Wake for Young Souls, Part One
Title: Wake for Young Souls
Fandom: bandom (Panic! At the Disco/The Young Veins, Darren Criss, Shane Valdes, minor My Chemical Romance, The Like, Cobra Starship, Keltie Colleen)
Pairing: Ryan Ross/Shane Valdes, minor Brendon Urie/Darren Criss, past Brendon Urie/Shane Valdes
Word Count: 20916
Rating: R
Warnings: past character death, reenactment of a past murder, murders of children (off camera)
Disclaimer: Don't own. Title comes from Third Eye Blind’s Wake for Young Souls.
Summary: Humans are not as alone in the world as they think. Daywalkers, as they’re known, share their world with the Nightwalkers: creatures that humans think only exist in fairy tales, folklore and the occasional summer blockbuster. Ryan Ross is a ghost witch, a type of witch that can see and speak to ghosts and send them onto their just rewards if necessary. Over a year ago, Ryan had been the head Medical Examiner at the Centre, but after a particular murder case, Ryan quit his job and opened up an antique shop. Now, over a year later, Ryan wants nothing more than to focus on his relationship with his boyfriend Shane, run his store, and have as little to do with ghosts as he possibly can. But fate has other plans when a young detective from the Homicide department comes in Ryan’s store, saying that someone from Ryan’s past as a Medical Examiner and a ghost witch says Ryan’s the best at what he does. And they need Ryan’s help fast, before another Nightwalker child turns up dead.
Over a year ago
As he walked into work, Ryan secretly hoped for a slow night. He knew that he wasn’t going to get it, because that wasn’t how his job actually worked, but he could still hope.
From the guard protected entrance, he made his way to the elevator that would take him down to the morgue. Once on the right floor, he made his way along the cool hallway, his footsteps echoing against the walls. Finally, he came to his destination. Before he went through the swinging doors, he grabbed a lab coat off the hooks that hung just in front of them.
True to form, day shift medical examiner Frank Iero was already practically lying in wait for him as Ryan walked through the swinging doors into the morgue.
“So, you and Shane still going strong? You never really talk about your boyfriend, and it’s been like, three months since you two started dating.” Frank watched him curiously, shifting folders around before handing a few to Ryan. “These are yours for the night.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow, taking the folders. “Hey, Frank. I’m fine. How are you?” He opened the top folder, going over the details. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Frank bouncing on the balls of his feet eagerly, still waiting for a response.
He’d just looked up to answer Frank’s question when they both got distracted as the doors swung open and someone that Ryan didn’t know walked in. For a moment, Ryan was distracted by the guy’s dark curly hair - which seemed to have a mind of its own. Then he got a good look at the guy’s face.
Ryan was pretty sure he was lucky that his heart didn’t immediately stop, or at the very least that he didn’t drop the folders in his hands. It took him a moment to remember that he’d seen Brendon Urie cross over three months ago after Ryan had solved his murder.
The guy - Ryan had to keep telling himself it wasn’t Brendon because Brendon had crossed over - smiled, almost confusedly at the intense stare Ryan was giving him. “Hi, I’m Darren. Darren Criss? I’m here to see about an autopsy from earlier?”
Frank, as if aware that Ryan was only a few moments from dropping the folders from his hands, snagged them away and quickly started flipping through them. “Which one? We’ve had a few today.”
Ryan shook himself, aware that he was still staring at Darren, when Frank finally extracted a folder and led Darren over to one of the covered tables. “I’m gonna guess you’re here about the kid. Sad thing. She couldn’t have been more than six. Here, I’ll go over it with you.”
Ryan followed the pair with his eyes before shaking himself and walking out of the morgue. He wasn’t even aware he was walking to the elevator until had gotten on and watched the doors close, hitting the button for the director’s office on auto-pilot.
Ten minutes later, Ryan turned in his badge and left the Centre, not looking back.
~~~
Present day
Ryan turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open and inhaling the smells of his store as he flipped the sign to open. It was amazing how a year later, his decision still felt so good. Sure, he still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d quit his job - Shane figured it was because the case they’d met each other through had never really left Ryan’s mind, and seeing Darren had brought Brendon back as a forethought in their relationship - but, even now, he was glad he did.
If nothing else, it felt really damn good to be his own boss again, and to have a store like the one he’d used to own before he had starting working for the Centre.
He made his way to the counter, fixing a few things as he passed them, and picked up the small stack of mail from yesterday. On the topmost envelope, there was a post-it note with Shane’s handwriting on it: ‘Try not to work late. Want to see you tonight after my shoot. :) Shane’. He smiled, letting his messenger bag drop to the floor by his feet, and rereading the post-it again as he sat on the stool they kept behind the counter.
Shane Valdes, who Ryan had met over a year ago when he’d woken up to find the ghost of Shane’s roommate Brendon sitting in his bedroom, was a photographer by trade, but he occasionally helped out in the store when he was free. If Ryan was honest with himself, there were times when, if Shane hadn’t been in Ryan’s life, Ryan would have gone crazy trying to make his career change work. It was, after all, the second major one he’d taken since graduating college, even though it had only been to go back to what he’d been doing before he had started working for the Centre. At least this time around, Ryan wasn’t focusing so much on psychic consultancy anymore, like he’d done originally. In fact, he’d avoided having to deal with ghosts since he’d left the Centre, except for the ghost bride who hung out in his apartment, and he’d let a few of his former coworkers know not to come find him if they had dead bodies tied with unsolved cases.
In a way, despite Ryan being a witch that dealt with seeing and interacting with ghosts, not having to talk to ghosts or help them cross over was possibly the second best thing Ryan had done in a long time. Of course, the first best thing was getting involved with Shane.
The sound of the bell ringing as someone entered the store pulled Ryan out of his reverie. Even though he always opened early and stayed open late, he didn’t get many customers so soon after opening up. From where he sat, he couldn’t see whoever had come in, so he got off the stool to come around the counter.
“Hi, can I help you?”
There was faint movement near an antique cabinet that Ryan had displayed in the window before his customer stepped forward. Although it had been a year since Ryan had seen him at the Centre, he definitely remembered the curly hair and the dark brown eyes of the man, even though the name escaped him.
As if aware of Ryan’s thoughts, the man smiled charmingly, pulling out his Centre badge. “You probably don’t remember me, since the only time we met was really briefly before you disappeared. Darren Criss. I work for the Centre in the Homicide department.”
Ryan made a face at the mention of the Centre, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t know if you heard, but I quit the Centre. So I don’t know what you want with me. I’m not doing anything illegal by owning an antique store.” He paused before he pushed on. The mention of the Homicide department worried him. After all, Shane was an incubus and was on the list of species that the Centre kept close tabs on, and Ryan suddenly felt afraid something bad had happened. “And if you’re going to ask me about Shane Valdes he hasn’t killed anyone; he’s got his feeding down to a bare minimum and generally just feeds off me - and if he doesn't, he tells me.”
Darren blinked at Ryan’s outburst, shaking his head and holding up his hands after putting his badge away. “No, no. Not here about your boyfriend.” He made a patting motion on the air as if to calm Ryan down before he dropped his hands to his sides. “I’m not here because of the Centre. Well, no.” He hesitated, glancing around as if expecting someone to appear out of thin air or to listen in on their conversation. “I am running an investigation for the Centre, but I heard from a certain source that you’re the best at what you do and I need your help in order to help me solve my case.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow, wondering if Darren had eaten paint chips as a child. Or if Ryan himself was speaking some language Darren didn’t speak, which was odd, even among Nightwalkers like themselves. Of course, Ryan was only guessing that Darren was a Nightwalker, because generally, only Nightwalkers worked for the Centre. There were a few Daywalkers that worked at the Centre, Ryan knew, but they generally did janitorial work or guard duty during the day. He was pretty sure that unless they’d changed the rules since he left, no Daywalker would be working in the Homicide department. He took a deep breath, shaking his head. “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I don’t work for the Centre anymore. And I’m not really into consulting, either, if that’s why you’re here. And finally, don’t you have medical examiners? When I quit, there were two fully capable M.E.s under me, and a few other techs.”
Darren eyed Ryan thoughtfully as he spoke, before rubbing the back of his neck in an almost a sheepish manner. “I did come ask for your help with something, based on someone’s recommendation because of what you could do. And I asked around the Centre to find out just what sort of person you were and your talents. The general consensus was that you probably wouldn’t want to help me with my case, but the person who recommended you to me was insistent, so here I am, asking for your help.”
“And just who exactly recommended me?”
Even as he asked the question, Ryan became aware that the air surrounding them grew heavier and that the space to Darren’s left shifted and suddenly, someone was standing there. Someone very, very familiar to Ryan, although the last time he’d seen them, Ryan had been able to see right through them.
Brendon smiled, clearly aware that Ryan was staring dumbfounded at him. “I recommended you. I’m involved, albeit indirectly, with Darren’s case, and I remembered how good you were with ghosts, so here we are.”
Ryan rubbed his eyes, hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him. “I think I need a drink.”
~~~
An hour later found the three of them sitting in Ryan’s office. Ryan had flipped the store’s sign to ‘closed’ after announcing that he needed a drink, and although he had been tempted to go down to Greta and Thomas’ café a block down from his store, he’d led the way to his office instead. As soon as they’d gotten there, Ryan had gone into a state of shock, only coming out of it when Darren had made them both mugs of tea. Brendon had declined, smiling slightly and saying that he couldn’t drink anything.
