The Reaper's Apprentices #1: Awakened (5 page)

“True. But are they even ready to take on these responsibilities? You saw how they looked when we told them the truth. It’s like they wanted to hear anything but that.”

“Whether they want to hear it or not isn’t the issue. They have to get used to it,” Odom said. “The time for games and fun is over.”

“Maybe to us, but I don’t think they’ll buy it so easily.” Linn shook her head. “I don’t know, but I’ve got a feeling this will not be an easy road for them. They’re going to deal with a lot more than not having free time. I can sense it.”

Chapter 4

Even though the meeting didn’t last long, the girls felt like the walk back into the garden was taking forever. They were dragging their feet, ignoring all the sounds, focused on what they had heard: Guardians of the Underworld. This was something most demons would have died to be, yet none of them were excited. It felt like someone dropped a bomb on them, and it exploded, leaving nothing but destruction behind. That was nothing to get excited over. They approached Gideon.

“Uh-oh, I never like looks like that on your faces,” Gideon said. “What happened, girls? What did they tell you?”

“Oh, nothing bad,” Avani murmured. “It’s just that…” She slowed and started all over again. They had to bring this up delicately with their new masters. “You know about Guardians of the Underworld, right? They get to be Death after a while and take over when they’re ready?”

“Yeah, I know about the Guardians of the Underworld. There’s always four of them and the order changes every time a new group of guardians are found — four guys, then four girls, and then two of each,” Sebastian said. “Why, what about them?”

“Well, have you wondered who your guardians would be?” Kaska asked. “They would be girls obviously, but do you think that it’s anyone in this place?”

Fabian shrugged. “As far as I know, all the Reaper’s Apprentices that have been found are in this place. What are you trying to say exactly?”

“It’s us,” Tessa said.

“What do you mean?”

“The next Guardians!” Yuka sighed, finally blurting it out. “That’s why they were here, Master Fabian! We’re the next ones in line! We follow you! Don’t you know what this means?”

To her surprise, none of the masters seemed shocked. Gideon went back to fixing the rock garden and Fabian started throwing the chew toy for Oscar to chase. Frustrated, she tried again. “Come on, masters! It’s got to mean something to you!”

“I already knew about this,” Fabian said, as Oscar ran up to him and dropped the chew toy at his feet. “We had our suspicions that you were the ones, but we had to be sure. That’s why we asked for the test that you passed. Not that we thought you would fail.”

“You asked for the test??” Avani asked. “How come you never told us?”

“Well, I figured it would be better if you heard it from Grim Reaper Olana. After all, we’re both in her line now,” Gideon explained. “Plus she’s more experienced than I am. She’s already mastered all her powers, while I still have a while to train. Not to mention, it’s tradition for the current guardians to break the news. That would be her, not me.”

“Oh.” Her mind went back to all the traditions that they had talked about before. The current guardians would be staying in the Underworld until they were called up to reap someone’s soul. They had to keep balance between both worlds and could never be seen interacting with people unless that person was dying. Somehow, the idea of being a guardian wasn’t settling with her.

“I’m not sure if I’m the right demon for this job,” she began.

“Everyone says that.” Fabian shook his head. “You’ll be okay. We’ll teach you what we know, and you’ll be used to your new role in no time.”

“Yeah, but won’t we have time for the other stuff in our lives?” Yuka asked. “We’re still young and want to go to school and hang out and date guys. We just want some of that normal teenage life stuff. You know what I mean?”

“And you’ll get that,” Sebastian promised, standing up. “It does seem like a lot, but you will have time to spend on everything else. I was able to go to college and swim in my free time. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“I guess it won’t be too bad.” Kaska shrugged. “I mean, we’ll be the most powerful creatures in the world. We’ll be respected and feared by all. It can’t be all that bad.”

“Now you’re thinking more like a demon,” Fabian approved. “It won’t be all that bad, girls. I also had my complaints when I started, but I got used to it. Before you know it, training will be over, and you’ll be unstoppable. You’ll have all the free time in the world to do what you want. Just as long as you remember your responsibilities, of course.”

“Of course.” Tessa nodded, slowly taking a few steps. “Maybe being a Guardian might have more perks than I thought. Grim Reaper Salvador made it sound like my life was over.”

