The Artifact Reaper Saga Box Set

by Jen L. Grey

  "Oh, I brought some people here to eat with me." He smirks and glances over me. "This one here," he points at me, "really worked up an appetite."

  "Did she now?" One of the guys sitting at the bar turns to face me. He's huge, even bigger than Lenny. He has a scar down his face from his cheekbone to his chin. He has short dark hair and he stands, revealing he's over six feet tall. "I might need her to work up another one for me."

  "Hey," Charlie spouts off.

  "Calm down boy," Lenny barks at him. "He won't do anything to her. He's a wuss. She'd have him flat on his back in two seconds."

  "Is that what you think?" The bulky man makes his way over to us. "I'm ready to prove you wrong."

  "Okay, great." Lenny smirks. "There she is. Go for it."

  What the hell? He begins this and now I'm the one who has to fight this guy who is like four times my size. How I wish I was exaggerating. I'm already tired from working out over eleven hours today.

  The guy charges me not even giving me time to come up with a game plan. He dives for my lower body which is the sorest part of me.

  Fricking asshole. I spin out of the way in the knick of time. Then turn back around and kick him in the face. But there is no crunching sound and my foot throbs from the impact.

  Charlie rushes toward me but Lenny grabs him and holds him back.

  The guy snickers. "Nice spin but that wasn't the smartest move kicking me in the face." He reaches up and grabs me by the waist, pulling me up close against him. "Now this is kind of pleasant."

  Bile rises up to the back of my mouth. His breath smells like sewage and that's a compliment. "Dude, do you ever brush your teeth?"

  "Awe, come on." He spins me around and lifts me up, so his breath hits me all in the face. "Don't break my heart."

  At this point if I kick out, I can't hit anything, and when I squirm nothing happens. It's like he's a log. There is no way to get out.

  "Man, this is pathetic." He drops me, and I land hard on the ground, falling to my knees.

  "Are you okay?" Charlie runs over and helps me get up to my feet.

  "Lenny, what kind of students are you getting nowadays?" The guy shakes his head. "That wasn't even a challenge."

  "Well, I thought she'd be more than what she was." Lenny huffs out a breath. "I guess she wasn't ready for my Practice Dummy after all."

  "I still take offense to being called that," he points at Lenny, "but I'll let it slide since you made me what I am today."

  "A raving idiot?" Lenny smacks him on the back.

  "No, a living legend." The Practice Dummy closes his eyes and nods.

  I grab Charlie's hand. "As fun as this show is, I'm leaving."

  "Hey, wait." Lenny eyes widen. "You aren't staying to eat?"

  "Nope, I'm going home."

  "All right, sulky." Lenny chuckles. "I’ll see you both soon. Don't let your pride get the best of you."

  It takes all the power I have in me not to give him the middle finger, but I am too afraid I’ll have to pay for it in the morning. "Come on, Charlie. Let's get going."

  In a few days I will have to deal with him. I wonder what all he has up his sleeves.

  Chapter Six

  Desperate to get out of the bar, I rush out the door, needing fresh air.

  Charlie follows me out close behind me. "Hey, are you okay?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine." What else can I say at this point? We both know I'm not, but what will admitting it do?

  "I wish you'd stop that." He sighs.

  "Stop what?" I spin around causing my vision to go dark on the sides and my feet to become unsteady.

  Arms wrap around me. "Whoa, whoa." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out some mints. "Here, have one of these."

  Can I just die of embarrassment right now? Does my breath stink that bad that he has to pull out a mint? I cover my mouth with my hands. "I'm so sorry."

  "What are you talking about?" He looks down at the mints and back at my hands. "Oh, no." He laughs. "I'm not saying your breath stinks. You're light headed and need calories. This should help a little till we get food."

  Now it's somehow even worse. I hold out my hand and he drops one in my hand. I put it in my mouth and the taste of spearmint overcomes me. "Thank you."

  "No problem." He loosens his grip and takes a step away. "Are you okay now?"

  Taking in a deep breath, I take a step forward. "Yeah, I'm better now. I don't know what happened."

