“What?” I ask, making my voice tremble by shaking my lower lip as I speak quietly, breathing out. I look around the alley, pretending to try and remember. I try to keep a smile off my lips as my eyes fall on the group of men crowding around the van. I stare in false fright at it before turning back to Reid. “Oh.”
When I see Reid turn his back, I quickly flash my demon features at the men watching us fearfully, winking. I see Reid begin to turn back, and I quickly school my features back to the usual façade. I force tears into my eyes, biting my cheek as I imagine chocolate being banned from Hell. What can I say? Chocolate is almost as good as blood to eat. It’s up there with coffee.
I feel the tears start to trail down my face.
“They followed me, and when I came down here to get home, they cornered me. I said no and started to fight back, but they pushed me to the floor and got back into the van. I got up and saw that they were coming toward me…” I trail off as if it pained me to remember it, stuttering over my words.
When I see that I have Reid’s full attention, I breathe in, my lip poking out slightly to make it tremble.
“She’s lying! She’s a demon,” one of the men calls over.
I furrow my eyebrows as I watch Reid shoot a look to the man who called out. “A what?”
“Their story is that you are a demon,” he clarifies for me, disbelief clear in his voice.
“Like in books?” I ask, and Reid laughs, agreeing with me. I laugh as well. If only he knew!
“That’s what they’re saying,” he tells me with a shrug of his strong-looking shoulders.
I try and pull a demon-like face on my normal one, earning another chuckle from Reid.
“Do I look like one?” I ask, relaxing my face.
“No. Quite the contrary,” he answers with a wink.
A small smile comes to my lips. So the attraction is not only one way.
Before I can go any further with the conversation, Reid’s face turns hard and looks to the men still standing and watching us both.
“You are dismissed. Actually, make that fired. I don’t want to see you again,” he commands them all, giving them each a serious stare. He is the leader of them all, but he must be the leader of a much larger organization if he doesn’t care about getting rid of four men.
He turns back to look at me, his eyes finding mine. His look reminds me of my dad’s when he has given orders to a demon. He knows that they will follow what he says and will do something about it if they don’t. The men start to complain.
“You’re going to believe a girl you just met over us, boss?”
“This is bullshit!”
However, all their clamoring is cut off by Reid with one glare. Just like my dad, again. The men all grumble under their breaths but do as Reid says, getting back into the van and backing out of the alley.
“So, who are you? The godfather’s son?” I quip, wondering if I will be able to gather any information from his answer.
“Grandson?”
He laughs, but his answer has me intrigued. “Not quite.”
***
I push the door to my house open, throwing the keys into the bowl on the side. I pull my vest out, trying to see the damage. Tears from where it caught on stones when I was rolling across the floor have ruined it. I sigh, wanting a long bath to relax my still sore body and wanting to forget about the whole day. Well, except for one particular man.
Speaking of Reid, he was sweet, making sure that I was okay before I left. I’ve survived much worse, and I wonder what he would think if he found out. He thought it was ridiculous what his men were saying; would he still find it ridiculous if I were to see him again and show him?
I am halfway to the stairs when I notice that something feels off.
The house is clean; that’s what it is. I look to the couches and let out a startled shriek when I see Hunter and his friends sitting there watching the TV, which is currently muted. I forgot that they were here.
“Gods,” I exclaim, raising a hand up to my erratically beating heart. I’m much better at being aware of my surroundings usually. They all turn to look at me, their faces bored. “What are you all still doing here?”
“Gods?” Hunter asks.
“Yes, it’s an exclamation,” I snap.
“To answer your question, little devil, we were too comfortable and didn’t want to leave,” Jake says over his shoulder before turning back to the muted TV, picking the controller up and un-muting it.
“You didn’t break anything, did you?” I ask, walking through the downstairs and into the attached kitchen, searching for any damage or differences.
“I’m hurt that you would think that, Newbie,” Hunter says with mock offense. “What happened to you?”
I wave it off as I walk back into the living room portion.
“I was hit by a van.”
They all stop watching the TV, and turn to me, looking me over for injuries.
“Are you…”
“I’m fine, but I would feel even better if I had my house back,” I tell them all pointedly, my hands on my hips.
“I’ll give you a massage,” Hunter offers, suppressing a grin.
“And I’ll give you a kick in the balls if you don’t leave now,” I reply.
His face contorts as he imagines the pain that I could cause him.
“I should get going,” Leo rushes as he scrambles to his feet and out of the door.
“Me too,” Liam and Jake both call as they quickly follow their friend. I turn back to Hunter who is still sitting on my couch.
“Are you so desperate to have some sort of girl’s contact with your balls that you’re going to stay there?” I ask.
He looks like he’s actually pondering it for a moment before standing up.
“You just have to ask if you want to touch them,” he retorts.
I roll my eyes and shoo him out of my house, pushing him to help him on his way. We finally get to the door, and I give him one last shove, and he’s out of the house. I give him a smile as I move to shut the door. Before the door closes, I see Hunter’s face move to the gap, calling into the house.
