My Demonic Ghost Book two (The Reapers 2)

by Jacinta Maree

  He took me back to the dark dome where the solar beam of electric blue light burrowed into the skies. Raix was beside him as he took the lead and walked up to the ledge, before leaning over and releasing the soul into the light. The soft stretched wail of Mrs Flitch was swallowed in one swift gulp into the beam. The Drop Off.

  “Ah – there you are.” Christophe’s familiar voice rang above the whispering of the breeze. I glanced up just in time to catch him stepping out of the shadows, followed by his Goon. He was cradling his shoulder from where Raix had attacked him last time. Surrounding us I could see at least twenty other pairs of Reapers and Goons, most of them appearing in and out of the dome like they were just flickering images. I had to blink my heavy eyes twice, making sure I still wasn’t dreaming.

  “How do you keep disappearing on me?” Christophe took me by my shoulder and hauled me up.

  “I found him back on the surface-” Elliot said unimpressed. “He was consulting with the living, it was to my understanding that he wanted to punch a certain Luke Thompson in the head”.

  “You can read my mind?”

  “It was obvious.” Elliot scoffed.

  Christophe then chirped in laughing, “We’ve been watching you ever since the incident, who wouldn’t want to punch their killer in the head at least once? But we can’t-” He then announced loudly to an invisible audience, “Remember that, it’s very important.”

  “Mrs Flitch-” I mumbled, glancing over as Raix licked his lips satisfied, “She died because of me?”

  “She was going to die either way, you had to be there ensure the Goon got her soul. If you don’t catch them fresh from death, they’ll be stuck on earth. Now that would be a problem.”

  Another pair of Goon and Reaper galloped out of the shadows and made it straight for The Drop Off, blue glow seeping from the closed jaws of the monster pet.

  Elliot grumbled under his breath, “Teresa -” like he had something bitter on his tongue. The harsh blonde that brightened her hair looked strange against her dark skin as she glanced upwards, almost like she heard Elliot whisper her name distastefully. She scrunched her nose up at them, just as displeased.

  “Teresa?” I repeated as Elliot scoffed.

  “She’s… a difficult Reaper. Do not mingle with her.”

  “Now, now Elliot, she isn’t all that bad. Just make sure you don’t, well don’t get her upset. Teresa is known to be quick tempered. If you don’t bug her she won’t bug you.” Christophe reassured but he didn’t sound confident in his own advice. Teresa shifted her static green eyes over towards me, and as if she were standing within inches of my face I could feel the intensity of her glare burrow into my thoughts. I gulped loudly and Christophe laughed, slapping my shoulder cheerfully.

  “Don’t worry lad – she’s the least of your problems.”

  But Christophe spoke too soon as Raix violently hunched his back and snarled at Teresa’s Goon who had walked too close to him. Being territorial and easily threatened, both Goons immediately expressed hostility, snarling their teeth and letting low roars tremble through their breaths. The vulture goon tried to scurry out of the way but Raix was quick to pounce on its back, trying to open its beck and tear the soul from its throat. Teresa let out a high scream before she pulled a sharpen dagger from underneath her cloak, raising it above her head and running at Raix. I didn’t feel the panic that I should’ve as both Christophe and Elliot shouted out in surprise.

  Bones and First bounded into action, one taking on Raix trying to tear him off the Vulture while the other tried to deter Teresa from slicing Raix’s throat open with her knife. She swung at Bones, clipping her on the leg as the Goon howled and shot a dose of electricity out of its mouth, knocking Teresa onto her back. The inner glow that seemed to radiate from inside their bodies, replacing their organs for the mystical light only burned brighter in their fighting. All the Goons were snarling and spitting at each other in howls that matched no animal. The noise felt like it was tearing the skin from my bones, curling under my nerves with tiny sparklers.

  Elliot slapped me over the back of my head, knocking me out of my mindless staring. “Control him!” But there was nothing I could do.

