Reaper of Souls: A fantasy short story (3 page)

He suddenly
vanished.  Reggie jumped with surprise and looked around the room.  She
uncertainly looked at the contract in her hand then quickly tossed it aside and
ran across the room.  She rummaged through several boxes in the closet.


R
eggie sat quietly and
comfortably reclined on the plush sofa with the contract in one hand and a pen
in the other.  She studied it in great detail.  The clock chimed midnight.  She
glanced at the fireplace mantel clock and slowly sat up.  Kahn suddenly appeared
in the living room doorway, startling her.  He casually leaned against the
archway and wore his usual charming smile.

“Have you had a
chance to review the details of the contract?” he asked.

Reggie casually
stood, held up the paper, and eyed him.  “I don’t care for a few of the terms. 
They’re a little vague,” she said.  “I’d be much more comfortable with a few
minor word changes.”

Kahn eyed her
with some surprise.  He straightened, flicked his fingers, and the paper
appeared in his hand.  He looked over the contract with several scribbles on
it.  Kahn looked back at her with surprise.  “You’re correcting my grammar?”

“I just
graduated college,” she said with a shrug.  “It’s all still fresh in my head.”

He rolled his
eyes, groaned, and tossed the contract over his shoulder.  It again appeared in
her hand.  “If it pleases you, you can have your grammar corrections.  Do we
have a deal?”

“I’ll abide by
the terms of the contract, yes.”

Kahn again
smiled charmingly.  “Splendid.  Just sign the contract, and we’ll be on our way
to Neverland.”

She approached
him with the pen.  He gave her a strange look.  “If you’ll just initial the
changes--”

He stared at
her and appeared completely baffled.  He snatched the pen and initialed the
changes.  It again appeared in her hand.  She took a deep breath and signed the
contract.  She barely finished her signature when he was about to make it
disappear. 

Reggie held out
her hand.  “Ah, I need to make a copy of that for my records,” she announced
firmly.

His look
conveyed his surprise.  “This is the hardest I’ve worked in centuries,” he
muttered.  You have got to be the most controlling, manipulative female I’ve
ever come across.”

Reggie offered
a pleased smile.  “Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a
compliment.”

Chapter Two

 

K
ahn’s world was that of a
tropical island but with bizarre, seemingly haphazard terrain.  It was unlike
anything Reggie had ever seen.  Parts of the island appeared rocky, parts
appeared deserted, and still other parts resembled a jungle.  There was no
transition between areas, just a sudden, drastic change.  The island was
something from another world.  Along the beach like setting, there was an
amazing fairytale castle straight from a gothic horror book.  As Kahn and
Reggie stood on the sandy beach, she was left wondering how they even got to
wherever it was they were.

“Where are we?”

“We’re in my
world,” he informed her and grinned proudly.  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I rather doubt
I’ll have the opportunity to appreciate it.”

He chuckled
lowly.  “I love your sense of humor.  You’re going to need it,” he remarked. 
“In accordance with the details of the contract, your task is to find the
dagger or Zagaball and return it to me.”  Kahn pointed to Reggie’s wrist.  An
elegant digital watch appeared.  “You have three hours to find the dagger and
return it to its rightful place in the library.  Just to be fair, I’ve provided
a map.”  A detailed leather map appeared in her hands.  He smiled pleasantly. 
“Happy hunting.”  Kahn suddenly vanished.

Reggie looked
at the map then headed along the beach.  “Map my ass.  Detailed description of
where
not
to go.”


R
eggie hurried along the
worn path within the jungle and looked around cautiously.  “Too easy so far,”
she muttered.  She paused and looked at the map.  “According to the map, the
dagger is just down this path within the ruins of the old temple.”  She
assessed her surroundings then eyed the path behind her to the left.  “The map
says to go straight, so that tells me I should go left.”

She headed for
the path to the left and hurried along it.  The ruins of the old temple were
covered with thick vines and vegetation.  Reggie appeared just behind the
temple and climbed the crumbling building.  She approached a pile of stones,
crouched down, and looked down to the temple’s main entrance.  Everything
appeared quiet, which bothered her, so she watched a moment longer.  Big, burly
ape-like creatures patrolled the entrance, remaining hidden within the thick
plant life.  They watched the path she was supposed to take according to the map.

“An ambush,”
she muttered.  “Who didn’t see that coming?”

Reggie
carefully walked along the side of the temple above the opening.  Stones were
heard falling into a cavern beneath her feet.  She hesitated then looked at a
small opening in the stone.  She removed a pen flashlight from her pocket and
shined it down the hole.  She smiled deviously.

