Reaper (26 page)

“I can’t refute that,” Ethan admitted. “Being careful comes with the job. I’ve been doing this my whole life, remember?”

“I remember,” I said. “And I know you’re strong and tough and brave and all, but you can’t fight something you can’t see,” I repeated once again.

“Annie,” Ethan said, his voice edging on annoyance. “I’ll be fine.”

“Well,” René spoke. “While you two figure this out, I’m gonna get my ass to school. Wish me luck.” She stood and put her book in her bag. “Anora, I’m supposed to meet with a study group after class,” she said with an utter lack of enthusiasm. “I’m only fifteen minutes or so away. Call me if anything happens and I can rush over.”

“I will,” I told her. “And thanks. I don’t think this Mindy person is going to try anything right now. She has too much on the line.” I walked René to the door, gave her a hug goodbye, and watched her get to her car safely.

Ethan met me in the living room. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. Snuggling under a thick blanket did sound heavenly at the moment. I mentally shook my head; it wasn’t the time for comfort.

 
“You have a fever, Anora, and bags under your eyes,” he said it definitely, meaning that he wouldn’t allow me to do anything strenuous while I was sick. It was chivalrous and cute…and kind of annoying.

“It’s a car ride. I’ll live.”

“So will I.” His lips pressed together, his stubbornness as great as mine. “Please, Annie, rest. I’ll take Hunter if it’ll make you feel better.”

“It will,” I eagerly agreed. Hunter came to my side. “Keep him safe,” I told him and knelt down to hug him. His tail wagged and his eyes met mine; he was excited to go somewhere and be a ‘guard dog’. As a Guardian, Hunter was not only built for sniffing out enemies, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Seriously, try to relax,” Ethan ordered and kissed me. “Then when I get back you can wear your sexy nurse outfit.”

“Shouldn’t you be the one playing nurse?” I put my hands on his chest and raised an eyebrow.

Ethan smiled deviously. “Where’s the fun in that?” he grabbed his wallet and keys, put Hunter’s seatbelt harness on, and left.

I grabbed my pink stuffed unicorn from my bedroom and layed down on the couch. I turned the TV on and mindlessly flipped through channels. I must admit I didn’t like having Ethan
and
my Guardian gone…again. It was, however, the only way I could get peace of mind to relax. Hunter would keep Ethan safe and vice versa. The flickering light from the TV amplified the pounding in my head. Too worn to get up, I laid still for a good while before making myself a cup of carefully selected herbal tea. I layed back down and ended up falling asleep for an hour. I woke up feeling much better.

The house was dark and quiet. I strained in the deafening silence for the slightest noise. Not even Romeo stirred upstairs. Hot from being so bundled, I kicked off the blankets. Amidst the rustling of covers, I thought I heard something. I froze. Another noise echoed throughout the empty house. My dagger was upstairs. Something scrapped against the front porch. The dagger was upstairs, but my phone was next to me.

Knowing that calling him would do little good physically, I dialed Ethan’s number nonetheless. My heart skipped ten beats when the soft sound of classic rock music came from upstairs. Relief then panic set in when I realized it was Ethan’s phone. Shoot, not a good time for him to forget it. An urgent energy buzzed around me, making me feel like something was going to happen. I had no clue as to what it was, but it unnerved me.

I forced myself to walk calmly upstairs. I buckled a belt around my waist and attached the dagger. In case a human was lurking about, I decided to carry a handgun. I didn’t want to shoot anyone, but it was easier to threaten someone from a farther distance with a gun than a dagger. I fumbled while loading Ethan’s Beretta and dropped a bullet. Not feeling like going after it, I let it roll under the bed. Romeo chased after it, quickly became bored and pounced on me. I picked him up, kissed his head, and set him down on the chaise chair.

Feeling confident, I hurried down the stairs and threw open the front door, stepping out onto the porch. A laugh escaped my mouth when I realized the mysterious noise I had heard was only the breeze blowing the rocking chairs.

Restless from the false alarm, I ventured into the barn to feed the horses. I was over an hour late giving them dinner. Mystery and Neptune were waiting impatiently by their stalls. I let them in, closed the pasture gate, and dished out their grain. I sat in Mystery’s stall and watched him eat.

“Remember when I used to pick clovers for you?” I asked, thinking of simpler times. Mystery looked at me, flicking an ear in my direction. “I think you want some,” I told him. “Neptune, do you want some too?”

