Infinity Book 2

“Father’s gonna kill us,” Craven whines, his voice filled with fear.

We all laugh at his worry.

“Relax, I won’t let him kill you,” I reassure him, sharing a knowing grin with Zennen and Devlin.

We all know that Lucifer’s chambers are off-limits.

But today, we’re breaking the rules.

The room is bathed in a deep maroon, the same design and color scheme our mother chose before she passed away.

A wave of sadness hits us.

Ever since her death, our father has chosen to grieve alone.

He’s turned his chambers into a memorial for her.

Taking a deep breath, I focus on why we’re here.

I cross the room to what appears to be a closet.

But my siblings and I know better.

We open the door slowly.

Inside, the closet is bare except for a large mirror.

“What’s the plan, Devlin?” I ask. “Father won’t be happy if he finds out we’re using the mirror of fate.”

“It’s the only way to see,” Devlin replies.

I take a deep breath and run my fingers over the frame, the mirror coming to life at my touch.

The mirror smiles at us when I call it forth. Seeing our intentions, the face in the mirror gives me a quick nod. I have its permission to ask my question.

“Show me Zayla King, Soren’s mate, the Horseman of Death’s partner.”

My voice is steady, but inside, I’m a mess.

The woman in the mirror gives us a bright smile before she fades away.

Zayla appears.

I do a double take when I see her curled up, screaming in pain.

“We have to help her!” I yell, panic seizing me.

Craven is already opening a portal to Zayla. But just as we’re about to rush through, we hear a sigh from the mirror.

We turn to see her body relax as the pain subsides.

Zennen and I glance from the mirror to the portal, then Zennen speaks.

“Craven, close that portal, quick.”

As he starts to close it, grunting sounds come from the mirror. We watch in horror as the portal closes and Zayla’s body starts convulsing as if she’s on fire.

“Devlin, we have to do something!” Craven urges.

This time, I open a portal.

I watch in the mirror as her pain slowly fades again. I close the portal to test it, and the pain engulfs her for a third time.

“We can’t keep a portal open, it’ll drain our powers. The only ones who could do it are the reapers, and they’re busy.”

Zennen lets out a frustrated sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.

We all look at each other, trying to think of a solution.

“I have an idea, but I need one of you to hold the portal open for me,” I say.

“I’ll do it, but you’ll only have an hour before I’ll pass out. Is that enough?” Zennen asks.

“Yes, that should be enough time,” I reply, closing my portal as soon as Zennen opens his.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” I say before rushing out of the room.

“Where are we going?” Craven asks, following me down the stairs.

“To the pits.”

Craven stops for a moment before hurrying to catch up with me.

“What could we possibly need from there?”

“Damaged souls,” I reply.

The pits are creepy as hell.

Souls from all walks of life wait there for us to guide them to their final resting place.

Some of them we punish by leaving them here. They slowly go mad, desperate to move on.

My brothers help me manage the souls, but their fate is up to me to decide.

As we enter the room, an unsettling silence greets us.

The souls are scattered around the room, motionless.

Their usual lively behavior is temporarily paused.

As I walk deeper into the room, I search through the masses of souls for one in particular…Geraldo Burtini.

As I sift through the souls, trying to find the man, I see everything each soul has done in their lives.

From living normal, happy lives and raising families to murderers and rapists, they’re all here together, waiting for a verdict on where their soul will be released.

They all want to know when they’ll move on.

I pause as I come across one soul in particular.

Their name and face seem familiar, but I can’t quite place them.

As I let the information of her life flow through me, I realize that the soul in front of me is Zayla’s grandmother.

Her soul is cracked from hardships, but pure. I lock eyes with her soul and release her.

“Your heart is pure, and so you may move on. I’ll watch over your family as they grow. Enjoy Heaven. Your mate is waiting for you there.”

She smiles at me, her eyes filled with gratitude before her soul fades away in a soft white light.

“What are we doing here?” Craven asks.

He crosses his arms over his chest, irritation clear on his face.

I was in such a hurry that I forgot to tell him the plan.

