The Reaper's Apprentices #1: Awakened

by CS Patra

  “Sit down, Yuka,” Sebastian ordered. Even though she was feeling weak, she tried to stand her ground. “Do you need any help here?”

  “No, you need to keep out of this. Stay low and don’t try anything,” he commanded her. As it turned out, he wasn’t the only one there. All their masters had shown up in time to protect their protégés. “All right, demon slayers! Let’s dance!”

  “You picked the wrong demons to attack, slayer,” Fabian threatened, holding up one of them by his throat. “Now how am I going to make you pay for that? Let’s see…do I take your heart? Do I rip out your jugular? Or maybe I can rip your face right off with my teeth. Option three sounds the most exciting to me.”

  “Master, please…” Kaska begged. “You don’t need to.”

  “Quiet, Kaska! This is between us!” he reminded her. The turning back to the squirming demon slayer he said “Now what would you like me to do? It’s your lucky day, slayer. You get to pick how you die.”

  “God, don’t eat my face! Please!” the demon slayer pleaded. Kaska cringed and closed her eyes, sinking into a corner. Master Fabian’s method of stealing faces still made her want to throw up. Even though he had shown her how it was done, she couldn’t agree to it. She waited until he was finished. There was no way she was going to watch this.

  “Don’t worry,” she heard him say, and she could feel her stomach sinking lower. This was how it always started — he’d assure his victim, then go in for the kill, taking the face. Curling up in a ball, she waited for it to start. The only thing she wanted right now was a door to escape. She didn’t want to see this.

  “I don’t want to kill you,” he said almost gently

  Now this was new. He never said this to anyone. She finally opened her eyes and saw him just standing in front of the demon slayer with his arms crossed. He didn’t bare either his teeth or claws, but looked at the human with pity. Pity! Slowly Kaska pulled out of the corner and looked straight at him. He didn’t look like he wanted to attack.

  “The only reason I’m letting any of you live is because you don’t deserve to be punished. Not for their stupid actions,” Fabian growled. “Go! If you want to live, get out of here now!”

  “Go and forget you saw anything,” Adair added, using his compelling powers. “You will not tell anyone what happened. If they ask, tell them you thought you saw a burglar, but it was just a false alarm.”

  “And whatever you do, don’t look back,” Gideon finished off. “There is nothing here for you to see. Nothing else for you to do.”

  “Nothing here for me to see. Nothing for me to do. I won’t look back. Nothing happened,” the demon slayers repeated, turning around and heading back to their room. It was so surreal to see them back down and leave like nothing had happened. The girls tried to step forward, but found themselves glued to the floor. Their masters were powerful enough to get those demon slayers to retreat without lifting a finger.

  “Master, I--” Kaska started.

  “Stay back!” he warned. “They’re retreating.”

  She did as she was told and waited until all the demon slayers were gone. It was the worst moment of her life. She was surprised that they were all still standing.

  The room had cleared out. Now it was just the eight of them.

  Yet how scared they were before was nothing compared to how frightened they were now.

  Chapter 8

  The fight lasted only ten minutes even though it seemed like time had stopped. The girls kept looking around and thinking back to what they had heard. Up until now, they only knew about demon slayers from word of mouth. People talked about them, and once in a while, they’d get stories from other demons. Tonight not only proved that they did exist, but also that demons had every reason to fear them. They were ready to kill four young girls for nothing

  But even the demon slayers did not compare to how frightening their masters could be. Right now, the four of them were talking to each other while the girls watched. They couldn’t understand what was being said, but knew it couldn’t be good. They decided to keep quiet. Yuka kept picking at the ground and rubbing the dirt between her fingers. She didn’t look up until Sebastian’s shadow was looming over her. Wincing, she finally faced him, feeling several inches smaller. His lessons were starting to make more sense as she prepared for the worst.

  “Are you all right?” Sebastian asked them, though the concern was subtle behind his anger. Yuka rubbed her side and nodded. The cramp was slowly going away and fear was now taking over. She felt sick and wanted to go home.

  “My head hurts, but that’s it,” Tessa mumbled.

  Right now, all four of them were alternately looking at each other and staring at the ground. For a second, they felt a little pity, because the girls were still young. They had done wrong and were truly sorry for it. But at the same time, they were also old enough to know better and to follow the rules.

  They hadn’t run in solely because the girls were in danger. They had sensed trouble, but it had gone deeper than just sneaking around a demon slayer’s lair. They had a notion that the girls had not intended to come here but curiosity got the best of them. They had wandered into unwelcome territory and had come very close to dying.

  Only an hour before, several thousand feet in the air, a bomb went off on a plane that been traveling from New York to Paris. It crashed straight into the ocean, killing everyone that was on board. Some were claiming it was the work of terrorists. Others claimed it was a government plot. A few were even claiming that this was just a conspiracy and never happened. But the biggest theory of all was that it had been demons. Since this theory was starting to spread through the country, the four masters had rushed home to tell their protégés.

