Reaper (39 page)

“Don’t spoil him!” she laughed. “Or else he’ll never want to get better!”

 
I laughed as well. “It’s really weird seeing him like this.”

“Yeah, it is the complete opposite of his normal self. What I don’t get is he could have the worst physical injury and act like it’s nothing, but as soon as he gets a headache, he can’t handle it. Tell him I hope he feels better.”

“I will.” I paused a second, not sure how to bring up my question. Deciding to just go with it, I said, “I have a question, but I don’t know if you’ll know the answer.”

“Ok, ask away.”

“Why does the Order want to find witches from my Coven?” Seconds ticked by with no response. “Julia?”

“Oh, to, uh, hunt together. You guys have the magic daggers and all. It would be easier and safer.”

“That’s what Ethan thought too.” I expected her to say something more. When she didn’t I asked, “So, uh, how have you been?”

“Busy. It always seems like warm weather bring out the demons.”

Before I could ask if demons hibernate, Ethan called for me. I quickly said bye to Julia and welcomed the blast of cold air that hit me when I entered my room.

“Annie,” he called weakly.

I sat on the bed next to him and gently touched his face to assess the fever. “You’re burning up,” I told him, though I’m sure he knew by now, if not from actually feeling it, then by me constantly saying it. He slowly sat up.

“My head is heavy.” He closed his eyes and leaned against me. “Can I take a shower?”

“Of course,” I responded with a slight laugh. “You don’t need to ask permission.”

“I know. I mean can you get it ready for me?”

Julia was right, so right.

~*~

Keith and I simply sat in the family room, talking and laughing for hours. He didn’t leave until after dark. I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade and rushed up the stairs to check on Ethan as soon as Keith’s car bumped down the driveway. Ethan hadn’t eaten anything since the chicken soup I made him yesterday, and despite Julia’s warning of Ethan being overly dramatic when he’s sick, that nagging feeling in my stomach was beginning to form. I held out my hand and created a small orb, only big enough to cast off enough light for me to navigate my way to Ethan’s side.

He was curled up in the middle of the bed shivering. I immediately felt bad for spending time with Keith. I set the bottle down and placed my hand gingerly on his cheek. “Poor baby,” I whispered. His skin was still hot, and even in the dim magically cast light, I could see how red it was. He moaned and rolled over.

“I think I’m dying,” he croaked.

Can you bring me the thermometer?
I asked Hunter, who leapt off the bed right away. “You’re really sick.” I ran my fingers through Ethan’s hair.

“No shit.”

“I brought you something to drink.”

He opened his eyes. “I can’t reach it.”

I handed him the Gatorade just as Hunter returned with the thermometer. Anxiety pulsed through me when I saw Ethan’s temp has risen. “It’s one hundred and three,” I said grimly. “You need to go to the hospital.”

He opened his eyes only to glare at me. “No, I don’t.” He rested his head on my stomach. “You just worry too much. I’ll be fine.”

“Didn’t you just say you thought you were dying?” I reminded him.

He just grumbled that I should let him go back to sleep, which I did, distracting myself from the worry as best as possible by looking up more flowers to plant in my new garden. I felt itchy and restless after only a short while and slowly got out of bed to admire my green thumb.

A dark silhouette loomed over my snapdragons. I froze, my heart skipping ten beats. Sensing my fear, Hunter sprang from Ethan’s side, letting me know he was on his way. I crept closer. The figure kneeled down, cupped his hands around the blooms, and whispered something that sounded like an incantation. I took another step, staying close to the side of the house. I thanked God for my habit to exit through the garage and not the front door.

I sensed, rather than heard, Hunter rush to my side.
You are the best
, I thought to him when I took the dagger from his mouth. I quickly unsheathed it and quietly set the sheath on the soft spring ground. Envisioning the switch to turn on the porch lights, I telekinetically turned it on the same time Hunter and I confronted the figure.

