“They’re going to think we snuck up here to have sex,” I joke, trying to ease the tension before he breaks the demon news to me. Because I can tell by the crease between his eyes there is demon news, and it’s not good.
The tension leaves his face. “If that’s what they’re expecting, we shouldn’t disappoint.”
I roll my eyes and laugh. “Let’s wait until Rene leaves at least.” I pick a piece of hay off my sweater. “I thought they weren’t coming until tomorrow,” I say, meaning Sam and Yuma. “What happened?”
“They were hunting reapers and—”
“Reapers?”
“Reapers?” I interrupt. “Like the Grim Reaper?”
“No, I, uh, don’t think he’s real.”
“That’s reassuring,” I say, tipping my head. “So…what are they?”
“It’s a type of monster who goes after people who are already dying, which is how they got the name reaper. They don’t cause death but are drawn to it.”
“Dying victims are an easy target.”
“Exactly. Everyone has energy—an aura—and the theory is that when you die, it gets released. And that’s what reapers feed on. They wait until that moment is just about to end and gather the energy. But that’s not all they take.”
“What else do they take?”
“Most reaper demons eat their victims’ flesh, peeling it off bit by bit and sucking the fat from it.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“It’s worse when you see it.” Ethan makes a face. “It’s like they’re slurping spaghetti.”
“Don’t ruin spaghetti for me.” I shudder. “Okay, so they were sent after reapers, who are energy-stealing, fat-sucking demons and…”
“And the hunt didn’t go as easily as they thought. One or two reapers don’t pose that much of a challenge to a trained hunter, but they have a tendency to travel in packs.” He waits a beat, looking out at the hall. It sounded like someone was coming up the stairs, but a second later, I hear Rene laughing, letting us know she’s still in the kitchen. “And if you don’t kill the entire pack, they’ll come for revenge.”
“They didn’t kill the entire pack of reapers, did they?”
“No.” Ethan pinches the bridge of his nose. “Only one got away and there’s a good chance it followed them.”
“So, they came here?”
“The alternative wasn’t any better. The Order’s headquarters is in Chicago, and there happened to be a benefit for kids with cancer in the next building over.”
“Oh, shit…yeah, not leading a reaper demon to an event with terminally ill children was a good idea,” I say and Ethan nods. “How do we kill it? I can tell Rene I’m not feeling well so she leaves and then Hunter and I can go after it.”
“It’s not that easy.” Sam’s voice comes from the hall. I knew someone was creeping up the stairs. “You can’t just go after a demon.” She stops at the top of the stairs and rolls her eyes at me. “Like you would know.”
“Sam?” Ethan snaps, and Sam waves her hands at me. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” she shoots back. “Seriously. She’s killed like a demon and now she wants to go out and play superhero? I thought you cared more than to let your little girlfriend get hurt.”
And here I was thinking some of the tension between us had faded over the last few months. Boy, was I wrong. Sam has been stewing over it instead of letting it go.
“I’m not going to give her a gun and send her on her way,” Ethan quips. “I’d go with, and Anora is more than capable.” He sweeps his hand out at me. “We’ve been training and she can do this little thing called magic.”
“Trust me, I didn’t forget that she’s a witch.” Sam arches her eyebrows. “We’re all aware you’re here in this fancy house playing lover-boy slash hobby-farmer like you forgot who you really are.” She crosses her arms, expecting Ethan to fire something back at her, but he doesn’t. He just looks hurt.
“I didn’t forget anything,” he says, voice solemn. “If you came here to insult me, you know where the door is.”
“Fine,” she huffs. “Kick us out then.”
Not sure how involved to get, I look from Ethan to Sam and back again. He doesn’t want her to leave. Family is everything to Ethan, and I know coming here and leaving them was hard for him. He’s the odd one out in his family, being the only one who challenges the Order and openly admits he doesn’t like being part of it. The others seem almost brainwashed into being blindly loyal to the Order. The whole thing weirds me out if I’m being honest.
Sam stares at Ethan expectantly, waiting for him to back down and tell her to stay. The tension grows, thick enough to cut with a knife. “I guess I’ll get our stuff, then,” Sam scoffs. “I didn’t want to stay here anyway, sleeping with one eye open so she doesn’t cut my hair in the middle of the night to use for a spell or something.”