Reaper (Dragon Prophecies Book 1)

by Hickory Mack

  “Take them up to the training floor,” she instructed, handling Hasprey herself. Two of the younger guys tried to fight back, but Cross quickly shut them down, grabbing extra soldiers along the way to keep them in hand.

  They gathered quite the crowd as they entered the training level, and Elsie dumped Hasprey in the middle of what had become her platform. She held out her hand, and the Staff of Sanaia materialized there, though she’d left it back in her suite. All of her practice was starting to pay off. She could almost feel the staff becoming fond of her.

  Elsie lifted a hand and motioned to the wall of weapons behind Hasprey. “Take your pick. Hell, take two if you think it will help you.”

  “I’m an old man, retired,” he tried again, and she wagged a finger at him.

  “Not too old to proposition someone half your age for sex though, right? Pick your weapon. I’ll show you whether or not my skills are above yours,” she growled. Several people training nearby had stopped what they were doing to come over, lining the sides of Elsie’s platform.

  “Welcome to the show!” she called over. “Today, the men in this compound are going to find out what happens when they think with their cocks and not their brains. I am First Commander, and you will remember how to show respect to your betters.”

  There were a few knowing smiles from the women around the edges, and a couple of the men actually clapped, but there were far more serious looks than Elsie had expected. How many of the men here thought the same way as her own security detail?

  Hasprey made his way to the wall and picked a sword, making an obvious show of it being far too heavy for him. Elsie didn’t believe him for a second. He wouldn’t have picked it if it wasn’t viable for him.

  The old man stepped into the center of the ring, looking at her uncertainly and rolling his shoulder as though it still pained him. It could very well be that he was unable to heal as fast as she could. Especially if it were true that he wasn’t united with his fae half. He’d have to change that in a hurry if he thought he could keep up with her.

  Standing several paces from him, Elsie bowed in an overly dramatic fashion, and he mirrored her. She looked to Frost, finding the wolf laying at the side of the platform. He would not interfere unless something went seriously wrong, but Elsie had every confidence it wouldn’t.

  “Here’s the deal,” she said softly, so only Hasprey could hear. “If you win, I’ll admit defeat and proclaim you the better fighter in front of all these people. You will have a justifiable reason for questioning my role among the Hunter Clans. However, if I win, I get to send you to the dimension of my choosing, and I have the perfect place in mind. You’re a horny bastard, so I really feel like it will be a truly just reward.”

  Hasprey was finally sobering up, and he looked like he was going to be sick, but Elsie wasn’t giving him any slack. She’d been drunk more times than she would ever care to admit, but never once had she used it as an excuse to try coercing someone into sex.

  “Begin,” Cross called.

  Elsie stood her ground, watching her opponent, wondering what his big move would be. She’d yet to see him do anything other than talk big and saunter around the compound. She didn’t hold out much hope that he’d give her much of a fight. He lifted his sword, keeping up with the facade that it was too heavy for him, the tip of the weapon trembling as he pointed it at her.

  “I will not allow you to disgrace my name,” he said unsteadily, and Elsie leaned against her staff. Acting feeble hadn’t worked with her, did he really think he could raise support for himself among the crowd using the same tactic? Not an hour ago he’d been full of bravado and bluster, ready to swap favors to gain himself the fucking of a lifetime.

  Elsie grinned at that thought. He was going to be fucked all right. Just maybe not the way he’d planned.

  Hasprey crossed one foot over the next as he slowly sidestepped, trying to force Elsie to follow him, but she called his bluff. Expanding her senses, she stayed rooted to the spot, following him with her ears and sense of smell instead of her eyes. She could feel the vibrations of his every step in her feet.

  He stopped then moved faster than she’d expected, showing up on the opposite side of her. The first time, she’d felt the air move next to her. The second, she felt the brush of metal against her cheek just before a thin line of blood dripped down.

