by Wesley Brown
“Life is a funny thing, is it not?” Specter said, and the orange portal opened beneath him. He sunk in before Reaper even had the chance to swing at him.
“No!” Reaper shouted as he swung. He stumbled a few feet, then fell to the ground, striking the place where the portal had been. Several tears dropped to the dry, dusty ground. Reaper struck the ground once more, then ran back to Blink. When Reaper arrived, he ran up behind the a Dreadite that Blink was blocking with his sword, then thrust his scythe up into the samurai’s back and through his chest. Reaper left it in the man as he turned to another. This one swung at Reaper with a sword that appeared to be made of fire. Reaper ducked, then broke the man’s neck with a strong upward strike, nearly knocking his head clean off. Blink threw his sais to Reaper. Blink served would destabilize the Dreadites allowing Reaper a chance to kill them, one by one.
“Not bad,” Blink said.
“I thought I was the killer,” Reaper replied while taking the scythe out of one of the Dreadites.
“Time changes, Reaper; I’ll be changing with it. I’m not quite the same young boy you know now,” Blink said. He sheathed his sword and pulled down his mask.
“How old are you?” Reaper asked.
“I’m eighteen,” Blink said. “Why? That seems like a bit of an odd question.”
“I find your age fascinating. Often, when I see you, you say it has been less than an hour. Other times, days or longer have passed,” Reaper said. “How do you have the time?”
“I make time—that’s just what I do,” Blink said. “For example, after you punched me, I didn’t want to come back to see you for a while.”
“That was years ago,” Reaper said.
“It was like a day ago,” Blink said. “I figured I would have to come back, so I stopped time for a while and took up some hobbies.” He lifted his arm with the now-broken quantum wrist cannon. “I guess I’ve still got a lot of work to do, anyway.”
“Blink, I…” Reaper paused. “I am sorry. I was wrong to attack you. I was angry and hurt, but that is no excuse.”
“Man, that cannot have been easy for you to say.” Blink smiled. “Of course I accept. You’re like my best, only friend, and I’ve put you through a ton of crap. I’d say I earned that punch.”
“You failed to mention the volcano,” Reaper said with a blank face, but Blink felt that there was some sentiment there. Reaper turned the scythe back into a sword and sheathed it.
“I really didn’t think it would matter,” Blink said.
“I suppose it does not,” Reaper said.
“Did Specter get away?” Blink asked.
Reaper’s lips tensed. “He did.”
“That’s alright, man. Specter is a coward, and cowards will always run,” Blink said. The two of them began to walk to the west.
“So, tell me, my friend. What is the next mission?” Reaper asked. He looked over to Blink, who looked right back up at him.
“Let me get back to you on that. For now, get off this island. I’ll find you,” Blink said with a smile, and he was gone.
Chapter Ten:
Three Hoods
Once before, Reaper had found himself terribly outnumbered by Specter’s newest lackeys—the Dreadites. Since then, there were several other attempts by Specter to manifest these Dreadites. It appeared to Reaper that each time he faced a new batch of Dreadites, there were less and less. This progressed until the day that there was only one attacking him at a time. This seemed like a mistake to Reaper. He thought that he had lost track of the others. After meeting with Blink about the matter, it was confirmed that there would only be one from then on. Blink explained to Reaper that Specter had discovered the Dreadites were more powerful the less of them there were. Essentially, Specter could have less men by giving all that power to a single individual rather than distributing it to many. This one Dreadite would be strong, much like Reaper. Unlike Reaper, this Dreadite was loyal to Specter. He traveled across Europe, wreaking havoc. Reaper followed the ash and bodies to modern-day Germany, not far from the place where he’d met Perseus.
[Not that Reaper shared this with Blink, but by this time, Reaper had remembered the mission in Africa where an older Blink killed Anansi. Reaper focused on him, but it was difficult, as he had trouble remembering that night. When he had located Anansi, he used the shapeshifting ability. Reaper shifted into a fox and ran around looking for the Dreadite that had eluded him for so long. He found a beheaded body and sniffed the singed flesh, then tracked the scent across miles.