  As far as the bombing went, no one had any suspects. No one had a name or face they could pin the crime on. Instead, they had picked one group and determined that the demons were responsible for the tragedy. The incidents at the airport seemed to be their only proof, and for them it was enough.

  Avani was itching to say something but didn’t want to do it until she thought it was okay to speak again.

  “Oh, that was a close one. Thanks for your help. I don’t know what we would do without you!” Avani sighed. She was greeted with four pairs of glaring eyes. She sank back into the wall. “I really shouldn’t have said anything, should have I?”

  Yuka cut in before anyone else could speak. “I know you’re disappointed in us. I know you told us not to come here.”

  “So you knew all of this and you still came here anyway? What the hell were you thinking coming here?” Gideon asked quietly. “I thought I told you never to provoke demon slayers like that!”

  “We never meant to. We were just curious!” Kaska exclaimed. “I didn’t think that they’d be any trouble for us! I mean, they’re just humans. They should be weaker than us.”

  “Just because they are human doesn’t make them weak, Kaska!” Sebastian scolded. He rubbed his temples and tried to stay calm. The blotchy red spots on his cheeks were burning hot, and he couldn’t cool them down fast enough. “Look, there are perks to being demons, but there’s also danger. If you can’t tell the difference between them, then I…” He stopped himself and gave up. “You know what? I can’t do this right now. I can’t do this without wanting to explode. I’m trying my best, but it is so hard not to lose my temper right now.”

  “I’m sorry, Master,” Tessa whispered. “I won’t do it again.”

  “Well, that’s nice Tessa, but we’re not through here. You do realize this means punishment, right?” Fabian crossed his arms. “That means no more anything — not until you actually understand why we tell you these things. I mean whatever convinced you that this was a good idea? What made you think that confronting experienced demon slayers was the smart thing to do? Did you think you were all cool and grown up? Did you think you were powerful demons because of it?”

  “No, it was nothing like that!” Kaska assured him. “We never wanted to confront th
em! I swear we weren’t trying to cause trouble!”

  “Then what were you trying to do? As the oldest, you should know better. And the rest of you! What were you thinking going along with this?! Whose brilliant idea was it to enter a demon slayer’s hideout and spy on them without knowing what they could do? Huh? Which one of you came up with that?”

  Yuka took a step forward. “Masters, it’s my fault. I admit it. I…I convinced everyone to come along. We were bored and decided to step out. We didn’t plan to run into demon slayers on purpose though. It was an accident.”

  “An accident?” Adair rolled his eyes. “You think this was an accident?”

  “Yes, it was! No one wanted to kill them, and we didn’t want to be killed! We were only curious! I will never do something like this again! I know better now!”

  The apology was not working on Sebastian. His look was cold as he breathed through his clenched teeth. “So you purposely ignored what I said and decided to chase demon slayers anyway? Do you know what happened after you left? Do you know people died tonight, and we’re the ones taking the fall?”

  “People died?” Tessa repeated. “But you didn’t kill anyone.”

  “We’re not talking about us! That airport incident was just the beginning. Hours ago, a plane on the way to Rome blew up and killed everyone onboard! That’s what those airport incidents were leading up to!” Fabian almost shouted. . “We rushed home to tell you when we heard the news. So imagine my surprise when you weren’t where you were supposed to be!”

  “Everyone was killed?” Kaska asked, desperate to keep the topic off of them. “But how? Demons can’t blow up planes!”

  “I don’t know who really did it, Kaska, but everyone thinks we’re responsible. Right now, demon slayers are on high alert,” Gideon explained. “They won’t rest until they’ve found who did this. Even the military is in on this. In their minds, the demons at the airport caused it. So we have to be very careful whenever we go out.”

  “Which reminds me…what the hell were you all thinking?” Fabian asked. “Do you know how I would feel if one of those demon slayers succeeded? This was the dumbest thing you could have done. I expect you to make mistakes. But this? You’re just lucky we were in time.”

  “Master…I’m sorry.” She lowered her head. “I know it wasn’t smart of us to stay. We just…We just wanted to know what they were up to.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Tessa added. “I…I should have said something sooner. I shouldn’t have come here or tried to listen in.”

  “You broke your promise, Tessa. I asked you for one thing and you couldn’t do that,” Adair said, cold and disappointed. “You could have died tonight.”

  “I know. I…”

  “Let’s go home,” Gideon said sharply, turning away from them. “We’re not getting anywhere standing around and listening to this. There’s a lot more we have to discuss.”

  “Can we…” Avani started. He shook his head, and she knew it was time to stop talking. No one was in the mood for excuses or explanations. Giving up, she followed them back to Tartarus Sanctum. It was hard to enjoy the night sky or quiet streets as they were walking. The fun was over. They’d probably never be allowed out again. No one dared to say anything, because it would be pointless; the decision was final.

