Reaper (22 page)

“What?” I asked, instantly on edge.

“When did you become friends with René and Keith?”
“After that Coven meeting.”

“And the visions started…” he trailed off.

“No, no! It’s not them.” I shook my head. “When you were on that hunting trip with your dad is when they started.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ethan’s brown eyes were filled with hurt and confusion. “Annie, you should have told me!”

“I did tell you! Only…I thought it was a dream so I didn’t take it seriously. I had no idea what was going on. I still don’t!” I coughed, my lungs were still sore.

“We can’t fight,” he reasoned. “Not now. I have a feeling ‘they’ want us to be mad at each other.”

”Right,” I agreed.

“Unity is something demons loathe. A lot of demons are solitary. Coming up against a group of hunters—or witches—is not something they’re eager to do.”

“Good thing I have an army of reapers,” I joked.

Ethan gave me a that’s-not-funny stare.

“Will you take a shower with me?” I asked.

“You just took a bath,” he stated, confused.

“Yeah, but I was too busy drowning to wash my hair.” I picked at a loose string on my bathrobe. “I’m scared to shower alone.”

“That,” he said with a grin, “is something I can definitely help with.”

~*~

I was so dizzy even though hours had passed since the near drowning. Several times, René balked away, afraid I was going to throw up all over her. I was super jittery from feeling like eyes were pressing into my soul. When I dropped the TV remote for the fifth time in half an hour, Ethan said he had an idea.

“Grab your coats,” he told us and stood.

“Ok, but where are we going?” I asked.

“The place where you can order a drink.” He looked up, signally that he didn’t trust to say the name out loud. Crap, he was worried ‘they’ were listening.

“Ok,” I said apprehensively, not knowing how going to the Zodiac would help me at all. I wasn’t in the social mood, at the moment. He told René that we were going to a tavern that liked ‘his kind’ of people. We scrambled to look presentable in only minutes.

 
“Do you still feel like you’re being watched?” René asked as we piled into the Camaro.

“Yeah, but it’s like…deeper than that. I feel like someone is
in
my mind.” I shook my head, worsening the headache.

“So how is going to this place going to help?” she asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

“It’s just an idea,” Ethan explained. “To see if Annie’s still ‘touchable’ here.”

“Oh, ok.” René leaned back against the seat, still looking a bit confused and feeling like she was left out of the plan.

“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “I don’t even know what his plan is.”

She brightened up. “Ok, good.”

We arrived at the Zodiac at a half past nine. It was just as crowded as the first time I’d been there; the parking lot was full; over half of the vehicles were trucks.

“Do you feel that?” I asked René as I held my hand out to better read the thick, magically charged air.

“No,” she said and looked around.

“Oh, well never mind then.” I grabbed Ethan’s hand. Thankfully, Harold was busy talking to a group of misfit, young guys so we were able to slip in unnoticed.

Ethan and René ordered full plates of food but, with my stomach being in constant nervous knots, I just wasn’t feeling hungry. Ethan waited until their food was served to ask, “How are you feeling?”

I closed my eyes to really read myself. “Good, actually. Like there’s nothing in my head anymore. I feel like how I do when I’m around the horses.” I was happy, and suddenly hungry. I stole a fry off Ethan’s plate. He pushed the plate in front of me, eyes bright with relief.

“Do you know what that means?” he asked, excitement in his voice.

“I’m gonna have to spend the rest of my life in a bar or a barn?” I coughed and glared a couple two tables over, who’d been chain smoking ever since they came in. My lungs still slightly burned every time in inhaled after nearly drowning. The smoke made it ten times worse. “I prefer the barn.”

“No, Annie.” Ethan smiled. “A person, not a demon, is doing this.”

I didn’t get why that was such good news. My face must have shown my uncertainty.

“Anora,” he put his hand on mine, “if a person is cursing you, we can stop it easier than if it were a demon.”

“We can?” I asked. I tried to be happy about that. In the back of my mind, something nagged me: we were dealing with one sick person. A
human
that cuts up and mutilates animals. I expected it to be a demon. I can kill a demon. What can I do to a human?

“Wait,” René spoke. “How does being here mean that she’s cursed by a human?”

“This place has spells put on it, to keep people away. It’s a hang out, not safe house. If a demon had put a curse on Annie, it wouldn’t get broken just by being in here. The spells aren’t strong enough to kill direct demonic magic.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “So what’s next?”

“A return to sender spell,” I said quietly, staring at Ethan’s half eaten cheeseburger.

“A what?” Ethan asked.

I was honestly surprised he hadn’t heard of it. “Return to spender spell. I saw it in the BOS. It takes the spell, or curse, and sends it back to the person who cast it. I didn’t think to try before it since I wasn’t sure a human had cast the spell. It wouldn’t work on demons or spirits.”

Ethan leaned forward. “Can you do it tonight?”

“Um,” I thought back to the page in the book. “Yeah, I think I have everything I need.”

“Well,” Ethan said. “We will get some answers.”

Lighthearted conversation took over; all of us glad to finally be able to stop this magical nonsense. And with an ‘I knew you couldn’t resist’ from Ethan, I ordered my own plate of fries. The three of us were laughing at a story Ethan was telling about how he and his fellow Order friends used to make homemade Kung-Foo videos. I sensed, rather than saw, the young boy nervously approach our table. Still smiling, I looked at him.

“Um,” he swallowed, “hi.”

“Hello,” I said back, thinking he was mustering up the courage to hit on me or René. I was wrong; Ethan was more his type.

“You’re Ethan Bailey, right?” He shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“Yea,” Ethan replied in his deep voice.

The boy’s eyes got big and he stared admirably at Ethan for an awkwardly long time. The boy ran a hand through his tawny colored hair. “That’s what we thought.” He glanced at a table behind him, full of just as young looking hunters.

