Kyle was sitting on the ground crossed legged, his head turned into his chest. Above him, Gargoyle, Damage and Chaos lurked like vultures. His goon was leased to one of the main pillars holding the roof up by a strange black leathered rope. It had been weeks since I saw them last or any Hunter to be honest.
“Don’t panic, we didn’t hurt him” Gargoyle opened his hands to me as I stepped out from the shadows. Immediately I felt myself tense, eyes darting between Kyle’s bowed head and their three stern gazes patrolling him.
“What are you planning?” I asked.
“I have a proposal for you” Gargoyle glanced over his shoulders at the other two, “Take him back safely.” They nodded and scooped Kyle up before vanishing.
“You’re one hard Reaper to track down and that trick you pulled at the stadium… drawing all the Hunters down onto the ground so you can get back to Miira. Very clever! I was told the lanterns were destroyed by Wrath and that the Blue Spirit mysteriously escaped. I’m not here to ask you where you are hiding her. But what I am curious about is why do you even want the Blue Spirit? She cannot help Reapers… but then I realised something. It’s not about the Reapers… is it?”
He was circling me through his interrogation, “What is so special about that Banished boy you had me seek out? I can’t help but notice your interest in him, always checking up on his progress, desperately trying to keep our attention from him…” Gargoyle was looking into Kyle’s phone, no doubt reading the group messages I had sent out about not reaping Banished spirits. I curled my lips under. “Don’t feel like talking now? And here I was being so open and trustworthy with you earlier about my life and problems. I know who you really are Jordon Hastings. I did some research of my own; this banished is your half-brother- Erin.”
“Evan!” I snapped.
“Ah, hit a nerve did I? Is this is why you are going to such extreme lengths? All this for one mere kid?” I failed to respond, and seeing my hesitation Gargoyle swept in closer. He touched my shoulders gently, as one would try to sooth a crying child spooked by the dark.
“I have the power to make a deal with you. Stop this ridiculous rebellion and your brother shall be spared, we’ll even save that banished woman whose been tagging along with him and his host, Rachael.” My eyes expanded and Gargoyle grinned.
“Seriously, you can’t be that surprised that I know. You may be strong enough to fight us but Banished are not. Stop this rebellion and right now you and your brother can walk free. We’ll even let the rest of the Corrupted live if you peacefully surrender.”
“Without the lanterns you have no control over us Hunter, threatening my brother-”
“This is not a threat, this is a peace offering. You’ve proved your point to our Royal and now she’s wishing to reward your bravery with the freedom you so desperately seek.”
“We’ll never stop!”
“Are you sure? Would it change your mind if I said I knew exactly where he was, exactly where he is hiding?”
“You’re lying.” Gargoyle was beaming, his eyes danced with the pleasure of watching me squirm.
“I’m not, you see… I have a particular ability that only Banished spirits can get. I can read and control the minds of the living. I can get that girl to tell me everything and do anything for me. She’ll betray them without even knowing what she is doing. You can’t win Jordon, you’re disposable and there is nothing else stopping Miira from destroying you. She is running out of patience, she’ll be coming for you very soon, don’t be a fool.” He turned and vanished once more, leaving me behind to soak in my own thoughts. It’s a trick… right? He’s just trying to manipulate me. Raix whined lightly behind me and I patted the wolf along the back of his neck. What did he mean she was coming for us?
I returned back to base to find Kyle was waiting for me. He bolted up straight from his seat and almost came begging on his knees.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry-”
I gently touched his shoulders and helped him up, “Are you okay? What happened?”
“They ambushed me. They’ve used that strange lease thing and pinned down Boom so we couldn’t teleport away.” I had figure Boom was his Goon.
“That’s okay Kyle; don’t worry, as long as you’re okay.”
Kyle then continued, “They are getting stronger… Whatever Banish they are catching, the Reapers are not going to Mother anymore they are sending them somewhere else. Not just Banished either but all spirits.”
