Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Ru’s breath caught in her throat at her mother’s words. “So… Dad could be a regular person, if he wanted to?”

“Honestly, it wouldn’t even matter what he wanted, Ru, if you cast the spell on him, or any other Reaper for that matter, they would become human.”

“And what would happen to their power?”

“Well, that was part of the problem before. Your father didn’t want me to cast the spell because, according to what I’ve read, there has to be a willing vessel to absorb the Reaper’s powers. I thought I could do it, that I could take it in, and then destroy it with my Keeper blood. Or possibly banish it while it was free of a body. But your father didn’t want to take the chance.”

“You think I can do it because I already have Reaper powers?” Ru asked.

“Yes.”

The idea made sense. “But… what if it makes me a full Reaper? What if it throws me out of balance?”

“I really don’t think that will happen, Ru. I think you are powerful enough to take it and destroy it, or add it to the Reaper power you already command.”

She knew her mother wouldn’t suggest something to her if it was dangerous, but she didn’t feel capable of making such a decision right now. “Wow, Mom. This is a lot.”

“I know, honey. And I’m sorry to have to ask you. It’s just… I think this might be the only way that your father and I can ever be together. Just a few days ago, I would’ve thought that wouldn’t be possible. Now, I really believe we can.”

The sound of hope in her mother’s voice made Ru feel both warm inside and frightened. What if she messed everything up, like she had been doing her whole life? As much as she wanted to believe she wasn’t that girl anymore, voices filled her head, voices of doubt and criticism. Pushing them aside, she said, “Mom, if I see Dad, I’ll talk to him about it, okay? Can you send me a screenshot of the incantation in the book?”

“Sure, honey.” While the hope was still there, Ru realized she may have deflated her mother’s spirits just a little bit.

“Do you think you’ll need a cloak as well?”

“Yes,” Maggie admitted, “but not from the Keepers. There is a white magic cloaking spell as well that will hide us from the Reapers, demons, and other evil entities, but not the Keepers or angels.”

“Can you send me that, too?” The thought of someone harming her father because he no longer wanted to be a Reaper was unsettling at best.

“I will.” Her mother let out a deep sigh. “Ru, thank you.”

“I haven’t done anything yet,” she reminded her mother. “But… you’re welcome. If I feel like I can do it, I will.”

“Okay. Good luck with everything, honey. I’m sure you’ll find the other two remaining portals soon, and when you do, the darkness will wish you’d never been born.”

Ru was pretty sure that was already the case. She couldn’t take the risk of telling her mother that they’d found the other two portals either for fear that someone else might find out. “Thank you, Mom.”

“I love you, honey. And I will help Nana take good care of Piper until you return.”

“I love you, too, Mom. Give Piper a scratch behind the ears for me.”

“I will.”

Ru said her goodbyes and disconnected the call, just in time to see Cutter coming back into the room. She couldn’t help but smile at him. He was so handsome, with his light blond hair and blue eyes, and that perfect jawline. It didn’t hurt that he was confident, yet unassuming, and that he’d made it clear from the very beginning he would do anything he could to help her.

“Hey,” he said, returning her smile as he walked across the parlor and sat next to her on the couch. Rider wasn’t there to keep them apart this time.

“Hey yourself,” she replied. “How’s Sky?”

“Sky is the happiest she’s ever been in all of the time that I’ve known her. Was that your mom?”

“It was,” Ru nodded. “She’s home.”

“I know. Sky told me. That’s awesome.”

Ru knew her smile probably made her look goofy, but she had a lot to be happy about right now. The Keepers had released her mom without hurting her, and the amazing man sitting next to her put his arm around her. “What did Sky say about my idea.”

He looked as if he wasn’t sure how to answer that, as he tilted his head back and forth a few times. “She didn’t think it would work. But she didn’t say no.”

Ru’s eyebrows arched. “So, we can do it then?”

“She suggested if we decide to go through with it that we aim for Turkey first. Since it’s out in the open, we should be able to see the enemy more clearly. Of course, they’ll be able to see us, too. Anyway, she said to give it a try, and if we have to pull back to do it. In the meantime, she’ll start gathering some troops in the other realm to support us, should a full-fledged attack be necessary. She’s pretty sure we can’t get away with it twice, though. And I agree. So we’ll have to come up with something else for Japan.”