The tea helped, and Ryan kept looking at Brendon as he took a few more small sips. As soon as Ryan felt more like himself again, he rested the mug against his knee. “The last time I saw you, Brendon, you were going into the light. What happened?”
Brendon smiled faintly, wrapping his hands around his knee. Ryan could see Darren shifting uncomfortably, and knew that he was probably anxious to have his case closed, whatever it happened to be and however Ryan could possibly help. “Do you remember the Reaper who told us that I had died before I was supposed to?” He glanced at Ryan, who nodded. “Well, the upstairs on the Other Side felt that, because I died before my time, I should be given another chance at life. But, because my body was already buried and would have been useless anyway, considering how Butch had killed me...” He paused, eyes closing briefly. Ryan wondered if the thought of his death was still upsetting to Brendon, and decided that it must be and that it was absurd to think otherwise. After all, it had involved having his throat slashed by a vampire that couldn’t take a hint that Brendon hadn’t been interested. “So, the upstairs on the Other Side did a little rearranging, and made me a Reaper under the head Reaper for this area.” Brendon scratched behind his ear, looking a bit nervous. “Gabe’s a nice guy. Creepy in a way, but mostly nice. He put me in charge of taking care of children’s souls.”
Darren shifted again. He looked like he wanted to cut into the conversation, but Ryan held up a hand like he was in class. He suddenly had a whole lot of questions. Although he’d interacted with a Reaper named Vicky when he’d been trying to solve Brendon’s murder, that had been the first time Ryan had even met a Reaper. All Vicky had told him, was that Reapers dealt with the ghosts Ryan had talked to once they were on the Other Side, so now would be a good chance to ask about them. “You’re in charge of children’s souls? Do Reapers have a specific type of person to reap, or whatever it is you do?”
Brendon smiled faintly, glancing briefly at Darren and looking a bit apologetic. He gestured with his hands as he explained. “There are various groups of Reapers on the Other Side. Each group is charged with a specific area. Sometimes, though, there’s a group in charge of specific large cities, like this one. And then within that location, the group is broken down into specific types. How detailed depends on the size of the group in the location. The group of Reapers I’m in is fairly small, six people including me. I’m in charge of helping children cross over. Vicky deals with women, no matter how they die or at what age.”
Ryan opened his mouth to ask a question that occurred to him, but Brendon held up a hand as if he’d already anticipated the question. “Gabe, the leader of the group of Reapers for this city, was particularly interested in my case, which I understand never happens. The whole dying before you’re meant to thing. Hence his interest. But due to other commitments, he couldn’t take my case. So instead of Ryland, who normally handles male Nightwalker deaths, following up on it, Gabe had Vicky follow it. And before you ask, although I think you already know, even though I was originally a human before Butch Walker killed me, I became a Nightwalker after I died. And Vicky was already dealing with the case because of Sarah and Audrey being killed.” He paused, spreading his hands out. “I should point out that Reapers help both Day and Nightwalkers cross over.”
Ryan nodded, leaning back in his chair. “Okay, I think I understand now. So, what brings a Reaper together with a detective from the Centre’s Homicide Unit?”
Brendon smiled a bit ruefully, pointing to Darren. “That’s where his case comes in.”
Darren curled his fingers around his cup as Ryan turned his attention to the young man. He ran his other hand through his curls, and Ryan found himself briefly surprised that his fingers didn’t get stuck in them. “I have to start by giving you some background information, seeing as the case started a bit before you even left the Centre, Ryan.” He glanced at Ryan, who nodded, settling back in his chair.
“I’m a weredog. I moved to Belladonna over a year ago, transferring from the Nightwalker-run police force in Los Angeles to the Centre because, as a weredog, I was one of the best search and rescue guys they had. At that time, the Centre’s Homicide Department had an ongoing case sitting on Lieutenant William Beckett’s desk that had no leads or anything. There were a few random Nightwalker children disappearing from various locations. The children were all types. Witches and weres, mostly. By the time I got transferred to the Centre to take the case, the latest vic was a young half-Nightwalker. So there was no pattern to the snatching, much less to the crime scene locations. They were taken on their way home from school, right outside their home, coming home from a friend’s house….”
Ryan stared, unable to help it. For some Nightwalker species, children were rare. To think that even one child would go missing like this…. Suddenly, he remembered the little girl that Frank had gone over with Darren the night Ryan had left the Centre. Of course, he couldn’t be sure if that body had been connected to the case the detective was talking about, much less if he could ask if it was. He did, though, have a sinking feeling that it did. “Why wasn’t this on our news?”
Darren gave Ryan a rueful smile. “In a word, because the Centre’s stance was that they didn’t want to worry parents unnecessarily. Besides, there was only one known body that the Centre knew about, which is the one that medical examiner Frank Iero was going over with me on the night you quit.” Brendon growled quietly, making the other two men glance in his direction. The reaper’s gaze dropped to his feet and he nodded faintly to show that Darren could continue speaking.
“And even then, no one was entirely sure that that body had had anything to do with the missing children, even though the little girl had been reported missing by her guardian. The oddest part, Frank mentioned, was that, although the girl was six years old and in perfectly good health otherwise, she’d died of a heart attack. And Frank said that, while it was extremely rare, especially for Nightwalker children, it wasn’t an impossibility, but it still felt wrong to him. That a little girl having a heart attack didn’t fit right in his world view. He said that he checked and rechecked all his facts, and we even waited while he had some drug work and other tests done - but the only cause of death that he could determine was a heart attack.”
Darren set his mug down and twined his fingers together, studying the way they fit together as if the answers to any questions he was thinking and the solution to his case were somewhere along the lines of his fingers. Ryan guessed that they weren’t, because Darren looked back up after a few moments. “It wasn’t until after you left the Centre, Ryan, that we found another body. It was one of the first victims reported missing, a werewolf boy of about seven or eight years old. He was found in nearly the exact same location as the six year old girl had been found, near the old theater downtown that where the vampires like to hang out. But the vampires that had been there the night before hadn’t seen anything, so we really had no clues.”
“How’d you know there was a connection, and that this was a serial sort of thing?” Ryan asked, chewing his lip as he took the information in. He thought he could guess how Brendon fit into all of this, somehow, but he wasn’t sure if he should jump in with what he thought just yet.
“After the fourth body was found by the old theater,” Darren said, looking at Ryan quietly. “Like the few bodies we found, the victim was between five and ten years of age, and died of a heart attack. Both Frank and Gerard were baffled by the whole thing, and they said that they’d seen nearly everything working for the Centre. Gerard even added that he’d checked Frank’s work, and expected to see some sort of sexual trauma and there never was any. A few of the vampires following the case with mild interest, considering where the bodies were all being found, were wondering if it could’ve been a psychic vampire draining these kids’ energy, but all the psychic vampires that they directly knew of were accounted for. Spencer did allow that, occasionally, new vampires came to Belladonna that didn’t immediately report to the Centre, and that another department was looking into those cases.” He took a deep breath. “After the fourth body was found and we were batting around ideas, I went home one night and found Brendon standing in my living room.”
At a look from Darren, Brendon took up the story. “On the Other Side, we have this room called the Room of Candles. There’s no way to measure the dimensions of this room, it’s an infinite possibility. We reapers think the Room of Candles might even be on a different dimension than ours because it feels like it’s an entire universe in one room. There feels like there aren’t any words appropriate for how this room feels.” Brendon’s hands gestured wide, before falling uselessly in his lap. “The Room of Candles is, aptly enough, full of candles. And every candle in there represents a single life, be it Daywalker, Nightwalker, or animal. When the candle’s snuffed out, that’s the end of that life. Obviously, the candles are all different sizes, based on species, age, things like that.”
Brendon’s hands came together, almost mirroring Darren’s earlier pose as they twined together, but Brendon’s eyes didn’t seem to see his fingers as he continued talking. “There are three other things in this room. There is this being we call the Chronicler. I say ‘being’ because no one really knows what the Chronicler looks like when there’s no one else there. And the Chronicler is in charge of the other two things in the Room of Candles. The first is the Book of Life, wherein everything is written down. As we reapers are told, when the Book finally reaches the final page, it will be after this existence is long done.”
Brendon glanced up as if suddenly aware he had an audience he had forgotten about. He cleared his throat, adopting a nervous look. “I should mention that the Chronicler is not the Creator or the Mother Goddess or God or Gods or anything that religion is based on. I personally feel that the Chronicler is of the same makeup as the Higher Being all religion is based on, but that they are not the same person. Possibly when the Book of Life is closed, the Chronicler will go to a new existence with the Higher Being. I don’t really know, nor does anyone else on the Other Side. Except the Chronicler and the Higher Being, I guess.” He took a deep breath, and Ryan couldn’t help but wonder if reapers actually breathe, or if it was like ghosts and Brendon was only performing the action because it was familiar.
Ryan raised his hand while Brendon composed himself, feeling a lot like he was back in school. “Question.” He hesitated a moment as Brendon blinked at him. “Both you and Vicky said that the higher ups said you shouldn’t be dead, and now you’re speaking of a Higher Being. Are they the same, or different?”
