Page 13 of Reaper's Quest

Surely not a test of my reaper abilities, because those had been tested time and time again.

In any case, they had known about the reaping task before I even had the chance to tell them. Ubel had actually called me with the knowledge of my assignment and my destination mere moments after I’d received the crow-delivered transit ticket at the lecture hall.

No doubt, I had Uncle Mortifier to thank for keeping themso wellinformed. Likely had him to thank for the assignment, as well.

Yeah, everything about the situation disconcerted me.

Why the rush? The required reaping already held severe delinquent status, so why not allow us more time to prepare?

When asked, Ubel had brushed the tips of his fingernails along his lapel, glanced over me, and said, “I suspect the powers that be are expediting your departure in order to hinderany attempt by Scorpeo Gunn to find his daughter a way out of the task.”

Raven was a born reaper, so like it or not, the task came with the job—or life mission. If Mr. Gunn wanted to excuse his daughter from the reap, what did that say about the task? Or about Raven? Was Mr. Gunn trying to protect her? And if he felt she needed protection from the awaiting citadel…

Did my relations not hold the same concerns, fears, or cares about me?

No. I suppose our relationship over the past few years revealed more than enough to answer that unspoken question.

And…if the powers that be cut the timeline short for the reason Ubel proposed, then that would suggest an utter lack of randomness in Raven’s assignment to the task. The same could likely be said about my involvement.

Ubel shook my arm, yanking me back to the moment. “Stop daydreaming andanswer me.”

I dragged a calming breath through my chest, glared at the point of our contact, and then slowly raised my gaze to meet his stare, my eyes narrowing. “Tell me something,Dad. If I somehow fail to return from this reap, will you be all torn up inside?”

Ubel’s eyes burst wide. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but no words sprang forth. The old reaper’s lack of verbal response spoke volumes.

I flashed my wicked elder a knowing smirk, even as Bacia Badden extracted my arm from her husband’s hold and dragged me into her embrace. At the contact, my back and shoulders stiffened.

When was the last time she hugged me? My age had still been in the single digits.

“Don’t ever pose such foolish questions.” She pulled back and cupped my face in her hands. “You come back to us in one healthy piece. You understand me?”

The candor in her delivery fell short. I fought the desire to pull free from her hold and instead frowned while giving her a confirming nod. The affection she showered upon me now, however uncomfortable, was more than she’d shown in years. Ever since…

Ubel patted me on the back. “I will find out from Mortifier what is behind this unconventional task. The Johnsons should be dealing with this issue, not my heir.”

His words dripped with insincerity. Had the guy not wanted me to attend the task, he wouldn’t have let himself into my flat and had my bags packed and ready to go so damn quickly.

Rolling my eyes and biting my tongue, I withdrew from their attention.

Other big players in the reaping world found Ubel Badden untrustworthy. They were right to believe so. The guy kept too many secrets, even from his own family.

Mr. Aldine stepped onto the platform from the adjacent parking lot and waved at us. “I see you managed to adjust for the time change. Good. Good. Very good.”

Ubel failed to twitch even the tiniest of smiles in return.

Under his breath, he said, “That reaper is a fool and has a great deal to answer for. Too bad he never shall.”

“Now, dear.” Bacia ran a soothing hand across his back.

I pinched my brow. “What do you mean by that? Answer for what?”

With arms folded into my pits to hide my clenched fists, I stared at Ubel, waiting.

He tipped his head. “Old history that I would think shouldn’t be of concern to you during your impending task. Keep your focus, boy. Our family has a reputation to uphold, and a great many secrets dwell within the citadel. Take the opportunity to develop and thrive.”

What an odd choice of words…develop and thrive. But seriously,I’m twenty-four years old. Well above the boy range.

I ground my teeth, teetering on the edge of vocalizing my thoughts, but the clickety-clack of shoes spun my attention elsewhere. I whirled away from the irritating male and toward the sound.