Reaper (12 page)

Ethan looked tired. I put my hand on his, thankful I wasn’t still shaking. “What do you think it is?” I asked softly.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Scents are associated with spirits and being that you’re a medium, it would make sense.” He lay back down and pulled me with him. Safely enveloped him his arms, my heart finally stopped racing. “Honestly, Annie,” he said gently, “I think you were dreaming. If something was really here, Hunter would have sensed it.”

I didn’t say anything as I mulled that over. I nodded. “Probably,” I agreed but knew otherwise. I was awake and
something
was in the room. Hunter rejoined us, pressing against me, making me hot but also making me feel protected. Ethan fell back asleep in a matter of minutes; I stayed awake for another hour, replaying the whole thing in my mind.

Like the Burning Man, I couldn’t truly be sure if the illusion was real. I couldn’t get the images out of my head. When I finally did drift into a restless sleep, I dreamt of a bloody barn owl hissing at me from the arm of the Burning Man. The man erupted into flames and the owl took off, leaving a trail of blood, the flapping of its wings echoing in the distance.

~*~

Ethan got up early the next morning and went to the gym. Since I had gotten a not-so-restful night’s sleep, after feeding the horses and cleaning stalls, I showered and climbed back into bed. I didn’t know how long I was asleep for before my phone rang.

“Hello?” I mumbled.

“Hey. Were you sleeping?” Ethan chuckled.

“Yeah.”

“Get up, lazy,” he teased.

“Shut up. I’m tired,” I moaned.

“I know this is short notice, but the guys at the gym are going out to lunch with their girlfriends and invited us.”

“Ok.” I closed my eyes.

“So can you meet me in half an hour?”

“Half an hour? That’s not enough time.” I felt my head. “My hair’s still wet.”

“So you don’t want to go?”

“No, I do,” I assured him. “I just want to make a good first impression.”

“Alright. I’ll try to stall.
 
Hurry up and meet me at the gym as soon as you can, please.”

“Ok. Love you,” I told him.

“You too.”

I lazily swung my legs over the bed, dreading pulling together an outfit and trying to look presentable in a few minutes. My eyes lingered on my Book of Shadows and I smiled at the idea that popped into my head. I got to the gym with five minutes to spare.

“You’re early.” Ethan was stunned.

“Yup.”

“And you look pretty.”

“Thanks.” I smiled.

“How did you manage to do that to your hair?” He touched a curl.

“You don’t know how girls curl their hair?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I know how, I meant how did you have time?”

“Magic.” I smiled.

“Seriously?” He took my hand.

“Yep! Impressive isn’t it?”

“I guess. I didn’t know there were spells for that.”

“I found one in the Book.” We walked to the Camaro. Ethan threw his stinky gym bag inside. “So where are we going?”

“An Italian restaurant. They said there’s one not too far from here.”

The guys, as well as their girlfriends, were all really nice. Jonny was an accountant and his girlfriend, Tessa, was going to school to be a nurse. Aaron and his girlfriend Susan were both teachers. Once again, I was the youngest.

I didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation. The guys were talking about sports and the two girls spoke in a hushed voice about a friend who drank a little too much at the bar last night. Tessa touched her hair constantly, which was something I was taught to be rude to do while eating. When she was done with her salad, she pushed her plate forward and dug a mirror from her purse.

“That’s pretty,” I told her, eyeing the antique pocket mirror.

“Thanks,” she said with a slight smile. “I found it at a flea market, believe it or not.”

“Is it old?” I asked. “It looks vintage.”

She handed it to me. “I have no idea? You really think so? How awesome is that!”

I inspected the mirror like I knew what I was looking for. Knowing that she wanted to hear it was old, I handed it back and smiled. “Yeah, I’d say it’s old.”

She beamed, looked at herself once more and set the mirror on the table just in time for the waiter to bring our dessert. I was enjoying my cheesecake. It’s two of my favorite foods combined into one delicious thing. I sliced off another bite with my fork and stuck it in my mouth. I was just about to stick the fork in again when the surface of the cake moved.

