Reaper Mine: A Reaper Novel

by Palmer, Christie

  "Too much emotion…" Elle was reeling with all the emotions that weren't hers.

  "VICTOR!" She screamed his name with everything she had. She was going to kill him! Where had he gone?

  Where was she?

  The pain from all of the flooding emotions was the only thing that made sense. Had she been prepared, she could have put a wall up to block it all. Instead, she was laid bare. It felt like her brain was bleeding from the intensity of it all reverberating through her mind. She saw the strong frequencies of male emotion, bouncing around her like sound waves. Elle clutched her head.

  "Victor!" she screamed again. The woman rushed her as Elle screamed in pain, trying desperately to remember how to protect herself from it. The woman was speaking to her in a calming voice, but nothing was getting through the emotional wave. Confused and wishing for oblivion, she saw her door fly open, and was rushed with another wave of emotions. It was one of the males she had sensed in the house. For the love of the gods, didn't anyone in this house shield their emotions? The woman gave her an apologetic look, right before she clocked her with a left hook under the chin, knocking her out.

  Elle would thank her later.

  ****

  “YOU WHAT?” Victor was beside himself. He had never wanted to hit a woman in his life, but Kyra was currently pushing him beyond his limits at the moment.

  “You might have mentioned she was an empath, before you left,” Kyra said by way of an apology.

  “Is this supposed to make it okay?” Victor shouted.

  “Don’t scream at her,” Ryder growled.

  Victor glared at Ryder. “She slugged a woman who was obviously in pain.”

  Kyra made a whimpering sound. "I really didn't have a lot of choices. She was screaming and flailing her hands. I couldn't get her to calm down. Honestly I thought she was having some kind of episode or something."

  Victor was about to start screaming himself. “So knocking her teeth down her throat was the answer?”

  “She has all her teeth!” Kyra shouted back.

  Victor felt his eyes round in shock. “Did you check?”

  “Of course I did,” Kyra said in her defense. “What do you think, I’m some kind of barbarian?”

  “She helped me.” Everyone in the room stopped when Elle spoke.

  Victor rushed over to the bed. “How do you feel?”

  Elle gave him a small smile. “Well my lip is swollen.” She tongued her bottom lip which was indeed swollen. “And my head is pounding. But other than that, I think I’m fine.”

  “Wait, why isn’t she screaming in pain?” Kyra asked.

  "Good question." Victor looked at Elle.

  "For some reason, Victor blocks emotions," Elle shrugged. "That's why my shields were down. Otherwise, I'd have had them up."

  Ryder snorted, and Victor turned to glare at him asking, "Why, exactly, are you here?"

  "So, you don't feel anything when Victor is around?" Kyra asked, sitting on the bed next to Elle.

  “No other emotions, no.” Elle looked at Victor and gave him a small smile. “As long as Victor is around the emotions of others are blocked.”

  Kyra looked from Elle to Victor and back. “Interesting.”

  "Why is that interesting?" Victor asked. He hadn't known he'd been blocking emotions for her. Now that he did, he wouldn't be leaving her alone on the mortal plane. He looked at her and wondered how she had survived this long on her own. The look she gave him let him know she recognized exactly what he was thinking. He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes at him.

  “Reapers have taken emotion out of what they do. No offense.” Kyra smiled at Victor taking the sting out of what she said.

  Victor shrugged. “None taken.” It was the truth after all.

  “I noticed it the first time I met you. You have a type of shield around you. All the Reapers have them,” Kyra explained. “But I never thought it was something they projected.” She looked between Victor and Elle again. “Interesting.”

  “Excuse me,” Elle said. Getting everyone’s attention. “Who are you?”

  ****

  She didn't think what she said had been funny, but, everyone in the room burst into laughter, lightening the mood. It just irritated her. She pressed her lips together, keeping her thoughts to herself. The woman sitting on her bedside extended her hand. “My name is Kyra and I am an Air Element and an Elemental Enforcer. The big guy by the door is my bonded mate Ryder, he is a Tracker.”

