“… You were sleeping on the floor?” I asked, dumbfounded. “You looked sorta dead.”
“Wait…” His forehead wrinkled as he tilted his head at me. “You can see me… Isabella Wen… Lone survival of a powerful witch clan, right?” He tipped his lip to one side, a partial smile. “No wonder you can see me.”
Dozens of spells whirled around inside my head as I decided which was best to get away from this man that I had no clue who or what he was—I only knew he was powerful. He radiated with it. And somehow he knew who I was.
I was feeling twitchy all over again because of the power inside him. It seemed worse now that he was awake and alert.
I placed my hands to my sides. “How do you know my name?” And everything else.
“It’s kind of my job to know everyone’s life and death, name included.” His words made him sound dangerous, but then he smiled. “You’re a witch and you don’t know of Reapers?” he asked.
My eyes widened. “You’re the Grim Reaper?”
He laughed. “No.” He leaned over, awfully close, too close, and held my eyes hostage with his. “I’m the boogeyman.” The expression I’d given him must have been funny because he burst into deep, rumbling laughter. Then he stopped abruptly, his entire body falling. His face landed on top of my legs, his nose pressed between my thighs. I stiffened and flushed with embarrassment all at once.
What just happened? Did he just pass out?
I felt the warmth of his breath on my scrubs and felt my blood boil. I picked up his head in a hurry, and just like that, he startled awake again, his expression dumbfounded. “What the—” He studied me with a touch of something in his gaze that worried me. “How do you keep waking me up?”
I arched an eyebrow his way. “I’m not.”
How are you not dead? I wanted to ask him, but that would mean explaining my touch of death.
His head was still lowered into my hands as we stared at each other. I quickly pushed him away and let go. He frowned at my hands then his eyes widened. “How long were you touching me?”
“Huh?” I asked. I needed to get out of this hospital and far away from this town before my worst nightmare came for me and dragged me back down.
He raised up, then the next thing I knew his palms were cupping my cheeks and the beautiful stranger was grinning within seconds. Oh, God, he was crazy and something otherworldly. I had to get away. I jerked away from him and stood, but he followed my moves.
“Let go of my face.” I pushed his arms away and had to look up at him once he stood. Holy… he was tall, but I only stood at five-feet-four-inches. A little over six feet, perhaps?
He was still smiling. “I don’t feel sleepy.”
“Okay?”
“You don’t understand,” he said with the biggest smile. “I’m not tired, not even a little.” He scooped me up and twirled me around while I squealed.
“Put me down, or so help me, I’ll cast a spell on you,” I warned him.
He completely ignored me and said, “I think you already have. You’re like a little juice box.” He slipped his hand underneath my shirt and touched my stomach. Static seemed to flare from his touch, tingling my skin. “Shit, for real, just touching your skin is giving me crazy fucking energy.”
This was too weird, too crazy. I had to go. I couldn’t stand this person touching me and making me feel strange, or just taking it upon himself to slide his large hand against my bare skin.
Placing my hand against his chest, I whispered an enchantment and his smiled dulled like he understood what I was doing. He dropped me, and I landed on my feet while the flare from my hands sent him flying backward. He slipped through the wall, and I took off running out of the door. I had a portal chip in my purse that I kept in the breakroom for emergencies. I just didn’t like using it because it made me easier to find, but my whereabouts were already known now so I saw no point in not using it. I needed to get away from this handsy Reaper, and then I’d find a new hiding place. I hoped.
Once I slipped into the breakroom—still invisible to the eyes of humans—I took a moment to look back at the closed door. Almost a year of no trouble and safe living, and then BAM! A werewolf and a handsy so-called Reaper. That wasn’t even the worst part… I felt a twinge of sadness that I had to pack up and leave a place that was comfortable. I made friends—granted only work friends—but nonetheless; I had a job and an apartment. Now I had nothing. Again.
When I looked away from the door, I jumped again. “So, you have to leave?” the Reaper asked like I hadn’t just blasted him with my magic.
I glared at him. How did he find me so fast? “I don’t want to hurt you again, just leave me alone,” I gritted out.
He chuckled. “You didn’t hurt me. It’s okay, you look frazzled and in a hurry, I’ll find you and recharge when I need to.”
Frazzled? Recharge?
“Wait! What do you mean?”
He crossed his arms over his huge, muscular chest and smirked. “Don’t worry, I’m not a bad guy.”
In all my years, I’d never encountered such an infuriating man, and I had been around plenty since coming to the human world. Not otherworldly guys like this one… maybe that was why. I was shaken up already from the werewolf.
But did he not realize how frightening he looked standing there with that smirk like he was contemplating kidnapping me? He wasn’t thinking about it, was he? How did such a beautiful male specimen make himself look so terrifying with the way he stood?
“I’m just a sleepy sloth in need of energy,” he added with a sly smirk.
He wasn’t making a lick of sense.
“Look, I don’t know who you are or what you’re even talking about—”
“Sebastian,” he gave me his name.
“But leave me alone. I have enough problems without you being around,” I finished.
