Price of Freedom
My apologies, I have a couple of very busy days. I will try not to miss another day but sometimes things come up.
Chapter 9
Abigail sat with her back against the wall, her fingers absently tracing patterns on the cool floor as she stared at the shut door in front of her. Her parents had shown up to walk with her to work bright and early with news that upset her deeply. After her mother had walked her home the night before, she had encountered the demon that had been terrorizing London.
Abigail sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She was feeling somewhat guilty. If she had not been frustrated with her mother over something that now felt very unimportant, perhaps she could have invited her in her apartment for a little while and she would not have had to fight a demon.
And what if the demon had bested her mother? Abigail bit her lip, forcing herself not to think of that.
"Not in trouble, now are we?"
Abigail glanced up and managed a weak smile. "No," she said with a slight shake of her head, "I'm not in trouble. Just waiting on my mom and dad."
Ronald crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "They're still not letting you work by yourself?"
"I don't expect to work by myself in a long time now. Mom kind of bumped into that demon last night."
"Really?" Ronald asked, looking surprised. "How did that happen?"
Abigail explained only what she had been told. As she finished, she added, "I expect everyone will know by the end of the day. If they ever come out of there, that is." She glared at the door as though it had wronged her. "I've been sitting here for about an hour now."
Ronald fought the urge to laugh at her impatience. "They'll be out soon enough," he told her. Knowing he needed to get back to work, he started down the hall with a wave. Before turning the corner, he glanced back at her and called out, "Behave yourself!"
Abigail frowned at him even though she knew he was picking on her. He, like many of the other Shinigami, seemed to have adopted a big brother like stance when it came to her. It comforted her that the reapers were actually like a very large family.
Lost in her thoughts, she did not hear the door open. "Come on, Abigail," Annabelle said. Abigail glanced up and then took her mother's hand. Getting to her feet she began to fire off questions. "Come on," Annabelle said again.
Her mom and dad did not answer anything until they were all safely tucked away in William's office. "You're not going to make me type up death lists or something like that, are you?" Abigail asked , looking from William to Annabelle.
"Not if you don't want to," Annabelle said softly. "We know that despite how scared you may be, you do want to help."
"I'm not scared!"
Another look was exchanged between her parents. Abigail had certainly seen a lot of that lately. Thankfully, neither of them decided to point out that she was, in fact, somewhat afraid of running into the demon as her mother had.
"There is something we would like of you."
Abigail glanced nervously at William. "What would that be?" she asked softly, fearing the possible request.
"We would like you to temporarily work with Undertaker."
"Huh?" Of all the things Abigail expected to hear, from working with William to leaving the country, she did not expect to hear anything remotely related to Undertaker. She looked from Annabelle, who nodded to confirm that she heard what she thought she heard, to William, who was studying her intently over his glasses.
Finally she managed to say, "Work with Undertaker? But why?"
William leaned back in his chair, wondering whether she was excited about the task or angry that they would put her out of harm's way. "Not only would we feel better if you were with Undertaker, but you could also learn a few things."
"Like what?"
Annabelle smiled and said, "We'll let him answer that."
"Does Undertaker know?"
"I imagine he does."
Abigail exhaled loudly, blowing a strand of hair off her face as she did. She then realized her parents were waiting for an answer. "Do I get some say as to whether or not I work with Undertaker? While I do like and respect Undertaker, I'm really not sure I want to know what he does with those dead people."
"You can decide," William told her, "but ultimately, I can override your decision."
Abigail nodded slowly, with complete understanding. "Let me sleep on it. I'll let you know my choice in the morning."
Katherine stood amid the the now cluttered and messy library of the manor that belonged to her former mistress. She was glad Tatianna did not have much family nearby and had taken the manor as her own personal living space for the time being. She knew she would have to leave soon enough, especially now that those nosy reapers knew what she looked like.
She begun to pace, wondering just where she would hide away from. She would not take another master. She would not! But where to hide was beyond her.
As she stood among her many different articles of clothing, she ruled out hiding in a barn or storage building. She certainly was better than that. "I wonder if there's any shelters in London that I can hide in," she said softly, not realizing she was speaking aloud. "Perhaps I'll look later. It could be dangerous, since shelters would be the likely place for the feeble and homeless and possibly dying. I can't let another reaper spot me for the time being."
Her eyes swept the room, taking in the soft red carpeting, the gaudy wallpaper, the books that had gone to waste sitting on their old shelves with no one to read them. She would find somewhere to go and burn the house to the ground, covering her tracks completely.