Using my cell phone for light, I walked behind the barn, inspecting the grass for clumps of clover. The foliage was still sparse from the cold spring weather.

Something moved ahead of me. Dry branches snapped. My eyes strained in the darkness but I couldn’t see anything. It could be a wild animal…oh yeah right. Since my pajama pants lacked pockets, I shoved my phone in my bra to free my hands. I unsheathed the dagger, holding it out with my right hand.
 
I ran my other hand over the gun in the holster and hoped I’d be able to pull it out in time if need be. I strained to see through the dark branches. “Stop hiding and come out,” I demanded.

A train whistle blew in the distance. The wind moved the trees. Nothing jumped out, nothing responded.

 
“Hello?” I tried again. Alright, maybe it really was an animal. Just as I turned to go, underbrush rustled. I whirled around, dagger raised. I couldn’t descry anything definite, but the figure that plundered away brought a stroke of familiar fear in me. “HEY!” I shouted after what I thought was a small reaper. My breath came out jagged. I gripped the dagger so hard my hand hurt. I jumped over the fence and into the trees. Only about six feet wide, the tree line should have been easy to cross. With a cornfield on one side and my property on the other, the small dividing line was unkempt and terribly over grown. I yanked my pant leg free from a pricker bush and emerged into a vast, empty field. I looked, I waited, I explored. And found nothing.

The reaper was gone. Maybe it wasn’t a reaper…maybe it was another hallucination. And if it was, then I should definitely not be wandering out in the dark. I gathered up my pile of clovers and went back into the barn. I divided them up and put a handful in each horse’s feed dish. I pulled the barn doors closed and sat back down in Mystery’s stall.

 
I was close to dozing off when a flicker of light instantly awakened me. Through Mystery’s stall I had a clear view of the house. The kitchen light had just turned on. My heart sped up. Was Ethan back? I shook my head; not enough time had passed. Besides, I would be able to sense Hunter. Apprehension filled my mind and I debated staying in the barn until my boys came home.
No, I am a powerful witch and should not hide from danger
, I scolded myself.

I had dreamed of Aunt Estelle before. She always appeared young and beautiful. When I thought of her, I imagined her looking like she stepped from my dreams. Positive she would rush into the house, I stood. Silently, I shut the barn doors and crept towards the house. A light flicked on from upstairs. Someone was definitely inside.

Maybe Mindy had grown some balls and decided to come here herself…or maybe it was the demon. I wrapped my hand around the handle of the dagger. Slowly, I turned the knob on the garage door. Not bothering to close it, I strode past the cars and stepped onto the wooden stair that led into the house. The garage-to-kitchen door creaked when it opened. I put my hands on the hinges and telekinetically turned the handle, drowning out some of the sound.
 

I kicked off my boots before I stepped inside, not wanting the hard rubber soles echoing on the tile and give me away. I closed my eyes before I telekinetically turned off the lights, thinking I might have an advantage in the dark.

Something moved upstairs. Footsteps, definitely footsteps. Someone was moving, and it sounded like they were heading for the stairs.
That’s right, come on down
, I thought. Something thumped on the porch, and it wasn’t the rocking chairs this time. My pulse raced and my eyes flicked from the front door to the base of the stairs. My palm began to sweat from gripping the dagger so tightly. I swallowed my pounding heart and stepped into the family room. Footfalls from above me signaled that someone—or something— was descending the stairs.

Whoever was on the porch no doubt had to be spying inside the house. Unless they had gone around and stood on the back deck, they couldn’t see me now. I moved behind the living room couch, dagger raised. Shoes hit the wooden stairs. I counted their steps in my head. When they had only three steps to go, I slipped through the darkness to cut them off. The few seconds it took for them to reach the landing crawled by.

Finally, I sprung forward. The outline of a man jumped away. I thrusted my left hand in front of me, telekinetically throwing him; he flipped over the couch, and with a yell, knocked into an end table. Picture frames and the lamp crashed to the ground. Seizing the moment I jumped, landing in a crouch, the dagger lethally positioned in the air, my muscles prepared to swiftly bring down my hand.

“Annie!” a very recognizable voice cried.

The dagger stopped inches from his throat. “Harry?!”

“Yes!”

“Oh.” Shocked, I didn’t move. “Hi.”

“What the hell?” He still held his hands protectively over his face.

“I didn’t know if you were a hallucination, a demon, or a reaper,” I explained.

“A what?”

