Reaper (9 page)

“What do they mean?”

“Bad things,” I said simply.

“Oh.” René stacked the cards. “Maybe it’s just the luck of the draw. I’ll shuffle again.”

I raised an eyebrow and let out a breath. “Probably,” I agreed. René hadn’t mentioned the earlier talk of demons. I had hoped that odd conversation didn’t stick in her memory; now wasn’t the time to weird her out with my foreboding tarot cards.

 
“I’m gonna go lock up the barn.” I stood. “Keep shuffling; the cards must, uh, not be reading your energy right.”

“Alright,” she said cheerfully and leaned back in the chair.

Hunter came running as soon as he heard the back door open. I knelt down to hug him before tugging on my boots.

“So doom is impending,” I told Hunter as we crunched down the gravel drive to the barn. “I feel it and the cards say it.” He licked my hand, acknowledging my unspoken fear. “Thanks. I know you’ve got my back.”

I said goodnight to the horses and slid the big side doors shut. I took in a deep breath, enjoying the calm, cool night. Suddenly, Hunter leaped in front of me, fangs showing and fur standing up.

Oh shit.

 
Stars above me gave off a little extra light on this cloudless night. A dark figure quickly approached. Hunter sprinted toward it, jumped and hit it, knocking it to the ground.

A rattling breath was let out behind me. I turned and was a mere two feet away from what I only could guess was the reaper demon. It stood about my height and looked relatively human, except that its head was more skeletal and crescent shaped. It had thick, greenish-gray skin, wispy, long black hair, and beady yellow eyes.

I automatically raised my hand to send it telekinetically flying away from me but stopped, not wanting to dent the new barn. What a stupid move on my part; it sprung forward and knocked me down.

The gravel proved a very painful landing. The reaper hissed, saliva dripping off its browning fangs. A whoosh of black fur tackled the reaper. I scrambled up in time to see Hunter bite down hard on the demon’s face. The other reaper lurched forward, blood streaming from its neck after Hunter’s attack. I didn’t want to take my eyes off of it but I needed to communicate with my Guardian.

Even though his mouth was full of demon parts, Hunter ‘woofed’ softly to let me know he understood the plan. Fake fear took over my face and I backed up frantically to get away from the demon. I turned and sprinted in the direction of the old barn. I shoved open the splintering door of the ancient tool shed, cobwebs tangling with my hair as I entered the darkness. Right as my hands closed around the handle of an axe, the reaper grabbed my arm.

Pain radiated from its touch. The reaper’s thoughts were forced into my head. Images of dying victims flashed in my brain and their screams vibrated my soul. I felt dizzy and sick, as if I were being sucked downward into a fast moving spiral of never-ending death. The darkness cloaked me and the smell of festering bodies made me gag.

 
I yanked my arm away so fast the reaper’s claws scratched open my skin. Even though the physical contact was gone, I still felt disoriented. My grip loosened on the axe. The old wood splintered and caught in my skin as it slid to the ground. I stumbled and took a step back, my foot catching on something metal that loudly scraped against the cement ground.

Instead of attacking me while I was down, the reaper froze and sniffed. Its beady eyes focused on the small cut on my arm. With alarming speed, it grabbed me again and licked the blood. It released my arm and let out a screeching yell that echoed across the barren fields and the distant trees.

Shaking myself back to reality, I grabbed the axe and ran away from the reaper; I could still hear the screaming and smell the rotting. The farther I got from the reaper, the less prevalent the unmistakable mark of death was. I was myself again once I made it to the middle of the yard.

The reaper was just as fast as I was. It reached out to grab me and I blocked it with the handle of the axe. I swung and missed; the reaper bent backwards to avoid the blade. With all the strength I could muster, I kicked it in the stomach. As it doubled over, I swung the axe again, sending the blade deep into its shoulder. It yelped in pain. I jerked the blade out of its bone and swung again, this time landing the axe in the center of its head. The evil light diminished from its eyes. I let go of the axe and the dead reaper slumped to the ground.

