Reaper (49 page)

“Others?” I stepped inside circle number three.

“Don’t you wonder why your little coven has made no attempts to find you?”

Damn it, I did. Refusing to say anything, I stepped inside the fourth circle.

“Ah,” Melcovel went on. “I can see it in your eyes. You do wonder.” I kept my eyes on the ground. “You’re different,” he repeated, flashing his brown, jagged teeth. “Even before I knew your little telekinetic tricks, I thought so. You can do something that not every witch can.
That
, my dearest Anora, is why I needed
you
.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, trying to sound unimpressed.

Melcovel laughed again and stuck his hands inside his cloak. That couldn’t be good. I stepped inside the last circle that separated me from the demon.

“You can go into the Spirit World. Your body—not just your mind. That is why I needed you. There are grand plans, Anora. Plans that you cannot imagine. Plans that will change everything! Plans that will—”

I drove the dagger into his chest…or what I thought was his chest. He recoiled, crashing into the energy wall. He yanked his hands free of the cloak. The dagger had sunk into his forearm, not his heart. The death wouldn’t be instantaneous. Black blood dripped from the wound and ripples of red crackled up his arm. If I held the dagger in place long enough, he would burn.

With his free hand, Melcovel touched my head. Searing pain radiated through and I cried out. I stumbled back, taking the dagger with me. I fell hard on my back, knocking the wind out of me. Blinding white light forced me to look away. I could hear his feet and sense his presence. Hunter flew over me, bits of salt and dirt fell into my face, and attacked Melcovel.

I saw through Hunter’s mind that his jaws sank around Melcovel’s face. He bit down and the break of bones was audible. A light glowed in Melcovel’s hand. I tried to sit up and warn Hunter but I couldn’t.
 
Something hit the ground. It was either Hunter or the demon.

Fur brushed my face. The air around me grew heavy, it pressed down on me. The ground trembled and cracked.
 
I scrambled to my feet. I blinked, forcing the light to go away. I held up my hand to shield it.

“It’s not real!” I shouted.

“Oh,” a voice came from behind me. “It is.”

I whirled around and threw a shield of telekinetic energy away from me. It extinguished the flames on all of the south candles.
Hunter
, I though.
Where is Hunter?
Heart pounding, my eyes scanned the barn. The blindingly bright white light faded. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw that I was alone. I shook my head. This wasn’t real. I walked forward and smacked into something.

Hands grabbed me, sharp nails dug into my skin. A high pitched noise rang in my ears. A shot rang out and the hands let me go. I crumbled to the ground.

“This is your new reality,” Melcovel’s voice whispered in my ears. His breath was cold on my skin. “What you know is gone. You are my puppet now. And I say kill them all.”

Another shot echoed through the barn. I turned just in time to see Melcovel’s cloak swish in the dark. There was another loud ‘pop’ as he disappeared.

“Anora!” Ethan called. I pushed myself up, my green eyes flashing like broken glass. He rushed over to me. “Are you alright?”

I stared blankly in his direction.

“You’re bleeding!” he said and touched my arm.

“No, it’s not real,” I answered, my voice a shell of what it used to be.

“Yes, it is!”

“Stop. It’s not real, see?” I reached down and stuck my fingers inside the gash. Warm, slippery liquid covered my hands. I held it up, thinking that the way the candle light reflected off the blood was almost pretty. I closed my eyes and imagined that the blood was gone. Then I opened my eyes. “See, no blood.”

“You’re still bleeding. Annie, I need you to focus, really focus. You are bleeding. You need to let me stop it, ok?” Ethan’s voice cracked. A dog whined. Ethan let me go and rushed over to Hunter. I watched him kneel down by the Hunter, who stood and looked warily at me. I didn’t feel anything but empty. With no motive to my actions, I walked out of the barn.

The sliding glass door opened. I watched my friends rush out of the house and felt no emotion.

“Did you win?” René asked. I didn’t respond.

“You’re bleeding!” Nik exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes, though the feeling of annoyance didn’t register in my brain. “I already established this isn’t real,” I told him, my tone patronizing.

“Anora?” René asked, and backed away in fear. The sun was low in the sky; a blood red sunset hovered over a barren field. Dew formed on the long grass, soaking the hem of my dress. Hunter raced through the yard and put himself in between myself and my friends. “What is going on?” René shrieked when she realized that Hunter was defending them.

“Something went wrong!” Ethan yelled from the barn. He jogged over. “Anora,” he said gently. “Can you hear me?”

My eyes fixed on his face, but I didn’t really see him. Everything was fuzzy, and I began to feel weak. Sitting seemed like a good idea. The cool grass on my skin startled me just a bit. My brain jumped out of the funk it was in just long enough for abhorrence to flicker across my face.

Ethan dropped to his knees and put his hand on mine. “Annie, you’re hurt.”

I pushed him away. “No. I’m fine. This is an illusion. It’s not real. Actually,” I said and scurried to my feet. “You’re not real either.” I looked around me. “None of you are real.”

“We need to take her to a hospital,” René whispered.

“You’re not taking me anywhere,” I jeered at the hallucination. “You’re not real! Just go away already!”

“Anora,” Ethan said gently and took a step toward me. “I am real. You are real. And you need help.”

“No!” I yelled and gripped my dagger.

“Annie, stop!” Ethan yelled back. “Listen to me!
This
is real!”

“No it’s not!” I covered my ears. “GO AWAY!” I screamed. Ethan stepped closer. “Leave me alone!” He reached out for me and I ducked away, thrashing the dagger in front of me. Someone moved behind me. I spun around and thrust out my hand, sending René flying backward into the house. She shrieked in pain before she collapsed.

