Lunar Ryce, Soul Collector: Sheol Legacies, #1

By M J Rutter

Sheol is a realm between Heaven and Hell, a realm where souls are needed to supply energy, protected by a veil which prevents souls from escaping to Earth.

Lunar has just buried her grandmother, with her sister away at college, she has two weeks until a long lost cousin arrives to look after her. Two weeks of no adult supervision, two weeks of no curfew and of no rules. Its her seventeenth birthday and her best friend Jaxon is going away for the summer, what better reason does she need to throw a party? Her long lost cousin Syrus arrives, everything changes and she soon discovers that no one has been completely honest with her.

Now she has to decide what she will do, not just between her best friend and her new boyfriend, she has to decide to follow her legacy and become the next Soul Collector, unaware of just how much they need her, Sheol's existence hangs in the balance while she decides.

So, if like many others, you are going to Hell, then you are going to meet her, she'll be coming for you and you too, will be given the choice.

Sheol needs her, Sheol needs you too, all you have to do is say yes!

• Language: English
• Publisher: M J Rutter
• Release date: Sep 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386025252

Book preview

Prologue

IN HER DREAMS SHE IS invincible, immortal. In her dreams she is as fast as a panther, she can jump from one skyscraper to another. In her dreams she can do anything she wants. But that is only a dream. Surely, a normal girl, on the cusp of her life would and could only dream of such gifts. So, why is she dreaming about them every night at all? Why in these dreams does she have the ability and power to track down a specific low life in society and change their life?

Lunar Ryce is dreaming again, she is chasing a boy of about sixteen, they’re running down dark rain-soaked streets, steam is shooting out of the drains misting up the alleyway. He is a drug user and living on the streets. He has mugged the vulnerable, stolen from his own family and some of his crimes are so heinous, that he is on a one-way ticket to Hell. So, why not have the chance to change that? If he is already damned, why not live it up a little and live like a rock star? Lunar can do that, all he has to do is say yes. She can feel his heart beat within hers, like a second pulse throbbing away from adrenaline and from fear. Who is she, why is she after him? She catches him up and he relaxes against the wall,

Don’t be scared, she says, I am not going to hurt you. He glares into her green eyes, I can take it all away, Matthew, I can take the pain and the hurt all away. He frowns, his anxious eyes dart around, there is no one, as with his life since he chose this path, he is totally alone. Aren’t you tired, Matthew? she asks. He nods his head as a tear trickles from his eye, I can give you anything you desire, anything you want, all you have to say is yes.

One

Amber and White Gold

The spectrum of light created from the sun, reflected on the wall as she dangled the intriguing pendant in front of her green eyes. Mr. Cross, her grandmother’s attorney had given it to her at the will reading after her grandmother’s funeral the day before and for some reason she couldn’t leave it alone. The peach pit sized, amber colored diamond, sat encased in the most intricate web of white gold she had ever seen. Each strand of the web had some sort of marking on it, it looked like letters or markings from an alien alphabet, though she couldn’t be sure, and it certainly wasn’t the scribes of anything she had ever seen in her life.

What is it? she asked.

An heirloom, her sister Mika replied absently as she stuffed numerous items in her bag that rested on the kitchen table, it was completely full and about to burst open.

So, you get the car and I get...this, she frowned glaring at it again. Thanks, Delly.

Hey, mom said that the family necklace was worth more than any amount of money and a lot more than a stupid car. Mika retorted, annoyed at her younger sister’s lack of appreciation.

Mom, also said she would never leave us, she sighed. Oh look, she did, she slipped the pendant into her jean shorts pocket and leaned her elbows on the table in front of her.

Dying hardly justifies as leaving, Lunar, Mika scorned.

She still left, she muttered with emotion piercing her heart and her eyes. Mika gazed at her little sister for a few moments as she stared off into space, something she always did after talking about their mother. She wanted to comfort her, offer just a word even, but she couldn’t, and Lunar was right, their mother’s untimely death left them both broken hearted.

I have to go, are you going to be okay? she asked tying her brown, highlighted hair up in a ponytail with a hair matted rubber band, Lunar looked at the pile of dishes still sat there from the wake and sighed heavily.

I suppose, she shrugged her tiny shoulders. When will you be back?

Before August is out, I’ll try and get back for your birthday, but I have exams and then that trip to Europe with my friend, so... Oh yes, the trip she had saved all of her hard-earned pay from her book store job, to take with her secret boyfriend. Lunar nodded.

Sure, it’s fine, she frowned. Well, drive safe an’ all that.