Brendon stared at Ryan for a long moment before breaking out into a smile. “I’m allowed to talk to you about the Room of Candles, but most of the information about the Other Side I can’t share. You’ll find out when you die, Ryan. Promise. I can say, though, that my higher ups are below the Higher Being. I’m not allowed to discuss the order of things on the Other Side. It’s on a need to know basis, pretty much, and that’s not on the list of things I’m allowed to discuss with people that haven’t died. I’m really only allowed to tell you all this because you need to understand how they know who’s supposed to be dead and who isn’t.” He looked at Ryan as if he expected Ryan to protest, but Ryan merely shook his head and waved a hand to indicate that Brendon could continue with his story.
Darren got up to make them more tea as Brendon took another deep breath and gathered his thoughts. “As I was saying, the Chronicler is in charge of two things. One is the Book of Life that I was just talking about. The other is the Book of the Dead. It’s this book that the reapers are more interested in, and the only reason we’re allowed to enter the Room of Candles. The Book of the Dead isn’t like the one the ancient Egyptians had.” Brendon’s hands closed, palm to palm, before slowly opening like a book. “What it is is a listing of every death in the world, from the beginning of life. When it’s your time to die, your name appears in this book, along with where and how you die. The higher ranking reapers are generally the ones that go to the Room of Candles daily to collect these names and distribute them accordingly down through the system of reapers to reapers like myself. However, sometimes there are deaths that occur that are not written down in this book. Mine, for example. This is a really rare event, and makes the higher up reapers mad.” Brendon hesitated, licking his lips as if what he was about to say was awkward. “You see, the Book of the Dead writes itself. The Chronicler’s job regarding it is simply to protect it and keep track of its whereabouts. The Chronicler is strictly set to write the Book of Life, and is generally unconcerned with names not appearing in the Book of the Dead.”
Ryan took the cup of tea Darren gave him, glancing briefly at the detective as the other man sat back down in his chair. “Then how do your higher up reapers find out about names not appearing in this Book, if this Chronicler being’s not keeping track of what happens in the Book of the Dead? Does it appear in the Book of Life?”
Brendon shrugged. “I don’t know if the names of the dead missing in the Book of the Dead appear in the Book of Life. No one but the Chronicler is allowed to read it. All I know is what reapers know. Candles flicker out when someone dies or is near death, their information appears in the Book of the Dead, the higher up reapers collect the names and distribute the names according to the reapers below them. If a candle flickers out, but a name doesn’t appear in the Book of the Dead, then the higher ups get antsy because there’s no real solution for when that happens. Someone messed with what was set down months, years, or even centuries ago.” He placed a hand over his heart. “That’s what happened to me. I guess the general solution is to put the soul back in the body, like an out of body experience, but sometimes, that’s not an option by the time the soul can go back into the body.” He shrugged faintly. “That’s where ghosts come in.”
Ryan nodded. What Brendon was saying actually made sense, but he still wasn’t sure where exactly he fit into it and why Brendon would have Darren approach him for help. He eyed the pair of them critically. “I am following what you’re saying, but what isn’t clear is what I’ve got to bring to the table. It’s Darren’s case, so I can see why he’s involved. And it deals with children’s souls, so I can see why Brendon’s involved. But it sounds like a simple enough case for the two of you to solve without my help. Which brings me to an important question.”
Darren smiled, with just a hint of humor in it. “Why you?” He gestured toward Brendon. “On his end, these kids disappearing and turning up dead aren’t in the Book of the Dead, so he shouldn’t be reaping them.” He placed his hand on his chest. “On my end, I’ve got these dead kids and no real explanation. So, what we’re wondering is, are these children wandering ghosts now that the reapers can’t trace?”
Ryan chewed his lip. What Darren was saying was already a thought in his mind, had been sneaking into it as soon as he’d wanted to know why they wanted him to get involved. But there was still the fact that he didn’t work for the Centre anymore. He didn’t even really do any consulting anymore, unless it involved very basic assignments, like people trying to trace loved ones or getting rid of unwanted guests. He took a deep breath, worrying his lip between his teeth. On the other hand, consulting would mean he’d get paid for the work he put into it, and he could turn the money around and put it back into his store. “Let me think about it.” Darren opened his mouth, clearly ready to protest, and Brendon had a similar expression on his face, but Ryan held up a hand to stop them from talking. “Just give me a couple of hours to think. I don’t really do consulting jobs these days, especially not for the Centre, so I’ll have to talk to my boyfriend about this. Come back in the evening, around closing time. I should have your answer by then.”
Darren looked like he still wanted to protest, but he nodded, getting up. “Alright. We’ll see you later, then.” He glanced briefly at Brendon before heading out.
Brendon got up, about to follow Darren out, before he paused, turning to look at Ryan. “Hey, um. I know it’s not really my place to ask, but are you and Shane still.” He didn’t finish the question, but Ryan could guess what it was.
“Yeah, over a year now. Eighteen months, in fact. He helps me out here a lot, when he’s not busy taking pictures or shooting video.” He smiled, trying for reassuring. After all, when Ryan had met Shane, it was just after Shane had lost his previous boyfriend - Brendon - to a psychopathic vampire that had been bent on making Brendon his, even though Brendon hadn’t been interested. Ryan wasn’t quite sure if his smile managed to look as reassuring as he intended, but Brendon smiled back either way.
“So he’s okay?” Brendon nodded after a moment, like he’d gotten an unheard response he liked. “That’s good. Tell him I said hi and that I miss him, okay?”
Ryan glanced up at the clock. He knew that Shane’s shoot would probably be long over with by the time the store closed and Brendon and Darren came back for his response, and he figured that Shane might want to see Brendon again, to know that Brendon was alright on the Other Side. “Tell you what, I’ll make sure Shane’s around when you and Darren come back for my answer on the consulting job and you can tell him yourself. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you again.”
Brendon nodded, giving Ryan a faint smile. “Alright, I will. Thanks.” He waved, heading out. A few moments later, the bell over the door sounded and Ryan knew that he was alone in the store once again.
Ryan rested his head on the back of his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he went over the case again. There were a few angles that he’d have to check up on personally, and he also wondered if he’d be able to see both Darren’s case file and the medical records Frank and Gerard had on the found dead children.
After his thoughts raced around, already planning ways to tackle this consulting job, Ryan burst out laughing, aware of what his mind was doing. “Looks like I’ll be taking the job. But first, I so have to talk to Shane about it.”
He nodded to himself, pushing himself up out of his chair and going back to the front of the store. He looked around thoughtfully before going to flip the sign to open once more. If it was a slow day for business, at least Ryan had plenty to think about.
~~~
The hours passed by slowly for Ryan; mostly uneventful and pretty much spent reading a vintage edition of Sherlock Holmes stories that Shane had given him for his birthday. He had a few customers, mostly older women, come in and look at pieces. A couple of them bought a few smaller items before leaving, after telling him how cute his store was.
Shane himself showed up a little before noon, turning the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’, and putting the ‘out to lunch, back in one hour’ sign in the window. He held up a big brown paper bag, grinning wide. “I come bearing gifts, babe. Chinese food, and I got all your favorites.”
“I knew I loved you for a reason,” Ryan laughed, putting his book aside and clearing off the counter so Shane could spread out the takeout boxes. “How’s your day going?”
“Boring and frustrating. Never work with amateurs.” Shane intoned gravely as he grabbed the other stool from the office and collapsed onto it, pulling one of the takeout boxes to himself. He grabbed one of the sets of chopsticks, grabbing a piece of broccoli out of the takeout box of shrimp and broccoli Ryan had claimed for himself. “Especially not Daywalker amateurs who think they know everything about vampires and werewolves and things like that, because they saw it on a TV show or some shit.”
“Don’t you just love that?” Ryan grinned wide, retaliating by stealing a piece of chicken out of Shane’s sweet and sour chicken. “At least if you come clean to a Daywalker about what you really are, you’re still a male demon.” Shane gave him a look that could curdle milk, which only made Ryan grin even wider, until he was sure his face would split in two. He knew very well that sexual beings like incubi and succubi weren’t actually demons, but he still got a kick out of the stereotypes that had emerged over the ages. Most of them, at any rate. “I know you’re not really a demon, but you’re still male. Only women are witches, if you believe the stereotype. Male witches are always called like, wizards, sorcerers and magicians.”
Ryan paused, chewing a piece of broccoli thoughtfully. “I wonder what Daywalkers would say if Nightwalkers ever came out of hiding.”
Shane waved his chopsticks wildly, unable to keep himself from grinning. “Grab your pitchforks and torches, we’ve gotta start a mob!”
Ryan laughed at that, pointing to Shane with his chopsticks. “I read a book once where that happened. This huge disease spread, killing most of the Daywalkers and the Nightwalkers stepped out of the shadows.” He dug into his takeout box for a big piece of broccoli, munching it contentedly. “It was a good book. I’ll let you borrow it some time.”
“You do that.” Shane stole a piece of shrimp. “So, as interesting and thought provoking as it is to discuss what Daywalkers think we Nightwalkers do, how’s your day going?”
