“Bad idea, man,” Victor said swinging his scythe down he buried it into a meaty thigh, the beast bellowed and swung at Victor who easily sidestepped him. Christian had pulled himself to his feet by then, letting the mace hanging at his side swing on a thick chain wrapped around the Freak’s other wrist. Victor and Christian moved in, it was like a dance and the Reapers were the only ones who knew the steps. Weapons flew at a speed mortal eyes would be unable to track. It didn’t take long to back the Freak into a corner. He didn’t make another noise, Victor stepped in to deliver the killing blow burring his scythe deep in the Freaks chest. Christian added insult to injury by using his mace to lop this things head off. They both stood back breathing heavily as the Freak dropped to the ground dead.
“Now what?” Christian asked.
Celeste stepped forward spitting blood out. “Burn it.”
Christian reached forward his brow wrinkled. “Where the fuck is the soul?” He announced.
Celeste’s eyes rounded in shock. “Oh this isn’t good, at all,” Celeste announced. “And the Tribunal thinks Dante is playing at God?”
“Get rid of it,” Victor said heading back to the room. He needed to get Elle and get the hell out of there. Their little healing vacation was over; it was time to hit the road.
*****
Elle jumped when the door slammed behind Victor. She jumped to her feet and looked around for a weapon. She shouldn’t help because of what it would cost her, but she couldn’t allow Victor to be injured protecting her.
“Elle?”
Elle stumbled away from the door in shock. “Chaos?”
“Sister,” the demi-god smiled.
“How…”
Chaos looked over his shoulder as though he could see through the door, his golden eyes glowing. “We don’t really have time for all this nonsense. They will continue to come for you, so either go with them or let whoever is protecting you die.”
“What is going on?” she demanded. “You know what is going on. You’ve been missing for—”
Chaos grabbed her. “I don’t have time to explain.” Elle noticed the chain around his neck and blanched.
She tried to pull away from him. “Who has you chained, Chaos?”
“Who has you cursed, Elle?” his golden eyes looked sad. Of all the demi-gods Chaos thrilled in his position as a demi-god and the power he held. He played gods and men against each other at whim. And had been missing for longer then she could remember. The chain at his throat however spoke for where he had been. “I don’t have long before I am missed. You cannot fight against what is coming.” He looked over his shoulder as if he could see not just what was outside the door but even farther. “The time of the gods has been dead for many millennia.”
Elle‘s mouth dropped open. “So therefore I am to just give up?”
Chaos gave her a sad look. “This is not a battle you can win. They have soldiers we are not prepared to fight against.”
Elle glared at Chaos. “Which side of this fight are you on?” Something flashed in the depths of his eyes making Elle cringe with sympathy. “Where have you been Chaos?” she tried again.
He held out his hand. “Come with me, Elle.”
“What about, Helena? What about the others?”
“They will follow,” Chaos said. But the look in his eyes said he didn’t believe it. And how could she just walk away from everything she knew with a sibling she hadn’t seen in hundreds of years? Did he even understand what he was asking her to do?
Elle backed against the wall and shook her head. For the first time in her life wishing for her ability to feel something, anything. But since meeting Victor her empath abilities were muted. “I can’t. Oh gods… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Still Helena’s lackey?” Chaos scoffed. “When will you learn to stand on your own two feet? Haven’t you suffered enough?”
Elle pushed herself off the wall. “What are you talking about, Chaos?”
“Cursed and tortured with the emotions of others.” He rushed Elle and grabbed her by the shoulders shaking her. “How much more are you to endure?”
Elle tried to pull away. “It was my fault, Chaos.” Her worlds trailed off.
“Was it?” he snarled. “Then to be abandoned by your brothers and sisters… How many deaths have you experience sister?”
Elle shuddered and Chaos released her and she crumpled to the floor. “You don’t have to suffer anymore. There is another way, Elle.”
She looked up at him through the tears now streaming down her face. He offered her a hand. “Come with me, Elle.”
But there was something in his eyes, some glimmer of darkness holding her back. “No.” She shook her head.
His golden hue turned dark and as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone. Elle collapsed against the side of the bed, wishing for things she could never hope to have.
She was still there when the hotel door flung open, Victor glared at her. “Still hiding?”
Elle looked up at him, she wasn’t sure what she looked like but he rushed in. “What happened?” he looked around the room as he pulled her to her feet. “Are you okay?” Why are you crying?”
“I’m not a fighter,” Elle whispered.
Victor’s blue eyes softened and he pulled her into a rough hug. “I didn’t ask you to fight, Elle,” he whispered back. “Isn’t that what I’m here for?”
“Why is this happening?” She leaned back to look him in the eye. Something passed in the depths of his dark eyes. But it was gone before she could make sense of it. Elle tried to remind herself why she hated Victor as he carried her out to the SUV and put her in the passenger seat buckling her up he gave her a strange look before slamming the door and collecting there things.
Elle curled into a ball and refused to make eye contact with him as he climbed behind the wheel and pulled out onto the highway.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” he finally snapped after half an hour.
Elle didn’t bother to open her eyes or move. “I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.”
