Reaper (14 page)

A moan filled the darkness as I turned to face the television. In black and white, the screen showed a pile of rocks. At first I thought the stones were trembling. I took a silent step forward and terror filled my heart. Millions of tiny spiders came forth from the top of the pile, scattering along the damp earth.

Horrified I watched, unable to move. In dreamland, nearly an hour passed and yet the spiders were still coming. Then a rock came tumbling off the pile, echoing loudly as it hit the others on its way down.
 
A boney hand covered in leathery skin emerged from the top of the pile. I tried to scream but no sound escaped my lips.

I stepped back and tripped over a tree root; I wasn’t in my room anymore. The pile of rocks lay in front of me. I needed to get away. I needed to run before the reaper—

Something landed on me. I shot up, heart racing. Hunter nudged me, letting me know that it was only the effects of a dream that made me feel so terrified.
 
I let out a shaky breath and ran my hands over my face. My palms were clammy and my body was drenched in a cold sweat. Hunter reassuringly licked my face and I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his thick fur.

“Just a dream,” I muttered. “A stupid, freaky dream.” I flopped back down in bed, completely wide awake. I wanted to call Laney and make sure she was alright. I picked up my phone but stopped; it was one-fifteen in the morning and she had school in tomorrow. Grudgingly, I set my phone back on the nightstand; I knew there was no way I’d be able to fall asleep without speaking to my best friend.

About half an hour later, Ethan came into the room. He silently stripped out of his clothes and got in bed, quietly asking Hunter to move out of his spot. Hunter’s mind pressed into mine, making sure it was ok with me for him to leave. Mentally, I said it was, and I thanked him for waking me from my nightmare. I snuggled close to Ethan and eventually fell asleep.

~*~

We got on the train leaving Chicago the next night exhausted. The first half of the day was spent at the Museum of Science and Industry and the rest was spent walking around the city. Last night’s rain had brought in cooler temperatures and I was bundled up in my winter coat yet again.
 

I rested my head on Ethan’s shoulder and he put his arm around me.

“Tired?” he asked with a wry smile.

“Yeah. I didn’t get much sleep last night to begin with.”

He chuckled. “You got more sleep than I did.”

I straightened up. “How do you manage to do that? Not get much sleep, I mean. It’s like it never affects you.”

Ethan shrugged. “I’m used to it,” he told me. He’d mentioned before that sleeping in was rare in the life of a demon hunter, even though most hunts took place at night.
 
He was used to it, and was glad he was, since sleepless nights filled with supernatural terror were inevitable. “Did you have fun today?” Ethan asked for the second time.

“Yes. Really, I did,” I said with a smile. “Thanks for showing me everything.”

His arm tightened around me and I could see the happiness in his eyes, though he still hadn’t forgotten my odd behavior.

“We’ll have to come back when it’s warmer,” he suggested.

“I’d like that,” I replied and dug my ringing phone from my purse. I had texted Laney as soon as I woke up to make sure she was ok. We had been texting back and forth all day.

“On your phone again?” Ethan teased. “What, am I that boring?”

“Shut up,” I said playfully. “Oh, it’s Harry.” I moved my hair from my ear and answered the phone. “Hey, Har.”

“Annie,” he mumbled, his voice flat. “Can you talk?”

“Of course, dummy, I’m talking to you.”

“I mean, is it safe to talk?” he replied.

My heart skipped a beat when he didn’t joke back. “Harry, what’s wrong?” I demanded, leaning forward in angst.

“I-I think I slept with a demon…again.”

Chapter 6 - Flirting with Disaster

“What?” My voice was high and shrill with shock. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh. Ethan turned to me, wanting to know the situation. I waved my hand in the air and shook my head.

Harrison sighed. “I met this girl a couple of weeks ago.”

“Where?” I interrupted.

“At a party.”

“Why is she a demon?” I asked, getting to the point.

“Let me explain,” he spoke, his voice edging on annoyance. “I met this girl a couple of weeks ago at a party,” he repeated. “She seemed normal at first…smoking hot too. She came right up to me, said she was from another school, and knew who I was.”

“And you didn’t think that was unusual?” I questioned.
 

“No. A lot of people know who I am,” he said matter-of-factly. In his defense, it was true; Harrison had quite the reputation. “We just talked and she gave me her number. She said her name was Keaira. I called her the next day and we made plans to go out that night. She canceled last minute and I figured she was flakey so I moved on. The next weekend I went to Connor’s cousin’s party two hours away at their lake house. I was really wasted when Keaira showed up…I didn’t think how weird it was that she was there.”

