“Fun?” Delilah prompted.
I chuckled at her tone. “I want to see how good you all are at reaping souls. So, for your first task…” I quickly and abruptly pulled my fingers apart, and once I did, a vibration ofenergy rocked the field. From the rolling fog emerged plumes of souls, who materialized as their former selves to roam the vast meadow around us. Everyone gasped in absolute awe at the sight of all these spirits, spinning in circles to take in the vast quantity of them around us. “I want you to collect as many souls as you can in the next hour. This isn’t as simple as scooping them up: souls can be quite tricky. You need to convince each one you gather that you are the right person for them to go with. I know not everyone is able to be a Reaper but try your best to connect with the dead around you. Whoever gets the most will be team captains for our next assignment!”
“This should be good…” Endymion hummed to Dad.
“On your mark, get set… go!” I cried before throwing my hand to the sky. A countdown written in black smoke began to count backwards from one hour, which sent the Elites around me into a frenzy. I laughed at their rushed anticipation and bounced in and out of their paths so I could tail them and see their different strategies.
Many souls took the opportunity to play tag with the Reapers chasing them and bounded across the grass to taunt their captors. I kept summoning more souls when the numbers grew low, and with each batch, more and more games like this kept the kids on their toes.
Calvin splatted in the dirt when the spirits of twin boys tripped him mid-run; instead of growing frustrated, he let out a huge laugh and sprung up to chase after them again, a great sign and notable mark for me to keep in mind.
Elektra moved through the field at her own steady pace but was taking the time to connect with each soul she crossed. She would take their hands and whisper sweet nothings to them, share soft laughs, and coax them gently into her scythe with a loving energy perfuming the air around her. Her approach was slow, but soft, and another notable gesture.
Felix seemed to be inhaling the souls. He was moving so rapidly, so precisely, that I could barely catch sight of his strategy at first, but I soon realized he was only attracting spirits of children. He was luring them in with an ongoing game of hide and seek, and when he found one of them, the kids he chased would let him reap them with groans of defeat. The adults that watched him do this were eager to go with him as well, as this compassionate side of him was of course desirable, so he was doing a phenomenal job thus far.
He would certainly get a captain spot with the rate he was going.
I danced in between souls that permeated the air around us, enjoying the intense beat of their energy tangling with my own. They're delighted laughs and small chatter buzzed in my ears, but this sound was not the threatening and heartbreaking throbbing I experienced while in Gehenna.
As I weaved through the crowd, I noticed a familiar face sitting on one of the few rocks in the field. He was a young man, barely over nineteen, and had been the car crash victim I reaped when I first got to South Carolina and met Xenobia. He looked incredibly forlorn; his face drooped in sadness as he played with the string of his ripped jeans. None of the kids were rushing to talk to him, so I took it upon myself to whisk across the field and perch on the rock beside his. “Long time no see, friend,” I offered in a soft tone.
He blinked heavily at me. “Oh, you.”
“You look a little out of place. Is the afterlife treating you this poorly?” I prompted, laying a hand on his so he would feel comforted.
He heaved a low sigh. “I miss my girlfriend. I miss my life, my family. I wish I could see them again, to know they were alright without me. I feel so guilty about the way things went. I should have never gone to that dumb party...” His face sunk into hishands, and he let out a weak sob. “Now, you’re using me as a plaything for more Reapers...?”
“Hey, now, that’s not true at all.” I smoothed locks of his hair behind his ear carefully, and he allowed me to do so with little apprehension. “I used souls I have personally reaped, as it makes it easier to summon you all, but you’re helping me more than anyone else. I need to see these kids in action, sure, but you don’t have to participate. This is just a fun way for you to take a break from Caelum and get some fresh air.”
“I want to see them, my family. Can you take me to them?”he begged, tugging on my shirt sleeve with desperation.
I inhaled softly before patting the hand he was clutching my arm with. “I can, but not right now. I need to finish my day with the kids, but I will come find you after, and we can go see them. This is a one-time deal, though, alright?”
“Yes, I understand. Thank you, so much...” The timer went off with a blaring ring through the field, making me turn to it with a soft sigh. The spirit stood and shook my hand once. “I'll wait for you,” he chimed before dissipating in a cloud of white.
I slid off the rock and brushed my pants of debris before crossing to stand before the line of sweating but satisfied students. I gave them a good look over before twisting my hand, which made the number of souls they collected pop up above their heads. “My, what a wonderful job you’ve all done! A total of 639 souls! Let's see who had the most...” I walked up the line and tallied the numbers on my clipboard. “Looks like Felix, Calvin, and Madeline have the most souls, making them team captains for our next exercise. Great job, the rest of you! Let's head to lunch, then we’ll come back and get started on your licensing, so I can classify you as Reapers or Hunters tomorrow.”
Cheers echoed through the crowd before everyone trekked back through the portal, excitement bubbling through the air. Ipassed Dad, who gave me a reassuring wink, and that settled my nerves tremendously.
The lunchroom buzzed with loud conversations about today’s training sessions. Elementals were alight with excitement over what they had experienced thus far, though the Gods-to-be were nervous wrecks as we conjugated around our own table. Odysseus had his nose stuck in a notepad he carried everywhere, a staple of his own, and was scribbling names rapidly while his untouched lunch was being picked at by Griffin. I slid into the seat beside him and scrunched the hair on the back of his neck, trying to get his attention. “You look awfully serious. Did things go well this morning?” I prompted as I soothingly combed the locks onto his shoulders so he could see his doodles better.
He shrugged loosely. “I guess so. Ashlynn was so quiet that I felt like I was messing up bad, but she and Erasmus smiled at me before we left, so that’s a good sign. How about you?” he sighed, picking his head up to finally give me his full attention.
I mimicked his shrugging. “My kids seemed to do well, and Dad didn’t look like he wanted to choke me, so that’s a good start. I’m going to separate them into Hunters and Reapers tomorrow, so that will help me get one-on-one training done. I was going to wait until later this week, but a lot of kids failed the exercise, so I'm assuming that means they're meant to be Demon Hunters,” I explained as I sipped my soda calmly.
He smiled half-heartedly. “Sounds like you have your ducks in a row, then. Is it weird, having Endymion there with you?”
“Not really. I'm not paying too much attention to him. Dad’s keeping him busy. I guess he’s jumping between Griff and I since Pandora is out of the picture.” I turned to tap Soren, who wasscarfing a sandwich like his life depended on it. “How’s it going with Constantine? Is he behaving?”
Soren spoke in between bites, though he held a hand over his mouth to be a bit more polite with his chewing. “More or less. He gave me some good feedback today, actually, about projecting my voice. We all know I tend to be on the quieter side, so he helped boost my confidence. Can't say he’s being a nuisance at least.”
“Good, that’s really good.” I pushed some fries around on my plate as I spoke, “I wish I could go take a nap or something. This stress is starting to mess with my head...” I grumbled, poking my forehead with a cemented frown.
Odysseus kissed my temple three times, a gesture that should have eased my nerves, but I was still too jumpy for his liking. “Have you been sleeping any better? Or are you still having nightmares?” he whispered in my ear.
“Nightmares...” I admitted sheepishly.
He tsked and kissed along my jaw. “My poor love... what are we going to do with you? Maybe you should see Lysander and see if he can give you something to help you sleep?”