He stepped closer; I felt the slither of need crawl up my back and I shivered with the urge to touch and take, touch, take. Twitchy. I pulled my hands back.
“There’s something about you, Izzie.”
I huffed. “Don’t call me Izzie like you know me.”
He arched his brow and laughed. “Don’t you realize already?”
“Realize what?”
“I’ll be getting to know you,” he paused to let me absorb his words before he said, “inside and out.”
I blinked at him. Then blinked some more before my mouth opened. “Do you not realize?” He tilted his head, still smiling, and waited for me to go on. “How fucking creepy that sounds?”
The creep laughed again. “You’re funny. I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
He had me so irritated, my magic crackled out of my fingertips. He noticed and held his hands up between us. “Easy there. I feel like I started us out wrong… Let’s be friends?” he offered.
“No,” I answered immediately.
“Maybe? Okay, that’s good.”
“I didn’t say, maybe.” As he completely ignored me, my magic grew stronger and even louder.
“I’ll come to visit soon,” he went on.
“Good luck,” I snarled because I planned to be long gone. And when I disappeared, nobody found me.
He stopped and just studied me for a few seconds before he smirked. “No need for luck. I’ll find you, witch. Nobody can hide from Reapers.” He stood there even longer just staring as I glared until he added, “You’re not curious at all about me?”
“No,” I replied evenly.
“I’ve been told I’ve got a good face. Don’t you think I have a good face?”
Oh, my God! What was he saying now? I was getting whiplash with how much he changed the subject.
I clapped my hands together, ending the magic flowing between my fingers. “Well, this hasn’t been fun, and I hate that we met, so let’s never see each other again?” I saw his mouth opening to say something, so I said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m in a hurry.”
Hurry was an understatement. My entire
fate rested on getting the hell out of dodge before he… he didn’t even deserve to be called he. He was a true monster. And he halfway succeeded in making me into one.
I walked around him, but not without running my hands across his cloak, not being able to help myself. The darkness was disappointed that I didn’t feel any of his power, it needed his skin. But all too quickly, I was behind him, scooping up my belongings and hoping that this time he didn’t follow me.
The darkness was disappointed when he didn’t.
Three
Sebastian
I strutted around like a peacock with his feathers out after fading into the Underworld. I haven’t had this much energy in…ever.
All this energy and nothing to do with it.
Isabella Wen.
I smiled as I roamed the City of the Dead. Dark place. The sun didn’t exist down here, but a fake moon did. It never actually got brighter down here either, always staying the same nocturnal, bustling place. Not many places to shop in the Underworld so you were always bumping into something else on the streets. An arm… or a tentacle if you were unlucky. Slimy as shit. Water demons were disgusting and one was close by. I sidestepped to avoid it.
Oh, look, there was the semen shop. I was mildly curious what witches and warlocks needed with it but not curious enough. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and glanced around.
Back to Isabella… tiny little critter but I wasn’t fooled, she was packing major power in that body. She didn’t look her age. She looked young, but I knew by my Reaper senses that she was over thirty. There was an innocence about her though that age had nothing to do with. Maybe I just flustered her or maybe it was because I wasn’t human but she had gotten so red. I chuckled at the image in my head of her reddened cheeks. The real question was, how the hell did she wake me up, not once, but twice? But then again, did that even matter when she gave me all kinds of fucking energy in the process?
Nope.
How long would this burst of energy last? Hmm…
I got the feeling Izzie didn’t like me much, which was strange. I happened to be very likable. Maybe I came on too strong? Was it because I slipped my hand on her stomach? I hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable; it hadn’t even been sexual. I was just testing out my theory, which was proven correct. She was like my own personalized energizer.
I made up my mind. Izzie and I were friends now. Friends let friends use them as an energy outlet. Friends were totally cool with touching each other.
Now…. About friends. Both persons had to want to be friends for friendships to work.
Back to the problem at hand, how did I make shorty get friendly?
Someone slid their hand down my arm as they passed me on the street. I stopped and turned my head to see a beautiful redhead giving me a flirtatious smile. I smiled back, naturally. I was friendly like that.
“You have an interesting energy around you,” she told me, studying me.
I couldn’t get a read on her. I couldn’t even tell what kind of demon she was. Something was off about her. “Is that so?” I asked.
She met my eyes again. “You should stay away from energy like that,” she added as she dropped her hand from my arm.
Then it hit me, I was suddenly drained.
She smirked. “You look tired, Sloth.”
How the hell did she know who I was? What did she do to me? Why did it feel like she took what the witch gave me?
I still couldn’t get a read on her. I couldn’t even find a name for her, which was unusual. First, I couldn’t read how the werewolf died, and now I couldn’t find any information with my Reaper senses on who this chick was.
What the hell was going on?
“Who are you?” Just as I reached for her, she ported.
I cursed and grabbed my head. I was so sleepy again. After the small bit of energy, it truly sucked to feel this way again.
I had hoped to give Isabella some time before I went to her again, but at this rate, I would fall asleep soon…
My phone dinged, and I pulled it out. It was a text from Payne.
Time to go to work.
