Page 91 of Deceiver

Chuckling, he pulls me into his arms. “You’ve made me a very happy man. Happier than I ever dreamed I could be.”

I reach up and twist my fingers through his beard. “Back at ya, Chaser.”

Bending down, he scoops me up and tosses me over his shoulder while I cackle the whole way up the stairs. Tonight is the beginning of our eternal life together. I can hardly wait to find out what we do next, but for now, we’ll enjoy this moment.

Wilder lays me down on the bed in our room and hovers over me, kissing me softly.

“I love you, Keagan. With all that I am.”

I run my hands down his chest. “I love you too, Wilder. Forever.”

I’ve had a few failed relationships and a bruised heart for many years, but every day with Wilder, I heal just a little bit more. The best part is knowing I helped heal him too.

As he pulls me into his arms and we dissolve together into a heated kiss, I take a moment to thank Fate for bringing us together.

In spite of how we got here, I wouldn’t change a single thing.

Epilogue

Farnsworth

Sitting at my desk, a single lamp lighting my work, I finish reading through the stack of status reports I received from my assigned Chasers this week. As usual, everything is fine. My current group is skilled and tenured, and rarely require any input from me. In fact, it’s been over a year since a new Chaser joined our ranks, making the workload heavy and constant, but we manage.

I glance up when a shadow falls across my desk. It’s a messenger.

“Are you lost?”

It responds by handing me a manila envelope. I tilt my head, an amused smirk on my lips.

“Is this a joke?”

The messenger disappears as quickly as it appeared. There must be some mistake. I don’t actually chase Horrors—I haven’t for many centuries. Is there a glitch in the assignment system?

No longer amused, I open the folder to find out where this assignment should actually go, but my stomach drops when I read my own name in bold letters on the top of the sheet.

“That’s impossible,” I whisper.

I scan the page, trying to make sense of the details, and as it slowly sinks in, my heart plummets.

“All the gods of lore.”

I continue reading as a sense of doom spreads through me. My first assignment escaped. How is that even possible? Never in my history of soul chasing have I heard of a banished Horror escaping.

I perk up again, sensing a new arrival. Now? Seriously?

Before I can rise from my desk, a tugging in my chest keeps my eyes trained on the assignment details. What I read next leaves me stunned. The newest Soul Chaser, literally just now arriving, is to partner with me. In fact, he’s destined for this.

Summoning every ounce of my decorum, I stand, smoothing down my shirt and trousers before taking my jacket from the back of the chair and slipping it on. Another messenger appears and hands me a tablet containing our newest arrival’s details.

Leaving my office, I walk out to the main room to find the man lying on the floor in a fetal position.

“Hello.”

The man gasps, pulling himself up and turning to face me. “Where am I?”

“Borja Diaz, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, born June 12, 1985?”

“Yes. Who are you? What is this place?”