Reaper (Dragon Prophecies Book 1)

by Hickory Mack

  “Fire,” Grant said, his face pale, his voice the ghost of a whisper. Over a dozen darts shot into the darkness of that box, then a second volley as the first row of shooters ducked down to make way for the second. Elsie held her breath, her nerves on fire. She was certain this was her last day living, but the demon didn’t explode out of there to tear everyone up as she’d expected.

  His magical presence curled up and died. He stumbled to the edge of the box, barely able to stand, and Elsie’s mouth dropped open. This was the single most beautiful man she’d ever seen in her entire life. Of Asian descent, his skin was pale and his eyes angled perfectly. His lips were delicately shaped and his cheekbones high and fine. She almost couldn’t tear her eyes away from his face to look at the rest of him.

  The demon was barefoot, wearing a dark kimono, and his black hair dripped down past his waist. Six black tails that looked as though the tips had been dipped in blood red drooped to the floor, and black fox ears were plastered against the top of his head. The sunfire eyes that had seen into her soul back in the forest were dull and unfocused. In a moment of insanity, Elsie had to resist going to him. She wanted to kidnap this beautiful creature and take him back to where he belonged.

  His head rolled to the side, and he looked at her, seeing her face without her mask. She saw his eyes focus as his gaze traveled to her scythe, figuring out who she was. Elsie’s heart dropped as his lips dipped into a frown that physically hurt.

  ‘Are you still sure of your decision, little reaper?’ he asked into her mind. Even his mental voice was pained, lacking the strength he’d had just five days ago.

  “No,” she whispered. Cross grabbed her forearm, making sure she didn’t do anything stupid, but she wasn’t dumb enough to try anything here and now. The nurses and orderlies cautiously moved forward as soldiers yelled orders at the fox. He stood perfectly still, saying nothing.

  Elsie seriously doubted there was any strength left in his body to do anything more than stand there. As terrifying as he felt, he wasn’t currently a threat. She didn’t see any wounds on him, and the demonstration of his power back at Colony Nine made her wonder where all that power had gone. She touched the dart in her pocket once more. What the fuck had they done to him?

  “Don’t let his claws scratch your skin,” Cornick said through a PA system. Elsie scowled, realizing the creep was watching them from somewhere. It figured that he wouldn’t be participating in the most dangerous part of their mission.

  The two biggest orderlies were accompanied by soldiers, the men grabbing the demon’s arms as the orderlies strapped a metal mask over his face. Elsie looked away then, unable to bear it. They’d muzzled him. She heard a scuffle and looked back up, seeing that they’d carried him to the restraint system.

  Huge white pods were clapped over his hands and feet, covering from foot to knee and hand to elbow. When Grant threw a switch, the demon was yanked into the air, his hands and legs spread far apart, straining his muscles. Elsie squinted, taking a few steps closer. They were using magnetics. The demon would have to exude an intense amount of strength to fight his way free from this.

  A woman in a nurse’s uniform stepped forward and placed a barrier around the demon. Elsie’s mouth twisted into a frown. A witch was helping them. She stared at the demon for a long minute, zoning out everything around her. This creature had killed millions of people, mostly human, but she hated the way they had him trussed up, just another victim of the hunters.

  “Every single one of you report to Lieutenant Sanchez for debriefing. What you have seen here today is one hundred percent confidential. Any spreading of rumors or speaking of what you have seen is considered treason, punishable by death,” Grant said seriously. Elsie spotted the surprised looks on many of the soldiers’ faces. They probably hadn’t known how big this was when they’d signed up.

  The soldiers and witch filed out, leaving only the medical crew. Grant turned to Elsie, nodding curtly at Cross. “You are to get back up to the gate. The mage is waiting for you there. When the wolf is released, you are to close the gate and return to your quarters. The remainder of the day is committed to your rest.”

  Frost’s ears perked up at that, and Frida rubbed her full body against his leg affectionately. Elsie nodded, glancing at the huge furry monster she’d grown so attached to. This was for the best. She’d promised him his freedom, and after going so far beyond what was expected of him, he deserved it.