“When I left you safely,” he snarled the last word. “To fight that disgusting thing, you were a sarcastic fighting harpy. Now…” this voice trailed off and she peeked up from the ball of her arms and legs, his nearly black eyes were illuminated in snatches of street lights making him look like the Reaper he was. The lack of light, hollowing out his cheekbones and making his eyes dark and scary. “You look like a strong wind could blow you away, what the hell happened in that damn hotel room?”
Elle brushed a tear from her face, and pulled herself up wrapping her arms around her stomach. “I’ve spent millennia after millennia hiding. Hiding from mortals, hiding from vengeful gods, hiding from emotions that were not mine. Running to my siblings to save me, running from them because of my weaknesses.”
Something deep inside of Elle burst, and the vision of Chaos offering his hand to her, and his taunting words playing in her head snapped something deep in her chest. Her arms unfurled and she slammed them against the dashboard cracking the fiberglass and making Victor swear.
“I’m done running,” she exhaled and turned to Victor. He just looked at her his eyes rounded in surprise. “I need to learn to defend myself before I’m killed. Can you teach me to defend myself?”
“Yes?” he looked like he wasn’t sure.
She wanted to climb over the console and attack him. “No, Victor I have to learn to protect myself.” She wished she hadn’t hiccupped in the middle of her request. “I will not be prey for the Tribunal or any other Freak.” She grabbed his arm. “You have to promise to help me to defend myself.”
Victor glanced at her and nodded. “I promise to help you learn to defend yourself.” He promised.
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath. After thousands of years she felt like she was taking control of her life. And she leaned her head against the cool glass of the passenger side window. Better late the never.
&nbs
p; Chapter 4
“You lied to me.”
Asplin wished she had the ability to reach through the phone and tear the idiot to shreds. “I have it under control.” He promised.
“If that were the case I would have her, now wouldn’t I.” Asplin looked around her suite, she had decorated it in the fashion of Renaissance England, and she tried to allow the surroundings to calm her but the bellowing on the phone line was just too much.
“I can’t believe you contracted others.” The screeching continued.
“And I can’t believe you think you were the only one who could get the job done,” Asplin snapped, her patience utterly spent. “I believe in covering all my basis. I haven’t gotten where I currently am without doing exactly that. And you better hope I don’t send someone from the Tribunal after you, your incompetence is evident. She is a cursed demi-god, how hard can it be to grab her?”
“She’s no longer traveling alone.”
Asplin snorted. “Really and who exactly has she aligned herself with?”
“That’s not important, I’ll have Elle by the end of the week.”
“That remains to be seen.” Asplin had her doubts. And she had already hedged her bets. She hit end on her phone and moved to her balcony. The Fae had left the mortal plane, and Asplin now controlled the Tribunal. Everything was coming together, if she could absorb the power the cursed demi-god didn’t even realize she possessed Asplin would have it all.
The marble balcony under her hands turned to dust. And she swore under her breath, forcing herself to take several deep breaths. She turned back to her room and rang the bell, her Druid lover appeared in minutes.
“My love?” his ghostly pale skin would make most turn from him. But to Asplin it was beautiful. She rubbed the back of her fingers against his skin marveling at the blue veins that stood in contrast against his pale skin. His eyes rolling up into his skull, his papery white eyelids barely concealing his bulging eyeballs. He had to hide from the Tribunal and those of the household. He would be shunned because of his appearance but Asplin thought him one of the loveliest creatures in the world.
“I hunger,” she whispered, the words barely audible.
His eyes snapped open. Showing blood shot orbs which startled even her at times. And then he smiled, pulling thin lips tight against stark white teeth. “I will feed my queen,” he promised disappearing into the shadows as quickly as he had appeared.
Asplin smiled feeling at ease for the first time in hours. He would take care of her,
****
Victor cringed as Elle hit the ground again a cloud of dirt dusting her and Celeste. And he wondered again if this wasn’t a really, really bad idea.
“Celeste is going to kill her,” Marcus cringed on Elle’s behalf.
“I just asked her to teach her how to defend herself,” Victor said as Elle tripped and landed hard on her left knee. Marcus flinched too and turned away.
“She would be better off learning to run in the other direction.” They had stopped just after sunrise because Elle hadn’t stopped harping about wanting to learn to defend herself. Now Victor didn’t think there was that much time in the world.
But Victor had to give her props, Celeste had been knocking her around for the better part of an hour and Elle hadn’t complained even once. In fact the first couple of times Celeste had knocked her down Elle had jumped up like a god damned Jake-In-The-Box, now not so much. Now Celeste was actually helping her to her feet and asking her if she wanted to stop.
Victor couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward. “That’s enough.”
Celeste turned to him and he had to suppress a laugh because in all his life he had never seen his sister look like this before. But she looked as if she wanted to grab him and hug him.
“I was just catching on,” Elle said with her hands on her hips.
Celeste’s eyes rounded in shock, and her mouth opened and closed several times. Before she just walked away shaking her head. Which for Celeste was a good thing, several months ago she would have turned and leveled Elle with such sarcasm Elle would have burst into tears and Victor would have had to beat Celeste to within an inch of her life. Which would have of course caused a fight with her unhinged, fallen, dark-angel blood mate. And damn it all to hell Victor just didn’t have time for this right now.
