ground, the flames dying down slowly until there was nothing left to consume. Then he produced a set of keys from his pocket and proceeded to unlock my cell door.
“You have one hour to gather your belongings from your room,” Reaper said. “And then you will ride. You’ll ride as far as you can the fuck away from here. If I even hear whispers of you being near the Four Corners territory, I will end your life. And this time, no god will be able to stop me.”
“Yes, president,” I said numbly.
He opened my cage and headed for the door. “Two escorts are waiting for you outside.”
I was every bit as numb on the way to the house—their house, not yours anymore—as when I watched my cut burn. My escorts were two soldiers from General Bray’s army. Other than us, the place was empty. No one was around, not even for me to say good-bye to.
I stood in the doorway of my bedroom for a while, eyes just flicking around to the few things I owned. Aside from a few changes of clothes, weapons, and my tattooing equipment, I had nothing worth taking.
Where would I even go? What would I do?
The first thing I reached for though, was not any of my essentials. I went for the drawer in my nightstand, pulling it open to reveal the folded piece of paper in the bottom. I stuffed it in my pants pocket without looking at it. With my limited time, I just needed to know it was on me and safe.
My necessities were packed within minutes, all of it stuffed robotically into my saddlebags under the watchful eyes of my escorts. What to do with the rest of my time? I could just take off and not look back, be gone from the Steel Demons without a trace. That didn’t feel right, but it wasn’t like I could go around saying goodbyes either. Not face-to-face anyway.
A thought hit me as I eyed my guards. They were posted just inside of my door, still and solemn as statues. I couldn’t do anything about them hovering over me, as much as I would have preferred privacy. I had limited time and a few things I wanted to say, so I had to make it count.
I pulled out my sketchbook and a pen, ripped out a blank page, sat down at the desk, and proceeded to write.
It was dusk as I went out to my motorcycle, everything I owned fitting on the vehicle that carried me, even saved me. My guards relieved themselves of their duty the moment my machine roared to life and I started on the road heading out of town. I switched my headlight on, deliberately turning down a side street in one of the smaller neighborhoods in search of someone, anyone who could do the one final thing I needed.
I almost gave up hope and started weighing the risks of doubling back to the house to leave the letter there. I’d be shot at, for sure. And even with Hades determined to make me live out my life until its natural end, I had my doubts about how far his protection would go.
My headlight caught a flash of reflective paint and my heart jumped. A horned skull grinned at me, shining in my light against the night falling. I accelerated to catch up and see who it was—Slick. Fuck, maybe the gods were looking out for me in some twisted way. I could not have run into anyone better.
“Slick!” I called out, slowing my bike alongside him. “I need a quick favor.”
“Look Shadow, man.” He shook his head, quickening his pace. “I’m sorry about everything, but I can’t be seen talking to you. You’re supposed to be gone and Reaper will—”
“I know. I’m on my way out now,” I said, keeping pace with his hurried walking. “I just need you to give something to Jandro for me.”
“Naw man, I can’t—”
“Just this. Here.” I pulled the letter out of my pocket and shoved it at him.
“Dude, I really—”
“Please, Slick!” Desperation bled into my voice. “Please just do this one thing for me. Jandro needs to get this and no one else.”
The kid sighed heavily, finally stopping and whipping around to face me. “That’s it?”
“Yes, I swear. Just give this to Jandro. He’ll know what to do with it.”
Looking both ways down the street first, Slick snatched the letter from my hand and stuffed it in his cut pocket. He barely looked