Reaper Dreaming: A Reaper Novel

by Christie Palmer

  “Nothing out of the ordinary?” Banner asked.

  Lailah looked around again, noticing the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Lailah rubbed the back of her neck absent-mindedly and attributed the spike in pain to the detective, then shook her head again. “Nope, everything looks the same.”

  “You seem on edge, can you explain your edginess Lailah?” Lailah didn’t understand why, but the way he said her name made her suddenly want to claw his eyes out.

  “I’m worried about my friend. It’s obvious he’s missing,” Lailah told him, how many times did she have to explain it?

  “Yes well, your concern is apparent,” Banner said leaning up against the sofa crossing his arms over his large chest. Lailah understood he was trying to give her a relaxed vibe, but Lailah could tell he was tense. Like a coiled snake, there was something about this detective that put her on edge. And all those warm fuzzy feelings Lailah had had about him being hot were gone. Now Lailah felt nothing for him but something close to fear. Lailah suddenly wished she had some kind of weapon with her.

  “So what are you going to do about it?” Lailah asked Banner. “He could be dead in a ditch somewhere.”

  The detective snorted, “I doubt Jimmy is dead in a ditch if so it would have been reported don’t you think?” one eyebrow rose sarcastically. Again Lailah had the urge to claw his eyes out.

  “Well from what I’ve noticed you’ve been watching me and haven’t really been looking for Jimmy,” Lailah accused him.

  “I’m not the only person on the case Lailah.” Banner said his voice dropping slightly, and Lailah caught her breath. His eyes took on a hooded look and she wondered for not the first time, exactly what Jimmy had gotten himself into to have the cops so interested in him.

  Lailah straightened herself up, “So are we done here?” Lailah looked around the apartment.

  “Are you sure nothing is out of the ordinary? Because people just don’t disappear out of thin air,” he accused.

  Jimmy did, and Lailah had a feeling it had to do with the Other world she wasn’t willing to talk to this mortal detective about. And if it was the case Lailah had no idea where to look Lailah had no contacts in the Other world, she stayed as far away from anything Other as she could. Jimmy, on the other hand, did things with the Others that was unholy and made Lailah’s skin crawl. If Jimmy had done something with the Others, Jimmy was up shit creek without a paddle.

  Yes, Lailah had skills with healing and could calm people down. But her skills were restricted at best. Jimmy liked to exploit her limited skills and tried to sell them to the highest bidder whenever he got the chance to get money for his habits. Unfortunately, Lailah had found herself on the wrong end of that habit more than once. She hated the addict in Jimmy. But those rare lucid moments? Those were the moments Lailah tried to look out for Jimmy. Lailah truly believed Jimmy was a lost soul, they had been friends growing up in the system, it created a bond people didn’t understand unless they lived through it. Lailah had sworn an oath to him once and even though she desperately wanted to walk away from him because of what he put her through Lailah couldn’t because of that oath. Yes, he was a shit head and the worst friend in the world but he was her shit head. And until he really did the unthinkable Lailah would stand by him.

  “I’m sure, everything looks exactly like it did when I left the other night,” Lailah said again.

  “I’ll let my colleges know he should be considered a missing person at this point,” Banner finally said.

  Lailah barely bit back a sarcastic reply to his insincere comment. Lailah motioned toward the door, “Great well it's getting late, and I should get home. This isn’t the part of town I want to be hanging around in late at night.”

  Detective Banner pushed himself off the back of the couch where he had been resting, “Let me walk you to the bus stop.”

  Lailah barely kept herself from rolling her eyes, “That won’t be necessary, I know the way.”

  “Like you said this isn’t the nicest of neighborhoods. It’s the least I can do.” Lailah let him walk out ahead of her and then locked the door behind her. She wanted to be as far away from the detective as possible, but it looked like he was sticking to her. Lailah would have liked to ask a couple of Jimmy’s neighbors if they knew anything about his disappearance, but she couldn’t ask with Banner sticking to her like glue. And Jimmy’s neighbors weren’t the type to talk to Lailah with a cop standing at her back.