“We need Geraldo Burtini,” I sigh.

At first, he looks unsure, but he doesn’t question me.

We continue our search.

When Craven calls me over, his voice is filled with uncertainty.

“I found him but…I don’t know what you plan to do with him. Maybe we need a different soul.”

Confused, I follow his voice until I find him.

Chained to the wall is Geraldo Burtini.

His soul bears the marks I gave his human form in anger.

Here in the pits, his soul is whole and almost lifelike. But if I were to release it, Geraldo would shatter into the many pieces I left him in.

“He’s perfect, just as I knew he would be,” I say excitedly, reaching up and unlocking his chain from the wall.

I pull him up, forcing Geraldo to stand.

I place my hands on his shoulders, taking in his life.

Death was an easy way out for him.

“For the wrongs you’ve committed against both humans and supernaturals, you’re sentenced to rot here in Purgatory until we decide otherwise. The souls here will move on, but you’ll stay put.”

I turn and give a nod to Craven. He steps up beside me, crossing his left arm over mine, and we both grip Geraldo’s shoulders in a mirrored hold.

Craven and I start the Latin chant that initiates the reaper creation ritual.

As the final word leaves our lips, our eyes turn a stark white and our bodies stiffen. We’re giving this soul an immortal afterlife.

But we add a phrase that lets us turn Geraldo back into just another broken soul.

Without this phrase, Geraldo would be a reaper forever.

As the ritual wraps up, this pathetic excuse for a human stands there with a smirk on his face.

“I don’t know why you’re smirking. This won’t be a pleasant experience for you.”

Craven’s voice is laced with annoyance before he lets go of Geraldo.

I hoist the short man off the ground with barely any effort.

What a fucking cockroach...

No, that’s too kind. Cockroaches are smart and can survive a nuclear blast. This piece of roadkill is far beneath a cockroach.

I keep him suspended in the air, his legs dangling and his face reflecting the fear I remember from my own torture. I walk deeper into the pit until we reach the cells.

This is the worst place for a soul to be.

The cells are spelled to strip the souls of their free will, leaving them frozen in place.

But they’re fully aware of their surroundings, so they sit there, sometimes for hundreds of years, unable to react or move.

“Cell 27, I command you to open.”

Craven and I step inside. The room is bare except for a wooden chair that hovers slightly above the ground.

I place Geraldo in the chair, and it drops to the floor. His body freezes instantly. Panic screams from his eyes as I circle him.

“You see, Geraldo, it’s not smart to be cocky when you’re being punished. I bet it felt amazing to have all that power coursing through your veins as you became a reaper.”

I bend down behind him and whisper in his ear. My voice is cold and filled with anger.

“But I have plans for you.”

I grab the back of his neck, which can now feel pain again, and dig my nails in.

He can’t die or bleed from this, but he can feel the pain.

I pull his head back, forcing him to lock eyes with Craven, who steps forward.

“You will open a portal to the home of Zayn King and his mate Skyla. I know you know who they are, so don’t fucking play dumb.”

In this cell, he has to follow orders. But opening a portal is tricky if you don’t know where you’re going.

But after looking into his life, we found out he knows exactly where the Kings live.

A little too fucking well for our liking.

The attack on Zayla was orchestrated by this man.

We only found out after his soul ended up here.

After a few minutes of silence, a portal slowly opens in the cell.

I tighten my grip on his neck and give one last command.

“Keep this portal open until Craven or I tell you to close it. And make sure it stays hidden.”

Craven and I watch as the portal changes color and location, ending up in what looks like an attic.

I release his neck and walk back in front of him.

“Enjoy your new home. Cell 27 has always been my favorite.”

Before we leave, Craven lands a punch in his gut. His eyes show his pain, but his body remains frozen.

“That’s for hurting my little sister, you bastard. Enjoy your solitude.”

We walk out, command the cell to lock, and seal it with blood. It can only be opened by Craven or me.

We hurry back upstairs to our father’s room and Fate’s Mirror.

Just as we open the door, we see Zennen on the verge of passing out.

We made it back just in time.