It was a man—a very interestingly dressed man— and he looked just as shocked as we did. Or maybe more.

“You can see me?” he asked, voice full of disbelief.

“Yes,” I told him, feeling all too vulnerable. “What the hell are you doing to my flowers?”

His bright blue eyes flicked from mine to the dagger and then to Hunter’s teeth. “It’s, uh, it’s rather early to be planting don’t you think?”

There was something odd about the loose gray tunic he wore, other than the fact it was just odd to see a full grown man in a pirate style shirt. “Who are you? Did a demon send you?” I raised the dagger.

Terror flashed through his eyes with the mention of the word ‘demon’. “Of course not! But I think they sent whatever’s been lurking in the forest behind your house.”

“What?” I shook my head. “That’s not—I don’t believe you. Just tell me who you are.”

“Why don’t
you
tell
me
who
you
are,” he said, a malice taking over his boyish charm.

“I asked first.”

“Very well.” I noticed he was holding something. It was small and colorful…and looked like a flower. He tossed it at me, muttered something in a language I didn’t understand and smiled victoriously.

“What the hell?” I asked, brushing ground up petals off my shirt.

“You—you’re still—how can you see me?”

“Maybe because you’re standing two feet in front of me.” Unnatural lamp light reflected off the dagger. The man’s gaze became glued. Suddenly he gasped, dropped to his knees, trampling my violas in the process.

“My lady, forgive me. I’ve traveled from The Realm and was not aware of your presence.” He sounded so scared, so embarrassed.

“Uh, ok. Who are you?”

“I am Nikolai,” he said cheerfully, rising to his feet. “Oh.” He looked at the flowers under his boots. And they were designer cowboy boots at that. “Tending gardens is my bailiwick.” He held his hands over the sad petals and whispered something. The yellows petals perked up, the stems snapped back into place. Amazement was apparent on my face, despite my gut telling me to not appear impressed by Nikolai’s tricks. Still smiling, he cautiously stepped around Hunter and me to the dead rose bush. He held his hands out, whispered another incantation, and brought the bush back to life. “What’s your favorite color?” he asked, his voice smooth and hypnotic.

“Yellow,” I blurted and watched the biggest yellow roses I’d ever seen bloom into existence.

Just because he makes pretty flowers doesn’t mean he’s trustworthy,
Hunter reminded me

You’re right,
I thought back. Nikolai moved to the other dead bush and brought it to life. In a flash, Hunter was on his other side.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“The same thing you are, I’d say.”

“I live here.”

“Oh, ok. Then I guess not.” He smiled nervously, flashing a brilliant white smile. His eyes shined like blue glass. The breeze blew his short, brown hair around his attractive face.

 
“How do you know who I am?”

He laughed. “Everyone in The Realm knows a witch when they see one.”

“You didn’t at first,” I spat.

“Well, with all that talk about amalgamating with demons, one couldn’t be so sure.”

“I don’t associate with demons!” I held up my weapon. “I kill them, and I’m thinking I should kill you.”

“NO!” he cried and backed into the rose bush, jumping over a small puddle like it was filled with acid. “Ok, ok. I can explain!” He nervously glanced at the hose, his fear of getting wet obvious. I raised an eyebrow in wonderment.

Hunter’s ears flicked wildly. There really was something behind the house. And crap! The horses were still out.
Here goes nothing
I thought to Hunter and picked up the hose.
 
Nikolai held up his hands.

“No,” he pleaded, making me want to spray him even more. I pulled on the trigger and water shot out of the spout. Nikolai screamed and disappeared.

The hose slipped from my hands. Did I kill him? I gasped. Nikolai hadn’t disappeared…he just shrunk. My eyes were wide with disbelief.

“No way,” I muttered, and looked at Hunter to confirm I wasn’t hallucinating. “Oh crap,” I spoke when Hunter nodded, letting me know that this was real.

~*~

“Don’t even think about changing back! I cast an unbreakable charm on the glass,” I lied.