  “I’ll take her,” Cross volunteered, and the commander nodded, grateful to be relieved of the responsibility.

  “Thanks.”

  Elsie let her gaze linger on the fox for a long moment, then followed Cross out without a word. They were quiet for a long while as he led the way. He tried to say something while they were waiting for the elevator, but she held up her hand and shook her head. Frost shoved his way between them, looking at Elsie like she’d lost her mind. She hadn’t shared what the brujo was to her, and now it was too late.

  “What’s your plan for getting out of here?” Cross asked as soon as the elevator doors closed and Elsie threw up a barrier.

  “I’m waiting for my mate to return,” she answered. She explained about the elixir and his journey to what used to be Mexico to get it reverse engineered. “Once he’s back, I can go. The hunters can only hold me so long as they’re the only source of the elixir I have.”

  “I don’t suppose I can help you with that,” he lamented. “I don’t deal with elixirs and potions.”

  “What sort of magic do you dabble in?”

  “I’m red moon singular,” he answered, meaning that he drew his magic from a single source. “So I use metal magic.”

  “I have figured one thing out,” she told him, looking at the elevator doors. “When we leave, we’re taking that fox with us. So long as we stay the fuck out of his way, he’ll take part in destroying the Hunter Clans.”

  Cross looked at her in surprise as the elevator doors opened. He closed his mouth and led her through the floor to the next set. Waiting until those doors closed, he turned on her the second the barrier was up.

  “What are you talking about?” he demanded. “You can’t take down the entirety of the Hunter Clans!”

  Elsie smiled at Frost, and the wolf gave her a grin in return. “I can.”

  “You seriously think you have the power level it takes to do something like that?”

  “It isn’t always about how much power you have. That fox down there could easily kill me. He could easily destroy the fucking planet if he chose to. You want to know the secret for how they caught him?” Elsie took the dart out of her pocket and held it up for him to see. “They planned for years, learned his weaknesses, developed whatever the hell this is, and launched a full-scale assault. The hunters aren’t stronger than him; they’re sneakier.”

  “Your plan is to be sneaky,” Cross said, sounding unimpressed.

  “My plan is to do to them what they did to him. I’ll watch them, learn their weaknesses, plan everything out. When the time is right, I’ll release the fox and let him do what he needs to do. I’ll take care of the rest,” she said.

  “That sounds like a terrible idea. What if he decides you’re one of the enemies? He’ll come after you.”

  “He has already decided I’m one of the enemies. He spoke to me,” she admitted. “If he comes for me, it’ll be because I deserve it.”

  “Ridiculous.”

  The elevator door opened, and a group of three people stepped back in surprise. Frost pushed his way out first, growling at them and making more room while Frida flirted and chirped from her perch between his ears.

  “Excuse us,” Cross said politely, following the wolf out.

  “How do you know where everything is around here?” Elsie asked, looking at him suspiciously.

  “I have a good memory, and I was here for about a year before getting stuck on the other side when the reaper died,” he told her.

  “She didn’t just die,” Elsie told him. “They
killed her.”

  “That’s… That’s terrible.”

  “They’ve always been horrible people, but even I didn’t see it for a long time. They have a lot of people fooled.”

  “I was one of them,” Cross said. They arrived at the last set of elevators they’d need to take, and this time when she put up the barrier, he took her hand. “Thank you for giving me a chance. I know it must not have been easy for you.”

  “It wasn’t, but I can feel the damned bond trying to pull us together. It’s already getting a little easier to accept having you around,” she admitted with a frown. She hated how guilty she felt over it. All she wanted was Saint and Wren, and before she could even form a bond with the spirit, a new one had appeared. It felt disloyal to Saint, finding a new mate while he was away, trying to help her.

  Cross touched his chest and closed his eyes for a moment. His lips naturally drew downward, but they dipped even further. “Whatever it is that makes you so unhappy, I’ll do my best to help.”