“Seriously?”

“Well, yeah. It’s possible. She could have been friends with my friends. It happens,” he tried to rationalize.

“And?”

“Well, we…ya know, and I drove her home the next day. She started asking all these weird questions about my birthday, like what time I was born, what phase the moon was in, and what my zodiac symbol is—I don’t even know that.”

“Virgo,” I said automatically. “Why would she want to know—” I cut off when the thought rushed into my head. “Did you tell her you had a twin?” Blood flooded to my cheeks, bringing rosy colored fear to my face.

“Yes,” he answered guiltily. “And she was asking about you.”

“What did she say?”

“She wanted to know if we were alike.”

“And what did you tell her?” I asked, afraid of what my idiot brother gave away.

“Just normal stuff!” he insisted. “That you’re quiet and like horses. That’s all.”

“Ok,” I gushed and took a deep breath. “I’m still not getting why she’s a demon. Weird and creepy—maybe. But demon?”

“Here’s the thing; I brought her home with me.”

“Why would you do that?” I demanded.

“So we could be
alone
,” he told me honestly. He took in a shaky breath. It was no secret that Harrison was nowhere close to being a virgin, but he had never shared any details with me. I was thankful for that. “I was pretty hung over and fell asleep when we were done. When I woke up, she wasn’t there. I went looking for her and found her in your room, staring at a picture of Hunter. She asked where he was and got kinda pissed when I told her that you guys moved to our aunt’s old house in Indiana.”

My fear twisted into anger. “Oh my God, Harry, could you be any more stupid? Maybe you should use your upstairs brain for once! And you said ‘slept with a demon again’, so you slept with Jenny? Why don’t you just start a business? Free sex in exchange for info about my demon-killing, witch sister!”

The woman seated in front of us turned around and shot me a ‘what-the-hell’ look. My green eyes flashed with anger and she turned right back around.

“Annie,” Ethan gently said and held out his hand. With a frustrated sigh, I gave him the phone. I was scared, scared for my safety as well as my brother’s. He was naïve enough to think anyone and everyone wanted to be his friend. How hard would it be to lure him away? I doubted a demon would have to even try.

I thought of my dream and remembered the horror and heartbreak I felt when Laney died in dreamland. The whole reason I moved was to keep the demonic threats away from the people I cared the most about.

But it didn’t work. Harrison was still a target. They knew who I was and they knew who Harry was to me. Was anybody safe? Would a demon fake an injury and get into the hospital to attack my mother? Or maybe take on the identity of a college student and be in my dad’s class next semester? I hoped they wouldn’t go so far as to show up on my grandparent’s doorstep in Jacksonville.
 

I distantly heard Ethan asking Harrison to reiterate what he had just told me. An image of Harrison flashed through my mind; his blue eyes were cold and lifeless and there was blood in his blonde hair. I wanted to drive to New York and collect my brother, lock him in a safe room, and wait for Keaira to come after him again. I wasn’t really sure what I’d do once she got there, but I imagined it would involve the pointy end of my dagger.

“Did you see her do any basic human stuff?” Ethan asked Harrison. There was a moment’s pause while my brother answered. I watched intently and felt my heart skip a beat in fear when Ethan’s eyes slightly widened. “That’s impressive,” Ethan said into the phone. “No shit, three times? Yeah, we’ve tried…” he trailed off, smiling guilty at me, “…never mind. You probably don’t want to know ‘cuz she’s your sister. But that’s not what I mean. Did you see her eat, drink, go to the bathroom, or be affected by weather, like say she’s hot or cold?” He paused again while my brother spoke. “Ok, good, well not good since it was in your car…that’s sick, man. But demons don’t usually puke after drinking that much, or at all. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a demon puke.”

I leaned back in my seat and wrapped my arms around myself. I wished Hunter was with me. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and press my face into his thick fur.

“Here’s what you have to do,” Ethan instructed Harrison. “Outline your whole house with salt; keep it close to the foundation so it’s not obvious. I’m gonna have my friend, Julia, bring you Devil’s Shoestring. Yeah, that’s the stringy-looking roots Annie put on the doorframes last fall.”

Ethan let out a breath and ran a hand over his hair, nodding to whatever Harrison was saying. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to her. Alright, here she is.” He handed my phone back to me and dug his own out of his pocket, no doubt calling Julia.