I hate leaving you alone, Mika groaned pulling Lunar up out of her seat; she folded her arms around her pulling her in close. Her sweet perfume filled Lunar’s lungs as she inhaled. Still, it’s only until next weekend, a cousin of some sort is going to come and stay with you until I graduate next spring and then I’ll be here permanently. Lunar nodded her head. Go take a shower, you stink.

Gee, thanks, sis, she smiled slightly. Call me when you get there.

I’ll call you every day, she promised and left.

The only comfort she got from her sister was the fact that unlike herself, Mika looked like their mother. Long brown hair, huge brown eyes and a pale face, just like mom, well, it seemed that way to her. She heaved a huge sigh after the door closed and began to tackle the enormous pile of plates and dishes, rinsing and then stacking them in the dishwasher.

After a shower and a change of clothes, she tied up her chestnut brown hair and placed sunglasses over her jade green eyes, before she left the house and drove towards the main part of Rockford town center. She needed milk, as the Ladies Tea Club and her grandmother’s only friends, made sure there was enough hot tea for everyone at the funeral, the milk had run dry. Delly had only been attending the club for the last few weeks of her life and if it weren’t for them, Lunar and Mika would have been the only ones at the funeral.

She remembered seeing the one girl friend she had from school, though they had sort have lost touch recently, it comforted her to see that Stella still cared about her. She should have gone back to school really, but she couldn’t face them, now a true orphan, how could she look into their sympathetic eyes? Not even her best friend Jax could offer any comfort. Her biggest nightmare had come true. Lunar was now completely and utterly alone.  

After a small grocery shop at the store she drove back towards her house, but as she passed Shelby’s Drive Up, she couldn’t resist one of their cool Cherry Limeades on such hot day.

Welcome to Shelby’s, a nasally voice said. Can I take your order?

Can I get a Cherry Limeade please? Lunar asked into the speaker.

Is that all you want?

Yes, it is, thanks, she stiffened.

Lunar, is that you, honey?

Yes, she frowned.

It’s Tara, come on to the window girl, she drove forward to the window, with copper colored hair and spider leg eyelashes, Tara Lewis, Mika’s once best friend, smiled sympathetically. Hey, how are you?

I’m...okay, she nodded.

I heard about Delly, I am so sorry, how are you bearing up? she asked.

Uh..., she wrinkled her nose, Mika, she uh, said to say Hi, by the way; she’ll be back after her trip to Europe. If she answered truthfully, she would have told her how lonely she felt. How that now she was an orphan, no one wanted to be around her anymore. Her heart began to shred as Tara stared.

Well, maybe we could hook up when she’s back; have a girl’s night out. Tara suggested.

Sure, she smiled. I have to go so...

Okay, Lunar, I’ll see you soon, she said handing her a cup of limeade with cherries floating on the top with the ice. It’s on the house.

Thanks, that was exactly what she was trying to avoid, sympathetic handouts.

She half owned a house now, a huge house at that, she didn’t need handouts. Their father Simon had died at sea, he was a fisherman and his trawler went down in a hurricane, he and four crew members lost their lives and they didn’t even have a body to bury. Their mother, Celestra, was left to raise four-year-old Michaela and six-month-old Lunar alone, so their strangely eccentric Grandmother, Delly, short for Delilah, came to the west coastal town of Rockford in Oregon, to live with them so that their mother could return to work.

Lunar’s childhood left a lot to be desired, first of all, her mother mourning their father’s death, left her incredibly sad and lonely. A mere shell of her former self and a far cry from the loving mother they craved. Mika stopped talking to everyone for three years and Delly; well, she kept disappearing at night. She never said where she was going, and no one asked her when she returned, so Lunar didn’t either.

She played by herself mostly; when she started school none of the girls would go near her, saying that Delly was a witch and caused the accident at the lighthouse. Her weird and unusual name meant that she had to be a witch too. Of course, Lunar knew that witches weren’t real, not spell casting, broomstick riding witches anyway. She asked her mother why she was called Lunar.

It’s after your auntie, my older sister; she died in a boating accident when she was eighteen, that’s why I called you Lunar. Her mother explained.

So, she had an aunt, a grandfather and her father already dead. Death had played largely in her life and now she was only seven. Then tragedy hit once more, just after Mika started high school, throwing both girls lives into a pit of despair.

Their mother was driving home from her art class late one Wednesday night and the brakes failed on her Toyota; unable to stop or control the car properly she drove over a cliff, crashing into the rocks below and lost her life. Mika sunk back into her silent suffering and almost quit school completely and Lunar, at only nine had to face life without her mother.

Their grandmother Delly was left beside herself as most of her family had died and she had never said Boo to a goose. Why was she surrounded in such pain and loss? It felt as if death hung over them like a black cloud. When Lunar graduated middle school and went up to high school, she had only made one friend, Stella. Mika had tons of friends, but she had already graduated and left home for college.

