Reaper (11 page)

“Wait, what?” I worked hard not to laugh at her nonsense. “You think I’m going to throw Ethan out of the house?”

“Only if he doesn’t get sick of you first,” she jeered. “Don’t you ever think he’s with you ‘cuz you’re rich and you give it up easy?”

“I don’t give it up easy!” I wanted to throw my drink in her face. I folded my hands in my lap, concentrating on keeping them there. “I’ve only been with him!”

“Oh, so you’re an inexperienced slut then,” she leered.

“Sam, stop,” Belinda pleaded, looking pained. Sam ignored her.

“Just you wait. After the novelty of the money and your so-called nice body wear off, Ethan will leave your sorry ass. You’re just not his type,” she provoked and leaned back, her lips twisting into a pressed smile.

The room was spinning faster as my anger built. “And what is his type?” I asked slowly.

“Someone fun and outgoing. Someone who isn’t shy or afraid of adventures. Someone whose hand he doesn’t have to hold just to do normal things. And someone who doesn’t have as many issues as you. Do you really think it’s fair to make him constantly be around demons and magic? Don’t you think he might want a break?”

Two girls got up on the little stage in the center of the bar and started singing karaoke. My lack of response fueled Sam’s anger and she stomped off, muttering to herself.

“Oh my gosh, Anora. I am so sorry.” Belinda put her hand on mine.

“It’s not your fault she’s a bitch,” I said bitterly. “Sorry, she’s your friend. I just don’t get why she hates me so much.”

“I don’t know why either. Hopefully you know she’s acting this way because she’s jealous…” she trailed off, not wanting to give away her friend’s secret.

“Oh, I know she has a huge crush on Ethan. But still, I’ve never done anything to her.”

 
“I told her that. And don’t listen to her. I’ve seen the way Ethan looks at you. I can tell he really cares about you.”

My heart swelled. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Good because I feel the same about him,” I confessed. Feeling embarrassed, I stood. “I need to find him.”

I sat in an empty chair next to Ethan and then realized that Sam had also joined this little group. She glared daggers at me and crossed her arms, sulking. So much for my date night with Ethan. He was in a deep conversation debating the best way to kill some sort of water monster so I leaned back in the chair and braided a small section of my hair. My mind drifted to Hunter and I missed him.

I finished my cranberry and vodka by the time the group split up. This time, when I stood up, it was apparent I was drunk. My brain was fuzzy and I couldn’t keep my mental shields up to save my life. I shook my head and swore I’d never drink again until I was twenty-one and
not
in a haunted building.

~*~

 
“Do you guys feel like someone’s watching us?” I spun around, looking for the culprit. Two days had passed since we visited the Zodiac. I’d been feeling paranoid ever since.

“No.” René shook her head.

“I don’t either,” Ethan agreed.

“In fact,” René closed her eyes. “I’m not as sensitive as you are, but I don’t feel anything at all.” She opened her eyes. “Did you do a spell?”

“I didn’t. I think my aunt did.”

“Sweet,” she said excitedly. “And it’s still in effect even though she’s dead? Amazing.”

“She must have been a really powerful witch,” Ethan observed.

“I think she was. I wish I had the chance to meet her.” I felt sadder each time I thought about Aunt Estelle. I would have loved to learn from her. “She left me a ton of stuff though. It’s like I have a part of her with me all the time.” I absentmindedly tugged at the Coven pendent I always wore.

“Do you have a picture of her?” René asked. “Maybe if we both try, we can feel something from her spirit.”

Hope blossomed inside me. “I have one upstairs.” I took two stairs at a time, anxious to see if this would work.

Moonlight filtered though the bedroom windows and glistened off the polished hardwood floors.
 
It was too shiny to be normal. I slowed to inspect it; something liquid was on the floor, reflecting the partial moon’s light. My heart sped up and I took in a shaky breath. I cautiously entered my room. A shadow was moving in slow circles on the ceiling. I moved closer and screamed.

