The Reaper's Apprentices #1: Awakened (9 page)

Chapter 9

By the time
they made it home, it was after hours. Most of the younger demons had gone to bed. Only a few were awake. When they asked what happened, their masters assured everyone they would talk about it later. No one pressed them as they knew the Guardian’s word was final. Judging from the angry looks, they knew better than to keep asking questions. Slowly, they made their way upstairs to where the bedrooms were. They turned on only the stairwell light, so no one would wake up.

“Well, thanks for bringing us back!” Tessa chirped, trying to ease the tension. She eyed the kitchen, thinking she could escape to it. The backdoor led to the gardens. All she wanted to do was go back outside and enjoy the night’s beauty. No more talk of airports, bombs, or demon slayers. “I’ll see you all tomorrow morning! Have a good night!”

Adair was watching her closely.

“Hold it!” Adair stopped her before she could turn around. “I know what you want to do, Tessa, but it’s not going to work tonight.”

Tessa sighed. “Well, at least give me an A for effort.”

“Look, what we did was wrong,” Kaska began. “We should have never disobeyed you and walked off into a place we didn’t know. We were just tired of being cooped up here. We just wanted to have some fun. I know that’s not what being a Reaper’s Apprentice is about but_”

“You don’t need to give me any excuses. Go to your rooms,” Sebastian ordered. “We’ll talk more about it tomorrow.”

Yuka looked up at Sebastian. Tomorrow seemed so far away now that she had forgotten all about it. The packed bags in her room seem like a distant memory, but now it was all flooding back. “Aren’t we supposed to go to Paris tomorrow?”

He didn’t flinch at this. “Not anymore.”

“Not anymore?” she repeated. Even though she could sense where this was headed, she still wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong. She wanted to pretend that she was in the dark so he would be a little bit more sympathetic. Sebastian, however, didn’t soften his glare or change his mind. Instead, his gaze turned away from her like he was disappointed and nothing would fix this. She had done the ultimate worst thing, and he didn’t want to talk.

“Go to your room.” He pointed in her bedroom’s direction. “Like I said, I’m not exactly in the mood to explain anything tonight. I’m not in the mood to hear what you have to say. You’ve lost whatever privileges you’ve earned at this point. How the hell can I expect you to succeed me if you can’t follow a simple order?”

That line felt like a whip cracking against their backs, and it was enough to push the wrong buttons. Now she remembered why they had walked out in the first place. Being a Guardian was the thing putting a damper on their lives. It was always about successions and being just like the previous Guardians. It was about following orders and protecting a world they would not be able to see after a while. It was about helping the dead move on, but not appreciating the living.

“Maybe I don’t want to succeed you,” Yuka said quietly. He whirled around and glared at her, but it was too late to take it back. He could get angry, yet the truth was going to come out. She just never meant for it to sound so cold, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Maybe you’re not the one I want to follow. I never wanted this in the first place.”

“Too bad – you’re not the one who makes the choices,” Gideon added. “Now I’m not going to tell you guys again — go to bed!”

“But I_” Kaska started.

“Enough already! Go to bed!”

“But this isn’t what I want!” Avani shuddered at the sound of Gideon’s voice before storming off. She had never heard him get so loud or be so mean to them. This was a different feeling, and she hated it. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe I’m a Guardian or your follower because that isn’t me. I’m just a girl! I don’t know anything about being a Grim Reaper, and you expect me to learn it, giving up what I know and love?! This isn’t life! This isn’t what I expected! If this is the life I’m supposed to get, then…I don’t want it! I don’t want anything to do with it! I hate it!”

“Avani, I’m not going to_”

“She’s right
. Leave us alone!” Tessa threw in.

The rest of them ran away, leaving a feeling of sadness and anger behind. Fabian closed his eyes and sighed. “Why do I feel like the bad guy right now? Grim Reaper Odom did warn me about this, but I never thought it would happen so quickly.”

“Because they’re acting more like our daughters?” Gideon suggested, feeling the same way. “We needed to teach them a lesson. I know this will sink in one day. I just don’t know where to begin with getting them to understand it today. We’re not trying to be the bad guys here.”

“I guess we begin by talking to them,” Adair suggested, as four doors slammed upstairs. “We’ll wait a few minutes to give them time to cool off. We’ll go in when we know things are going to be fine.”

“You sure those demon slayers won’t come after them? I mean, I know we compelled them to forget what they saw, but I don’t know,” Sebastian murmured. “I’m getting a bad feeling about everything. The bombing on the plane and the demon incidents at the airport are just the beginning. I can’t help but think there’s something else going on.”

“Demon slayers won’t come anywhere near here,” Gideon promised. “We’re protected. Soon enough, the humans will forget about demons and catch the real bomber. Things will be fine.”

But things weren’t fine. All four were angry about the whole thing, and Avani was keeping her word. She now hated her duties and wanted to go home. She would have called if it weren’t for the fact that it was so late at night. Tessa was just too sad to think about anything. She kicked the wall a few times, but not with enough force to damage it. There were other demons sleeping in the rooms next to hers so she hit it gently. Yuka was numb and simply wanted to escape from Tartarus Sanctum. The only problem was that she didn’t know where to go and frankly, she was too tired to move. As much as she hated mouthing off to Master Sebastian, he needed to know how she felt. This wasn’t the life any of them wanted.

