Despite having a day off, I find myself working almost until evening. A pile of urgent tasks cropped up at the bookstore, leaving me nowhere to escape. My colleagues also stayed indoors all day, eager to wrap up their work and finally take a moment to rest.
I grab an empty box and head to the storage room. After a few steps, my vision blurs, and my legs feel strangely numb. I'm not panicking—I already know what's happening.
Hunters never work alone. We receive help from spirits in Bardo. To communicate with them, though, we have to meet in a strange place between Earth and the afterlife.
To enter this world of souls, you have to become a soul yourself. When a hunter's soul enters Bardo, their body collapses. Before planned meetings, I usually make sure I'm in a safe place to avoid injury, but with unexpected visits like this, there's just not enough time.
Just before my consciousness fades, I curse to myself. If I wake up with yet another bruise, I'm going to lose it.
After a moment of darkness, a blinding light sears my eyes. The meeting room in Bardo is so starkly white it always gives me a headache. I rub the corners of my eyes a few times, then scan the place.
At the large round table, I spot the culprit behind this visit: a short, chubby man with gray hair and a braided beard, furiously folding something from a bright red sheet of paper. The color is so intense I have to squint.
Balthazar is a peculiar spirit—generally calm with a childlike streak that sometimes erupts unexpectedly.
He doesn't seem to notice me. I clear my throat, and he jumps, startled, as if he's forgotten that he called me here. He stares, surprised, then a wide grin spreads across his face.
"Nathaniel, it's been ages!" Balthazar exclaims joyfully.
He jumps up energetically, abandoning his red paper creation.
"You could've picked a better time," I say with a sigh of frustration. "Another unexpected drop like that and my skull might just crack open."
Balthazar laughs, wiping a mock tear.
"I love your sense of humor! If it weren't for Eleonora, you'd already be here, not as a hunter but as a client." he chuckles. "Joking aside, I'm sorry. There's a bit of an emergency, and I need your help."
His tone surprises me. In all my years working with Balthazar, he's never asked me to handle anything beyond hunting. I suspect this might be an unusually complex task.
"Don't worry, it's nothing too serious," he adds, as if reading my thoughts. "I need you to find a guy named Cody. Keep an eye on him for a while, and help him if necessary."
"Since when does Bardo offer private services?" I raise an eyebrow. "Don't you have enough work as it is?"
Balthazar just chuckles.
"Oh, we do. But this guy really needs help," he says, more serious than I've ever seen him.
I have countless questions, but my time here is limited, and I'm not sure how relevant they are right now.
"How do I find him?" I ask, prioritizing the most pressing question.
Balthazar smiles, twisting his gray beard with a wrinkled finger.
"Pardon me, but that's part of your assignment."
The light begins to recede again. Time flows differently here, so I have maybe thirty seconds left.
"Do you have any idea how many people are named Cody?" I hiss, rushing.
"Honestly, no clue," he says with a grin. "But I'll give you a hint. Good luck—I believe in you."
With a snap of his fingers, a red envelope appears in my hand.
Darkness engulfs me again, and I jerk awake as though I've remembered something left on the stove. My head throbs from the impact of my fall, and I quietly curse.
"Rough landing?" Arthur snorts.
Frowning, I massage my aching head, glancing at my friends crouched beside me.
"How long was I out?" I ask.
"Maybe five minutes," Eleonora shrugs. "Why'd you take off in such a hurry?"
"Balthazar summoned me. Didn't even give me time to sit down," I mutter. "Honestly, who thought he was qualified for this job?"
Arthur laughs.
"Good question. So, what did he need?" he asks.
I pause, trying to make sense of it for both myself and them.
"He asked me to find someone and help him," I reply, my voice uncertain. Eleonora and Arthur exchange confused looks.
"What makes him so special?" Elle asks, frowning.
"If only I knew. I have no idea," I reply with a sigh, getting to my feet. "And I don't know where to find him."
Part of me wants to return to Bardo and give Balthazar a piece of my mind, but then something dawns on me. I open my hand.
The red envelope is still there, clutched tightly in my fingers. Without hesitation, I tear it open and pull out a small card with handwritten words.
"Looks like you got a clue," Arthur murmurs, eyeing the envelope.
"It's such a shame Balthazar doesn't pay me to solve his riddles," I mutter, reading the card once more.
2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4.