  I shouted at Raix to return to me, but my voice barely touched the surface against their vicious snapping. Just as Raix took a fresh mouthful of skin into his jaws, closing his powerful bite over the wing of the Vulture was there a thunderous clap that tore the fight apart. Each Goon whimpered and returned to their Reaper, some limping whereas Raix kept to pacing back and forth near the Drop off ledge. Patrolling the barrier no less, his head still lowered and his canine ears pinned to his skull. Whoever had control of Raix in the first place, did not teach this demon very well. I got the same disgraced looks as a parent gets when their child acts up in public, it felt sickening and heavy that I could barely swallow under the weight of their judgement.

  A light that dosed the entire dome in a white splitting flash blinded us all. Out of the whiteness appeared a woman who descended from the air like she were gliding.

  She was… absolutely beautiful. I felt my jaw grow slack in my awe; my eyes widen just a little wider wanting to drown my thoughts in her image. She was dazzling, hidden behind a flickering of soft white gold that only illuminated her fire red hair even more. As she touched down onto the black glass plane, her soft golden eyes rocked up onto my face, setting my cheeks aflame.

  “Reapers…” She spoke in a powerful voice, not like a shout, but like she was talking into a microphone. It touched every surface around me and filled my heart with helium, lifting my chest a little higher like I was drifting on my toes. Each of the Reapers shuffled backwards, cautious of the mystical beauty that descended upon us. Some even fled before she could notice that they were there, disappearing under the crack of shadows.

  She then glanced over to Raix and lifted her hand. Out of the tip of her finger fired a fast, white missile of light directly striking Raix in the forehead, knocking him down. Caught off guard the same pain exploded in my head, knocking me to my knees as well as if the missile had driven through my skull instead.

  “What is going on here?” She asked in a booming voice. As the pain subsided enough for me to focus, I watched as Teresa approached the woman and bow at the waist. The flickering Reapers all stopped to watch, pressing against the boundaries of the dome like they were wishing to disappear into the black tar.

  “That Reaper over there attacked me.” Her hand was up, pointing in my direction.

  The woman kept her attention on me, her eyes flickering like a fox. Through a cloud of silver she dispersed and reappeared next to my side, looking me over thoroughly. Sweat climbed through my hair line, coating my nose and cheeks in my nervous perspiration. I couldn’t figure out what made her look at me like I was something of interest. She touched her index finger to my chin, lifting my head up so she could clearly and deeply gaze into my eyes. If I had thought this was going to be a romantic moment from the movies, I couldn’t have been more wrong. She pinched my right eye open as I felt the same sting flood under my iris. Making it incredible itchy, but I dared not to indulge and scratch. I could feel the shifting numbness move from my eyebrow and across my cheek, printing the strange tattoo markings under every straining blink, and like she was reading a script the woman’s eyes flickered to and fro.

  She then released me and stood to a stand. “You have broken the rules Reaper– for that you will be destroyed-”

  “Please, Hunter he is still fresh from death, not two weeks ago. I’m trying to teach him-” Christophe stood to my defence and offered his hands in peace, he too taking a knee before the woman.

  “You are his guardian? So you are the one responsible-” The woman proclaimed, lifting her hand and ignoring Christophe’s mumblings fired another missile into his chest. Christophe collapsed to the floor, as still as stone. The colour drained out of him almost instantly as twisted black veins pressed against his skin like a virus. It ran across him in blacken spider w
ebs, touching every last bit of skin till even his eyes and lips were painted with the dark vines.

  “Hunter – please be reasonable.” Elliot leapt up, “Raix is known for his temper – please, he just needs more time.”

  “Christophe failed to ensure the Reaper was trained, he will be probably disposed of.”

  “You can’t-” Elliot shouted but fell obediently silent as the woman whipped her eyes up at him. In a redirected tone, Elliot continued, “I will train him. Properly. If anything else goes wrong I will take full responsibility. I beg of you, please reconsider Christophe. He is a good and loyal Reaper…”

  The woman considered him for a moment, and very softly nodded her head. “But this act cannot go unpunished Elliot – Christophe shall be sent to Mother for two weeks.”

