Chapter 128 - Co-Worker 2

“Hey there, rookie. A little late, are we?”

Morrigan gulped, her eyes fixed on the reaper as he approached. He didn’t carry the calm, almost serene demeanor of Lawrence—the reaper she’d encountered on that ill-fated camping trip earlier in the summer—but he wasn’t as overtly menacing as Alice, either. His presence settled somewhere in between, radiating a kind of casual indifference.

“Yeah… sorry about that. I got a little held up.” Morrigan glanced down at Noir, hoping for a sign—a flick of his tail, a narrowing of his eyes—anything to clue her in on who this guy was and whether she should be worried.

The reaper stopped a few paces away, slipping his skeletal hands into the pockets of his worn jeans. The chain dangling from his belt loop clinked softly with each movement. 

“Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” His jaw separated slightly as he spoke, his voice a dry rasp. “I’m Fenris, by the way.”

“Oh. Like the wolf from Norse mythology?”

“Sure.” He pointed a skeletal finger at Noir. “And that there’s the infamous Noir—so you’re Death’s new trainee, eh?”

“Uh, yeah. My name’s Morrigan.”

Okay, he doesn’t seem to be an arbiter. Otherwise, he’d already know my name. So what’s he doing here? Just saying hi to a new coworker?

Movement at the edge of her vision made her flinch. A small, shadowy creature skittered across the ground, its form a blur of inky black. It reached Fenris’s pant leg, spiraled up his body in two quick loops, and perched on his shoulder. When it settled, Morrigan saw it resembled a ferret—except its fur was an absolute void of black, and its eyes glowed a deep, unsettling red.

“Fenris.” Noir’s tail flicked sharply, his voice a low hiss. “Why did you intercept this reaping?”

“Well...” Fenris raised a finger toward his voidling’s snout, and the creature sniffed with lazy disinterest. “Guile here mentioned another reaper was working my territory, so I thought I’d swing by and introduce myself. When I saw she was late, I figured—eh, why not? I’m already here, after all.”

“In the future,” Noir said, his tone cool and edged, “wait at least half an hour before taking another reaper’s client.”

Fenris’s teeth clicked together in what might have been a grin. “Duly noted.”

Guile, the voidling, let out a soft hiss, its glowing red eyes locked on Morrigan. Fenris cocked his head in a curious tilt. “Interesting trick you’ve got there, rookie. You look pretty human, but that’s witch’s magic, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, just glamour.”

“Were you a witch before you died? Surprised Death would make you a reaper.”

“No, it’s not like that. I just have a friend who’s a witch, and she made this charm for me.”

The shadowy ferret on Fenris’s shoulder hissed again, its voice a whispery rasp. “Young reaper wants to be human. Wants to go to school.” It snickered, a sound like nails scraping glass.

Morrigan’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that? Have you been watching me?”

Fenris raised a skeletal hand in a placating gesture. “Just today. I was curious about who’d be sharing my territory. So, I had Guile do a little investigating.”

Noir finally spoke, his voice cold and sharp. “That ends now. If I catch you spying on Morrigan again, I will intervene.”

Guile hissed at Noir, then slinked behind Fenris’s back, reappearing with only its glowing eyes peeking cautiously over his opposite shoulder.

“Why so hostile?” Fenris asked.

“I don’t think it’s hostile to expect a little respect for boundaries,” Morrigan said, keeping her voice steady. “I’m not interested in being watched. How would you like it if someone was doing that to you?”

Fenris raised his bony hands, palms out. “Fair enough. Consider me properly scolded.” His tone was light, but the red glow in his eye sockets remained steady, unblinking. “But it’s not every day a reaper tries to play human. I have to admit, the curiosity is overwhelming. Why are you doing it?”

Morrigan bit back a retort that settled on her tongue. Instead, she said, “I don’t have a choice right now, and it’s none of your business.”

“Fair enough. I suppose it isn’t.” He leaned back, his posture loose, but his presence still hung heavy in the air. “But you should know, reapers who try to live like humans? It never ends well.”

Morrigan tightened her grip on her sleeves. “I’m doing fine.”

“For now.” His head tilted, and Guile mimicked him, its shadowy form stretching unnaturally. “But living in two worlds will wear you down, rookie.”

“Death’s fine with it,” she shot back. “He’s the one who told me I could.”

“Did he?” There was a flicker of something in the hollow pits of Fenris’s skull. “Or did he just not say no?”

“If he thought I couldn’t handle it I don’t think he would let me. I think, he’d try to talk me out of it,” Morrigan said, keeping her tone even.

“Are you sure about that?” Fenris leaned in slightly, his skeletal face uncomfortably close. “You know, that old bag of bones has always had a strange fascination with the humans we serve. Wouldn’t surprise me if you’re just an experiment that’s piqued his interest.”

“An experiment?”

“You think you’re the first reaper to keep a foot in the living world? You’re not. But you might be the first apprentice who Death’s actively allowing to try it. Either he’s got some reasons, or he’s just bored.”

“Or maybe he just trusts me.” Morrigan hated the defensive edge that came into her own voice.