“I’m really sorry, Annie,” Harrison pleaded.

“I’m not mad,” I said through clenched teeth.

“So convincing,” he said grimly.

“I’m scared, Harry.”

“I think Ethan can handle a teenage demon,” he tried to joke.

“I’m scared for you,” I corrected him. “Harry, you’ve got to be more careful! You were alone with her! What if she-she killed you?”

“She didn’t,” Harrison retorted.

“Obviously! Please, Harry, promise me you’ll use your head when it comes to meeting new people.”

“You don’t want me to meet anyone new?”

“I didn’t say that, Har,” I shot back. He could be really petty when he wanted to. “But you do need to think a bit more when people randomly show up, ok?”

“It’s not fair.
You’re
the one with the powers. You should be the one who worries,” he whined.

“I do worry! All the freaking time! And it’s not fair and I’m sorry, ok?” I exasperated. “I hate that demons will try to use to you get to me!” The woman turned around and eyed me again. Ethan reminded me to keep my voice down. “Look, Harry, I love you and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, ok? Please,
please
be careful.”

“I will,” he huffed. “Ethan’s friend is coming over so I’ll be fine,” he stated as if reminding me. I was able to hear the question in his voice.

“Yeah, Julia is good. She won’t let anything happen.”

Harrison laughed. “I don’t need a girl protecting me. I’m sure I can handle whatever she can.”

It was a good thing Harrison wasn’t within reach; I would have pinched him. “Seriously?” I said, my voice icy.

“Yes. It’s a proven fact that men are stronger than women.”

“Maybe,” I agreed to keep from arguing. “But when that strong, macho-man is drunk off his ass, I don’t think he could defend himself from a pixie!”

“Pixies are real?” he asked, side tracking me from being offended.

“I’m not sure. There was something in the book—don’t change the subject! Yes, Harry, you are strong, you work out, and play football,” I boosted his ego. “But you don’t know how to fight against demons. Harry,
please,
” I begged again. “Just be safe.”

“Alright,” he finally agreed. “I will. I won’t even go out tonight.”

“That’s a really good idea,” I praised. It was smart in more ways than one; it kept him out of demon hands and out of social trouble. “I’ll call you tomorrow, ok?”

“Alright,” he repeated. “Bye, Annie.”

“Ughh!” I sighed and put my phone back in my purse. One of Ethan’s arms went around me and the other grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine.

“Don’t freak out yet,” he soothed.

“How can I not?” I asked him and looked into his brown eyes.

“I don’t think Keaira is a demon. Harrison told me that he saw her eat food, drink a lot of booze, and then puke it up. Demons sometimes eat and drink to keep up the rouse of being human, but I’ve never heard of one going to the extent of barfing up alcohol. I suppose one could, but I don’t think your brother is that hard to fool,” he informed me in a hushed voice, with his face close to mine. If anyone on the train saw us, they would probably assume Ethan was whispering naughty things to me.

My heart slowed down just a little. “So what is she?”

“I don’t know. I’m guessing she really is a human. Wanting to know about your birthday is odd. She could be working for someone.”

“You mean something?”

“Yeah.” He tipped his head closer to mine. “Annie, remember last year when I told you how the demons will come and go?”

I nodded. “I remember.”

“I think I left something out. You’re always going to have this.”

“I’m not following,” I admitted.

“Demons, people, or spirits trying to get info on you. They probably have been for your entire life.” He shook his head. “The spell your aunt put on you was a strong one; you weren’t magically important enough before to be a threat. Now that you are…”

“They’re not happy,” I finished for him.

“Exactly. Demons hate Order members, and we are just human. We’re easy to take out and eliminate. You, on the other hand, are on a level playing field with the demons. Not only do they want you dead, but they want your power,” he reminded me.

“So what do I do? Sit idly by while the scum of the underworld collects info me?”

Ethan laughed. “Kind of. And do what you told Harry; be careful. That’s really all you can do. If you spend too much time thinking about who or what can find you, you’ll end up locked in a house in the middle of the woods with no windows, a shit ton of surveillance cameras, and cats for friends. I won’t promise you that you will be fine because I can’t. But I will promise you that whatever comes after you, you won’t face alone.”

I couldn’t help the sappy smile that broke out across my face. “I love you,” I blurted.