Delly died peacefully in her sleep three years later, Lunar was now in her junior year at school and almost seventeen and Mika was about to finish her junior year in college.

The house had been left to them both, along with their college fund and a thousand dollars paid into their accounts on a monthly basis. Enabling both girls to survive financially and pay the bills the house incurred. So, she and Mika were left with this huge blue house that over looked the ocean, the same ocean that took her parents.

She loathed it now, but it was home, her home and now she could do exactly as she liked, well, until this elusive cousin that she had never heard of before, let alone met, arrived. She didn’t even know if this cousin was male, female or alien.

As she parked her car on the driveway she noticed someone sat on the cliff top, it could only be one person, her best friend Jaxon, or Jax, as he preferred to be called. He stood when he saw her climb out of her car; he was a good six feet tall with dark brown hair which he wore long to his shoulders with blue eyes and a warm smile. He had on his black trench coat, which, in the warm May sun was definitely not needed, huge army boots and faded black jeans. He removed his sunglasses as she approached.

So, I thought you’d be back today, he said.

My sister didn’t leave until after ten... why are you ditching? she frowned over her sun glasses.

Boring, he sung making her smile slightly. And, I thought we could maybe get a pizza and watch a movie.

Your dad is going to kill you, she groaned.

Like I care, he snickered. Come on, Loony, where is your enthusiasm?

Call me Loony again and I’ll get all enthusiasm on your butt, got it?

Got it, he smiled wryly. She handed him her charity handout drink and he held it for her while she tackled the three locks on the front door.

Good, she said and opened the front door. I don’t want this to be known as a ditching hangout.

Lunar, you are the only seventeen-year-old I know that owns their own house. He replied as they stepped inside. Hey, you should have a party.

No, no parties, she snapped. I only buried Delly yesterday Jax.

Have one for your birthday, seventeen is a big birthday. He began dancing around like he had ants in his pants and it made her smile again,

"Okay, I’ll think about it, just stop dancing like that. But you do know this is half Mika’s too. I guess I could not tell her... She drifted off thinking about it now, the house full of revelers, she’d be popular, okay, for one night, but it had to be better than being shunned for something she had no control over.  It was a week away and having a party could hide the fact that she had no one else to celebrate it with. Mind you, this long-lost cousin who’s coming to babysit me could be a monster, so, we’ll have to see." She wondered briefly why no one had even mentioned a cousin of any sort, did she have family elsewhere? It certainly never came up and if so, not one of them came to Delly’s funeral.

They watched two funny movies and shared a huge pizza; she sat beside him on the couch, their shoulders touching and feet up on the coffee table, she stretched out her arms while the credits ran as Jax burped a huge unattractive belch. She rolled her eyes after telling him how disgusting he was and took the plates out to the kitchen where she began the hideous job of unloading the dishwasher as Jax bought out the glasses from their shared soda.

This place is spotless, Lunar. He marveled.

I worked my butt off here this morning after Mika left, she grumbled. He gazed around at the empty house, feeling a little concerned for his friend, she seemed totally alone now.

Are you going to be alright staying here alone...at night I mean? he asked lifting some plates from the dishwasher and stacking them on the counter.

Of course, she shrugged her tiny shoulders.

Well, I could stay o...

No thank you, she smiled; she didn’t want him staying over. She placed the plates in the cabinet and returned to the sink. Look, Delly took off a lot, I hardly saw her anyway. I will be fine. She insisted and rinsed their pizza plates under the faucet.

If someone comes here then... he shook his head in a disapproving way.

I have Delly’s shot gun loaded and waiting. Honestly, Jax; no one would come here anyway. She smiled.

Don’t you kid yourself, he sighed. Well, I should go; the old man is taking the witch out for dinner tonight so... He detested his step mother and never referred to her by name, she was always the witch or the step-monster, but never Carla and never mom.

Carla is not a witch, I know witches and she is not one, she smiled.

What witches do you know? he frowned.

I am not telling you, you’ll get nightmares, she replied

with a chuckle walking him out to the front door. Are you doing anything tomorrow?

No, you wanna go into Keller? he asked referring to the nearest town with a mall.

Maybe, call me in the morning, she replied. He nodded his head and stepped outside. If I have a party, do you think anyone will come?

Mmm, let me see, a house party with no adults...no brainer, he sung making her smile from the inside. Jax could always do that, no matter how bad she felt, he would make her smile. He folded his long arms around her and hugged her tightly before jumping off the porch and trotting over to his car.

She watched him drive off in his white Ford Focus and sighed before kicking the front door closed.