  Elle rifled through the information she had on the Elemental Enforcers and Trackers and came away with a conclusion she didn’t want to believe.

  She looked at Victor. “Could you please excuse us for a moment?” she asked Kyra. Trying to give her a smile she knew didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Of course. You must be starving I will get you something to eat and be back in a moment.” Kyra and Ryder left them alone.

  Elle took a couple of deep breaths with her eyes closed. Before opening them and looked at Victor who was propped up with his arms crossed over his chest and a hip leaned casually against one of the four posters of the bed.

  "I have researched all species and their locations. When I was killed," Victor flinched as she continued. "We were hours away from my sister in Atlanta." She emphasized the last part, watching him closely. Noting the almost imperceptible shift. She wanted to point and scream at him, but instead, continued on calmly. "The Trackers and Elemental Enforcers are located in Illinois."

  "Correct," Victor said, his eyes leaving her face to stare at something over her right shoulder.

  Elle started to breathe heavy. She was going to hyperventilate. With nothing in her stomach, it pitched and rolled nauseatingly. She couldn't believe this was happening. "Please tell me they came to us. That we're in a hotel or something. Or that I'm dreaming. That we're not where I think we are."

  Victor calmly walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Just breathe, Elle.”

  Elle shook her head. "You were so close to getting rid of me! So close to being able to walk away! Why would you do this?"

  “Who says I want to be rid of you?” he asked sitting down next to her. “Elle, breathe.”

  Elle sucked in a great big breath, and then let it out. “This is just prolonging the possibility of you getting hurt, of me being killed again,” she screeched the last part. “Do you have any idea how much it hurts to die? And it’s not just the dying that hurts, the coming back. Victor every time I come back I feel each and every death I have gone through. Each one.”

  Victor shuddered and gathered her into his arms, as if doing so would take away the pain. But nothing could take the pain away, nothing would fix this. She realized she was crying, she couldn’t remember the last time she had cried over the pain she endured during her deaths. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried in front of another person. She tried to push away from Victor, but he only pulled her closer.

  “I’m going to fix this,” Victor whispered into her ear. “Just trust me.” He kissed her forehead.

  She pulled back so she could look into his dark eyes. “How are you going to fix this, Victor? The Druid who cursed me is long dead. I searched for her for years.”

  Victor kissed her forehead again and smiled. “We will figure it out. We were sitting ducks out there I am not putting your life on the line anymore. You’re safe here and that is what matters. Your sister can kiss my ass if she cares for you she will understand I wanted you somewhere safe. She can come for you if she wants you. No more of you running to her.” Elle sucked up the last of her tears, the problem was she wasn’t sure if Helena cared whether Elle was safe or not. She didn’t know how Helena felt about Elle. “I’m tired.” She pulled out of Victor’s arms and laid back down.

  “You need food. How far can I go before you start to feel things?” he asked standing.

  Elle shrugged. She really didn’t know. “I have no idea. As long as I know what's going on, I can put my barriers up. It's when I'm not pr
epared, then it’s a problem." She waved him off, wanting a few moments alone. Putting up every wall she possessed, she laid back down and put her arm over her eyes.

  How the hell had she gotten into this? She had just wanted to do what Helena had told her. Like she always did, wasn’t that what she was supposed to do?

  Now monsters where chasing her and trying to kill her. A Reaper was trying to save her. And she wasn't sure if her sister was on her side anymore. Chaos was trying to get at her and she didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. And she might be falling for a Reaper. Oh and let’s not forget that her soul might belong to him. No she couldn’t forget about that. Yes it was official her life was falling apart. Had they really kissed in the shower?

  Elle peeked out from under her arm; Victor was looking at his phone but was still perched on the side of the bed. He noticed her peeking and smiled. “Do you need anything?”

  Elle blushed. “No.” She went back to hiding under her arm. She was pretty sure they had kissed in the shower. And it had been wonderful, and passionate, and the most wonderful kiss she had ever experienced. And hiding under her covers was the best option at the moment.

