by CS Patra
“All right, boy, bring it over here!” Fabian commanded as Oscar searched the pile of toys he had left in the yard. “Dust it off first!”
“Oh, masters, guess what happened?” Kaska bounded into the garden where everyone was waiting for her. She took a good look at the garden and sighed at the sight of it. For a place that had been drenched with rain a few hours ago, it was now bright and cleaned up with the sun shining down on the goldfish pond. If she had her canvas and paints, this would have been a perfect scene to capture in a painting.
Fabian, Adair, and Gideon were now playing with Oscar and trying to keep him from digging up the garden. He had already done it twice, and Sebastian had given up trying stop him. He had asked for an electrical fence around it, yet everyone refused give it to him. Fabian hissed at the very idea of the fence hurting his dog and promised to keep him away. Right now, they were all relaxed so she tried to build it up slowly. “You’re never going to believe it!”
Sebastian cocked his head to the side. “I’m going to take that aliens have not landed on the planet. Or maybe they have and you’re finding out today.”
“It’s not that outrageous, Master Sebastian.”
“Then, what is it?”
“Well, I decided to try out for the college cheerleading squad and the tryouts are this Friday,” she began, which led to silence everywhere. Fabian’s smile disappeared at that news. “Oh, come on! I was co-captain in high school, and I’ve been doing this since junior high! My mother said it would help me get more involved with people, and that’s what you want us to do, right? You want us to get close to people so they don‘t suspect what we‘re up to. What better way than to get involved in cheerleading, where you‘ll be around people all the time.”
“That’s true, but we want you to do something you love, not because you want to get close to people.”
“That’s another thing; I love cheerleading!” She leaped into the air. “Go team!”
“I know that, but I’m sure college cheerleading would be different,” Fabian said. “Are you sure about this, Kaska? College isn’t the same as high school. You’re going to be surrounded by all kinds of people. You’ll be going to classes with different folks every semester. Besides, your demonic side didn’t come out while you were in high school. You were okay then. Now is a different story. It will be harder for you to go to all those games with people everywhere. You might have to take double your pills before you do anything.”
“I know, but I can do it!” Kaska sat down next to him. “Please, master! I love cheerleading so it is something I’m doing that I love. It can’t hurt to try out, can it? And besides, if I don’t make it, we don’t have to worry about other people getting hurt. I won’t be able to hurt them then!”
Fabian sighed and gave her a smile. There was no stopping this girl. He might have been her master, but he couldn’t keep her from getting what she wanted. “I guess trying out wouldn’t hurt. I say go for it. At the very least, I know you’ll do your best.”
She returned the grin. “Good. I’m glad you think that, Master Fabian. Because I already tried out…and I made it!”
He rolled his eyes at that. “How did I know you would do that to me?”
“I’m a little predictable, Master. I’ll admit that.”
He patted her shoulder. “Congratulations on making the team, Kaska. Wish you would have told me sooner that you were trying out.”
“I know I should have, but I figured you’d try to talk me out of it.”
“Clever.” He turned his head to find Avani walking up to them. He glanced at Gideon. “Let me guess! She wants to do some school activity too!”
“I’m modeling, Master Fabian!” Avani exclaimed. “I don’t know what a school even looks like. I left after the seventh grade! I get homeschooled now!”
“You left to walk Paris Fashion Week, Avani,” Gideon said. “And I would be careful about walking all these runway shows if I were you. It’s great that all four fashion capitals are crazy about you. But there are going to be humans there too. So I don’t want to hear about how you attacked some random girls while walking for Dior and Givenchy, okay?”
“I doubt I’ll be able to score Givenchy, Master Gideon…or shall I call you Angel?” She teased him, using his human name. Gideon’s dark eyes widened at that, not having heard it for a long time. “Not to mention that’s not how you say Givenchy. I’ve been teaching you about fashion forever, and you still can’t get it right!”
“I wouldn’t rule anything out…Suzanne!” He shot back playfully. “And forgive me but there are only so many of your test shots that I can look at after a while. You’re a beautiful model, don’t get me wrong, but you have way too many pictures.”
“You like looking at my pictures!”
“So do you apparently,” he teased. “Let me guess, you got a new job?”
“Wow, you are good,” she said. “It looks like I’ve got a few castings including one for Dior. Cross your fingers and toes and hope that I get it!”
“Fingers, I can guarantee. Toes might be a problem.”
At that point, Adair stopped playing with Oscar and let the dog run around with the other animals. “Well, I’m crossing whatever I can for you, Avani. Just don’t let the industry put too much pressure on you. I’ve heard all the horror stories.”
“You can relax, Master Adair. I know what I’m doing, and no one’s going to force me to do any crash diets or plastic surgery,” she promised. “And if they do, I can always find another agency. Girls like me are a dime a dozen. Anyone would want me.”