All she could hear in the house that seemed suddenly quiet was the ticking of the clock on the mantle in the living room; she walked through to the kitchen to finish unloading the dishwasher. After wiping over the counters, she walked around the house and locked all of the doors and windows before heading up to her room. Her book sat on her nightstand waiting to be finished and though it was only five, she closed the blinds and lay on her bed under Delly’s old knitted blanket; the smell reminded her of Delly and it felt as though she were hugging her.

The house was never a noisy home, but she missed her sister’s rock music blaring from her room across the hall from hers and the aroma of food cooking wafting up from the kitchen. Delly loved to cook and would always try her newest recipes out on Lunar, what she would give for a warm bowl of Delly’s pork stew now.

Her book, S E Hinton’s, The Outsiders, had drawn her in up to a point. The days Johnny Cade and Ponyboy Curtis, the main characters, spent at the old church became monotonous to read about, partly because of her tiredness and partly because she had read it so many times before, after the poem Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost, she closed the pages and then her eyes, drifting off effortlessly into a deep sleep.

Running down the dark alley, the steam from the drains shot up through the cold air, the ground was wet, and the scent of rain filled her nose as she gazed around. Then she saw him leaning against a wall, he looked up to her, his eyes wide with fear. He stood and began to run again. His heavy legs hurt with the cold, the hot blood rushing his veins against the damp cold night actually caused him pain, along with his craving and his hunger.

Wait, she called out, her voice echoed, I just want to talk, he stopped and stood against the wall heaving icy breaths in and out of his body, I can help you, she said as she approached.

How? he asked with a white puff of condensation.

I can give you anything you want.

Anything, he frowned.

Yes, all you have to do is say yes. She nodded.

Yes, to what? he frowned painfully.

I can take it away, all of it. Your addiction, your pain, all you have to say is yes. Tears trickled from his frightened eyes. Then you can choose a new life, be rich, a rock star anything you want you can have it. He glared into her eyes as she pressed her hands either side of his head, seeing something, he closed his eyes, he frowned as she removed her hands, lowered his head and nodded. I can give you this life, but you have to know, once you say yes, once you agree, you can’t take it back. He nodded his weary head. You need to say the words, yes I want it.

Yes, he said absently. I want you to do it, take it all away.

Look into the light, she told him as she removed the pendant from around her neck and dangled it in his face. He stared at the tiny light inside the stone as it illuminated reflecting a bright golden light in his eyes and off the wet walls around them. He turned white as the color drained from his face, a wispy white haze seeped out of his mouth, not condensation, this was something more, it had a density to it, swirling and moving while it drifted from his body. He jolted with the last of it was imbibed into the pendant, his grey eyes bulged and then they closed. He collapsed seated on the wet ground and his head flopped to the side.

When you wake up in just a moment, your life will have changed, she muttered and then she cut the wall open and stepped through. The hole closed and disappeared.

Lunar sat up right on her bed, her face was soaked with sweat and her hands shook violently. The pendant in the dream, it was like the one she had been left by her grandmother. As she lifted it from the pocket of her jean shorts her phone began to ring.

She flipped open her trusty old cellphone and held it to her ear, Hello, she said.

Hey, Mika said. What are ya doing? she asked in her creepy cartoon voice.

Reading, she replied flopping back on the bed. I take it U of A did not burn down while you were here.

No, she chuckled. I forgot to tell you a few things about the house, the water bill has been paid, Delly did it for the year, the land taxes are also covered, but keep an eye on the electricity. I know what you are like for leaving the lights on.

Is this why you called, to lecture me? she frowned.

No, I just worry that’s all... I hate leaving you alone. Mika explained.

I’m a big girl, Mika; I don’t need you to keep checking up on me.

You’re sixteen though, Lunar, she sighed.

Almost seventeen, Lunar corrected.

I know, I know. Just...take care, okay? Mika said sadly.

Okay, bye, Michaela, she replied.

Bye. The call ended, and she snapped the phone shut, then lifted the pendant up so she could look at it; there were no lights inside of it, just a cold hard amber stone. She placed it in her nightstand drawer and turned off the light.

Seated on the top step of her front porch, she waited patiently. Jax was already half an hour late, no surprise there, even though he had arranged the time, he was always late. The white sun felt hot while a warm breeze blew around her ankles making her wish she’d not worn her jeans and Converse sneakers.

The sea gulls swooped and sung above her in the perfect blue sky, she closed her eyes allowing the sun to warm her face, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the dream and although she wanted to tell Jax, something told her not to, she thought that maybe he would laugh at her.

He drove up the drive and honked the horn. She rolled her eyes at his typical tardiness before jumping off the porch and climbing into his car beside him.

They listened to her favorite rock band, Rapture, as they sang from their chart-topping CD while they rode towards the mall. Dread filled her as they arrived in the car lot. Lunar wasn’t