Willow hesitated in front of Jacks door. She didn't know if he was up yet, but she couldn't sleep anymore.
As her fingers trailed along the door's surface, she traced the mansion's engraved crest, pondering the curious connection between clocks and reapers. The crest she had observed painted on various surfaces featured an electric blue background, adorned with a silver pocket watch and a triskelion inside of it. Intriguingly, one segment of the triskelion formed a silver wing, another a leather wing, and the final part resembled the minute hand of a clock.
It must be someone's favorite color, she had thought after noticing the crest painted above her mirror in the bathroom this morning. Looking down at her bandaged hand for a second, she reached for the doorknob.
"Are you Willow?" She pulled away from the door, startled by the voice behind her with the accent. A curvy woman, no older than 21, stood there with a warm smile, dressed in a purple long-sleeved dress and a black hijab.
"I'm sorry! shouldn't I have left the room? I will go back." Willow stammered, her cheeks flushing red as she spun around to retreat. However, a soft laughter stopped her.
"Relax! I'm like you, Willow. I heard about your arrival from my reaper Lina yesterday, but didn't get a chance to say hello because you guys went to sleep rather early." Fahima explained, smiling warmly. She extended an olive hand. "My name is Fahima and my reaper is Lina. She isn't home this morning as she had a job, but I'm sure you will meet her later. I came to pick you up as Jack likes to sleep in when he can." Willow's gaze shifted to Fahima's manicured hand, noticing the scar on her palm before meeting her smile with one of her own. She extended her hand to meet Fahima's, with a smile. She seems nice, Willow thought glad to meet someone that seemed normal, after her standards at least.
"Yeah sorry, I had been up all night. So you're also a pet?" Willow asked, letting Fahima lead her down the corridor.
Fahima raised a brow by the word "pet." "I don't like the term pet, we usually are called companions. But yes, I made the deal with Lina almost 4 years ago when I was not much older than you." Fahima smiled, opening a door further down the hallway. Willow walked in after her, noting the room was quite similar to her own. However, Fahima's space was filled with mannequins adorned in colorful clothes and wigs. The rest of the room was neatly organized with a few belongings on the shelves.
"This is my room, my door is always open."
"You have a lot of wigs, do you wear them?" Willow asked, eyeing a pink one with a pixie cut.
"Oh no, but I was a hairdresser in Iran before I made the soul bond with Lina. So I cut people's hair here, so I have something to do. I adore your hair Willow, natural waves like these are so beautiful," She sighed dreamily, glancing over at Willow who was glad she had taken a long relaxing bath this morning so her hair wasn't just a rats nest.
She had even endured Jane's snarky comments while taking her measurements, so she could find her this short burgundy crisscross romper. And she had even made Jane the list, and now she just had to meet the tailor and the people that shopped clothing, so they could get her what she wanted. Fahima waved at Willow to sit down at her vanity in front of the mirror. "Come to me if you ever need help with your hair. When you have as much time as us here, you kind of need a hobby." She laughed, brushing Willows hair softly.
Willow nodded smiling.
Leaning back, Willow relaxed into the chair, savoring Fahima's gentle fingers through her hair. Fahima seemed friendly and down to Earth, just what Willow needed in this unfamiliar place. Fahima crunched her sharp nose, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing in concentration. Swiftly and deftly, she braided the front section of Willow's hair, securing it with a small red bow in the back. They both admired the result in the mirror.
"It's amazing! I never know what to do with my hair, so I always end up doing nothing," Willow beamed, examining her hair from different angles.
"By Death, no! Your hair is so silky, and you have such extraordinary eyes. Don't hide them away," Fahima gasped, looking at Willow in the mirror. Willow had finally started to learn to like her eyes a few months prior, cause when she was younger, kids used to make snide comments about them, so the compliment made Willow smile happily. "I have such boring brown eyes, I wish I had yours," she groaned.
"I like your eyes, they warm, like honey" Willow said. Fahima eyes crinkled as she gave Willow's cheek a squeeze.
"You're a sweetheart," She looked at the pearl watch around her left wrist. "It's time for breakfast, and you must be hungry considering you didn't eat yesterday. Let me show you where we eat." Willow nodded, slowly standing up looking at Fahima putting the hairdressing tools away.
"How can you be so calm with it all? I'm still wondering if I gone insane or this is actually real." Willow finally asked, fiddling with the pendant, still getting used to it.
