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Chapter 110
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2021-04-29 09:08:12“Mitto ego te ad vidisse igneos puteos horrendam daemonium de inferno!” Ru Roberts repeated the phrase over and over again under her breath as she paced back and forth across the floor of her bedroom in Angel Grove, the ancient wooden floorboards squeaking in protest at each step. She’d been practicing that phrase, along with the other two Rider Michaels had taught her on the long flight from London to La Guardia Airport the night before. She alternated between them, making sure she had all of them down before they left for their mission later that evening. She knew this particular incantation meant a captured Reaper would be sent to Hell but not destroyed. There was another incantation for that, which went, “Infernus et perdere faciam te in nomine Domini,” and she was told this is the one they usually used, unless of course they had a particular reason why they would want to question the Reaper. Cutter Michaels, another Keeper, and Ri
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Reaper's Hollow Chapter 111
Angel Grove was well over two hundred years old. The house had been constructed just before the Revolutionary War when Keepers realized there was a portal in the area and that they needed to be nearby so as to control the flow of Reapers from one world to the next. They had thought for many years that the portal lay dormant, yet about the time that Sky, Lyric’s sister and their lifeline to the realm where an entirely different group of Keepers operated sort of behind the scenes, instructing teams of Keepers on Earth, found out that there was a possibility Ru was in New York, activity around Reaper’s Hollow began to increase. That was one of the reasons Cutter had determined it was worth it to look at Reaper’s Hollow more closely, which had led him to Ruin Roberts, fourth grade teacher at Thomas Elementary School, Keeper of the Light, lost to the Keepers as a small child when her mother fell in love with a Reaper and was nearly destroyed by the Archangel Raphael. It
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Ru had only seen manifestation once, when Rider had shown up in her bedroom in Los Angeles after she’d had a run-in with Nat. She’d never even tried herself. “You think Sky will go to my mom in person so that she can physically take her out—but we can get there first if we manifest and warn her—and what else?” “Ward Sky off, hopefully,” Lyric explained. “Maybe if I get there before they take your mom, I can talk some sense into my sister. Although, she’s never been that sensible.” The last part was a mumble, barely audible, and it didn’t make Ru feel better. “So… we need to get over there as soon as we can,” Cutter said, his tone even and soothing. “That way, your mom will have a fighting chance.” “But I have no idea how to do that,” Ru reminded them. “I know,” Cutter nodded. “And hopefully, I can show you. But if you can’t do it, Ru, we won’t have any choice but to go without you.” “Go without me?” she repeated. “No, I need to be there. My mo
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 113
A wave of confusion washed over Ru as she realized what she was looking at. She was standing in an unfamiliar church nave, looking at the backs of rows of pews. Only she wasn’t exactly standing there. Looking down, she could see her feet weren’t quite touching the floor. It wasn’t as if she was hovering, exactly, but she couldn’t make contact with the wooden beams either. A quick glance around told her no one else was in the room, which she was happy for; she may have somehow figured out how to get her spirit to manifest thousands of miles across the ocean on a remote island, but she had no idea how to prevent people from seeing her either.There was also the problem that she still had no idea where her mother was. Before she could decide what to do, she heard footsteps behind her and turned around. Luckily, she didn’t have much of a chance to think about how to do that and it had naturally happened. Pretty good for someone who wasn’t actua
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Rider stepped over and put an arm around Ru’s shoulders. Exactly how, she wasn’t sure. “She just took off the first cloaking spell.” Ru realized the hum was gone. She wondered how her own cloaking spell had been discharged, or had it? It seemed like it must be since Nat could find her so readily now. She would have to ask about that some other time.“In nomine tenebras quam ego sum petere inobservabilis umbra facti sunt: non est inventus quis poterit!”There was a burst of warm air, and suddenly, Ru felt as if she was standing in the room alone, except for Rider’s arm on her shoulder. No longer could she sense her mother’s presence, though she could still see her sitting hunkered in front of her. Whatever spell she’d cast, it had worked.“This is the most powerful cloaking spell I know of,” Maggie said, quietly. “The only way they will find me is through conventional means.”