“Reaper, it’s a long story. Well, not really.” I stood and offered Harrison a hand. “Are you ok?”

He rubbed his head. “I will be once my heart starts beating again.”

“Sorry.” I didn’t feel too bad though, he snuck into the house. What was I suppose to do? In all the commotion, I didn’t realize three more people raced inside until someone shrieked.
 
I recognized Luke, my twin’s best buddy, right away. He and two unknown females mirrored the same horrified expression.

I looked at their faces and became fully aware that I was wearing flannel horse-print pajamas, my hair was no doubt a hot mess, a gun hung from my waist, and I was holding a dagger. I must have looked absolutely mental. I resheathed the dagger. I had to say something, but what? “Hey Luke,” squeaked out.

“Anora…hi,” he replied. “Is, uh, everything ok?”

Harrison laughed. “Yeah, my sister’s been taking Karate lessons. Shoulda known better than to sneak up on her.”

The judgmental stares from the girls scored into me. They looked familiar. Oh, shoot; they were from my old high school. After another horrible long, awkward moment, one of them rushed to Harrison, inspecting him for damage. Though I preferred the lambent glow the upstairs light was providing, I flicked on the lights in the family room. My oddity felt all the more salient in the harsh new light.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, unable to help myself.

“We came to visit you,” Harrison informed me, though I wouldn’t be surprised if now he wished he hadn’t.

“Really?” I couldn’t help but blurt.

“Of course!”

“You came here—to Indiana—for spring break?” I asked incredulously.

Harrison flashed a charming smile. “Mom and Dad grounded me and actually stuck to it this time. I wanted to go to Cabo, but they’d only pay for plane tickets to here or to visit Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Oh,” I said again, trying to pull my PJ shirt over the weapons. It didn’t work, and it just drew more attention to them. With horror, I witnessed Luke’s eyes fall right on the Beretta.

“Do I even want to ask?” he voiced aloud.

“Uh, out here, uh, in the country…you…you can’t be too careful.” I smiled. Man, I’m a terrible liar. Another few seconds passed without a word. “So why didn’t you call?” I directed to Harrison.

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh. You’re so sweet,” I teased. I was happy to see my brother but a little confused as to why he had to bring three other people that I wasn’t friends with.
 
The girl who rushed over squeezed his arm, causing Harrison to wince. She must be Harrison’s current girlfriend, Kaylin, I think.
 

 
“Oh, shoot, Har, did I hurt you?” I asked. He of course shook it off like it was nothing, but I vaguely remember stepping on something in my mad dash over the couch. I smiled nervously.

I knew who the girl on Luke’s arm was: Ashley Talbert. She fit in with the popular clique and I had never so much as had a one word conversation with her. I knew from Laney that Ashley had recently become good friends with Marie Kennedy. I used to think of Marie as one of my best friends…until I learned that she was using me to get close to my brother. I knew why Ashley was here…

Ashley looked around the family room. “I’m guessing you like horses.”

“Yeah,” I said enthusiastically. “I have two. They really like their new home.”

She raised her eyebrows and smiled a pressed, belittling smile.
Ethan, please hurry with that Devil’s Shoestring.
If it could keep demonic dogs at bay, maybe it would work on judgmental teenage girls. I picked up the lamp; the light bulb had broken but not shattered. Harrison knelt to help me with the pictures.

“Maybe you should lose the weapons,” he whispered harshly. I resisted the urge to pinch him. I told Harrison to help himself in the kitchen while I changed. I quickly ran a brush through my hair and even contemplated makeup, but deemed it desperate since everyone had already seen me without it. With weapons and in horse pajamas. God, I was never going to live this down.

“Where’s Hunter?” Harrison asked with his mouth full. It didn’t take him long to find the plate of leftover cookies.

“With Ethan,” I informed him.

“And that is?”

“Uh, grocery shopping.” I smiled again. It was such a stupid nervous habit.

“Your house is pretty,” Kaylin said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

Other than Harrison, no one ate. I thought they were worried I might pull a weapon from somewhere and attack.

“Is Ethan your boyfriend?” Ashley asked, giving me the sudden feeling that she would report to Marie as soon as she had the chance.

“Yeah,” I told her, wanting to add ‘but you already knew that, right?’ “He should be home,” I glanced at the clock, “any minute now.”
Thank God
, I thought.

“Call him and tell him we’re here.” Harrison suggested, desperate for something to ease the tension.