“I might have a consulting job.” Ryan glanced at Shane to judge the other man’s reaction. Shane, predictably, didn’t have much of one, so Ryan continued. “It involves Brendon, a bit.”
He got the reaction he thought he’d get from that tidbit of information: a piece of sweet and sour chicken, halfway to Shane’s mouth, stopped in midair as Shane stared at Ryan. “I thought. You said. He crossed over?”
“Yeah.” Ryan chewed on a piece of shrimp before launching into his meeting with Darren, and finding out about Brendon being a reaper. He waited for Shane to process that Brendon was alive again, in a matter of speaking, before he went over what he knew about the case with Shane, who shook his head, unable to offer much clarity.
“It sounds like either one of my kind, or as the vampires seem to think, a psychic vampire.” Shane glanced at Ryan curiously. “It sounds like you’re already considering taking the case.”
“Yeah. It’s interesting, to say the least, and it means a bit of extra money that could go into the store.” He leaned over, closer to Shane. “You’ve got final call, promise. Darren and Brendon will be back later for my answer, and Brendon would like to see you.”
Shane smiled, kissing Ryan’s cheek. “You should take it then. It’ll give you something to do. And I’ll come by, because it would be nice to see Brendon again. Now. Let’s talk about something else. Something that doesn’t involve my last boyfriend.”
They finished eating lunch, talking about various topics until Shane had to leave at 1:30 to go back to his photo shoot. Ryan’s afternoon slowed down again soon enough, with the exception of a couple of tourists who came in for a reading. He’d noticed the ghost of a small child, maybe five or six, following the woman with its face half hidden behind the woman’s skirt, and thought of Darren’s case. He watched the child’s actions to hide behind their mother as he led her to where he did his readings, but the more he watched the child, the more he was beginning to doubt that the child had died of a heart attack, much less was involved with Darren’s case.
He went through the reading, making small comments from vibes he gathered from the woman and expanding on some of them when the woman had a noticeable reaction. As he went, he kept sneaking glances toward the small child, trying to get more information on how the child died. He was finally rewarded when the child, a little boy, peeked out from behind his mother, and Ryan could see that half of the boy’s face was badly burned. He hazarded a guess that, in the past, there’d been a terrible fire and the woman had lost something incredibly important in the fire. No sooner had he said it, than the woman started batting away tears, telling him in a choked voice about how there’d been a horrible fire in her old home and her youngest son had been so badly burned that the doctors couldn’t save him. Ryan offered the ghost child a small smile, reaching out and patting the woman’s hand. He told her that he felt her son’s presence and that he was fine on the Other Side, but that he’d always be near her to watch over her. The woman thanked him tearfully, one hand clutching her chest. He smiled, leading her and her friend back out of his reading room, and turned to find the little boy standing behind him.
“Hi.” Ryan blinked down at the boy, smiling carefully. “You shouldn’t let too much distance get between you and your mother. You’ll be stuck in my store, and I don’t think you’d want that.”
The little boy looked in the direction his mother had gone, biting his lip before looking up at Ryan again. “You lied to my mommy about where I was. I knew from when I came in that you could see me.”
Ryan crouched down by the little boy, smiling more reassuringly. “I can’t help you cross over if you don’t want to go, and I thought it was more important to your mommy if she thought you were somewhere better than here.” He patted the boy’s shoulder as best he could, ignoring the feeling of cold that swept through his hand at the contact. “You should go now, so you don’t get stuck here.”
The little boy nodded and disappeared. Ryan assumed that the little boy had gone off to rejoin his mother. He hoped that it’d all turn out well for them.
Shane turned up again around four in the afternoon, just in time to help Ryan with dusting the top of a few of the taller cabinets Ryan usually didn’t clean daily. After the task was done, Shane pulled the other stool from the office out again and sat behind the counter with Ryan, flipping through a new photography book. Occasionally, he’d point out a few pieces he thought would look amazing in their living room, should they ever move in together.
Ryan couldn’t help but smile into his book every time Shane said it. The talk of moving in together had begun about six months after they started dating, mostly in response to Ryan constantly spending the night at Shane’s place instead of his own. Ryan had given Shane a few reasons why they couldn’t move in together just yet - it was too soon in their relationship, and he couldn’t move out of his apartment without first solving the puzzling murder of the ghost bride in his bathroom - but it hadn’t deterred Shane from bringing it up at least once a day, usually humorously. Ryan had expeted he’d be annoyed by the topic constantly coming up, but he found that he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. He also knew, deep down, that there would come a day when Shane would bring up them moving in together and Ryan would say yes to it. He just didn’t quite know when that day would be.
The rest of the afternoon was about as uneventful as the morning had been. Soon enough, it was nearly time to close, and as soon as Ryan had gotten up to go lock the front door so they could close up, Darren and Brendon came in.
Brendon smiled a bit at Shane, almost shyly, as Ryan introduced Shane to Darren. As soon as the introductions were over, Shane jerked his head to a spot a few feet away.
“Bren, think we could talk? I’d like to hear about what you’ve been doing since you died.”
“Sure.” Brendon smiled faintly, following Shane over to the place he’d indicated.
Ryan turned to Darren, shoving his hands in his pockets and hoping he looked as professional as he had back when he’d been the head Medical Examiner for the Centre. “So, I spent the morning thinking it over, and then I talked it over with Shane, and I’ve come to a favorable conclusion for you.”
“So you’ll do it then?” Darren asked. It was obvious he was trying not to look too eager. Ryan also thought the detective looked a bit relieved to get the extra help. “Is that what you’re saying? It is, right?”
Ryan glanced over to where Shane and Brendon were talking quietly. Shane was smiling, but he had his arms crossed over his chest. Brendon was leaning forward, one arm lightly touching Shane’s elbow. Ryan wondered if he should feel jealous of Brendon being a reaper now, and whether or not Brendon would want to continue his relationship with Shane, if he could. As soon as he thought it, Ryan realized how stupid that was. Even if Brendon wanted to pick up where they left off in their relationship, Ryan knew that Shane had moved on, and that he, Ryan Ross, was Shane’s boyfriend now.
Distracted by his thoughts as he was, Ryan nearly forgot that he’d been asked a question, and shook himself as he came back to reality. “Yeah, I will. I’ll see if I can get some paperwork drawn up for the consultancy fees and deliver them to the Centre personally.” He rubbed his neck absently, glancing over toward Brendon and Shane again, only half aware he was doing it. “As part of my consulting, I’d like a chance to look over the case file itself, as well as the medical records.”
Darren glanced over at Brendon and Shane too, and the expression on his face was unreadable. Ryan wondered if maybe Brendon had moved on since becoming a reaper. “I’m not quite sure what reading the case file and records will accomplish, much less how it’d help.”
“New eyes, mostly. It’ll give me an idea of where I can help you look for answers, plus where I should start looking myself.” Ryan shrugged a bit. “Shane can watch the store for me while I’m out.”
The detective nodded, glancing toward Brendon and Shane again. “They’ve got history, don’t they? I mean, Brendon mentioned that he’d met you and you’d gotten together with his boyfriend from before he died, but.”
Ryan looked at Darren, seeing him with new eyes. Either Brendon had really moved on like he thought, or Darren had a crush on the reaper. It looked more like the former, though, because Brendon glanced over fondly at Darren from where he was still talking to Shane. “Uh, yeah. As I’m sure you know, working at the Centre, I’m a ghost witch and Shane’s an incubus. Brendon and Shane were a serious couple before Brendon died, even though Brendon was just a Daywalker. When Brendon was murdered and showed up in my room, I started smelling like Brendon’s energy, on top of my own. As Shane can smell energy, he couldn’t help but be attracted to me because I smelled like his boyfriend’s energy.” Ryan shrugged a bit, knowing he was only telling half the story, but his personal life wasn’t up for discussion with someone he barely knew, and he was pretty sure Shane felt the same way. “I thought that’d be the end of whatever Shane and I had, once I helped Brendon into the light, but. Shane and I started dating, and we just celebrated our eighteen month anniversary.”
Darren nodded. “Ahh. Sorry for being nosy. I just. I guess I just don’t know what to make of Brendon sometimes.” He paused, and in that pause, Ryan could hear the same feelings he’d just had about not wanting to share his personal life. “It’s not really that important.”
Ryan echoed the nod, glancing at Darren out of the corner of his eye. He was about to open his mouth and ask, despite himself, when Brendon and Shane separated, both returning to where they stood.
Shane kissed Ryan’s temple, smiling as his hand sought Ryan’s, as if aware of the thoughts Ryan had had earlier while talking to Darren. There was no mistaking the hint of possessiveness coming from the incubus, and with it came well as the reassurance that Ryan had only been overthinking things. “So, did you tell Darren then?”
“Yeah.” Ryan squeezed Shane’s hand lightly before looking back to the detective. “I’ll be by tomorrow with those papers then, cool?”
Darren nodded, waving. “See you then, Ryan. Good night, Shane.”
Shane waved as the pair left before squeezing Ryan’s hand again, kissing his fingers before letting Ryan’s hand go so he could lock the front door and turn the sign to ‘closed’. “I’m glad Brendon’s doing fine. Darren’s a nice kid.”
“Yeah.” Ryan leaned into Shane, smiling up at him. “Hey, let’s go home. Your place tonight, because I don’t want to be disturbed.”
