I can still hear the screams. The fading heartbeats. The scent of death surrounds me, choking me. But there’s also a part of me that’s so drawn to it all, so fascinated with the final moment of life. It scares me more than anything, and the more distance I’m putting between myself and the reaper, the less its thoughts invade my mind.
The reaper, though scrawny and injured, is fast. It chases after me, and by the time I’m halfway to the house, I can think clearly again. Coming to a stop, I turn. I’m not running anymore, and I’m not going to let this demon get away. The reaper makes a dive for me, and I dodge out of the way, swinging the ax through the air.
I miss, and the heavy ax pulls my arms down, thudding against the hard ground. The reaper rebounds at me, and I hold out my right hand, summoning a ball of fire, which is something I haven’t done before. There’s no time for hesitation, and releasing the fireball feels natural. I throw it at the reaper, hitting it on the shoulder. The fire sizzles and burns, and the reaper screams in pain. Wrapping both hands around the handle of the ax, I swing it again, hitting it at the base of its neck. I jerk the blade out, blood spraying right in my face and staining the white snow. I use all my strength to lift the ax high in the air once more and bring it crashing down into the reaper’s skull. Its yellow eyes half-close and, with one hand reaching for me, the reaper slumps to the ground.
Panting, I look behind me for Hunter. He’s back in his dog-form, carrying the head of the other reaper in his mouth. The cold hits me all at once now that the danger is over, and I realize my toes and fingertips are numb.
“Anora!” Ethan yells, jumping off the back porch. He’s barefoot, having run out of the house the second he saw me in danger. His hands land on my shoulders and he looks me up and down before eyeing the dead reaper. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” I say through chattering teeth. He grabs my arm, looking at the cut in the dark. “I’m okay.”
“You’re covered in reaper blood.” He lets go of my arm and wipes a glob of blood off my cheek. “It’s fucking cold out here, let’s go inside.”
“Okay.” He puts his arm around me. “What do we do with that?” I motion to the dead reaper.
“I’ll take care of it later.” He pulls me forward. “You’re shivering.”
Hunter bounds ahead of us, going in through the open door. My mind is on a hot shower, both to get the feeling back in my feet and to wash the blood off me. It’s starting to get really itchy now that it’s drying.
But as soon as I step into the house, I realize I’d completely forgotten about something. About someone.
Rene.
CHAPTER 15
Oh, fuck. I can tell by the look on her face she saw the whole thing.
“I didn’t murder anyone,” I rush out and then wince at my own words. “Those were…um…um…”
“It was a monster,” Sam says, but she doesn’t look smug this time. The color has drained from her face and she’s giving me the same oh, shit look that I’m feeling. The reapers did follow them back and, after her speech on how I “wouldn’t be able to handle it,” I did handle it. On my own. Well, with the help of my familiar, that is. “A dangerous monster.”
Rene’s lips part but no words come out. Her eyes widen and she shakes her head, trying to make sense of everything. “Y-you held fire in your hand.”
“That was on purpose,” I say, knowing I really need to stop talking. I’m not making things any better. “I, um, I…I honestly don’t know what to say.” I look at Ethan for help, knowing he’s had this same awkward explanation to many people over the years.
“That thing was a monster,” he says, deep voice steadying me. “And Anora killed it before it could kill anyone else. You’re safe now, but I understand that you have questions.”
“Yeah. I do. I just don’t know what they are right now.” Rene closes her eyes in a long blink. “I think I should go.”
“Rene, wait,” I rush out, but she’s already grabbing her coat.
“Give her some space,” Ethan tells me, brows pushing together. “Remember how I said you handled learning about demons really well? This is more typical.”
Shaking my head, I go after Rene. “I’m sorry,” I say, though I don’t really know what exactly I’m apologizing for.
“I’ll, uh, text you later.” With wide eyes, she puts on her boots and hurries out the front door, leaving it open behind her. I watch her run to her car, closing the door once the engine fires up.