  “Okay. Well, Kyra will be back with your food soon.” He squeezed her arm and left. She blushed again.

  When had everything gone to shit? What happened to the girl who wanted to learn to protect herself?

  Oh, right. She had ended up with a pearl-handled knife in her heart. Now, she was laid up thousands of miles from where she thought she wanted to be. She wasn't sure who the good guys were. Freaks were knocking on her door. Reapers were kissing her in the shower. And she was pretty sure she was being sheltered by Trackers and Elementals. Her life couldn't get much stranger.

  ****

  “So you want to explain now what the hell you’re doing here?” Ryder asked.

  Victor sat down at the kitchen counter with his head in his hands. “I left for an hour. How did things get so out of hand, in an hour?" He asked. More to himself than to anyone in the room.

  “You are acting like a whipped dog,” Skylar said joining them in the kitchen. “You mind pulling your head out of your ass?” Skylar laughed slapping Victor on the shoulder, practically shoving him off the stool in the process.

  Victor didn’t appreciate it and kicked out the legs of the stool Skylar tried to sit in. Skylar toppled to the floor, in a mess of ruined wood, arms and legs.

  “Mother Fu…” Skylar rolled clear and shot to his feet. “Reaper I was going to be nice, but now I have to kick your ass.”

  Victor didn’t even raise his head. “Get in line.”

  Skylar shoved him but Victor didn’t react. “Dude if you don’t play along it isn’t any fun.”

  Victor heaved a sigh, and dropped his hands. And turned to Skylar. “Like I said get in line. Dante wants his pound of flesh. The Tribunal is out for blood. Freaks are hunting Elle down. You don’t rate high on the scare factor for me.”

  Ryder whistled low. “Never thought I’d see the day. Honestly I have to admit, I’m glad I was here. What did you do? And what does she have to do with it?”

  “Man, she summoned the Reapers. But there are more questions than answers. And I don’t know shit.” Victor swore again. And he couldn’t think around the woman. One minute he hated her and the next he wanted to screw her brains out. Just to be stopped so he could hold her and protect her. Damn he wanted to bash his own brains in.

  “The Tribunal is up to something. Their stench is all over this shit. But I’ll be damned if I can figure it out.” Victor admitted. Only to want to kick his ass. Was he really whining to the Trackers for god’s sake?

  “Have you tried asking the woman upstairs?” Kyra asked. “Demi-gods usually have some answers.”

  Everyone in the kitchen turned and looked at Kyra, Ryder whistled again. “I knew something smelled off about her.”

  Victor shook his head. “A cursed demi-god. She doesn’t have any answers.”

  “The hell she doesn’t!” Skylar said. Kicking aside the pieces of the stool, he pulled another one over. “I bet she knows exactly what is going on. The Demi-gods always knew, they had their golden little fingers in everything. It was why they were hunted down and enslaved to masters or outright killed.”

  Victor inwardly flinched at how callously Skylar lumped Elle with her selfish siblings. He had gotten to know Elle and she was nothing like the demi-gods of old. “She’s not like that.”

  “Really? Then why was she cursed?” Sky asked, reaching past him to snag an apple out of a basket on the counter. “Might want to ask her how that happened.”

  "How do you know about that?" Victor asked, glaring at Kyra and Ryder. Kyra rolled her eyes, “You just said it.

  Ryder glared at Victor. “Besides, was it a secret? It's a small house, old man. You can’t sneeze without someone knowing your business. Get over it.”

  “We got a problem,” Lykar said coming into the kitchen.

  Victor stood ready to fight. “What kind of problem?”

  Lykar handed him a tablet. “What the hell is that?” Lykar stabbed a finger at the picture that appeared on the screen.

  Victor was staring at another cloven hoofed green Freak, but this time it was attacking the front gates of the Staten. “Well, shit.”

  ****

  “Tell me you’re kidding.” Victor stared at the contraption Ryder had pulled up to the front door.

  Ryder climbed from the camouflaged tricked out golf cart. He caressed the hood. “Say hello to my Bad Boy Buggie Ambush iS ?” Lykar and Skylar both came from the house and jumped on the back. Victor almost didn’t believe what he was looking at.

