Chapter 47: Chapter 47
A Reaper stepped through the portal opening. Tall, with ebony hair, he wore the long black cloak she expected to see, a scythe in his hand. The man quickly ran to the left of the portal, and then another Reaper appeared on his heels. Dressed identically, with the same weapon, he ran to the right. Then, another sprang forth, and another. Ru watched, her eyes wide as the Reapers continued to pour out of the portal, as if Hell had spilled an inkwell and the thick, black substance was covering the entire earth.
“Holy Hell.”
It was hard to pull her eyes off of the sight, but she turned to see Cutter standing next to her.
“We’ll never be able to take all of them.” It was Ivy, and Ru glimpsed a look of defeat on her face as she came to a stop behind Cutter.
“We have to try,” he said. Ru could see the resolve in his face and noticed his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Ivy and I will hold them off while you concentrate on the portal.”
There had to be at least a hundred of them now, and they just kept coming. They were three rows deep, spread out in front of the trio in a defensive stance, as if they were awaiting orders to advance, though Ru didn’t know from whom. She didn’t recognize any of them. Even with the cloaks covering their faces, she would know if Nat was there. And then it dawned on her. He was there. He was the one that had knocked her backward when the Reapers first started charging through. He couldn’t come through the portal because the only way for him to get back to Hell was right in front of her, and he was on this side already. Why she hadn’t sensed him before, she wasn’t sure, but there was no doubt in her mind he was there now, just off in the distance, awaiting his remaining troops before beginning his mission—to destroy her and all of her friends.
Ru opened her mouth, thinking she’d tell Ivy and Cutter to take Lyric and Rider and run, but before she could get out a single word, the last Reaper took his position in front of them, and like a well-trained army, every scythe shifted at once, as if someone had ordered them to present arms. They were ready to attack.
From her right, Ru watched as Thanatos, dressed in the same cloak as his army, stepped through the trees, accompanied by four other Reapers, faces Ru had seen before. Raven and three others she’d seen at the battle in Reaper’s Hollow. Nat stood in front of all of them, wielding his scythe like a saber.
“Rune Ronobes!” he shouted, his face still deformed from the injury his father had inflicted on him. “I command you to step forward now! Join us—or you and all of your friends will die!”
Ru felt Cutter’s fingers wrap around her arm, clutching her harder than he likely meant to. He pulled her backward, forbidding her to go. But Ru knew what she had to do. If sacrificing herself would save her friends, she had no other choice.
She turned her head to look at Cutter. His expression was one of desperation; his eyes wide with tears in the corners, his teeth set in a grimace, though she could still see the fear—not of Nat, not even of dying, she realized, but of losing her.
“It’s okay,” she said quietly, hearing a whimper from Ivy. “I’ll go.”
“No, Ru. You can’t,” Cutter pleaded. “He’ll turn you into one of them.”
“Maybe,” Ru admitted. Thoughts of becoming a Reaper, particularly the kind that claimed unmarked souls, did not seem exceptionally appealing, but at least Nat was giving her options. “I’ll be alive, though. And so will you.”
“No, Ru. I won’t let you.”
“Cutter, it’s not your choice,” she reminded him, forcing his fingers off of her arm with her free hand. “Listen, if going with him will save the four of you, then I’ll do it. I’ll… I’ll be all right. And someday, I’ll find a way to escape. Then we can be together again.” Her voice faltered, and she hoped he couldn’t hear the doubt in her words. Something inside her seemed to know that if she ever gave into her Reaper blood, she’d never break free.
“Ru, please. I love you.” The tears reached the precipice, cascading down his face, and Cutter seemed to try to breathe them back in.
Reaching up to wipe them away, she said, “I love you, too. And that’s why you must live.” She managed a smile and leaned up to press her lips against his. She stole a quick glance at Ivy and then returned her gaze to Cutter, needing to see him one more time.
Before he could say anything else, Ru took a step forward. Nat was at least half a football field away from her, and there were branches partially blocking her view, but she could see a satisfied look on his face as she slowly began to make her way toward him. The pain she’d been feeling in her stomach all day began to morph into something different. It was as if giving into the blackness had changed its disposition, and she suddenly began to feel a tingling sensation, like she was excited. Ru’s hands squeezed against it, hoping to quiet the monster within her that struggled to be liberated.