Fenris let out a low, rasping chuckle. “Trust, huh? I wouldn’t bet on it. Death’s an old soul—sentimentality has a way of draining over the years, and few have been around as long as him. Honestly, I’m surprised Lori hasn’t forced him to retire yet. Old guy’s losing his grip, if you ask me.”

Morrigan raised an eyebrow. “Lori?”

Guile hissed, dipping lower behind Fenris’s shoulder, only its glowing red eyes peeking out.

“Lorelai,” Fenris said, as if the answer were obvious. “You really don’t know?”

“No.” She glanced at Noir, but his expression remained as inscrutable as ever. “Should I?”

“No,” Noir cut in sharply. “She has no need to know Lorelai yet.”

“The way I see it,” Fenris said, “a reaper playing human has more reason than most to understand the stakes. After all, if this rookie makes a mess, Lori might stop by to clean it up.” His gaze slid back to Morrigan. “And trust me, you don’t want that.”

“What is she? An arbiter?” Morrigan asked.

“More like our mother.” Fenris snickered, the sound dry and hollow, and turned away.

“Our… mother?” Morrigan’s voice wavered, uncertainty threading through her words.

Fenris raised a hand in a lazy wave as he looked back over his shoulder. “Well, I think I’ve taken up enough of your time. Be seeing you around. Just try not to be late again. I’m trying to run a clean ship around here, and I don’t need any half-committed rookies leaving stray spirits to wander.”

Morrigan glanced down at Noir. “Okay, so what was he talking about? Who is this Lori person?”

“I’ll tell you later. Now isn’t the best time…”

“Right…” Morrigan’s eyes widened as realization hit her. “Oh crap, how long have we been gone? Come on, we have to get back.”

She didn’t wait for Noir’s response before breaking into a run, retracing her steps through the winding streets.

As she neared Hobby Hut, she spotted Evelyn pacing in front of the store, phone pressed to her ear.

“No, she’s only been gone for a short time, but she has a history of—” Evelyn’s words cut off when she saw Morrigan. “Ah! Morrigan!” Her tone was a tangled mix of anger, relief, and surprise. She quickly spoke into the phone. “My apologies, it seems I may have overreacted. She’s right here.”

“Uh, hey,” Morrigan said, raising a hand in a half-hearted wave as Evelyn marched over to her.

“Where did you go? Why did you run off?”

“I wasn’t planning on running away or anything.”

“That doesn’t matter! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry, I just… I uh…” Morrigan’s gaze drifted to the ground. “I had to, okay? I wasn’t trying to worry you.”

Evelyn’s eyebrows knitted together. “Had to? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was feeling a little overwhelmed and needed some fresh air. So I took a walk. Sorry.”

Evelyn studied her, as if trying to see through the cracks in Morrigan’s words.

“Look, if I was trying to run away, I wouldn’t have come back, right?”

“Well… just don’t do this again. Naturally, I could only assume the worst.”

“Right. I’ll try not to.”

Evelyn’s expression softened, though her concern lingered. “You’re worried about your mother, aren’t you?”

Morrigan flinched. Yeah, that was true, but not the reason she’d bolted. Still, if Evelyn was offering her an explanation, she might as well take it.

“Yeah. I was thinking about Mom. I don’t know… it feels messed up, keeping her in the dark about everything going on with me.” Morrigan sighed, shoulders sagging. “I feel guilty. Everything that’s happened to her this summer is my fault for running away. I didn’t think it would affect her so much, and now it feels like I’m doing it again. Abandoning her.”

Yup, I’m a total sociopath. Even if some of that’s true.

“I see,” Evelyn said, her tone gentler now. “Tell you what—why don’t you give her a call? Just let her know you’re in foster care with someone. You don’t have to say who, and I’d still prefer you didn’t, at least for a little while. But at least she’ll know you’re okay.”

“When do you think I can see her again?”

“That, I’m not sure of,” Evelyn admitted, a hint of reluctance in her voice. “But… well, I’ll start figuring that out soon. For now, how about we finish shopping?”

Morrigan’s thoughts drifted to her list—the fact she still had a couple of names still unchecked. It would be better to get to Emma’s house, away from Evelyn, so she could get away from Evelyne and tend to her reaping duties.

“Actually, I don’t want to shop anymore. I’d rather wait until I can grab my sewing stuff from my room, if that’s okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t make sense to buy everything again. Besides, without scrap fabric, I’m not really doing what I’m good at anyway.” Morrigan shifted her gaze to the car. “Um… do you think I could still go over to Emma’s house like we talked about?”

Evelyn hesitated. “On one condition. I want you to send me a text every hour.”

“Uh, isn’t that a little much?”

“I need to know you’re okay. I’ve just taken custody of you, and I’m a bit uneasy about leaving you unsupervised.”

“But that’s what we agreed to. I’m not going to run away, I promise.”

“Yes, well, let’s work on building trust, okay? I’ll take you to your friend’s house and pick you up in four hours. Deal?”

Morrigan smirked. Evelyn seemed to like making deals, but four hours was plenty of time to handle her reaping and still squeeze in some quality time with Emma. “Alright, fine. Deal.”

READ NEXT CHAPTER NOW!
Chapter 129 - Queen of Darkness