“He forgot his phone.” I shrugged. “Uh, do you guys want anything more than cookies?” Luke and Harry accepted sandwiches and the girls agreed to some juice. We moved to the family room, where we could sit comfortably in uncomfortable silence. Something tugged at my mind. My heart swelled; I wasn’t even aware of how empty it was. “Hunter and Ethan will be here soon,” I said out loud for some reason. And Ethan will walk in the house with a load of magical supplies. I stood and went into the kitchen.

 
Since the four New Yorkers flew to Indiana and got dropped off via taxi, Ethan had no way of knowing anyone extra was in the house. When the garage door opened, I pulled back the kitchen door. The SUV’s brights blinded me. I told Hunter that we had visitors here; he was most excited to see my brother again. Even though he wasn’t a normal dog, he still loved his family.

“No sexy nurse costume?” Ethan asked with fake disappointment.

I shook my head. “Harrison is here and he brought friends!” I whispered in a panic.

Ethan laughed. “That’s not funny.”

“Oh, I know. But it’s true. Look,” I said and motioned to the family room.

“Why?” Ethan asked.

“He said he wanted to visit. I’m glad to see him but he couldn’t have had worse timing.”

Ethan began to nod then stopped. “It’s ok. We can deal with them.”

“Right, we can. You know, since our plans to kidnap or kill a demon tomorrow are no big deal.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked and set a brown paper bag down on the counter.

“Better. Or at least I was,” I exasperated. “A nap and some feel-better magical tea helped.” Wanting to buy time before I had to go back into the family room, I rummaged through the bag, setting little plastic baggies of herbs on the counter. “What did you get me?”

“Vervain, of course. And I saw this,” he told me and set a book down. “Hoodoo magic. I didn’t think you had any books on it.”

“Awesome!”I eagerly flipped through it. “Thanks.”

I could feel his presence before I saw him.

“Ethan,” my brother spoke. “It’s been a while.”

“Hey Harrison,” Ethan said as he extended a hand to shake. “Good to see you again.” He followed Harrison back into the family room for a meet-and-greet that was much less awkward than mine. I stashed the herbs and the book away before sitting snugly in the arm chair with Ethan.

Luke had everyone laughing when he told his tale about the oversized, annoying, old man he got stuck next to on the plane. The girls filled me in on high school drama they were sure I was interested in (two girls from our class were pregnant, some cheerleader was caught with pot in her locker, a boy I didn’t remember got suspended for fighting…a lot can happen in a few months). I was
so
glad I graduated early.

It was bittersweet, really. While I would never want to go back to my high school, the innocence of worrying about nothing more than the social affairs of those around you seemed so innocuous compared to the woes of being a supernatural target. In some ways I felt better than Kaylin and Ashley, but in some way I felt horribly disadvantaged. I knew things they didn’t. Deep, dark, important things and what I did or didn’t do had a real impact on the world. But that knowledge bred a fear in me, a fear I was afraid would cloud my sunny day. I had been happy since the move, though, truly. And I’d rather know the truth of what was really out there than to be in the ignorant dark.

“Annie,” Harrison said in a tone that let me know he had to repeat my name more than once. I pulled my mind out of my thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Show us the house.” He smiled. “You talk about it all the time.”

“Oh, right, yeah.” I stood to give the tour. The house wasn’t messy, but I wished it was freshly cleaned. After being shown around, Harrison and his friends grabbed their bags off the porch and lugged them up the stairs and into the two spare rooms. I wouldn’t mind them staying at all, and it wasn’t like we didn’t have the room, but with all that was going on, it really wasn’t a good—or safe— idea. Harrison actually seemed more than eager to follow me into the barn. After taking in the grand magnitude of the place, he quickly slid Neptune’s stall door open and patted her neck.

“There’s my girl!” he said to her.

“Your girl?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, she
is
my horse.”

I rolled my eyes, not bothering to tell him that my parents knew from day one he would lose interest in Neptune, hence putting my name as the owner on her papers. A gust of wind blew through the open barn doors, sending pieces of loose hay swirling in the air. What if the reaper-like creature was still out in the field, waiting for me to command it? I imagined reapers attacking Ashley and Kaylin. I would have to run to them, telling my reapers to back off. I smiled at their imaginary words of thanks.

Kaylin and Ashley chatted on the way back to the house. Kaylin spoke slowly and dramatically, making her sound dumb. I wondered if she did that on purpose. And if she did, then
why
? I shook my head; I didn’t get girls acting dumb. I would be pissed if someone thought I was pretty but dumb. What was the attraction?