“Hmm, the back
door appears to be left open and unattended.”

Within the
temple ruins, the small, empty room of stone was lit only by the remaining
sunlight from an opening in the broken stone.  A golden dagger rested on the
old, stone altar.  Reggie let out a tiny, shrill scream.  She plummeted through
a narrow opening in the stone above, taking down a thick layer of cobwebs with
her body, and gracefully landed on her feet before falling onto her backside. 
She was covered in a cocoon of cobwebs.  Reggie jumped to her feet and
frantically pulled the cobwebs from her body.

“Oh,
disgusting,” she cried out softly.  “I hate spiders!”

As she pulled
the last of the cobwebs from her body, she saw the golden dagger on the altar. 
Relief swept over her.  She hurried toward the altar, hesitated only a moment,
and reached for the dagger.  A large spider crawled across her arm.  She gasped
and frantically shook it off.  Reggie groaned softly then snatched the dagger
from the altar.  Despite that it was probably worth millions in her world, she
barely even looked at it.  Getting her brother back was the only thing that
mattered.  She looked at the main entrance and considered her options.

“Now I just
need a way out.”

The ape-like
creatures attempted to remain still and hidden along the path not far from the
temple entrance.  They were keeping close watch for her arrival.  Little did
they know that she was just inside the entrance behind them.  Reggie quietly
slipped out of the temple through the main entrance and kept close to the
vine-encrusted wall.


T
he castle’s broad, marble
hallway seemed to extend forever, passing dozens of doorways and a sea of suits
of armor.  Kahn stormed along the hallway with an ape-like creature grunting as
it hurried after him, attempting to keep up.

Kahn appeared
furious.  “I want her found immediately!”

The creature
grunted a response, hurried past him, and left through the front door.  Kahn
approached the library with disgust, threw open the door, and suddenly stopped
in the doorway.  Reggie casually sat on one of the leather chairs with a book
on her lap.  She looked up at Kahn, glanced at her watch, and smiled.

“You’re early,”
Reggie casually announced.  “I wanted to finish another chapter before
collecting my brother and heading home.”

Kahn stared at
her with surprise then looked at the golden dagger in its rightful spot above
the fireplace mantel.

“That’s not
possible,” he snarled.  “My troops didn’t see you pass through the temple
opening.”

“You mean your
ambush party?”  Reggie shut the book, carelessly tossed it aside, and stood. 
“Please--” she scoffed.  “There’s your dagger.  Task complete.”  She glared at
him through evil eyes.  “Now get my brother.”

Kahn’s surprise
quickly turned to hostility.  “How did you get into the temple?”

“Through the
back door.”

“There isn’t a
back door.”

“I beg to
differ,” she scoffed.  “Where’s my brother?”

“The rules of
the contract specifically stated
through the temple door
.  You didn’t
complete the task appropriately.”  Kahn held out his hand.  The contract
appeared in it.  He pointed to one of the paragraphs.  A sentence was
immediately highlighted.  “Right here,” he announced firmly.  “
Through the
temple door
.  You didn’t complete the task.  You lose.”

“You cheat,”
she snapped.  “The task was to retrieve the dagger and return it to the
library.  I did that.”

“The contract
is the contract.”

Reggie boldly
removed her copy of the contract from her pocket and shook it straight.  “Is
that so?”  She held up her copy of the contract.  “Then allow me to draw your
attention to paragraph four, addendum two,” she announced.

“Addendum?”

“So long as the
dagger is returned in said allotted time frame,” she read, “any means necessary
shall be considered binding.”

She eyed him
and raised a cocky brow.  Kahn looked at his contract, saw her scribbled
writing, and appeared stunned.  He suddenly sneered and glared at her.

“You added that
yourself.”

“And you
initialed the change, thereby agreeing to it.”

Kahn appeared
speechless.  His look suddenly turned harsh.  “If you want to play that way,
we’re both in violation of the contract.  That voids it.  Your brother stays
right where he is, and you’re not going anywhere until I figure out what I’m
going to do with you.”

Before she
could protest, she suddenly vanished. 


T
he elegant yet medieval
looking bedroom was decorated with antique, Victorian furnishings.  Reggie
paced the bedroom and felt the concern for her situation rising.  Kahn was
never going to admit defeat, and if he didn’t uphold his end of the bargain,
there was little she could do in retaliation.  She and Dylan were at his mercy,
of which he had none.  There was a faint knock on the door.  Reggie turned
toward the door and attempted a calm, collected attitude.  No matter what the
outcome, she wasn’t about to let Kahn know how frightened she was.

“Come in.”

