Death and the Lady

Lily hurried along the corridors, pulling at her clothes. It had taken a surprising two Death-months for her arm to heal and for both Death and Helandel to allow her to return to the real world. Two Death-months meant that she’d lost roughly more than two hours Real-time.

Which meant that her mother was probably beside herself with worry and that her family was on the verge of all-out war. Maybe they’d even called in the police by now.

She cursed under her breath as she tugged at the shirt and hot-shorts she’d worn all that time ago.

Helandel had refused to let Lily return until she could once again wield both halves of Inoue, which had been quite a hard feat to achieve. Apparently, since her soul had been damaged it meant that it was unbalanced and that she couldn’t effectively use her Death Weapon.

And he’d pitted her against Michael, a massive beast of a man who wielded a double-headed axe as his weapon. She remembered Michael from their meeting when she was supposed to choose her Reaper Weapon. He seemed to enjoy her sudden weakness and hadn’t gone easy on her. This had frustrated Lily so much that she’d forced her weapons to work with her. That shut his smirking face right up and he seemed to regard her in new light now.

Death wouldn’t let her go until she was fully healed. Now that she was fully healed and capable they were letting her go back into the world.

“Out of the frying pan,” Lily muttered as she pulled out her Master Key.

She positioned herself in front of one of the doorways and concentrated hard, picturing the door to her and her mother’s room back on the farm. She pressed the key against the door.

“Take me home,” she said softly and the blank door changed into the dark wood of the doors on the farm.

She quickly stepped through and tossed Inoue onto the bed, but paused to stare at the sword for a moment. Much to Helandel’s frustration, Lily still couldn’t summon her sword to her side at will.

Shrugging Lily left it on the bed and hurried out into the warm sunlight of the same day she’d left. People were milling about, looking worried and angry. As soon as Lily stepped out of the house her mother assaulted her, dragging her into a tight hug and scolding her at the same time.

“Where on earth have you been? One moment your dad was talking to you and the next minute the yard was full of people carrying all sorts of weapons and you’re nowhere to be found. Oh, please tell me that you haven’t been doing stupid things again! And where is Stephen?”

Lily hugged her mom tightly, savouring her scent and the sound of her voice. She drew a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face.

“I haven’t been doing anything stupid. Those people were people who were after father. He did some very bad things, things I can’t tell you about. I had to go with them to make sure that he didn’t get away from them again.”

“Why can’t you tell me what he did? I deserve to know.”

Lily gave her a sad look. “I don’t think you want to, mom, honestly. I don’t think you want to know what kind of a man he is.”

Her words rang with absolute, cold truth. The memory of him sending children against her still burned too hotly for her to forget in a hurry. Her mom fell back, hand covering her mouth as though she might be sick.

“You’re right,” she finally muttered, “I don’t think I want to.”

Lily looked around suddenly. “Where’s Robert?” she asked and her mom waved a hand towards the house.

“I think he went inside to look for you.”

“I’ll just go and tell him that I’m back.”

Lily quickly turned around and hurried into the house, leaving her mother in the capable care of her Aunt Crystal, who was an ER nurse. She hurried through the house, glancing into rooms until she finally found Robert in her room, sitting on the bed and staring down at Inoue in his hands.

Lily paused in the doorway and saw him look up at her slowly, his eyes red and his face pale. He’d been crying, she realised. Her heart sank when she realised this. He’d been crying because he thought he’d lost her again.

“You really did get this from the Grim Reaper?” he asked, his voice thick with unshed tears.

“Yeah,” Lily said as she walked into the room, grabbing the box of Kleenex off the dresser and handing it to him.

He took it and lowered Inoue onto his lap. Lily stood in silence as he blew his nose loudly. Then she sat down next to him and fell back on the bed.

“I saw him when he came and took you away. I didn’t think he’d be that tall.”

“He’s pushing seven feet,” Lily said as she put her arm over her eyes, “and we don’t call him the Grim Reaper. We call him Death. At least, Helandel and I do. Everyone else calls him Master.”

“You’re being serious?” Robert asked and Lily peeked at him from under her arm.

“Totally.”

“I thought you weren’t coming back. I couldn’t face everyone, even Duncan, and he’s been in a right state ever since you disappeared. I don’t think anyone else saw Death take you away.”

“I don’t think anyone else noticed,” she admitted and chuckled at his startled look. “People tend to have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to him.”

“Why did he give this to you, anyway? And why did your dad come today? It’s all got something to do with your accident, doesn’t it?”

Lily sighed as she sat up. “This is going to be a pretty long story,” she admitted and Robert gave her a smile.

“At least I like stories,” he joked.

Lily laughed and shook her head. “Well, you know when I got so badly hurt? Everyone said I should have died, right? Well, in a way, I did...”

Robert listened in silence as she spoke. It was nice to tell someone outside of the Reapers about what was going on. She wasn’t sure how Robert would react to this afterwards, but she had to tell someone. He interrupted only twice. Once to ask about Dead-time and once to ask about Helandel.

After she finished telling him he sat in silence for a long time, staring at Inoue. He looked up at her with eyes that seemed close to tears again.

