Reaper Mine: A Reaper Novel

by Palmer, Christie

  “Aldon what you are creating in test tubes are not sons, they are things. When you bend the laws of god you break the laws of the Brotherhood,” Devon announced. “Now present yourself so you can be judged.”

  “Wait.” Victor held up his hand. “He belongs to me.”

  Devon shook his head. “He is a Son of Adam and therefore he will be held to judgment by the Sons.”

  Victor shook his head. “The hell you say. Dante wants him, and Dante will not be swayed on this.

  Devon gave him a smile. “Dante will have his soul I will promise you this. But he will be judged and punished by the Brotherhood.”

  Victor threw his hands in the air and turned to his brothers, Elle still clung to his back. “We will return to the Infernos and see what Dante has to say about this,” Christian offered “We will be back.”

  Victor didn’t really have a choice and the bastard was still squirreled away in the ground somewhere. Victor nodded and his brothers all Flashed away, he turned to Elle and cupped her face. “And what exactly am I supposed to do with you?” Gods he just wanted to put her someplace safe. But he had tried to get her to go someplace safe but no matter what he did she seemed to follow him into danger.

  She leaned forward, pressed herself into him and kissed him. “I’ll be happy and safest with you, I think.”

  He agreed with her there. “Just don’t move from my side.” She nodded and linked her arm with him. “Like glue.”

  “What say you Aldon?” Devon asked.

  They waited but after ten minutes there still wasn’t an answer. Victor snorted. “Now what?”

  “We continue to search for a way in. Nothing changes.” Devon shrugged. “Now where were we…” he tapped his chin. “Oh yes Aldon’s lies.” He chuckled. “Aldon has been on the outskirts of the brotherhood for some time now. But it wasn’t until the Tribunal made the…” he trailed off thoughtfully and then tried again. “Shall we call it an offer to the non-Tribunal Others? We are a scattered, lawless and hunted sect of Others. There are the Sons of Adam, the Daughters of Eve, the demi-gods, the last of the world benders, I know of four Sandman’s they are siblings three sisters and a brother they would love to be represented on the Tribunal but not at the cost that is being asked. And a hundred or so other Others, that truly deserve to be represented but that really isn’t a Reaper problem is it?”

  “Anyway, Aldon decided he was going to do what none of us wanted to do. And he was going to represent those who couldn’t represent themselves. And it sounded too good to be true.” Devon shook his head sadly. “So we looked into Aldon, and what we found was so sad it broke the heart of those who believed in him.”

  “Aldon had given up everything to make his dreams for his people come true,” Devon explained.

  “Not anything new,” Victor said.

  Devon reached forward and patted Victor on the shoulder. “It is when that something means it takes your soul and leaves you unable to die.”

  “Wait what?” Elle felt her mouth fall open. “Is he immortal?”

  Devon sighed. “Oh, he dies, Elle. I’ve killed him myself with a bullet to the head. But Aldon does this freaky thing by coming back.”

  Chapter 13

  “Did I faint?” Elle asked when she opened her eyes. “I have never, in all my life fainted.”

  Victor wasn’t sure if he was going to shake her or kiss her. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  “Sorry.” She wrapped her arms around him and he let her because he needed to feel her close to him right then. If the news they had just gotten about Aldon had affected her as much as it had affected him he had wanted to faint too. “I had the strangest dream,” she whispered into his ear. And he was pretty sure it wasn’t a dream.

  Gods he wished he could just Flash her to the Infernos where he could keep her safe. “Why can’t I Flash you? I just want to keep you safe, you know that, right?”

  She smiled at him. “It wasn’t a dream, was it? Aldon has the same curse as I do?”

  Victor nodded. “I think so, yes.”

  “How is it even possible?” Elle asked. “I mean the Druid who cursed me died. Aldon isn’t that old…” she had a horrible thought and rushed to get to her feet, Devon was standing with Tabitha as Victor pulled her close. “Tell me he isn’t that old?”