“That’s a Grim Reaper for you! They’re supposed to do that,” Adair joked. “But no, your life is just beginning. It’ll be hard, but I think you’ll grow to like it. Now go and wash up. It’s almost time for dinner.”

Chapter 5

The excitement of being a Guardian only lasted two days. The four of them had each started with trying to harness a different river. Sebastian was trying to teach Yuka all about Phlegethon with its burning flames and boiling blood. While she had enjoyed hearing the description of it, harnessing its powers was not as much fun. Also, she was supposed to be able to make fire, yet she couldn’t produce a thing. The flames came out of Sebastian’s hands with just a snap of his fingers, yet hers produced nothing.

Tessa wasn’t having much luck either with trying to harness Cocytus’ powers. Adair had told her about how cold and icy it was and how she was supposed to act similarly. She had to be able to control water and turn it into ice on will. So far, the water in the glass remained water and nothing more. Kaska was being taught about Acheron and healing, neither of which she had any interest in. Instead, she grew bored and tired of Fabian’s lectures. All she wanted to do was practice her cheers and finish up her art project.

But the one who hated the practices most was Avani. Gideon had been teaching her about Lethe and it was, in her opinion, the most boring of all the rivers. She hated the way it looked, and she hated what it stood for. The power that she would get from it would be to manipulate others. Originally, demons in the past had used it to make others forget, but times had changed that. These days, unscrupulously, they used this power to make people do exactly what they wanted them to do. To make matters worse, she wasn’t any good at it. Gideon had started her with bugs to try to make them move at her will. The bugs were more interested in eating the leaves and flowers, than doing what she was asking of them.

The last couple of days had been fruitless. All anyone wanted was a vacation. But their masters weren’t cutting them any slack, instead acting more like drill sergeants. If something wasn’t going right, they would groan and demand the girls start over. If anyone refused or answered back, they were given lectures on how Guardians never caved in or surrendered. The worst were the lectures about how demon slayers would never rest until they were dead. Just hearing the words ‘demon slayer’ was enough to put sides on edge.

“What are we going to do today?” Tessa asked as they gathered in the backyard one morning. Not that she needed to ask. The props had already been set up and everyone looked exhausted. “Don’t tell me it’s more training.”

“You don’t have to ask anymore, Tessa,” Adair responded mid-yawn. “I know you feel like this is getting repetitive, but Grim Reaper Salvador insists on going through these techniques.”

“But we’ve practiced these same techniques for the last two days!” she complained. “Why can’t we do something new? Or at least give us a break so we get used to the old techniques?”

“Because you aren’t ready for anything new, and I don’t think you are used to the old techniques,” Gideon said. “You can’t just learn them and not practice.”

“We’ve practiced them!” Avani pointed out. “We’ve spent the last two nights practicing. We spent the last two nights learning about the different rivers! We know what the rivers are! We know what they do! We know where they lead! What else is left?”

“A lot more than that!” he snapped. She took a step back, and he relaxed. “Sorry. I guess all this practice is taking its toll on me too.”

“It’s taking a toll on everyone. Can’t we have one day to just have fun?” Kaska suggested. “I mean, I’d like to practice some of these new cheerleading moves. We’ve been working so hard on the other stuff that I have to save that for late at night.”

“Yeah, I want to work on this new dance,” Yuka said, flexing her feet. “I should have had this memorized two days ago, but I only have the first half ready. We just want a little break.”

“A break?” Sebastian didn’t seem happy with this suggestion. “We haven’t even started yet, and you want a break? Do you know how long it takes to master these powers?”

“Well, we’re not going to learn them overnight anyway. We’ve practiced and practiced, and I don’t think we’re getting anywhere!” Tessa complained. “Can’t we just take five minutes to sit down and forget about this?”

“You make that sound so easy.” Adair shook his head. “You can’t forget about it, girls. You can take all the breaks in the world, but you can’t forget about what you are.” He saw all the disappointed faces and decided to cave in. The last thing he wanted was more complaints. “I suppose a ten minute break won’t hurt anyone. We’ll resume this around 8:15, okay?”

“Thank you, Master.” Tessa bowed to him. “I owe you one.”

“Oh, I know you do.”