  Lailah allowed Banner to walk her to the closest bus stop, and she didn’t glare at him or bite his head off once.

  “Well, you let me know if you hear from Jimmy,” Banner said.

  “Oh, I will,” Lailah said digging in her purse for her bus pass. “You’ll be the first person I call.”

  He chuckled, and Lailah looked up surprised at the sound. His soft laughter turned his face from the stern detective Lailah had begun to hate into a real human being. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  “I doubt very much I will even be on your radar when and if Jimmy shows up. But I certainly hope you call.” That said, Banner buried his hands in his pockets and walked away.

  Lailah just stood there in shock and stared at his retreating back. It was the first time he had been human to her since the first night they met. Lailah really didn’t know how to take it. She had the urge to call him back and apologize for all the snide comments she had made to him and promise to honestly call him when Jimmy showed up. Because maybe just maybe Detective Banner really did have Jimmy’s best interest at heart.

  Lailah watched until Detective Banner rounded a corner and was out of site. She tried to shake whatever spell he had woven around her off but she couldn’t. And Lailah stood there trying to figure it out until the bus showed up, the driver had to honk his horn to get her attention.

  “Lady, you getting on or what?” he yelled.

  Lailah jumped and scampered onto the bus. Lailah found a seat in the back of the bus and just zoned out again. What the hell was wrong with her? And what the hell had happened to Jimmy? He had done something awful this time, and Lailah prayed Jimmy was alright. Then Lailah thanked her lucky stars she had woken up before she had gotten involved because the gods only knew what would have happened to her if she hadn’t.

  Lailah rubbed at her forehead trying to ease some of her pain away. This was just a huge cluster, and she wasn’t involved yet. Did she want to be?

  Hell no.

  But Lailah didn’t know if she had a choice. “Oh, Jimmy why are you such a frigg’n problem all the time.” Lailah whispered to herself. Even missing he was a problem for her.

  When Lailah got off at her stop, Lailah had the worst feeling of being followed. She looked around and every shadow looked like it held something dark and sinister. Then she reminded herself she lived in Chicago. But the feeling didn’t dissipate. Maybe Detective Banner had followed her home? Lailah looked around and decided to walk around a little to see if it would go away. She didn’t like going straight to her apartment, especially if someone was following her.

  So she walked around. With the luck she was having she was going to get mugged.

  * * *

  Hunter had followed her out of the apartment, he didn’t like it that Lailah was being followed by Detective Banner. He liked even less she felt responsible for James. After everything her Guardian had put her through and she felt responsible for him? The irony of the situation was just too much.

  Now Lailah was wandering around downtown Chicago like she was lost. Hunter had already stopped her from being mugged twice. How much longer was she going to just walk around like this? A woman wandering the streets was a bad idea. If she kept it up, he would have her head examined. Maybe she had some kind of sick death wish. Maybe it was the whole reason the Angels had given her a Guardian in the first place. If that were the case it made complete sense.

  Another street rat came scurrying out of an alley, but this one didn’t have just a simple mugging in mind and Hunter grabbed t
he man by the scruff of the neck. Letting the shadows Hunter had wrapped around him bleed away, “You are a sick individual, do you want to live through the night?” Hunter growled into the man’s ear.

  The man whimpered and nodded.

  “You are lucky I am on other business tonight otherwise I would make you suffer. Now go back to whatever hole it is you crawled out of and remain there.” Hunter released him, and the man scurried away.

  He had had enough and was about to grab Lailah and insist she return to her home when she made a sudden move and ran. “Gods, what is she doing now?”

  Hunter looked around and then Flashed to the building opposite from where Lailah was running. He walked the edge of the building watching her run, she didn’t look like she was running from anything. But then Lailah turned down a narrow street. Hunter shook his head and Flashed again, this time coming up across from where she came out.

  Lailah had come out exactly where the bus had originally dropped her off forty-five minutes earlier. Hunter let out a sigh of relief, somehow she had backtracked and came back to where she started. Lailah must have sensed he was following her and tried to lose him. Hunter chuckled to himself, she would have to try a lot harder to lose him.