The Reaper, as a fox, came across a small wooden house. The scent of both the beheaded man and the Dreadite led to this place. Reaper returned to his human form and walked toward the house.
The door was missing, but something warned Reaper that it might be a trap. As soon as the thought struck him, the Dreadite crashed through the side of the wooden house, slamming Reaper against a large tree. He grabbed Reaper by the throat and threw him into the house. Reaper hit the floor of the house hard and grunted from the pain. He looked up and saw the Dreadite put his hands together. A flame grew between his palms. Reaper’s eyes widened, and he stood and ran to the hole in the wall.
The Dreadite threw his ball of fire as Reaper jumped to escape. The fire ball exploded on impact with Reaper, sending him flying out the opposite side of the house. He rolled backward until he stopped against a tree, which cracked. The Dreadite leaped over the house and threw another ball of fire down at Reaper. The ball hit, and the tree fell.
Reaper stared up from the ash heap he sat in, his flesh healing as he looked up to face the Dreadite that hovered above him. Reaper thought about the strongest foes he had beaten. He jumped into the air, narrowly missing the Dreadite. Reaper had landed atop a tree, so he jumped at the Dreadite again. He caught around the Dreadite’s throat and tried to break the Dreadite’s neck, but it was not working, and he could not focus on using the power of others. The Dreadite flew higher, scraping Reaper against trees as they ascended. High above the ground and trees, the Dreadite freed himself from Reaper’s grasp. The Dreadite raised his temperature, and a spherical fire shield expanded around him, knocking Reaper off. The Dreadite then flew down at Reaper. His hands blazed as he grabbed Reaper and punched him. Reaper struck out wildly, limbs thrashing, but he was spiraling too quickly for any of his punches to land on his enemy. As the ground rushed up to meet him, Reaper felt a stab of fear for the first time in his memory—what if he broke himself so completely that he couldn’t regenerate? Would the tree branches cushion him? Reaper howled and thrashed against the wind, managing to kick the Dreadite up and away from him.
He fashioned a long sword of fire and thrust it down at Reaper. The blazing sword pierced Reaper’s back and chest. He screamed at the immense pain. Had it only been a burn or stab wound, he would have shaken it off like he had with the many before. But this was different—his insides were on fire, and the blade of the sword moving inside shredded him. The sword vanished, and the Dreadite was back on top of Reaper. They plummeted to the ground, picking up speed as the Dreadite flew them into the ground. It sounded like thunder when they smashed into the ground. Dirt and rocks went in all directions, and even a few trees fell. Much to the Dreadite’s surprise, Reaper stood first. He took out his sword and put it to the back of the Dreadite’s neck.
“You put up a good fight, but it is over now,” Reaper said. He lifted his sword with both hands, but as his stroke fell, the Dreadite moved.
“No!” A long sword made of fire appeared, and the Dreadite took it in both hands. He swung at Reaper, who blocked with his own sword. Reaper spun, dodging a second swing from the Dreadite. The Dreadite charged at Reaper, again blinded by his pride and rage. He swung and Reaper dodged, taking two steps to his left. Momentum carried the Dreadite along. He stopped and turned to Reaper, who took this opportunity to kick the Dreadite’s right knee, effectively breaking his leg. The Dreadite cried out in pain. The sword of fire disappeared, and the Dreadite leaned against a tree.
“Surrender!” Reaper demanded.
“Never!” the Dreadite shouted. He formed another ball of fire in his right hand and did his best to throw it at Reaper, but it was deflected off Reaper’s sword.
“If that is your wish,” Reaper said softly.
Reaper turned away and took his sword in both hands. He lifted the sword, swinging it as he turned. He cut along the eye slits of the Dreadite’s great helm. The top half of the Dreadite’s head and helmet fell off. The body fell over to the ground and the armor faded away, leaving the corpse of a broken man. Reaper suddenly felt bad for what he had done to this man. He looked at the man and thought about him. Reaper looked into this man’s memories and saw what had driven him to be so desperate to be a Dreadite. The man had been a farmer, but his farm was sacked. His crops burned, and his family was dead. All he had left in the world was his brother, and when it mattered most, his brother abandoned him. After the Dreadite got his new abilities, he worked his way back to his brother, looking for revenge. Reaper closed his eyes and shook his head.