Part Two
Fandom: bandom (Panic! At the Disco/The Young Veins, Darren Criss, Shane Valdes, minor My Chemical Romance, The Like, Cobra Starship, Keltie Colleen)
Pairing: Ryan Ross/Shane Valdes, minor Brendon Urie/Darren Criss, past Brendon Urie/Shane Valdes
Word Count: 20916
Rating: R
Warnings: past character death, reenactment of a past murder, murders of children (off camera)
Disclaimer: Don't own. Title comes from Third Eye Blind’s Wake for Young Souls.
Summary: Humans are not as alone in the world as they think. Daywalkers, as they’re known, share their world with the Nightwalkers: creatures that humans think only exist in fairy tales, folklore and the occasional summer blockbuster. Ryan Ross is a ghost witch, a type of witch that can see and speak to ghosts and send them onto their just rewards if necessary. Over a year ago, Ryan had been the head Medical Examiner at the Centre, but after a particular murder case, Ryan quit his job and opened up an antique shop. Now, over a year later, Ryan wants nothing more than to focus on his relationship with his boyfriend Shane, run his store, and have as little to do with ghosts as he possibly can. But fate has other plans when a young detective from the Homicide department comes in Ryan’s store, saying that someone from Ryan’s past as a Medical Examiner and a ghost witch says Ryan’s the best at what he does. And they need Ryan’s help fast, before another Nightwalker child turns up dead.
Over a year ago
As he walked into work, Ryan secretly hoped for a slow night. He knew that he wasn’t going to get it, because that wasn’t how his job actually worked, but he could still hope.
From the guard protected entrance, he made his way to the elevator that would take him down to the morgue. Once on the right floor, he made his way along the cool hallway, his footsteps echoing against the walls. Finally, he came to his destination. Before he went through the swinging doors, he grabbed a lab coat off the hooks that hung just in front of them.
True to form, day shift medical examiner Frank Iero was already practically lying in wait for him as Ryan walked through the swinging doors into the morgue.
“So, you and Shane still going strong? You never really talk about your boyfriend, and it’s been like, three months since you two started dating.” Frank watched him curiously, shifting folders around before handing a few to Ryan. “These are yours for the night.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow, taking the folders. “Hey, Frank. I’m fine. How are you?” He opened the top folder, going over the details. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Frank bouncing on the balls of his feet eagerly, still waiting for a response.
He’d just looked up to answer Frank’s question when they both got distracted as the doors swung open and someone that Ryan didn’t know walked in. For a moment, Ryan was distracted by the guy’s dark curly hair - which seemed to have a mind of its own. Then he got a good look at the guy’s face.
Ryan was pretty sure he was lucky that his heart didn’t immediately stop, or at the very least that he didn’t drop the folders in his hands. It took him a moment to remember that he’d seen Brendon Urie cross over three months ago after Ryan had solved his murder.
The guy - Ryan had to keep telling himself it wasn’t Brendon because Brendon had crossed over - smiled, almost confusedly at the intense stare Ryan was giving him. “Hi, I’m Darren. Darren Criss? I’m here to see about an autopsy from earlier?”
Frank, as if aware that Ryan was only a few moments from dropping the folders from his hands, snagged them away and quickly started flipping through them. “Which one? We’ve had a few today.”
Ryan shook himself, aware that he was still staring at Darren, when Frank finally extracted a folder and led Darren over to one of the covered tables. “I’m gonna guess you’re here about the kid. Sad thing. She couldn’t have been more than six. Here, I’ll go over it with you.”
Ryan followed the pair with his eyes before shaking himself and walking out of the morgue. He wasn’t even aware he was walking to the elevator until had gotten on and watched the doors close, hitting the button for the director’s office on auto-pilot.
Ten minutes later, Ryan turned in his badge and left the Centre, not looking back.
~~~
Present day
Ryan turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open and inhaling the smells of his store as he flipped the sign to open. It was amazing how a year later, his decision still felt so good. Sure, he still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d quit his job - Shane figured it was because the case they’d met each other through had never really left Ryan’s mind, and seeing Darren had brought Brendon back as a forethought in their relationship - but, even now, he was glad he did.
If nothing else, it felt really damn good to be his own boss again, and to have a store like the one he’d used to own before he had starting working for the Centre.
He made his way to the counter, fixing a few things as he passed them, and picked up the small stack of mail from yesterday. On the topmost envelope, there was a post-it note with Shane’s handwriting on it: ‘Try not to work late. Want to see you tonight after my shoot. :) Shane’. He smiled, letting his messenger bag drop to the floor by his feet, and rereading the post-it again as he sat on the stool they kept behind the counter.
Shane Valdes, who Ryan had met over a year ago when he’d woken up to find the ghost of Shane’s roommate Brendon sitting in his bedroom, was a photographer by trade, but he occasionally helped out in the store when he was free. If Ryan was honest with himself, there were times when, if Shane hadn’t been in Ryan’s life, Ryan would have gone crazy trying to make his career change work. It was, after all, the second major one he’d taken since graduating college, even though it had only been to go back to what he’d been doing before he had started working for the Centre. At least this time around, Ryan wasn’t focusing so much on psychic consultancy anymore, like he’d done originally. In fact, he’d avoided having to deal with ghosts since he’d left the Centre, except for the ghost bride who hung out in his apartment, and he’d let a few of his former coworkers know not to come find him if they had dead bodies tied with unsolved cases.
In a way, despite Ryan being a witch that dealt with seeing and interacting with ghosts, not having to talk to ghosts or help them cross over was possibly the second best thing Ryan had done in a long time. Of course, the first best thing was getting involved with Shane.
The sound of the bell ringing as someone entered the store pulled Ryan out of his reverie. Even though he always opened early and stayed open late, he didn’t get many customers so soon after opening up. From where he sat, he couldn’t see whoever had come in, so he got off the stool to come around the counter.
“Hi, can I help you?”
There was faint movement near an antique cabinet that Ryan had displayed in the window before his customer stepped forward. Although it had been a year since Ryan had seen him at the Centre, he definitely remembered the curly hair and the dark brown eyes of the man, even though the name escaped him.
As if aware of Ryan’s thoughts, the man smiled charmingly, pulling out his Centre badge. “You probably don’t remember me, since the only time we met was really briefly before you disappeared. Darren Criss. I work for the Centre in the Homicide department.”
Ryan made a face at the mention of the Centre, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t know if you heard, but I quit the Centre. So I don’t know what you want with me. I’m not doing anything illegal by owning an antique store.” He paused before he pushed on. The mention of the Homicide department worried him. After all, Shane was an incubus and was on the list of species that the Centre kept close tabs on, and Ryan suddenly felt afraid something bad had happened. “And if you’re going to ask me about Shane Valdes he hasn’t killed anyone; he’s got his feeding down to a bare minimum and generally just feeds off me - and if he doesn't, he tells me.”
Darren blinked at Ryan’s outburst, shaking his head and holding up his hands after putting his badge away. “No, no. Not here about your boyfriend.” He made a patting motion on the air as if to calm Ryan down before he dropped his hands to his sides. “I’m not here because of the Centre. Well, no.” He hesitated, glancing around as if expecting someone to appear out of thin air or to listen in on their conversation. “I am running an investigation for the Centre, but I heard from a certain source that you’re the best at what you do and I need your help in order to help me solve my case.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow, wondering if Darren had eaten paint chips as a child. Or if Ryan himself was speaking some language Darren didn’t speak, which was odd, even among Nightwalkers like themselves. Of course, Ryan was only guessing that Darren was a Nightwalker, because generally, only Nightwalkers worked for the Centre. There were a few Daywalkers that worked at the Centre, Ryan knew, but they generally did janitorial work or guard duty during the day. He was pretty sure that unless they’d changed the rules since he left, no Daywalker would be working in the Homicide department. He took a deep breath, shaking his head. “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I don’t work for the Centre anymore. And I’m not really into consulting, either, if that’s why you’re here. And finally, don’t you have medical examiners? When I quit, there were two fully capable M.E.s under me, and a few other techs.”
Darren eyed Ryan thoughtfully as he spoke, before rubbing the back of his neck in an almost a sheepish manner. “I did come ask for your help with something, based on someone’s recommendation because of what you could do. And I asked around the Centre to find out just what sort of person you were and your talents. The general consensus was that you probably wouldn’t want to help me with my case, but the person who recommended you to me was insistent, so here I am, asking for your help.”
“And just who exactly recommended me?”
Even as he asked the question, Ryan became aware that the air surrounding them grew heavier and that the space to Darren’s left shifted and suddenly, someone was standing there. Someone very, very familiar to Ryan, although the last time he’d seen them, Ryan had been able to see right through them.
Brendon smiled, clearly aware that Ryan was staring dumbfounded at him. “I recommended you. I’m involved, albeit indirectly, with Darren’s case, and I remembered how good you were with ghosts, so here we are.”
Ryan rubbed his eyes, hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him. “I think I need a drink.”
~~~
An hour later found the three of them sitting in Ryan’s office. Ryan had flipped the store’s sign to ‘closed’ after announcing that he needed a drink, and although he had been tempted to go down to Greta and Thomas’ café a block down from his store, he’d led the way to his office instead. As soon as they’d gotten there, Ryan had gone into a state of shock, only coming out of it when Darren had made them both mugs of tea. Brendon had declined, smiling slightly and saying that he couldn’t drink anything.