Ru nodded. “I’m glad she’s willing to let us see if we can do it. She seems more reasonable now than she did at Holy Island.”

Cutter let out a long sigh. “I think she was under a lot of pressure the other night. She has a lot of potential catastrophes on her plate that she’s constantly got to reason through and try to prevent.”

“I’m sure her job can’t be easy.” Ru hadn’t spent a whole lot of time dwelling on what a typical day might be like for Sky.

“It isn’t,” Cutter agreed. “My mom hated that position. Anytime something went wrong, she felt like it was her responsibility.” He grew quiet for a moment, and Ru saw a shadow pass over his face as he looked away.

“Did she… have something to do with what happened to Leaf?”

He nodded. “She didn’t direct him to go in when I got myself into trouble, but she approved it. At the time, it probably seemed like a routine call. She had no idea she was sending him into an ambush.” He ran his free hand through his hair, and Ru could see him trying to shake the thoughts out of his head.

“He must’ve been something else for them to organize such a take down.” She wasn’t sure if her words were helpful or not, but the observation was true.

“Yeah, he was.” Cutter slid his arm further around her, pulling her close. “And that’s all the more reason why we need to be careful with you.”

She put her hands on his arm and let him hold her, relishing the feel of his strong arms holding her tight. Resting her head on his shoulder, she breathed him in. It was hard not to think about what had transpired in the dark room, but she wanted to focus on their mission… for now.

“Is your mom adjusting?” he asked quietly, as if he wasn’t sure if he should disturb her thoughts.

“I think so.” Ru pondered telling him about her mother’s request, but she didn’t know how he might react. Of course, she was pretty sure he’d tell her not to do it. Rather than bring it up just then, she asked, “Cutter, can you explain how Hell works? I don’t understand how Azrael and the other demons can hang out there, but that’s where we send them when they mess up.”

“Well, they’ve all already messed up,” he began. “I mean—they all deserve to be there because of their betrayal to God. But there are different areas of Hell, some we control, some they do, just like Earth. We banish them to Hell but to the places we control, ones they aren’t supposed to be able to escape. They control other places where they, currently, can come and go.”

“Can’t they still communicate even if they can’t get in and out?”

“Sure, they can use their spirit form. But, just like us, Reapers are a lot less powerful when they don’t have their bodies. The more of them we can lock down there or keep up here where we can pick them off, the better. It’s the going back and forth that is problematic. We can’t corner them.”

“And once we close the portals, that’ll be it? They won’t be able to hurt humans anymore?”

“I’m sure, eventually, the demons will find a way to create a new portal. They will find a way to come to the surface again, until God gets involved once more. But… we’ll make it a lot harder, and it will give us a chance to hunt down the Reapers on this side who are claiming the unmarked.”

It was all so complicated, it made Ru’s head hurt. She didn’t want to let go of Cutter’s arm to try to squeeze the confusion out of her head, so she buried her face in the crook of his neck instead.

“Are you tired?” he asked. “You seem like you are.”

“Yes,” Ru replied.

“Maybe you should go take a nap. I need to have a talk with Cinder anyway.”

Ru’s eyes flew open, her eyelashes brushing his skin, which caused him to jump back a bit. She gently kissed his neck in an attempt to apologize for tickling him. “I don’t think you should talk to Cinder.”

“Why not?” he asked, shifting so that he could partially look her in the face. “What she did is unacceptable.”

“True,” Ru agreed, “but, like you said about Sky, Cinder’s under a lot of pressure. She was just doing what she thought she was supposed to, I guess. Besides, I don’t think she’ll do it again. I’m pretty sure she learned her lesson.”

Cutter looked skeptical, but he shrugged. “If you don’t want me to say anything, I won’t. I guess knowing your mom is safe helps with that.”

“It does,” Ru agreed. But thoughts of her father made her stomach tighten. The suggestion of a nap sounded pretty good to her. “I think I will go lay down,” she said, sitting up. She hated that it caused him to drop his arm from around her. Suddenly, she felt exposed and cold. “Maybe… you could come with me?”

Cutter raised his eyebrows. “To take a nap?”

Ru smiled coyly. “Sure. Eventually.”

A crooked grin spread across Cutter’s face. “Luckily, my schedule just got cleared.” He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers and rays of warmth radiated through Ru’s body along with the feeling that nothing could ever harm her again.