“Caecius.” The masked man glanced over at the blonde sitting precariously on the arm of the sofa as he bit into a bagel. “A dear friend of mine clued me in a very peculiar talent of yours. I would like to use it.”
“A friend of yours? You don’t seem like the type to keep such company,” he replied, earning a scowl for his rebuttal. “But, in regard to my talent, what if I refuse to help you?”
“I mean, it’s the least you could do for me letting you stay here. I could’ve just left you outside at night to make friends with all the other Umbra, you know? On the other hand, you may have killed them all,” Cordis muttered as he finished his breakfast. He then plopped down on the cushion next to his guest. “Tell you what, how about we make a deal, hmm?” He traced his finger along the man’s pant leg before giving a smile. “If you do this for me, I can bring you what you want in return.”
Caecius simply raised an eyebrow to that. “Is that right? How do I know I can trust you?”
“What would I gain from deceiving you?” Cordis questioned before leaning in a bit. “So, do we have deal?”
The other simply eyed the finger tracing circles along his leg before looking at the blonde that was still smiling. “What do you want?”
The idea of getting remotely close to Cordis in any shape or form was enough to make me lose my appetite. I couldn’t shun the idea of trying to get to know who you were working with or who you were up against but the further away we stayed away from him the better off we’d be.
“I get what you’re trying to do,” I said as I got to my feet, “but I rather you just stay away from Cordis entirely.”
“But we can help each other,” pressed Magpie.
“If you’ve forgotten, Cordis doesn’t really care what happens to any of you.” I dragged a finger across my neck for emphasis as I said, “He was so willing to deceive then threaten to cut Nu’s head clean off. He only missed Vandal on purpose to get him to back up, but he could’ve easily taken off his head with minor adjustments.” I then glanced at Magpie. “Even you were foolish enough to challenge him and wound up risking your leg. I could only imagine what he would’ve done if I had not been around.” I grimaced soon after. “Actually, I don’t want to think about what he would’ve done.”
Cordis would’ve cut her leg off then maybe cut each limb like plucking the legs off a bug before chopping off her head. Or he could’ve let that Umbra do whatever it wanted. That was just as scary of a thought.
I had to shake the idea out of my head.
I needed some air.
“Jay–” I waved my hand dismissively as I headed for the exit. “We can’t help each other if we don’t know anything about one another! We know little to nothing about you and a little insight may tell us what you might’ve done to make Cordis the way he is.”
I paused to look back at her. “So, you’re suggesting Cordis is how he is because of me?” I narrowed my eyes at her. “That’s quite the accusation when you know nothing about either of us.”
“Which is why I’m asking!” she argued. “Tell us so we can–”
“I’m going for a walk.”
Senshi perked. “I’ll go with you.”
“Alone,” I clarified before walking out, slamming the door shut behind me.
Raking my fingers through my hair, I glanced back at the funeral home before trudging up the street. The idea of being in such a place seemed more like a sick joke. It was an impromptu resting place, but I didn’t have plans on staying there much longer.
I didn’t want to stay in this place – wherever this place was – and just wanted to get everyone home. That was the endgame and that didn’t involve me discussing any person information. Omega had told me that much before after becoming a permanent part of the staff.
“Don’t worry about making any friends with your charges,” Omega had stated before one of my solo assignments. “You’re only to ensure their safety up until you get them to Central. It’ll be less painful for you in the long run not to get attached.”
As cold as that sounded, I could see the logic behind it. After charges made it to Central, it wasn’t like I’d see them ever again. Now wasn’t going to be all that different. I was already with them – though the timeframe had been extended. All I had to do next was drop them off and watch them enter that judgement room that I couldn’t.
That got me thinking about what Cordis said with my current situation. It wasn’t like I asked to be a reaper. It wasn’t like I didn’t have a desire to go home. It just wasn’t strong like it had been when I initially died. Even more, I wouldn’t have to do this if he hadn’t gone and broke when Aidan said that he was leaving.
I hadn’t truly spent a lot of time thinking of Aidan after becoming a full-time reaper. Omega kept giving assignments and when I wasn’t doing that, I was either pushing Sairix away to keep him from trying to eat me or with Runihura who would either be helping with training or finding ways to keep me occupied. When he even suspected that I was thinking of my past life, Runihura would be there with something for me to do. Now that he was nowhere around, that left plenty of time to think about it.
I had just finished filming a movie and didn’t even get to see the finished product.
