Read Reaper: The Demontouched Saga (Book 3) Online
Authors: Douglas Wayne
Reaper: The Demontouched Saga (Book 3) (12 page)
“That is an odd ability for a demon,” she says. “That ability is nearly unique to the reapers.”
“Reapers?” I say. “Like the grim reaper?”
“Kinda.” She reaches down on the coffee table and pulls out a book close to the bottom. “Reapers are a class of angel that are able to draw the soul out of a living being to help deliver it to its proper place.”
“So they work on your side then. That’s good.”
“Not exactly,” she says. “Reapers have always been a neutral party. They are just as willing to take a soul to heaven as they would to hell.”
“So explain purgatory then? Why would all the souls end up there right now? Aren’t there many around?”
“We haven’t heard from one in a few years. Not long after the Rising. They were the ones that took the initial wave of people away.”
“There had to have been a few hundred thousand around to take everyone away like that.”
“The number was closer to a few dozen. They are able to work very quickly when the time calls for it. If the rumors are true, they were the only beings to have a clue on when this was going to hit. They were probably positioned in a way to get the most people out as quickly as possible.”
I remember the night it happened very well. We were watching the nine o’clock news, like we always did after getting Jack to bed. Throughout the night there had been hundreds of unexplained disappearances across the world, all seeming to hit after dark. As the day went on, the reports circled around the globe.
I thought it was a bunch of bullshit, something the media perpetrated to put is in a state of fear, until I woke up the next morning.
I got up early that day. About an hour earlier than normal. The plan was to surprise my family with a huge breakfast. It was the start of my two-week vacation at the firm. We didn’t have the money to go anywhere, so we just planned on spending the time together.
The meal took me a few hours to prepare. While I know how to cook, I am not the fastest at it. When the last of the bacon was done, I sat down at the table to enjoy a cup of coffee while I waited for them to join me.
Part of me wishes that I turned on the news before I started cooking. Not that it would have done any good at the time, I would have spent more time looking for them. Part of me believes they couldn’t have gotten that far away overnight. If I had started searching earlier, perhaps they would still be here.
After I scoured the house, I spent the next few hours driving around the neighborhood. It was so odd seeing it so empty. Sure, there were other people looking for their loved ones like I was, but it had a really eerie feeling to it. I drove around well into the night, not stopping once unless I thought I saw them.
I woke up sometime the following day still behind the wheel. I’m still amazed that I managed to get the car into park. Someone must have been watching over my shoulder back then. It sure wasn’t me.
“What do you think we should do with the orb?” I ask.
“After the last one, I think we both know it isn’t safe here. Especially without Ezekiel.” She hands the orb back to me. “You should keep it. Perhaps you can find a way to free those inside.”
“We’ll see.” I put the orb into my old backpack. “I think I’m going to go take a walk. I know Nal can use some help finding people to work on the power plants.”
Uriel smiles at me while she walks me to the door. “Mitch,” she says. “You and Sara should stay here with us. It would be good for the people to have you around more often.”
“You know me, Uriel. I’m not much of a people-person.”
“The people don’t need you to be. They need to see someone fighting against the evil that is stacked up against them in this world.”
“I have something that they don’t,” I say, tapping my chest.
“It isn’t your powers that make you great,” she says. “It’s your heart.”
I turn around and walk away from Uriel. I know what she is trying to do, and I’m not sure that I want to be a part of it. I’m already much deeper in than I really wanted to be.
My mind is working in overdrive trying to piece together everything from the last few days. So much, in fact, that I don’t notice the body on the ground until I trip over it.
“Holy shit, man. Are you OK?” I ask the guy on the ground.
He opens parts his lips to reveal a mouthful of blood. I’m not well versed in first aid, but I know enough to realize that I need to get him off of his back.
With his airway free, he coughs out a nasty puddle of dark red mucus. I don’t know what is wrong with him, but he doesn’t look good.
From the north I hear the sound of a dozen car horns blaring at the same time. My instincts are telling me that something is gravely wrong.
I look around, hoping to find someone to help me with this man so I can see what is going on to the north. Before I find anyone he starts to shake rapidly. Probably a seizure if I had to guess. It goes on for nearly a minute before coming to a stop. I roll him back on his back and pull open his eyelids. I guess you will probably be able to add death to the list of things wrong with this guy before too long.
“I’m sorry that I can’t help you, but I may be able to save you.” I put the palm of my hand on the mans face. My palm begins to glow slightly, sending the energy into the man’s body. I’m not sure how I am doing this, but it feels natural.
Almost too natural.
Could I have been doing this all along?
I watch with amazement as the shadowy tendrils of his soul are absorbed into my body leaving me with a limp, lifeless body in my arms.
Before I get to my feet, I pull off the man’s jacket and place it over his face. An explosion to the north brings me to my feet. I wish I could do more for the man, but I’d bet someone is looking for the orb already.
This time they I am going to teach them what happens when they attack this place. I’m getting sick and fucking tired of them parading around like they own the place.
The time to play defense is over. The only way to win is to take the fight to them.
I take off at a sprint towards the commotion to the north. It is time to go grab the ball.
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Follow Mitch as he fights to keep humanity out of the hands of demonkind.
The Complete Demontouched Saga
The Demontouched Saga
The Nephalem Files
Thank you again for reading my book. I spent countless hours writing and editing my book to make it the best I could. I then sent the book to an editor in order to catch the things that I may have missed.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
I can remember the first fantasy book I read as a kid. It was Dragons of Autumn Twilight and the rest of the Dragonlance Chronicles. Raistlin, Tas, Tanis, and the rest of the cast had me putting my name on the list to borrow the book at least once a year at my school library. From the first read I fell in love.
From there my love of fantasy turned into a love of gaming. Dungeons and Dragons, Rift, and Shadowrun firmly had my attention throughout my teenage years. There was hardly a week… a day when my friends and I didn’t sit down to play something. Even when we weren’t playing, we had a blast just creating characters or talking about the settings.
Eventually, I taught myself how to be a dungeon master of the games. This allowed me to come up with scenarios and stories for my friends to play through. I didn’t need any preparation beforehand, everything I needed came from my head.
I don’t play the games like I used to, but I’m a much more avid reader than I’ve ever been. I’m thankful for my Kindle Unlimited subscription that allows me to keep something on the fly, even when things have been tight. Some of my favorite authors are Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin, the late Robert Jordan amongst others.
I would like to say that I was one of those people who loved to write from a young age, but I can’t. I didn’t believe that I had what it took to tell a good story, even though my time as a teenager said otherwise. It wasn’t until I explained an idea for a story to my wife that I grew the courage to even try.
Demontouched was not the story I told my wife, but another one that begged to be told. It was through the struggles of Mitch that I started to fall in love with writing. I don’t look forward to ending his story, but will be thankful he gave me a chance to tell it.
I have tons of stories swimming in my head right now, I only hope I get to live long enough to tell them all.
Thank you for giving me, and other indie authors like me, a shot.
Douglas Wayne
Douglas Wayne is a web writer, construction worker, and father. He grew up reading best sellers like Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickmann as a child, upgrading to Brandon Sanderson and George R. R. Martin as an adult. His debut novel, Demontouched (Book 1 of The Demontouched Saga) was released in April 2015 along with the sequel Fallen.