  Devon shook his head. “As best as he can guess he has only prolonged his life by twenty-five or thirty extra years. Just long enough to build his little army and find out about you via Chaos, by the way what happened to your lovely brother?”

  “I took care of him and Helena,” Victor said, as much as Victor had said to her about the two and she hadn’t wanted to know more but she knew she would have to get more information about them eventually. She just wanted to take it one issue at a time. And her sister and brother were not an issue she was ready to deal with.

  Devon nodded. “Chaos was a spoil of Aldon’s conquests from some Lord overseas in the 70’s. It was what led us to figure out what had happened to Aldon,” Devon went on to explain what they knew. Which wasn’t a lot. Most of it was conjecture, up to the point where Devon had captured Aldon. He was tried, sentenced, and pronounced guilty of his crimes. Devon carried out the sentencing.

  Once they had carried out the sentence, woman came to prepare the body. And shockingly, Aldon woken up. And acted as if it was a miracle. Devon and the Brotherhood hadn’t known know what to think.

  Thankfully, the Brothers have several criteria, before something is considered a miracle. And Aldon did not meet any of them besides rising from the dead. So they sentenced him to die again. Apparently Aldon did not appreciate it, and had barely escaped. He had been on the run ever since.

  “During this time, he started creating the Freaks.” Devon looked around at the group. “To this day, I don’t know how he was able to escape. And we haven’t seen him, until now.”

  Something had been bothering Victor all evening. “Are you working with the Daughters? Why are you here?” He didn’t believe in coincident. The Daughters of Eve seemed awful chummy with the Sons. The fight he was going to have with the Bitch was working up to an all-out brawl.

  Devon shrugged. “I won’t lie to you, we bugged the Daughters. When information was sent to us that they had information about Aldon and that he had created Freaks. We mobilized. The Freaks held our hands, but as far as I was concerned, the kill order should never have been lifted. He and his creations need to be destroyed. I know that Tabitha and her warriors have been sent to deal with Aldon. But I’ve killed him once; I’m here to make sure he stays dead this time. Personally, I think you’re wasting your time. Aldon has no soul, you have nothing here to reap.”

  “What makes you think he is soulless?” Elle asked Devon.

  Devon gave Elle a sad laugh. “Of course he is soulless how can something like him have a soul?”

  Victor was about to come to her aid, but she stepped around him with her arms crossed over her chest. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Devon didn’t back down. “I didn’t mean to offend you Elle, and I am not sure how you ended up the way you are. And it is commendable you haven’t given into darkness without a soul. But that doesn’t change what has happened.”

  Victor tried to grab Elle but she stomped over to Devon and slapped him upside the head. “Were you dropped on your head as a child?”

  Several of his men jumped forward but Victor shook his head at them and they immediately backed away. Elle was holding her own, but he’d be damned if the Sons raised a hand against his woman.

  Devon rubbed at his head. “You take your life in your hands, lady.”

  “You’re an idiot.” Elle turned back to Victor. “Victor do I have a soul?”

  “One of the brightest I’ve ever seen,” Victor said with all honestly.

  Elle turned back to Devon. “Why do you think Aldon wants me? He wants me to add a soul to his creations. If he got a Druid to curse him the same way I was he still has a soul. His might be black as
oil pitch but he still has a soul.”

  There was a popping noise and suddenly Aldon appeared holding a dagger to Elle’s throat. “I knew I still possessed my soul,” he whispered against her cheek. “I just need the light of yours to complete my work.”

  “I knew I killed you in that damn car!” Elle said back. Just as all hell broke loose.

  ****

  Guns were grabbed, and actions were cocked. Elle stilled her breathing. Aldon didn’t have a problem killing her and she wanted very much to stay alive for this show. The last thing she needed was to die right now.

  Victor held up a hand. “Don’t anyone move.”

  Making Aldon smile. “Ah I see you recognize the Dagger.”

  Victor could barely breathe, as Aldon held the Blood Rite Dagger to Elle’s throat. If that Dagger killed her, he would lose not only her, but her soul as well.

  “If you spill one drop of her blood you will live to regret it Aldon,” Victor snarled.