“Finally, we’re getting a break!” Kaska sat down and leaned back in her chair. “I swear my hands are going to fall off from trying to harness Cocytus. Since when is water so hard to deal with? And just how am I supposed to turn it into ice?”

“Water to ice sounds a lot easier than making fire.” Yuka looked at the fireplace and frowned. “I have no friction when I rub my hands. Is that supposed to happen?”

“Maybe we’re not concentrating hard enough. I just wish everyone would stop being so hard on us.” She shook her head. “I still have school in case anyone forgot. And I would like to gain a social life sometime in the near future. So far, I have not been very successful in that area.”

“Since when did any of us have a social life?” Avani asked. “At least you guys get to go to school and learn stuff with other people. I’m lucky I’m a demon, and I get the ability to travel from place to place easily. Otherwise, I would not recommend becoming a model. People are always measuring you, telling you what you can and can’t eat. People complain any time you get the slightest imperfection. One minute designers want you for their campaign, the next minute they complain you’re too old.” She sighed and slumped back on the couch. “I would do anything to trade places with you girls. Although this Guardian business isn’t going to help my morale much either.”

“Are we sure they are right about this?” Tessa asked, coming in with a plate full of cookies and crackers. Avani twitched at the sight of them, but said nothing. “I mean, they’re going off a sheet of paper with drawings on it. So we saw something no one else did! Maybe the other people didn’t count right. That’s always a possibility.”

“It is, but I don’t think everyone would miscount the number of drawings,” Kaska said, taking a few of the cookies from the plate. “Anyway, I just hate the practices. They say we’re not supposed to get this overnight, but they treat us like we’re supposed to. We just found out about everything now! It’s still new. I swear that no class at college is as bad as this.”

“No class in high school is as bad as this,” Avani grumbled. “And I don’t even go to an actual school anymore. That’s how much this blows.” She lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling fan. “Why are they making us start with boring powers? I don’t want to heal. I want to learn how to set someone on fire or something! When do we get to that part?”

“Want to trade? I can’t set anything on fire.” Yuka snapped her fingers but was unable to produce a puff of smoke. Giving up, she decided that it was time for some TV. “Let’s see if there’s anything interesting going on. I can’t remember what good shows are on now.”

“Turn on the news. Maybe we’ll hear something interesting there,” Tessa said. “Hell, the human world has got to be more interesting than this one is.”

“I can’t disagree there.” Yuka flipped over to where the news was airing, and they all sat down, listening to what was happening. They saw an airport where humans were walking around. All of a sudden, a strange figure appeared and zipped through the lines at the baggage claim. That was more than enough for them to put aside their complaints and stare at the footage. The reporter soon began talking.

“Today at the airport, a mysterious object was caught on camera as passengers were waiting to get their bags. No one is sure what it is, but it didn’t cause any harm or destruction,” she said. “Police are still baffled by this phenomenon and would like anyone who might have information on this to contact them.”

“Wow!” Avani breathed out. “I think that was a ghost!”

“Why the heck would a ghost haunt an airport?” Yuka asked. “And what would it want anyway? Maybe it’s just someone playing around.”

“People don’t move that fast,” Kaska pointed out. “It’s got to be something else, and I doubt it’s a ghost.”

“What else could it be?” Tessa asked.

“I don’t know but I’m picking up some weird vibes from that video.” She watched it as the news station played the footage again. “It seems demonic to me.”

“Demonic? No demon moves that fast,” Avani said. “I think it’s a ghost.”

“Ghosts don’t exist,” Yuka said.

“Well, I didn’t think demons existed either, but here we are,” she pointed out. “Anyway, this probably has nothing to do with us. It’s just some weird stuff going on in the world.”

“Girls!” It was Fabian calling out to them. They groaned. “Break time’s over! We’ve got to finish your training.”

“Why?” Kaska muttered. “I don’t get ice. I’m never going to make ice today. What is the point?”

“Better to make ice than fire. I swear they won’t be satisfied until I’m able to burn down this place,” Yuka said, getting off the couch and heading down to the training room. “At this rate, lightning striking this place and burning it down is more likely.”

“We shouldn’t give up so easily,” Tessa said, even though she didn’t mean her words. “Maybe we’ll be able to figure all this out.”

“Yeah, like in a hundred years,” Avani joked.