“I am sorry,” Reaper said.
“Disappointing,” came a cold voice from behind him—Specter. Reaper stood and took his sword in a defensive pose. “Relax. I did not come to fight.”
“Why did you come?” Reaper asked.
“Yes, I’d like to know too,” Blink suddenly walked forward, having appeared out of nowhere. He was dressed in dirty white cloth with brown leather pads covering most of his body.
Specter’s hollow eyes rolled. “Why are the two of you so difficult to kill?”
Blink smirked. “It’s part of our charm.”
“Be quiet, child.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but I fought a ton of your Dreadites the other day. Think I’m scared of you?” Blink said.
“Blink,” Reaper interrupted, holding his hand out, and Blink settled down. “Say what it is you came here to say.”
“I was watching you fight.” Specter looked him down appraisingly. “The most powerful Dreadite yet, and he is still weak to you. You truly are a marvel, my best work.”
“It must be a shame for you to see your best work working for good,” Blink mocked the skeletal figure.
“Good?” Specter scoffed. “Good is perspective.”
“Good is good,” Blink insisted. “Good is doing the right thing.”
“So, you would tell me you have never committed an evil act for the sake of your good—is that right?” Specter asked.
“How can it be evil if the result is good?” Blink retaliated.
Specter shook his head dismissively. “I did not come to argue philosophy with you. You cannot hope to beat me, child.”
“Not me,” Blink conceded. “But Reaper will.”
Reaper flexed his fingers around his sword. “And I will be pleased to see you dead.”
“May the better win.” Specter reached toward Reaper. “You do believe in honor, do you not? Shake my hand.” Reaper reached to shake Specter’s hand, but this did not feel right to Blink. He jumped between them and took Specter’s hand instead. Blink’s hand was tiny compared to Specter’s. Blink’s suspicion was confirmed. He pulled his hand back. There was a Gothic-style S on his palm. It was black with a red glow around it. Blink pulled back and held his hand. He grunted, then showed it to Reaper.
“He was trying to trick you,” Blink said. “It’s a weapon that works well against magic powers. It would have made you weak.” Blink looked up at Specter. “And you only have the one, don’t you?”
“Foolish bug.” Specter backhanded Blink.
“No—Blink!” Reaper wanted to attack Specter, but he had never seen Blink actually need his help before. In this moment of confusion, Specter got away. Reaper went to Blink. “Blink, are you injured?”
“Yes, very,” Blink said. “Help me up, but watch the hand.” Reaper pulled Blink to his feet. “Let’s keep my right hand away from you at all times.”
“You have been branded,” Reaper said.
“I’ll be fine.” Blink took a deep breath. “Don’t worry about me—you need to get back to England.”
“What is in England now?” Reaper asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Blink said. “Meet me at the same place that you swam for England from last time.”
“I will be there, my friend,” Reaper said. Just like that, Blink was gone.
Reaper traveled north to meet up with Blink. From a distance Reaper, could see Blink at the shore. With him was a motor boat that instantly confused Reaper with its strange, metallic shine. Blink got in, and Reaper pushed off. Blink lowered the motor and started it. Reaper dropped his head and covered his ears.
“What on Earth is that noise?” Reaper shouted.
“Relax Reaper, it’s just the engine,” Blink said.
“The what?” Reaper continued to shout.
“Reaper, I swear, if you don’t calm down, I’m gonna toss you overboard.”
“That noise—it does not bother you?”
“Of course it bothers me, but it’s all I can afford right now,” Blink said, then muttered quietly to himself, “God knows if I could afford better, I wouldn’t be using this pollution-causing piece of garbage.”
“What?” Reaper asked.
“Forget it; it doesn’t matter,” Blink said. “Look, about your clothes…”
“You understand that after hundreds of years, they were unlikely to last.”