  He lets go of my waist. "You had a hell of a day training and had a horribly strong guy get all up in your grill when all you've eaten all day was one slice of toast." He pulls out the car keys. "Come on. Let's get you back home and order a pizza on the way."

  "Now you're speaking my language." A small grin spreads across my face. A pizza with pepperoni and sausage sounds like it sure would do the trick.

  We make our way to the car and soon we are heading to the apartment. I grab my cell phone and dial the number I know by heart now.

  "Thank you for calling Papa John's pizza." Loud clanging fills the background. "Will this be delivery or pick up?"

  "Delivery please." Right now, all I can focus on is a shower and pajamas. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow it's not even funny.

  "Oh, hey Christina." The guy laughs. "Will it be the usual large pepperoni and sausage on hand toss?"

  Okay, this is embarrassing. Yes, I might order this more often than I would like to admit but I can't believe they already have my voice down pat. "Uh... yeah. Thanks."

  "We will have it to your apartment in the next thirty minutes. Thank you for being a loyal customer." Then the phone goes dead.

  "Hey, you didn't want to get a pizza?" Charlie turns into our apartment parking lot.

  "No, I got us one coming." Please just drop this conversation. I don't want to admit how frequent I order pizza.

  "Wait." He pulls into the parking lot and turns off the car. "Do they know your voice?"

  I play with my phone like it's the most riveting contraption I ever saw.

  "Oh my god. How often do you order pizza from there?" His face breaks out into a grin. "I mean... we usually spend most of our time together." He eyes widen. "Do you order it in the middle of the night?"

  Dammit, I can't help when I get hungry. "Look, this has been fun and all, but I need a shower." I open my door and get out.

  "Oh, Chris. Come on." He laughs and rolls down the passenger window. "It's cute. Don't get all upset."

  Wait... Did he just say cute?

  "Hey," He runs a hand through his blond hair. "I need a shower, too. I'm going to run over to my apartment real fast and I'll be right back. Okay?"

  "Sure, I'll see you soon." I spin around and walk up the stairs taking them one at a time. My legs shake, and they feel like they want to buckle. I sure hope my reaper power works wonders tonight and heal me since Lenny will probably work us out even harder tomorrow since I couldn't beat his buddy tonight.

  After what seems like hours, I make it up the stairs. I hobble to the door and unlock it. I shut the door behind me and grab some clothes to take into the bathroom with me. Once I'm in the bathroom, I turn the hot water on and grab a clean towel from under the sink. Not wasting any time, I step into the shower and let the water course down my body.

  After standing there a few minutes, my muscles begin to relax and some of the knots loosen. Shit, I better hurry since Charlie is going to be heading back this way soon. I shampoo my hair, breathing in the apple scent as I scrub the dingy sweat and dirt away. As soon as I rinse it away, I put the conditioner on the ends and then soap up my body. As I rinse off, there is a knock at my door. Dang it, he's already here. I took too long at the beginning.

  I turn the water off and step out of the shower drying off. "One second. I'll be right there." I throw on my clean clothes and brush my wet hair leaving it down. I hurry out of the bathroom and rush to the front door yanking it open.

  Charlie raises an eyebrow. "Are we eager?"

  Can he have a bigger ego? I sl
ap his arm. "No, I just hated making you stand out here." I place my hands on my hips. "But now, I kind of wish I’d have made you wait longer."

  He slips past me into the room. "Oh, you're just hangry."

  "Is that your way of saying I'm acting like Betty White?" I raise an eyebrow.

  "If only you were that hot." He winks at me.

  "The lack of food is clearly making you delirious." I shut the door and plop on the couch.

  "Speaking of that, when did they say it should be here?" He sits beside me.

  A loud knock answers his question.

  "Well, I guess that's your answer." I stand and open the front door. I take a deep breath when my parents come into view.

  My dad is standing tall, but there is still deep bruising on his face. Other than that, he's dressed in his slacks and polo shirt and is holding a large, wrapped present in his arms. My mother's makeup is on thicker than normal and she's wearing a simple light blue dress. She's twirling her engagement ring around her finger. When I look past them, I notice there is a guard in the hallway watching the whole awkward show.

