The Heir of the Fallen

Chapter 12

Horseman of Death, Letum

Even with time much slower in the afterlife than in the mortal realm, there were times when Letum could not handle his job and had to ask the Prince to help. He did not like admitting defeat often or asking for help, even though he was the one who repeatedly implored others to reach out if they ever needed help. Today was one of those days that he needed the Prince's service.

Letum had quickly left the in-between once he saw how overwhelming the situation was becoming. He moved quickly, almost invisible to the mortal eye to the Prince's home, pounding on his door hard. After about three knocks and yelling for the Prince, he felt a hand on his shoulder from behind him. "Letum?"

"Death... too much. I need your help," Letum managed to get out; after moving at lightning speed, he was slightly out of breath. Unlike the Prince, Letum could not teleport out of Purgatory into the afterlife; his teleportation skills were limited to that of the afterlife only.

"Lead the way."

Prince Beelzebub

Situations like these required every one of his horsemen's help to get these mortals crossed over. Joan, Ares, and Letum worked as fast as possible, bouncing between people as they appeared. Chaos was literally all around them in Purgatory. People screamed and cried for loved ones. Confused children were everywhere.

The fog, the current, and the storms had been so bad in the mortal realm that two luxury liners collided. There were no survivors, and they were all flooding into purgatory faster than they could be attended to. Many could not fathom that they were dead. Many could not fathom that they were no longer in the mortal realm. Some were extremely young and could not find their parents. Only a few quickly accepted their fate and crossed into the afterlife without issue. The four of them were almost keeping up with the wave of the dead. Even Ares showed his compassionate side for once as he attended mainly to the children.

The Prince looked around at the chaos, deciding what must be done next. The number of people that were populating Purgatory was slowing down. Beside him, the mist started to fizz out in the air, the sign of someone crossing over. The fog materialized into a dark-skinned, attractive male in his early twenties. Almost immediately, Beelzebub recognized the man who had shown up next to him. Knowing everyone's name that lived was a unique talent that belonged only to the Prince. It was simply too much knowledge to unload onto anyone else, not even his horsemen. It took the Prince a long time to work up to that knowledge. Plus, he had extra time watching this particular man, sometimes with some jealousy behind those viewings.

The man beside him was Jasper, Adelaide's friend from the mortal realm. Who had been there the night she discovered one of the worst things that could happen to anyone in the human realm. Who she had spent many days and some nights with while she was still alive after her prognosis. What were the odds that Jasper would die so soon after Adelaide and end up in this realm with her? Shutting a very unpleasant feeling away for another time to deal with, he turned to Jasper, introducing himself and letting him know where he was.

To the Prince's surprise, the young man took the news very well. Perhaps coming so close to death with Adelaide's passing himself and the small amount of time that had passed since made his passing that much easier on himself. "Are my parents here?" he asked Beelzebub.

"Were they on the cruise ship with you?" The Prince asked in response.

"Yes, it was a family thing," he said, looking up at the Prince, who almost towered over Jasper. Tears were brimming Jasper's eyes, and knowing that Adelaide would have wanted it this way, the Prince wrapped his arms around Jasper, pulling him in tightly. "It is all going to be okay, I promise."