  Executing the same move several times, he made small cuts, slashing at her clothes and her skin. She bled from her arm, her thigh, and her cheek. He was probably thinking he’d confuse her, push her into making a mistake. Instead, she figured out what he was doing. He wasn’t actually stopping, and he wasn’t actually that fast. Hasprey had exemplary control over spatial travel. He could jump in small spaces, and that was no easy task.

  He relied on the fact that there was normally no way of knowing where the jumper would choose to land. Not that he knew it, but his problem was that she could see his magic reach out to where he was going before he even made the jump. Hasprey thought he could confuse her, maybe even scare her. She fully expected he would come out of one of his jumps with an attack, but she wasn’t giving him the chance.

  With her senses wide open, she focused on what his magic was doing. The next time he chose where to jump, she pulled a katana free from the staff, slicing it through the air and severing Hasprey’s hand from the wrist. It fell, still clutching the sword to the floor with a thud and a clatter while he landed where he’d expected with a crash.

  Elsie stabbed his severed hand, impaling it on the tip of her katana, then walked over to him, the katana lighter than it had ever been. She made a show of inspecting his hand, then flicked it toward Frost, who caught it mid-air and swallowed it whole.

  “What the fuck?” Hasprey demanded, and Elsie laughed.

  “Do you admit I’m better than you? I’ve seen demons use that same technique, but they were much faster. We can continue fighting if you’d like, but I might have to take your other hand. Or a foot?”

  Hasprey clutched the bleeding stump where his hand had once been, refusing to say anything. Elsie clicked her tongue at him and looked to the growing crowd surrounding them. “What do you guys think? Have I bested him? Did I sleep my way to being better than this man?”

  “Just admit it. She kicked your ass, and she barely moved,” Cross said. Still, Hasprey said nothing, so Elsie shrugged.

  “That’s okay. I don’t need to hear an apology when I already know the truth,” she said. “I’m sending Lieutenant Hasprey here to a special, special hell dimension. One I cannot say I’ve had the pleasure of visiting myself. You see, there is only one inhabited planet in this dimension, and it is filled with very large men. There’s not one single female. The inhabitants view Earth men as soft, and they love taking their pleasure from them.”

  Hasprey grew paler and paler as she spoke, and she slapped him gently on the cheek. “Don’t worry! I’m sure if you shake your ass and behave like a good little bitch, you’ll find the right guy and be able to sleep your way to the top. You already know how it’s done, so it should be easy for you!”

  Jeering and laughter came from around the platform, and Elsie sheathed the katana, twirling it and calling the scythe into existence. It was a thing of beauty. Blue cobalt was shot through with glinting obsidian, strands of gold winding around the shaft. The Staff of Sanaia did love to be beautiful, even if that beauty was sometimes dark.

  Elsie tore through to the dimension she’d spoken of, and a door opened into a world with a deep blue sky. It smelled like fresh rain, and the air that blew in was about ten degrees warmer than the frigid temperature in the compound.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Elsie sighed. “You’re going to have a great time. Kneel.”

  She dipped into her magic, forcing him into subservience when he dared to disobey. The magic brought her his true name, and she looked down on him with glowing lavender eyes.

  “Ronald Benjamin Hasprey, you have been found guilty of attempting to coerce a reaper into
lewd acts against her will. The sentence is two lifetimes in the hell dimension of my choosing,” she said harshly.

  “Please, have mercy,” Hasprey begged. “You already took my hand, isn’t that enough?”

  “It isn’t.”

  With a swing of the scythe, she severed the soul from his body and watched as it was sucked through the connection point’s door. Keeping an eye on both the soul and the body until she was certain he was dead, Elsie gave a pleasant little smile when it was finished. She’d gotten a full view of the horror on his soul’s face as he crossed over. Closing up the connection point, she turned to the remaining three men held by Cross and the others who hadn’t betrayed her.

  “Well, that was fun. Who’s next? Which one of you can prove themselves worthy of my position?”

  Chapter 35

  Elsie stepped through the door to Earth, followed by Frida and Frost. She’d showered and meditated after sending each of the creeps to the same hell dimension, but she couldn’t get it out of her head. It thoroughly pissed her off that those nobodies had called her abilities into question like that. Even more so that they thought they could buy her body with cheap favors.