Fahima smiled at her reassuringly, her hand cupping Willow's cheek. "It's real. But trust me we all wondered if it was. You had a nightmare didn't you?" Willow nodded slowly, wondering how she knew. "We all had it. All this is a lot to take in and we humans are not supposed to know about these things. Our mental state kind of get wobbly the first weeks as our heads try to grasp what's going on as well as realize this is real. Don't worry, we all been there. When Vadim came here he thought he was on some sort of acid trip and wouldn't leave his room for a week because he thought he died, but he also was high as a kite. So you're doing remarkable well considering it all. Plus they usually stop after a couple of days." Fahima smiled, leading Willow down the corridors and then down the grand staircase to the main floor.
Once again, Willow found herself in the rotunda, and they proceeded through one of the many doors, eventually reaching a narrow hallway. As they walked, Willow's gaze flitted to the multiple doors along the hallway, wondering what they led to, until Fahima opened the door at the end.
They entered a spacious room with a long table and an array of chairs. Around the table, hundreds of people were seated, all dressed in electric blue attire. Willow guessed that this must be the BustyrÃa's dining room.
"Reapers come and go, and they don't need food like we do, so it's more fun to eat with them," Fahima explained, her smile warm as they made their way toward a couple of empty seats at the end of the table. As Willow settled into her seat, she couldn't help but feel the weight of every gaze in the room landing on her. The murmurs and hushed conversations ceased as curious eyes turned in her direction.
"Hey Willow! So nice to finally have a companion around my age beside Vadim," greeted the freckled, chubby late-teen girl with a honey-brown pixie haircut and bright pale blue eyes. She grinned warmly. "I'm Aina, I'm the companion of Marek. He's currently on a job in Finland at the moment so had to stay home." Aina leaned back in her chair, brushing some crumbs off her red Bohemian maxi dress, and Willow noticed thin scars on her wrist that resembled bite marks.
"Why? Isn't pets-" the look on their faces quickly made her say "-I mean companions supposed to be with their reaper on jobs?" Willow frowned, slightly irritated on Jack over he actually has gotten her to call herself pet.
"Not always, but yeah usually we tag along. He's going to my hometown in Finland, so he wasn't comfortable taking me with him as I probably know the person being reaped as it's only two years ago I supposedly died in that car accident." She shrugged with a smile, making Willow realize that car crash 'accidents' seemed to be the cause for many companions so called death's. "And he knows I would beg to see my old girlfriend, which is probably another reason I am not allowed with him." She said with a wondering tone.
"Usually reapers don't take us with them if there is a chance of us knowing the one being reaped." The man with dark eyes and dreadlocks in his late fifties in front of her said. "By the way I'm Tuma, come from Rwanda and been the companion of Melissa for twenty-nine years." His smile lit up his dark complexion.
"Wouldn't they already know? Aren't reapers all knowing?" Willow asked taking a loaf of bread from the basket as her stomach started to growl.
"They mostly are, with everyone but us. Haven't Jack told you anything?" Tuma raised a brow.
"Other than he owns my ass? Not really" Willow mumbled, reaching for the cheese.
"Most of this info you can find in the chronicle about companions in the library. It will help you understand more about the real world us humans normally don't see" Fahima smiled taking a sip of her black coffee. "Where is Vadim and Itsuki?"
"Sleeping, as usual" Aina said reaching for the cereal.
"Hold on, why don't you guys have a collar?" Willow asked when she realized none of them had a collar similar to hers around their necks. They all shared a glare before Aina pointed at the similar electric blue pendant in her ear.
"Every reaper decides on their own so called 'collar'." Fahima explained, showcasing the backside of her pearl watch and the pendant on it. Tuma pulled the sleeve up on his yellow printed shirt, unveiling a carefully braided dark leather bracelet around his wrist adorned with the electric blue pendant.
"Jack got that made for you, Dauði is the only one that can make these pendants with their powers. Jack must have visited Him after he made the deal with you," Tuma smiled softly. So he could have chosen anything but decided on this she thought irritated touching the pendant. "Honestly, I was surprised over Jack got a companion. He is a young reaper and he couldn't wait for Darlia to let him leave the island and get an apartment somewhere else. Now he's forced to stay here until you die." Tuma mumbled to himself.
