Life After Death (Return to Limbo City Book 1) Sneak Peek of Chapter 3

   

Chapter 3

“There is something about a closet that makes a skeleton terribly restless."

—Wilson Mizner

 

Maybe I was imagining things, but Jenni Fang and I had been on the verge of friendship at one time. Our differences were many, but we’d found balance in our common denominator, Josie Galla.

If not for Josie, I don’t imagine Jenni and I would have ever been roommates or study buddies, or gone shopping together. The only time Jenni had involved me without Josie had been when Grim approved her revenge mission on Caim.

After she’d been taken, I’d been the one to find her, naked and chained in a dark cell, broken mentally and physically. I assumed she’d chosen me to go after Caim because she knew I’d understand her wrath and desperate need for closure. Not exactly a girls’ night out, but battle was its own flavor of bonding.

There was also a part of me that had always suspected Jenni knew more than she’d let on after becoming Grim’s new second-in-command. Not that I imagined Grim had shared the information freely, but Jenni was resourceful. And ambitious. A combination that made her too much like our late boss for my taste. The slick black pantsuits she’d taken to wearing only amplified the similarity.

Jenni leaned against the back wall of the elevator, ankles crossed and arms folded. “Going down?” she asked at my slack-jawed hesitation.

“Uh… yeah.” I gave Warren a farewell nod and boarded the elevator with an uneasy feeling in my gut.

Jenni’s complete lack of surprise made it clear that our meeting this way was not a coincidence. As soon as the doors closed, she pressed the button for the thirty-seventh floor. My stomach clenched even though it had been years since I’d last visited Grim’s floor of horrors, reserved for torturing his foes.

“It’s been a long day,” Jenni said, her stoic gaze meeting mine briefly. “Have a drink with me.”

“You know, I would, but Bub’s expecting me for dinner, and um…” I raked a hand through my hair, trying to summon a better excuse.

Jenni shot me another look, one that reminded me far too much of Grim. “I wasn’t asking.”

I wheezed out a clipped laugh. “Sounds as if I’m going to need that drink.”

“You and me both.”

“How did you even know I was here?” I asked, my senses finally catching up.

“Tracking chip in your soul docket.”

My hand instinctively went to my pocket, patting the outline of the device through my pants. It wasn’t much bigger than a cell phone, making it easy to forget about after the workday ended. But I wouldn’t forget again. That sucker would be staying on the ship anytime I was off the clock from here on out.

I wasn’t the sort to engage in illegal activities—well, not anymore. It was the principal of the matter. That kind of invasive technology should have been reserved for emergencies, not to ambush me in an elevator. I didn’t enjoy being caught off guard. I didn’t know anyone who did.

“How do you like your martinis?” Jenni asked as the elevator rolled to a stop.

“At home,” I muttered under my breath.

“Gin or vodka?” she clarified, ignoring my snarky nerves.

Before I could answer, the doors slid open, revealing a bright foyer.

The construction site I remembered with its hanging plastic sheets and abandoned power tools was gone. A giant marble geisha squatted in one corner, her head nearly grazing the high ceiling. She clutched a bucket in her hands, tilted so that it continuously spilled into a raised basin at her feet. Fat koi splashed their tails in greeting as Jenni sat on the lip of the fountain. She twirled her fingers in the water before taking off her heels, exchanging them for a pair of house slippers.

The elevator doors began to close again, and I slapped my hand out to stop them, quickly exiting at Jenni’s irritated scowl. She pointed toward a bench along the far wall. “You can kick your boots off over there.”

I did as instructed and then followed her down a curved hallway and into a massive living space. Evening light filtered through tall windows. The sky had melted into a deep red-orange, painting the walls and cabinets a golden hue.

Jenni cut through the room, bypassing a pristine sitting area. The absence of throw pillows and ass impressions in the angular, leather sofas made it clear the room didn’t get much use.

“Do you… live here?” I was almost embarrassed that I didn’t know the answer. Had we really become so out of touch?

“For two years now,” Jenni answered. She stopped in front of a wet bar and filled a shaker with ice before pulling two martini glasses from a glass chiller. “Gin or vodka?” she asked again.

“Gin, thanks.” I stripped out of my jacket and glanced around the room, trying to decide where to discard it. Now that I was reasonably certain Jenni hadn’t gone full-on sadist and brought me here to witness her grim handiwork, my heart rate had returned to normal. Maybe we really could just be two old friends sharing a drink after work.

“You can toss that anywhere,” Jenni said, nodding at the catalog sitting area.

I draped my jacket over the back of a sofa and cringed at how it ruined the aesthetic. I didn’t belong in perfect places like this. I was a messy, lived-in kinda gal. An overstuffed chaise covered in knit blankets and hellhound fur was more my speed.

Jenni carried our martinis to a long counter that sectioned off the kitchen and pulled out a pair of backless barstools that had been pushed up against the paneled underside. Their leather seats matched the sofas and looked as equally unused as everything else in the apartment. I couldn’t decide if it was because Jenni was just that anal or if she stayed too busy for entertaining.

“Two years?” I hitched an eyebrow and gave the place an appraising glance before taking a seat.

“The condo at Holly House wasn’t getting much use, and then the council began to question the conflict of interest.” Jenni rolled her eyes and took a sip of her martini.

I plucked up the cocktail sword of olives in my own glass, biting one off to keep my mouth busy. Jenni already knew how I felt about the council, and everyone knew how desperate they were to appear relevant in the changing political landscape of Eternity. Nitpicking over the president of Reapers Inc.’s living accommodations made about as much sense as anything else they’d done in the past decade.

