The Reaper's Apprentices #1: Awakened (13 page)

“Well….yeah, I guess they do need to learn how to live outside these walls.” He finally relented. “I’ll break the news to Tessa.”

“I still think it’s a bad idea to send them to a sanctum full of male demons,” Fabian said. “Why not let them out in the human world for a while? They spend a lot of time in it when they go to school.”

“That’s good for when they go to school. But these are Reaper’s Apprentices in training. As the days go on, it will become harder for them to handle humans everywhere. They are struggling as it is.”

We knew that they had our best interests at heart. But I don’t think they knew what was best for us. They wanted to send us to Eridanos Sanctum, but that was the worst place for us to be. We didn’t want to deal with anyone else, so we went the one place we figured no one would find us.

Tessa looked at the others. “I really don’t like the sound of this.”

“What do we do?” Yuka asked. “I don’t know about you, but Eridanos Sanctum isn’t the place I want to be. So between that and going home…”

“I’d rather go home,” Kaska finished off for her, looking around. “Face it, guys. This isn’t home anymore. They want to send us away, but we shouldn’t let them get away with it. We have to go before they find out.”

“We’re leaving tonight?” Avani asked.

“We don’t have much time.” She nodded, staring at the door. The conversation had stopped, and they could hear everyone exchanging goodbyes. “Let’s go. They think we’re still asleep. We have to move out before they come upstairs.”

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Tessa agreed. “I’ll try and see if I can get a ticket tonight back to Arizona. At the very least, I can find something into the next town.”

“Why don’t we just use the secret passages like usual?” Yuka asked.

“We might risk our masters following us down there,” Kaska said. “If we fly, they’d have a harder time getting a hold of us. Not to mention, we shouldn’t tell our parents either. Until we actually get home, we should keep all of this to ourselves. Now let’s move and pack everything up. Use the passage only to get to the streets. From there on out, we will separate.”

“Are you sure this will work?” Avani asked.

“It has to work. If they don’t like it, then they have to change their minds about sending us away. Now let’s move before anyone else thinks about waking up. We’ve done enough talking and listening for one night.”

They nodded at each other and went up to their rooms. It felt wrong to leave now, but they didn’t want to stay to hear the news. Time was running out so they stuffed whatever they could into their bags and slowly slipped out the front gate when no one was looking. Fortunately, someone had forgotten to lock it tonight and that made the getaway easy. Once they had walked a few blocks away, they hailed a cab to take them to the airport.

“Going on vacation or something?” the cab driver asked.

“More like going home,” Rosemary said. They had shifted back into human form for the night. “We’ve missed our families so we thought we’d pay them a visit.”

“Oh, you guys have fall break.”

“Yeah, you could say that. We’re going home to see everyone on fall break.” Tiffany nodded. “You can just drop us off at the same gate, and we’ll take it from there.”

“I already called the airlines while I was packing,” Suzanne said. “Apparently, they do have a flight that’s leaving for Raleigh tonight in about three hours. I think that’s more than enough time for me to check-in. They also have flights for your hometowns leaving sometime in the morning too. Most are like an hour or two after mine.”

“Sounds good,” Debra said, taking one last look at the road that led to Tartarus Sanctum. The cabbie had no idea that he was driving away from one of the biggest secrets known to mankind. Maybe they would come back here one day. Maybe they would return home, and things would be fine. They would be the Grim Reapers that everyone knew they’d grow up to be and have their own followers. Their masters would be proud of them, and everyone would be happy to see them back. It was all a nice dream.

Someday, it would become a reality.

~ ~ ~

The meeting with the Grim Reapers hadn’t been what
the masters expected. They knew bad news was coming, but separating the girls was the last thing anyone wanted. It was true that girls weren’t improving fast enough, but getting rid of them seemed like a punishment. How were they going to learn if they weren’t with people they trusted? The worst part was that they wanted to send them away to Eridanos Sanctum. While it was a nice place, there were no other girls in it, and they would not feel comfortable. None of them were as young as Avani or Yuka either. The plan had left a bad taste in their mouths so they had to change it.

“What do you think?” Sebastian asked. “Do you agree with sending the girls to Eridanos Sanctum? I’m not all that keen about Yuka hanging out with all those guys. If necessary, I would prefer they make room in Alpheus or Persephone Sanctum. At least there are younger demons there, and both of those places are bigger. I could call Ella over at Alpheus and see if she can find an extra room for the girls. It might be hell for Kaska to travel between there and college, but she can handle it.”

“Maybe we can still convince them to do that,” Gideon suggested. “I don’t want Avani to go to Eridanos Sanctum either. It’s too far away, and I don’t think she’d be comfortable. Not to mention, her training will be set back if she has to move.”