Ethan waved his hand at the empty spot next to René. “Want to join us?”

“Yeah,” the boy said so excitedly his voice cracked. He looked at his friends, happy to see the jealousy on their faces.

“Who are you?” Ethan asked.

“Oh,” the boy wiped his sweaty hand on his jeans before extending it to Ethan. “Jason Kerr. But my friends call me Jay.”

“Kerr,” Ethan thought out loud. “You related to Selena Kerr?”

“Yea,” Jay replied brightly, ecstatic that Ethan knew his family. “She’s my-my sister.”

Ethan smiled. “I used to hunt with her, shit, ten years ago. How’s she’s doing?”

The light in Jay’s eyes dimmed. “Sh-she’s dead.” He cast his gaze down.

“I’m really sorry,” Ethan said sincerely.

“Thanks. It was six years ago,” Jay told us, letting us know the wound wasn’t as painful anymore. He looked back at Ethan and smiled again. “We were surprised to see you here.”

“Oh, I moved back,” Ethan said casually, still unsure of the kid’s awe.

Jay laughed nervously. “W-we were wondering if you wanted to join us?”

René and I exchanged nervous looks.

“Sure,” Ethan answered and slid out of the booth.

“Ok,” René leaned toward me, “what the hell just happened?”

“I’m pretty sure my boyfriend left me for a sixteen year old boy.” I watched Ethan sit at Jay’s crowded table. They reminded me of middle school girls meeting Justin Bieber. “Look! They’re practically drooling over him!”

“Well, Ethan is a good looking man!” René said, causing us to both burst into laughter.
 

I watched as the other four boys shook hands with Ethan. There was something more than admiration; they looked at him with respect. Ethan met my eyes several times while talking to the young hunters. I knew he wanted to go home and do the spell but didn’t want to come off as rude.

After ten long minutes, René said, “I think you’re gonna have to go save your man from his fan club.”

I sighed and slid to the edge of the booth. But just as I stood, Ethan made his way back to the table. Not wanting to look like I stood for no reason, I said I had to go to the bathroom. Deciding it would be a good idea to pee before the long drive home, I ended up waiting in line for the one stall bathroom to clear. Ethan had already paid for our late dinner by the time I got back, and he and René were waiting by the door. I followed them out into the parking lot before realizing that I left my purse in the booth.

“I’ll be right back,” I told them and ducked back inside. I made a beeline for the table but got caught behind a young, red headed waitress balancing a very full tray of beer and burgers. Jay’s table was one over to my left. He and his friends were huddled together, doing their best to speak in a hushed manor. Still, I was able to catch bits of their conversation.

“—he’s a Proeliator. I wish he could teach me.”

“—I heard he’s dating a witch.”

“No way, he wouldn’t mess around with magic,” Jay defended and straightened up in his chair. I turned my head, allowing my hair to fall over my face. I slowly advanced to the table while keeping an ear to the boys.

“Which one was she?” one asked.

“Probably the one sitting next to him, dumbass,” another answered. “The one with the long hair.”

“She didn’t look like a witch—too good looking,” the boy to Jay’s right laughed.

Jay shook his head. “She’s not a witch. Bailey wouldn’t mess around with magic,” he repeated. “He knows better. Nothing good ever comes from magic.”

I grabbed my purse and spun on my heel; one of Jay’s friends looked up and caught my eye. The blood drained from his face and his eyes widened like a deer in the head lights. Without speaking of his discovery to his friends, he turned his gaze to the table. I scurried out, shaking my head and pushing that horrible awkward conversation out of my head. I had bigger things to think about right now.

~*~

Everything was as it should be. The three black candles were precariously placed around the black mirror, ominously casting no flickering reflection on the smooth, dark glass. Ethan, René and Hunter sat on the living room floor behind me. René shifted her weight. Ethan crossed his arms. It was distracting.

I shut my eyes and tried to center myself. I took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out. And again, and again, until I felt ready. I opened my eyes and gazed into the reflectionless mirror. I concentrated so hard I could hear my heart beating in my head. A little flicker of movement came from the center of the mirror. It was a face, a teeny tiny face. I moved closer, putting my hands on the coffee table. I focused on the face.
Come closer
. I said in my head. The face was fuzzy, like looking at something through an unfocused lens. I looked. I waited. Then everything around me faded. I was inside the mirror.

“Thomas,” I said in an even voice. “Imagine meeting you here.” The boy looked frightened. He wanted to run. “There’s nowhere for you to go. You’re on my turf now.”

“Bitch!” he yelled. He searched frantically, pounding on invisible walls.

“Don’t waste your time,” I laughed. “You can’t escape.” I sat cross legged on what you would call the floor, but it was as if nothing existed; no walls, no ceiling, no floor. Everything was the blackest black I’d ever seen. A muted yellow light flickered around us, illuminating the space just enough to see each others’ faces.

“Who are you, really?” I asked.

“Like hell I’d tell you!” he cursed.

I sighed. I could feel my hands—my physical hands— still flat on the coffee table. I held them out in front of me.
What a strange place…

 
“I can keep you here for hours,” I warned.

“I’ll figure out how to leave!” he shouted, looking more like a frightened ten year old now than ever.

“Go for it.” I combed my fingers through my long hair. He didn’t know what I was doing yet. I needed to drag this out, make him sweat. Then maybe he’ll crack.

“You stupid bitch! You don’t know who you’re messing with!”

“Then why don’t you tell me.” I put my head on my knees and grabbed my legs. “You’ve gone through a lot of trouble to upset me. Why?”

“Because you’re a bitch!” he spat, causing me to laugh again. That pissed him off even more, and he charged at me. But since this was my spell and my world, he froze, held back by invisible arms. “Let go of me!”

“Who are you?” I repeated.