“Great party last night, Newbie. Let’s do it again sometime!”
I rest my back against the door and listen as Hunter’s steps fade as they walk down the drive. Once I hear an engine start and then the vehicle moves off, I bound up the stairs and into my bathroom. I turn the taps on and get to work on filling the big tub.
Chapter 11
The Grim Reapers
I walk into the kitchen, my muscles relaxed after the long bath and feeling better as a whole. I grab a bag of blood, emptying it into a mug so I don’t have to worry about drinking it all at once or it spilling out onto the surface I placed it on. I hold the mug in my hands as I look around the house.
Hunter and his friends did a good job of clearing up, I think as I walk through the house and into the room holding my computer. I fall down in the desk chair, spinning in it before maneuvering myself to look at the screen. I place the mug down and turn it on. I don’t exactly know what I want to do, but I’m bored and think that it might be able to entertain me in some way.
The desktop stares at me, and I stare back, trying to think of something. Leaning back in my chair, I take a sip of my blood as my mind wonders to earlier. Who is Reid Brice? I sit up, putting my mug down and opening the app that will take me to the internet.
Eventually, I used this with Mr. Ward’s homework. What’s better than getting what humans believe right from their own words?
I enter his name into the search bar—Reid Brice—and press the enter button. I don’t expect to get many responses; usually, someone like him will want to keep a low profile. I’m surprised when I get hundreds of results, and most of them news articles. I click the first one that is the most recent, leaning forward, and start to read:
The Man Behind the Name
The Grim Reaper. The name alone strikes fear into our hearts. Rightly so, as througho
ut the whole world, it has the same meaning—Death. Imagine the fear you feel at the one personification being multiplied by hundreds, maybe even a thousand. That feeling is present in the hearts of the people of South East America. Hundreds of Grim Reapers are roaming the streets of Florida, and they are all under the order of one man. Reid Brice.
Mr. Brice, now aged 24, didn’t have the best of upbringings. Born into poverty, and to a mother who either couldn’t care for him or didn’t want him, Reid was quickly placed into an orphanage and stayed there for most of his childhood. We spoke to one of the people who worked there when Mr. Brice was living with them, a Suzie Brown, and she was able to give us some insight into young Reid Brice:
“He was troublesome from the word go. He was quiet, not socializing with any of the other children, but when he did, he would regularly get into fights. I think it was when he was twelve that we first started to see just how dangerous he would grow to be. He started to mix with a group of children who were into narcotics and criminal activities. The first time he was dropped back at the orphanage by a cop car, he held a smug grin with a glint in his eyes, and I knew we would have the same situation recurring over and over again. We tried to get him adopted, but the prospective families found him to be too much of a handful. He was fourteen when he left us. I still shiver at the memory of that night.”
We tried to ask her about the events that took place but were unable to learn anything else. The charges that Suzie talks of mounted up over the years, and ended up coming to a total of forty-three cases against him which were all promptly dropped, by the time he was fifteen.
It was at that time, nine years ago, that Reid and a couple of his friends started the beginnings of the gang which would become the notorious Grim Reapers. We do not have specifics or much documentation on them, but we do have crime figures going up by nearly double the first year that they were on the scene, and they have not been resting since, having the figures continuously rising ever since.
The police have issued warnings telling anyone who sees suspected Grim Reaper activity to keep away, and call 911 immediately to report it. Only names have been able to be acquired, coming to a total of over 300 members, but it is suspected to have many more. Their reach is far, but the police have been unable to find any evidence or catch them. Everything they have done is so well executed, or covered up, that the crimes supposedly committed by them are all speculation.
Some of the older Grim Reapers can be recognized by their telltale tattoos of a scythe and skull on their wrist. Newer members are said to have gone without. No photographic proof or examples have been found, but the source of the information is said to be reliable.
The police stress constant vigilance and have released photos that have been captured of Mr. Brice and some of his colleagues (as seen below).
Below the article, a grainy, unclear CCTV shot of Reid and some other men walking out of a store can be seen.
I am about to close the page, happy that I have found my answer (that Reid is a leader of a gang) when a popup appears on my screen, telling me of a breaking story. I click through when I see the headline:
Four Members of the Infamous Grim Reapers Gang Have Been Captured.
The story tells of an anonymous tip, which let on the whereabouts of the men who were captured. I scroll through the rest, which gives some background on the gang, most of it the same as I just read. At the bottom are the photos of the men.
The four men who tried to run me over stare back at me, all wearing scowls, with their names printed underneath. I grin. Was Reid the anonymous tip? Would he have risked it? He seemed pretty angry earlier, but would he risk getting recognized to get revenge on his members? It was most likely a member of the public.
I turn the screen off and rub my hands over my face. I knew Reid was somewhat dangerous and he was a leader, but to get confirmation of my theory is different. I now am certain that bad people gravitate toward me. The Devil’s daughter doesn’t get a day off!
Chapter 12
The Incredibly Hot Leader
When Monday finally comes around, the rest of the weekend seemed boring in comparison to Saturday.