“So you’ve been gone all that time, healing up?”

Lily nodded. “Yup,” she said and took Inoue from his hands.

“All alone?”

She shook her head. “I have friends who are Reapers. Bells and the Tons and Teddy and Ryo.”

“Ryo is your... benefactor, right?”

“Yes, we all have nicknames while we work as Reapers in order to protect ourselves from the Clerics.”

“Like secret identities?”

Lily laughed at the thought. “Something like that.”

“But your dad and this Haji guy escaped?”

“My father took one of the Reapers who brought them food hostage and demanded he and Haji be let out and taken back to reality. Honestly, it should have been me or Helandel who was supposed to take them food, but Helandel was busy with other duties and I was in the infirmary. Nobody can be held responsible for their escape.”

“Helandel is your grandfather, right?”

Lily nodded. “That’s right.”

“And he’s more than three hundred years old?”

“I tried to explain. If you stay in Death’s Domain for too long, time moves on without you. You don’t physically age, but time moves around you, like a stone in a stream. He’s no older than eighty-five at most, but he’s been alive for more than three hundred years. No real time passes in Death’s Domain. We call it Dead-time, remember. Do you understand?”

Robert shook his head. “No,” he admitted and she smiled.

“I would have been surprised if you did.”

“So what are you going to do about your dad?”

“There’s nothing I can do. Death can’t interfere with human affairs, even when they involve his Reapers.”

Robert seemed to think be thinking about something. “So if there’s Death, there has to be Life too, right?”

Lily smiled, shaking her head. That was Robert. He had the attention span of a concussed duckling.

“Yeah, they talked about the other Masters in the lectures we have to attend just after we become Reapers. Life, Karma, War, Pestilence and Famine. There are others too, but I don’t want to freak you out too much.”

“You mean that they really exist? Like Death. Are they skeletons too?”

Lily shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t met them yet.”

“When you meet Karma, will you tell it where to find my mom? I think she’s due a dose.”

Lily laughed loudly, making Robert smile. “I’ll definitely suggest her.”

“Well, you can fill me in on the rest later. Now we’ve got to go find Duncan. The boy is probably beside himself by now.”

“We don’t have to find him; he’s on his way here.”

“That’s majorly creepy, is that some kind of Master Reaper mojo? Knowing where people are?”

Lily burst out laughing and shook her head. “I just looked out of the window, idiot.”

Robert gave her a punch on the shoulder before hurrying to meet up with his boyfriend. It took a surprisingly long time to convince the delicate young man that Lily was alright. Lily warned Robert with a silent look not to tell Duncan anything about her or the Reapers, but her cousin seemed to know instinctively that this was their secret.

The weekend went by quite happily after that, but Lily could still feel the coiled hostility that some of her family members directed towards her. She smiled at them. Lately, Karma seemed to enjoy making her life miserable.

Two months of Real-time passed and Lily quickly settled back into the pattern of attending class along with the extra practice in the upcoming play. Since it was a Shakespeare play, extra work needed to be done to get everything exactly right.

Lily was sitting in one of her lectures, doodling in her notebook with her cheek propped on her fist when the door suddenly opened and someone strode inside. Lily glanced up and suppressed a gasp.

The professor stopped midsentence and stared at the newcomer. Since people rarely interrupted this particular professor’s lectures everyone turned their attention to the new scene below.

“I must say that this is very rude,” the old man growled as he hobbled towards the newcomer. “I do not condone this behaviour. This interruption is most uncalled for.”

“I am so sorry to disturb you, sir,” the newcomer said smoothly and smiled at the old man, “I would not have interrupted if it wasn’t very important.”

“Who are you?” the old professor snapped and the young man bowed.

“My name is Doctor Ryo Bascule and I must see Lilith Valleyscape right now, it’s very important.”

Lily was already on her feet and hurrying down the tiered steps of the classroom. She grabbed Ryo’s arm in a harsh grip and smiled at the professor in her sweetest way. The old man glowered at her.

“I’ll just see what he wants and be right back, sir,” she said quickly and the man grunted.

“Well, if it is you, Miss Valleyscape. Be sure not to dawdle.”

“I never do, sir,” she said warmly as she dragged Ryo out of the classroom, feeling the mass of eyes boring into them.

Once outside in the corridor Lily turned angrily towards Ryo and planted her fists on her hips. Ryo, on the other hand, looked innocent and not in the least embarrassed.

“Can you people please stop interfering with my studies?” she snapped and Ryo feigned hurt at her tone of voice.

“I don’t do this on purpose, you know,” he said and Lily rolled her eyes.

“You could have sent me an email if you needed my attention, you know. I could have come to the Domain as soon as my class was over. Professor Weinstein doesn’t take well to interruptions as it is. Now I’ll have to do extra work to get back on his good side.”

“It sounds like he doesn’t mind you leaving.”

“What did you want?” Lily asked, exasperated, and Ryo sobered.

“We’ve found him.”

Immediately Lily’s face cleared and her eyes became cold and hard. She turned sharply to head back into the classroom.

“I’ll just go and get my bag, my keys and Inoue is in there. Open a door so that we can go through immediately.”