“Let’s ask them,” Adair said, staring up the steps. “I know Tessa likes to get up in the middle of the night to write. If she’s there, I can see what she thinks about that. If she wants to go to any of the other sanctums, then fine. They’re old enough to make these decisions.”

“Good idea. Go talk to her and tell her that no one is pushing them out,” Fabian said. “We don’t want them to get the wrong idea.”

Adair slowly walked upstairs, passing by all the rooms, and wondered how he would break the news to her. It was too early in the morning to get into the important details. He also wondered if Tessa would take this news lightly. She usually got emotional when it came to big changes, and moving out was one of the biggest changes she’d have to face. Even if he let her go to Alpheus Sanctum, she would still be against it. Maybe she would be in a better mood later this morning, and he could help her understand it. He wanted her to understand that no one hated her or wanted to get rid of her; it was for her own good. They were moving her out to help her train better.

“Hey, Tessa,” he whispered. “If you’re up, I’d like to talk to you. There might have been some issues earlier, but we’ll get through them. And don’t worry about what was said to you earlier. I’ll try to get Grim Reaper Salvador and the others to loosen up. You don’t need to deal with that all the time.”

He moved over to her bed and was surprised to see that it was empty. Tessa usually was not up this long. She did spend some nights past her bedtime on weekends, but this wasn’t a weekend, and she was nowhere else. He figured she had gone to bed, but now she wasn’t here.

So we ran away from home and went where no one would think to find us.

“Guys! They ran away!” Adair ran downstairs, waving the note around. Since everyone was still talking downstairs, they were surprised to hear the exclamation. “They ran away!”

“Who ran away?” Gideon asked.

“The girls! I went to check up on them, and I found this!” He held up the note. “I think they must have heard our conversation about having to move them out.  I have no idea where they have gone.”

Sebastian grabbed the note and read it out loud. “Dear Master Adair, I want to let you know that I’m leaving Tartarus Sanctum. We all are. We know what you’re planning, and we don’t want to leave you. We never wanted to leave, but we don’t like the other option. We know you mean well, but we can’t agree with you. So this is goodbye. We may come back one day but…” He trailed off and took a breath. “Don’t try to find us. Don’t call us, don’t send us anything. Not until you want us back.”

“You sure they’ve left?” Fabian asked, looking worried as he stared at the pouring rain outside. “Are you sure this isn’t a joke they’re playing on us?”

“Well, I’m not laughing,” Adair said. “I think we should try to find them.”

“And then what?” Gideon wanted to know. “I have a feeling they won’t come back quietly. They’ll come back only to be sent off again.” He shook his head. “I knew we shouldn’t have told them all at once. We should have waited till Yuka and Avani turned sixteen.”

“So what are we going to do now? Do we chase after them or not?” Sebastian asked.

“We don’t even know where they went in the first place,” Fabian reasoned. “How can we chase them when we’ve got no idea where they are?”

“We could try calling their parents,” Gideon suggested, looking at the phone. “Yeah, I guess I could try and call Diane to see if she knows anything about Avani. Of course, since I can’t reveal anything specific that might be a little hard.”

“What if they don’t want to be found?” Adair asked. “Maybe Tessa meant everything that she said. Maybe she doesn’t feel like she belongs here anymore.”

“I knew they would find out,” Sebastian muttered. “I knew all of this was a bad idea.”

“It’s too late to talk about that. We have to find them and make sure they’re okay,” Fabian said. “If anyone gets a hold of them, make sure they know we aren’t mad. We only want to know that they’re alive and safe.”

“Oh, I think they’ll be fine. I just hope they will forgive us for that conversation,” Gideon said, rereading the note. “Maybe we’ll try to talk with them tomorrow. Let’s see what they want.”

They agreed and decided to go to bed. There was no use getting in touch with the girls right now. For all they knew, they had reached their destinations and were too tired to explain a thing. All of that would have to wait until the next day.

We would never see our masters again.

Chapter 13

The trip back home took much longer now that they weren’t using any of the secret passages.
Fortunately, that was the only issue they had with running away tonight. The rest of the plan was going smoothly. The girls had taken the money they had to buy plane tickets and taxi fare. They found flights that left immediately and were able to get on the plane at the last minute. Right before going, everyone said goodbye and promised to keep in touch.

“I’ll write to you guys every week,” Rosemary promised. They were now in human form since the airport’s security had tightened up. After the plane crash, only a few airlines were still open. They didn’t want to risk revealing themselves, so they planned to act as human as possible.

“Give me a call.” Tiffany gave them the number to her friend’s apartment. “I’ll most likely be there. I’m sure we’ll see each other again. For now, we have to separate.”

“Goodbye, girls.” Suzanne waved to them as she headed to her gate. “Let me know once you guys get home safely!”

