“Shouldn’t you be out reaping?” Isla asked Miller. The lean man with long stringy hair relaxed on a chaise looking out over the ocean. He was shirtless, showing off his silver scythe tattoo; it had the number 14 in red on the blade. He shrugged without looking up; his gaze was focused on his node.
“Dispatch says no jobs,” he said. “I thought you were nice enough to give me the day off.”
“Death doesn’t take days off,” Isla said. Miller looked up at her through mirrored sunglasses.
“It doesn’t?” he asked. “You might want to find out where all your clients are going then.” Isla shook her head and sighed. She let herself plop down on a lounger next to Miller’s.
“I know where they’re going. I just didn’t know it was this bad already,” she said. Isla wiggled her fingers and opened a small saucer-sized black portal in the air next to her. She reached in and pulled out a frosty beer. “Want one?” she asked Miller. He nodded.
“Where are they going?” Miller asked as he popped the top off his bottle.
“There’s a Zero named Dana Sharp,” Isla said. “Well, she was a Zero. Now she’s running her own afterlife, and it seems to be off to a good start.” Isla and Miller watched the waves and sinking sun for several minutes.
‘So…,” Miller broke the silence. “… the big guy’s okay with that?” Isla laughed.
“The big guy is bored. It’s why he lets Ballisea run amok, and I guess that wasn’t enough excitement. I guess I can’t blame him though, he’s seen and done it all already.”
“How old is he?” Miller asked. Isla shrugged.
“Older than we’ll ever know,” she said. “This isn’t his first multiverse.”
“What?” Miller sat up and turned around to face her. “You’re kidding, right?” Isla smiled but shook her head.
“We’re not even his first attempt at Uniques,” Isla leaned back on her lounger and relaxed. “The very first Unique Souls were conquerors; he called them the Conquistadors. A corona, sirena, corazon, diablito and calavera and they were all much stronger than the Conquerors we have now. They were so powerful the only thing he could do was seal them away.”
“So we’re going to just let Dana Sharp take all our souls?” Miller asked. Isla nodded.
“Nothing we could do anyway. It’s all up to the big guy. If he’s letting it happen, I’m okay with it too,” she said.
“I’m good with that too,” Miller nodded then settled back onto his seat. He watched the waves and took a sip of beer.