  Her footsteps were heavy as she stomped through the tall grasses in the field outside of the demon town. She didn’t even stop when she felt Wren join her. Wren caught up easily, grabbing her hand, and Elsie turned, her face a thundercloud.

  “I have something to tell you,” they said together. Elsie paused, surprised, her anger momentarily taking a backseat to whatever her future mate had to tell her. Wren was practically sparkling with excited energy.

  “You go first,” the spirit said, but Elsie shook her head.

  “I don’t want my bad mood ruining what you have to share,” she asserted. “Let me be happy with you.”

  “There aren’t any fluctuations in the earth element anymore!” Wren said excitedly, her eyes widening with expectation. Elsie thought she’d explain, but the spirit apparently thought she should know what that meant. Frost seemed to get it though, his ears perking up as he looked at Wren curiously.

  “I don’t understand what that means…”

  “It’s calm and harmonious. Stable. The earth magic is balanced!”

  “Oh my gods!”

  “Right?!”

  “Does that mean you have your magic back?” Elsie asked, grasping Wren’s hands as her excitement caught on. The spirit shook her head.

  “It means the Earth is keeping all of the magic it produces instead of continuing to have it siphoned by the dimension the Dragons created. They won’t be getting any more earth magic from us!” Wren gave an adorable little wiggle.

  Elsie laughed and danced with her, kissing her several times. She had no idea what the spirit was talking about, but Wren was happy, so she was too. Even Frost had a wolfie grin on his face.

  “How did she do it?” Elsie questioned.

  “I have no idea, but I’m so grateful to her! I want to go find her and squish her!” Wren squealed. “This isn’t the huge boost of magic we’ll get when the two of you bring the Dragons back, but it feels so good. I didn’t realize how draining it was until it stopped.”

  “I’m not sure what that means? I knew the Dragons took the Earth’s magic when they left, but you’re saying they’ve continued taking magic all this time?” Elsie asked. She couldn’t believe it.

  “Hunters are so useless,” Wren sighed, disparaging Elsie’s education. “The light Dragon was extremely clear that she wanted nothing to do with Earth ever again. So, no one can agree on whether or not she knows they’re still taking our magic. Nobody has been able to figure out where exactly it goes, and even though some have tried to follow it, the trail disappears.”

  “The planet has been trying to heal itself for centuries, but there has always been that siphoning, pulling the magic away like a wound that won’t heal. The Key has closed that door for earth magic, so magical healing can truly begin now. Creatures relying on earth magic have been existing in a weakened state and barely surviving. Now they’ll be revitalized. It’s a wonderful gift,” the spirit said. There were practically stars in her eyes.

  “Won’t the Dragons notice the magic has stopped?” Elsie asked. She wasn’t even ready to broach the subject of the Dragon stating she never wanted to come back.

  “There’s no way to know. If they do, and they need that magic, they may try to counteract the Key’s efforts. They’ll fail. She’s destined to become the most powerful creature on the planet one day. And as her strength grows, so too will the strength of those around her. The Dragons will not be able to stop the two of you,” Wren assured her.

  “I truly believe in my heart that if Kaho knew that she was continuing to drain the Earth of its magic, she would try and stop it. If the only way to save the planet is to bring her back, she’ll come to terms with it.”

  “I need to be absolutely sure you’re right before I take part in dragging her back here. It seems to me, these Dragons went to some huge lengths to leave their lives behind. Isn’t it acceptable to just allow the Key to balance the elements that need balancing and leave the Dragons where they are? Can’t everyone be happy with a middle-ground solution?” Elsie asked.

  “That’s been discussed for many years. The priestess and her Key have been puzzled over by scholars, mathematicians, and physicists. They always come to the same conclusion,” Wren said, sounding regretful.

  “What conclusion?”

