Styx & Stoned (The Grim Reality Series Book 2) (19 page)

He sputtered a few indignant
grunts, bristling at my accusation, but didn’t deny it.

“Well, guess what?” I reached
around him and punched the twenty-sixth floor. “They didn’t fall for your crap
this time.”

“So there is someone.” He stamped
his walking stick against the floor. “Tell me who it is.”

“There’s no way in hell I’d tell
you.” I inched toward him, backing him to the door. “Do you want to know why?
Because this morning I had to help capture two demons, one of which thought it
would be a lot of fun to first take a turn inside me, and then my partner’s body.”

His heels hit the door and he
pressed his back against the metal. “So?”

“So.” I leaned in, bringing my nose
a couple of inches from his. “If you want your job back, I suggest you tuck
your tail and go beg Tabris for it.” The elevator hiccupped to a stop and
dinged. “I just hope it’s not too late.”

The doors slid open, causing Charon
to jump aside. Without another word or glance, I marched out of the elevator.
On the outside I might have looked tough, but inside I was praying he’d take my
advice. I wasn’t sure how much more ferrying I could take—or GRS at that point.

I’d barely dropped the bags on the
floor when a knock rapped against my door. Opening it, I found Mara waiting on
the other side. “I couldn’t sleep.” She strode into my room. “I texted Cam but
all he said was he was in a meeting with Tabris.”

“I haven’t talked to Nate, either,”
I said, closing the door.

She paced along the side of the
bed. “I don’t like it. Something is up.”

“Well, Charon just cornered me in
the elevator and he is big time pissed.” I plopped onto the bed and leaned
back, bracing myself with my arms. “You know, he had no intention of staying
retired.”

“Figures.” Mara perched on the
chair next to the bed. “What a douche.”

“Seriously.” Neither of us spoke
for a few seconds. Then I said, “What should we do?”

“I hate to say it, but I think we
should ferry. The more souls we deliver the quicker things can get back to
normal.”

“Yeah, and I’m worried about more
demons showing up.” I sat forward, ignoring the pang of dread weighing in my
gut. “All those souls are like sitting ducks.”

“Agreed.”

We both stood and for the second
time that day I called Hal. When the light expanded and the door slid opened,
his look of surprise was genuine. “Again? So soon?”

“Gotta get it done and right now
nobody seems to need us,” I said.

“You’re going to burn out.” He
closed the doors and peered at me over his silver sunglasses. “Like a
two-wicked candle.”

“I’ll be all right.” I wasn’t so
sure that was true. Each time I stepped onto the physical plane after being at
Styx was like taking a deep cleansing breath, almost as if being in the
netherworld stole a tiny bit of my life each time I was there. I nodded, more
to reassure myself than Hal. “Really, I’m fine.”

He didn’t argue, but I could see he
didn’t agree. I guess his concern should have made me happy, but all it did was
confuse the situation more. A lot of souls depended on me—for the greater good
and all, but deep down I knew I couldn’t continue much longer. And, I had to wonder
about Mara. She liked the physical world—it dampened her demon urges. As I
looked at her now I could see the signs of strain around her eyes. Of course
her strain made her look exotic and sensual, where mine just made me look
tired.

We managed three more runs before
calling it quits. They were quick, with no disruptions. Franklin had the souls
off the ferry in record time, receiving his Ziploc of gold in return. Mara and
I didn’t speak much during our runs. She prowled around the perimeter of the
ferry, watching for anything nefarious, and I stayed on the bridge, keeping us
moving as quickly as possible.

I think both of us had a lot on our
minds. Concern that the board of directors were tired of Charon’s antics and
wouldn’t give him his job back plagued me. If that’s what they decided there
was only one solution that I could see—keeping me on as ferryman. My stomach
clenched at the thought. Well, I wouldn’t do it. It was as simple as that. I
squared my shoulders, my internal dialogue running through my head. They
couldn’t make me—could they?

Not one for small talk, Hal didn’t
say much on our ride back. I knew what he was thinking, his disapproval evident
on his face.

“You’re a worse worrier than my
mother,” I said. He smirked but didn’t reply. When the doors opened, I strode
out. “Thanks.”

“Don’t call me again for at least
six hours,” he said.

I spun but the elevator was already
compressing into a thin line. A growl vibrated from me.