  Hunter remained on the roofs now still watching her, as she made her way to her home. Now without worry as she thought she had lost him.

  It wasn’t far from the bus stop, a nice, simple apartment building. It wasn’t the best, but it looked affordable and he watched as she entered a security code for the door. Then watched the building waiting, her apartment was on the third floor. The lights flickered on, and he Flashed to the top of the building and silently made his way to her fire escape letting the shadows surround him as he did. He waited until the apartment was dark before he let himself in.

  Her smell wrapped itself around him, and all his doubts and misgiving soared out the window.

  Lailah smelled exactly like Hunter remembered: roses, vanilla, and light. He let it wrap around him. He had never felt like this before. He looked around her apartment nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but when he heard Lailah cry out, he froze. Then he moved with a speed he hadn’t known he was capable of. In milliseconds, he was leaning over her. Surprised he didn’t wake her.

  Lailah thrashed in her sleep, and Hunter placed a hand on her jerking it back in surprise. Lailah was burning with fever. Why had he not noticed she was sick earlier? Lailah had looked fine when she had been at James’s apartment, she didn’t look as if she were sick then? Had she been hiding it? It was the only answer, Hunter was surprised he hadn’t been able to pick up on it.

  But now Lailah thrashed in her bed with fever. Hunter had to do something for her. He looked around and noticed a door; going through it, he found himself in a bathroom, he rifled through the cabinet and found aspirin hoping it would bring her fever down he filled a glass of water and went back into her room.

  Kneeling next to the bed, “Lailah.” Hunter whispered her name and gently shook her saying her name a little louder. “I need you to wake up and take these.”

  She moaned and her bleary eyes opened, “Don’t feel well.” Lailah said, her eyes trying to adjust she looked at Hunter. “You’ve come back to save me?” Hunter leaned back, did part of her remember him from the first night they had met? For some reason, he felt a swelling in his chest that she might remember him. “Yes,” he said.

  She gave him a lopsided smile. “My hero.”

  “You need to take this. You have a fever.” Hunter urged her.

  “My head is killing me.” One hand drifted to her head and rubbed at her forehead. “Hurts so much.”

  “This should help,” Hunter told her. Pressing the pills into her palm.

  “Nothing helps,” Lailah told him, but she took the pills and put them in her mouth and allowed Hunter to help her drink some of the water from the glass he had brought with him.

  “I’ve been dreaming about you.” Lailah told him as she lay back down on the bed her eyes not quiet focused on him.

  Hunter didn’t know what else to say to her, and she looked so pitiful, yet beautiful.

  “You shouldn’t be dreaming of me,” he whispered back.

  Lailah gave him a lopsided smile, “You don’t control your dreams silly.” Lailah closed her eyes briefly then opened them again, “My head hurts so bad.”

  Hunter moved so he was sitting on the side of the bed. He took her head in his large hands and started massaging her head.

  Lailah looked at him with those expressive green eyes, even in pain and with her fever they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

  “So wonderful,” she moaned as his fingers rubbed gently over her scalp. Hunters thumbs pressing against her temples. “Do you have any idea how nice this feels?”

  “Hush,” Hunter whispered.

  Lailah tried to nod but couldn’t because of his hands, and her eyes, rolled up in her head. Hunter stayed there massaging her scalp waiting for her fever to dissipate with one eye on the clock. After an hour, nothing had changed. Her fever was still the same, and as long as he kept massaging Lailah’s head she seemed to rest. But whenever he stopped she got restless. Hunter didn’t want to give her any more drugs because they didn’t seem to help her.

  He needed to bring in more help.

  Standing he took a couple of steps from the bed, “Abda come to me.”

  An Abda appeared and bowed, Hunter pointed at Lailah, “She is ill I want to know what I can do to help her.”

  The Abda walked over to Lailah and fumbled with her taking her pulse and resting an ear to her chest. After several minutes, it turned back to Hunter.