Hanging from the fan with his throat slit, was Romeo.

Chapter 5 - Mind Games

Hunter was the first one to come bounding into the room. He quickly assessed me; I was fine and he moved on, looking for the source of my scream. Ethan rushed in next, and immediately went into demon hunter mode. My legs gave out.

“Anora!” Ethan sank down to his knees next to me. “Are you ok?”

“Romeo.” Tears welled in my eyes. René ran in. Someone turned on the light. But no one else screamed. I forced myself to look at the fan. It was spinning on the lowest speed. And no dead ferret swung from it. I leaped over to Romeo’s cage. I madly felt around his blankets until I found him. Relief flooded my body and I hugged him. “Oh my God. You’re ok.” Trembling, I sank heavily onto the floor, cradling Romeo to my chest.

Hunter jumped on the bed and whined. I could sense the confusion growing from my friends. Ethan’s warm hand rested against my back.

“What happened?” Ethan asked carefully.

I shook my head and blinked back tears. Hunter gracefully jumped off the bed and stood over me, casting a calming aura. I breathed it in. “I came up here and saw,” I closed my eyes, “I saw Romeo hanging by his tail from the fan. His throat had been slit.”

Ethan sat next to me. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” I cried. “There was blood on the floor!” My voice faltered. “I’m not making this up!”

“Annie,” Ethan said softly. “I believe you.”

“So do I.” René sat on my other side.

“Thank you,” I dumbly spat. I held Romeo up just to convince myself he was really ok. I kissed him and wrapped him back in my arms. Ethan sat down and put his arms around me. “Tell me exactly what happened,” he instructed.

“I came up stairs to get the picture. But as soon as I got in the hall, I felt this weird, bad feeling. Then I saw the blood, and then something moving in here. When I came closer I could see it was Romeo.”

“And then what?”

“I screamed and Hunter came in. They you guys, so you know the rest.” I leaned against Ethan. “I really thought he was dead.”

“He’s not,” Ethan tried to comfort me. “Let’s go back downstairs and think about this, ok?”

I nodded and let Ethan help me up. We all settled in the family room, Romeo curled up in my lap and fell back asleep.

“Is there a demon?” René asked, her voice edging on fear and excitement.

“I’m not sure yet,” Ethan told her. “If something made Annie see that…” he started. I shivered again. “It’s not the first time you’ve seen something that’s not really real,” he directed toward me.

“No.” I ran a hand over my ferret’s fur. “But this was different.”

“I’ll figure it out,” Ethan promised.

Hunter suddenly sprang up, fur on end. He surveyed the room and stood protectively in front of me. A growl escaped.

“What is it, sweetheart?” I whispered. He could hear something outside. By the road. Something was shuffling through the dead, spring grass. A car door slammed and the sound of tires screeched in the distance. “There was something outside.”

“How do you know?” René asked, eyeing Hunter’s fangs nervously.

“Hunter can hear it.” I closed my eyes and tapped into Hunter’s mind. A smell lingered in the air. I opened my eyes. “It’s a human.”

Ethan leaped up, gun drawn. “Stay here.” And then he was gone.

René stared at me, wide eyed.

“Anora,” René began, flabbergasted.

Hunter growled again. I patted the couch next to me and he silently obeyed, jumping up and resting his head in my lap. Romeo stretched and nuzzled against him.

“Yeah?” I said nervously.

“How do you know what Hunter’s thinking?” René’s eyes didn’t move off of Hunter.

“Long story,” I predictably told her.

“I think it’s time to tell,” René said slowly.

Carefully transferring Romeo to the couch, I got up and looked out the window for Ethan. I could see his outline moving up the driveway. I was still too shaken up to feel awkward. I turned to face René. I paused, thinking of the best way to explain it. “Well, you already know about demons.”

“Yeah,” she followed.

“Well, there are good and bad forces,” I said and instantly regretting my lame choice in words. I shook my head and started over. “I’m a witch, a witch with real powers.” I stopped again, going over what I wanted to say in my head.