It had worked out that the movie was completed around the same time Aidan was completing his photography, which meant that we were finally going to get a vacation with just the two of us.
But then we got into a fight and I stormed out of the house.
I chuckled bitterly after recalling everything that transpired after that.
I worked so hard to be able to go back to the world of the living and it wound up being for nothing in the end. Dammit, I wish I had been there when Aidan was saying goodbye.
“He visited me every chance he got!” Cordis had snapped.
The idea of it made my chest tight as I took a seat. Cordis got to spend our last minutes with Aidan and the growing feeling of jealousy was enough to make my face turn red before I felt something running down my cheeks. Bringing a hand up, to wipe it away, I noted the tears then laughed quietly to myself. It’s been a long time since I made myself cry.
“C’mon, Jay…” I muttered to myself before scrubbing my arm across my eyes as the tears kept coming. “Dammit… this isn’t fair at all.” I lowered my head as my chest ached. “I want to go home…” I felt a hand pat me lightly on the head before fingers ran through my hair lovingly. It reminded me of how my boyfriend would try to cheer me up. “Aidan…”
“Jaybird.”
I stiffened though the fingers kept gently ruffling my hair. I hadn’t heard that nickname in years. Looking up slowly, I jerked backwards when I saw a familiar set of silver eyes looking down at me before a warm smile crossed the handsome face.
“A-Aidan?”
A thumb wiped away a few tears. “Your eyes are going to get all red and puffy if you keep crying, Jay.”
“Jayden’s been gone for a few hours now…” Nu muttered before looking between her companions. “Do you think we should go looking for him?”
“I don’t understand why he’d just up and leave though,” Magpie huffed as she folded her arms. “I was just trying to gather information we could use.”
“Accusing him of having something to do with Cordis may have been a bit much,” Vandal stated. “I get that he’s a mystery but gauging the reaction, I think you could’ve phrased your inquiries a bit better.”
“I wasn’t trying to be rude!” Magpie clarified.
“I didn’t say you were,” Vandal chided.
“C’mon, you two,” Nu said softly. “Jay–”
“I’ll just go find him myself,” Senshi said, making her way to the exit. “It’d be faster if I flew anyway.”
“Oh, um, thank you,” Nu said as she watched her leave prior to turning her attention back to the squabbling pair.
Sucking her teeth as she heard another argument ensuing, Senshi took to the sky for an aerial view. After a sweep of the first few blocks, she widened her search radius to several miles before landing a top one of the decrepit buildings to give her wings a break.
Allowing her gaze to roam the ruined streets below, she sighed to herself before allowing her thoughts to drift towards the irritated blonde that had disappeared hours earlier. Her chest began to feel tight the longer she did before coughing up a few blood-coated petals. Taking a step back from the edge as she continued to hack up the petals, she froze when she bumped into something behind her.
“Are you alright?”
Senshi turned to see the blonde see had been looking for before a slight smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. His attention then settled upon the petals before kneeling to pick one up with the look of concern. “So, this was your doing?” Cordis murmured before setting his gaze on the woman. “I truly do enjoy the color red but, are you alright, spitfire?”
“Where’s Jayden?” she asked, easing away from the man that was rubbing the blood-soaked petal between his fingers.
“I haven’t seen him actually,” he replied as he stood, “but I do suggest you should be more focused on your own well-being.”
“I’m fine.”
“The random petals I’ve found seem to suggest otherwise, dear.” He then let the item go before removing a folded square from his pocket to clean the bit of blood from the corner of the fairy’s mouth. “If you are going to lie about your ailment, I suggest hiding all the evidence. The blood on your face is a bit of giveaway, little spitfire. Want to tell me about it?” A gentle smile the settled upon his features as he looked down at her before holding out a hand. “We could discuss it as we have a little picnic, hmm?”
Senshi looked down at the offered hand before turning away to take flight. “No thanks.”
Pouting a bit at the dismissal, Cordis took hold of her hand before she got the chance to leave. “Now, now, dear,” he cooed before pulling her away from the ledge. “Can you at least give me a reason why?”
“I need to find Jayden.”
