bChapter /bb62 /b

It doesn’t take me too long to get the rest bof /bRed Moon’s souls reaped. It was nice being able to bsee /bold faces, and the process was made beasier /bwhen I discovered that showing them their death first and having them understand they were no longer living got them ready to move on. Once I’ve finished there, I decide that for Evelina’s sake, I’ll clear out Tris‘ pack as well. I’m sure there would be souls there that she might like to see or know that they’re in their appropriate ce, instead of wandering the mortal realm in an endless loop. The first few are beasy/b, a couple of older warriors on the border who died in battle, a mother who died in childbirth, a few that died from heartbreak from the loss of their mates and then one piques my interest. Marius Maeb, /ban Alpha’s guardb, /bdied from being beheaded by the Alpha himself. Interesting indeed. I portal to his location, expecting to see the typical looping I’ve been seeing with new souls to be reapedb, /bbut I’m shocked bto /bfind that we’re in what looks to be a cell, and Marius is just kneeling on the floor, dead eyes staring directly forward at me.

b“/bI’m ready.” He bsays/b, making me even more confused.

b“/bYou know you’re dead?” I ask.

b“/bbI /bsure hope so.”

“Alpha Marcus beheaded you. Why?”

His eyes blink, but they show no emotion as he speaks. “Of course he did. I tried to get the children out.”

“What childrenb?/bb” /b

He simply points to the door behind me. They say curiosity killed the cat, but fuck it, I’m curious. I walk through the door, and I swear my heart stops beating for a moment. It’s arge cement room, no windows, but there are multiple doors on every side, each looking like the cell door behind me, and gods, there must be almost a hundred or bso /bkids hereb, /ball small, some are still babies…souls bof /bchildren. They’re all in a loop togetherb, /bsome of the older kids, no more than four or five years old, are trying to hush the even younger ones as they sneak around the room like they’re ready to escape, before they turn back around and do it all over again.

“He killed them in front of bme/bb. /bMade me watch through the door as he gassed them all.” Marius says beside me as he points to the roof where there are pipesb, /bclearly used to deliver gas.

“Why?b” /b

“Because they weren’t her. The one he waited for. The one the witches said wouldeb./bb” /b

“Her? Who? What is even happening hereb?/bb” /b

“I don’t know. bI /bbjust /bremember being told to guard this room. bTo /bwatch them, to bsee /bbif /bany of them showed signs of abnormality from a typical bpup/b. Other guards would bring in infants and newborns, and I would raise them here, watching them…until I couldn’t handle it any longer. I tried to get them outb…/bbI /btried.b” /b

I ce my hand on his shoulder with a gentle nod.

“Are you readyb?/bb” /b

“What about the children?”

“They will bbe /bfineb. /bbI’ll /bbe here with themb, /band they will end bup /bin the waiting room with you soon.” Now that Haiden has remodelled it, calling it the waiting room sounds fitting. It sounds like a nicer bce /bbto /bgo to next. With a final nod from Marius, I swing my scythe and reap his soul. Then I take an impossiblyrge breath…this next part is not going to be easy, and the children do not need to see what their death was like again, nor will they understand what is happening or where they are going next. So I do the next logical thing: I open a portal beside Haiden’s desk, reach out my arm, and pull him through.

“Hey! What the fuck, man?!” He says before he takes a look around the room. “What the fuck?” He says a lot quieter now.

“Something really fucked up bhas /bhappened here in Tris Pack. Alpha Marcus has done this, and we will get to the bottom of it, but for right bnow/bb, /bI need you to go back, tell bLevi /bwhat bhas /bhappened here, and bhave /bhim prepare a nice room for the kids and put them at the top of bthe /blist of souls to sort out. Then go back to your waiting room band /bopen a portal to let me know you’re ready for me to start sending them through to you. Got it?”

“Waiting roomb…/bthat’s got a nice ring to it. bYep/bb, /bgot it, on it, going now.” bHe /bsays goodbye before leaving. I remove my robepletely and opt to turn my scythe into something that looks like a little magic wand with a bright yellow star on the end before bI /bfully enter the room and sit down

Do you blike /bthis story?

342

bADD /bbTO /bLIBRARY

1:01 PM

died by gas inhtion. I spot her walking close to me, and I clear my throat. “Lucy?b” /bI say softly as she stops to look at me from her swift walk

across the room.

“Yesb?/b” She stutters out.

“Hi Lucy, my name is Xavierb…/bYour friend Marius told me to help you get out of here. Would you like that?”

Her face morphs into one of shock and joy as she gasps.

“Yes! Marcy sent you?! Oh yes, please help us!b” /b

“I’m going to help youb. /bSee this?b” /bI wave my wand and add in some little sparkles that float off it for effect. “All I need to do bis /btouch this to your- heart, and you can leave here. Can we do that?”

She walks straight up to me with a big smile.

“Yes, please!”

“Okay, but do you think you could help me tell your friends the same thing? I wouldn’t want anyone getting left behind.”

“I can do that! Yes!” She says in her sweet little voice. Lucy helps introduce me to the kids who can speak, and they’re all ready and willing, just as Haden’s thumbs upes through an open portal, and I give one back before it closes.

“Okay, guys, let’s get you all to that better ce now.”

This work, bGoddess /bof bthe /bbUnderworld /bbby /bbSheridan /bbHartin/bb, /bbis /bban /bbexclusive /bbintellectual /bbproperty /bblegally /bbcontracted /bbwith /bbNovelSnack/b. bAny /bbreproduction/bb, /bbdistribution/bb, /bor bupload /bboutside /bbNovelFlow, /bbAnyStories/bb, /bbNovGo/bb, /band bReadink /bis bunauthorized /bband /bbconstitutes /bbcopyright /bbinfringement/bb. /b

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