  Elliot cringed and hung his head defeated. I struggled to a stand and glanced over at Raix. He was still turned on his side, exhausted and pinned under the woman’s spell. His chest was heaving deeply but slowly, each breath that squeezed through his gaping mouth unable to fill the beast’s lungs. I did feel a touch of sadness for him, especially how his eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head. The more I looked at this woman, the more I felt warmth bloom inside me. She looked at us with a softness I had never seen before, like her very eyes could see into my soul and bring out the good in me. I approached her, truly believing she was sent to me for a reason. That she stepped out of the darkness of this nightmare to answer my silent calls.

  “Please, miss.” I stepped forward, gesturing to Raix, “There must be a mistake. I cannot control that Goon; I am not suited for this job. If you could perhaps release me from this bond I could return to my life, just as it was-”

  The gentle nature that I was admiring, that I was appealing to was overshadowed underneath the scrunch of her glare. “Stand down Reaper -” She barked. “You may have gotten off this time, but the next I would send to you Mother for Eternity. Count yourself lucky that Christophe is taking your place. Now back down!”

  Elliot grabbed my elbow, yanked me back and covered my mouth with his palm. Bowing with his head he mumbled, “I will train him Hunter, you have my word.” Teresa could be seen smirking into her chest, pleased by the way Elliot squirmed underneath this women’s stare. The back of the dome was littered with the bright shining eyes of the Reapers; breaths held into their chest, eyes widen waiting for the Hunter to move.

  “See to it you do.” She approached Christophe, knelt down and placed her palm on his cheek before they both were teleported through the white light that carried her. The silence fell around us. Elliot had his jaw in a tight clench, biting back whatever words he was dying to throw at me.

  “Where did she take him?” I finally asked.

  “Not somewhere good.”

  “Who was she?”

  “She is called a Hunter. They are the right hand to the Royals, smug bastards thinking it’s hilarious to trap us down here. We do as they command; it’s as simple as that.”

  “Hunters? What are they hunting for?”

  “You’ll find out in due time...Raix needs to rest. We start our training in the morning, I’ll find you then. ”

  And with that Elliot left to fetch First who was still limping from their confrontation, his left paw held up from the ground. Bones was sprawled across the floor, the fight in her eyes long dead. The brightness that filled the bellies of every beast had been extinguished inside of her. A goon without a reaper was just an empty shell, lost and broken.

  I went to Raix and knelt beside the enormous wolf. He was so much bigger than me, but as he remained anchored to the floor I could really feel how his tiny heart fluttered with uncertainty. I placed my hand on his chest feeling the need to comfort the giant dog when at my contact the canine whined in pain. He then started to shiver and shrivel up, like how a leaf curls when set on fire. The Goon dispersed into a think puddle on the ground and further stained the floor, sinking into the panes. I stood up to move out of the way, when the black ink stain shifted with me and followed my footsteps.

  He had become my shadow.

  “Take me back home Raix…” I commanded before the darkness swooned over me, carrying me upwards with invisible strings before I stepped out of the shadows of the trees in my front yard. It was dusk now; the winding blue seemed to paint a perfect picture of my life finally setting to rest.

  Chapter Six:

  The following day I had accidently slept in till noon. The house was already in a stir, but despite the activity I couldn’t have felt more suffocated by my silence. I stood up to go to the bathroom but first checked to see that my eyes hadn’t changed during the night. They were the same warm brown and relieved I left to go to have a shower. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Raix’s shadow form stretched out behind me, but I was. The giant canine followed my footsteps in the base of my shadow, and not wanting to see his monstrous outline I stood at an angle under the light that pressed my shadow into a single line. Knowing I couldn’t stand there all day under the light bulb, I chased out without giving him a second look.

  After my shower Elliot had been waiting for me in my room. He glanced down at the stretch of my shadow, or shall I call it now Raix, and ran his palm across the wood like he could touch the beast through the floorboards.