I groaned. We were always working. Only none of us were as enthusiastic about it as Payne.
______
I yawned, stretching as I did so. Barron shot me a dark frown and growled, “Who thought it was a good idea to bring the Sloth?”
The way he referred to me as Sloth you’d think he detested me, but we were brothers, me being the eldest of seven siblings. You got used to Barron. He was cursed to be miserable and angry. He treated everyone, even the ones he loved—which was only the family because no one else could tolerate his delightful personality—horribly. But he was the sin of Wrath after all.
“Oh, just like we let you out of the house to play with that personality of yours?” I retorted, and his dark eyes seemed to turn a shade darker.
Payne sighed, stepping between us. “Stop the family feuding, let’s do what we came here to do.” Payne, the son of two notorious villains, was a friend of the family. His parents turned over a new leaf and became friends with Mom and Dad, who were the very ones that took out bad guys like them.
Yeah, no, that wasn’t weird at all.
Weird perfectly described the fucking story of our family. Our parents actions was the reason why we were all cursed.
“If he fucking passes out, which he will, I ain’t carrying him back,” Barron said as he referred to me like I wasn’t there. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked the other way. We were complete opposites in our looks, while we were both over six-feet-tall, he took our dad’s dark hair and eyes while I took our mom’s blue eyes and light-colored hair.
Payne smirked but otherwise said nothing.
“Is August coming?” Barron asked, turning his head back toward us. August was our other brother, the sin of Greed. Another delightful asshole.
“No, but no worries. I’ll protect you idiots,” Maureen said, fading beside Barron with a smirk.
Barron grinned which was no surprise. Out of all our siblings, Barron got along the most with our sister Maureen. The two were close, maybe because they were so much alike.
“Who are we taking out?” she asked, looking over us all with a toothy smile.
“Imps. Grim suspects they’ve been trafficking children into the Underworld and harvesting them,” Payne told her what I already knew. Imps were nasty little critters with wings that preyed on kids as well as teens. They went after demon children too. They didn’t discriminate.
She nodded. “Well, what are we waiting for?”
_______
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Maureen asked as she took a step toward the cave entrance.
“Are we ever wrong?” Payne asked her. He wasn’t joking or smiling, just stating the facts.
Maureen gave him a smirk as a thin sword materialized in each hand. She twirled her wrists around. “I would knock…but there’s no door.” And with that, Maureen faded.
“Well, let’s not let her kill them all before we get inside,” Barron said with a crooked grin before fading himself.
Payne, Mr. Straight and Narrow next to me, couldn’t fade like us, but he had a portal chip. I watched as his jaw ticked before we both sprinted inside. It didn’t take long for some of the imps to greet us. Payne kept two weapons at all times. A rifle and a huge ass sword lay across his back, and most people would think it was odd he carried them around but not when you knew his parents. His dad was into guns, and his mom was into swords and daggers, it was only natural that he took a liking to both.
My own weapon—a machete—materialized, and I hacked away at the first one that jumped at me, teeth bared. I took out another one as Payne grabbed his rifle and blew the head off the one that was jumping toward him. Bang! Bang! Two more.
It didn’t take us long to find Barron and Maureen, literally waist deep in imps, and a hundred or more flying all around us. Not that it was necessarily a problem, just tedious. The real problem was the
number of children in the cave.
“Shit,” Payne muttered what we all thought.
“How did they get so many?” Maureen hissed as she brought her blades out and twisted her entire body in a circle, slicing into every imp around her.
Something snapped within me when I saw all the children, most of them human, especially the ones cut to pieces lying on the ground. Their ghosts wailed and screamed, some even transitioned into poltergeists with their hatred and fear of what had been done to them intact.
“How did we not know of this sooner?” I practically growled, gripping my blade tighter. I was already on edge with the way my Reaper senses had been acting up, now I was beginning to understand that maybe it wasn’t just me.
A muscle in Payne’s neck jumped. “Feel that?” he asked.
I arched a brow, then proceeded to hone in on what Payne wanted me to feel as I sliced into some imps and he shot them down from the sky.
And I did feel it. Not only feel it, I heard what was lacking inside their chests. Their hearts were brutally carved out. Their souls screaming for their injustices. It wasn’t what they said, which was nothing, it was everything they poured out into their very essences.
There wasn’t anything ordinary in the deaths of these children. “Their hearts are missing.” Barron must have heard us.
He was right though; their chests were opened. “There’re remnants of something powerful in the cave. Some sort of spell or ritual… Or it could be a thing,” Maureen added.
“Kill them all.” I noticed the way Barron’s voice altered, the way his body twitched, and his muscles flexed in and out. Payne tossed me a look the same time I did him because he knew that my brother was seconds away from raging out.
“My thoughts exactly,” Maureen nodded. “They can’t speak, so it’s not like they can tell us what they were doing with the children.”
“Maureen,” I hollered in a severe tone that made her turn and glance back at us. I motioned to Barron and her eyes were quick to find him and that was all it took. Maureen could manage Barron better than all of us. Sometimes she could talk him out of his rage before he fell completely into it.
Bewitching Sloth Page 2