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Sky Gabriels had a look of determination coupled with amusement as her black boots made contact with the wet sand on the near side of the causeway, and Ru wasn’t sure what to make of it. Did she find it funny, somehow, that they were standing there waiting for her? Or was that a look of triumph?“Well, looky who is here,” Sky said, her voice not quite as melodic as Lyric’s but similar. The closer she got, the more Ru could see the resemblance, though she appeared to be a bit older than her sister. “I wondered if you guys would show up. Last I heard, you had no knowledge of this place.” Her gaze flickered from her sister’s face to fall on Cutter’s.“Sky,” he began, his voice calm and even, though Ru got the impression it was faux. “We just got back to New York this afternoon. I was going to let you know what we found, but we planned a mission for tonight. I thought it would be better to tell you all at on
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They met Sky outside of the church. Standing in the moonlight, her expression confident but not haughty, she nodded. “Sera.” “You must be Sky,” she said. “You look formidable, just like the Keeper who had your job when I was young, though Windy wasn’t quite as… nontraditional as you.” Maggie reached up and touched a lock of Sky’s blue hair. Sky didn’t jerk back, standing resolute as Maggie dropped her hand. “Are you planning to come with us peacefully or are you going to be uncooperative—like your daughter.” Ru took a step forward, still not ready to back down from the fight. Cutter put his hand on her shoulder. The pain inside of her began to fester again. “My daughter wasn’t being uncooperative, Sky. She was being loyal. That should be celebrated.” “And what would you know of being loyal?” It was the first time any of the others had spoken. One of the men, the tallest one, who had a jagged scar on his face near his left ear, cutting through
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“Didn’t Smokey the Bear teach you anything?” Ru heard Lyric’s voice behind her at about the same time a warm gust of air swept over her, making contact with the flames rising up off of the ignited branch, causing them to flicker and then whoosh out, as if they’d never existed. Ru absently wondered if that’s what it was like in the end for everyone. A moment of recognition and then—nothing. Ru turned to see all four of her friends crossing the yard, headed in her direction. Three of them had concerned expressions on their faces; Rider still looked pissed. Ru would deal with him later. “Which one of you was it?” she asked, looking at each of them. “Who ratted out my mom?” “It doesn’t matter, Ru,” Cutter said, stopping a few feet away from her. “What’s done is done. And just like Maggie said, it was better to tell them than to risk all five of us getting in trouble. Or worse. We’re no help to anyone if we are decommissioned.” “Or dead.” Ru turned and gla
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 118
Four heads nodded up and down, and Ru wondered if they were just pacifying her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go blow some shit up.” She took off at a brisk walk heading to the woods behind Angel Grove, which eventually led to the same tract of land she’d gone exploring with Kyle—who turned out to be Nat—not too long ago. There was good reason to think the portal to Hell that was allowing Reapers to go back and forth, conspiring with demons, was within easy walking distance of the house Keepers had built over two hundred years ago in an attempt to find said portal and stop the Reapers from congregating there. “Ru, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cutter asked, falling into step beside her. “We’ve had a rough night. Maybe we should just call this off until tomorrow.” Without slowing her pace or turning to look at him, Ru replied, “Now is as good a time as ever. Probably better, in fact. The angrier I become, the less of a chance anyone who tries to stand in ou
Last Updated : 2021-04-29
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Reaper's Hollow Chapter 158: Epilogue
One year later… “All right, boys and girls. That is enough for today. We will pick up with Ramona’s story tomorrow afternoon. For now, go ahead and get your backpacks on, and let’s line up at the door.” Groans filled the air as twenty-two fourth graders followed their teacher’s directions despite wanting to hear what happened next in the story. They stood and walked to the cubbies where their backpacks were hung and politely took turns getting their belongings before making an orderly line at the door. Ru took a deep breath and looked lovingly at her students. Even though she’d made the same prediction every year since she started teaching, she had had a feeling about this group of kids from the very beginning. And she was right. They were the best group of fourth graders she’d ever taught. The bell rang and she wished them all a good weekend, gathering up the four students who went to daycare and walking with th
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 157
“I need to face him,” Cutter said. “And you need to get to the portal.” Ru craned her neck around the tree. While there were still some Reapers near the entryway, for the most part, the Keepers were able to set up a perimeter around the portal. If she was going to go, now was the time. “Okay. Be careful,” she said. Realizing that Cutter was about to take on one of her assignments made Ru feel uncomfortable, particularly since she knew what the end result would be, and despite the bargain she’d almost just made with the devil, she still didn’t want to see Nat destroyed. But she had to push those thoughts out of her head. She quickly kissed Cutter’s cheek and scurried off to the next tree closest to the portal. Nat saw her now, and he began to move in her direction, using his scythe to cut down an attacking Keeper as if he were nothing. Ru swallowed hard and steeled herself, looking for the next place to hide. If she used her powers on Nat, there was a chance she would
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 156