  “You’d better be careful,” Elsie said, taking her hand away as the elevator pulled to a stop. “Someone might start to think you’re a nice guy.”

  “Psh, I’m always a nice guy,” he countered, dramatically flipping his long dark hair over his shoulder and pursing his lips.

  “Right…” Elsie scoffed. After several minutes of winding through the maze of Worldbase A, Cross managed to get her to the giant warehouse of a room where trucks were being unloaded and cleaned.

  Outside of the gate, almost all the trucks were gone. Nearly every sign they’d been there was being wiped away by an earth witch, making Elsie wonder how many witches they had working for them. Perrie had been a rare commodity back in her day, but she supposed working in a compound was more alluring than fieldwork.

  A soldier waved them over, standing next to him was a cloaked individual who was clearly their mage. Without thinking, Elsie reached up and grabbed a chunk of Frost’s fur, holding on to him as they walked over. The wolf drew in a sharp breath, his lips curling in a snarl, and Elsie almost laughed, wondering how long the mage would live once Frost was free.

  “I see the plan worked. They got you here,” the mage said, taking down his hood so they could see his face. He was thin and wiry, wearing smudged glasses. A wood mage. He worked with earth magic. “No hard feelings, right? It was just a job, nothing personal.”

  “Oh, it worked alright,” Elsie growled, and the stranger who’d called her over drifted away, not wanting to get into the middle of anything. “Now release him from both me and the cuff.”

  “May I?” the mage asked, motioning toward Elsie’s wrist. She made a disgusted face but lifted her hand so he could inspect the cuff. He touched it, twirling it around her wrist and speaking in the ancient language. The runes started to glow, and Elsie balled her hands into fists, thinking he was going to attempt to shove Frost back inside as the last mage had, but he didn’t. He paused, looked up at Elsie, then back at the cuff, and she didn’t like the look on his face.

  “What?”

  “Well, to create a containment spell for something this powerful, the seven of us had to weave our own separate spells and wrap them around one another. It’s sort of like a knot, with the entire thing being dependent on all seven spells. Any one of us should have been able to pull our spell free, and the entire thing would easily unravel. That way, the seven of us wouldn’t have to come together again,” he said, releasing her wrist.

  “Should have been?” Elsie demanded, not liking the way that sounded.

  “Unfortunately, it appears that one of us is dead. You killed him.”

  “I didn’t,” Elsie snorted, offended that he’d say such a thing.

  “Then someone did it on your behalf. The point is, it was a failsafe to make sure there was no retaliation against us for doing the containment spell. We were only doing what we were paid for; none of your anger should fall back on us.” He blinked at her accusingly.

  “He attacked me, and my companion killed him for it,” she told him. “What does it matter? Take the damn cuff off.”

  “I can’t,” he said simply. Frost’s head went from alert to the stance of a coldblooded predator in half a second. He fixed the mage with a murderous stare.

  “Explain.”

  “In the event one of us is killed either by or for you, that mage’s thread will freeze in place. If I were to attempt to pull my spell out, the entire thing will permanently knot into place. To release you, you’ll need to get the remaining six to agree to remove their parts of the spell at the same time. And I’ll tell you right now, I will not take part,” he said. Frost eased forward, but Elsie gave the mage a sly grin.

  “What happens if we kill the remaining six? Are we still going to be permanently locked together?” she asked.

  “The spell will be b-broken,” the mage stuttered.

  “I see.”

  “W-wait, I’ll do it. Please, this can end well for everybody.”

  “Why is it that so many beg when they figure out they’ve crossed a line there’s no coming back from? Demons, monsters, and mages alike. There really is no honor among assholes like you.” Elsie shook her head and held out her hands.

  Once Frida floated down from atop the wolf, she gave Cross a meaningful look and slowly made her way back toward the gate. Her hand gripped the staff as Frost leaped forward, and the mage began to scream.

