Reaper Girl: Episode Twelve
Margery’s head swivels. Her hands wring. Tristan just stares, his mouth doing a neat impression of a bemused goldfish. He’s never seen square clouds in a purple sky before: the fear that something might fall on his head is fighting with the delight of being in place so utterly alien.
“Erm, Albert… while these are certainly gardens, this does not exactly look like the place you described,” Margery says.
Albert knows exactly where they are but is a tad confused as to how they got there. The portal he opened above the ocean was supposed to have taken them directly to Syl, the garden of souls, where they could find Jeremiah’s soul, put it back in him and undo all the damage. Instead it has leapfrogged them through a few other portals and brought them here to Liam and Rihanna’s dimensional bubble. He scratches his head.
“Well I never. Most odd.”
Greta and Margery grumble as they get off their Pegasi and stretch bruised muscles.
“This is not Syl,” says Greta at last, “And no one knows that better than Albert, isn’t that right, Albert?” she throws him one of those looks that are really starting to get up Margery’s nose.
“What does she mean by that, Albert?” asks Margery. Ever since they picked up their new travelling companion she has heard nothing but snide remarks and challenging comments from the old witch and has the distinct impression that both of them know a lot more than they are letting on. She keeps trying to say something on the matter but it’s like something is muddling her mind. She is finding it hard to hold onto a single thought for longer than a few moments.
“What she means,” says Albert through clenched teeth, “is that we’d better go and talk to the two beings who have dominion over this realm and find out just what is going on!”
He kicks his heels into his mount and urges it into a gallop, but the Pegasus stays put. It whinnies softly, and stamps a hoof.
“What’s wrong with you, you silly animal?”
The other two Pegasi also become restless, rearing up and snorting. Tristan’s mount almost bites his hand when he tries to soothe it by stroking its nose.
“I get the feeling that these creatures have taken us as far as they are willing to go, Albert,” says Greta as she scans the surroundings for signs of immediate danger.
“I’d urge you to dismount now, while you still can.”
Albert and Tristan hop off just in time. The Pegasi all stamp the ground hard and let out a keening wail. Something is very wrong with this place and they aren’t too eager to find out what it might be. Whispering a few words into her Pegasus’s ear Greta strokes its neck and tells it to take its siblings and head back to their own realm. In the next instant all three mounts are gone.
Albert looks at her and stalks off down a pathway.
A short while later the group arrive at the entrance to Rihanna and Liam’s house only to find the doors wide open and no sign of life. Albert begins to fear the worst and leads them without hesitation to the doorway between the two staircases. He can hear raised voices. He motions for the others to be quiet and begins a quick incantation, then gestures at the door. The wood splinters under the force and the whole thing blows inwards in a flash of light and debris. Albert dashes inside only to be greeted by the bemused expressions of Erica, Stacey and Liam. The rest of the party crowd in behind him.
“That was a bit extreme, wasn’t it?” says Stacey, brushing off dust and bits of wood.
Everyone starts talking at once, except for Tristan who has just noticed the girl in the black jeans edging back from the fray. He picks up a piece of the door and bangs it against the wall.
“Come on you lot, one at a time, please. Honestly, you’d think you were the reincarnation of the Spanish Inquisition the way you’re carrying on,” he says, winking at Erica.
Erica sighs and slumps in a chair. She’s just spent the better part of an hour trying to convince Stacey and Liam that murdering an angel is not the only way to end this, and now this ginger toe rag thinks he can waltz in through a flashy light show and make it all better with a wink and a smile? Not likely mate! She is just about to tell him this when she notices the other gentleman staring at her in a rather too personal manner.
“Something on your mind?” she says, directing her displeasure at Albert. He shrinks back at her tone.
“I’m sorry,” he stammers and stares at his shoes.
“Never mind him,” interjects Margery, “the more important question is what in the name of all things dead have you been doing? Honestly Erica, when I gave you the Robes of Office it wasn’t meant to cause the next apocalypse but to completely avoid it!”
Erica promptly bursts into tears.
“How many times do I have to say this. It wasn’t me! It was a clerical error! Aaargh!”
That shuts them all up. It is one thing to know the world is ending but it is quite another to see the Angel of Death slumped in a chair sobbing like a child with a skinned knee.
“There there, dear,” Greta says soothingly, pulling a hanky from inside her sleeve. She waves the others back and kneels down in front of her.
“I know you are not to blame for this. Jeremiah was a disaster that was bound to happen eventually. You were taken advantage of, that’s all. That’s the trouble with destiny. Never a lot of laughs for the one who has to follow it. We’ll fix all this, you’ll see.”
She stands and turns to address the room, “But the time has come for all of us to work together and before we can do that there are a few things you need to be made aware of. Now, where can we get a nice cup of tea, hmmm?” she finishes, looking at Liam, who shrugs, sighs and heads into the kitchen, apparently knowing when he is beaten.
Erica looks up from her hands and into the wizened old face, “Dear me!” she exclaims, the tears drying up instantly, “Terribly sorry about that. Not sure what came over me... but hang on a second. What do you mean by ‘had to free him’? I thought it was an administrative error? Right, Stacey? Are you saying this was all planned?”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that right now, why don’t you go and help Liam with the tea and let me talk to Stacey for a bit,” Greta stares intensely into her eyes. Before she knows why she is doing it, Erica stands up and follows after Liam.
“Poor girl,” mutters Greta, “She’s in for one heck of a ride before this is over. A pity no one thought to enlighten her when she took over the post of Angel of Death, isn’t it?” she says, throwing an arched eyebrow in Margery’s direction.
Margery, who doesn’t like where this conversation is going, is just about to suggest they all return to her saloon to discuss strategy when another flash of light and a mess of dark smoke appears. From the smoke a velvet clad leg appears, and behind it the rest of Hekate; a sharp toothed grin marring her otherwise graceful features.
“Darlings!” she cries, looking around at the group of very astonished faces. Margery drops to her knees stammering like a fool, much to the surprise of the others, especially Tristan.
“Oh do get up Margery,” quips Kate in a singsong voice, “its all lava under the bridge now. I’ve come to offer my help!” she announces. A chorus of objections breaks forth. Tristan just looks confused.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Liam is directing Colin to get out the good porcelain and make another strong pot of tea. He smiles as Erica walks in after him, looking a little dazed and very unsure of herself.
“Do you like ginger biscuits?” he asks her.
The incongruousness of the question makes her laugh and for a brief moment she relaxes.
“You’ll find them in the pantry over there. Could you fetch them down?” he asks.
Erica smiles and heads into the dark room. It feels good to do something so mundane. She sees the biscuit tin up on the top shelf and pulls it down. To the back of the pantry she notices a door. Above it glows the word Exit. She puts the biscuits down, looks back to the kitchen and lets out a breath. Then she walks through the door.
In the kitchen, Liam looks up and grins, “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
He picks up the tray and saunters back through to the hall.
“Oh, hello Kate.”
He puts down the tea tray and waves away an agitated Colin.
“Fancy a cuppa?” he asks.
Thank you for reading another episode of Reaper Girl. If you enjoyed it, please give it a like, or leave a comment. Also, feel free to share it with your friends and family. Until next week!