It wasn’t late enough to go to bed like I hoped. My headache was coming back and I wanted nothing more than to slip under the blankets in my bed and not think about anything until morning.

“What now?” Kaylin asked Harrison, looking bored as she perched on the edge of the family room couch. Harrison shot me a hopefully look and shrugged.

“We could get something to eat,” I suggested. There was a unanimous agreement to that.

“You’re sick,” Ethan reminded me. “You should go to bed. Especially since we have that demonstration to go to tomorrow,” he said pointedly.

“You’re sick?” Harrison asked. “Now I feel bad.” He put his hand on Kaylin’s thigh and gave it a squeeze. “We can uh, go out tomorrow,” he suggested.

“It’s fine,” I told him. “Getting food does sound like a good idea.”

“We’ll go somewhere fast,” Ethan decided, making himself feel better about me being out and about.

Kaylin and Ashley said they needed to change and redo their hair and makeup first, which didn’t seem like a bad idea. The boys sighed, swearing it would be hours before we were ready to go. I was happy with the pale pink shirt I had on, but I traded my jeans for a tighter pair, finishing off my outfit with brown leather boots. Remembering Ethan’s comment about how he liked me dressing up, I added dangly earrings, a bracelet, and the diamond horse shoe necklace he had given me for Valentine’s Day.

I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Ashley and Kaylin would no doubt emerge from their room looking perfect. I never got how the popular girls always looked so impeccable. No matter what I did, my hair ended up frizzy and my makeup smudged…I just wasn’t good at it. Plus, I felt like crap; I wasn’t in the mood for fussing over my face. I bit my lip. I didn’t
have
to fuss. I smiled and opened the Book of Shadows.

“That was fast,” Ethan told me when I emerged downstairs ten minutes later, sounding surprised.

I shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t like wasting time getting dressed up.”

He narrowed his eyes, fully aware of what I had done.

“I wish you could teach Kaylin how to get ready fast,” Harrison sighed. He hadn’t noticed anything, but Luke gapped at me, wide eyed. I shook my head and sent a row of magically curled locks over my shoulder.

“Uh, a-are the other girls ready?” Luke stammered.

“I doubt it,” I said innocently and sat down next to Ethan. The boys were watching hockey; a sport I knew nothing about. Ethan put his arm around me.

“You look pretty,” he complimented.

“Thanks,” I replied with a smile.

Twenty minutes later everyone was ready to go. I was right about the girls looking well put together; Ashley had her hair up in a perfect ponytail. No stray hairs stuck up around her ears nor did any bumps grace the surface of her head. Kaylin’s freshly straightened blonde hair framed her face, and her makeup was perfect, even though her foundation was a shade too dark for her skin.
 

We exited through the garage; Luke and Harrison were disappointed that we couldn’t all fit in the Camaro. Instead, we piled into the truck. I sat in the middle upfront, crammed next to Ethan and my brother while the other three took the back. I asked Ethan to choose the restaurant and everyone was happy with his choice to go with authentic Mexican food.

I picked at my rice, wishing I knew a fast-forward-time spell. The guys talked about sports and Kaylin and Ashley spoke quietly amongst themselves. I ate a few more forkfuls before pushing my plate away. I pressed the heal of my hand to my forehead and sighed.

“You doing alright?” Ethan asked and rested his hand on my thigh.

“Yeah, I’m feeling a little tired. And I can’t stop thinking about tomorrow,” I told him.

“Nervous?”

“No,” I said honestly. “I’m excited. Is that weird?”

He smiled. “I don’t think so.”

“Good.”

“The only thing I’m nervous about is dealing with our guests,” I admitted quietly.

“We’ll think of something,” he promised. “I have no idea what, though.”

I pondered excuses the rest of dinner. I would tell Harrison the truth, of course, but he needed a lie to tell his friends. Once we got home, I spent only half an hour visiting with my brother before retiring for the night. Ashley shied away whenever Hunter drew near, and I found a bit of satisfaction in that. Feeling like a bad host, I said goodnight and went up to bed.

~*~

I woke up only two hours after I had gone to bed, trepidation suffocating my heart. It took a few seconds to recall the depth of my nightmare. I shook it off, reminding myself that I was
not
psychic. Dreaming that our plan utterly failed didn’t mean it was going to. I flopped back down and snuggled closer to Ethan. After a minute, it was obvious I wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep any time soon.