Ethan smiled back and kissed my forehead. “Try to relax. I also promised a fun day, and the day isn’t over yet.”

~*~

I was dead asleep when Hunter joined us in bed. I stirred from my dream when his weight pressed down on my abdomen. He was heavy and uncomfortable, but I felt so safe and secure with him over me, I didn’t care. I pulled my arm out of the warmth of the blankets to pet him. I dozed off scratching Hunter’s neck.

 A tickle on my nose woke me up. I lazily swatted at it, thinking it was a stray hair poking me in the face. Then I felt movement, the kind of movement that makes you freeze before spazzing out; I was
sure everyone reacted that way when a bug crawled on them. I automatically flicked it off, not bothered by the fly that I assumed it was. Maybe it was because my childhood was spent in a barn that flies didn’t bother me in the least.

 
Hunter woke up and looked at me curiously, half annoyed at being disturbed. I shook my head to tell him I was alright. He rolled over and stretched out
I was just about to do the same when the feeling of walking bug legs itched my arm. My eyes were still adjusting to being awake but there was no doubt that that was the silhouette of a moth. I slapped it off with so much force it hurt. Suddenly, wings flapped in my ears. I madly ran my hands through my hair; it was full of bugs. Fully panicking, I swatted and batted at the flying insects. Something buzzed in my ears and crawled down my pajama shirt. In my manic attempt to jump out of bed my hand somehow landed on Ethan, right between his legs.

“What the hell?!” he started angrily, recoiling in pain.

I tumbled off the bed. Just as suddenly as they appeared, the moths were gone. I ran my hands over my head several times just to be sure. My hands shook. It was another hallucination.

“Annie?” Ethan sounded annoyed. I knew he wanted an explanation.

“Moths,” I summed up. Using my mind, I turned on the lamp in the sitting area of the room. “They were all over me, I swear.”

With his knees still drawn up in pain, Ethan blinked at the bright lights. “Moths?” he asked incredulously.

“And other bugs,” I added quietly, still running my hands over my body. Hunter stood on the bed, looking at me just as skeptically as Ethan.

“You’re shivering,” Ethan mumbled and slowly relaxed.

 
I hugged my arms around myself. “Oh, yeah, I guess so.”

“Come back in bed,” he said as he sat up.

I nodded and scrambled off the floor. Ethan wrapped the blanket and then his arms around me. “You had another nightmare,” he speculated.

“No.”

“What else would it be, Annie?” he asked gently and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

“That girl!” I stated the obvious.

“What girl?” Ethan asked.

“The one that Harry met!” I exasperated, annoyed he wasn’t catching on as quickly as I liked.

“Oh, right.” He shook his head. “How could she be responsible for making you have a nightmare?”

“She’s putting things in my head!” I pushed out of Ethan’s embrace. “This has been going on for a while, Ethan. I thought it was nightmares too. But it’s not!
Please
say you believe me!”

“Of course I believe you, Annie. I…I just don’t know what I’m believing.”

“Believe that someone put a spell on me and is probably trying to kill me! They are in my head! I can feel them!” I knew I sounded crazy, but frankly, that was exactly how I felt.

Ethan sat up and put his hand over mine. “If anything is going on, we’ll figure it out.”

“Something
is
going on!”

“Annie,” he said calmly. “It will be ok.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. I won’t let anything happen to you. No matter what, I’ll keep you safe.” He lay back down and tugged on my hand.

“No offense, but how can you keep me safe from something you can’t see?” The question scared me more than I wanted to admit. Reluctantly, I lay down too. Hunter snuggled close to me. I wanted to turn and hug my Guardian but knew it would probably offend Ethan.

“I don’t know,” he admitted hoarsely. “But I will. I promised to keep you safe and I intend on keeping that promise. No matter what it is, it is not something we can’t take down together.”

“Right,” I agreed. I wanted to believe that I could snuggle up next to my demon-hunting boyfriend and be safe. I wanted to believe that Ethan really could keep me safe from whatever was going on. A heavy feeling weighed in my stomach, one I couldn’t ignore; this was beyond Ethan’s realm. Whoever was doing this to me was doing it so well that they had gone by undetected until now. I had denied that I had a real issue for weeks. It wouldn’t be Ethan protecting me, I would be protecting him.

“Try to get some sleep,” he encouraged. “I don’t think there is anything else we can do tonight.” He tightened his embrace and kissed my forehead.