A little crack formed at the top as a bug tunneled its way up. A leg emerged first, followed by another, two antennas, and a head. Suddenly, a moth flew out. I dropped my fork, sending bits of cheesecake crumbles flying all over the table.
 

I could feel the eyes on me. Ethan’s hand went on my thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I needed to come up with an excuse, fast.

“Did it bite ‘cha?” Jonny joked.

“Calories.” My brain raced for a lie. “I reached my limit.”

“Oh,” Susan said and pushed her slice of chocolate cake to the side.

“Yeah,” I lied again. “Gotta keep my figure somehow.” I laughed a ridiculous nervous laugh and smiled. I’d never, ever counted calories in my life. I stared at my dessert; it looked just how a normal piece of half eaten cheesecake should look. There were no holes from a moth tunneling its way out. Still, I picked up my fork and apprehensively sliced a chunk off.

Still normal. I broke off another piece, and another, until my cake was nothing but a pile of mush. I raked through that, carefully picking over every last crumb. Even though I was satisfied there was never a bug in my food, I couldn’t stomach to eat the rest of it. I nervously sipped my water, picked off my peeling nail polish, and didn’t say another word. I caught Tessa looking at me curiously more than once.

Was that a dream too? Had I fallen asleep? No, there was no way. I shook my head at my own thought, gaining another quizzical stare from Tessa. I did see a moth, right? I wasn’t so sure anymore. I replayed the scene in my mind; it was as vivid as a legit memory.

But there was nothing there.

Tessa and Susan—who were friends long before their boyfriends were—chatted away about someone’s wedding that they were a part of and the guys continued to talk sports. I desperately wanted to sink in a hole and disappear. I made sure I didn’t wish that too hard, since I’d been known to accidentally cast spells.

 
“Calories?” Ethan asked as soon as his friends were out of earshot. “Says the girl who ate an entire box of Oreos the other night. You’re not turning into one of those girls who barely eats now, are you?”

“Not at all. You know I can’t stand that and you know I love to eat too much to count calories,” I ranted.

“Good.” He pulled the car keys from his pocket. “They why didn’t you eat the rest of your dessert?

“I thought there was a bug in it.”

“Was there?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t think so.” I shook my head again. “I saw a moth pop out and fly away.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “I think I would have noticed that,” he speculated and opened the passenger door for me.

“I know,” I agreed with a sigh and got in the car. “It wasn’t real, obviously.”

Ethan walked around the car and got in. Once he fired up the engine, he turned to me, looking a bit contrite. “Are you feeling ok?” he asked gently. “I know the move wasn’t easy for you. Maybe we should…we should spend more time together doing things.” The car reversed and moved out of the parking space. “I mean doing things, like going out on dates. We can go to Chicago and I can show you around. You’ve never been to the city. Yeah,” he said with a nod. “We’ll go. Tomorrow, alright?” With a smile, he faced me.

Having grown up in the Order, Ethan was accustomed to lying, twisting the truth, and hiding his emotions. But he was unable to keep the worry from his dark brown eyes.

“That would be fun,” I averred. “I have always wanted to see the city. And eat at the Cheesecake Factory,” I added. “I doubt they have moths in their cakes.” I smiled at Ethan but my stomach churned at the thought of eating more cheesecake. Stupid moth.

Ethan’s returning smile wavered. “Tomorrow it is.” His hand settled on my thigh. “I think you’ll like it. What do you want to do? Shop?” He only slightly grimaced.

I shook my head. “I’d rather sight-see or go to the zoo. Can you show me where you used to live?”

“Sure,” he said, relieved to not have to tote after me from store to store. “It’s nothing special, I promise you.”

“It’s still interesting to me,” I promised.

His lips pressed into a tight smile and the skin wrinkled ever so slightly around his eyes as he tried to fake his excitement. “It’ll be nice to spend the whole day with you.”