One by one, they headed to different gates and waited for the flights, wondering if this was a good idea. Each one had thought to give a call and let everyone know they were fine. They wondered about their masters and what they were doing right now. No doubt someone would find the note and panic over it. Had they called the cops too? It would be hopeless, as this wasn’t a missing person’s case. They had announced plain and simple why they were leaving.

Suzanne was the first to leave for North Carolina, and she slept the entire flight back. It wasn’t the most pleasant ride, because she had nightmares. In them, she found herself trapped in a burning building and looking for a way out. Every time she turned, something would collapse in front of her and block her exit. She could also smell burning flesh as she was running around. The floor was also caving in. To make matters worse, there was an earthquake and a plane crashing through the roof. She was relieved when the captain announced that they were landing, because it pulled her out of the nightmares.

After collecting her things and getting a cab back home, Suzanne wondered if now was a good time to call Gideon and tell him everything. The clock on the cab’s dashboard read five in the morning, so she figured that he’d still be asleep. He wouldn’t wake up until around seven and by eight she would try to email him. Maybe they couldn’t talk in person. Some written words would have to do the trick. .

As the cab rounded toward her house, she began to feel that same old fear again. This was also home, but she couldn’t remember what it looked like before she left. She did notice that the door had been painted green, and that her mother had planted some flowers in the front yard — not that they were going to bloom now as the cold weather was coming in. She also noticed that the numbers on the mailbox were coming off and that there was a brand new car in the driveway. Her mother had been talking about selling the old van and getting a smaller car for a while now. Somehow, none of this was surprising. She was expecting a lot more changes than what she saw now.

After her father had passed away, her mother went straight to work changing everything. Diane Crenshaw handled grief by throwing herself into new projects. By day, she was an interior decorator and by night, she redecorated her household. These days her younger children, Aaron and Misty, were taking care of themselves until five pm. It was only one hour that they were alone, but it still felt strange. Suzanne had heard from both of them that they missed their old life. They missed Dad and how the old house used to look. The changes were good, but it was different than what they were used to.

Carefully, Suzanne made her way up the front porch and rang the doorbell. No one would be leaving until six-thirty today so she could relax and take in the new changes of the house. She heard footsteps running down the stairs and stopping right behind the front door. After what felt like a minute, the door opened, and her mother gaped at her. Diane was still in her robe and barely awake, but she knew who it was. She had to do a double-take before gasping. As for Suzanne, she was ready to pass out and almost did so when the door opened.

“Suzanne!” she exclaimed as her oldest child collapsed on the ground. Slowly, she helped Suzanne back to her feet and led her to the couch. “Suz, what happened?! Why are you here?”

“Hi, Mom. I’ve come home. I’ll unpack later,” Suzanne whispered. That’s who she was here: Suzanne Delia Crenshaw. It was the name she would use around the people who knew her; family, friends, neighbors, and clients all called her Suzanne. It was only the ones who knew her true identity who would call her Avani. The ones who wanted to be formal called her by full title, Avani the Lady Phoenix. But tonight, she just wanted to be Suzanne. She wanted to be her mother’s daughter and just relax in the house she grew up in. It seemed strange that all she could tell her mother was that she wanted to unpack later, but her mind wasn’t in the mood for conversation. All she wanted was some sleep and for her headache to go away.

“Yes, but why are you home? Are you hurt? Do you need to see the doctor? Did they kick you out?” Diane helped her daughter lie down before getting the bags inside the house. “I’ll make you some tea in a second, but you have to tell me everything. Did someone say something to make you run?”

“No, I ran on my own. I decided to leave tonight so I took the first flight back home,” she admitted. “Don’t tell anyone I’m here though. I’m trying to stay away from Tartarus Sanctum for a while. I think I’m over it.”

“But you love it there! You told me you’d never want to leave.” Diane gave her a blanket and pulled it up to Suzanne’s chest. “Clearly, you don’t want to talk about it now, but you should tell me a little bit. I can help you think about what you’re doing. Now I’m going to boil some water for your tea and then you can say what you need to say. Do you need any medicine? Anything to eat?”

Suzanne shook her head. “Just the tea will be fine. I have a lot to talk about.”

“Did they throw you out?”

“No, I told you. I left on my own. Don’t tell them that,” she added. “I know it’s the wrong thing to do, but it had to be done. I just…I can’t do this, Mom. I can’t be what they want from me. It’s hard enough being a model and trying to keep up with school. I don’t know what it’s like to have a normal teenage life. If I’m not walking down a runway, I’m trying to catch up on my homeschooling stuff. If I’m not doing either of those, I’m a monster. I just want to get away from it all now.”

Her mother sat down next to her and pulled the blanket over her body. “Who told you that you were a monster?”

“Well, I’m not exactly human, Mom. We found that out last year. After my own Dad died, I get demons knocking on the door telling me about my destiny. I didn’t know it meant all of this! I didn’t know I had to leave my other life so completely behind!” She groaned. “I really don’t feel so good. I can handle the modeling, but I don’t know about anything else.”

