Just a Little Death (Children of the Apocalypse Book 1) (5 page)

“Who aren’t unbiased.” Pete pointed out. “Or flawless, not that we are either. The higher power gave us all freewill.”

Which was different than anything I’d thought was true. I believed angels were flawless and free of sin, and I had never thought the Horsemen of the Apocalypse existed, never mind their children. “I feel like this is getting more and more complicated.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Aeron nodded. “Parents’ weekend is in a few weeks. I suggest you don’t tell your mother what is going on.”

“My guess is she’ll already know what you are. She warned me not to hang out with you Aeron, mentioned she knew your parents. So my guess is she at least knows what you and Ruthie are. Meaning parents’ weekend we’re not going to be able to hang out.” I rubbed my hands over my eyes.

Ruthie wrinkled her nose. “I can since I’m your roommate, but she knows I’m an angel. So it’ll be best if you do the normal parent things while she’s here. Like show her the classrooms, go out to dinner.”

And with any luck it would all work out and my mother would know nothing. Could I be that lucky?

I spent the rest of the day working on math homework and decided that the class had to have been made by the devil herself, because the hundred problems assigned were hell. I slammed the book closed. “What kind of teacher assigns this many problems on the first day of class? I still have the other three classes to start on.”

“Welcome to college.” Ruthie laughed. “It’s time to go to the common room. Ready?”

I groaned. “Do we have to? I think my brain has turned to mush.” I stood and did a zombie walk. “Brains, I need brains.”

Ruthie laughed and shoved me towards the door. “Let’s go.”

We walked down the hall and to the center of the building. A large room with couches separated the guys’ and girls’ side of the dorms. It was filled with everyone on our floor. Kaleb waved at us and patted the empty seats next to him. Ruthie nudged me towards him while her eyes glanced over the room. I wondered what she could see that I couldn’t.

“Have you met your RA yet?” Kaleb leaned over and asked. We both shook our heads and he leaned back. “Me either. I thought they were supposed to introduce themselves when we first moved in.”

I shrugged. “Maybe they are just crappy RAs?” I offered, but the sinking feeling in my stomach told me otherwise.

Two people walked in, side by side. The woman was tall and swayed gracefully as she stalked into the room. Her blond hair complimented her sharp face and accented her green eyes. Her slim body weaved through the small crowd gathered in the room. Her green eyes met my gaze and Ruthie put her hand on my knee and it tightened. The man cleared his throat and my attention turned to him. He towered over everyone standing in the room. The way he held himself commanded attention. His slicked back black hair left his dark eyes clear. His gaze was predatory as it swept over everyone. It landed on us and Kaleb cursed. Ruthie and I both glanced at him. Kaleb nodded to Ruthie and I knew I had missed something.

The dread claimed my stomach as the two RAs made their way towards the middle of the crowd. Neither one of them took their eyes off us. I pressed my lips together and leaned back, refusing to show them fear.

“Welcome to a new year here at Mesa College. I’m Gypsy, the women’s RA on the second floor, and this is Princeton, the men’s RA.” She smiled. “We’re here to make sure you all stay safe and happy through the year. If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by our rooms and ask. We have some rules for the dorms, and if you fail to follow them it can result in you being kicked out of the housing program.”

I listened to the rules and noted they all sounded standard. No drinking, no drugs, quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.. They dismissed the group but Gypsy pointed at us. “You three. Stay behind.”

Ruthie gave a sweet smile. “Of course.” The venom in her voice sent shivers down my back. Kaleb glanced at me then back to Gypsy and Princeton.

“Sammy has nothing to do with this. Let her go back to the room.”

The common area emptied out except for us. I stood with the intention of listening to Kaleb and going back to the room, but energy moved over me and I knew a barrier had appeared. I crossed my arms and faced the two RAs. “Seriously?” I let out an annoyed sigh.

“Two Children of the Apocalypse and an angel. What on earth could be going on here? Death’s… daughter? Famine’s son?” Gypsy laughed and clapped her hands together. “Oh, we all seemed to have picked the same college searching for the same thing.” Her eyes landed on me. “Where’s your father, dear?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea.” It wasn’t a lie as I didn’t know what plane of existence he lived on. “If you find him, tell him I say hi.” I gave a half smile.

Ruthie snorted. “Are we really going to do this here in the middle of the dorms? Witnesses or not, we all know we’re evenly matched. Your boss would be pissed if you blew your cover.”

