The Necrodancer

Chapter 10- Seconds

 Carlisle arrived outside the Stemple Mortuary and Crematorium at 7:40. He waited for three minutes before trying to go up the stone path, up onto the porch, and to the front door to knock. He found himself surprised when he could actually do it this time since he got blasted back the last time he tried to approach the house. Cicero must be allowing him on the premises. He wondered if the defenses were down entirely, or if the reapers inside were making exceptions on the protections specifically and only for him. Either way, he appreciated it when he made it to the doorbell safely.

Unfortunately, Reyna opened the door. She looked tired, her hair disheveled. She was wearing a black nightgown and already had a glass of scotch in her hand. "What are you here for?" she grumbled, stepping aside to let him in.

"Did Cicero not tell you?" The retired reaper shrugged and shook her head. "My master requires their service."

"Well, you're early."

Carlisle looked at his watch. "It's 7:43," he mumbled.

"Reapers are never early and never late," Reyna explained as she headed to the kitchen. "Not for anything. We're always, always on time." The demon nodded, taking note of this.

At 7:45 on the dot, Cicero walked down the stairs with their cane, their hair wet and even curlier than normal. They wore black skinny jeans with tears in the knees, black leather combat boots that went halfway up the shins, a black turtleneck, and a burgundy hooded cardigan.

"Are we ready?" Cicero questioned once they reached the bottom of the stairs and stood directly in front of the demon, looking up into his eyes with neither fear nor disgust.

Carlisle was a little taken aback by this. It was refreshing. "Yes, I believe we are, if you are ready to go."

Cicero turned to face their aunts. "I will hopefully be back by Sunday evening." The two reapers both nodded. They turned back to Carlisle. "It will be quicker if we travel through Purgatory."

Carlisle's eyes went wide as he took a step back. "Purgatory?"

"Yes." The reaper held out their left hand for the demon to take. "Have you ever been through?"

Carlisle stared at their hand for a moment before taking it, placing his on top of theirs. "No, I haven't." He felt the reaper wrap their bony fingers around his wrist as he did the same. Their skin was cold, but this was not a surprise. The warmth of his skin startled the reaper a little, as did the roughness, but it was comfortable.

"It's easy. I can teach you. We'll go down into the morgue and do it." They started leading him towards the basement steps by the hand. "Later, sluts!" Cicero called out.

"Ba-bye!" Tilde replied happily.

"Farewell, imp!" Reyna responded enthusiastically. She loved Cicero but loved calling them names more.

The reaper and demon walked down the steps. Cicero tried to let go of the demon's hand, but he had a gentle but firm grip on their wrist. "Okay." They reached the bottom. "So, all demons, reapers, and spirits are capable of traveling using Purgatory; you just need to know how to find it."

"How does one find it?" Carlisle wondered.

"You don't." Cicero smiled. "It's already all around us." They reached a hand out and pulled, and everything was suddenly black and cold. The demon, who was now in his true form, gripped Cicero's hand. "It's all right," the reaper assured him quietly as they began walking. "There's nothing to be afraid of here."

Carlisle looked all around, but all he could see was darkness and little balls of light, all different colours and brightnesses. All around him were agonized screams and terrified whispers. "Where is that coming from?" he whispered with his real voice, which still managed to sound scared.

"Souls," Cicero responded. They were used to it by now, even comfortable with it despite the eeriness. They let out the souls they had acquired since their last visit, the coloured balls seeping out of them like water from a washcloth. It created a little neon green glow from the reaper's chest. "These are all souls."

The demon's red violet eyes, glowing in the darkness, stared. "It's beautiful here: terrifying, but beautiful."

"It gets old," Cicero sighed, "having to come here every time they feel too heavy to carry, then having to come back out and do it all over again." They shrugged. "But, it's the job."

"This is almost scarier than Hell," Carlisle commented. His certainty in this statement unsettled the reaper.

"We're here." Suddenly, they popped out into an alleyway. The sun was shining bright and the sounds of people were everywhere. "Welcome to Rome." Cicero loved Rome. The amount of death that had taken place there throughout the years was staggering. It used to be a reaper's playground.

They walked out of the alleyway and joined many other people on the narrow sidewalk. Carlisle had never been to Rome and was immediately captivated by his surroundings: the tourists, the architecture, the shops, everything.

"Where in the Hell are we going, Carlisle?" Cicero whispered.

Carlisle looked straight ahead. "I know the way."

"Why are we still holding hands?"

Carlisle looked down to see that they were, in fact, still holding hands, and let go.

As they were about to turn a corner, a biker sped around. "LOOK OUT!" she hollered and swerved, trying to avoid people, but only managed to put herself on a path towards a streetlamp.

Everything happened in slow motion, but it really took place in seconds. Carlisle reached out and snatched the girl off the bike and twisted the two of them around, shielding her from whatever debris may come flying their way, before the bike slammed right into the streetlamp.

Cicero had stayed out of the way and stared at the demon and the girl. They knew right away that this was a witch: a very powerful witch. She had light brown hair in an undercut, the top part almost down to her elbows and tied in a braid. She wasn't conventionally pretty. She had a very square but sharp jawline and defined cheekbones. She was tall and slender but not very curvy. Her skin was naturally pale but she was now as white as a ghost. She was wearing a grey high-waisted maxi skirt and a black turtleneck tucked into it with black pointed flats and an amethyst pendant.

Carlisle stood up straight, keeping his arms around the now shaking witch and staring down into her strange eyes, a golden brown inner ring and a sea green outer ring in each, with his honey brown ones as he held her close. Her small hands were on his shoulders, clutching the black vest he wore over a blood red dress shirt. He could sense her power, just like the reaper could, and it was instantly captivating, magnetic even. Her soul was a pale lavender colour but extremely radiant, holding so much power yet innocence and purity. "Are you all right?"

She nodded frantically as she looked around. "I-I am, uh, I'm fine," she stammered, gulping thickly.

Carlisle gave her a once over, just to be sure, and could sense no injury. He walked over and picked up her bike before walking it back over to her. "Take care of yourself for me."

The witch took the handles from him with trembling hands, her fingers brushing over his hands for a moment. Chills went up and down the demon's spine. "I will," she murmured, looking to the reaper, who gave a small wave and a blank-faced nod. "Than-thank you so much."

Carlisle nodded and watched as she walked away with her bike, a little unsteady on her feet. Cicero walked over to stand by him and watch her walk away. "That was something else," the demon muttered.

"That's Jacques Vandiver's daughter, uh... Anja," the reaper explained. "They're here for the funeral of Jacques' only brother. It was yesterday morning." They sighed. "Too bad she'll die this time next year in a fire. At least she'll be with her parents." Cicero turned around, sighing and shrugging indifferently. "Which way were we heading again?"

The demon stared after the witch for a moment longer, shocked by the reaper's bluntness and a little saddened by the fact that the girl will be dead soon, and by such gruesome means. He pointed around the corner. "He lives a couple of blocks that way."

They turned and started heading up the street.