The tea helped, and Ryan kept looking at Brendon as he took a few more small sips. As soon as Ryan felt more like himself again, he rested the mug against his knee. “The last time I saw you, Brendon, you were going into the light. What happened?”
Brendon smiled faintly, wrapping his hands around his knee. Ryan could see Darren shifting uncomfortably, and knew that he was probably anxious to have his case closed, whatever it happened to be and however Ryan could possibly help. “Do you remember the Reaper who told us that I had died before I was supposed to?” He glanced at Ryan, who nodded. “Well, the upstairs on the Other Side felt that, because I died before my time, I should be given another chance at life. But, because my body was already buried and would have been useless anyway, considering how Butch had killed me...” He paused, eyes closing briefly. Ryan wondered if the thought of his death was still upsetting to Brendon, and decided that it must be and that it was absurd to think otherwise. After all, it had involved having his throat slashed by a vampire that couldn’t take a hint that Brendon hadn’t been interested. “So, the upstairs on the Other Side did a little rearranging, and made me a Reaper under the head Reaper for this area.” Brendon scratched behind his ear, looking a bit nervous. “Gabe’s a nice guy. Creepy in a way, but mostly nice. He put me in charge of taking care of children’s souls.”
Darren shifted again. He looked like he wanted to cut into the conversation, but Ryan held up a hand like he was in class. He suddenly had a whole lot of questions. Although he’d interacted with a Reaper named Vicky when he’d been trying to solve Brendon’s murder, that had been the first time Ryan had even met a Reaper. All Vicky had told him, was that Reapers dealt with the ghosts Ryan had talked to once they were on the Other Side, so now would be a good chance to ask about them. “You’re in charge of children’s souls? Do Reapers have a specific type of person to reap, or whatever it is you do?”
Brendon smiled faintly, glancing briefly at Darren and looking a bit apologetic. He gestured with his hands as he explained. “There are various groups of Reapers on the Other Side. Each group is charged with a specific area. Sometimes, though, there’s a group in charge of specific large cities, like this one. And then within that location, the group is broken down into specific types. How detailed depends on the size of the group in the location. The group of Reapers I’m in is fairly small, six people including me. I’m in charge of helping children cross over. Vicky deals with women, no matter how they die or at what age.”
Ryan opened his mouth to ask a question that occurred to him, but Brendon held up a hand as if he’d already anticipated the question. “Gabe, the leader of the group of Reapers for this city, was particularly interested in my case, which I understand never happens. The whole dying before you’re meant to thing. Hence his interest. But due to other commitments, he couldn’t take my case. So instead of Ryland, who normally handles male Nightwalker deaths, following up on it, Gabe had Vicky follow it. And before you ask, although I think you already know, even though I was originally a human before Butch Walker killed me, I became a Nightwalker after I died. And Vicky was already dealing with the case because of Sarah and Audrey being killed.” He paused, spreading his hands out. “I should point out that Reapers help both Day and Nightwalkers cross over.”
Ryan nodded, leaning back in his chair. “Okay, I think I understand now. So, what brings a Reaper together with a detective from the Centre’s Homicide Unit?”
Brendon smiled a bit ruefully, pointing to Darren. “That’s where his case comes in.”
Darren curled his fingers around his cup as Ryan turned his attention to the young man. He ran his other hand through his curls, and Ryan found himself briefly surprised that his fingers didn’t get stuck in them. “I have to start by giving you some background information, seeing as the case started a bit before you even left the Centre, Ryan.” He glanced at Ryan, who nodded, settling back in his chair.
“I’m a weredog. I moved to Belladonna over a year ago, transferring from the Nightwalker-run police force in Los Angeles to the Centre because, as a weredog, I was one of the best search and rescue guys they had. At that time, the Centre’s Homicide Department had an ongoing case sitting on Lieutenant William Beckett’s desk that had no leads or anything. There were a few random Nightwalker children disappearing from various locations. The children were all types. Witches and weres, mostly. By the time I got transferred to the Centre to take the case, the latest vic was a young half-Nightwalker. So there was no pattern to the snatching, much less to the crime scene locations. They were taken on their way home from school, right outside their home, coming home from a friend’s house….”
Ryan stared, unable to help it. For some Nightwalker species, children were rare. To think that even one child would go missing like this…. Suddenly, he remembered the little girl that Frank had gone over with Darren the night Ryan had left the Centre. Of course, he couldn’t be sure if that body had been connected to the case the detective was talking about, much less if he could ask if it was. He did, though, have a sinking feeling that it did. “Why wasn’t this on our news?”
Darren gave Ryan a rueful smile. “In a word, because the Centre’s stance was that they didn’t want to worry parents unnecessarily. Besides, there was only one known body that the Centre knew about, which is the one that medical examiner Frank Iero was going over with me on the night you quit.” Brendon growled quietly, making the other two men glance in his direction. The reaper’s gaze dropped to his feet and he nodded faintly to show that Darren could continue speaking.
“And even then, no one was entirely sure that that body had had anything to do with the missing children, even though the little girl had been reported missing by her guardian. The oddest part, Frank mentioned, was that, although the girl was six years old and in perfectly good health otherwise, she’d died of a heart attack. And Frank said that, while it was extremely rare, especially for Nightwalker children, it wasn’t an impossibility, but it still felt wrong to him. That a little girl having a heart attack didn’t fit right in his world view. He said that he checked and rechecked all his facts, and we even waited while he had some drug work and other tests done - but the only cause of death that he could determine was a heart attack.”
Darren set his mug down and twined his fingers together, studying the way they fit together as if the answers to any questions he was thinking and the solution to his case were somewhere along the lines of his fingers. Ryan guessed that they weren’t, because Darren looked back up after a few moments. “It wasn’t until after you left the Centre, Ryan, that we found another body. It was one of the first victims reported missing, a werewolf boy of about seven or eight years old. He was found in nearly the exact same location as the six year old girl had been found, near the old theater downtown that where the vampires like to hang out. But the vampires that had been there the night before hadn’t seen anything, so we really had no clues.”
“How’d you know there was a connection, and that this was a serial sort of thing?” Ryan asked, chewing his lip as he took the information in. He thought he could guess how Brendon fit into all of this, somehow, but he wasn’t sure if he should jump in with what he thought just yet.
“After the fourth body was found by the old theater,” Darren said, looking at Ryan quietly. “Like the few bodies we found, the victim was between five and ten years of age, and died of a heart attack. Both Frank and Gerard were baffled by the whole thing, and they said that they’d seen nearly everything working for the Centre. Gerard even added that he’d checked Frank’s work, and expected to see some sort of sexual trauma and there never was any. A few of the vampires following the case with mild interest, considering where the bodies were all being found, were wondering if it could’ve been a psychic vampire draining these kids’ energy, but all the psychic vampires that they directly knew of were accounted for. Spencer did allow that, occasionally, new vampires came to Belladonna that didn’t immediately report to the Centre, and that another department was looking into those cases.” He took a deep breath. “After the fourth body was found and we were batting around ideas, I went home one night and found Brendon standing in my living room.”
At a look from Darren, Brendon took up the story. “On the Other Side, we have this room called the Room of Candles. There’s no way to measure the dimensions of this room, it’s an infinite possibility. We reapers think the Room of Candles might even be on a different dimension than ours because it feels like it’s an entire universe in one room. There feels like there aren’t any words appropriate for how this room feels.” Brendon’s hands gestured wide, before falling uselessly in his lap. “The Room of Candles is, aptly enough, full of candles. And every candle in there represents a single life, be it Daywalker, Nightwalker, or animal. When the candle’s snuffed out, that’s the end of that life. Obviously, the candles are all different sizes, based on species, age, things like that.”
Brendon’s hands came together, almost mirroring Darren’s earlier pose as they twined together, but Brendon’s eyes didn’t seem to see his fingers as he continued talking. “There are three other things in this room. There is this being we call the Chronicler. I say ‘being’ because no one really knows what the Chronicler looks like when there’s no one else there. And the Chronicler is in charge of the other two things in the Room of Candles. The first is the Book of Life, wherein everything is written down. As we reapers are told, when the Book finally reaches the final page, it will be after this existence is long done.”
Brendon glanced up as if suddenly aware he had an audience he had forgotten about. He cleared his throat, adopting a nervous look. “I should mention that the Chronicler is not the Creator or the Mother Goddess or God or Gods or anything that religion is based on. I personally feel that the Chronicler is of the same makeup as the Higher Being all religion is based on, but that they are not the same person. Possibly when the Book of Life is closed, the Chronicler will go to a new existence with the Higher Being. I don’t really know, nor does anyone else on the Other Side. Except the Chronicler and the Higher Being, I guess.” He took a deep breath, and Ryan couldn’t help but wonder if reapers actually breathe, or if it was like ghosts and Brendon was only performing the action because it was familiar.
Ryan raised his hand while Brendon composed himself, feeling a lot like he was back in school. “Question.” He hesitated a moment as Brendon blinked at him. “Both you and Vicky said that the higher ups said you shouldn’t be dead, and now you’re speaking of a Higher Being. Are they the same, or different?”