Panting, I looked for Hunter. He was trotting to me, with something in his mouth.

“Anora!” Ethan yelled as he rushed over.

“I’m ok,” I informed him, though my voice was a bit shaky. Hunter placed a torn off reaper head by my feet. “Good job, boy,” I panted. I knelt down to hug him. “Eww, Hunter, you’re covered in reaper blood!”

“So are you.” Ethan pulled me up. He wiped reaper blood off my face. Sam and Belinda slowly made their way outside.

“I am?”

“Yeah.” Ethan looked me over. “You sure you’re ok?”

“Yes.” I yanked the axe from the reaper’s skull. “They just came out of nowhere.”

“I knew they followed us,” Belinda said quietly to Sam. “I told you we shouldn’t have left.”

I tossed the bloodstained axe on the ground and cautiously felt my face. Blood had splattered all over, much like the way it does in horror movies.

“Is this your blood?” Ethan inspected my left forearm.

“Yeah, it grabbed me. When I pulled my arm away its nails, or claws, or whatever, scratched me. It doesn’t really hurt; it’s not very deep.”

Ethan hugged me, expecting me to be shaken up from the whole experience. But the truth was I felt extremely satisfied. Adrenaline pumped through my body and I felt more powerful than I had in a long time. I didn’t know why I had been so scared of a run-in with another demon. Killing the reaper felt so
right
. It was what I was born to do.

“Well, I guess I can call my dad and save him a trip back here,” Ethan said with a joking smile.

“Uh, Ethan?” I pulled away enough to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah?”

“What do we do with the bodies?”

“Burn and bury them,” Ethan replied casually.

“Oh, fun.”

Ethan loosened his grip on me. “Go in and shower; Sam will help me take care of the bodies.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you just stab them with your special dagger and turn them into a pile of dust? You are the only one who can work it, after all.”

“Well, if I would have known I would have been attacked, then I would have brought it,” I retorted. Anger boiled inside me. “But neither I nor Hunter had any problem killing the reapers. So maybe it
is
that easy.” I turned and, with my head held high, I went back into the house.

René was standing at the kitchen window, eyes wide and face full of fear.

“Oh, gosh,” I said. “Are you alright?”

She looked at me. “I think so.” She put her head in her hands and laughed. “I guess I can’t say the demons don’t seem real anymore. I-I thought you were all crazy, talking about reaper demons.”

“Yeah, it’s easier to see it happen and then find out about it, I guess.” I bit my lip and looked at her.

“I think I need to sit down.” She blinked several times. I scooted a chair out; she heavily plopped down. “And another drink.”

“Ok,” I agreed and rooted around the pantry. I knew Ethan had bought booze, I just didn’t know where he put it. Finally, I found a bottle of whiskey. I set it and a shot glass down in from the René. She filled the little glass and downed it like a pro.

“You kicked its ass!” she exclaimed before laughing again. “Did I really just see—no, no,” she muttered to herself. “No. You talked about demons earlier and I thought you were one of those weird people that sees ‘demons’ in every little odd thing, ya know?”

“Not really,” I said honestly. “But, um, it’s, uh, real,” I fumbled over my words.

“No shit,” she said, her brown eyes locking with mine. She shook her head and laughed again. “I don’t even know why I’m laughing; it’s not funny.” She let out a breath and started to shake.

“It’s a lot to take in. I felt overwhelmed when I found out,” I confessed.

She bit her lip and nodded. With trembling hands, she filled the shot glass. A part of me wanted to advise her to go easy on the alcohol. Not wanting to come off too motherly, I kept my mouth shut. That and she might need it right now. She took the shot. I watched her body go from rigid to relaxed. We sat in silence.

“I can take you home, if you want,” I offered, feeling that she probably didn’t want to be around me anymore. I ran my hands over my blood crusted hair.

“Can I stay? Shelly doesn’t get off work until nine and I don’t want to home alone after seeing that,” she said in a weak voice.

