decided to go downstairs and
maybe grab a quick bite to eat. I now viewed the breakfast restaurant as my
place, having eaten there three times. I slid into the booth in the corner,
trying to hide from the world, and ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a diet
soda.

When the waitress was gone, I pulled
out my phone. Bronte would be in computer lab and from what she’d told me, the
students worked independently. I dialed her number. If she couldn’t talk she’d
let me know, probably by not answering or hanging up on me.

“Yo.” Her voice sounded on the other
end of the phone, and I suddenly had to blink back tears. It was so good
hearing someone from my normal, boring life. More than anything I wanted to be
home, waiting for
my
monsters to run through the door, dropping coats
and backpacks on their way to raid the refrigerator.

“Yo yourself.” I fought to keep my
voice steady and light. “What are you doing?”

“Broadening my mind. Planning for
my future. You know, the usu.”

Usu was short for usual. I know
this because I’m a cool mom and am well versed in all the current slang. Also
because Bronte corrected me in her annoying mocking tone when I thought it was
a German term, like uber, which I also know how to use now.

“Sounds like fun.”

She snorted. “What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to eat a giant
cheeseburger. You know, the usu.” That actually got a chuckle from her. “But
before hogfacing my lunch I wanted to check on you, see how you’re doing.”

“You mean am I surviving Grandma’s
house?”

“That’s part of it.” Bronte’s
behavior had been sporadic at best over the past few months, talking to
herself, starting easily if I surprised her, cloistering herself in her room.
All of it could be normal teenage behavior, but I wanted to make sure. “So, how
is Grandma?”

“Crazy as ever. She spoils the
boys.” She paused for a second. “When are you coming home?”

There seemed to be a little more to
the question. “Sunday, but sooner if I can finish up here.”

“Good. I miss my bed.”

“I miss my bed, too, and you kids.”
The waitress set my soda and straw on the table. I pulled it toward me. “Well,
I just wanted to check in and make sure there were no problems.”

“Everything is cool here.” I could
hear a man’s voice in the background, probably her teacher. “I’ve got to go.”
She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “We’ve got a substitute today
and he’s being over-the-top vigilant.”

“All right, well, I love you.”

“Love you, too,” she rushed out.
“Bye.”

“Bye.”

The line went dead before I got the
entire short word out. I sighed and dropped my phone back into my purse.
Suddenly I was tired, not physically, but mentally and spiritually. I wanted to
go home. I wanted the spiritual world to be right again. But most of all, I
didn’t want to be the one responsible for getting it back on track.

I ate my burger in relative peace,
and the only interruptions were the waitress refilling my soda and my own
invasive thoughts. Neither Mara nor Nate had called or texted, so I wandered
into the casino after lunch and took up residence at a penny slot machine.

I fed a twenty into a machine and
for the next half hour mindlessly hit the max bet button, winning and then
losing. In the end, I cashed out with six dollars left. My heart wasn’t into
gambling. Those were words I’d never thought I’d hear myself think.

As I wandered through the casino, I
noticed a lot fewer spirits than the previous night. Maybe ferrying had made
enough room for the backflow. Which meant the riverbank would probably be full
again. I wasn’t sure how we’d ever catch up. At this rate Mara and I would have
to ferry around the clock. Five trips had been exhausting and kind of boring.
Besides always having to be on alert and the subtle landscape changes, we were
basically running the same course. Knock on wood, no new creature had attacked
the ferry, but it made for a boring ride.

It was nearly two o’clock and still
no word from anybody. Taking the opportunity to shop for the kids, I wandered
along the Grande Canal, window-shopping. I realized I hadn’t checked my account
to see exactly how much money I actually had. Though I wanted to get the kids
something nice, I didn’t want to go overboard and spend money I didn’t have.

When I pulled up the bank app and
logged onto my account, I nearly dropped my phone. In savings, I had over
three-hundred-thousand dollars. I stared at the amount, not believing what I
was seeing. Sure, Tabris had explained I would be getting paid for ferrying,
but I’d figured with it being so crowded, no new souls had been reaped—or at
least hadn’t gotten past the arch.

No wonder Charon had been pissed. I
scowled at the long-board displayed in the shop window. Greedy bastard. He’d
been collecting gold for centuries and he was throwing a hissy fit because now
he wasn’t getting paid?

“Well tough titty,” I said, before
marching into the store.

By the end of my shopping spree,
I’d bought each of the boys a skateboard and three new video games, my mother
and father some fancy chocolates and a blinking Vegas refrigerator magnet, and
Bronte the coolest pair of women’s motorcycle boots I’d ever seen. They had
skulls embossed on the sides and a chain around the ankle with a skull charm
dangling from it. Even though this smacked of my reaper job, my daughter was
every bit a quasi-Goth girl, and would appreciate these boots. Besides, if she
didn’t, I’d wear them. I also got her a black leather jacket that had a
steampunk feel with its double-breasted buttons at the waist, but wasn’t too
theatrical.

I’d definitely splurged, but
figured my kids deserved to have something nice for once. Wanting to dump my
purchases in the room, I climbed into the elevator. Before the door could
close, Charon slipped in—again.

I grunted with irritation. “What is
it with you and this elevator?”

The doors glided shut and he spun
on me. His glare pushed me back into the corner. “Who is it?”

“Who is who?”

“Who’s ferrying? I know somebody
has taken over.” He took a step toward me. “Who is it?”

Geez, the guy had a real personal
space issue. I tugged my bags up to my chest like a shield. “I don’t know.” His
eyes narrowed on me and I scowled back. “Why do you care? I thought you were
retired.”

“That’s not the point,” he said, as
if I were completely dense.

“Exactly. You being retired isn’t
the point, because you had no intention of staying retired.” I dropped my arms
to my side, the bags crinkling against my legs. “What did you think was going
to happen, Charon? They’d plead and beg you to come back?” I pursed my lips and
gave him an assessing stare. “Let me guess, this isn’t the first time you’ve
pulled this.”