Kaska turned out to be the angriest about Paris. The other three could handle this punishment, but this felt like they were being burned on purpose. If she knew her master, he would keep her locked away forever. She opened her drawer and pulled out the embroidery design that she had been working on. It was wine glasses and grapes on a tablecloth. So far, she was only half done. Her original intent was to try and finish it in Paris, but there was no chance of that now. It was better to get it done while she could keep her focus. If she could accomplish a little more on the tablecloth, it wouldn’t make the night a complete waste. In her mind, she could still hear what Avani had said. How she didn’t want to be a part of this anymore, how she was just a girl who wanted to live her life, how she hated her new destiny.

And maybe I hate it too
, she thought, shoving the needle through the cloth. She tried hard not to ruin the work, but her anger wasn’t dissolving. A lot of the blame did fall on them, but their masters should have seen it coming. One couldn’t keep demons locked away forever. They had to explore and get out and understand the human world all over again. This was one of the few good things about tonight — she learned what it was like to be a person again. No training, no talks about Grim Reapers — just relaxation. She was envious of the people at the pizza place, enjoying their sports and talking amongst themselves. She saw it on the college campus as well and wished she could see what else they did. Joining the cheerleading squad made her feel like one of them. But would she have time for it now?

Probably not. This job has no free time for anything.

She slowly worked on a few of the wine glasses, carefully trying not to poke too many holes in the cloth. She was almost through when there was a knock on her door. No doubt one or all of their masters had come upstairs. It was talk time again, but she was in no mood for it. She shoved her embroidery things into the drawer, pulled the covers over her body, and turned off the light. The last thing she needed was for them to get angry because she was still up. Not only that, she just didn’t want to talk.

“Kaska?” Fabian pushed the door open while she pretended to be asleep. Maybe if she was convincing enough, he would go away. He had already told everyone else he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Why was she going to be the exception? She rolled over in bed and closed her eyes.

“Okay, I take it you’re asleep.” He sighed. “I guess it will wait until morning. I know you probably aren’t listening to me now. I’m sure you won’t care but understand that we don’t want to lose you. You’re not ready to tackle demon slayers on your own. Not to mention, we can’t jump them just because they are demon slayers. They’re people, and they’ve done nothing to you. There are going to be times where you can’t just attack someone because you feel like it. You invaded their privacy. You threatened them by being there. They reacted the only way they knew how — to attack. I’m glad I was able to find you in time, but never do that to me again.”

Kaska listened and tried not to move. She felt his weight shift on her bed . He kept talking. “One day, you’ll understand why we did this. There’s still a lot you have to learn.”

Maybe I don’t want to learn,
she wanted to reply back. Instead, she lay still and waited for him to leave. He shifted his weight on her bed and continued to talk her as though she were listening. Maybe he sensed she was or that his words would get through.

“I guess I was a little harsh on you today, but you had me worried. I’m not used to looking after someone. Then again, you’re probably not used to being a demon. But we’ll get through all of it. You just have to trust me and trust your own instincts. It’ll be okay.”

She waited until he got up and left the room, closing the door behind him, before she moved. The bed didn’t feel so empty now, but she was tired for sure. It was little relief that he felt bad about what happened. Tonight had blown up in their faces. She only hoped that the others would understand why they were being punished.

There was a scraping sound at her door. She got up and opened it only to find Oscar. He must have followed his master but was choosing to stay with her. She let him in. He sniffed around her bed before she picked him up and put him on top of it.

“You know he’s going to come back in here,” she told him. Oscar curled up next to her and lay his head down. “And I take it that you don’t care.”

Despite the fact that he was a dog, she was glad for his company. For one thing, he would listen. For another, he couldn’t talk back or scold her. It would be nice to spill her feelings to something that didn’t have an opinion. Master Fabian would ramble about how he was doing it for her own good, but she didn’t want to hear it. True or not, she wanted to get away from him.

“I know I messed up, Oscar. We all did,” she began, pulling her knees up to her chest. “But I’m not mad about that. I just hate the fact that everything is moving fast. One minute, I’m thinking about cheerleading and painting by the Eiffel Tower. The next, someone’s telling me that I’m supposed to take care of the world, which I have to be the one who protects the living and the dead. That’s more than I bargained for. What happened to being nervous about starting college and dating guys?”

Oscar rolled over on his back, and she scratched his belly. “Yeah, I don’t know what to do. I want to go home and start all over. I’m not even sure I want to be a demon anymore. After that plane crash and everyone blaming us for it? None of this is fun.”

She envied Oscar as she continued to pat him. Being a dog had some perks. He didn’t have to worry about this brewing war between humans and demons. All he had to do was eat, run, and play. He didn’t need to worry about punishments, unless he tracked mud inside or chewed up the drapes. Even then, his punishment was usually putting him in his bed or no extra treats. It didn’t mean he was kept from vacations or a real life.

“What I wouldn’t give to be in your place right now.” She sighed. “I wish I could go home.”

Oscar got up and ran out of the room. Feeling tired and depressed, she decided to get into bed and try to sleep. Hopefully, the dog and Fabian would not come back in here again. She wanted to sleep and forget about this night. She wanted to forget that she was a guardian.

“I wish I never came here. I wish I wasn’t a demon,” she murmured as she closed her eyes. “I wish this place never existed.”