She had reached the halfway point when she stopped. The view here was direct, no trees or branches between them now. “Do you promise you’ll let them go? All four of them?” she shouted.
Nat smirked, and then, raising his free hand, he made an X on his chest. “Cross my heart.” His voice was full of arrogance as he was already reveling in his victory. “Come along, Ru,” he said, beckoning, and Ru realized, he was calling her. If she took one more step in his direction of her own volition, she’d be answering that call; she’d be his to command.
Slowly, Ru turned her head to look back at her friends. Ivy had her arms wrapped tightly around Cutter whose face showed despair and hatred. Though she didn’t have a clear view of Rider and Lyric, she could see that they were still sitting beneath the tree. She took a few calming breaths, ready to turn back around and face Nat, ready to answer his call.
Before she turned her head, she saw something else moving behind Cutter and Ivy. At first, she thought it was just the wind blowing the leaves of the trees, but then she realized what she was seeing. The trees were so thick, it would be difficult to notice them if one didn’t know there was a possibility they were there. Unable to contain herself, a wide smile spread across Ru’s face. Cutter’s forehead puckered in confusion as he puzzled over her expression, and Ru silently sent him a message, Ivy, too. Their faces immediately brightened, though she knew it would be difficult for Nat or any of his Reapers to notice at such a distance.
Ru turned back to face him, wondering how she might gain a few more moments’ time. “Nat,” she said quietly, looking into his green eyes, every bit as enchanting as they had always been, even though one was horribly maimed. “Do you remember when we first met?”
He tilted his head to the side, a shadow of perplexity passing across his face. “I do.”
“Do you remember what you told me then? About trust? About a villain’s side of the story?”
He held her gaze for a moment before answering. “Yes.”
“Since then, you’ve reminded me that bad guys don’t always wear black, and good guys don’t always wear white.”
Eyebrows arched over green spheres. “What is your point, Ru?”
“You were right,” she shrugged. Ru picked up one boot and held it out in front of her. Placing it on the ground closest to him would make her his. She watched his eyes widen as he stared at her foot, dangling in the air between them. She imagined if he had anyone to pray to, he was probably doing so, though she couldn’t imagine who someone such as himself would bow his head to at night. “Sometimes, good guys don’t wear white,” she said, her boot still suspended in midair. “Sometimes… they wear dark green.”
Ru watched his mouth form the word, “What?” as she dropped her boot onto the ground behind her other one, but she couldn’t hear him. She’d bought enough time. Even as the word came out of his mouth, a burst of blue light flew over her head, accompanied by a torrent of wind, and the ground began to shake. All around her, streaks of light filled the air as the angels came crashing into the line of Reapers. Ru backed away, taking shelter behind a nearby tree, allowing Flint’s forces to clear a path for her so that she could close the portal at last.
Nat screamed in fury, ducking around an angel and sending a bolt of black into a charging Keeper, sending the woman careening into the ground. He began to make his way toward Ru, though with each step, another Keeper or angel slowed his progress. She knew it wouldn’t last, however. She needed to move. Hopefully, the magnetic attraction he had toward her wouldn’t reveal her location. Keeping an eye on him, she shot off across a small gap in the trees and found another place to conceal herself as two Keepers and an angel began to combat Nat.
A hand on her shoulder startled her, but Ru was relieved when she turned to see it was Cutter. She clasped his hand with hers and answered his question before he could ask it. “I’m okay. Where’s Ivy?”
“She went back to Lyric and Rider,” he replied. “That was… I don’t ever want to do that again.”
“I know. Me neither,” Ru said, forcing thoughts of what had almost happened out of her mind.
They watched as Nat sent both Keepers sprawling in opposite directions and the angel’s wings literally ignited. The woman began to scream as flames shot up from her back, catching her hair on fire as well. A breeze from a nearby Keeper of the Wind put the fire out, but by then Nat was on the move again.