  “The Earth will not regenerate her magic quickly enough to stop her premature death. It took billions of years for her to create the magic she had, and it’s estimated the Dragons took over ninety percent of each of the seven elements. If we are to survive, we must bring them back.”

  “What if they get here, but they’re so pissed they destroy everything? All the work of bringing them here will be useless at that point,” Elsie pointed out. Frost sent her an image of him in the form he’d taken while fighting the sky people. Huge and terrifying, he was implying that he’d fight the Dragons himself. She reached over and slapped his shoulder, scowling. He sneezed at her and tossed a smug look her way.

  “The Key will be capable of containing them.”

  “What? No!” Elsie glanced down at the cuff on her wrist. “I will never be responsible for another creature being held against their will again.”

  “We will only need to keep Kaho still long enough to speak with her. Once she knows the truth of what her actions caused here, she will do what she has always done,” Wren said.

  “And what’s that?”

  “Disappear to think. She is brilliant, and standing at her side is a man with the greatest mind I’ve ever seen. Once Kaho sees that the power she took is now in the hands of someone else, she will not fight. Don’t get me wrong, she has always had power unlike anything else on Earth, but the magic she took will easily overpower her,” Wren stated.

  “Why aren’t you worried about convincing the other Dragon? Isn’t he who stands at the light Dragon’s side? And how many other Dragons will we pull through? They’ve had plenty of time to make a few generations of scaly little babies,” Elsie remarked, and Wren shook her head before quoting a prophecy.

  “Two there will be, the pair and no more.

  Their powers seek not to hold.

  Those who will try will find only death.

  Lovely, benevolent, destructive creatures,

  I name thee Dragons.”

  “That was from Elander himself. The man at Kaho’s side is not the dark Dragon; he’s an elf. He is Elician, Lord of Saffwood Forest, and Kaho’s soulmate. The Dragons both mated, but not to each other, so there will never be Dragons other than the two of them. They were bonded like family, always so close,” Wren said.

  “That’s so sad,” Elsie murmured. “They’ll forever be the only two members of their species.”

  “Both a blessing and a tragedy. The world was lucky to have the Dragons we were given. Kaho was raised by elves who kept her hidden in a human castle.
She was taught to be reasonable, level headed, and kind while learning from a young age what it meant to bear the responsibility of power,” Wren said, lost in memories. “The dark Dragon was Sephtis, and his upbringing could have gone horribly wrong. He was raised by Elijah, of all people.”

  Frost perked up again at the mention of that name, and Elsie wondered again how old the wolf was. Wren was talking about the Dragon’s childhood, and that had to have been thousands of years ago.

  “Who is Elijah?”

  “The eldest of Akunin Yaksha’s children.”

  A chill went down Elsie’s spine. The creature who had created vampires. “Gods.”

  “Yes, it could have been awful. From what I’m told, Elijah kept Sephtis’ existence from Yaksha for eighty years. As powerful as he was, he could fight, but he was even more gentle than his light counterpart. I am not worried about convincing Sephtis because he will follow Kaho in whatever she decides. It’s always been that way between the two of them,” Wren explained. “He will fight to the death to protect those he loves, but he’ll listen before taking action.”

  “Like Saint,” Elsie muttered, looking to the Southwest. He was so much closer, it hurt to stand still and wait for him to come to her. Learning how to portal jump within the same dimension was the greatest incentive she’d ever had for traveling. If she knew exactly where Saint was, she could be with him in seconds.

  “Yes, I suppose Sephtis was a bit like your wolfhound. Even when he was angry with me, he was calm,” Wren agreed. Frida came trotting over, her tail high in the air, butting her head against Wren’s calf and demanding attention. The spirit smiled and picked the alebrije up, giving her pets and chin scratches.

  “I understand why you’re concerned about your role in all of this. It has to be scary, and I can only imagine the pressure this must put on you. If I could take the responsibility onto myself, I would. It isn’t fair that so much rests on your shoulders. Reaper, it’s okay to hate it. It’s okay to question if you want to do this. If this is truly something you can’t do, I’ll support you. No matter what,” Wren promised.