"We all know Jack can be very impulsive sometimes, especially for a reaper, he probably didn't think too much about it. He will grow with the job as Darlia says." Fahima chuckled when the door burst open.
Conversations halted, and curious eyes turned toward the bewildered figure of Jack standing in the doorway. His gaze scanned the room until it settled on Willow, relief evident in his exhale as he raked a hand through his morning hair.
"For deaths sake! You can't just wander off like that! When you weren't in your room.." his word trailed off as he came closer to their end of the table.
Fahima's voice held a touch of annoyance as she retorted, "You slept, Willow still need to eat and you knew she was here."
"Yeah but before she is introduced she need to stay close! She is mine! I don't want anybody laying their hands on her because they don't know that." Jack growled, before his expression softened, a mix of concern and possessiveness coloring his features. He put on his black t-shirt, obscuring the view of his toned chest.
"She has your mark and the carvings in her bones and soul. Plus, Darlia told us about her," Tuma smiled reassuringly at Jack. "Willow is safe, Jack you know that you would know if she wasn't."
"She better be, I didn't go through all this trouble for her to just die," he groaned, and stared at everybody that glanced his way. "she has become my responsibility, I don't want my new pet to die the first week I got her like my goldfish did when I was 11."
And suddenly Willow found herself comparing herself to a goldfish. Her life was in the hands of this guy, a guy that can't even keep a goldfish alive.
"You don't even need to sleep, if you were so worried why did you?" Aina asked, still focusing on her cereal.
"Because I like to sleep. I don't need to eat either and I still do it. Habits die hard," he offered his hand to Willow, pulling her up from the chair. "We have a soul to pick up." he turned and started to walk away, not even checking if she followed. Willow walked after him out the room waving goodbye.
A soul, my life can't get any weirder she thought wryly heading down the hallway.
"We not picking the angel up before later. And Willow, don't go wandering off, I will get into a lot of trouble if you die because I didn't look after you properly" he said, rubbing the bandage on his hand as they walked into the entrance.
Wow my hero she thought, as an elderly BustyrÃa with green eyes strolled down the corridor, holding Jacks leather Jacket.
"Your jacket master Jack" He turned to Willow with a soft wrinkly smile. "Yours will soon be ready Miss Willow" he assisted Jack in putting on the jacket.
"Wait I get one too? Is it like a reaper thing?" She asked surprised.
"No other reaper wears it but master Jack, but since you're his companion we will make one for you too." He smiled, presenting Jack a scroll. "Darlia told me to give this to you."
Jack gestured for her to come closer, extending his hand. As she took his hand, she suddenly found herself on a highway filled with people and the blaring of sirens.
"Wha-how? Don't we need to use that clock portal thingy?" She pulled her hand away from his.
"You have a part of me now," he pointed at the pendant. "Meaning we don't need to use the gate to get till and from the Island anymore. In other words, I own your ass," The last words he said with a grin as he walked towards the crowd by the ambulances, prompting an eye roll from Willow.
Navigating through the crowd, Willow realized her world couldn't get any weirder than this.
On the pavement lay a man, his body covered in bruises, secured to a stretcher while an ambulance driver attempted to revive him. Two mangled cars rested on the roadside, evidence of a collision.
As she surveyed the scene, she noticed that none of the people around them so much as glanced in their direction. Then she recalled Jack mentioning something about being invisible in the veil.
"Everybody move! We need to get to the hospital!" A man's voice bellowed from one of the ambulances, making the police officers try to get people to stand back.
"This is so strange." She mumbled to herself, looking at the man in his sixties lay there, struggling for breath, bloodstains flying from his mouth with every gurgle.
In response to Jack's snap of his fingers, the surrounding hubbub ceased, and Willow's gaze darted around, realizing that time had stopped once more. The people stood frozen in their tracks, as if caught in a photograph.
Beside the injured man, a brown-eyed figure materialized, emerging from his own body as Jack's hand rested on the man's chest. The figure's eyes widened in shock as he stared at his own lifeless form. A mixture of astonishment and horror played across his face before he stumbled back, his distress audible.
"Times up buddy," Jack's voice was unwavering as he regarded the trembling man. "time to go down into the heat." The man's pale expression contorted with fear at Jack's words.
Willow felt herself get uneasy, even though she knew this was part of the job. But sending someone to Hell was still terrifying, even she knew what happened down there.