  Aldon laughed. “But I will live Reaper, and she won’t. Do you want to risk it? I wanted to save my people, save those who didn’t have a voice.” Aldon said to Devon as he backed up dragging Elle with him.

  “You aren’t going anywhere, Aldon,” Devon said.

  Aldon laughed again. “That’s what you think. See, I’ve been working on this little spell…”

  Victor lunged but it was too late, the popping noise was the only warning they had and Aldon and Elle disappeared. Guns exploded around him as he landed in the dirt where Aldon and Elle had been milliseconds before.

  He rolled to his feet. “What part of don’t anyone move didn’t anyone understand?” Victor shouted at the group. He felt like his head was going to explode.

  “You would have rather he get away with her?” Devon snarled.

  Victor grabbed the man and shook him. “He got away with her anyway,” he snarled. Victor threw Devon aside and stalked away, shoving his hand through his hair. Feeling like his world was spinning out of control.

  “He can’t go far, he had to have taken her into the ground,” Tabitha said taking Victor by the arm.

  Victor swung around to her. “What?” he snarled he would rather kill the woman then take her advice.

  She stepped back fear in her eyes and rightly so. “I care about her too, Victor.”

  Victor took a breath. “Tell me what you know.”

  “Our ability to perform Magik is limited and he said he had just learned the spell. It would be limited. Something he wouldn’t have been able to have a great deal of power over. Therefore he was taking a great deal of chance to include Elle in the transportation spell. He didn’t go far. He is close, still in the compound.” Tabitha motioned to her sisters and they spread out. “We need to find a way into his underground stronghold.”

  Christian returned with Hunter “What happened?” Christian asked looking around.

  “He took her,” Victor snapped.

  “Dante wants Aldon. If you take him whole or he just gets his soul, he cares not.” Christian explained.

  Victor growled. “Good because Dante is going to get him in pieces.”

  ****

  Elle thought her head was going to explode. She moaned as she rolled to her hands and knees. Dizziness assaulting her. She emptied her stomach in a trashcan, collapsing, barely holding onto consciousness. She was going to kill Aldon herself slowly. Again and again. The bastard.

  “What the hell did you do to me?” she moaned trying to keep herself in the here and now.

  “You will recover in a moment,” Aldon promised from somewhere close.

  “Go to hell,” Elle said, between her teeth. Not believing him, as the room kept spinning slowly. She pressed her face against the cool marble floor. The room slowly stopped spinning and she was finally able to breathe without wanting to vomit.

  Elle peeked her eyes open. Aldon was sitting in an overstuffed chair, several feet in front of her. A fire burned in a huge fire place behind him. The Dagger he had been holding at her throat, balanced on one knee. A gun balanced on the other.

  “How are you feeling now?” He asked his voice so calm it gave her chills.

  Elle pulled herself into a sitting position and pushed herself back against the wall. “Well I don’t want to throw up.” But she still wanted to kill him. “You realize you will never get away with any of this right?”

  “Actually I have gotten away with it.” He said. “The strange part? I’ve been desperately trying to get you to my home? And you brought yourself to me? How wonderful is that?” he asked with a wicked grin.

  Setting both the gun and Dagger down, he poured a glass of water from a pitcher. And walked over to her, offering it to her. She only glared at it, he shook his head and took a long drink of the water and then handed it back to her.

  Elle took the water and drank until it was empty. “Would you like more?”

  Elle shook her head. “But, if you are granting requests, I would like to be let go.”

  Aldon returned to his seat. “I would like for us to be partners, Elle. I think if things had gone differently we could have had a love match.”

  She felt her mouth sag open. It was probable the wrong reaction. By the look of stark pain he gave her she knew it was the wrong response and she snapped her mouth closed.

  “I would think you would find comfort in the arms of someone who shares your condition.” His voice was cold and hard.

  “Condition?” Elle asked. “I was cursed, I don’t have a condition Aldon. I am cursed as you are.”

  “See that is the problem Elle and something I can help you with. I can help you understand it isn’t a curse. It is a blessing,” Aldon said with such feeling Elle knew he truly believed it.