We all stared at each other for a moment. My muscles tensed as Gypsy crossed her arms. I wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off her face.

“We have other things to focus on anyways. You three just make sure you stay out of our way.” She spun around and walked away.

The barrier faded and I turned to Kaleb and Ruthie. “Friends of yours?”

“You just met the personifications of Envy and Pride.” Ruthie shook her head. “Two of the Seven Deadly Sins. Makes me wonder where the other five are.” She glanced around the room as if expecting them to appear.

I let out a huff of breath. “I could be walking by demons and angels all day long and I’d never know.”

“Pretty much, welcome to being a human.” Kaleb patted me on the shoulder. “The abilities will come, and if they don’t…maybe it’s because you’re a woman.”

The glare Ruthie shot him should have killed him. “It is not because she’s a woman. It’s because she’s never been exposed to our world before.” She rubbed her eyes. “This changes things a little bit. We thought the lower level demon was after you, but finding the daughter of Death isn’t a job that should be passed to higher demons.”

I paused and replayed the scene. “They don’t know where Death is, that’s why they are here.” I frowned. “Death doesn’t appear physically in this plane often?”

“He shows up to reap, but even then most of the time it’s a projection of himself.” Ruthie glanced at me. “I think you’re right.”

“This area is about to have one of the highest death tolls from the Black Death the state has seen. The news stated that the epidemic is originating here and spreading.” I shook my head. “I hate that I know this, but my guess is that they are hoping they can catch him here.”

We all took a moment to consider it. “Talk to him about it when you see him.” Ruthie finally said. “If he knows about it then he can avoid them for longer.”

Kaleb sighed. “Let’s hope that we get a handle on this and figure it out. I’ll see you two tomorrow.” He walked towards the men’s side of the dorm.

Ruthie and I headed towards our room. “We’re in trouble if all seven of them are here. Have you seen any demons running around?”

I glared at her. “I can’t see the difference yet. Remember?”

She grumbled and opened our door. She shut the door and paced the room. “I hope you’re up for this.”

I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “So do I.”

Parents’ Weekend

I slammed my math book shut. Two weeks of class and the homework was trying to bring me down. My teacher seemed to have it out for me and the only thing that kept me from dropping the class was Jared. He helped tutor me when he could, despite my claims of having a study group already. It wasn’t a matter of not understanding the material, but that the professor wanted me to fail. I knew it. I glanced at the clock. “I have to go meet with Death before I pick my mom up tonight. What are you and the boys up to this weekend?”

“Kaleb plans on spending the entire weekend in the library and the rest of us plan on going to different events to make sure you and your mom stay safe, without blowing your cover.”

We weren’t sure why mom didn’t know I was Death’s daughter, but we assumed blissful ignorance. She didn’t want to see it, therefore she didn’t. Everyone else seemed to know at the mere sight of me. None of my abilities had shown up yet. My skills with a Bo staff improved from the first day, but Death had yet to let me have a scythe, mostly because I couldn’t summon my own yet. In a fight, Ruthie would be able to throw me one of her staffs, but nothing more. I needed to learn to use what I’d have.

I nodded and put my book away. “That completes all my homework for the weekend. I’m looking forward to a weekend of fun.”

“Just keep your eyes peeled and try not to step on any demon toes while you’re out.” She grinned. “We’ll see you around and I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be without my guardian angel for an entire weekend. “You’ll be watching?”

She nodded. “I’ll always know when you’re in trouble. It’s my job.” She grinned. “Get going, you don’t want to be late.”

I nodded and closed my eyes. I did exactly what Death had taught me. I imagined him in my mind, standing tall and proud with his scythe. When I opened my eyes I found myself standing in front of him staring at the skulls in his eyes.

“This will be a quick lesson since you have to pick up your mother.” He grinned at me. “I can sense the abilities waking in you. So today we move on.”

He tossed me his scythe and I caught it. This wasn’t the agricultural scythe people used to reap crops. No, this one had a straight handle, and a curved blade at the top. It wasn’t meant for crops; it was meant for fighting. Killing. Reaping souls. My hand tightened around it as if it was natural to have. It called to something in me. Warmth flowed through my body and I dropped the handle so I held the scythe in both hands. I spread my feet apart and waited.

Death summoned another one and he nodded. “You can feel it in your blood. This is what you were called for. Much of this will come naturally to you. Attack.”