"Jack! Perhaps a more composed demeanor would be appropriate?" Willow turned, shocked that someone could see them. A long dark-haired woman in her middle twenties with freckles in a dark blazer and black jeans stood there with a young ginger woman. Her pale brown eyes were clouded, and when Willow saw her shortly fumble for the red-haired woman's hand, she realized she was blind. "Jack? Behave. Please come with me, Miss Nielsen." She smiled at the red-haired woman before both of them vanished from sight.
Who was that? another reaper? Willow wondered when the man suddenly shouted.
"I don't know what's going on here, but there must be a mistake! I'm not going to Hell."
With a snort, Jack rolled his eyes, his arms crossed in front of him. "Well, Kevin, you lost your ticket to Heaven after what you did in college."
"College? You mean that girl? I didn't do anything, she was drunk-I wasn't charged!" His voice held a tinge of desperation as his frantic eyes darted around at the people frozen in place. His gaze fixed on Willow, his expression hardening. "Tell him I shouldn't go to Hell. It was over thirty years ago! I have been to church since and confessed! I-I haven't done anything like that again!"
Willow was unsure why the man thought she had a say in anything. Yeah she was here but she was here as an audience, nothing else.
"For Hell's sake, grow some balls Kevin! Lucifer himself made a request to get you delivered to his castle. And we both know about that girl in Oslo," Jack snarled walking towards him. Jack's voice dripped with irritation as he strode toward the man. Kevin, panic evident in his eyes and sweat beading on his forehead, stumbled back, his desperation palpable. He turned to flee, but before he could take a step, Jack appeared in his path, seizing his arm. "Trust me, you don't wanna try and run from a reaper."
"Let me go!" The man's cry was filled with frustration and fear, and he lashed out at Jack. But Jack effortlessly caught the hand mid-air, and the sickening sound of bones cracking was followed by a piercing scream of pain.
"What are you doing?!" Willow's voice cracked as she rushed toward them, but his eyes locked onto hers, and his growl of warning froze her in her tracks. Something in his voice made her take a step back, as she remembered what and who he was.
"Didn't you hear what that other reaper said? About acting professionally? This sure as hell doesn't look professional," her words tumbled out in a nervous babble, sure breaking bones on a soul was anything but professional. Even if he did deserve it.
His eyes softened and with a sigh, he released the wailing man's hand, and instead placed his hand on both their shoulders. In an instant, they were whisked away, transported to a breathtaking garden.
Gasping, she looked around at the heavenly sight, wondering if he accidentally took a wrong turn or something and made them land in Heaven. The reapers garden didn't even have a foot in the game of beauty compared to this one.
"Where are we?" She whispered in awe as she looked around at the various species of plantation she never seen before. With a cautious step back, she made sure to avoid the electric blue orchids as she surveyed the garden, her eyes fixed on the majestic apple tree, its branches laden with fruit. The air was thick with an intoxicating fragrance, a blend of earthy undertones and delicate floral notes that enveloped her senses with a hint of sulfur underneath it.
The ground beneath her feet felt firm, but there was a subtle warmth, as if the very essence of the underworld's fiery realm seeped through.
"Hell, or to be precise we are in the castle' garden."
She frowned slightly, not having expected Hell to have a castle, or a garden.
"Alright, I wasn't a girl that went to Sunday school, but even I know this isn't what Hell is supposed to look like." She couldn't pry her eyes from the gorgeous sight all around her.
"I didn't think so either, but Lucifer apparently like to garden. And I have to admit he did a good job." Jack started pulling Kevin towards one of the paths. "A thing you will quickly learn is that humans actually know less than they think they do. Especially when it comes to the supernatural parts."
"So," she drawled. " are we going to like hand him over to Lucifer or?" She mumbled nervously.
With a pfft Jack rolled his eyes.
"Please, like Lucifer has time to deal with matters like this. We need to dump this one in the dungeon to the demon in charge down there and our job is done." Jack pulled the wailing man after him, not even looking like his attempts to get free affected him as they walked out of the garden.
A dark red haired guy with black irises and a scar around his neck walked down the marvelous decorated corridors towards them.
"His eyes!" She stared at the hot guy as he walked past them.
"He's a demon, or the more correct term a half-blood demon, those that has been humans once and tortured into a demon. Good thing to remember, all demons have black eyes."
So, this is what I will become Willow thought surprised over he didn't look scarier.
"I must admit I expected pitch-forks and red skin."