Looking like a trapped firefly, Nikolai fluttered in the Mason jar, crossly staring at me, complete with his tiny arms folded over his chest. “Fine.”

“You have more explaining to do when I get back,” I added over my shoulder as I scuttled out the door. I insisted Hunter stay in the house, both to guard Ethan against whatever was in the woods and to watch the—I couldn’t bring myself to say it—the
faery
that was currently being held hostage on my kitchen counter. I shook my head to clear the vision of paper thin, translucent wings from my mind.

Ready for their evening grain, Mystery and Neptune were waiting by the gate. I slipped their halters on and didn’t even bother with the lead ropes; I wanted them inside as soon as possible. I hesitated in the barn entrance. Being in a stall made the horses sitting ducks: Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I ran, with Mystery and Neptune trotting beside me, to the indoor arena, tossed them hay, and locked the large doors from the inside.

“If anything comes in here, stomp it to death, ok?” I told Mystery. He rubbed his head against me as if to say he understood.

I didn’t like unknown creatures lurking in my front yard. I really didn’t like unknown creatures lurking
and
hiding in my back yard. And I really, really didn’t like all this happening while my demon hunting boyfriend was sick in bed with my Guardian. But Ethan needed him more than I did. I shivered. Had the air cooled down? No, it was still thick and heavy with this morning’s heat. I was nervous. Ok, I was scared.

Running in tall, rubber muck boots wasn’t easy, graceful, or quiet. I hadn’t thought about that. I reached the tree line at the back of my property faster than I thought I would, thinking it odd Nikolai called it a ‘forest’. Instantly, I knew something was wrong. A beautiful buck lay dead in the weeds. The arrow sticking out of his side let me know that he was hunted, by humans, and got away. But the gnawed at wound under his chin said something else. I created an orb to—regrettably—get a better look.

The deer died recently. The blood wasn’t fresh, but it had dribbled out when something chewed open the jugular. Droplets on old autumn leaves trailed away.

A branch snapped above me.

I recoiled, dropping the orb onto the buck and singeing his fur. I was blind in the newfound dark. Holding my breath, I stepped away from the trees.
 
My fingers formed a death grip around my dagger. My heart raced; muscles ready for action. But nothing came. I created another orb and followed the blood. A few feet to the right was a clump of fur...and it wasn’t deer fur. I surveyed the ground and gasped. I only knew it was a rabbit because of the ears. The rest of it, all but the skin, had been devoured. “Coyotes don’t do that,” I muttered and backed up, right into something.

I nearly screamed. Wiry hands wrapped around my waist. Somehow remembering the move Ethan had taught me, I untangled myself. I spun around, dagger raised high. I knew what he was.

Geier demons, the encyclopedia had called them. Standing little over four feet tall and resembling what the offspring of a hobbit and a monkey would look like, the geier hissed. It got the name ‘geier’ for eating other demons’ leftovers, and in this case, Mother Nature’s.
 
Since I didn’t know the correct way to pronounce ‘geier’ and since they ate the unwanted scraps from others, I had deemed them ‘scrapper demons’.

Though they were little and not known for their strength, they were notoriously fast runners and incredibly good climbers. A set of twelve razor sharp teeth lined the front of their large mouths (good for ripping through tough flesh), and several flat molars in the back took care of the rest.

One didn’t present much of a challenge, but these things traveled in packs. They were merciless in groups, attacking humans and other demons twice their size. And if that info didn’t seem bad enough, seeing a geier almost always meant bigger and badder demons are in the area.

He swung a grotesquely clawed hand at me. I countered it with the dagger, and his skin sliced across the forever sharp blade. It cried out in pain and leapt up into a tree. Whimpering now, it clumsily made its way away from me. Ha, I can just throw an orb. I conjured up a bright, big orb, sparking with electromagnetic energy and threw it into the tree. It hit the Scrapper alright. And illuminated the tree, flashing white magical light over the faces of ten more demons.