I limped behind Erik and Kalysta as they led the way to the Cathedral. Erik carried a large rug under his arm that apparently was a magic carpet. The pain in my everything had started to subside very quickly after Erik fed me the magic fruit.


    Magic. It was such a far off concept to me, but everywhere I turned in the last few days, there was something magical. I stopped to lean against a planter on the sidewalk.


    "You died again." I heard the voice say beside me suddenly. I jumped and almost fell over.


    Alma floated beside me, her white gown flapped in its own ethereal wind. She looked at me, head cocked, with her big red eyes.


    "I guess I did. I really took being accident prone up a level." I chuckled to myself. If anyone had been watching, it probably looked like I was talking to myself.


    "You are recovering remarkably fast. Even before that boy gave you the ambrosia." She looked down the road at Erik and Kalysta, who had stopped, waiting for me.


    I waved at them to keep going and got up, continuing my hobble. It was slowly getting easier to walk. Alma floated along beside me.


    "So what''s your deal?" I asked her. She stared at me like she didn''t understand.


    "Why are you still hanging around me. If you''re a Reaper, and I''m not dead anymore, shouldn''t you be off, like, doing your job?" I clarified.


    "You intrigue me. I watched you die the first time, and had been prepared to take you into the Afterlife. But then something happened to you. I couldn''t see you for a while, so I continued my rounds. I had just figured someone else had collected you. But then you were in the hospital, recovering. And even stranger, you could see me. Mortals aren''t supposed to see me." She told me.


    I detected a hint of loneliness, like she had gotten used to being forgotten, invisible. But her face was mostly expressionless as she stared at me, unblinking.


    "Wait, you were there the first time? Where you the smoky cloak thing?" It occurred to me I had seen her before the hospital if that were true.


    "That is sometimes how mortals see us before they pass." She said matter-of-factly.


    "So are you like...assigned to my case now?" I realized by here vacant stare that I was going to have to be more straight forward with her. "I guess if you want to stay..."


    "I would like to continue observing you. I need to know what makes you different." She said suddenly.


    We looked at each other for a long time, long enough that my legs had healed and I was walking better. I started to catch up with Erik and Kalysta.


    "Who are you talking to?" Kalysta asked. I got a better look at her now, and she kind of reminded me of Erin, my ex. Kalysta''s hair was a darker shade of red but her eyes shared the same piercing intensity.


    "Ghosts." I told her, sticking my hands into my pockets. Alma had floated off, or otherwise made herself invisible. I knew they couldn''t see her anyway, but I felt a little silly.


    Kalysta looked at me like I was delusional. Who was to say I wasn''t? Death causes oxygen depravation to the brain. I could be crazy now for all we know. Which would make me a very unreliable narrator.


    The Cathedral, as they had called it, was no exaggeration. It was old, but not ancient. It stood out amongst the skyscraper condos and office buildings in the downtown proper. It had three spires that rose up, with the middle one going higher and ending in a bell tower. The old stained glass windows had been covered from the inside with what appeared to be blackout curtains or cardboard.


    As we walked up the lawn, Erik led us to the back, behind an iron fence. He unlatched it and held it open for us, before moving ahead again to a small set of wooden doors. I was surprised when Erik slid a piece of fake brick out of the way to reveal an electronic keypad. He put in a number sequence and the door clicked open.


    Inside, was a modest interior with a few mahogany pews and some black iron candle holders. There was a small altar at the front, but the statue of Jesus had been removed from behind it, leaving just the remains of a stone cross. Erik quickly shepherded us into a back office.


    The office had a simple wooden desk, a bookcase and a few boxes filled with youth group pamphlets.


    "Okay, is this the part where you guys take my kidneys?" I joked, feeling awkward in the small space. Kalysta giggled, and I could hear Erik rolling his eyes, even though he faced away from me. I was certain he and I would be good friends.


    Erik pulled a book from the bookcase and it slid into the wall, revealing a spiral staircase leading down. It was like something out of a movie, and I found myself impressed. I was even more impressed when we reached the bottom.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The large dark room was a grid of stone pillars from east to west. On the wall up ahead of me, is a large digital map with lots of blinking lights and strange symbols.


    "Whoa." The word rolled out of my mouth. Looking into the deep darkness of the pillars, I saw the wisp of Alma floating around, exploring.


    Erik led Kalysta and I down a hallway to the left and automatic lighting began to flick on, one after the other. I was amazed at how big the space was down here. So many doors. There was a single room at the end of the hallway with the door open and a soft light pouring out. Erik knocked on the large wooden door and entered, motioning for us to follow him. I see Anders look up from behind his laptop.


    "Erik, nice of you to return to your duties." He said, full of venom. "And I see you found Dyson, how fortunate." When he stood up, the light under his face made him look much older than he was. His tired, haggard expression oozed disapproval.


    "Sir, I was out on a mission with Kalysta as you instructed." He told him. Erik seemed to forget that he still had the magic carpet under his arm. Kalysta was nowhere to be seen. Sneaky girl.