“So that’s why you came home? You’re sick?”

“Yes and no,” she admitted. “I’m not feeling good, but that’s not the only reason I came home. I just can’t live there anymore. It’s not because of the demons there. I’m okay with them, and I get along with everyone. But something happened, and I don’t think I can ever go back.”

“Did you do something to make them upset?”

“No, they upset me.” She yawned. “Do you mind if I rest for a while, Mom? I’ll talk about it some other time. Don’t wake Aaron or Misty up. We’ll go into everything tomorrow.”

“All right. I just hope you are doing the right thing,” Diane said. “If your master does call, what should I tell him?”

“He won’t call. I can feel it.”

“That’s nonsense. Gideon cares about you, and you know it. He’s probably worried sick and looking around for you right now,” Diane pointed out. She was one of the few people who referred to Reaper’s Apprentices by their names alone. Gideon didn’t mind, as he was technically younger, and he respected her like she was his mother. They had met a few times after Suzanne had been told about her destiny. She seemed to like him.

“What will I say when he calls? That you’re taking a short leave?”

“Please, Mom. Don’t go into this now. I need my rest,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “But if he calls? Yes, tell him that I’m taking a short leave.”

And in another city, as Suzanne was getting some sleep, Rosemary was trying to catch up on her unwritten stories. The last couple of weeks had pushed her writing back, and she hated how much work she had. She wanted to start sending some stories in, but they were in no shape to be submitted. Right now, she was pouring over one sci-fi short story, three mysteries, and a half-written romance novel. None of it had been edited or formatted in a good way.

“Oh, man,” she muttered, flipping through the pages of one of the mysteries. “I’m never going to have this finished before the year ends.”

She looked out the window and wondered if being home was the right thing. Her parents didn’t ask too many questions other than to ask if she was all right. She assured them that things were fine, and Adair already knew everything. While it was half-true, he would be able to figure out where she was. If he cared about her, he wouldn’t follow. He would know that she wanted her alone time and wouldn’t dare ask her parents. As for her mother and father, they were surprised to see her back, but they didn’t force her to return. When she explained what was going on, they agreed that she could use a little downtime. Her homeschooling would continue, but she didn’t need to go to Karr Academy if she wasn’t ready.

“If he does call, we’ll tell him that you’re all right,” her mother said. “And we’ll let him talk to you only if you want to talk.”

“If you’re sure you don’t want to go back, then we’ll start looking for a high school here so you can enroll and keep up with your classmates,” her father added. “We’re lucky that it’s still pretty early in the school year. You should be able to fit in fine.”

“Thanks, guys.” She was grateful that they weren’t pushing her to go back. “I really do want to get back into public school and have a normal life. I’ll miss the others, but I don’t think I can handle it right now.”

And now she was sitting in her room, dressed in her pajamas, trying to get the next chapter of her book done. It seemed strange to start writing a book at sixteen, but this story was too good to be a short story. It needed a lot more, and she was having fun writing it. The best part was that she was doing it by hand. Writing cramps were the only bad part. Now that she had no more training, she could progress further with the book and maybe finish by the end of the year.

But there was a burning feeling inside her. She wondered if it was heartburn. It was enough to knock her concentration away and make her forget about the novel. Could a girl her age get heartburn in the first place? She tried to remember what she had eaten the night before. Pigging out before running way was not something she would recommend to anyone. Putting away her things, she decided to run downstairs and get some antacid. That was what her parents took when they had heartburn, so maybe it would work with her.

As she walked down the stairs, her vision started to get so hazy, she had to stop on the middle step and sit down. The heartburn had now turned into a headache, and she began to think about Tartarus Sanctum. She could see Avani back at home, shaking and rolling around in bed, trying to get rid of what was bothering her. Her friend’s face twisted as she slept, and she could hear voices. Was this a dream or a premonition? Why was she thinking about Avani right now?

Then her mind flashed to Tartarus Sanctum, and all the demons that lived there. But the place that she knew looked very different now. It was no longer full of life. In fact, all the plants had died. She could see the house where they had lived, and there was smoke. The vines that had once wrapped around the gates had been torn apart. It was as though war had broken out, and everyone had escaped before they could be killed.

Groaning, she climbed back up the stairs and lay down in bed tossing everything aside. The pain was unbearable. All she wanted to do was curl up and die. It was as though someone was trying to burn her alive, and she couldn’t escape it. She twitched, trying to keep her crying to a minimum, rolling all around. Finally, she let out a scream grabbing her head so the visions would stop. Everything grew dark, but she could hear footsteps running up the stairs. Was it her mother or father? Maybe one of her brothers heard her.

But she would never know who discovered her, because the visions stopped, and she closed her eyes. Everything turned black, and she was out.