  Chapter 31

  “Unless I can find someone or something powerful enough to break a spell cast by seven mages, I need to find the other five. I promised to set him free, and I can’t break that promise,” Elsie told Cross. They’d paused outside the gate, waiting for Frost to burn through some of his aggression. The wood mage was still hanging in there, though his screams had fettered out to pitiful cries of distress.

  “I’ll start making discreet inquiries to see if I can find out who the other mages are. Maybe they can be convinced to remove the spell. If not, we’ll do what we must.”

  “Are you volunteering to help Frost and me kill some mages?” Elsie asked with a smirk. He hadn’t come across as the kind of guy who’d take part in something like that. Cross seemed too mellow. “Wouldn’t that cause problems for you and your coven?”

  “If it means you’re freed from that creature and your promise is fulfilled, I’ll do whatever it takes. The way the two of you are being used is slavery, and I don’t support it. I have not been a part of a coven since I was a boy. I’ve spent the past several years in solitude. With the exception of you, I’m not worried that my actions will bring the mages down on those around me. They started this by binding my mate to a wolf demon, so they’ll face the consequences.”

  Elsie chewed on the inside of her lip. It was kind of cute that he was offended on her behalf, but she had another question entirely.

  “Why were you alone?”

  “Watching everyone around me eventually find their mates while I never connected with anyone was too painful. Men decades younger than me were finding their mates, while I was still alone. It was a decision I don’t regret. I learned a lot about my magic and connecting with my element while I was out there. It was better for my peace of mind to be out among nature, away from other people,” he answered.

  “I don’t understand. You said you’d been looking for a hundred years for your mate. Why wait so long? Why not find someone to settle down with and live a happy life?” Elsie asked, shaking her head. “You could have had happiness with someone else.”

  “I’ve never met a female witch who will accept a man who isn’t her mate. The women always find at least one or two mates, and once they do, they don’t want anyone else. The bonds are too strong. That’s why I eventually chose to ask the hunters to allow me to walk among the humans.”

  “What about a demon? There weren’t any demons you were interested in?”

  Cross laughed at her. “If you’re asking if I’ve had lovers in all that time, the answer is yes. I have.”

  “That’s not what
I meant!”

  He laughed again, and the smile transformed his stoic face into something startling. Cross wasn’t as stunning as Saint or as angelically beautiful as Wren, but he had a striking quality all his own. Elsie stared at him until he stopped laughing and things got a little awkward. He cleared his throat and looked away, saved by Frida’s chirp when Frost returned to Elsie’s side, blood dripping from the wolf’s chin.

  “Gross,” she complained. Elsie pointed at him seriously. “If you shake that off on me, I will pull your teeth out with my bare hands.”

  He rolled his wolfie eyes at her, and Elsie pressed her palms together, looking up at him while trying not to wince. “Please give me more time to carry out my promise. It might take longer than either of us would like, but we will make it happen, even if we have to kill the remaining five mages.”

  The wolf held her gaze for several seconds, and Elsie held her shaking hands behind her back. Though they’d been comfortable with one another, the thought had never left her mind that he could very easily decide he was sick of her at any time. She had not forgotten the kind of power he contained and what he was capable of. Even if she had started to think of him as a friend, Elsie had no confidence that he felt the same way.

  A strong feeling of acceptance overwhelmed her senses, and Frost nodded once. This time, he didn’t set a timeline. He licked his lips and bent down to nose at Frida. The cat chirped at him again, licking some of the blood from his muzzle.

  “Ack, don’t do that!” Elsie yelped, snatching the fluffy cat up. “Can alebrije consume mage blood without becoming some kind of zombie demon?”

  “I don’t think that’s how it works,” Cross said, following Elsie and her furry entourage through the gate.

  “That wasn’t a no.”

  “I’m pretty sure you need a necromancer for that sort of thing.”

  Elsie gave him a suspicious look then handed him the cat so she could close the gate. She pushed her love toward Saint, wishing she could do the same for Wren. It was going to be harder to feel each other again, and she didn’t know how long they’d be separated. At least it wouldn’t be as long for them as it would for her.