“Oh, dude, I’m not upset,” Blink said. “Please—I’ve got a bunch of them made just in case. I got some for various time periods and locations. On that note, check this out.” Blink slid a rectangular gray box over to Reaper with his foot.
“What is this?” Reaper picked it up.
“Open it, man.”
Reaper opened the box. Inside was a folded new suit. This suit was roughly the same design. Instead of sandals, there were boots that matched the current time period of 1524 A.D. The bronze-colored parts of his current suit were raven black on the new suit, and the crimson was pine green, which now covered up to the elbows. The buckles on the suit were a faded gold. Reaper held it up by the shoulders.
“This—this is very nice; thank you, Blink,” Reaper said.
“No thanks necessary, man. I just really wanted you to look cool for the next fight.”
“Who is the target?”
“He’s a hunter, uses a bow,” Blink said. “He hangs out around the area of Windsor Forest. He’s an extremely powerful being, like Specter or Edeline.”
“And that is why you want him dead?” Reaper asked.
“Hey, don’t lay that weight on me,” Blink said. “History needs him dead—he’s a menace. This time, I won’t be here to bail you out, either.”
“You are going to leave?” Reaper asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be waiting for you in the future. We’ll catch up after Herne is dead.”
“Herne?”
“Yeah, Herne the Hunter.”
“If he is as bad as Specter, I will wipe him from this Earth,” Reaper said.
“I don’t know if he’s as bad, but he’s pretty bad,” Blink said. “I’d bet he’s equally creepy, though.” Reaper shook his head in disapproval. “You can’t beat him alone.”
“You said he was not as bad as Specter!” Reaper said.
“I did say that, but that doesn’t mean he’s not bad news,” Blink said. “I won’t be here to help, but you can’t do this alone.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We’re gonna travel up around to Humber. This boat ain’t really built for that kind of voyage, but I brought extra fuel. It’ll still be a few hours. Anyway, Humber is a river. Once we get there, I’m gonna drop you off, and I’m taking this thing back to my time. You travel south, you’ll wanna find a man who may or may not go by the name of Robin, or Robin Hood. From what I’ve gathered, he should be living on the south side of Nottingham Forest. Pick him up on your way south to Windsor Forest. The two of you find and kill Herne the Hunter.
Understand?”
“Me and…” Reaper paused to make sure what he said next sounded right. “…Robin Hood are to track and kill Herne the Hunter.”
“Perfect.”
“What are my advantages?”
“You’ll have all your powers, plus Robin Hood’s skills,” Blink said with a fan-boyish smile.
“Nothing else?”
“Right.”
“Blink, over the centuries, do you know how many times I have wanted to kill you?” Reaper asked.
“No,” Blink answered.
“There have not been many times, but this is one of them.”
“Dude, you have absolutely no idea how cool this is,” Blink said. “The Reaper, teaming up with Robin Hood, to fight Herne the Hunter. It’s like some crazy awesome historical crossover comic. I can imagine the title now. The Reaper and Robin Hood versus Herne the Hunter. I like it.”
“Blink, I have never seen you this excited about a fight,” Reaper said.
“Someday, you might get it,” Blink said. “Or because you will have lived through this, it won’t be a big deal to you.” Reaper just stared at Blink. “Whatever—did you see your new sheath?”
“I had noticed it, and I am curious.” Reaper held the sheath up.
“It’s for a falchion.”
“It is much smaller than my sword,” Reaper said.
“Yes, but it’s one-handed and easier to swing,” Blink said. “I even brought a falchion so that you can shape your sword to be like this one.”
“It has a shorter reach,” Reaper stated.
“But you have the advantage of being able to get really close to the people you kill,” Blink said. “Look, this way, you can also practice changing the shape of the scythe.”
“I can already do that,” Reaper’s tone grew hostile. “Do you know what I cannot do yet?”
Blink frowned and shook his head, his mouth hanging open slightly.
“I lack the power to move things with my mind. I cannot create fire from a single thought. To my knowledge, I have never flown.”
“Dude, calm down,” Blink said. “Why does that bother you so much? So what if you don’t have certain abilities—what difference does it make?”