Elle’s shoulders slumped. “I guess I wasn’t catching on like I thought,” she said watching Celeste pick up the weapons Celeste had brought but had discarded early on.
All Victor thought was he was going to kill his sister after all. “She was raised with Reapers, Elle. Celeste isn’t your normal female.”
“I guess we need to keep moving anyway.” She moved past him toward the car her shoulders slumped. They had only set aside a couple of hours to train this morning.
Victor nodded to Celeste and Marcus and caught up with Elle. “It’s going to take more than one session before you can kick ass, Elle.”
She didn’t say anything but walked up to the driver door and held out her hand. “I need to drive.”
“Um your ankle is still hurt and you were knocked around pretty bad. Are you sure you should be driving.”
Elle turned on him like a woman possessed. “Victor, I have been reduced to hiding in a cabin in the woods for centuries. I was chased into a cemetery after being mauled by gods only knows what. I accidently sold my soul to a Reaper and just had my ass kicked up one side and down the other by a Sex demon. YES I want to drive.” She shrieked the last part. Victor handed the keys to her unsure of what she was capable of at the moment and she climbed behind the wheel and slammed the door she gripped the wheel so hard her knuckles were white.
Victor turned back to Celeste. “Find out what the hell is tracking her.”
This time Celeste did snort. “You’re kidding right? When exactly do you expect me to find this information?”
Victor swore. “How hard is it to find who is creating Freaks? How many Others is creating them?”
“I don’t believe those things want her dead,” Marcus offered, Victor rolled his eyes at the angel. Marcus was always trying to diffuse the situation. You would think the man would learn it was a waste of time by now. “The question we should be asking her is why they want her.”
“Can we go know?” Victor turned and Elle glared at him from the driver’s seat she had rolled the window down. Victor waved her off and turned back to Marcus and Celeste.
“Get as much information as you can, I’ll be in contact when I can.” He turned back to the SUV, and jogged around the hood he climbed into the passenger seat and glared at Elle. “Do you even know where we are going?”
“South,” she grated between her teeth.
Victor shrugged it was good enough. They would make it to Atlanta by nightfall if nothing else held them up. And he was more than willing to let her drive if it helped to relieve some of her tension. He sat back and observed her, the tension working out of her body starting with her brow and working down through her body. He enjoyed watching the tension work its way through her. After a couple of hours she truly looked tired.
“Do you want me to take over?”
She looked at him like she was surprised he was there. “Actually I’m hungry.”
Victor smiled. “This is something I can get behind.”
They stopped at an out of the place diner and Victor watched Elle closely as they ate. Something was different about her and he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what had changed about her.
“Why the sudden urge to fight?” he asked once he had finished eating he didn’t like to let much get in the way of his food. So he had wolfed down the burger and fries but now he sat back and scrutinized her as she pushed her chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes around her plate. If she didn’t start eating it he was going to eat it for her.
Elle pushed her food around for a minute more when her eyes turned back to him they shimmered with tears. “It’s not about fighting, it’s about defending myself.
I’ve hidden for centuries; I am a liability to my powerful siblings. Why do you think they are calling me to them now?”
“Because you are in danger?” Victor said pulling her plate to him and eating her mashed potatoes.
Elle gave him a sad smile. “Victor I have seen you with your siblings. If one of them was in danger what would you do, would you leave them to find their way to you?”
Victor felt the food in his stomach turn, at the sad look she gave him when his eyes snapped to her at the stupid question. “They are leaving me to find my way to them. Because I am a liability. Helena isn’t wasting time to come to me because I am not worth her time. I’m in trouble and Helena knows it, and she is leaving me to fend for myself.”
“Elle, they want you to be safe,” Victor said but after overhearing the conversation she had with her sister the other night he recognized it wasn’t true. And the words felt like the lie they were. And the look Elle gave him said she knew it.
“Of course they do,” Elle said taking her plate back she ate the rest of her dinner. “They just are not as concerned with my safety as say your brothers and sister would be for your safety.
Victor didn’t think he liked her siblings much, she looked at him. Her eyes dark with emotion. He had the strangest urge to hold her and take away her pain. “What would you do if Celeste’s life was in danger?”
Victor wanted to snarl, and barely held back the growl rumbling deep in his chest. “I would eliminate the threat.” It really wasn’t a question. “Besides, anyone threatening a Reaper/Demon hybrid who is mated to a Dark Angel is taking their life in their own hands wouldn’t you say?”
Elle softly laughed. “Yes, well there is that. But that being said, my siblings have hidden me away because I am a burden they would rather not deal with, and deal with me now only because they have no choice. I have been in seclusion for more than a millennia. Moved when there was no other choice. I left the cluster because I made them more susceptible to attack, alone I can hide. But with the group or even with one more demi-god I was like a beacon. I became a weight I caused massive losses to the demi-gods. So I was sequestered away from my siblings and the world in order save them and myself.”
Reaper Mine: A Reaper Novel Page 6