by CS Patra
That was another thing; everyone was scared of them. It was as though there was a sign on them saying not to have any contact with them. Only they couldn’t see it. Nothing had changed with the people since the night they encountered the demon slayers. The other demons were still whispering about them. It was getting to the point of irritation now. The entire place had become tense, and their practice sessions were not any better. None of the girls could harness any of the rivers. But they could all tell how impatient their masters were getting. They did their best, yet it wasn’t working. Nothing seemed to be going right. Not even school was going well. They had midterms coming up, and there was no time to study.
Yuka was having the hardest time with the changes. Her dance classes were already hell on her legs and feet. Throw in her master’s demands and the weird treatment from the other demons, and she was just about ready to call it quits. More than once, she had thought about going to the Underworld to see if she could talk to Grim Reaper Linn. Maybe they had been mistaken about the whole thing. Maybe someone else was actually her descendant and the real guardian.
Not that this was going to help. Night after night, she would toss around in bed and try to make sense of her life. One night, it got to her so much that she gave up trying to sleep at all and decided to grab a midnight snack instead. It was never a good thing to eat so late in the night, but it wasn’t like she had plans for sleeping anyway. At the very least, eating would keep her mind off the mess that was her real life. Rolling out of bed, she headed down to the kitchen and was shocked to find Tessa, Avani, and Kaska already there, with half of the food from the fridge on the table.
“Well, good morning,” Avani said, looking up at the clock. It was already one in the morning, and none of them had apparently slept since the night before. “Do you feel like eating the cheeseball tonight? I know I should stay away from it, but food is the only thing that’s comforting me right now. With the way I’m feeling, no one can blame me for cleaning out the whole fridge.”
“What are you guys doing here?” Yuka asked. “Wasn’t anyone else able to sleep?”
“No, I’m trying but failing. I was tossing around so much that I gave up and decided to come down. Looks like I’m not the only one who wanted a midnight snack,” Tessa said. “Maybe that might help me sleep since nothing else is.”
“Since we’re all up and bored, want to join us?” Kaska asked Yuka, who sat down and decided to take Avani’s advice to eat the cheeseball. It was made yesterday, but no one had touched it. It still looked good, and there were crackers to spread it on. In addition, they had also pulled out bread, vegetables, sandwich meat, cheese, cookies, chips, dip, and some ice cream. It looked like they were getting ready for a picnic and not a binge eating session. All the same, they knew they weren’t going to eat everything. Too many thoughts were still floating in their minds.
“I don’t think anyone can sleep. I kept tossing and turning, and it has nothing to do with jetlag for a change,” Avani said. “I don’t know if my bed is uncomfortable or what, but I can’t fall asleep. There are no noises, but I don’t want to sleep. I just got a weird feeling inside. Whenever I close my eyes I wake up all of a sudden, go to the bathroom, and then try to fall asleep. It’s the same old routine, so I just gave up on the sleeping.”
“If it’s anything like the weird feeling I have then we’re aren’t going to sleep the rest of tonight either.” Tessa sighed. “Now I don’t feel so hungry anymore. Let’s see if we can bother our masters or something. We owe them a little payback for them making us work so hard on those powers. Not like their teachings taught us anything. I still don’t know anything about Cocytus, other than the fact that it’s cold.”
“No!” Yuka hissed. “They’re probably asleep too! We’re the only dummies that can’t sleep. Why are we going to ruin it for everyone else? Let’s just get something to eat and go back.”
“Go back where?” Kaska asked. “We don’t want to sleep, we don’t want to eat too much, and we don’t want to make any noise. Our choices are limited. What exactly do you think we should do?”
Everyone thought about it for a second, still chewing away on their crackers, when Avani spoke up. “Let’s go for a walk around the garden.”
Tessa blinked. “Now?”
“Why not? I doubt anyone else is up, and it’s not like we’re going outside. It’ll just be in the flower gardens. Then we’ll try to sleep again,” she suggested. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could use the fresh air.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Yuka agreed, getting up from the table. “It’s a nice night out, and it’s not like we’re going to leave the gates. We just want to clear our minds.”
The other three got up, cleared the table, and decided to take the stroll in the garden. It would get harder to go out much later in the season, with the weather slowly growing colder. There was something so wonderful about Tartarus Sanctum at night, especially this time of year. The sky was filled with stars and a bright moon shone down on the fish pond. The leaves on the trees rustled with the light breeze. There was no one screaming or running around or trying cause a mess out here. Night time in the garden was the best moment in Tartarus Sanctum.
As they were heading toward the front door, they heard someone say, “You can’t be serious!” out loud. It made them stop in their tracks. It was coming from somewhere close. Yuka looked around and saw the side door. It was left partially open. Their curiosity was starting to peak again.
“It’s a meeting,” Avani whispered, looking through the crack into a room they had never noticed before. “I wonder if we__”
“No!” Kaska whispered, holding her back. “We’re already in enough trouble as it is! Do you really want to get into more?”
