Deathless

Chapter 17: Jackson

I chuckle, shaking my head before typing my response. Millie had sent me another so-called cute dog meme. After I'd mentioned my hatred for dogs, she was on a mission to convert me into a canine lover. I didn't know there were so many adorable puppy photos in all the world. Millie apparently did and was taking great joy in sending me every single one. Naturally, I'd never told Millie the real reason I hated dogs, that my days as a trainee at Scythe had eradicated any appreciation I could have for man's best friend. Spend two years in the Hellhound pit and see if you can still find a dog 'cute'.

I type my message, still grinning. Look at the bloodlust in Fluffy's eyes. That dog's a total killer

After hitting send, I put my phone back in my pocket, focussing on the empty stage ahead. HQ's rarely used amphitheatre is now slowly filling up as reapers, secretaries, security guards, and any other number of roles that keep the offices functioning are all taking their seats and looking anxiously ahead. The amphitheatre is technically inside Scythe, but Death had transformed the space a millennium ago to convert randomly into outside theatres from around the world. Today, we're sitting in a replica of the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Hollywood sign gleaming in the distance, a white dash amongst the sandy-shaded and green hills. As a result, balmy California air fills my lungs and a starry night sky beckons from ahead. That doesn't mean the tension is any less palatable, that the subtle vibration of fear and confusion in the air is any less distinguished.

We've never had an emergency meeting before.

Thomas slips into the seat next to me, grinning warmly but with eyes betraying his anxiety. Next to him sits Lucius, who's staring downwards, his eyes lingering on the back of Ginny's head. She's a dozen rows down from us, talking animatedly to another barista sitting beside her.

"Well, that's obviously from a girl," Thomas says playfully, his fingers combing through the reddish-blonde waves that girls seem to love so much. He nods down to where I've just slipped my phone into my pocket. I chuckle and shake my head.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I look ahead and try to avoid his gaze.

"Please tell me it's not from Millie. Please tell me you're not being so infeasibly selfish and naïve that at the worst moment in Scythe history, you've continued to break one of our most important rules?" Lucius continues looking straight ahead, his lips tight in a grim line.

"No way, Jackson wouldn't..." Thomas's grin fades as he peers into my face. "You wouldn't, would you, mate?"

"Of course he would," Lucius mutters darkly, looking at me accusingly.

"It's someone new," I lie. "Maybe you need to get love lives off your own."

"And maybe there's something more important going on that should occupy your mind and not some girl," he snaps.

"Yeah, says the person who's been staring so hard at Ginny you could have set her hair on fire," I mumble as I grimace. We both stare hard at the other. Deadlocked.

She's not some girl, I think, but I don't dare say it. I glare at him, but he doesn't stand down. Thomas looks awkwardly between us. I've known Thomas and Lucius for a long time, both have been reapers as long as I have. Longer, actually, in Thomas's case. We run Worship together, we trained together and maybe that's the reason sometimes I would just like to punch Lucius in the face.

"OK, easy lads. Let's just let it go, shall we?" Thomas says, gently in full peacekeeper mode. A position he finds himself in frequently when Lucius and I lock horns. Which is often. "Let's just get through this. We're here for a reason."

Neither of us says anything, just turn back to the stage. A small gathering of the Dead board, all looking bedraggled and stressed, fills the row of seats at the back, the only objects on stage apart from a tall microphone at the front. Jeanette, looking uncharacteristically scruffy, in a blouse with a coffee stain down the front and a creased pencil skirt, walks towards the spotlight. Everyone falls into a hushed silence. The stars shine above us and only the faint sound of the city in the distance disturbs the peace.