“Heads up, Master Adair! You better duck!” They heard Tessa yelling from above. Adair looked up just in time to see a pie hit him in the face. Several demons burst out laughing, and Oscar ran back into Fabian’s arms. Two cats ran away from the garden, and Avani tried to hide behind Gideon. Kaska and Sebastian could only roll their eyes in response to this. Adair, however, was doing his best not to yell as he tried to wipe the cream off of his face.
“She did not just do that.” Yuka sighed, entering the garden. She managed to miss the pie but caught all the action. “I told them not to practice their powers on the roof. Of course, they did the opposite.”
“Sorry, Master Adair!”
Adair grumbled something inaudible before trying to lick the cream from his face. “Banana cream. Great. I hate banana cream.”
“Lighten up, Adair! It’s just pie, not death,” Sebastian said. “Granted, it’s a messy pie, but you can get washed up.”
“I know, I know, it’s just…ugh, my hair!” Adair grumbled. “Was this really necessary? Who decided to let her near a pie?”
They heard a lot of giggling from the roof and saw that Tessa was with several other Reaper’s Apprentices. He frowned at them as they all scattered and tried to get out of his sight. The others were snickering, and he silenced them with a glare in their direction. The cream dripped down his forehead and neck. There were a few cats now coming up to him and licking whatever was falling down. All the meowing and purring was the final straw for him.
“Why? Why, me?!” he demanded. “And why did they use banana cream? Why couldn’t it be chocolate or lemon meringue or something people actually like?!”
“It’s just cream. You’ll live,” Fabian said, putting his wine glass down and letting Oscar run around again. “Also, it’s a very stunning look on you, Aide. The cream might bring out some shine in your hair.”
Adair took some of the cream from his hair and tried to fling it at Fabian. He moved away in horror and the cream hit the tree behind him. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d like that. You‘d probably die if the cream hit your precious thrift store clothes.”
“Thrift store?! This suit is worth more than five hundred dollars!”
“More than five hundred dollars?! Why the hell are you going out reaping souls in five hundred dollar suits?! And…are you wearing a purple tie?!”
“What’s wrong with purple?”
“Wh
at’s right with it should be the question! Come to think of it, your entire wardrobe is weird! You wear faces on your belt and shoes that most people can’t afford to go reaping in!”
“That’s the beauty of it. They don’t suspect that I’ll reap their soul if they see me,” Fabian explained, looking a little miffed by the whole thing. “You ruin my suit, you’re buying me another!”
“I’m not forking over five hundred dollars for your clothes! Take it to a dry cleaner or something!”
“A dry cleaner? You know how much that would cost me?”
“It can’t be more than your five hundred dollar suit!”
“Um, masters?” Kaska inserted, trying to break up their fight.
“Not now, Kaska. I’ve got to hear the reasoning behind a purple tie and a five hundred dollar suit for reaping souls and stealing faces.” Adair smirked.
“Don’t mock my purple tie, Adair. It is my signature.”
“Some signature! What the heck do your victims say when they see you?”
“Not much because I’ve got their face before they can do anything! Want me to demonstrate?” Fabian scowled. Even though he would never do anything to Adair, not unless he wanted to freeze to death, it still was annoying. The two fought like they had when they were younger. It never led to any conclusions, but they got over it. They weren’t enemies, but they hardly saw anything from the other’s point of view.
“Masters, this really isn’t a good time…” Kaska began. When that didn’t work, she finally raised her voice. “Masters, stop! I need to talk to you!”
“Boys, boys, please stop fighting! She’s absolutely right, we have more important matters! What kind of example are you trying to set?”
It was Grim Reaper Linn, predecessor to Sebastian and Yuka. If they hadn’t known how powerful she was, none of them would have guessed from the way she looked. Her long blond hair was almost the same color as her skin. Her eyes were pale blue and lifeless, like all other Grim Reapers. But she didn’t look threatening, especially now, because she was giving one of her rare smiles. As soon as they saw her, Fabian and Adair stepped away from each other to bow to their superior. The others followed as it was customary to bow before the current Guardians of the Underworld.
“Sorry, Grim Reaper Linn,” Fabian apologized. “You know how I get when I’ve been insulted over my clothes.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” Adair added. “I can’t help but mock him once in a while.”
Linn held up her hand. “Apologies accepted, boys. Though I’m not sure what you were arguing about in the first place.”
“Clothes,” they both replied.
“Clothes?”
“In short, Grim Reaper Linn, they are being morons. It’s a pleasure to see you as always.” Sebastian bowed to her. “Is there something I can do for you?”