“Yes,” I simply agreed. I didn’t mention that we already spend every day together since we lived in the same house and, until recently, I had no local friends. I turned up the radio and rolled down my window; the sixty degree air felt like a heat wave compared to the bitter cold I was used to.

Once we were home, Hunter and I went into the barn.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” I whispered to Hunter. “I keep seeing things that aren’t there.”

Able to sense my nerves, Hunter leaned against me and gave off a calming aura that wrapped around my body. I breathed it in and felt my heart flood with an invisible sanctuary.

“Thanks, boy,” I told Hunter. “I know you have my back. But I just don’t get it. I know that I saw something, I
know
it. But it’s not really there and I can’t explain it. I don’t think it’s a ghost, I mean, you’d feel it so it can’t be, right?”

I sighed and opened the door to the tack room. I grabbed Mystery’s bridle and hoisted the saddle against my hip. I turned sideways to fit through the door. “Maybe I am just stressing myself out. And Laney did just send me that picture of a moth,” I laughed.

Hunter stayed with me while I rode, keeping a watchful eye out for anything remotely paranormal. He remained close to me while I brushed the horses and cleaned stalls. The ball of nerves loosened while I worked, and was almost gone by the time we re-entered the house. Enthralled in whatever video game he was playing, Ethan didn’t look away from the TV when he told me that my phone had rung while I rode.

René had called; I hit redial as I jogged up the stairs. I yanked off my breeches right as she answered.

“Have you seen any more demons?” she asked me as soon as she answered.

“Not since the reaper,” I replied.

“Good. I had a nightmare about a demon attacking you,” she confessed. “I’ve been worried all day.”

“I’m fine…for the time being,” I assured her. “And sorry you had a nightmare. I feel bad, like it’s kinda my fault.”

“Girl, don’t feel bad!” she laughed. “It is not your fault. Am I still freaked out? Yeah. But I’m glad I know. The reaper would still be real even I hadn’t seen him—or it. Is it a ‘he’ or an ‘it’?”

“I don’t really know. I think a ‘he’,” I pondered. “I don’t think it makes a difference, really.”

“I suppose you’re right. Are you busy tomorrow?”

“Actually, yes,” I said with a smile. “I’m going to Chicago with Ethan.”

“Lucky,” she exclaimed. “Well, whenever you have some time, can I come over and look through your magic books?”

By books, I knew she meant spell books. “Of course.”

“Good, ‘cuz I gotta ton of questions for you too,” she admitted with a laugh. “Ugh, I hate not being able to talk to Shelly about this! How do you do it? I would burst with that kind of secret!”

“I don’t have to keep it a secret,” I said, realizing for the first time that it was true. “But everyone would think I’m crazier than they already do so I keep my mouth shut.”

René laughed. “Yeah, they’d probably lock you up.”

“It does suck,” I agreed with her initial statement. “And I feel bad for Ethan; he’s been a demon hunter his whole life and will never get the recognition for it. What he does, what he risks…no one will ever know.”

“You too,” she urged. “You kill them too. You…you’re kinda like a super hero.”

A burst of laughter escaped my lips. “Far from it,” I assured her. “I’m still a rookie, but thanks, really. My best friend, Laney, said the same thing.”

“Both of you guys are,” she went on. “I still can’t believe it’s all true. Well, I can believe it, since I saw it and all. It’s just…it’s hard to wrap my head around. You know? I’m sure you do. Oh shit, I’m rambling. Sorry.”

“Ramble away, I don’t mind,” I said honestly. “It’s a ton to take in; your entire world is different now.”

“It makes me wonder what else is real,” she gushed. “Bigfoot?”

We both laughed. “I don’t think so,” I replied. “I’ll ask Ethan about it just to be sure.”

“Alright, let me know on that one. Call me later; I’ve got to get ready for my date!”

“You’re going out with Scott again?” I couldn’t help but blurt out.