“Why? He isn’t worried about you, dearest,” he replied as he walked her further from the edge. “Trust me when I say this but I’m pretty sure you’re the furthest from thing from his mind at this moment.” Green eyes noted the hesitation. “Why don’t you stay with me for a few hours? I could make you forget all about my moody other half. We can do just about anything you want, my little spitfire, but, first, we can have a nice meal,” he offered before gesturing towards the blanket and basket stationed at the end of the building before giving her a spin. “Second, we can have a dance. You seem pretty light on your feet so I’m sure you’re quite the dancer and I can easily get some music going.” He then brought her hand up before pressing a kiss to the back of it. “If it starts getting too late, you’re free to come back with me and stay at my place for the evening. I’m sure you’d enjoy a hot shower and fresh clothing then we can do whatever you like but promise me something. You just have to keep it a secret between the two of us, alright? If you can do that, I’m sure I can make you quite happy, my little spitfire.”
Nu paced in between a set of pews before turning to Vandal who was in the middle of making another batch of Banfrow. “Senshi’s been gone a while now.”
“I suppose,” he replied before looking at the healer to see her staring at him pensively. “You… want to go find her?”
“And Jayden,” she added as she glanced at Magpie to see her seemingly in the middle of what was a one-sided conversation. “Um, they’ve been gone a while now.” She then wrung her hands together. “Maybe we should go find them? You know, and make sure they’re ok?”
“I’m sure Senshi is fine,” Vandal replied as he went back to work, “and Jayden will come back when he’s not in a mood I suppose. I’m sure they hadn’t gone that far.”
Frowning, Nu made her way to the exit before turning towards the marksman. “Van,” she called gently, gaining the man’s attention. “Please?” Sighing more so in defeat rather than frustration, the man got to his feet to grab his beloved firearm. “Thank you.”
“Magpie, are you coming or not?” he asked the woman on the other side of the room. He raised an eyebrow when she cursed under her breath, obviously irritated by something. “Ok, looks like it’ll be just me and you, Nu.”
“I don’t mind,” she said with a smile before throwing open the door as her companion walked over, mentally doing an inventory check. “We’ll be back soon, Mag!”
Following the woman out as he finalized his numbers, Van staggered back when he ran into Nu. “Nu, are you alright?”
When she didn’t respond, he leaned over to see a dark humanoid shape standing at the foot of the steps. One of the piercing, yellow eyes then cracked open followed by the other. As a smile split the creature’s face, showcasing a sharp set of teeth, it tilted its head as it gave an overenthusiastic wave.
“I was starting to wonder when you would come out,” the Umbra said as it ascended the steps slowly with its hands clasped behind its back. “You see, I was sent to fetch a certain individual.”
“Jayden isn’t here,” Vandal growled between his teeth as he held Leonette tightly with one hand.
“Oh, I’m not here for him,” it replied as its golden gaze slid towards the woman.
“Definitely not,” Vandal snapped centering himself between the healer and Umbra.
The Umbra came to a stop before tilting its head in the other direction before becoming gaseous. It then dissipated from sight making Vandal look about frantically.
“Go back inside with Magpie,” he ordered as he looked over his shoulder. A chuckle in the air had him looking all around before being booted away. When he righted himself, he turned to see a silhouette directly behind his companion. “Nuallis!”
“Now, now.” A wispy hand grabbed at the woman’s chin as the rest of the form solidified. “You should calm down,” the Umbra giggled. “It’s not like I’m going to eat her.” It swiped its tongue up her cheek before giggling again as it detected malice from the man. “Though I am quite tempted to be honest. She does taste quite delicious.” The Umbra then turned its attention to the woman trembling in its grasp while its free hand pulled the door shut.. “Little flower, would you like to go on a trip with me to somewhere much nicer than a funeral home? Someone is just dying to see you.”
“She isn’t going anywhere with you!”
The Umbra adjusted its gaze to see the firearm pointed in its direction before it started grinning. “Are you sure you can properly shoot with just one eye? You wouldn’t want to miss and hit the flower,” it giggled as it licked Nu’s cheek again. “That would be… unfortunate.”
“Van…”
“It’s ok, Nu,” he reassured her before her eyes widened. “You’re going to be ok.”
“I do believe that you should be more concerned about your own well-being, sir.”
Pivoting to aim his gun at the stoic voice behind him, Vandal was caught off guard by the hand knocking aside the weapon while another grabbed his face.
“Y…you…” he grounded out through clenched teeth as several tendrils started to make themselves present.
“I do believe we were interrupted,” the Level Five recalled. “Let’s be sure not to have any more disruptions, shall we?”
Credit to Abandoned Southeast