  “He is still weak; it should be safe for First to come out so we can demonstrate to you what you are supposed to do.” Elliot motioned to his own shadow before the static black broke into ripples and rose from the floor. It was so strange to see the seemingly flat surface bend and bubble up, building a giant monster out of the black print on the ground. First wasn’t limping any more, but didn’t care to stand close to me in case Raix got a whiff of him.

  “Meet me outside” Elliot commanded before he stepped into invisibility. Admittedly, I was a little in awe at their capabilities. To be able to shift through the darkness and throw shadows and light over your body, concealing yourself in any environment seemed to be a really useful gift. Maybe soon I would be able to do that too? As soon as I was out of the drive way, Elliot appeared again and walked with me through the streets.

  “So Elliot, how long have you been a Reaper for?”

  “How long? I do not know. Time is something you just don’t worry about anymore. I am a Reaper. This is what I will always be. End of story.”

  “So… you just take souls to the Drop Off for the rest of eternity? Doesn’t that get a little dull?”

  “The alternative is to be destroyed. I don’t think I would be complaining any time soon”.

  “That sucks.”

  “It wasn’t always like this, we Reapers used to be able to go to the higher realms and live with our families. But it’s the Royals that shunned us from the heavens, and chained us to our Goons down on earth. But by the time I became a Reaper we were already imprisoned here, so I don’t know anything other than this.”

  “There’s no way you can just sneak up there?”

  “Absolutely none. The Hunters patrol the light, the only way we’re getting in there is on a leash.” Elliot exhaled a shaking breath, something was definitely troubling him.

  “You still breathe?” I asked, noticing how his chest rose and fell in time with each of my breaths. “Sorry, I thought you were dead.”

  “Yes, we are still in our human bodies so we still need to eat, sleep and breathe. Humans can see us as well but not for what we really are. Don’t be fooled, we are dead. You see we are not exactly a whole spirit, we are the body that we left behind, and it’s our Goons who are our spirits. It’s like you’ve been sliced in two, we are the smaller half and the Goon is the rest of you. That smoky glow inside them, that’s what we are. Don’t worry, the curse comes with perks. At least we don’t age. Come, I’ll explain all that later.”

  The sun was sitting at its peak now, high upon its throne and casting down its strong light over the streets below. It was a lot busier in town than I had remembered, most of the crowd being younger kids trying to fill in their fr
ee time. The main market place was blooming like flowers in the spring, sale signs and discounts being painted on large cardboard cut outs trying their best to catch their customers’ gaze.

  “This way, I can sense one over there-”Elliot gave my arm a quick nudge and motioned to the exit when I felt another hand grasp me around my shoulder. I was spun around by the over familiar grab.

  “Hey Jordon,” It was Mark. He was here with his grandfather who was busy overlooking some homemade vases and pots.

  “Mark, oh hey man.” Seeing such a familiar face when standing in the presence of Elliot felt like two alter realties trying to mesh into one. It was… just so wrong. Which life is real?

  “Hey, who you are talking to?” Mark glanced over at Elliot and I felt my brows pinch in a moment of uncertainty. Elliot, well he didn’t exactly blend in with the average Whitehaven citizen around here. His blonde hair looked like white, golden fire against the sun, his eyes shone inhumanly bright and his tattoos that ran down his face almost made him look like an absurd painting. Elliot was caught off guard also, exchanging an awkward glance at me like I had to explain to him how to answer.

  “Umm, this is my friend, El-?”

  “My name is Ethan, what’s up?” Elliot stepped forward and casually nodded.

  “Mark.” Mark responded and extended his hand, obviously not concerned about how disturbingly inhuman Elliot was. Elliot did not extend his own hand in polite greeting and instead gestured for me to follow him. “Nice to meet you, we must leave.”

  “Oh hold on there, Jordon I haven’t heard from you in days. What’s going on?” Mark lent forward to snatch my other arm, and feeling caught in a stupid game of tug of war between him and Elliot, I shook Mark’s arm free.