“He’s right.” Mara plopped into the
chair. She pointed at the clock. “It’s only three o’clock. Even though I’m
pretty sure the whole
convince Charon
thing is done, I’m certain they’ll
find something else for us to do.”

“Probably.” My phone dinged in my
purse. I dug into its depths and retrieved it. “It’s Nate.” I frowned at the
screen and then looked at Mara. “We’re supposed to go to Tabris’s office.”

“See, I knew it.” First giving the
base of my bed a solid kick, she stood. “Let’s get this over with.”

That’s exactly how I felt. Let’s
get this over with—all of it. Ferrying, demons, angels, Nyx, and this stupid
convention, which I hadn’t really gotten to enjoy. All of it done so I could go
home.

The silent security guard stood
outside Tabris’s door. When he saw us, he opened it and stepped aside, closing
it behind us. Mara and I pulled to a stop.

“The gangs all here, I see,” Mara
said.

“That’s an understatement.” I
looked at Nate. Though he didn’t seem a hundred-percent, he also didn’t appear
to have had a psychotic episode. “You okay?”

“Fine.” He drew up beside me and
faced the rest of the room. “There’s a lot of debate about a lot of different
things that have been going on.”

“I can imagine.” My gaze tracked
over the room’s occupants. Tabris, the board, Nyx, Cam, Nate, and a very angry
Charon.

“So, what
is
going on?” I
asked no one in particular.

“Please, if everybody could have a
seat, we’ll get started.” Tabris gestured to the chairs.

Nate slipped his hand around my arm
and guided me to the seating section, and then pulled me down beside him on a
loveseat. Even though he released me, my hip and thigh was smashed against his.
He made no move to scoot over, which then made it awkward for me to shift away
from him. Cam and Mara chose the seats next to Nate, and Charon dropped into
the chair opposite me and crossed his arms and legs, obviously still miffed.

“Now,” Tabris began, “as all of you
know we’ve been fighting an uphill battle lately, trying to keep the souls
contained. And—” He nodded, his gaze tracking around the group. “—had been
doing a pretty good job I thought.” Holding out his hand in Charon’s direction,
but not looking at him, Tabris’s voice took on an edge. “However, Charon has
taken issue with our efforts.”

“When you say efforts, you mean
you’ve replaced me, right?” Charon sat forward and jabbed a finger in my direction.
“I asked Lisa but she refused to tell me who it is.”

“Why does it matter?” I asked. “You
said you were retired.”

“Yes, but…” He waved his hand in
the air but didn’t have a comeback.

“But what?” He was flustered and I
had the upper hand. I wasn’t sure what I had the upper hand in, but I was
feeling cornered. “You’re retired but you want them to keep paying you or beg
for you to come back?”

From the look on his face, we could
all see that’s exactly what he’d expected.

“It doesn’t matter what Charon does
or doesn’t want.” Nyx floated forward, her black dress swirling around her legs
in ribbons of smoke, and then settled again into the lower half of her gown.
“We’ve decided to take a different approach.”

“What approach?” Charon asked.

“Yes, what approach?” I echoed.
They sure as hell better have hired somebody else to ferry.

She waved her hand in the air.
“We’ll get to that in a minute. First, why don’t you tell Charon what he wants
to know?”

All eyes snapped in my direction,
but the ones I was most aware of were Nate’s. “What’s she talking about?” His
voice pitched low.

“Crap.” I licked my lips, trying to
moisten them, but all the spit seemed to have dried up with her one
announcement. “I, uhhh.” I looked at Nate. “Mara and I have been ferrying the
dead, trying to keep the spirits from sifting back to the physical plane.”

He screwed up his face. “When were
you doing this?”

“Just about every chance we got.” I
sighed. “We’re exhausted.”

I saw Cam flash Mara a questioning
glance. She nodded and said, “Later.”

“I knew it!” Charon stood, pointing
an accusing finger at me again. “No wonder you didn’t want to tell me who had
taken my place.” He glared at me. “My own flesh and blood, a traitor.”

“Well, to be fair,” I said, “who
isn’t your flesh and blood? You bang everything that holds still long enough.”

“Actually, that’s not entirely
true,” Nyx said.

“Okay, well, maybe not everything,”
I corrected, “but he does sleep with a lot of people.”

“I mean…” Her jaw clenched and
unclenched. “He is not your flesh and blood. At least not like everyone
thinks.”

“You’ve lost me.” I held up both
hands. “Which is not all that difficult to do right now.”