“I’ll try,” I whispered. “Though I still feel creeped out; you know how much I hate moths. Yuck, I’d rather see spiders.”

“That’s just the thing,” Ethan quietly replied.

“What is?”

“Anyone else
would
have seen spiders.”

~*~

“Shoot!” I cursed under my breath as the smell of burned toast wafted throughout the kitchen. I dashed over to the stove and flicked on the fan before flipping the blackened bread in the frying pan. “So much for that piece,” I sighed and set it on a plate. “I was only gone for a minute!” I protested and shook my head. Romeo had knocked something heavy off my dresser, when I went upstairs to investigate I discovered the full glass of water I had set there the night before spilled all over the floor. In the time it took me to clean it up, my breakfast has burned.

I got another piece of bread from the bag, buttered it, cut out a small hole in the middle and flopped it down in the pan. I cracked an egg and poured the yoke into the hole in the bread. I knew the garage door would open seconds before it did. Hunter raced in, eager and excited to see me just like a normal dog.

“Are you cooking or burning breakfast?” Ethan joked and kicked off his boots.

“It was just one piece,” I admitted with a smile.

“I let the horses out,” he informed me and sat down at the island counter. “It’s getting hot out already.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah, and humid.”

“I don’t even care. I miss the heat!” The repetitive cold, dreary spring weather was making me depressed. Plus, for some reason I couldn’t quite fathom, a warm sunny day seemed safe.

“You won’t be saying that in July,” Ethan bet.

“Yes I will. I love summer.” I flipped the toast, careful not to slosh the uncooked egg all over the pan, and turned to face Ethan. He smiled at me, looked around and asked,

“Feel anything abnormal?”

I shook my head. “Not at the moment.”

“Good.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I think it’s a ghost. The visions are manifesting in a very personal way, almost as if your worst fears are being projected. Or,” he started and sat up straight, as if his sudden idea was startling. “It could be you entirely.”

“
I’m
making myself hallucinate?” I asked dubiously.

“More or less. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before! Annie, you have a hell of a lot of power just floating around inside you. And maybe that power needs an outlet.”

“And that outlet is creating images that terrify me? Geeze, stupid powers. Manifest in a helpful way, like getting rid of all the dust in this house.” I turned around to check on my toast.

“I’m serious, Annie. And this can be dangerous,” Ethan said in a tone that make goosebumps break out on my skin. “Sometimes the manifestations can take on a mind of their own. You really could get hurt.”

“What do I do?” I asked and dished the toast onto a plate. I put it in front of Ethan and set about making a piece for myself as he spoke.

“I’m not too sure. I’ve only seen this happen a few times, and none of the people causing the manifestations had power. They were picking up on psychokinetic energy from spirits. Once we banished the ghosts, everything was fine. If it is you, then maybe you should use magic more. And try not to be so stressed—and don’t tell me you’re not. I can tell you are.”

“I’m fine,” I automatically stated. “The move took me a while to get used to, but I’m adjusting.”

“Anora, there’s no shame in being homesick,” he said gently. “I’ve moved around my whole life and it doesn’t get any easier. It’s no fun being uprooted, trust me, I know.”

“I’m not
homesick
; this is home. I’m…friendsick?” I shook my head. “If that makes sense,” I added.

“It does,” he agreed.

“And,” I continued, feeling the weight lifted off me as I confessed. “It makes me sick that my mom is still too mad to call me and see how I’m doing.”

“The phone works both ways,” Ethan told me.

I glared at him; that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “I know, but isn’t she worried about me? I’m hundreds of miles away and, as far as she knows, I’m not capable of living on my own.”

“You’re not alone,” he stated.

“Exactly. I’m living with my boyfriend who she has only met a handful of times. And we’ve only been together for six months. I know we’re perfect for each other, but she doesn’t. It’s like she doesn’t care about me at all.”

“I’m sure your mom knows that you talk to Harrison weekly; don’t you think she interrogates him as soon as he gets off the phone with you?”

“I don’t know!” I exasperated. I wanted to vent, not have a logical conversation. “And I think she’s not letting my dad talk to me anymore. He at least texts me every once in a while.”

“I’m not sure what it’s like to be a parent,” Ethan said calmly. “But you have to think about this through your parent’s point of view. You up and left after both of us sustained serious and highly questionable injuries. They have no idea who you really are.”

“I know,” I said with a sigh and poked at my egg. “It just makes me feel like they don’t care. I guess I should be used to it.”