“Anora!” Ethan bellowed. His arm went around me.

“Get off!” I screamed and kicked him in the shin. He winced from the pain but held me closer. I madly struggled to get away. I didn’t want to die. I needed to fight for my life.
Kill them
, a voice whispered in my ear.
Kill them before they kill you.

Hunter barked. I could sense what he was feeling; I knew what he was thinking. He didn’t want to hurt me, and he wouldn’t. A Guardian would never hurt their witch. Ever. He didn’t know what to do. I tried to drop to my knees and squirm out of Ethan’s arms. His hands caught my face and I bit him.

I hit the ground with more force than I expected. I should have felt pain, but it never registered in my brain. I took off, running toward the back of the property. Part of me questioned why I was doing it, part of me wanted to turn around and kill Ethan, and part of me screamed to stop.

I veered into the barn. I knew Ethan would come after me. And I knew I had to be ready. I grabbed Neptune’s lead rope and ducked behind the wall by the door. A wicked smile pulled the corners of my lips up when I heard Ethan’s heavy foot falls on the driveway. He shot into the barn. I dove at him, knocking him to the ground.

Telekinetically, I held him down and forced his arms behind his back.

“Anora!” he yelled. “This isn’t you! Stop it! You’re stronger than this!”

“Shut up!” I screamed. “You’re not real!” I wrapped the rope around his arms. Nostrils flared, I backed up, looking at the hallucination. “I have to get the others,” I muttered and barreled out of the barn.

Someone whistled; the melody carried on the wind. It was hauntingly beautiful. I wanted to find whoever was making that sound and shove the dagger into their heart. I wondered how much force I’d need to break through a human sternum. I smiled at the thought of being able to find out.

René was still lying on the ground, crumpled and broken like a pathetic human being. It would be an easy kill. I briskly walked up the driveway, practically salivating at the thoughts of watching her blood ooze from deep inside. I broke into a sprint.

Suddenly, a high pitched noise thundered in my ears. I came to a sliding stop. The dagger slipped from my grasp. “Ah!” I yelled and covered my ears. It was going to deafen me! “Stop!” I screamed. “Stop!”

Someone collided with me. Hunter pinned me to the ground, golden eyes drilling into mine. He held something in his mouth, something that I desperately wanted to get away from.

“No!” I shouted. “You can’t do this! I’m not going to let you kill me!”

Hands grabbed my ankles and I kicked out.

“Anora!” Ethan shouted. “Snap out of it.” He pulled me toward him; Hunter leapt out of the way. My skin tore on the loose gravel. I reached out and took hold of the dagger just as Ethan pulled me to my feet. “Look at me, Anora!” he demanded. “Snap out of this!”

I shook my head and backed away. Ethan grabbed me, his fingers digging into my skin.
That
hurt. He was going to kill me, I was sure of it. I had a weapon; I needed to use it. With my free hand, I hit Ethan in the throat. I pulled out of his hold and brought the dagger up. I smiled as the blade sliced through the air. I metal tip punctured his skin. “Go back to hell, demon!” I shouted.

A sudden flapping of wings made me snap my head up and miss the beautiful sight of fake Ethan’s blood spilling.

“Sorry, my Lady,” Nik said and opened his arms. I screamed when the powder touched me. It burned and itched and penetrated through my skin, boiling my blood. The dagger fell from my hands. Still screaming, I collapsed onto my knees. My body began to twitch.

Kill them…
the voice urged. I tried to get up and finish the task. I had to kill them. If I didn’t, they would kill me and my
real
friends. Heavy hands pulled me to the ground. The cold ground, which felt shockingly real under my very sore body. My eyelids became heavy; I couldn’t fight it anymore. I closed my eyes and let the darkness take over.
 

Chapter 19 - Kiss me Deadly

“I don’t know how much blood she lost,” a voice echoed, sounding like it was coming from the end of a very long hallway.

“Is she going to die?”

“No, or at least I don’t think so.”

“Shouldn’t she go to the hospital?” a female asked.

“Yes,” a deep voice answered. “But not yet.” The voice became clearer. “If she freaks out again, they’ll lock her up.”

Ethan. It was Ethan’s voice. I liked his voice.

“Good thinking on your part,” he told someone. “And Hunter, nice job with the vervain.”

“So what now?” the scared female asked. “I mean, Melcovel is out there, on the loose, right?”

Melcovel? What were they talking about? My eyes opened. Oh crap. Everything came crashing back into my memory. I shot up.

René gasped and jumped, bumping into the end table. I inspected my surroundings. I had been layed on the leather couch in the family room. Hunter was next to me, patiently waiting for me to wake up. He put his paw on my leg, knowing I was back to my normal self. I threw my arms around him, a wave of guilt drowning my heart.

“I’m so sorry, Hunter,” I whispered and hugged him tighter.

“Anora?” Ethan asked, his voice meek.

“I’m not crazy anymore,” I said and looked at him.

“You remember what happened?” he asked.

“Yes, and I feel terrible. I’m sorry I tried to kill you. And you too, René.”

She smiled to show it that it was ok. “All is forgiven. Well, it will be more forgiven when you kill Melcovel.”

I wanted to stand up and hug her. As soon as my butt left the cushion, dizziness weighed heavily on me. I sunk back down.

“You alright?” Ethan asked, looking at me with concern in his eyes.

“Just the normal dizziness,” I told him. I gave up on standing for now. “What happened?”

“I thought you said you remember,” Ethan told me with a frown.

“I remember summoning Melcovel, stabbing him, and then he touched me. That’s when I turned into a homicidal nut. I remember wanting to kill you because he told me to. He said if I don’t kill you, you would kill me,” I explained. “But I don’t remember how you stopped me.”