Chapter 19

After Adeline had Seamus make the offer, it took almost twenty minutes before the doors to the building opened and soldiers spilled out, forming a wall, but with them… Ambrose and Orion. The former stood stiffly, staring straight ahead. The latter had been muffled and his hands tied behind his back.

Adeline stood with her cats, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. Charon had told her to call him when she entered. She would. However, first she wanted to meet the people who'd thought it okay to medically experiment by stealing souls. Did she think they'd have a good excuse? Nope. However, she did want to hear it.

Her walk across that parking lot had her itching. She remained all too aware of the snipers on the roof. The closer she drew to the soldiers, the more nervous she became. It didn't help that her prickling now had nausea added to it. A sense of wrongness oozed from the building. How did no one else notice it?

Orion's gaze smoldered with anger—and worry. His eyes yelled at her: You idiot, why did you come? As if she would leave him captive. She might not have known him for long, but she felt things. A sense of connection and rightness that deserved exploring. She couldn't do that if he remained captive, or worse…

As for Ambrose, his blank stare terrified. She was too late. They'd taken his—

He winked. Just once, but the tension in her eased at the realization he pretended to be soulless. Most likely hoping for the element of surprise. Smart.

Knowing he played possum eased something in her. Made her believe things might just work out.

She glanced down at her kitties. "You two get the boys to safety."

Smudge made a noise.

"I know you want to come, but I have to do this alone."

With that, she walked past the boys and entered the lair of… She had no name for the bad guys. Not even any faces either. The soldiers wore their armor and helmets. Even once in the building, she saw nothing to really identify who ran the place or what they did. They really should get a logo. Maybe a scythe or a cloaked figure.

A soldier by an elevator beckoned. "You're expected upstairs."

"By who?" she asked.

"The doctor. This way." Again, he gestured.

A doctor? Weren't those in the medical profession supposed to preserve life?

The elevator didn't suddenly seal or do anything funky. Apparently, that happened only in movies. Instead, it simply went up, and Adeline exited into an office space lit by fluorescents because twilight had given way to night.

"They're in the boardroom." The soldier pointed, and she headed for the door set inside a wall of glass. Through it, she could see a large table surrounded by chairs and more people than expected.

She entered, and her gaze darted to take in those present—most in military uniform, a few in suits—but her gaze zeroed in on the woman in a white coat.

"Adeline Gagnon. About time we met." The woman eyed her in an analytical manner that made Adeline want to slap her.

"Who are you? What is this place?" Adeline asked. And what did the military have to do with it?

"We don't have a name, as we prefer to keep a low profile, but suffice it to say, we are a group of humans looking to halt the creep of cryptids. I am Doctor Monroe."

"The psycho stealing souls," Adeline stated then added, "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Because I can." Dr. Monroe's lips quirked as if it were funny. "Because souls are the most powerful form of energy there is."

"To do what?"

"That's a secret, I'm afraid. Suffice it to say, this ability we've harnessed will change how wars are conducted. How we age. Souls are the key to everything."

"What you're doing is killing people."

"Nobodies." She waved a hand as if they didn't matter.

"I thought doctors weren't supposed to do harm," Adeline remarked.

"No harm to humans. Cryptids don't count." The doctor offered a cold smile.

"I'm sure they'd disagree."

A man in uniform with short-cropped hair barked, "It's about time the monsters were reminded that humans are the master race."

The comment made Adeline recoil. "That's a horrible thing to say."

"It's the truth," he insisted. "For too long, we've allowed them to spread and spawn. It's time we took back our world. I'm finally in a position where I have access to the cryptid secrets and the ability to shield our actions until we're ready to eradicate them from this planet."

"You're talking about genocide."

"To protect mankind," he boasted, as if he weren't talking about killing entire species.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Dr. Monroe replied. "It's come to our attention that you might have an interesting genealogy. Did your mother perchance speak to you of your father?"

"My mother died when I was young."

"She also lied about her true identity. You knew her as Bethany Gagnon, but in reality, her name was Jessica Long. She worked with me on a project decades ago that suffered an unfortunate setback," Monroe stated. "Thankfully, she survived the mishap, or you wouldn't have been born."

Had Adeline not talked to Charon, the shock would have hit harder. "And what was her job for this project?"

"Carrying you. She was a surrogate, her egg fertilized with semen from a unique and rare entity. You've probably heard of grim reapers."

"They're not real," Adeline claimed to see what Monroe would spill.

"Oh, they exist, just not usually in a shape we can touch. However, they can apparently take a solid form if they choose. With careful planning and some luck, we managed to capture one and get samples. Through some very intricate process, we managed to create two viable embryos. Your mother carried one."

"And the other?" Adeline asked, wanting to get as much info as possible before this depraved lunatic died.

"He's downstairs in his room. Would you like to meet Thaddeus?"

Her brother's name was Thaddeus. She couldn't stop an excited, "Yes, please."

"You will, but only after we run some tests. Given you never appeared on our radar before now, I have to wonder if you inherited any of your father's reaping ability. You might have escaped us entirely if you'd not attracted the soulless who'd escaped. When we relocated here, we wondered where they kept running off to. We couldn't bring them outside the building for any training lest they disappear." Monroe dared to complain.

"So you're the reason they kept showing up at my door."

"We wouldn't have lost so many if you'd reported them," she accused.

Adeline shrugged. "Didn't want to deal with the paperwork." She paused before saying, "You sent that kraken to find me."

"Given its ability to travel the sewers and squeeze into small holes, we thought it the best for hunting down your location. Only its tracker failed to emit a signal until it emerged."

"It almost killed me."

"Which would have been unfortunate," Monroe said flatly, no hint of remorse.

Adeline tired of the word games. "You know, Charon is still pissed at what you did to him."

"How do you know his name?" Monroe narrowed her gaze.

"We recently met."

"When? Where?" the military fellow with the brush cut barked, rising from the table.

"Sit down, Harry. We're safe in this building. You know I had it shielded. Even if I killed someone right now, no grim reaper can enter." Monroe huffed.

"Are you sure about that?" Adeline asked.

"Don't you even think to play games. You are in my control, and by now, so are the men you traded yourself for," Monroe threatened.

"Orion and Ambrose? Yeah, I doubt very much you managed to capture them twice. And even if you did, your reign of soul stealing ends today."

Adeline didn't wait to hear a rebuttal but shouted with her mind. Hey, Father, if you're listening, I'm with the ringleader of this operation. I'd love it if you joined me.

No reply, but the room suddenly darkened. Shadows filled the corners and coalesced into a looming form atop the boardroom table.

Monroe gaped. Everyone did.

Monroe gasped, "You can't be here. No one died."

"I was invited by my daughter," Charon's low shivery reply.

"Shoot him!" the military guy yelled. The soldiers obeyed, the muzzles of their guns flashing as they all fired at once. A rapid fire barrage of bullets that passed right through Adeline's dad.

"My turn," Charon said when the shooting stopped. He held out his arm, the sleeve falling away from his bony hand. In a timbre most terrible, he said, "For your crimes against the natural order, your souls are forfeit."

The last syllable hadn't even faded when the screaming started.