  “It’s best if you just don’t ask,” Skylar said. Lykar sat down next to Skylar nodding at what Sky said.

  “They’re just jealous,” Ryder said still petting the vehicle. “This baby is an off road vehicle, and can pull your fancy SUV out of the mud.” He climbed behind the wheel and pushed a button to start it. “And purrs like a kitten. And the best part? It’s electric. No nasty gas smell.” He smiled so big Victor couldn’t help but smile back. Ryder looked like a boy on Christmas morning.

  “Where the hell did you get this contraption?” Victor asked.

  “Don’t call her that,” Ryder said, his eyes rounding in shock. “Kyra bought her for me. Because she loves me.” Ryder patted the Buggie.

  Victor climbed in next to Ryder and looked at the array of munitions strapped to the inside of the thing. “Not sure if you have enough weapons, Ryder,” Victor said sarcastically.

  “We come prepared,” Ryder said with pride. “And my Ambush iS?, is perfect for this fight. You did say there were Freaks at the gate right? Well this baby will make them go away.”

  They didn’t say anything else as they rode the mile and a half to the front gate. The Freak was ramming his shoulder against the huge iron gate. But the wards were holding him off and he was bouncing off of it with shocking sparks of orange and red electricity. With grunts of pain, it would stumble back shake it off and ram itself against the gate again and again.

  Victor and the others climbed out of the Buggie, Ryder and the other Trackers loading up with guns and knives. “What do you want?” Ryder asked.

  Victor shook his head and pulled his scythes from under his jacket. “I don’t need your weapons.” He flipped them out letting them catch the light. “I want to spill his blood before I make him tell me who his master is.”

  “Oh so we aren’t just going to waste him?” Lykar asked.

  “Damn it,” Skylar cursed.

  “You ruin all the fun,” Ryder swore and put his weapons back in place. “I’m going to wait here.”

  The Freak at the gates hadn’t stopped in its quest to beat down the gate. And Victor moved over to the gate and regarded the ugly thing it was a dead ringer for the first thing he had come across in the graveyard.

  “Does that thing have cloven feet?” Skylar asked. “It doesn’t smell right.” He sniffed the air. “I need
to get a closer smell.”

  Skylar walked to a hidden door. Using a keypad, he unlocked a door, popping it open with a click. The Freak stopped mid-step and snarled at Skylar, who slid through the door. Letting it close silently behind him.

  “Bring me Elle,” It snarled.

  Victor felt a swell of such rage he was sure his head was going to explode. When had they learned who she was? Up until that moment they had referred to her as the woman, or her.

  Victor stepped forward. “Go to hell,” he snarled, getting the attention of the thing.

  “Ah, the Reaper. Do you think you can keep her from my master? She belongs to him.” The thing ran at the gate slamming against it. Causing sparks of electricity to fly at Victor where he stood just on the other side.

  “You’ll have to go through me first,” Victor snapped.

  This time it didn’t back up, but reached through the iron bars toward Victor. His clothing starting to smoke as he tried to get a hold of Victor. “Bring her to me and no one else has to get hurt.”

  Victor stepped forward and slammed a fist into the thing’s face through the bars. It stumbled back into Skylar’s arms who put him in a strangle hold.

  He watched as the thing started to fight off Skylar, and Skylar’s eyes flickered as he processed information. When he released the monster, he stumbled back, his eyes rounded. He grabbed it by its shirt, spinning it. He pulled a gun from the holster at his side and put a bullet in its forehead. It stumbled back several steps then crumpled to the ground.

  Victor screamed in outrage. “That kill did not belong to you.”

  “What the hell, man?” Lykar bellowed.

  Ryder burst out laughing. Victor swung around and glared at him. “Don’t make me stab you.” He waved one of his scythes at him as he stalked over to the hidden door. “Give me the god damn code.”

  Lykar jogged over to let him out, they both stalked over to Skylar and the thing that now lay twitching in the dirt.