I roll over in my bed, stretching out. My alarm has stayed silent, which I am thankful for. I don’t want something going off loudly at this time in the morning. What time is it?
I fumble on the bedside table, feeling for my phone, bringing it above my face. I squint at the onslaught of light and manage to find the time through it. 09:05. I sit upright abruptly, throwing the covers off. Shit! I’m late.
Although I am thankful for not having an alarm screaming at me to get up, I need it. As I rush around my room, gathering everything that I need, I set an alarm for tomorrow. I nearly trip as I try to get my shorts on, all the while still trying to move. After jumping around my room, I am fully dressed and ready to leave.
Stopping shortly at the kitchen to wolf down two bags of blood, I run out of the front door. I glance at my phone as I shove my bag into the compartment on my bike, noting that it took me just over fifteen minutes to get out of the door.
I straddle the bike, shoving my helmet down on my head before pulling out of my driveway at a fast speed. I zoom in between the cars on the road, running a couple of red lights and going over double the speed limit. Luckily, I don’t see any cop cars; otherwise, I would have been delayed even further.
I eventually pull into the parking lot of the school and jump off my bike, running into the building at a human pace.
I burst into room 139, causing Mrs. Hale to stop talking and the whole class to look at me. Hunter’s face stands out amongst the rest, holding an amused expression. I give him a sarcastic smile before turning to Mrs. Hale at the front.
“Ah, Ms. Hades, I see you have finally decided to grace us with your presence! How kind of you.”
“Got to make a big entrance,” I tell her as I make my way through the desks and to mine. “Well, don’t keep us waiting for more of your enlightening teachings.”
She looks like she wants to say something back but thinks better of it and looks down at her desk and carries on from where she left off.
Murmurs of the party on Friday fill the hallways as I walk to the gym. The people that were there were talking about how great it was even though it finished early, and the people who weren’t there were talking about disappointed they were that they missed it. I try and fight it, but I can’t help a smug grin making its way onto my face.
Gym is uneventful, apart from the glares I am getting from Tiffany and her followers. I shrug it off, getting an explanation from Lily in Algebra. Apparently, Tiffany’s party wasn’t as big of a success as mine, rumor being that only she and her followers attended.
***
I walk through the buzzing cafeteria and to the table to find everyone even Hunter and his friends already sitting there apart from Lily and me. I take a seat at one of the tables which have been pushed together, putting my sandwich down on the table in front of me. I pick it apart, eating it slowly as I listen to the conversations.
“What did you do over the weekend?” Tasha asks me.
I laugh, brushing my hands together.
“I woke on Saturday to find that some idiots had stayed behind from the night before,” I say.
“Hey!” Leo interrupts, fake hurt in his voice.
“I then went to the beach, saved a little girl from being abducted by the Grim Reapers gang, met their incredibly hot leader, got hit by a van holding some of the members who were angry at me, and then got saved by the same smoking hot leader. The next day wasn’t as eventful. Oh no, wait, I stubbed my toe, so you could say it was up there with the Saturday,” I say and smile.
They all stare at me some with fright and some with amazed shock.
“Huh,” Hunter lets out.
It takes me a moment to realize that cafeteria has gone deathly silent and that everyone’s eyes have gone behind me.
“You wouldn’t happen to be talking about me, would you
?” I hear a low voice say from behind me.
I let out a squeak in shock and turn around.
The school seriously needs to work on their security; anyone can just walk in. And it seems that they do. First, Adrian, and now, Reid.
I turn and give a sheepish smile to Reid, who is standing there flanked by three men.
“Hi,” I greet awkwardly.
“Well?” he asks.
“Well, what?” I retort.
“Well, am I the incredibly hot leader?” he asks.
“Well, that depends if you are the leader of the gang called Grim Reapers,” I tell him, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? Your life would be at stake as well if you were to know,” he says.
“Can we all stop saying well? It’s getting on my nerves!” Lottie interjects.
I laugh.
“Well, we could…” I remark.
“Ha ha, very funny,” she responds drily.
I grin at her, and she does the same. I turn back to Reid to see what he wants.
“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“I have my ways of finding people,” he responds mysteriously. “I came here to ask you a question.”
“Me? Don’t I feel privileged? Oh, hang on. Is it where babies come from? Because if it is…”
Reid’s loud laugh fills the cafeteria, and the men standing either side of him jump, looking shocked at hearing it.
“No, it’s not, but you could show me if you wanted,” he responds with a wink. I smirk. “Go on a date with me?”
“Are you asking or telling me?”
“Asking,” he replies uncertainly.
“Then no,” I let him know, looking away. I can feel the confusion rolling off him. I need someone to challenge me and maybe take control of some situations.
“What if I was telling? What then?”
I stand up, ready to go to Psychology, and turn to look at him properly.
“I wouldn’t have any choice then, would I? So, I would say send me the time and place.” I pat him on the shoulder as I walk past him and toward the doors leading out into the hallway, the bell ringing overhead.
Hades’ Daughter (The War of Fate) Page 12