The door opened
to reveal a docile looking butler in his early fifties.  “Good evening, madam,”
Begley said.  “Your presence is requested in the dining room for dinner.”

“Thanks, but
no.”

“Begging your
pardon, madam, but I added the part about that being a request,” he informed
her.  “You may not refuse.  He’ll just bring you on his own, and you really
don’t want that.”

Reggie
frowned.  “I knew it couldn’t be that easy.”

“Your evening
attire is hanging in the closet,” Begley said.  “I’ll return in twenty minutes
to escort you to dinner.  The others should be arriving shortly.”

“Others?”

“Yes, madam. 
It’s Lord Kahn’s weekly dinner party.”  Begley turned to leave, hesitated, and
then looked back at her with an oddly sincere look.  “The wine is a very bad
year.  Very
bitter
.”

Reggie stared
at Begley with a look of bewilderment.  His words were puzzling.  He fidgeted
then sheepishly left the room.  Reggie sank into thought.


T
he elegant dining room was
adorned with fine china, silverware, crystal glasses, candles, and large floral
arrangements.  Several well-dressed men and women entered the dining room.  All
appeared distracted and not a word was spoken.  Reggie was shown to the dining
room by Begley.  He pulled out her chair for her and indicated for her to sit.

“Please, be
seated,” Begley announced to everyone.  “Lord Kahn will be along momentarily.”

The others took
their seats.  Reggie appeared to be the only one curious enough to look at the
other dinner guests.  None spoke, and they kept to themselves.  She was curious
but remained silent.  Including Reggie, there were seven guests.

Begley stood by
the doorway and spoke, “Lord and Lady Kahn.”

Reggie looked
at the doorway and was the only one interested.  Kahn entered with a beautiful,
young woman attached to his arm.  Lady Chrissy was dressed in an evening gown
with perfectly placed hair and make-up.  She appeared to snub everyone while
taking her seat at the end of the table.  Kahn took his place at the head of
the table, smiled proudly, and lifted his wineglass.

“Good evening,
everyone.  It’s an honor to have you here at this special dinner party.  I hope
you will enjoy the feast,” Kahn announced.  “I’d like to propose a toast--”

Everyone took
their wineglasses and stood as Begley shut the dining room doors.  Reggie
stared at her wineglass, uncertainly took it, and stood as well.  The dining
room doors suddenly opened to reveal a handsome, well-built man in his
mid-thirties.  He was dressed less formal then the others.  Kahn eyed the man
and lowered his glass with a frown.

“Do you ever
call first?” Kahn demanded.  “I’m in the middle of a dinner party, Helsing.”

“Far be it for
me to interrupt one of your distasteful parties, but I want to talk to
you--now,” Helsing growled.

“It can wait. 
Either join us or come back another time.”

Helsing sneered
and collapsed into the vacant chair between Reggie and Chrissy.  Chrissy
snubbed him as well.  Kahn eyed Helsing and made a face.  Helsing remained
seated while the others stood.  Kahn was obviously unhappy but put on a false
smile.

“To old
friends, new friends, and those we haven’t met yet,” Kahn announced.

Helsing snorted
a soft laugh.  Kahn glared at him.  Everyone drank their wine.  Reggie raised
it to her lips but didn’t drink.  Everyone took their seats.  Helsing looked
past Reggie to Kahn.

“Just because
you’re my brother, that doesn’t mean you have free roam over my estate,” Helsing
remarked.

“I could say
the same to you.”

Reggie looked
at Helsing with some surprise.  She was still the only one paying any attention
and was starting to question why.  Helsing noted Reggie’s curious stare then
looked back at Kahn.

“There’s an
entire colony of your little pets living in my territory,” Helsing announced. 
“They didn’t get there on their own.”

“Just a minor
mistake.  I’ll correct it in the morning,” Kahn said.  “You’re spoiling our
evening, Helsing.”

Helsing glared
at Kahn then eyed Reggie, who still stared at him.  “I doubt there’s anything I
could do to lower the integrity of your little dinner party,” he replied dryly.

Reggie wondered
what he knew.

“I really wish
you’d mind your own business, stop insulting my guests, and go home,” Kahn
remarked.

Helsing again
met Reggie’s gaze and finally addressed her.  “Something you’d like to add?”

Reggie’s mind
reeled.  Did he hate his brother enough to sympathize with her?

Helsing
snorted, “I didn’t think so.”

She knew she
had to say something fast.  “Your brother is a liar and a cheat,” Reggie
scoffed.

Kahn tensed
then smirked.  All eyes, including Chrissy’s were now on Reggie.  The other
guests appeared almost frightened by her tone.

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