“What? How do you even know that?”
“How did you think they found me? I was eavesdropping, I was trying to get information and they must’ve spotted me from a distance. I tried to escape, but as soon as they put that thing on Boom I couldn’t run.”
“Do you know where they are taking them? The spirits?”
“No, the Hunters at the Drop Off won’t say a thing. They only talk to the masked Reapers…”
“What are they planning?” I pondered aloud, pinching the tip of my chin, “That new lease they have is going to be a problem. We have to tell the others about it, warn them what to expect.”
“O-Okay, I’ll tell them.” Kyle scrambled back to his Goon but stopped as I called out to him.
“Kyle, please be careful. Remember, stay in packs of two of three.”
“But you’re not paired up…” Kyle whispered and I exhaled softly.
“I’m too dangerous to buddy up with; it’s safer for everyone that I go alone.”
Kyle lingered for a moment, and at my insistence, disappeared into the darkness. I returned as silently as I could to the Drop Off where Hunters were patrolling the perimeter just as Kyle said. They were pacing the lip of the blue stream like guard dogs circling a bone. It was the scurry of frantic movement that caught my attention. Two goons paired with their Reapers bounded up to the drop off but once hitting the edge of the giant blue beam were redirected back out by brisk orders from the Hunters. I recognised them from the Masked Reapers and noticed that each Goon carried a spirit in their mouths. One had a blue spirit the other the stench of a banished. I crouched down into a squat to watch.
Upon inspection, the Hunters directed the Goons upwards and in a flash they disappeared. Kyle was right; they weren’t going through the Drop Off anymore. Curiously I followed into their jump and stepped out into a strange new holding cell. As I stumbled to a stop I immediately shuffled backwards and pressed myself against the wall of the room. This is where they are taking them? Similar to the Drop Off, there was a powerful beacon of light taking up 90% of the room but instead of sky blue it was of golden orange and spit fire red. Instead of shooting upwards into the ceiling, the light was burrowing into the ground. It was so hot in here that my clothes filled with sweat and my skin swelled with heat rash. Raix whimpered uncomfortably, the wolf’s natural hot temperature no doubt sky rocketing.
“It’s okay Buddy, you can hide!” I whispered as Raix sank into the shadows, relieving him of the heat. The spirits that had just been released into the pit vanished without even a scream. They were roasted and demolished, their energy suck down into the vortex instantly. I remained pressed against the walls, hoping my presence wasn’t noted by the patrolling Hunters. One Hunter got too close that I had to creep under one of the overhanging ledges, he sniffed the air almost like he could smell the sweat pooling around me before walking onwards.
Once the Reapers returned again, they carried two more fresh souls in their mouth. Noticeable there were one banished and one normal spirit again, both which were released into the inferno before the Reapers dashed away. The spirits vanquished immediately. Only moments later, the same two Goons returned with a banished and normal spirit again which they then spat them out into the oven and ran. The pattern was obvious; they had found Banished and were killing off their hosts to capture them.
As they bolted once more I leapt up from underneath the cover and ran into the rip of their jump. I tore through the shadows and stumbled into the madness of chaotic fight. Bodies of unconscious Host
s littered the floor like abandoned toys. Pressed into one corner Hunters were firing into a pack of Banished, forcing them onto their knees. The disorder disorientated me; I didn’t know where to run first. The entire room was covered in the mix of black and white smoke, creating a grey cloud that rose like fog to the ceiling. Death’s scent was strong; the Hosts that remained conscious were drying up faster than water spiralling down a drain. The masked Reapers were patrolling the perimeter, scooping up loosened spirits and dashing in and out of the room.
Evan’s face and torso was painted blue with poison as he remained lifeless across the ground, Rachael curled on top of him and burying her head into his chest. Over their heads comets of fire and dark matter arrowed across the space. Clashes of the shots would hit and rain ash on top of them, smothering them underneath a dark blanket.