I finally sampled the martini, washing down the olive with an appreciative hum. The gin was smooth with an herbal aftertaste. It steeled my nerves just enough to get me into trouble. “You’ve never tracked me down to have drinks before. What’s the occasion?”

“Right to it, then.” Jenni polished off her martini and set it down on the counter, swallowing hard before her gaze locked on mine again. “We have a problem, and I think you’re the only one who can solve it.”

“And by we, you mean… the council?”

“No.” Jenni shook her head. “I mean we as in all of Eternity. Everyone.”

I huffed and propped an elbow over the edge of the counter. “Look, I know they’d love to get their hands on an original believer who’s willing to restore the throne. But even if I wanted to help them—which I don’t—they striped me of the ability to see a soul’s aura. So I don’t see how I could possibly be any better a candidate than anyone else for whatever problem—”

“When’s the last time you talked to Ellen Aries?” Jenni asked, her expression going stony.

“I don’t know. A few months ago?” I shrugged.

“Do you remember shadowing her when she first reentered the field?”

“Sure.” A cold sweat worked its way up my back to the nape of my neck. “Why?”

“That was after Naledi’s procedure.”

“And?” I blinked innocently.

Jenni’s eyes narrowed. By now I knew where she was going, but I was still holding out hope I might be able to bullshit my way out of it.

“Ellen claims that a soul was able to see you pre-mortem.”

“What? When?”

“The hospital where you encountered Vince Hare.” Jenni laced her fingers together in her lap. “I’m assuming that was an original believer. Maybe that’s why Vince was interested in him? It’s possible he had a seer in his little cult of souls.”

“I honestly don’t know.” I pinched my eyes closed as unwelcome memories of what followed flooded my mind. “Grim killed him along with Vince and everyone else he’d recruited.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he was able to see you before his death,” Jenni said.

“The guy was losing his mind. He was screaming for more dessert. That doesn’t prove he could see me.”

“It’s going to take a lot more than that to convince the council.”

“Why does the council have to know about this at all?” I snapped. “It’s useless information that serves no purpose. I won’t help rebuild the corrupt system I was born to dismantle—” I jumped as Jenni’s hand slapped the countertop, cutting me off.

“You weren’t born, you were made. Just like the rest of us,” she said through clenched teeth. “And if I don’t share this information with the council at tomorrow’s meeting, Ms. Aries has advised me that the captain of the Guard intends to.”

Ellen had sold me out. The cold sweat on my neck was suddenly hot.

“It doesn’t matter.” I lifted my chin. “Even if that soul did see me, I haven’t come across another that could since. I’m still useless to the council, and that’s exactly how I’d like to remain.”

“Lana.” Jenni dragged a hand down her face. “This isn’t just about taking control of the excess soul matter. The boundaries of the hells are shifting unpredictably. The hellcat and rogue demon sightings on the mortal side are becoming more and more frequent, and Ross’s troops are the ones suffering for it. In his position, who wouldn’t do everything in their power to solve this crisis?”

“And how do the souls on the Isles of Eternity feel about solving this crisis?” I countered. “Do you really think they’re going to give up their territory and autonomy so easily?”

Jenni shook her head. “No one is asking them to. The council isn’t even interested in the throne right now. They think original believers could be useful in another way.”

“Sure they do.” I held my hands out, palms up. “It doesn’t really matter though. Like I said, I haven’t come across another original believer.”

“Yes, but we haven’t been actively searching for them, have we?”

“Great.” I groaned and downed the rest of my martini. The idea of going before the council again set my nerves to twitching. Maybe that could be avoided if I sucked it up and agreed to this now. “So I take it the Special Ops Unit will be reinstated?”

“That’s what I’ll be recommending to the council in the morning.” Jenni stood and collected our empty glasses. “Do you want another?”

“That depends. Do you have any more nasty surprises to spring on me?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Then I’ll pass.”

Jenni set my glass in the wet bar sink before fixing herself a second cocktail as the golden light in the apartment shifted to a dusty violet. The empty walls and pale floors soaked up the color. The thirty-seventh floor was still high enough above the city to view the Sea of Eternity in the distance.

Just past the harbor, the largest of the Isles of Eternity bloomed with a dark forest, enclosing the private community of souls within a protective wall of evergreens. They’d established their own rules early on, and no deities were allowed to set foot on their territory.

Still, Jenni had tried to foster good will by offering the new souls work visas for Limbo City. With so much of the nephilim population joining the Guard, the work force could have used the boost. The souls had declined, though they did elect their own ambassador to join the council. The council had reluctantly agreed to the addition since this was their only way of gathering information about the new territory they’d just as soon sink back into the sea.

Despite never having visited the islands or the souls that inhabited them, I couldn’t help but feel a certain level of ownership for their existence. Sure, it had been the throne’s power that had created them. But I’d been the one to unleash it into the sea. That had to count for something.

Not that I’d ever tried to lay claim to the territory. What was I going to do with a bunch of undeveloped islands? And who needed the extra pain in the ass with the council and their constant plotting? No thank you. Besides, I was genuinely happy for the souls the throne had deemed worthy of an afterlife.

I should have known I’d be the one expected to take it from them.

"Life After Death" will be available December 21st, 2021.

Find it at your favorite e-bookstore today! 

https://angelaroquet.com/books_life_after_death