Free Styx & Stoned (The Grim Reality Series Book 2) by Boone Brux

spirits
seeping onto our physical plane made the bread turn sour in my stomach. I set
the roll on a small white saucer. “She said she’d been waiting in line for the
ferry, it started getting crowded, and then poof , she was in the
bathroom.”
    “That’s not good.” Mara folded her
arms over her chest and crossed her legs, settling against the chair. “I think
Tabris is off on his timeline, and spirits are already crossing back over.”
    “I agree,” I said. “It sounded like
Estelle, the ghost in the bathroom, got squeezed out. From what she said, she
wasn’t doing anything but standing in line.”
    A spirit passed through the kitchen
door, gliding through the tables, and out of the banquet room.
    “Maybe all these ghosts loitering
about isn’t so natural for Vegas,” I said.
    “You might be right.” Nate stood.
“We need to tell Tabris. Maybe he has an emergency plan.”
    “If he doesn’t,” Cam said, “I think
we can count on putting in some overtime.”
    I watched Nate stride out of the
room, the sinking weight of responsibility pushing against my shoulders. I’d
been in Las Vegas less than twenty-four hours and already I was embroiled in an
epic crisis. I picked up my roll and shoved the rest in my mouth. It just
frickin’ figured.

Chapter Six
     
    The luncheon started on time with
no indication of trouble. GRS employees chatted with their tablemates, seemingly
clueless about the banks of the River Styx backing up like faulty plumbing.
Speakers droned on about the mission of GRS, our role in the great corporation,
blah, blah, blah. I fidgeted in my seat, unable to concentrate on anything they
said. The longer I sat, the more anxious I became.
    Dozens of questions popped into my
mind. Which spirits were spilling back to the physical plane? Violent
criminals, grandmothers, children? Was there any kind of filter for those who
were freed? When the other reapers caught wind of the problem, they still
wouldn’t be able to reap. There was no room on the banks. Maybe, by some
miracle, we’d coax Charon back to Styx before things got out of control,
but…what if we didn’t?
    “Ms. Carron?” A thin Asian man
leaned next to my ear. “Mr. Tabris would like you and Ms. Mara to join him in
his office after the luncheon.”
    I turned my head, looking into the
black gaze of Tabris’s assistant. He hadn’t asked if we would go, and I
wasn’t about to tell a high-powered angel, and my big boss, no. I nodded. “Of
course.”
    The man straightened and strode
back to Tabris, delivering the message.
    Hoping Nate had a better handle on
the situation than I did, I turned to him “Why do you think he only wants to
talk to Mara and me?”
    Nate watched Tabris for a few
seconds before replying. “I don’t know.” His expression relaxed, and he smiled.
The action was forced, not making me feel any better about the upcoming
meeting. “It’s probably nothing, maybe just an update on Hal.”
    Even as he offered an explanation,
I could tell Nate didn’t believe it—neither did I. Whereas my stomach was a
jumble of nerves, Mara appeared cool and collected, as always. I’d only known
her for a day, but doubted there was much that flustered the demon. I wished
some of her coolness would rub off on me.
    When all the speakers were
finished, and the attendees began filing out of the banquet hall, Mara and I
followed the flow. For once the slow moving crowd didn’t bother me. Something
about being summoned didn’t sit well. I hoped Tabris was going to simply update
us on what he wanted, or the situation, but the fact that Cam and Nate hadn’t
been ordered to come made me uneasy.
    “Is it just me, or is this weird?”
I asked.
    Mara glanced at me. “Weird is a
relative term when it comes to the ethereal administration.” We skirted a group
of GRS employees, chatting about the inspirational messages at the luncheon.
“Totally clueless,” she mumbled.
    “Blissfully ignorant,” I added.
“Must be