“And?”

“I’m part of a coven you have to be born into.”

There was a thirty second silence while René thought. “What’s so special about the coven?”

“Witches from my coven,” I felt like I was stumbling over my words. “We kill demons,” I simplified. “There’s no easy way to say it. I have this nifty athame that kills demons on impact and only witches from my coven can make it work.”

René nodded again. Goosebumps broke out on her exposed skin. “That’s how you knew how to kill the reapers,” she whispered. I nodded. Her eyes flicked back to my Guardian. “So how do you know Hunter’s thoughts?”

“I can’t really explain it.” I crossed the room to hug my Guardian. “I just know. And he knows mine. It’s not like we communicate telepathically or anything. He is a Guardian. I think every witch in the coven has one, and they protect us.”

René folded her arms around herself. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” I agreed because I didn’t know what else to say. I perched on the edge of the couch and took a ragged breath. We both jumped when the door opened.

“All clear,” Ethan told us.

“Are you part of the Coven too?” René asked slowly.

“No.” Ethan joined me on the couch. “I’m part of something else.”

“I see.” René blinked several times. After a minute of really uncomfortable silence, Ethan suggested we watch a movie. René looked at him like it was insane to suggest something so normal in a time like this. Frankly, as Ethan reminded us, there was nothing we could do. Neither he nor Hunter found any lingering trace of evil to believe that a demon had been near. He was quite content believing what I had seen was something ghostly and firmly believed that the protective spell Aunt Estelle put on the house was bound to wear off eventually.

It was a bit of a relief when René left. I felt worn out and still upset from seeing Romeo—no matter real or fake— like that. I snuggled close next to Ethan as soon as we got into bed. Hunter stretched out on my other side, sandwiching me between two very protective individuals. It took a while to let my mind relax, but eventually I fell asleep.

Something reeked. The smell was bad enough to wake me up. “Ew, Hunter, was that you?” I accused my big dog sleepily. He slowly opened one eye and gave me a ‘don’t blame me’ look before going back to sleep. The smell grew stronger. “Sick.” I wafted fresh air in my face. It smelled like rotting garbage. Something scuttled across the floor. I shot up.

An outline slowly moved in the doorway. I knew I was tired but that looked like…it climbed up the door frame. Oh my God, it was! “Ethan!” I shook him. “Ethan!”

“Mmm,” he moaned.

I shook him harder. “There’s a monkey!”

“No there’s not.”

“Yes, there is!” I shook him even harder. He swatted my hand away. “Hunter, look!” I told my Guardian and pointed to the door. The monkey paused halfway up the frame and turned to look at me. I jumped and almost screamed. Instead of a cute little monkey face, the head of a barn owl stared me down. It opened its beak and disappeared. My heart pounded in my chest and red-hot fear pulsed through my body. I gasped in shock.

That got Ethan’s attention. “What is it?” He sat up. I didn’t take my eyes off the door frame. Hunter lifted his head and sniffed. He looked at me, sniffed the air again and jumped off the bed.

“I saw something again.”

“What did you see?” Ethan was fully awake now.

I shook my head. “It’s gonna sound crazy.” I tore gaze away from the door to look him in the eye. “It was like a monkey-barn owl hybrid. It was creepy as shit.”

“A what?”

“It had the body of a monkey and the head of a barn owl.” I shivered. “That’s just so
wrong
.”

Hunter moved to the window. He let out a small ‘woof’ and joined us in bed again. He didn’t sense anything worthy of being deemed danger.

“Am I going crazy?” I asked Ethan.

“No.” Ethan rested his head in his hands. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“I woke up—”

“Why?”

“Uh, something smelled like sulfur. It was bad enough to wake me up.”

“Can you still smell it now?”

“No.” I paused, waiting for another question. When he didn’t ask anything, I continued. “Then I heard something, like shuffling feet. A shadow by the door caught my attention. It climbed up the frame and turned around. It opened its beak and disappeared.”