A Reaper stepped through the portal opening. Tall, with ebony hair, he wore the long black cloak she expected to see, a scythe in his hand. The man quickly ran to the left of the portal, and then another Reaper appeared on his heels. Dressed identically, with the same weapon, he ran to the right. Then, another sprang forth, and another. Ru watched, her eyes wide as the Reapers continued to pour out of the portal, as if Hell had spilled an inkwell and the thick, black substance was covering the entire earth. “Holy Hell.” It was hard to pull her eyes off of the sight, but she turned to see Cutter standing next to her. “We’ll never be able to take all of them.” It was Ivy, and Ru glimpsed a look of defeat on her face as she came to a stop behind Cutter. “We have to try,” he said. Ru could see the resolve in his face and noticed his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Ivy and I will hold them off while you concentrate on the portal.” There ha
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 155
The demons were up again, too, and the battles picked up where they had left off. Everyone else was engaged, which left Ru to face this Goliath all by herself. “Kill it! Kill it!” Rider shouted at her as streaks of blue wrapped around the snake’s midsection. He seemed to be closing in on his prey, and Ru tried not to let the sight distract her. He was right. It would be best to take out the giant before he was fully formed. With a deep breath, Ru drew upon all of the strength she had inside of her and aimed her blue light at the giant. It was difficult to figure out where to aim since he was only out of the portal up to his shins. Still, she hoped it would be enough. Perhaps it was because of his size, but she felt the need to shout even louder this time as she recited the incantation almost word for word along with Rider who was also sending the snake into oblivion. “Infernus et perdere faciam te in nomine Domini!” This time, Ru didn’t feel as confi
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 154
There it was, right in front of her, the portal. The final one. And all she had to do was raise her hands and say the incantation. All of this would be over. If Thanatos wasn’t here, she couldn’t kill him. Surely, Raphael would understand that. She’d just close the portal and sneak away, leaving that confrontation for another day. Except she knew it wasn’t that easy. Just because she didn’t see him didn’t mean he wasn’t there. And even before she could raise her hands, the pull from inside of her became overwhelming, causing Ru to double over. The air between the edges of the portal continued to ripple and wave, and Ru recognized the sensation from both of the previous portals. Something was coming. She looked at Cutter and for the first time she could remember, she saw fear in his eyes. “They’re coming,” she whispered. He opened his mouth to say something, but before anything came out, a rush of heat shot out of the portal opening. Both of them instinctively
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 153
“Well, that doesn’t even make sense.” Lyric rolled her eyes. “If you’re in charge, then why do you have to do what someone else told you?” Flint launched into a defense of his decision, but Ru shouted over him. “Flint! Look, the reason their numbers were so low at the beginning of the battle is obvious, isn’t it? It’s not because this portal doesn’t mean anything to them—it’s because it means everything to them. They’re not on the battlefield yet. They will come through the portal!” She had him by the shoulders, which caused him to jump backward, shaking himself free, and once Ru finished her statement she took a step back as well. “What? No,” Flint argued. “They’re not going to send them through the portal. That would be suicide. They’d have to come through a small opening into enemy controlled territory.” “Yeah, into a stream of five whole enemy fighters who cannot possibly hold them all off,” Rider reminded him. “You have to close in behind us.” Ru
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 152
Aokigahara sprawled in front of her like the untamed wild it was, trees encroaching into the neighboring farmlands and open spaces as if the forest insisted on reclaiming what used to be hers. From this direction, it was difficult to tell where the forest began and civilization ended, though Ru thought for certain she’d know when she crossed the line. She stifled a yawn and kept moving forward, one boot at a time, toward what might be her very last mission, if she had her way. Though she had fallen asleep for a few hours, for the most part, she’d gotten her wish and was able to stay up most of the night, with Cutter’s help, and the activity he’d chosen to occupy her certainly didn’t make her feel less worn out. The few hours she had spent in oblivion had been dreamless, as far as she knew. At least, if there had been dreams, they had been unmemorable. Her friends surrounded her as they made their way into the forest. Cutter was in front of her, Rider b
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 151
Navigating airports was hard enough for Ru when she was in countries where most everyone spoke English. Flying to Japan would’ve been completely overwhelming if Ivy wasn’t fluent in Japanese and Mandarin, especially when they had to switch planes in Shanghai. Luckily, the gentle-natured Keeper had managed to keep all of them in line and they’d made their way to Shizuoka Airport with little incident, though Rider complained about the lack of legroom on the commuter jet nearly the whole flight. Thank goodness for headphones, Ru had thought to herself. The entire van ride from the airport to their hotel, a place Ru hadn’t even attempted to try to pronounce for fear she’d embarrass herself, her eyes were glued out the window. From the buildings, to the natural surroundings off in the distance, to the smiling faces of those they passed along the streets, Ru was fascinated. By the looks she was getting, so were the people staring back at her. Five tall blondes with blue e
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 150
Cutter squeezed her leg, and Ru realized it must be apparent she wasn’t paying attention. She tuned back in to hear Sky say, “Now, the team we are meant to protect so that they can get in and close the portal will be given the code name Alfred. This will allow us to be briefer in our communications about the team.” Sky continued to talk, and she knew it was important that she listen, since Ru would be involved in whatever the blue-haired Keeper was discussing presently, but curiosity got the better of her. “Why Alfred?” she whispered to Cutter. Without turning his head, he replied, “Alfred Nobel.” “Huh?” Ru was still confused. “The inventor of dynamite.” “Oh.” Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Sky, who was giving her the same look Ru might give a student who wasn’t paying attention. Ru swallowed hard and made herself concentrate. “Alfred will be dispatched from here, a break in the forest away from the typical entrance
