War of the Reapers, page 1
War of the Reapers
Reaper’s Son
Book Two
Mariah Kingsley
Mariah Kingsley Productions
Copyright © 2022 by Mariah Kingsley
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
I dedicate this book to Serena. Although you were only with me for a few months I still miss you like crazy.
To my children I hope that when you read this book you know that you can be and do anything.
To my husband thank you for being a constant support!
To Jen and Tish I love you both and thank you for being there for me. Listening to my story ideas and helping me through this.
And to the best book bestie in the world, Ebony, you are stronger than anyone that I know. I know you are going through a hard time, but you are making it happen everyday and for that I am proud of you.
Contents
1. I Have Plans
2. The Land of the Gods
3. Under the Radar
4. Sparkle
5. Mere Mortal
6. Misery
7. Athena
8. The Big God
9. Revenge
10. How Dare You
11. Tell Me All About It
12. My Sisters
13. Confessions
14. The Heat!
15. I’m Coming for you
16. Warriors
17. Jackal
18. Intruder
19. Mama Bear
20. Goddess
21. Prayers
22. Growing Up
23. The Land of the Gods
24. Family Reunion
25. Are You Good Enough?
26. Secrets
27. Explanations
28. Bad Track Record
29. Too Late
30. Fates
31. King
32. Death
33. Floating
34. Don’t Lose
35. 2000 Years
36. Let’s Get Away
37. Fire
38. And There He Is…
Afterword
About the Author
Also by Mariah Kingsley
Chapter 1
I Have Plans
Piper
My eyes open to the bright sun, and I couldn’t think of anything other than this was my first day of eternity. I could think of a million things that was good about that thought, but only one thing ran through my mind. I would never see my mother again. She was on the other side of eternity’s door. What felt like a lifetime ago, and maybe in some ways it was, I was just inside that door with her. Now she was too far away, and I would never be close to her again.
I took a deep breath and looked to the clock. 6:27 in the morning. Three minutes before the alarm rings. In the grand scheme of things, it was no time at all. I might as well get up now and start my shower. A few extra minutes under the shower would do me some good. I got out of bed, my feet touching the ground. I walked to the door, opened it, and realized I forgot my towel. “Shoot.” I went back for it, leaving the door open. I turned, towel in hand, and stopped when I saw Eliza standing in my door, her mouth in a “O” shape and her eyes wide.
“Eliza, what?”
“You… You…. Oh my god you!” I looked around the room and then back at her.
“Me what?” I touched my face hoping I didn’t have a pimple of all pimples.
“Have you looked at yourself?”
I didn’t need anything else to go wrong. I bypassed the mirror in my room, heading to the bathroom mirror for better light. Eliza ran to her room as I was walking out. I looked back to see Eliza with her phone. I could hear the signature sound of a FaceTime call being placed, and then “At this hour of the morning the war better have started.” That was Jen.
“You have got to see this.” Eliza said, but I wasn’t interested in showing off my pimple this early in the morning. Eliza hit all the lights in the bathroom, illuminating the room and then I looked at myself. Not me but someone that looked like me.
Except flawlessly beautiful.
I was taller, much taller. Just yesterday I was five foot five. Now…I had to be at least six foot. My hair was no longer to my shoulders. It was long really long, touching my waist and it was shining like new penny. I reached up and pulled it out of the ponytail it was in and shook it a little. It held soft waves and framed my face.
I could have been on a hair commercial. Then I turned around and saw… Wow. My body was awesome.
“Holy crap! Where did that body come from?” Jen screamed from the phone, but I was speechless.
“Are you telling me this heifer get eternal life, the ability to have her hearts desires and a body a plastic surgeon would give his left eye for! Totally not fair.” Eliza said. I had to agree with her. This was not fair, but I was going with it.
I thought of several outfits to showcase this new body. Being able to think of a new outfit and it materialize was a really good perk. After fifteen outfits, I found the one that made me feel like a super model. Red dress, red spiked heels and the effect of living a long life means I didn’t really need makeup. That didn’t mean I didn’t wear it. I skipped breakfast and when I came down the stairs, Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson both had their mouths open. I heard the horn and grabbed my backpack and walked out the door.
Before I got to the car, Callum was out of it, standing in door of the car, his mouth wide open. I liked that look. Hey, I wasn’t ugly. I knew that. But I had never made anyone’s mouth hang open when they saw me.
“Close your mouth and get my door sir. We have a high school to concur.” He smiled a cute little smile and walked around the car to the door. Callum was always a gentleman, no matter what. He opened the door for us, always walked with Jen, Eliza and I on the inside so we were protected. I loved that about him.
