Kiss Me Undead

Chapter Nineteen || The Ferryman

Chapter Nineteen

The Ferryman

"Did you get any prints off that drawer?" Sheriff Dearborn questioned his deputy.

Andy Bellefleur shook his head. "Nothing plain. Think we got a martial one on the sink."

While Andy and Sheriff Dearborn looked over the kitchen for clues, Reine was quiet in the living room. Sam placed a blanket around her, which caused her to tense up. "It's ok, Rae." Sam said as he went to sit next to her.

"As soon as we find anything out, I'll let you know." Sookie told her friends. Sook went quiet for a moment as she listened in on Neil Jones, Andy Bellefleur, Mike Spencer, and Sheriff Dearborn's thoughts. 'Shit, I got blood on my boots. So much blood, I'm gonna be sick.' Neil Jones thought.

'Pull it together, pull the fuck together! Fuck! Do your job. No wonder they don't respect you." Andy Bellefleur was distracted by his thoughts for a moment. Sookie looked over at Mike Spencer.

The young woman turned toward Sheriff Dearborn and listened in. "... Lynn and the grandkids to the lake for the weekend..."

'Poor woman, stuck raising these bad ass crazy Stackhouse kids didn't deserve this.' Andy thought to himself.

Reine was quiet as her sister listened in on the thoughts. That was, until she saw a glowing orb float towards her. "Sookie..." The girl said her sister's name as the ball of light slowly formed into her grandmother. Her eyes widened as she watched the apparition. "Gran?" Reine whispered.

Sookie looked over at her sister and saw she was staring at nothing. "Rae." Sookie said as she shook the girl's shoulder. However, that didn't work. She continued to stare at nothing.

Reine was still in shock from the murder.This seemed to prove to be too much for her. Tears swelled in her eyes as she reached out to touch her grandmother's hand. As soon as the two touched, a bright light filled the room and Reine disappeared.

Sookie jumped up from the couch and looked frantically around the room. "Where did she go?"

Bill and Sam looked around the room for the girl. There was no sign of her. She was gone...

***

It took a moment for Reine to realize what had happened. She was no longer in her living room, surrounded by her sister and friends. Instead, she stood in a grand cavern, pillars and arches formed from the steel blue rock. There before her was a large river with a single boat. There was a long line of people waiting for what she assumed to be their turn to take a ride on the boat. "I've been waiting for you." The voice caused Reine to jump. She looked next to her where the voice came from. There stood a man over a foot taller than she, with beautiful dark skin and a head of shortly trimmed black hair. His eyes were an icy blue color which sent a shiver through her body. She had never come across someone with that color of eyes.

"You've been waiting for me?" Rae repeated. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you, Reine." The man paused for a moment as he looked the girl over. He certainly never expected her to look like this. You could tell where her physical attributes came from her mother's side. "You need to come with me."

"I'm sorry, but I don't need to do anything. Not until you tell me what's going on."

"You're starting your job today. I'm training you." The man informed the girl.

"Job?" Reine said as she looked at the long line of people. The longer she stood there the longer the line became.

A breath of frustration escaped the man's mouth. "I'm Charon the Ferryman of-"

"Hades..." Rae whispered. "Am I dead?" That was the first question that popped into her head. Not that any of this was real, but that she was dead. Reine always assumed that there were strange things in this world that couldn't be explained. Her sister opened her eyes to that at a very young age. She just never imagined a place like Hades existed. She was raised in a Christian household. The only thing that was even close to Hades was Hell. The thought of being in either bothered her greatly. She never imagined she would end up here.

"Not exactly..." Charon smirked. "I realize you have a lot of questions. But I'm not the one to answer them. Right now my job is to teach you how to be a guider of souls."

"This has to be some hallucination... or... or a dream. This can't be real." Reine looked next to her at her grandmother. She was transparent. "What's wrong with my Gran?"

Charon's brow rose as he looked over at the old woman's spirit. "She's dead." The man said point blank.

"Is that why I can see through her?"

"She no longer has a physical body, Reine. This is her soul." Pausing, Charon ran his eyes over the long line of souls that he still needed to transport over the river. "You guided your grandmother's soul and brought her to me. This is where I take over and escort them deeper into Hades where they'll be judged."

"Is this a one time thing?"

"I'm afraid not, Reine." Charon answered. "Hades decided he will start off slow with you. Since you live near a cemetery, it'll be good practice for you to deal with the souls." Charon took hold of Adele's hand and led her to the line. "That's all for now. It's time for you to go back."

The ferryman placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. As soon as the two touched, a bright light filled the cavern as she disappeared from sight.