"That's more likely with the full-bloods that have red skin." Jack explained, pulling at the man. "He wasn't in his demonic form, though half-bloods doesn't get red skin."
They headed towards a door with an inverted pentagram carved into it, and down the spiral staircase. What must be the dungeon or basement looked like it was endless with hundred of doors, but Jack walked like he knew where they were going. Multiple people with black eyes walked around them, paying them no mind.
He held out an arm, stopping her in front of a pair of stairs leading further down. Thick shadows hid the bottom of the menacing stairs.
"I'm not going down there" She took a step back, something about that place made the hairs on her arms stick up. Jack glanced at her shortly.
"Then wait here scaredy-cat, don't talk to anybody or move. I will remove the veil as I don't trust you in it without supervision. Do not move or let yourself be moved." His voice was stern, letting her know how serious this was.
Nodding she breathe out relieved as she saw him pull the now hysteric man after him into the shadows. After a couple seconds she started to pace around in the empty tunnel.
"This is insane, I am in Hell delivering a soul with a reaper. If only Peter knew that Hell looks nothing like it does in the video games." She smiled shortly for herself, remembering the nights they had spent up playing, until it dawned on her. She would never do that again, she wouldn't even see him again. In a couple of days he would think she was dead.
"Who are you?" Startled, she turned abruptly to look at the woman with aborigine colored eyes and black coily hair. So not a demon.
"I'm with Jack, the reaper?" She smiled nervously, glancing at the stairs hoping Jack would appear. The woman studied her intensely as she walked closer. Willow took a step back, wondering if whatever down there could be worse than staying up here with someone that lived in Hell.
"Jack? Well, I guess he used the veil, and it is better than Dauði showing up. Lucifer is not the biggest fan of him at the moment," She mumbled under her breath stopping only a few meters from Willow. "So what are you? You're clearly not a reaper but your soul is.... weird for a human." She squinted her eyes.
"I'm a pet, or the correct term is companion, and way better than pet so I don't know why I keep saying pet." Willow chuckled nervously knowing she was rambling.
"Exactly, she's my own personal toy. Hey Adaline, long time no see." Jack smiled as he came up from the stairs alone. Willow let out her breath she didn't know she was holding.
"I did think I smelled something rotten down here." She said crossing her arms.
"Rotten? Nah, just sulfur as usual. Try the other side of the wall though I think you would only smell burned flesh cause don't the full-bloods like, eat flesh? Or maybe you also got a taste for the cuisine now?" he grinned with a smirk playing on his lips as his eyes flashed shortly to Willow, his body moving slightly in front of her. " by the way I have this for you." He reached her the scroll.
"Please just get out of here Jack, Lucifer is in a foul mood today." She sighed waving him off before heading down the tunnel.
With a click of his tongue, Jack slipped his jacket off and placed it over Willow's head. His hand extended towards her, and suddenly they were standing outside the mansion, the rain pouring down around them. Clutching the jacket tightly around her, they hurried towards the entrance, seeking shelter.
"Master Jack, Miss Willow! Why are you in the rain!" The elderly man yelled as he opened the door, before yelling at another BustyrÃa to get them some towels.
"I needed a bath," Jack muttered, taking one of the towels from the approaching girl. "Didn't have a chance to get one this morning, thanks to a certain girl who needed fetching."
Willow rolled her eyes as she accepted the towel to dry her hair.
"Then maybe next time don't sleep till ten! I was up at eight wandering my room until Fahima took me to breakfast" Willow snarled, handing the jacket to the girl.
"What can I say? I don't need beauty sleep as I'm already gorgeous, but I still like to rest when I can. That reminds me, I have a meeting with Darlia before the angel so you will have to survive without my supervision for the next hour." He grunted heading down a hallway.
Willow stuck out her tongue, cursing him out in her mind.
"I heard that!" he yelled over his shoulder.
"If you don't want to hear it stay out of my head!" She yelled back, earning a chuckle from the older BustyrÃa.
"Miss Willow, if you have nothing better to do, would you like to get a lesson in how to keep your thoughts to yourself? It will take some time to learn, so the sooner you learn to block out other beings the better." He smiled.
"I would like that, thank you Mr?" He waved for her to give him the towel.
"My name is James, I am Ian's personal BustyrÃa, when he's not on the island I enjoy to help out." he smiled leading her through the right door in the entrée and down a hall.