“I’m the benefactor, I’m supposed to give the orders,” Ryo said and Lily turned to look expectantly at him.

“And you suggest?”

“Get your keys and weapon, I’ll open a door. We’ll go to the Domain immediately.”

Lily rolled her eyes and headed back into the classroom. Professor Weinstein glowered at her as she hurried up the steps towards her seat. She said something about a family emergency as she threw everything into her bag and clipped it closed.

“You must have a very interesting life, Miss Valleyscape,” Professor Weinstein commented dryly. “Emergencies seem to follow you around.”

“You have no idea,” Lily said as she hurried down the steps. “I’ll get the lecture notes as soon as I get back,” she added on the way out.

“Make sure that you do. This whole lecture will be in the next examination,” he called after her.

Ryo was standing beside a dark doorway when she came out of the classroom and she barely spared him a glance as she hurried through. Ryo followed her into the white corridors of the Domain.

Without even pausing to look around Lily hurried towards Death’s study. Death was seated behind his massive desk and it looked like every Reaper was in there. He looked up when Lily and Ryo stepped into the office. Every Reaper stood aside to let Lily pass, creating a living corridor towards Death’s desk.

Lily spotted Claire and the Tons near the front. Claire gave her a shy wave and the twins winked at her, in perfect unison. She rolled her eyes as she and Ryo hurried through the press of people towards Death and her grandfather, whom she noticed was standing next to his desk.

“Who have you found?” Lily asked as she neared the desk and Death regarded her stoically.

“We’ve found Haji. It seems that he’s broken away from Stephen some time ago and is now in Paris, France. We can’t exactly pinpoint what he’s doing there, but we’re sending some people to bring him in. He may have some information on Stephen’s whereabouts.”

Lily looked up at Death. “Can’t you find him?” she asked and Death steeped his fingers together.

It always annoyed Lily when he looked at her over them like that, as though he had all the time in the world. Which he probably had, she privately reflected, but it still annoyed her.

I cannot interfere with human affairs.

“Even when it involves your Reapers?”

Death inclined his head regally. Even when it involves my Reapers. We cannot interfere.

“You almost did, once,” Lily said harshly and several Reapers gasped.

And you wisely reminded me of that fact, as you do now. A moment of heated action could have had dire consequences. Remember that, young lady.

It was a gentle reprimand, but it stung nonetheless. Helandel strode forward and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He steered her away from the front of the desk and let her stand beside him.

Death got to his feet. Only those whose jurisdiction pertains to France remain, all others are free to leave.

There was a gentle shuffling as the mass of Reapers left. Soon only a handful of Reapers remained. It was a startling few, only fifty or so. Lily looked over them and saw Claire standing between them, could hear the faint tinkle of her bells as she moved her head to smile at Lily.

“I know that you’re frustrated,” Helandel said softly, “but try to keep your temper under wraps. The other Reapers become uncomfortable when you speak to Death like that.”

“When anger rises, think of the consequences?” Lily asked and Helandel smiled.

“Ah, Confucius. I didn’t know you read his works.”

“It’s part of a project I need to do.”

“I know what you’re thinking of doing, Lily. If I can give you some advice from Confucius, ‘before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves,’” he said solemnly.

“I’ve never quite understood that one,” Lily admitted and Helandel chuckled.

“Simply put, when you seek revenge against someone, dig a grave for him... and for yourself. Don’t lose yourself in this, Lily. Stephen is not worth your life.”

“I’m going to stop the Clerics,” Lily growled and Helandel shook his head.

“An admirable feat,” he said, “but you don’t have to do it alone. That is your greatest failing. It’s why you get hurt so much. You want to do everything on your own. Look at those Reapers, each one will gladly fight by your side.”

“And each of them may die. If I fight alone, none of them will get hurt.”

“And if you die? Who will be hurt then?”

Lily looked up at her grandfather. “I don’t understand.”

“I saw your soul, Lily. I saw those slashes across it. Do you know what those were?”

“No, I don’t.”

“They were scars. Some scars go so deep that they touch the soul. I must say that yours is quite battered, by the way.” He smiled at her scowl. “And those scars take the longest time to heal. Let the Reapers help you. Let Bells help you. She’s gotten quite good with those claws of hers.”

“And have her made a target of? No thank you. I’m not going to lose more friends because of my choices.”

Helandel nodded sagely. “Ah, I begin to understand.”

Death stood up and regarded the Reapers standing before him. Helandel will give you the specifics of this task. Be extremely careful. These Clerics have proven themselves quite capable of protecting themselves.

Death sat down and all the Reapers turned to Helandel and Lily. Lily saw Claire give her a wink and a smile and her hands clenched at her sides.

There was no way she was going to lose more friends, never again. Not because of the choices she made for them.

Helandel was speaking, but Lily barely heard him. He was outlining a plan, but he knew full well that Lily wasn’t going to follow it. As usual she was going to go off on her own, and this time she might really die. Strangely enough, Death got to his feet and came to stand beside Lily.

You once told Ryo that the Reapers do not stand alone, he said, his voice soft enough so that only Lily could hear.

She nodded. “Yes.”

Why, then, do you not follow your own advice?