  “How did you get cursed?” she asked.

  “It’s not a curse!” he roared. Making Elle jump, but he quickly covered by smiling and continuing. “I sought out a Druid to give me the blessing.”

  “What?” Elle almost didn’t believe what she had heard so she asked again. “I’m sorry, I think I might have misunderstood you.” She had the strangest urge to get up and shake him.

  “It’s a blessing Elle, after a time you will understand,” Aldon promised. “We will be the parents of a new beginning. An entire new species, which will rule the mortal plane, like the gods of old.” His eyes shown with glee and madness.

  “I don’t want to be the parent of a new beginning,” she said honestly. Just the thought of what kind of offspring he wanted to create, made her shutter.

  Aldon laughed, but the sound gave Elle chills. “You’re only saying so because you don’t understand what it means.”

  Elle just stared at him, he was totally insane, and she knew reasoning with him was useless. She only needed to wait for Victor to get her or get her hands on the Dagger to kill him.

  “I bet losing Helena and Chaos sure put a kink in your plans,” she offered.

  Aldon’s head tilted in thought then he shrugged. “Ah yes, those two were bumbling idiots at best. I was going to save their deaths for you, did you enjoy seeing their downfall? How did it all play out, Elle?”

  He shot out of the chair, The Dagger and the gun, skidding forgotten across the floor. Aldon boxed her in with a hand on each side of her head. “Did you kill them?”

  “They’re immortal, Aldon. They can’t be killed,” Elle said. Pressing against the cold wall, she tried in vain to get as far away from him as possible.

  “So what happened to them Elle? What did you do to them?” Aldon asked quietly, his body relaxed against her.

  “Victor took them to the Infernos where they belong. They are suffering for their betrayal.” She thought she would feel pain for them but she didn’t. In fact she didn’t feel anything.

  “Would you like them to die, Elle?” Aldon whispered into her ear, it could have been a lover’s caress. But it turned Elle’s stomach. “Because I have the ability to kill them Elle, kill them dead. And I will help you do it.”

  Elle shook her he
ad, more to get the feel of him off her than anything else. “They are being punished.” And that was enough for her.

  Aldon traced a finger over her cheek and Elle slapped it away. “I will do anything for you. What do you want? Just name it and I will make it happen for you that is what lovers do.”

  “All I want from you is for you to let me go.” Elle said more to herself them to him. “They are going to come for me.”

  “They can try. But I buried the entrance years ago. There is no way to get in or out.” He laughed and she pushed him away.

  “I will not submit.” He laughed at her words.

  “I wouldn’t expect you too.” Aldon leered at her. “And I really could care less if you do.” He reached out to her and Elle slapped his hands away.

  “Touch me and you will regret it.” Elle snarled.

  Aldon shook his head. “It’s worthless to fight me Elle.”

  Elle shook her head wildly. “No, it isn’t. I will not submit!”

  Aldon slapped the floor. The sound seemed to echo through the room. “He is not coming for you!”

  There was such finality to Aldon’s tone, Elle knew she was in a fight for her life, until Victor found his way to her. When he reached for her again, she glared at Aldon. “I will never submit. I would rather die than submit to you”

  “So be it.” Aldon came at her with that uncanny speed. Elle rolled away, kicking out to avoid Aldon’s hands as he scrambled to grab her. He latched onto one of her legs and tried to drag her back to him. Elle kicked him in the face, causing him to howl in pain. He released her to grab his now bleeding face.

  “You bitch!”

  Elle scrambled to her feet and pulled out the gun Victor had given to her. She pointed it at Aldon. “Tell me how to get out of here!” She was breathing heavy and shaking. She knew she could kill him and wasn’t afraid to do it.

  Aldon rolled to his back and glared at her. “I told you there is no way out.” He lay there, his nose bleeding. “And I’m too weak to use the spell again.”

  “Too bad for you,” Elle said pulling the trigger, she was off just a little and the bullet entered just left of the center of his forehead. But it didn’t change the look of shock on his face.