“Anubis is going to kill me.”
“Yep, that if this body doesn’t kill you first.” I don’t know where this attitude came from, but I am so excited.
I was done with school and headed to the diner. All day at school, guys tripped all over themselves to talk to me. I liked the attention. I walked into my mother’s diner and the sadness hit me. For years she was here, and now she was gone forever. I knew the sheriff was caught, but Bobby was free. Bobby stabbed me until I was dead, and then he got away with it. Anger rose inside of me, and I needed to calm down. I looked around the diner and noticed that it was quiet. Oh yeah, the new me. I forgot that not everyone hadn’t seen me yet. I’m sure in about twenty years they would get used to it.
I was about to take my usual seat next to the kitchen when I saw him… Bobby. His mouth was open, sweat pouring down his face and I decided to do something the old me would never do: sit next to him.
I walked through the diner, speaking to people as I went. “Hey Bobby. Long time no see,” I said cheerfully. He said nothing. No matter, I had a lot to say.
“So about last night, you know the whole kidnap me, stab me to death thing. How you feeling about that?”
“P...P...P…Piper,” he said, his eyes wide like he saw a ghost.
Maybe he did see a ghost.
“You are acting like you saw a ghost.” I leaned into him whispering. “None of the other women you killed came back to haunt you? Aren’t you a lucky duck?”
He looked around the room, his eyes beady, sweat pouring down his face. I reached over and handed him my napkin. “You know when you die, you feel no pain, no anger, you are just free. Then you walk up these stairs with flashes of your life playing out, and when you reach the top, a door is opened to you, and you pass through for eternity.” His eyes were glued to me, fear evident in them. “I know you are wondering: how am I here?”
He slowly nodded his head.
“Callum is a god, and his father is the god of death. You see he loves me, and the thought of losing me was too much for him to bear, so he brought me back to life.”
His eyes got bigger with each word I said, and I smiled at him. “The best part for me, is that I live forever now, and for the next… I don’t know… eternity, I plan to make your life a living hell. I plan to make you regret helping that son of yours. I plan to expose whatever the sheriff has on him, and you. You will pay for my death; you definitely will pay for my mother’s death. I am going to drag it out. Every day until you go to hell, I will make you pay. Nothing is off the table.” I said with a smile. “You know this morning when I woke up to face eternity, I was sad, but knowing I have thousands and thousands of years letting the world know just what kind of monster you are, I feel giddy.”
“Piper…” he said my name like he had something to say, but I cut him off.
“Bobby, there is nothing you can say, nothing you can do. I have one more secret. Something this town has not heard yet, and guess what? You will be the first to know. The sheriff was arrested last night for the murders of those women. I bet right now he is telling all the things you have helped him do. I bet your precious son is in the crossfire as well.” Funny, I could smell his fear. “Bobby, you know I have to work fast, you being behind bars could really slow down my efforts at making your life hell. Oh well, let me get up and start that now. Have a good day Bobby, and thanks for dying thing. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
I got up from my seat, touched Bob
Chapter 2
The Land of the Gods
Zeus
Three men in leather stood along the walls to the Chambers of the High Gods. They were generals in Cannon’s land, and they just told us that Cannon was dead. Killed by his own weapon at the hands of Anubis’ son.
“You are dismissed.” I told them. They all filed out of the room, and I looked around the table. Oden, Osiris, Ra, Hera, and Athena looked to me. Frigga’s eyes were to the door. It had been only a day since Anubis was among us. After thousands of years without a visit. I received reports of his life on earth, and wished him well, but the son that I just learned about was something the reports didn’t announce.
“We must avenge our brother’s death, Zeus!” Osiris said to me.
“Patience brother. You heard the story. Cannon attacked first.”
“A boy, a mere human, killed our brother with his own weapon. He must pay for that,” Osiris shouted.
“Yes, a weapon a mortal couldn’t hold. The God Slayer wouldn’t allow it. You heard she called him master. This “boy,” as you put it, is no boy. He is one of us. We must know whether he is friend or foe. We all know Cannon was volatile. We should take that into consideration before we kill the boy, and anyone that knows about him.”
“Agreed,” the occupants of the table said.
Scouts would be sent out to gather information on the new owner of The God Slayer.
Chapter 3
Under the Radar
Celeste
Bobby didn’t show up to work. He called in this morning saying he wasn’t feeling well. Since I didn’t call the police last night when Piper went missing, he assumed I didn’t know it was him. This I could use to my advantage. I just didn’t know how. Anubis walked into the kitchen where I was drinking my tea and thinking. We didn’t get back from his island until late last night, and I watched him fall into bed and actually sleep. I looked at the clock. It was after four in the afternoon, and he was just getting out of bed.