“Yeah, but at least we know they aren’t demon slayers,” Tessa said. “They could never break into this place. We didn’t even know this room existed; I doubt they’d be able to find out. I wonder who was screaming in there. What do you think is going on?”
“It’s Master Sebastian with all our masters.. But I can’t tell who’s in front,” Yuka said, stepping in front of everyone and looking through the crack. Sure enough, her master was kneeling in front of a group of Grim Reapers. When she saw the other three kneeling next to him, she began to worry. No one seemed to be in a good mood based on what she heard. As the Grim Reaper in front moved closer to the light, she recognized her. “Oh, it’s Grim Reaper Linn! But why is she here? And why the hell is it so dark in there?”
“Forget about why it’s so dark. What are they talking about?” Tessa asked. “I’ve never seen any of them look so serious before.”
“I don’t know, but I have a feeling this is not a good time to interrupt,” Kaska said, trying to drag them away. “They look like they’re having a meeting that doesn’t involve us. We should get out of here. Let’s just walk around the garden like we planned and then go to bed. If it’s important, our masters will tell us tomorrow. I’m sure of it.”
“It’s about your successors,” Grim Reaper Linn began as Kaska took a step away from the door. “I feel like it’s not working out the way we planned.”
“On second thought, freeze your butts. This could be interesting,” Yuka said. The other three followed her and peeked through the crack of the door. The boys were sitting in front of the Grim Reapers, and the air in the room was almost chilly. There was a dim light in the room that highlighted the way they were all hunched over. The expressions on their faces weren’t pleasant. The girls began to wonder if this was something they wanted to hear.
“I know things aren’t going as we planned,” Adair began. “I’m beginning to think that maybe we need a different approach to all this. It doesn’t seem right to teach them different rivers at the same time. We should focus on one and see where it takes us. So far, this training method hasn’t work.”
“They haven’t gotten far in their training at all,” Grim Reaper Salvador began. “Sure, you’ve started on the basi
cs, but they haven’t perfected anything. Now I cannot fault them entirely on that. You have to take some responsibility as they are a part of you. They are going to be Grim Reapers one day yet. You don’t see it. You keep treating them like they’re girls.”
“That’s because they are girls, Grim Reaper Salvador,” Fabian replied. “They know that this is a big responsibility. They don’t like it, but they’ve been able to suck it up and try hard. They’re doing the best they can. But that isn’t going to stop them from being teenagers and wanting what teenagers want. I was like that before I became a Reaper’s Apprentice. And I know the rest of you were too. You can deny it all you want, smite me if you please, but you know I’m right.”
“You are right, Fabian. All demons are inexperienced when they start out,” Grim Reaper Linn agreed. “I cannot smite you for telling the truth. But I’m afraid for Kaska. It seems that you cannot get her to focus on her training when she’s around you. After you loosened your teaching methods, she’s gotten more complacent and isn’t trying very hard.”
“Kaska is fond of me. I agree with that. But can you blame her, Grim Reaper Linn? The girls need guidance. If they are going to follow our lead, then it’s necessary that we help them out. Not to mention that this news is still something they are trying to deal with. It came so fast. No one was prepared.”
“I agree it did,” Grim Reaper Odom said, as he nodded his head. “The sad thing about picking Apprentices is that you never know how old your successor will be. Fabian, you were only seventeen when Grim Reaper Isabelle came to you. I was only thirteen when Grim Reaper Cale came for me. Kaska’s only eighteen, and she’s learning the truth from me now. We were all of different ages, yet we all had the same responsibility. It might take time, but it’s crucial we start right away. Being here is keeping them from progressing.”
Sebastian blinked when he heard that. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“We have been talking about this,” Grim Reaper Olana replied. “We’ve been thinking of ways to help the girls progress. I hate that we had to come to this decision. I know how much you care for them. But we feel that, if they are to succeed you, then you will need to be separated.”
Fabian’s large blue eyes widened at that. “Separate them from us? Are you sure about this, Grim Reaper Olana? No disrespect, but they aren’t adults yet. Even Kaska isn’t old enough to be on her own yet. Not in the way you want them to.”
“You might be right about, that but I feel we have no choice.” She sighed. “Within the next week, we want those girls moved somewhere else for their training. It will help them in the end.”
“The last thing I wanted to do was separate them,” Gideon murmured. “Already the other Apprentices don’t look at them like they did before. The poor girls are being shoved out of everything.”
“I never said it would be a good thing, Gideon,” Grim Reaper Linn said. “I hate that we came to this, but we don’t know what else to do. Their lives can‘t be fun and games anymore. We think it might be best to move them.”
“And where would you like to move them, Grim Reaper Linn?” Sebastian asked. “Persephone’s Sanctum would be a little too rambunctious for them. All kinds of demons live there. Not to mention the fact new demons come there every day. I heard Alpheus Sanctum will be getting more demons as well, so it would be a busy place too. They’d get even less training done.”