I shifted my weight and shot towards him, swinging the blade at his neck. He sidestepped and blocked it with his handle. “Good. Again.”

I switched grips and went for a lower attack. He swung his scythe down and blocked it. I recovered from the defense in time for him to swing at my midsection. I jumped back, but not before the blade caught my shirt. I swiped my scythe down, hooking my blade around his scythe and forcing it out of his hands. It flew away from him, but he held his hand out and it returned there.

“Not bad. Remember, each creature like us can summon their weapons to them. Horsemen and Sins are the only ones with weapons specific to them, and unlike the angels, we can’t share our weapons. You can use my scythe because you are the heir to my responsibilities. Disarming them will only buy you a couple more seconds. Angels can summon one to share if need be, and one for themselves.”

I nodded. “But it could be enough to get the final blow in.”

“Could, depending on how fast you can attack and how long it takes them to recover. Never depend on that.” He let go and the weapon disappeared. “You’re distracted today.”

I thought I’d been doing a fair enough job focusing, but maybe he was right. “I’m having a hard time balancing life, and I’m wondering if after three weeks of seeing people die from the plague on the news, demons showing up at school, and the Seven Deadly Sins hanging around if I can be normal this weekend.”

He motioned for me to follow him. “Your mother would forgive you if the weekend wasn’t exactly normal. Fallen or not, she’s still an angel, she still knows the world exists.”

I let go of my scythe and it disappeared. “She wants nothing but normal. It would be disappointing for her, I think.” I walked with him through the field. The world changed when I was there, instead of the barren empty fields. Tall dead weeds covered the land. I brushed my hands over the tops as we walked.

“It would, but she had to know from the moment that you were born it was a possibility. You are part angel, that means that you belong to this fight, my child or not. At some point abilities would manifest in you and you’d see things other humans couldn’t.” He shrugged. “Demons would know you on sight, like they do now.” He sounded so certain.

Which made our theory about her being in denial even stronger. “Do you think I could get out of going to college if I told her I was your kid?”

He laughed. “No, I don’t. It’s important for you all to appear as human as possible so you can walk among them. Until the horsemen die or retire, you’ll live in that realm.”

Damn. “Fine, I’ll get my degree and a job, and hunt demons on the side.” I chuckled at the thought. Student by day, demon fighter by night.

He nudged me while we walked. “Fighting demons keeps the senses sharp.”

The few weeks that we had spent with each other, we’d grown closer. He hadn’t told me much about what he was like when he had to be a human and he never mentioned what happened between him and my mother. I figured we’d get there eventually and I wasn’t ready to trust him with my whole life either.

“You need to get going if you want to pick her up from the train station. It’ll be on time today. I…have souls that need reaping.” He disappeared and I found myself standing in my room alone.

More souls to be reaped. Yes, people died every day, but the death toll was starting to climb, and on the western slope alone a hundred people had been hospitalized with the plague.

The Black Death was trying to make a comeback.

Traveling by train was always hit and miss, what should have been a ten-hour trip could easily turn into thirteen or more. Today, the train pulled up to the station right on time. I waited in the lobby for my mother to come out with her luggage. Her smile grew as she walked out, pulling her suitcase behind her.

Her smile warmed me and put me at ease for the time being. Soon we’d be lost in talk of classes and schedules and how life here was going for me. She’d be more concerned about if I was doing well without her than anything else. She wrapped me in her arms.

“I’ve missed you so much.” She squeezed me and pulled back. Her eyes wandered over my body and she frowned, hooking her finger in the slice of my shirt.

How had I forgotten that was there? I pressed my lips, waiting for her to say something. I had a tank top underneath so at least no skin showed. She shook her head. “I’ll never understand these new fashions.”

I forced a laugh. “I must have snagged it on something earlier. You ready to head to the hotel? Or do you want to grab an early dinner?” I walked with her out to the car and popped my trunk. I put her suitcase in while she went to the passenger side.

“Dinner sounds wonderful. Where do you want to go?” She got into the car and tried several times to gently close the door before slamming it.

I got in and pulled mine shut. “There’s a local diner down on Main Street. It’s cute, outfitted to look like the fifties. Want to try that?”

“That sounds wonderful.” She squeezed my hand as I put the car in gear. “How are classes? Are you still having problems with your math class?”

I shrugged. “I’m getting the hang of it. The answers are all correct when I turn it in, but when I get it back she says my methods are wrong and she takes points off. All I need is a C to pass the class though, then I can move on.”