“Are you okay?” He wore a pair of black jeans and a white shirt. His hair was in a long braid down his back.
“I think so. I have a lot on my mind. I need to pop in and see what is going on with the sheriff and figure out how to get Bobby to confess as well. Then I really need to pop into the land of the gods and find out what is being said about Cannon’s death.”
I had forgot about that for a little while. The death of Cannon could be disastrous. With all that has happened in the last few days, the thought of losing Callum made my stomach knot. “Anubis, do you think the other gods will go after Callum?”
“I think with the weapon that he has, they will watch first. Maybe invite him up. If he can stay off their radar, maybe we will have a chance.”
Stay under the radar. I have two children that are gods with new powers that they will inevitably want to show off. Show everyone all that they can do. And, of course, they could draw unwanted attention from a number of sources.
“Anubis, we need a plan for when they don’t stay under the radar. A good plan. I know death isn’t on the table, but there are worst things than death.”
“You are right my love, there are worst things than death. An eternity in darkness is the highest crime for a god, and it is given out very rarely. If they find that Callum went to kill Cannon, this could be his punishment.”
“But that is not what happened. He was working off his emotions of losing Piper. He didn’t go there to kill him.”
“We know that, but the council doesn’t. The good thing is, I can go to the council and talk to them. Make them see reason.”
I closed my eyes against the pain of losing him for the sake of Callum’s life. I had just got him back; seven years without the love of my life was more than I could bare. The only good thing about him leaving was for every day he spends in the lands of the gods, a year passes on Earth. Callum would have time to learn how to use his powers and protect himself.
“When you go, Anubis, Callum will need someone to teach him to fight. His life will depend on it.” Walking over to me he pulled me into his arms. Hearing his heartbeat brought my heart sadness. How long would he be gone this time?
“I will have the reapers teach him. They are always ready to protect me, and they will do the same for him.” God, I hoped so.
Chapter 4
Sparkle
Callum
School was uneventful, except for Piper. She was beautiful. Not that she wasn’t before, but I was drawn to her even more now. She reminded me of a very real Jessica Rabbit. The entire school was a buzz about how much she had grown and how beautiful she was. After school I offered to take her home, but she declined, saying she wanted some time to think and walked instead.
After dropping off Eliza and Jen, I went straight home, Anubis was going to have a fit when I told him about Piper. I got out the car and walked to the door. When I opened it, I felt something strange in the air. Not like Anubis but something I couldn’t put my finger on. I called out to my parents, and they called back “living room.” They were sitting in front of the television watching the news.
The reporter was talking about the end of a crime era in our town. The sheriff had confessed to the murders of those women; he also confessed to the murders of women that have been missing for years. They said his guilt was so heavy that he asked for no trial, he would take his punishment, whatever they came up with. This was good news on one front, but Bobby hadn’t been dealt with yet.
The news showed photos of the missing women along with the women that were found on Highway 90. The presence was stronger. I looked around the room but saw nothing.
“Anubis,” I said to his mind.
“It’s very weird when you do that. I know what you feel. They are scouts. They are checking to see if you are friend or foe. Just go about you day. The gods will be here soon if they sent them.”
I didn’t like this, but I wanted to live. I had to deal with the scouts. On to the part that was going to annoy Anubis. “Have you seen Piper?” I asked them both, knowing if they had, I wouldn’t have to explain what I meant. If I had to tell Anubis that her body had bloomed overnight…
“She went to school, right?” my mother asked.
“She went to school. She also grew six inches and has the body of a supermodel.
My mother’s eyes bulged out of her face. Anubis looked thoughtful. Then he spoke. “Goddesses are all beautiful, not that she wasn’t beautiful before, but the body is holding a gift and it will showcase that gift as much as it can. I am surprised at how fast it happened, but not really surprised that it happened. Anything else that I need to know?”
“That’s all for now. We need to deal with Bobby. He can’t get off after murdering Piper.” I glared at the thought of Piper on that ground. The presence in the room became stronger and my father looked to me. Silently telling me to keep my temper in check. I had to think before I did something else stupid, like anger the gods or bring someone from the Land of the Dead.
“You need to work on your powers, son. We can do that later tonight. Check on the girls and have them call me. I need to think, and you need to talk to Piper. It’s a lot to deal with in a short period of time, and I don’t want her to get down in the dumps.”
