Page 138 of Finders Reapers

His chest heaved as he turned back to me. He shook his head and straightened his kimono robe as if the outburst had never happened.

“I wasn’t celebrated.” Ollie’s nostrils flared. “I was meant to join his court. I was meant to be at his side, to command his legions. To be together, like we were in the Summerland.”

I frowned. I remembered that my father had referred to heaven as the Summerland. I couldn’t help that my thoughts drifted for a moment.

When Ollie saw my confusion, he scoffed, disgusted. “You don’t even know. You don’t even know that the Summerland is what you humans know to be heaven.”

I wasn’t offended. I was frightened.

“You were an angel.” My voice was so quiet that I almost didn’t hear my own words.

Ollie threw his head back and laughed. “I fell with Lucifer. A select few of us chose to throw away our divinity and to follow the Lord’s favorite into the fire.” Ollie rubbed his hand over his mouth. “I should have been chosen to be his successor when he was banished. But, here I am rotting at Quietus! Instead, my own wretched creation took thethrone! The woman Imadefor him!”

I jolted when his voice raised. The pieces were quickly falling into place. “What did you do to those contracted souls, Ollie?”

“My name is Oriax!” He snapped.

I said nothing.

Ollie had left the building, and the cold and erratic Oriax had taken his place. The demon looked away. “I am a master of metamorphosis.” He repeated, tilting his nose in the air as he looked down at me. “Those that are contracted to the Devil will be my army as I take each of the seven thrones from the Kings and Queens that rule each of the circles.”

“What does any of this have to do with me?” I squeaked, stepping back.

Oriax watched my feet move but did nothing to stop me. “Those annoying Reaper’s in the pathetic Grim that you were placed in have been getting too close.” He explained. “I knew I had to do something as soon as I found out they had pulled the files for Charon. Being close to you helped me discover how close you were to discovering my actions.”

“I don’t know anything,” I argued. “They’ve been keeping me out of it.”

He shook his head. “I can’t have you in my way.”

“The guys will find me. They’ll stop you,” I pointed with a shaking hand.

Oriax blinked slowly, his expression blank. “You kindly informed me that Maddox and the rest of your Grim are preoccupied with Beezlebub. If the King of Gluttony takes offense to their accusation, and he will, then they don’t stand a chance.”

“Charon won’t let that happen,” I replied.

Oriax scoffed. “If it makes you feel better to believe that, go ahead.”

“I thought we were friends!” My voice grew shrill.

Oriax gave me a look that made me feel an inch tall. “If it helps, I’ve killed most of my friends. Richard and I were besties, and look where that got him. It’s nothing personal. I just need to make sure that your body is placed somewhere that implicates the king of gluttony, and then we’re golden.”

I opened my mouth to say something, anything. To stall. To try and escape. But Oriax had grown impatient.

He leaped forward like the crack of a wipe. The movement was so jarring as he disappeared and reappeared in front of me in a blink, and I just knew... I was going to die.

Oriax’s hands tightened around my throat, and I felt the rush of adrenaline coat my veins and line my mouth with metal.

I felt my eyes bulge out of my head and his fingers press into the tendons of my neck. I couldn’t say a word.

“It’s pathetic, really.” Ollie leaned down. “You didn’t even care enough to ask the big questions.”

Well, no. I didn’t like asking questions. It made me hella uncomfortable—but if he was going to kill me, the least he could do was give me the courtesy of not calling me out.

I didn’t know what he saw in my eyes, but he continued speaking as if I had asked him to elaborate—when in reality, if I did ask a question, it would probably be ‘could you stop choking me, kay?’

“Rome and I went to your birthday party at the Paris together.” Ollie sat back, relaxing the slack on my throat enough that I could breathe again. Spots hovered in front of my eyes.

“Purger,” I gasped.