Brendon stared at Ryan for a long moment before breaking out into a smile. “I’m allowed to talk to you about the Room of Candles, but most of the information about the Other Side I can’t share. You’ll find out when you die, Ryan. Promise. I can say, though, that my higher ups are below the Higher Being. I’m not allowed to discuss the order of things on the Other Side. It’s on a need to know basis, pretty much, and that’s not on the list of things I’m allowed to discuss with people that haven’t died. I’m really only allowed to tell you all this because you need to understand how they know who’s supposed to be dead and who isn’t.” He looked at Ryan as if he expected Ryan to protest, but Ryan merely shook his head and waved a hand to indicate that Brendon could continue with his story.
Darren got up to make them more tea as Brendon took another deep breath and gathered his thoughts. “As I was saying, the Chronicler is in charge of two things. One is the Book of Life that I was just talking about. The other is the Book of the Dead. It’s this book that the reapers are more interested in, and the only reason we’re allowed to enter the Room of Candles. The Book of the Dead isn’t like the one the ancient Egyptians had.” Brendon’s hands closed, palm to palm, before slowly opening like a book. “What it is is a listing of every death in the world, from the beginning of life. When it’s your time to die, your name appears in this book, along with where and how you die. The higher ranking reapers are generally the ones that go to the Room of Candles daily to collect these names and distribute them accordingly down through the system of reapers to reapers like myself. However, sometimes there are deaths that occur that are not written down in this book. Mine, for example. This is a really rare event, and makes the higher up reapers mad.” Brendon hesitated, licking his lips as if what he was about to say was awkward. “You see, the Book of the Dead writes itself. The Chronicler’s job regarding it is simply to protect it and keep track of its whereabouts. The Chronicler is strictly set to write the Book of Life, and is generally unconcerned with names not appearing in the Book of the Dead.”
Ryan took the cup of tea Darren gave him, glancing briefly at the detective as the other man sat back down in his chair. “Then how do your higher up reapers find out about names not appearing in this Book, if this Chronicler being’s not keeping track of what happens in the Book of the Dead? Does it appear in the Book of Life?”
Brendon shrugged. “I don’t know if the names of the dead missing in the Book of the Dead appear in the Book of Life. No one but the Chronicler is allowed to read it. All I know is what reapers know. Candles flicker out when someone dies or is near death, their information appears in the Book of the Dead, the higher up reapers collect the names and distribute the names according to the reapers below them. If a candle flickers out, but a name doesn’t appear in the Book of the Dead, then the higher ups get antsy because there’s no real solution for when that happens. Someone messed with what was set down months, years, or even centuries ago.” He placed a hand over his heart. “That’s what happened to me. I guess the general solution is to put the soul back in the body, like an out of body experience, but sometimes, that’s not an option by the time the soul can go back into the body.” He shrugged faintly. “That’s where ghosts come in.”
Ryan nodded. What Brendon was saying actually made sense, but he still wasn’t sure where exactly he fit into it and why Brendon would have Darren approach him for help. He eyed the pair of them critically. “I am following what you’re saying, but what isn’t clear is what I’ve got to bring to the table. It’s Darren’s case, so I can see why he’s involved. And it deals with children’s souls, so I can see why Brendon’s involved. But it sounds like a simple enough case for the two of you to solve without my help. Which brings me to an important question.”
Darren smiled, with just a hint of humor in it. “Why you?” He gestured toward Brendon. “On his end, these kids disappearing and turning up dead aren’t in the Book of the Dead, so he shouldn’t be reaping them.” He placed his hand on his chest. “On my end, I’ve got these dead kids and no real explanation. So, what we’re wondering is, are these children wandering ghosts now that the reapers can’t trace?”
Ryan chewed his lip. What Darren was saying was already a thought in his mind, had been sneaking into it as soon as he’d wanted to know why they wanted him to get involved. But there was still the fact that he didn’t work for the Centre anymore. He didn’t even really do any consulting anymore, unless it involved very basic assignments, like people trying to trace loved ones or getting rid of unwanted guests. He took a deep breath, worrying his lip between his teeth. On the other hand, consulting would mean he’d get paid for the work he put into it, and he could turn the money around and put it back into his store. “Let me think about it.” Darren opened his mouth, clearly ready to protest, and Brendon had a similar expression on his face, but Ryan held up a hand to stop them from talking. “Just give me a couple of hours to think. I don’t really do consulting jobs these days, especially not for the Centre, so I’ll have to talk to my boyfriend about this. Come back in the evening, around closing time. I should have your answer by then.”
Darren looked like he still wanted to protest, but he nodded, getting up. “Alright. We’ll see you later, then.” He glanced briefly at Brendon before heading out.
Brendon got up, about to follow Darren out, before he paused, turning to look at Ryan. “Hey, um. I know it’s not really my place to ask, but are you and Shane still.” He didn’t finish the question, but Ryan could guess what it was.
“Yeah, over a year now. Eighteen months, in fact. He helps me out here a lot, when he’s not busy taking pictures or shooting video.” He smiled, trying for reassuring. After all, when Ryan had met Shane, it was just after Shane had lost his previous boyfriend - Brendon - to a psychopathic vampire that had been bent on making Brendon his, even though Brendon hadn’t been interested. Ryan wasn’t quite sure if his smile managed to look as reassuring as he intended, but Brendon smiled back either way.
“So he’s okay?” Brendon nodded after a moment, like he’d gotten an unheard response he liked. “That’s good. Tell him I said hi and that I miss him, okay?”
Ryan glanced up at the clock. He knew that Shane’s shoot would probably be long over with by the time the store closed and Brendon and Darren came back for his response, and he figured that Shane might want to see Brendon again, to know that Brendon was alright on the Other Side. “Tell you what, I’ll make sure Shane’s around when you and Darren come back for my answer on the consulting job and you can tell him yourself. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you again.”
Brendon nodded, giving Ryan a faint smile. “Alright, I will. Thanks.” He waved, heading out. A few moments later, the bell over the door sounded and Ryan knew that he was alone in the store once again.
Ryan rested his head on the back of his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he went over the case again. There were a few angles that he’d have to check up on personally, and he also wondered if he’d be able to see both Darren’s case file and the medical records Frank and Gerard had on the found dead children.
After his thoughts raced around, already planning ways to tackle this consulting job, Ryan burst out laughing, aware of what his mind was doing. “Looks like I’ll be taking the job. But first, I so have to talk to Shane about it.”
He nodded to himself, pushing himself up out of his chair and going back to the front of the store. He looked around thoughtfully before going to flip the sign to open once more. If it was a slow day for business, at least Ryan had plenty to think about.
~~~
The hours passed by slowly for Ryan; mostly uneventful and pretty much spent reading a vintage edition of Sherlock Holmes stories that Shane had given him for his birthday. He had a few customers, mostly older women, come in and look at pieces. A couple of them bought a few smaller items before leaving, after telling him how cute his store was.
Shane himself showed up a little before noon, turning the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’, and putting the ‘out to lunch, back in one hour’ sign in the window. He held up a big brown paper bag, grinning wide. “I come bearing gifts, babe. Chinese food, and I got all your favorites.”
“I knew I loved you for a reason,” Ryan laughed, putting his book aside and clearing off the counter so Shane could spread out the takeout boxes. “How’s your day going?”
“Boring and frustrating. Never work with amateurs.” Shane intoned gravely as he grabbed the other stool from the office and collapsed onto it, pulling one of the takeout boxes to himself. He grabbed one of the sets of chopsticks, grabbing a piece of broccoli out of the takeout box of shrimp and broccoli Ryan had claimed for himself. “Especially not Daywalker amateurs who think they know everything about vampires and werewolves and things like that, because they saw it on a TV show or some shit.”
“Don’t you just love that?” Ryan grinned wide, retaliating by stealing a piece of chicken out of Shane’s sweet and sour chicken. “At least if you come clean to a Daywalker about what you really are, you’re still a male demon.” Shane gave him a look that could curdle milk, which only made Ryan grin even wider, until he was sure his face would split in two. He knew very well that sexual beings like incubi and succubi weren’t actually demons, but he still got a kick out of the stereotypes that had emerged over the ages. Most of them, at any rate. “I know you’re not really a demon, but you’re still male. Only women are witches, if you believe the stereotype. Male witches are always called like, wizards, sorcerers and magicians.”
Ryan paused, chewing a piece of broccoli thoughtfully. “I wonder what Daywalkers would say if Nightwalkers ever came out of hiding.”
Shane waved his chopsticks wildly, unable to keep himself from grinning. “Grab your pitchforks and torches, we’ve gotta start a mob!”
Ryan laughed at that, pointing to Shane with his chopsticks. “I read a book once where that happened. This huge disease spread, killing most of the Daywalkers and the Nightwalkers stepped out of the shadows.” He dug into his takeout box for a big piece of broccoli, munching it contentedly. “It was a good book. I’ll let you borrow it some time.”
“You do that.” Shane stole a piece of shrimp. “So, as interesting and thought provoking as it is to discuss what Daywalkers think we Nightwalkers do, how’s your day going?”
“I might have a consulting job.” Ryan glanced at Shane to judge the other man’s reaction. Shane, predictably, didn’t have much of one, so Ryan continued. “It involves Brendon, a bit.”