“Actually, I came to see Yuka. I have something to tell her,” Grim Reaper Linn explained, turning to Yuka. “I need you to come with me. This is very important.”
“Can it wait?”
“I’m afraid not. We’ve thought about putting this off before but decided we can no longer do that. Please follow me so we can have a discussion.” She nodded at Sebastian. “I promise this will not take very long.”
Yuka turned to her master before following Grim Reaper Linn. Then Linn turned to the others. “Tessa, Kaska, Avani, you have to come as well.”
“What are we needed for, Grim Reaper Linn?” Tessa asked.
“You will see in a minute.” She nodded. “Today is a very exciting day for you.”
Kaska looked surprised. “How did you know I made the cheerleading team?”
“That’s not what I was talking about, though that is also exciting. Congratulations on that by the way. But what you’re going to hear will be even more amazing,” Grim Reaper Linn said. “It is the one thing that is going to change your life.”
“You managed to get me the Givenchy campaign!” Avani exclaimed. “Oh thank you, Grim Reaper Linn!”
“…that wasn’t what I was talking about either, Avani. This goes beyond cheerleading and campaigns. In fact, your very existence is what will save the world.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see. I need the others with me first.” She motioned them to follow her. “You four stay behind. I’m sure they will tell you in any second what I’m about to tell them.”
“Oh, it’s that big.” Sebastian winked at them. “I wonder what it could be.”
“I have a feeling you know, master,” Yuka said.
“I might, I might not.” He shrugged. “Let’s just say that we have our hunches.”
“Uh-huh.” Adair nodded, not looking up. “We have hunches.”
“Follow Grim Reaper Linn. She knows just what it is, and it will be revealed when you go inside,” Gideon said. “Now hurry up! She’s waiting for you!”
“Okay, okay, I’m going! I’m running as fast as I can with my wet nails!”
“You painted your nails before you came here?”
“What’s wrong with painting my nails?”
“You just leave marks behind, because they’re never dry. The piano has your nail polish on it!”
“Boys, if you can, hold off the arguments until they return,” Linn suggested. “Come on, girls. I don’t know how much longer I can hold in my excitement.”
“All right, lead the way,” Yuka said. One by one, they followed Linn inside the house and wondered just what the exciting news could be. The other demons watched them, waving as they walked by and whispering amongst themselves. But they kept walking, hoping that whatever happened, it would be good for them.
Chapter 3
Tartarus Sanctum was much bigger on the inside. As the girls walked through the halls, they looked up the stairs to where all the bedrooms were. Everyone had their own room that was next to each other on the top floor. The bottom floor housed the dining room, two recreational rooms, a library, a meditation room, the kitchen, and a few other places to sit and relax. Paintings and pictures filled the walls, along with many statues made long ago. Some of the art was of a demonic nature but there were more whimsical and lighter subjects as well. The place was also oddly very well lit for a house of demons. If any human were to break the barrier and wander in, they would feel right at home. Nothing about it felt scary. Even the gardens looked like they had come straight from home and garden magazines.
The walk seemed to take a long time when they reached the end of the house. There were three doors that none of them had ever seen before. Very rarely did anyone venture this far. It usually did not mean good news for any who did. Rumor had it that ghosts haunted the back rooms or that the rooms were lost tombs where skeletons had been laid to rest and never found. While no one really believed those things, they couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable looking at this place. “It’s in here,” Linn said, opening the door to the secret room. No one ever liked this room because rumor had it that this was where demons were tortured. While there had never proof of this torture, it was enough to keep anyone away.
“What’s going on?” Tessa asked. “Are we in trouble?”
“Hello, girls. I’m glad that you’re all here. Please have a seat.” Grim Reaper Olana greeted them while pointing to some mats on the floor. “And no, nobody is in trouble. I promise this will take very little time. We’ve been meeting with many demons lately. This is just a test. There’s no right or wrong answer here. Just be as honest as you can.”
Yuka sat down on the floor. “So what is this test? I didn’t study for any kind of test today.”
“Relax. This isn’t a test you needed to study for. We’re just going to show you some pictures and ask you some questions,” Grim Reaper Linn said. “It won’t be hard, and you’ll simply answer in the best way you can. As soon as you’re all seated, we’ll begin.”
The girls were still confused by this, but did as they were told and sat down on the mats. The dim lighting and closed doors meant that th
is was something only they needed to know. Their predecessors sat across from them with papers and a few other things by their side.
“All right, we’re going to start with a little visual test here. Just relax, take a deep breath, and answer truthfully. Now look at this drawing. What do you see here?” Grim Reaper Salvador asked, showing them a piece of paper. . “And how many do you see?” There were several small drawings on the paper
Tessa squinted at it. “There are thirty drawings there, Grim Reaper Salvador.”