Page 14 of Death Match

What is happening?

Suddenly, three walls materialized around me, boxing me in, just as two metallic elevator doors glided shut in front of me and sealed Heaven away from view. The singledingof a bell sounded, and a pointing down arrow illuminated at the top.

Son of a gun. Would you look at that? Whatever I had said worked because I doubted it was the foot stomp.

When the elevator chimed again, the doors peeled open, revealing the golden elevator to my left and the Hell one directly in front of me. I stuck my head out the door and peeked down the slender hall. Even more elevators lined both walls on either side.

Yep. I was in Styx Corp.

Home sweet home.

As I stepped out into the hall, another elevator sounded its arrival. I spun on my heel to find the golden doors opening. Simon and the half demon teen I had reaped a while back appeared behind them. The kid’s name sprang up instantly inside my head. Kyle B. Jensen.

I smiled at the sight of them for two very different reasons. Seeing Simon always brought me comfort, especially when my stress level was through the roof. He was like my safety net, after all. Always there. Ready to catch me. And Kyle—well, I’d had a hunch he wouldn’t be dropped in Hell after being reaped, like he’d thought. Suicide or not. Obviously, someone doing his orientation had felt the same way. It was good to see him again.

They hadn’t noticed me at first. They were too lost in their own conversation to see me standing there. Simon’s chuckle was a rare sound, yet wrinkles crinkled the corners of his eyes and his laughter spilled from his lips as if it was one of his normal functions. His hand clasped the boy’s shoulder, too, giving him a friendly shake.

Confused by what was in front of me, I called Simon’s name. They both looked up as they stepped out of the elevator, finally seeing me.

“Jade,” Simon said in surprise. His expression instantly changed to the smooth, no-emotion façade I was used to, telling me he knew I was wandering where I didn’t belong. “You’re back. I thought…”

“It’s just a quick visit,” I replied and gave Kyle a wink. “Hey, kid. Told you I’d see you again on the other side.”

He grinned. The gold elevator doors closed behind them, bringing up another question. Why was Kyle with Simon in the first place? Had they been in his office together?

“So…” I started, unsure how to bring up the topic. “Whatcha guys up to?”

“Simon’s been showing me the ropes,” Kyle said despite Simon’s stiff demeanor. “He said he mentored you, too.”

Mentored… Showing him the ropes…

Did that mean…?

Kyle was the newest reaper at Styx?

I glanced at Simon, trying to get a read on his face but not finding any. He was as stoic as a statue.

I had known Simon for close to two years now, and in all that time, I think I got him to laughtwice.Yet here he was yucking it up with the new kid. A pang of jealousy jabbed me in the heart. It took me by surprise, but I couldn’t help it.

“Looks like they had no problem replacing me,” I said. No matter how much I’d tried to prevent it, some of my bitterness leaked into my tone. I wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that it was Kyle they’d chosen. Someone I knew. Kind of.

As always, Simon noticed my reserve before Kyle, and he turned to his new charge. “Kyle, Maryanne has your new home assignment and information about what to expect here in the afterlife. I believe they were able to find your birth mother, too.”

Kyle’s eyes widened. “What? No way. My mom?”

Way to lay that bomb on him. But it seemed to work to distract him enough. He all but ran down the hallway to the main foyer, leaving me alone with Simon. Exactly what he had wanted.

“Jade,” he began, then he drew in a deep breath through his nose. Was he performing one of his anger-controlling exercises I wondered, now that I knew what kind of shifter he really was? A Komodo dragon shifter. How many times had he had to use his techniques when dealing with me? Loads, I bet. “Kyle is Styx Corporation’s newest reaper. I’m training him, just as I did you.”

Why was he telling me things I already knew? Was it to stop the sharp stinging in my chest? Because it wasn’t working.

“Guess that means you managed to find Benjamin and kick him to the curb?” Only ten reapers were allowed to be active at a time. When Azrael had pulled Benjamin out of Hell and brought him back to the afterlife with him, he had filled the tenth spot, leaving me with no other choice than to be Released to be allowed through the veil again.

So, if Kyle was the new reaper, then that meant the position had been recently opened.

“I did,” Simon answered plainly.

I waited for him to reveal more information, like where Azrael had stashed Ben, but in true Simon fashion, he left it at that.

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