“Call Hal, Lisa.” Tabris said.

“What?” My eyes darted to him. I’d
heard Tabris, but didn’t understand why he wanted me to bring Hal here. He gave
me a single nod. “Okay.” In a weak voice I called, “Hal.”

Instantly his pink light glowed,
elongated, expanded to form the elevator. The door slid open and Hal moved
forward. At the first sight of the crowd, he stopped. His chin tipped down and
his gaze scanned the room over the rim of his sunglasses. “What’s going on?”

“You’re part of this discussion
too,” Nyx said. “You deserve to hear it.”

Charon skirted the chair, stopping
beside his mother. “What does he have to do with all of this?”

“Hush.” She held out her hand and
waved me to her. “Come, Lisa.”

My first instinct was to look at
Nate. Whether for permission, help, or out of fear, I didn’t know. Maybe all
three. Being the center of attention, especially in this group, was almost as
bad as the dreams I had where I was in the middle of the airport, sitting on
the toilet. At least from that nightmare I could wake up. I stood and walked to
Nyx.

“Do you know the story of Thanatos,
Lisa?” she asked.

My eyes cut to Hal. His spine
stiffened but his gaze remained on me. “You mean about Thanatos falling in love
with Katrina and Charon taking his place as the ferryman?”

“Basically, yes.” She faced me.
“The part of the story nobody else knows, including Thanatos, is that when I
took Katrina from him, she was with child.”

Murmurs echoed around the room, but
I couldn’t speak or take my eyes off Hal. Though he didn’t move, not even to
bat an eye lash, I could see the pain in his eyes, as if he’d lost her all over
again.

“What happened?” I finally asked,
still not looking away from him. But I already knew what her answer would be.

“I kept Katrina with me until the
baby was born, and then did what needed to be done.” A sigh heaved from Nyx, as
if she was finally releasing a heavy burden. “I gave the baby to Charon and
told him to find a good family to raise her.”

“Which I did,” he said smugly.

“Yes, you found her a good home,
and you’ve been holding it over my head ever since,” Nyx snapped.

“Her.” Though Hal spoke the single
word quietly, it cut through the room.

“Yes.” His mother looked at him.
For the first time, compassion for her son ghosted across her face. My heart
tightened. Even if she was a supernatural being, she was still a mother, and
that I understood. “A baby girl. Healthy, despite her mother’s condition.”

“You never knew?” I directed my
question at Hal. “Never saw her?”

He sniffed and squared his
shoulders. “No.”

“It had to be done, Thanatos.” His
mother’s voice was almost pleading. “You were not fit to raise a child. Don’t
you remember?”

“I remember I didn’t have a choice
when you took Katrina from me.” His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his
throat. “And now I learn you took more than just her.” His gaze narrowed on
her. “You had no right.”

“I had every right.” The powerful
deity was back and all traces of the guilty parent gone. “Someone had to
release her and it wasn’t going to be you.”

His lips thinned into a straight
line and his gaze leveled on me. It was as if a wall had come down over his
emotions. Not a trace of what he was thinking showed on Hal’s face. “Am I to
understand that Lisa is from my line?”

“Yes.” Nyx’s hand was warm on my
shoulder. “That’s why she has the powers she has and is able to ferry the
souls.”

“Oh, thank God.” My shoulders
sagged with relieve. “No offense, Charon.”

He glared at me.

Nyx smiled but the warmth didn’t
reach her eyes. “Which brings us to the next issue. The board of directors have
decided to keep you on as the ferryman. Or, should I say, ferry person.”

“Wait, what?” I looked from her to
Charon.

“It’s been working out so far.” She
pointed to the elevator. “Hal will continue to transport and you will continue
to ferry.”

Nate stood and marched toward me,
his mouth pulled into a thin line. “She’s already got a job as my partner.”

Nyx waved away his argument. “It’s
a lot easier for you to get a new partner than for us to find a new ferryman.”

“You can’t do this,” Charon said,
his voice raising an octave. “That’s my job.”

“Not anymore.” His mother faced
him. “How many times did you think you could pull this, Charon? You’ve gotten
your way for too long. Whenever anything didn’t go your way you threatened to
tell your brother about his child. Well, now he knows, and you have nothing
left to bargain with.” She indicated the board of directors. “We are all tired
of your antics and tantrums. Lisa has done a wonderful job. It’s the perfect
solution.”