“Yeah, of course.” I smiled. “You sure you still want to be around me?”

“I’m-I’m not sure. I think so,” she told me. “I just can’t believe—well, I can but you know, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah,” I said simply.

“And you, you’re acting so calm. Who the hell are you?”

“It’s complicated,” I mumbled.

“Oh. You’re covered in blood,” she pointed out. “It’s gross. You need to wash it off.”

“That would be nice. Reaper blood is itchy,” I said seriously. I looked up at René. A big smile broke across her face and she burst out laughing. A second later, I laughed too.

“That’s not something you hear every day,” she giggled. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok,” I told her, getting my laugher under control. “It’s not. And I remember how it all sounds when it’s new. It’s kinda mind blowing,” I suggested.

“Yes,” she agreed. “That’s one way to put it.” She looked at Hunter. “Did he kill one too?”

I nodded. “He pretty much saved me—again,” I said endearingly.

“Oh. Wow.” Her eyes moved from Hunter to me and back to Hunter. “A-are we safe?”

“I think so,” I told her honestly. “I don’t think there are any more. And if there are, Ethan will take care of them.”

She closed her eyes. “So
all
of you guys kill demons?” she asked, saying ‘demons’ as if it was a foreign word that spilled awkwardly from her mouth.

“Yes.”

“I knew it,” she disclosed. “When we saw you at the Coven Gathering. I just
knew
there was something different.”

I swallowed. “Yeah, there is.”

“Does Hunter need a bath?” she asked rather suddenly.

“Definitely,” I responded.

“I’ll bathe him while you shower,” she offered.

I smiled again. “That would be awesome.”

We stood; Hunter led the way upstairs. I unbuckled his collar and grabbed an armload of towels from the linen closet. Setting them down in the never-used hallway bathroom, I turned to René.

“Thanks for bathing him,” I repeated.

“You’re welcome” she said and turned on the water. She removed her sweatshirt. With only a tight black tank top on, I could see that she had tattoos. Brightly colored flowers peaked out from under the material on her left shoulder and along her midriff. I couldn’t see the whole design, but the bits I saw were very pretty, like a finely drawn work of art.

“I can’t believe I never knew before,” she breathed. “I feel kinda dumb. What else don’t I know?” she asked rhetorically. She laughed again. “Demons….it’s just—well it is—but it can’t be possible. I feel dizzy…and I don’t think it’s from the Jack,” she muttered to herself.

Hunter calmly climbed into the tub.

“He won’t be any trouble at all,” I assured René.

“I got this,” she said with a smile. “Go shower. That blood is starting to stink.”

I smiled weakly and nodded. “You’re right, it does,” I stated after sniffing my arm.

I went into my room and stripped out of my clothes. I turned on the shower and stuck my hand under the faucet, feeling the water as it warmed up. I expected shock, fear, or jitters to hit me. When they didn’t, I smiled to myself, though I couldn’t help but feel something just wasn’t right about that. Before the water was fully warmed up, I stepped into the shower, eager to wash the blood from my face.

Reaper blood is a very, very dark red; it dries black. I watched deep scarlet water wash down the drain. I closed my eyes and breathed deep. There was something about the attack that nagged at my stomach in a really annoying way. Why did the reaper taste my blood? Was he trying to see if my skin would be worth eating? And why did he cry out after licking it? Whatever, I told myself, it’s over. Like
dead
over.

Chapter
 
4 - Have a Drink on Me

Black leather boots went over dark, skin-tight jeans and a tight black tank top showed off my slim figure. I wore way more make up than normal and even teased my hair a bit. Ethan was taking me out for dinner, but he wouldn’t tell me where. All he would tell me in regards to getting ready was to ‘dress sexy’.
 
Of course, Sam and Belinda—who had stayed the night— were tagging along. Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since the reaper demon incident, and Sam still wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“Wow.” Ethan’s eyes widened when he saw me. “You look hot.”