Faintly a shield started to stretch over their bodies, protecting them from the shards of fire falling down on top of the heads. Evan’s body was disappearing, his mineral form shattering back into ash and dirt. Rachael’s mind was leaking into the room, her consciousness being dragged down with Evan through the chains. She was draining him of power as if she were the ghost consuming him. Soon her mind and soul would be plucked from her body, and carried into the spirit realm with Evan’s. They were going somewhere where Reapers and Hunters cannot follow. The one creating the shield started to choke on their fleeting host’s soul and eventually went still. I glanced sideways just in time to watch Betrayal’s arm drop, her chains snap in half as her Host crumbled into death. She looked over at me once more before a Goon inhaled her.
“No!” My voice knotted in my throat.
Now aware of my arrival, Gargoyle shot his face over his shoulder towards me. The two Reapers halted at my shriek and backed away. Raix galloped from out of the shadows, snapping, barking, hissing and turning his body right and left. Out of fear one of the Goons even dropped a young banished girl from his jaw and fled the scene, Reaper in tow. The young girl scrambled for a moment on the floor, before reattaching to her Host.
The Goon that captured Betrayal was long gone, his Reaper not lingering either. Cowardly they all ran. Everyone except for the Hunters and exhausted Banished. I could feel the wild fury curled my lips and flare my nostrils, but even so the Hunters did not falter. They lingered for a second longer, just enough time to flash me a smirk before disappearing. Whatever Banished were left fell exhausted back into the safety of their hosts.
Blinded I threw myself back through the shadows and into the room of the fire pit. Bursting through like a madman I ran towards the orange flames only in time to catch the flicker of the Reaper and Goon teleport away.
“Don’t do it! Stop!” I ran forwards shouting into the air. The heat almost threw me backwards and without a sound Betrayal’s existence was incinerated. I know it was just my ears playing on me but I could’ve sworn I heard her voice call out. Just as I had watched Evan hit the ground, the world had felt like it suspended in time. I felt the same sensation now, heavy but in a world that was paralysed in this moment.
Grief anchored me to the ground that it was Raix who dragged me back through the darkness. Again I landed on the wooden planes of the gym floor, numb and speechless. Raix was gone for a moment till he returned leading Elliot and Teresa and a few more reapers to where I slumped. They glanced around rattled by the massacre in front. Without a word I reached over towards Betrayal’s Host and pressed two fingers into his neck. Against the tip of my fingers his heartbeat was silent. They quickly spotted me crouching by the dead body.
“Hunters…” I mumbled, “They got her…”
Elliot inhaled sharply, recognising the still male host lying on the ground beside me.
“Take the bodies of the Hosts and place them elsewhere… Their deaths were natural; doctors would just presume heart failure. Do it quickly.” Teresa ordered as the Reapers collected the dead.
I scooped myself up and made my way to Rachael’s body. As I reached out to touch her skin Teresa snatched my wrist and brought it back.
“Don’t touch her. She is still alive.” I curled my hand into a fist.
“I cannot just leave her here, what if they return?”
“She will not be alone….” Teresa motioned to the other Host; the male carrying the young banished who was dropped by the Goon. He was barely awake, eyes were fluttering. If only Betrayal had been that lucky. Elliot was as quiet as I was.
“I’ll stay until they wake, but you have to get out of here Jordon. You don’t have to watch this-”
“They had found Evan.”
Teresa went quiet for a moment before she softly asked. “Did they get him?”
I shook my head no, carefully inspecting over Rachael’s face as her eyes flickered under her eyelids, “They are killing Hosts now…”
Teresa touched my shoulder to ease me into a stand, and delicately like she didn’t want to break the news to me to said, “They’ve always been killing Hosts.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Grief stricken, both Elliot and I could barely find the energy to lift our heads. The rest of the Reapers took care of the deceased Hosts, moving their bodies to non-suspicious locations and letting the rest of the city find them. Each died of a heart attack, an abrupt heart attack, a common Banished trade mark.