  "Hey." This is weird. What do you do when your parents come to your home? "Uh... would you like to come in?"

  "Yes." My mom gives me a small smile. "That would be really nice."

  Okay, I didn't expect them to say yes. This is very strange. What the hell is going on here?

  Dad walks into the place first and pauses when he finds Charlie sitting on the couch. "Oh, I didn't realize you had company."

  "Oh, yeah." I shut the door and walk into the room next to mom. "It's no big deal. We had some things going on today and we are waiting on dinner."

  Not fazed by Charlie, mom scans the apartment over and walks in right on the place. "Oh, honey. This is nice." She makes her way to the couch and touches it. "You got all this stuff by yourself."

  "It's not much, but it's all mine." I'm waiting for the criticism. I'm not falling for the building up they are doing.

  "Well, that's a mighty big accomplishment." Dad nods. "One I never thought my little girl would ever have to do on her own." He huffs. "I'm sorry it came to that."

  "Me, too." Mom comes over and rubs my arm. "I should have been there for you more. Speaking of which, how is your hunt for the Angel's Breath going?"

  So that's why they are here. They want information to see where I am, so they can run back to the council to get back in their good graces. Not happening. "It's going. That's one thing that Charlie and I were working on today together."

  "Very true." Charlie leans back in the couch. "And boy am I worn out. Learning about angels can tire you out."

  "Oh, that's smart." Dad nods and brings over the present he's been carrying and lays it down on the table. "You need to know everything about your opponent."

  That's the thing. I'm not even sure they are my opponent. All I know is they have the Angel's Breath vial which makes sense since they are angels. Just wanting to change the subject, I point to the gift. "What's that?"

  Mom walks over and smiles. "It's a housewarming gift for you. I hope you love it."

  "I'm sure she will." Dad bends down and kisses her cheek. When he stands back straight, he motions to me. "Open it."

  They brought me a freaking present. That's the last thing I'd expect from them. I open the gift and find they bought me some pots and pans which I need. "Oh, thank you. I really needed these."

  "Good. I figured you would." Mom smiles at me.

  Another knock at the door interrupts the tense atmosphere. I rush to get away even just for a moment and open the door to the delivery boy who has a very large frown.

  He hands me the pizza. "That'll be $12 and a nice tip would be great since that guard down there had to frisk me before I could deliver this to you."

  "He did what?" Did he just say what I think he did? Please tell me no.

  "Yeah, you heard me right." His nostrils flare and he glares down at the council agent. "He felt me up before I could deliver this to you. So... for a special service like that an extra big tip would be nice."

  This day gets increasingly interesting. I grab and twenty and give it to him. "Keep the change."

  "Yeah, I was going to." He turns and walks off.

  What an asshole. At least a little gratitude would be nice. I slam the door and go into the kitchen, placing the pizza on the table. Oh, shit. Are my parents going to want to eat some of this? I'm starving and was counting on Charlie and me having the whole thing to ourselves.

  Mom giggles. "Frank, do you remember that week when she was eight?" She takes a few steps towards me. "She wanted to eat pizza every night for dinner."

  "Oh, do I ever." Dad shakes his head. "I was so thankful we talked some sense into her. I would have thrown up if I had to eat another pizza."

  What is this? Are they in my apartment bringing me gifts and trying to go down memory lane? Something isn't adding up. "Okay, what's going on?"

  "Nothing." Dad shrugs. "We just wanted to come over and visit and bring you some things that might help you get set up."

  Charlie stands and comes over next to me.

  That little bit of support shouldn't mean as much as it does to me, but that's something I'll focus on at a later date. "You were just in the hospital yesterday, so something is up." Fine, if Dad won't break, maybe Mom will. I fix my gaze on her.

  "Fine, you'll find out sooner rather than later." She huffs.

  "Janice..." Dad's tone is a warning.

  "Oh, hush." She closes her eyes for a moment then opens them. "We did come over to check on you. That is true, but something is going on."