  “Yes, I know she is sick,” Hunter said with irritation. “No, I don’t know what is wrong with her. If I knew what was wrong with her I wouldn’t have called you.”

  The Abda bowed his head, “I have tried the medicine here on the mortal plane.”

  The Abda bowed again and Hunter wanted to kick it, “If I thought taking her back to the Infernos would solve the problem would I have brought you here?” Hunter snapped.

  “What do you mean you don’t think you can do anything for her?” Hunter growled. “Give her something to make her comfortable.” Hunter demanded.

  “If I wanted to involve my brothers and sister I would have done so instead of bringing you here.” Hunter snapped and then waved his hand sending the poor Abda back to the Infernos. “What a bloody waste of time.”

  Hunter wanted to kill something, and in his current state of mind, it was possible he would do just that. But first he needed to help Lailah. And it looked like he needed to involve one of his brothers to get that done.

  Swearing and wishing he didn’t have to do what he was about to do he moved into Lailah’s living room. After this was over with he would kill something, “Victor,” he called out and then waited.

  It took about fifteen minutes but finally his brother Flashed in.

  “This better be damn important. You know damn well I’m on my honeymoon.” He glared at Hunter. Then looked around, “Where the fuck are we?”

  “I need your help, and you have to promise you won’t breathe a word about it to anyone. Including Dante,” Hunter explained

  “Ah shit,” Victor said running a hand through his hair. “This is trouble with a capital ‘T’. What have you gotten yourself into little brother?”

  Hunter led the way down the hall and into Lailah’s bedroom.

  Victor swore when he saw her. “Who is she?”

  “Lailah,” Hunter said.

  Victor turned to Hunter, “Who is she?”

  “She’s sick. I don’t know what is wrong with her. Can Elle heal her?” Victor’s eyes narrowed as Hunter snapped.

  “Are you going to tell me who she is?” Victor asked.

  “She is Lailah,” Hunter said again, then clamped his mouth shut. He didn’t know what else to tell his brother. He didn’t know himself. He was tied up inside, and he was freaked out by the emotions Lailah was causin
g in him. Hunter didn’t deserve her he didn’t understand what the hell was going on. He knew he needed to get as far away from Lailah as possible, but he couldn’t because right now Lailah needed him.

  “I’ll bring Elle,” Victor said, Flashing away. Hunter let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding and then sat back down on the edge of the bed. He took Lailah’s hand and held it. As long as he had physical contact with her Lailah seemed able to rest.

  It didn’t take Victor long to return with Elle. And Hunter released Lailah to face them. Elle gave Hunter a huge smile, “How are you, Hunter?” Elle asked.

  “I am well, Elle. Thank you,” Hunter told Elle.

  Elle looked over Hunters shoulder at Lailah, “And who is this?” Elle asked.

  Hunter stepped aside, “This is Lailah, I found her burning with an unknown fever. I gave her some aspirin. But it didn’t help. I also brought an Abda here, and it said there was nothing it could do,” Hunter explained.

  Elle tsk’d her tongue and stepped around Hunter, “May I touch her?” she asked gently.

  Hunter shrugged, “Yes.” He was so out of his element here. He wasn’t sure he didn’t just want to Flash back to Treachery and pretend he had never been here in the first place. But then he looked down into the fever ravished body of Lailah and knew he couldn’t leave her like this.

  Elle gave him another smile making her eyes glow, and Hunter could see not just the demi-god in her but what made her the God Elle tried to deny she was. It was hard to believe less than a month ago Elle had been fighting for her life. Apparently being bonded to a Reaper agreed with her. Oh, and Hunter couldn’t forget Elle had that pesky curse removed as well. That had to help. Yes, Elle was doing much better than the last time Hunter had seen her.

  “The poor thing,” Elle finally said standing up. “Lailah’s body is fighting something, and its creating a type of allergic reaction. Fever, chills, like a flue but on steroids..” Elle explained to Hunter. “She is going through some type of change, I’m not sure what kind. It’s hurting her, she shouldn’t be here doing it alone, she should have help. What species is she?”