I had found Elliot on the couch of his old apartment, watching television in a mindless trance a few hours later. He had dried tears marked on his cheeks which were rubbed roughly away by his sleeve. I knocked on the door then let myself in. It was just breaking morning but neither of us could sleep. Without a word I sat with him, handed over a chilled beer and popped the cap.
I had another two packs of six under my armpit and a few wine bottles that I stored in the fridge. For a while we just sat there, drinking the beers and silently ignoring the tears that swelled in our eyes. Eventually, we started to talk a bit more trying to keep the topic light. I had told him about how Betrayal crashed my car, and how she had me running around after her like some fresh parent trying to control a wild child. Elliot then proceeded to tell me about the times when Betrayal was alive, when she went by the name Melissa, and she had once accidently laughed so hard she snorted. As a sign of good friendship Elliot had deliberately laughed with a snort as well. He had never seen her smile as brightly as she did on that day, blushing under her golden locks and heavy mascara. I perked my eyebrows at the image of her having blonde instead of black hair. Once the alcohol was swimming in our blood and tipping us into numbness, we were able to think of Betrayal without depression. We finished off the twelve beers easily and the two red wines, Elliot having eight while I settled for four. He seemed to need them more, and sculled the first three when I was still nursing my first.
Even Raix and First had decided to join us, the large Goons were play fighting in the lounge as Elliot and I took bets who would pin the other for the longest, like pro wrestling style. Raix remained as undefeated champion and I had never been more proud of him. The alcohol was still sitting in our heads when Teresa came bursting through the doors, slightly out of breath.
“You’ve been hiding here the whole time?” She walked in as if unfamiliar with the residence. I hadn’t realised how much time had passed, glancing out from the window it was already night time again.
“Terrrreeeesssssaaaaa!” Elliot slurred before waltzing up to her. Reluctantly she took his hands as he danced in a circle, ballroom style and horribly might I add.
“I see you boys are doing fine.” I grinned and walked up to her by the counter. Elliot finished off his beer with a final gulp.
“Melissa meant a lot to us…” I glanced at Elliot, who was pink flushed across his cheeks. He frowned slightly, but it quickly turned into a smile probably remembering the snort incident again.
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I really think you should come and look at this…” Teresa indicated to follow her. I put my half emptied bottle of the counter; obviously not as drunk as I had first thought as I imme
diately sobered up. Elliot though was clearly not capable of making the walk down the hallway so I instructed that he try and sleep the alcohol off. In my opinion, it was probably the wine that knocked him over.
Raix whined as I went to leave, but I gave the wolf a reassuring pat. “Best you stay here buddy”. He paced back and forth by the threshold before disappearing into the darkness. I could feel his presence print into my shadow; I should’ve known he would never leave my side.
Immediately we were whisked away to the Realm of Mother. Two other Reapers, Kevin and Steve were waiting there and shook my hand on arrival. I really wished I hadn’t drunk so much, my thoughts were swimming.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“Check this out…” Teresa nodded at the two Reapers who glanced out across the vast forest of Mother’s home. They called out to her as Reapers usually would, but this time their calls went by unanswered.
“She’s not here?” I asked. Teresa bit her lower lip.
“I don’t think that’s the case. Even if two reapers call her at the same time but at completely different locations Mother always shows up. She isn’t just a single spirit; she is the shadows which allows her to be in multiple places at once. It’s not that she isn’t here, she’s not answering…”
I ruffled my hair confused. “Do you think she is still mad at us?”
“Mother doesn’t hold grudges; she is very much in the moment type of spirit. You make her mad and she’ll attack but she won’t remember it.”
“Then the Hunters…?”
Teresa only shrugged, “This has never happened before. As sure as the sun will rise, Mother will be here waiting in the forest. Something must be really wro-”
My Demonic Ghost Book two (The Reapers 2) Page 25