  “I had fun,” Kaska whispered.

  “So did I,” Yuka whispered back. “I just wish this wasn’t the last time we would ever have it.”

  Slowly, they began to follow their masters, dragging their feet across the ground. Each step forward felt like an eternity. This was fine with them, because as far as they were concerned, they were in no hurry to get back home.

  Chapter 9

  By the time they made it home, it was after hours. Most of the younger demons had gone to bed. Only a few were awake. When they asked what happened, their masters assured everyone they would talk about it later. No one pressed them as they knew the Guardian’s word was final. Judging from the angry looks, they knew better than to keep asking questions. Slowly, they made their way upstairs to where the bedrooms were. They turned on only the stairwell light, so no one would wake up.

  “Well, thanks for bringing us back!” Tessa chirped, trying to ease the tension. She eyed the kitchen, thinking she could escape to it. The backdoor led to the gardens. All she wanted to do was go back outside and enjoy the night’s beauty. No more talk of airports, bombs, or demon slayers. “I’ll see you all tomorrow morning! Have a good night!”

  Adair was watching her closely.

  “Hold it!” Adair stopped her before she could turn around. “I know what you want to do, Tessa, but it’s not going to work tonight.”

  Tessa sighed. “Well, at least give me an A for effort.”

  “Look, what we did was wrong,” Kaska began. “We should have never disobeyed you and walked off into a place we didn’t know. We were just tired of being cooped up here. We just wanted to have some fun. I know that’s not what being a Reaper’s Apprentice is about but_”

  “You don’t need to give me any excuses. Go to your rooms,” Sebastian ordered. “We’ll talk more about it tomorrow.”

  Yuka looked up at Sebastian. Tomorrow seemed so far away now that she had forgotten all about it. The packed bags in her room seem like a distant memory, but now it was all flooding back. “Aren’t we supposed to go to Paris tomorrow?”

  He didn’t flinch at this. “Not anymore.”

  “Not anymore?” she repeated. Even though she could sense where this was headed, she still wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong. She wanted to pretend that she was in the dark so he would be a little bit more sympathetic. Sebastian, however, didn’t soften his glare or change his mind. Instead, his gaze turned away from her like he was disappointed and nothing would fix this. She had done the ultimate worst thing, and he didn’t want to talk.

  “Go to your room.” He pointed in her bedroom’s direction. “Like I said, I’m not exactly in the mood to explain anything tonight. I’m not in the mood to hear what you have to say. You’ve lost whatever privileges you’ve earned at this point. How the hell can I expect you to succeed me if you can’t follow a simple order?”

  That line felt like a whip cracking against their backs, and it was enough to push the wrong buttons. Now she remembered why they had walked out in the first place. Being a Guardian was the thing putting a damper on their lives. It was always about successions and being just like the previous Guardians. It was about following orders and protecting a world they would not be able to see after a while. It was about helping the dead move on, but not appreciating the living.

  “Maybe I don’t want to succeed you,” Yuka said quietly. He whirled around and glared at her, but it was too late to take it back. He could get angry, yet the truth was going to come out. She just never meant for it to sound so cold, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Maybe you’re not the one I want to follow. I never wanted this in the first place.”

  “Too bad – you’re not the one who makes the choices,” Gideon added. “Now I’m not going to tell you guys again — go to bed!”

  “But I_” Kaska started.

  “Enough already! Go to bed!”

  “But this isn’t what I want!” Avani shuddered at the sound of Gideon’s voice before storming off. She had never heard him get so loud or be so mean to them. This was a different feeling, and she hated it. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe I’m a Guardian or your follower because that isn’t me. I’m just a girl! I don’t know anything about being a Grim Reaper, and you expect me to learn it, giving up what I know and love?! This isn’t life! This isn’t what I expected! If this is the life I’m supposed to get, then…I don’t want it! I don’t want anything to do with it! I hate it!”

  “Avani, I’m not going to_”

  “She’s right. Leave us alone!” Tessa threw in.

  The rest of them ran away, leaving a feeling of sadness and anger behind. Fabian closed his eyes and sighed. “Why do I feel like the bad guy right n
ow? Grim Reaper Odom did warn me about this, but I never thought it would happen so quickly.”

  “Because they’re acting more like our daughters?” Gideon suggested, feeling the same way. “We needed to teach them a lesson. I know this will sink in one day. I just don’t know where to begin with getting them to understand it today. We’re not trying to be the bad guys here.”

  “I guess we begin by talking to them,” Adair suggested, as four doors slammed upstairs. “We’ll wait a few minutes to give them time to cool off. We’ll go in when we know things are going to be fine.”

  “You sure those demon slayers won’t come after them? I mean, I know we compelled them to forget what they saw, but I don’t know,” Sebastian murmured. “I’m getting a bad feeling about everything. The bombing on the plane and the demon incidents at the airport are just the beginning. I can’t help but think there’s something else going on.”