  "Are you guys okay?" Charlie steps closer to me, his arm brushing mine.

  "To be fair, I'm not sure how to answer that." She takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders. "We have been...." She blows out her mouth and clears her throat. "We have been demoted and the council has taken our house." She breaks off and sniffles.

  "Dear, it'll be okay." Dad reaches out and rubs her arms. He glances at me. "We are on probation until further notice. We will be moving tomorrow and wanted to let you know."

  My parents’ worst nightmare has come true. "But why? You guys have never done the council wrong. Why would they do this to you?"

  Mom wipes away a tear from her cheek at looks right at me. "Because we raised a reaper that stole from the council."

  I never meant for my parents to be blamed for my choices. After all, they did raise me to follow the council blindly. "I never meant for this to happen."

  "It doesn't matter." Dad shrugs at me. "Sometimes intentions aren't what matters."

  For the first time I can remember, my dad has said something I agree one hundred percent with. "I'm still sorry."

  "We didn't come over to make you feel bad." Mom gives me a forced smile. "But it's late and your dinner has arrived, so we should be getting home. We have a lot to get done anyways. We will see you soon."

  "Yeah, goodnight you two." Dad nods.

  The two of them walk out my door and I shut and lock it. I turn to Charlie and lay my head back on the door. "We have got to find that crystal."

  Chapter Seven

  I walk into the coffee shop across the street from the complex. The Brew isn’t the nicest place, but it has one of the best lattes around.

  Charlie is already there and sitting down at the back of the small shop with his basic black coffee. There are four small tables that sit four people and he’s grabbed the one in the corner. The smell of coffee is so strong I bet people who aren’t caffeine addicts can get their fix without purchasing a thing.

  The barista grins when he sees me. He grabs the largest cup they own and heads to the espresso machine. “Let me guess,” he waves his free hand in the air and his black shirt raises up just a little bit revealing his olive skin. “Hazelnut latte, extra whip?”

  “Oh, how do you know?” It’s not like I come here as often as I order pizza.

  “Let’s just say,” he winks at me, “I have mad skills.”


  “Yeah… let’s just leave it at that.” I roll my eyes and throw a five down on the table. I head over to where Charlie is and slide into the seat. “Hey you.”

  “Hey.” He winces. “How are you?”

  “Other than feeling like it hurts to breathe, I’d say I’m managing.”

  “He did put us through hell yesterday,” he sighs. “More you than me.”

  “One extra hot latte at your service.” The barista puts the drink on the table in front of me. “Now, after that first sip, I better see a smile.”

  “That may be asking too much.” I raise an eyebrow.

  “Now, come on. I gave you extra whip at no charge.” He pouts.

  The front door opens and the bell rings alerting him to another customer.

  Thank god. I always feel strange around him. It’s best when he’s preoccupied. I grab my glass and bring the drink to my lips. The hot delicious mixture of nutty milk and espresso fills my mouth.

  “Is it that good?” Charlie chuckles.

  “Coffee is the sweet nectar from the gods.” I take another long sip for emphasis.

  “I’m not sure that’s actually factual.” His face breaks out in one of those rare breathtaking smiles and his eyes light up.

  He’s freaking gorgeous. Oh shit, I’m staring. I’ve got to say something. “Well ... it is to me.” Uh … what? That made no sense.

  He leans toward me. “Are you okay?”

  Diversion. I don’t want him to know I… hell I don’t even know what I did, but I was lost in him or something. “I’ve got to find that crystal.” This is why we are meeting after all.

  His hand reaches out and brushes my fingertips. “We will. Your parents will get their title back.”

  The problem is that I’m not sure I believe it. The council has their thumb on us and they know it. “I’m going to try to locate it again.” I place the cup back on the table and then clasp my hands together.

  I focus on the image of the crystal. I picture the brown lightning ricocheting all throughout and how it made the air feel around it. Of course, the vial of Angel’s Breath tries to crash through my image, but I push it out, holding firm. However, no matter how firm the hold is, I can’t even see the dark around it. It’s not even blanketed. I can’t get a read whatsoever. What is going on?