Page 27 of Reaper's Quest

Which, in my opinion, signaled a not-so-great start to our partnership/reaper task team.

Once again, my father’s voice telling me not to trust Chace sounded in my head.

As if I ever would.

I yanked my hand from his hold.

Chace didn’t acknowledge my extraction?his eyesdarted back and forth between the sky and the slight shimmer of the magical barrier?but when I backstepped toward the outer path, he did the same. Together, we withdrew from both the stench and the magic, our retreat aided by the force of the wind. As if it too worked to keep visitors from the cursed place.

If the wall of energy was responsible for creating the flying monsters outside of the citadel, then no way in reaping hell would I cross the bridge and take a chance at becoming such a thing. I didn’t need to ask Chace to know he felt the same way.His gaze hardly unstuck from the creature for more than a flash of a second since it had mutated into existence.

This metamorphosis curtain—or whatever it was called—was probably why so few, if any, reapers assigned to collect from this place had returned. We stood before a reaper’s hell, and the Killian, the reaper for reapers, likely waited nearby, ready to collect the unsuspecting.

I had assumed issues and obstacles were a given, but nothing on this level of insanity.

A collection of flapping creatures circled high in the sky above the citadel, having somehow found their way through the magical barrier. Were there holes high above? Had any of the creatures once been a reaper?

The newly formed monster flew away into the night, on the outside of the barrier, and the wind ceased. The air once more settled, but the situation felt no less treacherous.

I called to Mr. Aldine, “You can’t possibly expect us to somehow walk through that.”

With his mouth covered against the stench of rotten eggs, an apparent byproduct of the transformative magic, hestudied the solid wall of creature-making energy. “We’re not making any rash decisions. We need time to evaluate our options—find a plausible passage.”

I choked back a laugh, one born more out of madness than humor.

Chace grabbed my shoulder, yanked me close, and dipped his mouth to my ear. “I know we haven’t had the most trustworthy relationship, but trust me now when I say that Mr. Aldine isn’t known for making the wisest of choices on the job.”

I stared into Chace’s eyes, fully aware I must have had a crazed expression plastered on my face. “Why? What do you know?”

He shook his head. “Just that he’s lucky not to be working the plant life division or the equivalent of a desk job at this point in his career.”

Chace took a few more steps back the way we’d come, toward the bridge entrance, and I followed.

The plant life division wasn’t even a real reaper position. Those types of jobs were generally handled by low-level guides…if any guide at all.

Or, in some cases?rare ones?reapers stepped down into such positions if their minds became too addled with age. The “job” merely gave them something to do, allowed them to feel necessary, rather than call it what it truly was…a reaper being put to pasture. Was Mr. Aldine’s mind on the decline?

I hadn’t noticed any such signs.

Still, if Chace spoke true, then the assignment of Mr. Aldine to this task waved a larger red flag than I’doriginally thought. A task with Mr. Aldine and two rookie reapers was designed to fail.

“We’ll figure something out,” Mr. Aldine called over his shoulder, as if he sensed our thoughts and meant to quiet any concerns.

He returned his hyper-focused attention to the impassable wall.

I folded my arms across my chest and stared at the back of Mr. Aldine’s head. I required far more than words from an old reaper to quell the anxiety churning in my gut.

The bridge, standing on the bridge, everything about our current situation, left an unwelcome weight upon my shoulders. And thanks to the heavily charged air, my arm hair stood on end. So…yeah…I didn’t want any part of whatever this was.

My feet moved as if on autopilot, taking me farther away from the dangerous energy barrier. I walked backward, holding my attention on Mr. Aldine, the creature trap, and the guard positioned against the citadel’s outer wall.

Could I trust anyone at this point?

Probably not.

Reaping gods. That thought alone left me feeling unbearably isolated.

But with nothing to contribute, waiting and watching the elder reaper contemplate our situation stood as my only option.