“You’ll have more teachers like her later on. Look at it as a learning experience. Can you go in and talk to her about why the methods are unacceptable?”

I could, but the woman scared the crap out of me. “I can, and if it gets too bad, I will.” I pulled the car into traffic leading downtown to Main Street. It was early enough that the restaurant shouldn’t be crowded, but rush hour was starting up.

We moved down the road slowly and I paid attention to the cars trying to weave in and out of traffic. “How’s work?”

“Busy, as usual. We’re coming across some cases of parents not having a will and testament dying. The plague seems to be an orphan maker right now.” She sighed. “But we’re muddling through and getting children placed where they need to be.”

The death toll on her side of the slope put ours to shame, but I wasn’t going to bring it up. The less talk about death, the better. “Hopefully it eases up soon.”

“How’s your roommate? She taking good care of you?” She asked and I pulled the car onto Main Street and searched for a parking spot.

I couldn’t help myself. I grinned. “She’s a true guardian angel.” I pulled the car into a parking spot.

“I had a feeling she might be.” She didn’t miss a beat with her response and I couldn’t tell from her voice if she was serious or not.

We got out and walked down the sidewalk towards the diner. The bright pink border stuck out on top of the black and white squares of the building. Inside, the theme continued on the walls and a sign told us to seat ourselves.

We found a booth close to the door and I opened the menu. “I didn’t realize how much was down here.”

“You should get out more often. Have you had any luck looking for a job or are you waiting to settle in a little more?” She flipped the pages of the menu and didn’t meet my gaze over it.

I tried to figure out the best way to approach the question. “I think I’ll wait until after this semester and the algebra class is done, since I need so much time on the homework to pass the class.”

“Not a bad choice, just don’t wait too long or you’ll never get one. There’s not much up here.” She set the menu down and folded her hands on top of it.

I shrugged. “There’s always temp work I could do. Especially with so many people coming down with the plague.” I threw the idea out there and waited.

She went silent and still for a moment. “I’m sure that will all clear up soon.”

It would, as soon as we figured out where the other three horsemen were. “I’m sure, just like the Ebola outbreak. That was over quick enough.”

The waitress came up and took our order and we all looked up when the bell rang on the door. Jared walked in and waved at me. I pressed my lips together, wondering if this was a blessing or a curse. I gave him a small wave.

“Who is that?” My mother gave me a sly smile. “He’s quite handsome.”

“That’s Jared.” I kept my voice down. “He’s in my algebra class.”

My mother waved him over and I was a bit mortified when he walked over to the table and she patted the seat. “Come have dinner with us. It’s nice to see Sammy making friends.”

Which made it sound like I didn’t have friends at all. He sat down and smiled at me. “I didn’t know you were going to be here. I’m sorry to interrupt dinner with you and your sister?”

“Nice try, I’m her mother.” But her face beamed at the cliché compliment.

I tried to squash down any desire to run from embarrassment. I didn’t want my mom to meet the guy I had been crushing on for the last month. “We thought we’d stop for an early dinner before I took her to the hotel.”

“The theater just refreshed their list of movies, you guys should go see one.” He flashed a smile at the waitress. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He added his order to ours; making sure to point out it was a different ticket.

My mother nodded. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a movie. Sammy? What do you think?”

“A movie sounds wonderful.” I glanced at Jared. “Did you get that math homework done?”

“Three hundred problems from hell, probably given by the Devil her…himself.” He laughed and leaned back.

I didn’t miss the mix up of her and him. The Devil being a woman didn’t seem to be common knowledge, even my mother tensed a little. “I could see the teacher as a devil.” I laughed, trying to smooth it over as a play on the teacher. “I finished mine before I picked my mom up. It’ll be ready for Monday.”

“When is Thanksgiving break? Are you planning on coming home?” My mom gave a comfortable change of conversation.

“I have the Wednesday through Sunday off. We’ll return to classes that Monday. I could come home if you want. Assuming I don’t stumble across a job.”

She smiled and I knew she wanted me there. We didn’t always get along, but we were the only family we had. “That sounds wonderful, I’ll buy you a train ticket. I don’t think your car is going to survive another trip over the pass.”

Me either, and a new one would be the first thing I bought after I got a new job. “Then it’s a plan. The most I’ll have to do is study for finals.”

“What about you, Jared, are you going home for Thanksgiving?” My mom asked.