Chapter 103
Xavier
I found Elliot after following the glitter trail. The glitter trail, ridiculous. He was hanging from a cage in the Pits, suspended by his ankles, and pelting glitter bombs at Noah and Haiden like it was some unholy game of dodgeball. The room was chaos, pure, glitter- coated chaos, and I loved it. Damned souls were cheering from the sidelines like they were watching the Super Bowl. Haiden was roaring with laughter as he ducked behind an overturned table, while Noah was trying to conjure a shield out of shadows that glitter still managed to cling to. I waited until Haiden hurled a glowing pink cloud right back at the cage and Elliot squealed with delight. Then I teleported mid–air, snatched him from his perch, and we both disappeared in a shimmer of black and gold, landing with a soft thud on a quiet beach somewhere along the coast.
“Whoa,” Elliot breathed, stumbling a little in the sand as he stared out at the ocean. The sun was just dipping toward the horizon, painting the sky in streaks of molten orange and lavender. Waves rolled in with a calming rhythm, far removed from the chaos we’d left
behind.
“Pretty cool, huh?” I asked, brushing sand off his shirt.
“Very cool,” he nodded, eyes wide. “Is this the real mortal realm?”
“Yup. But what we’re doing today? Even cooler.” I crouched in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s your first reap today. You ready?”
His entire body buzzed with excitement, his heels bouncing in the sand. “Yes! Yes, yes,
yes!”
I chuckled and gave his shoulder a squeeze. With a pulse of magic, a tiny reaper robe shimmered over his frame, black with soft silver trim and little skull buttons down the front. His own miniature scythe materialized next, light as a feather, the blade glowing faintly with potential.
“There,” I said. “Now you look the part.”
He twirled dramatically and puffed out his chest. “Do I look scary?”
I grinned. “Terrifying.”
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Chapter 103
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He giggled and gripped his scythe like it was a lightsaber. “My mum’s going to freak out. She said I wasn’t allowed near sharp objects until I was ten.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “She gave full consent for this. Also, she wants a photo.”
He froze, blinking up at me.
“So,” I said, gesturing. “We’ll shift to the visible spectrum of the mortal realm. You smile. I click. Then we get back to work. Deal?”
“Deal!” he squealed.
With a flick of my fingers, the shadows around us peeled back just enough for a mortal lens to capture the scene. He stood proudly at the water’s edge, little blonde curls peeking from under his hood, his grin so wide I could count every one of his tiny teeth. Click. The
image shimmered into a frame on my tablet. I’d send it to his mum later. She’d probably
cry. Again.
“Alright,” I said, shifting the screen toward him. “Here’s today’s soul. Mila. She was four
when she drowned in this cove a few years ago. Her spirit’s been stuck here, caught
between fear and memory.”
Elliot’s joy dimmed a little, but he nodded seriously, standing straighter.
“She’s in the shallows right now,” I said. “Do you see her?”
He scanned the beach with those sharp little eyes, then pointed. “There, there, she is! Is
she picking up seashells?”
“She is. It’s part of the loop she is caught in. It’s what she was doing when she passed.”
Elliot stepped forward carefully, his tiny scythe held gently at his side like he didn’t want
to scare her. I followed at a distance, watching with quiet pride. He knelt beside her. Her spirit shimmered faintly in the surf, translucent, barely real. A little girl with dark curls and a pink dress, soaked through from ghost–water. She was humming to herself, unaware of our presence until Elliot reached out and tapped her shoulder.
She blinked up at him, frowning slightly. “Are you a pirate?”
He hesitated. “No… I’m kind of like… a helper.”
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She looked down at her dress. “I’m wet.”
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