He got the reaction he thought he’d get from that tidbit of information: a piece of sweet and sour chicken, halfway to Shane’s mouth, stopped in midair as Shane stared at Ryan. “I thought. You said. He crossed over?”
“Yeah.” Ryan chewed on a piece of shrimp before launching into his meeting with Darren, and finding out about Brendon being a reaper. He waited for Shane to process that Brendon was alive again, in a matter of speaking, before he went over what he knew about the case with Shane, who shook his head, unable to offer much clarity.
“It sounds like either one of my kind, or as the vampires seem to think, a psychic vampire.” Shane glanced at Ryan curiously. “It sounds like you’re already considering taking the case.”
“Yeah. It’s interesting, to say the least, and it means a bit of extra money that could go into the store.” He leaned over, closer to Shane. “You’ve got final call, promise. Darren and Brendon will be back later for my answer, and Brendon would like to see you.”
Shane smiled, kissing Ryan’s cheek. “You should take it then. It’ll give you something to do. And I’ll come by, because it would be nice to see Brendon again. Now. Let’s talk about something else. Something that doesn’t involve my last boyfriend.”
They finished eating lunch, talking about various topics until Shane had to leave at 1:30 to go back to his photo shoot. Ryan’s afternoon slowed down again soon enough, with the exception of a couple of tourists who came in for a reading. He’d noticed the ghost of a small child, maybe five or six, following the woman with its face half hidden behind the woman’s skirt, and thought of Darren’s case. He watched the child’s actions to hide behind their mother as he led her to where he did his readings, but the more he watched the child, the more he was beginning to doubt that the child had died of a heart attack, much less was involved with Darren’s case.
He went through the reading, making small comments from vibes he gathered from the woman and expanding on some of them when the woman had a noticeable reaction. As he went, he kept sneaking glances toward the small child, trying to get more information on how the child died. He was finally rewarded when the child, a little boy, peeked out from behind his mother, and Ryan could see that half of the boy’s face was badly burned. He hazarded a guess that, in the past, there’d been a terrible fire and the woman had lost something incredibly important in the fire. No sooner had he said it, than the woman started batting away tears, telling him in a choked voice about how there’d been a horrible fire in her old home and her youngest son had been so badly burned that the doctors couldn’t save him. Ryan offered the ghost child a small smile, reaching out and patting the woman’s hand. He told her that he felt her son’s presence and that he was fine on the Other Side, but that he’d always be near her to watch over her. The woman thanked him tearfully, one hand clutching her chest. He smiled, leading her and her friend back out of his reading room, and turned to find the little boy standing behind him.
“Hi.” Ryan blinked down at the boy, smiling carefully. “You shouldn’t let too much distance get between you and your mother. You’ll be stuck in my store, and I don’t think you’d want that.”
The little boy looked in the direction his mother had gone, biting his lip before looking up at Ryan again. “You lied to my mommy about where I was. I knew from when I came in that you could see me.”
Ryan crouched down by the little boy, smiling more reassuringly. “I can’t help you cross over if you don’t want to go, and I thought it was more important to your mommy if she thought you were somewhere better than here.” He patted the boy’s shoulder as best he could, ignoring the feeling of cold that swept through his hand at the contact. “You should go now, so you don’t get stuck here.”
The little boy nodded and disappeared. Ryan assumed that the little boy had gone off to rejoin his mother. He hoped that it’d all turn out well for them.
Shane turned up again around four in the afternoon, just in time to help Ryan with dusting the top of a few of the taller cabinets Ryan usually didn’t clean daily. After the task was done, Shane pulled the other stool from the office out again and sat behind the counter with Ryan, flipping through a new photography book. Occasionally, he’d point out a few pieces he thought would look amazing in their living room, should they ever move in together.
Ryan couldn’t help but smile into his book every time Shane said it. The talk of moving in together had begun about six months after they started dating, mostly in response to Ryan constantly spending the night at Shane’s place instead of his own. Ryan had given Shane a few reasons why they couldn’t move in together just yet - it was too soon in their relationship, and he couldn’t move out of his apartment without first solving the puzzling murder of the ghost bride in his bathroom - but it hadn’t deterred Shane from bringing it up at least once a day, usually humorously. Ryan had expeted he’d be annoyed by the topic constantly coming up, but he found that he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. He also knew, deep down, that there would come a day when Shane would bring up them moving in together and Ryan would say yes to it. He just didn’t quite know when that day would be.
The rest of the afternoon was about as uneventful as the morning had been. Soon enough, it was nearly time to close, and as soon as Ryan had gotten up to go lock the front door so they could close up, Darren and Brendon came in.
Brendon smiled a bit at Shane, almost shyly, as Ryan introduced Shane to Darren. As soon as the introductions were over, Shane jerked his head to a spot a few feet away.
“Bren, think we could talk? I’d like to hear about what you’ve been doing since you died.”
“Sure.” Brendon smiled faintly, following Shane over to the place he’d indicated.
Ryan turned to Darren, shoving his hands in his pockets and hoping he looked as professional as he had back when he’d been the head Medical Examiner for the Centre. “So, I spent the morning thinking it over, and then I talked it over with Shane, and I’ve come to a favorable conclusion for you.”
“So you’ll do it then?” Darren asked. It was obvious he was trying not to look too eager. Ryan also thought the detective looked a bit relieved to get the extra help. “Is that what you’re saying? It is, right?”
Ryan glanced over to where Shane and Brendon were talking quietly. Shane was smiling, but he had his arms crossed over his chest. Brendon was leaning forward, one arm lightly touching Shane’s elbow. Ryan wondered if he should feel jealous of Brendon being a reaper now, and whether or not Brendon would want to continue his relationship with Shane, if he could. As soon as he thought it, Ryan realized how stupid that was. Even if Brendon wanted to pick up where they left off in their relationship, Ryan knew that Shane had moved on, and that he, Ryan Ross, was Shane’s boyfriend now.
Distracted by his thoughts as he was, Ryan nearly forgot that he’d been asked a question, and shook himself as he came back to reality. “Yeah, I will. I’ll see if I can get some paperwork drawn up for the consultancy fees and deliver them to the Centre personally.” He rubbed his neck absently, glancing over toward Brendon and Shane again, only half aware he was doing it. “As part of my consulting, I’d like a chance to look over the case file itself, as well as the medical records.”
Darren glanced over at Brendon and Shane too, and the expression on his face was unreadable. Ryan wondered if maybe Brendon had moved on since becoming a reaper. “I’m not quite sure what reading the case file and records will accomplish, much less how it’d help.”
“New eyes, mostly. It’ll give me an idea of where I can help you look for answers, plus where I should start looking myself.” Ryan shrugged a bit. “Shane can watch the store for me while I’m out.”
The detective nodded, glancing toward Brendon and Shane again. “They’ve got history, don’t they? I mean, Brendon mentioned that he’d met you and you’d gotten together with his boyfriend from before he died, but.”
Ryan looked at Darren, seeing him with new eyes. Either Brendon had really moved on like he thought, or Darren had a crush on the reaper. It looked more like the former, though, because Brendon glanced over fondly at Darren from where he was still talking to Shane. “Uh, yeah. As I’m sure you know, working at the Centre, I’m a ghost witch and Shane’s an incubus. Brendon and Shane were a serious couple before Brendon died, even though Brendon was just a Daywalker. When Brendon was murdered and showed up in my room, I started smelling like Brendon’s energy, on top of my own. As Shane can smell energy, he couldn’t help but be attracted to me because I smelled like his boyfriend’s energy.” Ryan shrugged a bit, knowing he was only telling half the story, but his personal life wasn’t up for discussion with someone he barely knew, and he was pretty sure Shane felt the same way. “I thought that’d be the end of whatever Shane and I had, once I helped Brendon into the light, but. Shane and I started dating, and we just celebrated our eighteen month anniversary.”
Darren nodded. “Ahh. Sorry for being nosy. I just. I guess I just don’t know what to make of Brendon sometimes.” He paused, and in that pause, Ryan could hear the same feelings he’d just had about not wanting to share his personal life. “It’s not really that important.”
Ryan echoed the nod, glancing at Darren out of the corner of his eye. He was about to open his mouth and ask, despite himself, when Brendon and Shane separated, both returning to where they stood.
Shane kissed Ryan’s temple, smiling as his hand sought Ryan’s, as if aware of the thoughts Ryan had had earlier while talking to Darren. There was no mistaking the hint of possessiveness coming from the incubus, and with it came well as the reassurance that Ryan had only been overthinking things. “So, did you tell Darren then?”
“Yeah.” Ryan squeezed Shane’s hand lightly before looking back to the detective. “I’ll be by tomorrow with those papers then, cool?”
Darren nodded, waving. “See you then, Ryan. Good night, Shane.”
Shane waved as the pair left before squeezing Ryan’s hand again, kissing his fingers before letting Ryan’s hand go so he could lock the front door and turn the sign to ‘closed’. “I’m glad Brendon’s doing fine. Darren’s a nice kid.”
“Yeah.” Ryan leaned into Shane, smiling up at him. “Hey, let’s go home. Your place tonight, because I don’t want to be disturbed.”
Part Two