    "Your team seems to think you have an inappropriate relationship with the new trainee." Anders came out from behind his desk to sit on the edge of the dark wood. I watched with amusement and sat down on a leather sofa in the corner. What I would have given for some popcorn. I reached up to sling a headphone over my ear and disappointment flooded me; they had cracked and broken apart when I faceplanted off the hospital roof. At least I would be making good money going forward. Provided Death''s Scythe didn''t steal my soul.


    "I assure you, I have been professional in my dealings with Trainee Kalysta." Erik said, standing firmly. Anders and I both stared at him awkwardly, but he didn''t budge.


    "Regardless, I will be relieving you of your extended duties. I have a senior member of the Order who has returned and will be filling the position of Trainer." Anders said after a few awkward moments. Erik turned bright red. He looked like he was gonna pop a vein in his forehead. But he held it back with what looked like expert practice. He looked like the kinda guy who would go punch some drywall after this.


    "I understand." Was all he said. Anders waved his dismissal at him, and Erik turned to leave, glaring at me like it had been my fault. Nice guy.


    "Mr. Weiss," Anders said turning to face me. His demeanor changed, and he faked a smile just for me. "I''m glad you were able to make it here. Welcome to the Cathedral, the Order of Vigilance''s Toronto Branch."


    "Thanks Cap''n. So where do I sign my life away?" I said, half joking. Anders chuckled, but it was an airy, tired sound.


    "We can get to that later. I''d like to get the show on the road, so to speak, and see if our assumptions about you are true. Follow me." Anders motioned for me to exit, before turning and locking his office door. He led me back down the hallway, which I realized was a kind of dorm hall. Each of the occupied rooms had a name plate outside. Many of them were empty; a small cluster towards the middle had names and I only recognized Kalysta and Erik''s.


    Anders turned back into the main hall and moved passed the large map in the front, to a large steel door. The door was a perfect rectangle of shiny silver, with no visible hinges. When he got close, he placed his hand the door.


    "Welcome, Anders Pendragon." A voice chimed. The metal slab slid into the wall, and revealed a smaller room with a massive vault door.


    "This is the Vault. Inside is an extra-dimensional space that is accessible from all Branches of the Order, all around the world. Inside, we store every weapon, armor and item that we have collected, called Artifacts." As he spoke, he waved his hand and the large vault wheel turned and the door rolled open.


    A weird sensation rushed over me. I felt my fingers and toes tingle and the hair on the back of neck stand on end. There was a swirl of blue, before the inside materialized as a large warehouse. Large racks lined an almost infinite space, holding crates, glass displays and other containers. In center, almost right in front of the door, was a large cleared area that looked like some kind of weird spell circle.


    Anders led me passed that, and down a row of racks. It was hard to focus. There were so many weird energies in this space, and my eyes were drawn to everything. We stopped part way down the row and I noticed a glass dome sitting on the floor, next to a rack. Inside was a simple wooden stick, probably no longer than eight inches. It looked completely innocent except for the wisps of black smoke that came off it and then dissipated against the glass dome.


    "That''s it?" I asked. Anders looked at me and frowned.


    "Yup. That stick has killed six Order members who worked to catalogue the Vault." He shrugged, giving the glass dome a wide berth as he walked behind it.


    "Okay, but why is it on the floor? Did you give the maid the day off?" I joked. Anders stared at me.


    "That''s as far as the last person who picked it up got, before they died." He said flatly. I hoped everyone around here didn''t have the same humor as Anders and Erik. Alma popped up beside me and I turned to look at her.


    "It''s angry." She whispered, almost reverently.


    "Oh good." I whispered back.


    "Are you ready?" Anders asked, standing over the dome.


    "I guess I''m as ready as I''m gonna be." I said, moving closer. Alma stayed floating by my side, and it brought some form of comfort. Although it was entirely possible she was just waiting for me to die again. Anders lifted the dome, and the wisps of black smoke became tendrils, lashing out in every direction. Anders backed up until he was all the way down the end of the row. I watched in fear as the tendrils suddenly reached for me; their closest target. I closed my eyes and held my breath as I extended my hand out to the darkness that reached back. I could feel the wave of cold before anything ever touched me. There was a flash of bright light and when it faded, I was holding the stick in my hand. I opened my eyes slowly and my breath caught in my throat. I expected to die. I expected my soul to be torn from my body in some violent display. The tendrils turned back to wisps as the stick settled into my grasp. I dared to hold it a little tighter and it grew, scaring the shit out of me.


    Suddenly I was holding a six foot long farming scythe, with a curved, wicked edge. The blade was fashioned so it looked to be protruding from the mouth of a skull with its jaw distended viciously.


    "Neat." I said breathlessly.


    Anders came back down the row of shelves hesitantly, watching me closely, probably expecting me to fall over dead. Alma floats beside me, bobbing up and down excitedly.


    "So it is true." They both say at the same time.