“I am aware of that, Sebastian. This is why I think Eridanos Sanctum would be a better place.”
“Eridanos Sanctum?!” Adair gaped at her. “That place is full of testosterone!”
There was silence after his outburst, and he realized he sounded immature at that. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t think it’s the best place for four teenage girls to be. Everyone there is a male. Don‘t you think it would be a bigger distraction?”
“Adair, I know you mean well, but I think a different atmosphere will be beneficial,” Salvador said. “As Sebastian pointed out, Persephone’s Sanctum is too rambunctious, and Alpheus will be overfilled with new female demons. I know those are more ideal and right for the girls, but it will be too crowded. For their sake, a separation from here will be good. It will help them grow up at the very least. They will make new friends. They will get used to a world outside these walls. Don’t you think they deserve that?”
“Well….yeah, I guess they do need to learn how to live outside these walls.” He finally relented. “I’ll break the news to Tessa.”
“I still think it’s a bad idea to send them to a sanctum full of male demons,” Fabian said. “Why not let them out in the human world for a while? They spend a lot of time in it when they go to school.”
“That’s good for when they go to school. But these are Reaper’s Apprentices in training. As the days go on, it will become harder for them to handle humans everywhere. They are struggling as it is.”
We knew that they had our best interests at heart. But I don’t think they knew what was best for us. They wanted to send us to Eridanos Sanctum, but that was the worst place for us to be. We didn’t want to deal with anyone else, so we went the one place we figured no one would find us.
Tessa looked at the others. “I really don’t like the sound of this.”
“What do we do?” Yuka asked. “I don’t know about you, but Eridanos Sanctum isn’t the place I want to be. So between that and going home…”
“I’d rather go home,” Kaska finished off for her, looking around. “Face it, guys. This isn’t home anymore. They want to send us away, but we shouldn’t let them get away with it. We have to go before they find out.”
“We’re leaving tonight?” Avani asked.
“We don’t have much time.” She nodded, staring at the door. The conversation had stopped, and they could hear everyone exchanging goodbyes. “Let’s go. They think we’re still asleep. We have to move out before they come upstairs.”
“Yeah, let’s do this,” Tessa agreed. “I’ll try and see if I can get a ticket tonight back to Arizona. At the very least, I can find something into the next town.”
“Why don’t we just use the secret passages like usual?” Yuka asked.
“We might risk our masters following us down there,” Kaska said. “If we fly, they’d have a harder time getting a hold of us. Not to mention, we shouldn’t tell our parents either. Until we actually get home, we should keep all of this to ourselves. Now let’s move and pack everything up. Use the passage only to get to the streets. From there on out, we will separate.”
“Are you sure this will work?” Avani asked.
“It has to work. If they don’t like it, then they have to change their minds about sending us away. Now let’s move before anyone else thinks about waking up. We’ve done enough talking and listening for one night.”
They nodded at each other and went up to their rooms. It felt wrong to leave now, but they didn’t want to stay to hear the news. Time was running out so they stuffed whatever they could into their bags and slowly slipped out the front gate when no one was looking. Fortunately, someone had forgotten to lock it tonight and that made the getaway easy. Once they had walked a few blocks away, they hailed a cab to take them to the airport.
“Going on vacation or something?” the cab driver asked.
“More like going home,” Rosemary said. They had shifted back into human form for the night. “We’ve missed our families so we thought we’d pay them a visit.”
“Oh, you guys have fall break.”
“Yeah, you could say that. We’re going home to see everyone on fall break.” Tiffany nodded. “You can just drop us off at the same gate, and we’ll take it from there.”
“I already called the airlines while I was packing,” Suzanne said. “Apparently, they do have a flight that’s leaving for Raleigh tonight in about three hours. I think that’s more than enough time for me to check-in. They also have flights for your hometowns leaving sometime in the morning too. Most are like an hour or two after mine.”
/> “Sounds good,” Debra said, taking one last look at the road that led to Tartarus Sanctum. The cabbie had no idea that he was driving away from one of the biggest secrets known to mankind. Maybe they would come back here one day. Maybe they would return home, and things would be fine. They would be the Grim Reapers that everyone knew they’d grow up to be and have their own followers. Their masters would be proud of them, and everyone would be happy to see them back. It was all a nice dream.
Someday, it would become a reality.
~ ~ ~
The meeting with the Grim Reapers hadn’t been what the masters expected. They knew bad news was coming, but separating the girls was the last thing anyone wanted. It was true that girls weren’t improving fast enough, but getting rid of them seemed like a punishment. How were they going to learn if they weren’t with people they trusted? The worst part was that they wanted to send them away to Eridanos Sanctum. While it was a nice place, there were no other girls in it, and they would not feel comfortable. None of them were as young as Avani or Yuka either. The plan had left a bad taste in their mouths so they had to change it.
