Reaper's Fire

by Katherine Bogle

  Blood trickled down Gloria’s neck, stealing my senses. I swallowed thickly, no longer fighting the push and pull of the vampire gripping me. I knew I should be taking this moment to fight back, but the desperate scent of lifeblood and fear drove me feral. All I wanted was to consume it, to bathe in blood and—what the fuck was I thinking?

  Desperately I tried to pull back, but my face was only inches from Gloria’s neck. “Stop,” I hissed. I didn’t want this. Gloria was one of my best friends. I had to protect her, not eat her.

  “Drink up, whatever you are,” the blond said, and with one last push, my face was pressed against her bloody neck.

  My demoness roared with need, stealing the last of my human senses. Blood pushed against my mouth and with one dart of my tongue, I succumbed. I pressed my face against the open wound, sucking up every last drop I could.

  My body burned and I ripped my wrists out of the vampire’s hold only to cradle Gloria’s head and pull her neck closer.

  Mumbles and stolen words whispered around me, but they were all lost to the crashing of waves in my ears. I drank and drank, my demon stealing all she could. Gloria tasted just like she smelled—honey and spices, a strange but delicious combination. Strangely, it reminded me of her grandmother’s cooking, somehow always sweet and spicy at the same time. The last time the three of us had visited her grandmother, we’d had her special homemade chili with honeyed wine and apple pie for desert.

  We’d cried laughing and stayed up half the night listening to embarrassing stories about Gloria’s childhood. It was one of my fondest memories of Gloria and her family, and here I was drinking her blood.

  My senses snapped back and I yanked away so fast that I stumbled to my knees. What the fuck am I doing? This is Gloria for fucks sake!

  Laughter echoed in my ears, and that pounding continued to fill my skull. My demoness wasn’t done. She still kept a hold of me. I could feel her burning a path up my throat, pushing me towards violence.

  But today I would put that violence to use. These vampires messed with the wrong demon.

  I pushed to my feet, rolling my shoulders as I allowed my demoness to take hold once again. The vampires were so busy laughing that they hardly noticed the moment I sliced my fingers through the fabric of reality and dove my hand into the void. Cold pushed against me, and then I grasped metal.

  I pulled my scythe free, my heart hammering against my ribs as I spun on our attackers. The man clutching Jamie looked up just in time for me to smash the tip of my blade through the side of his skull.

  Blood burst from his head, splattering his comrades.

  Silence descended on the last two vampires with our blood still on their mouths. My lips pulled back from my teeth as I bared my own pointed canines.

  “You wanted to know what I am?” I snapped. “Well here she is.”

  I leapt at the blond first, slicing my blade towards his abdomen. He jumped back at the same time as his comrade, retreating just in time to escape me.

  You won’t get away that easy.

  Again, I leapt, and they pushed further into the alley, putting distance between us. Good. Get the fuck away from my friends.

  “What the fuck?” the tall vampire hissed. He looked at his blond friend, but the man seemed speechless.

  I didn’t give them a moment to contemplate what I was. If the scythe didn’t explain it, they were either too dumb or too naïve to understand. Either way, I was going to kill them.

  I raced towards the vampires and sliced at the blond. He jumped out of reach, and I turned on the tall vampire. I sliced time and time again until his back hit the wall. I cut open his abdomen with a flick of my wrist. His pained howl echoed in my ears, and I laughed as he held his gut, trying to hold in his innards.

  Pain slammed into my side, and I fell against the wall. A fist shot towards me, but I slipped to the side, and the blond’s hand cracked against brick. I darted my foot up, and he flew into the opposite wall. The brick groaned and caved slightly, but didn’t quite break through.

  “You bitch!” the tall vampire yelled. His flesh was already knitting together, sowing itself up from the inside out.

  While the blond recovered, I advanced on the other, forcing him to release his stomach so he could dodge and duck away from my blows. His fist hit my shoulder and I spun, but got my feet under me in time to drive my blade through his neck.

  Blood gushed from the wound before he fell to his knees. His head had just begun to roll off his shoulders when he burst into ash.

  “Jared!” the blond screeched. His hand gripped my throat and he pushed me against the wall, squeezing so hard I saw stars. “You little cunt, how fucking dare you? Do you know who we are?”

  I slammed my foot against his gut and sliced my blade down in the same swing. He screamed as I severed his arms before he stumbled back into the wall. “I don’t fucking care,” I said, taking a step closer.

  His wild eyes darted to either end of the alley, seeking retreat. But it was too late now. He was the last one and he had to die. He stepped towards the alley mouth, but I’d already sliced upward. The tip of my scythe tore through his skull and jutted from the other side. Blood spilled down my blade as he gurgled and went limp.

  Then his body was ash in the wind.

  My breathing slowed as the threat diminished. My senses were on fire with the scent of blood in the air. Power burned through me, that cold essence of souls filling my body. I might not have seen their souls leave their bodies but I could feel them strengthening me, filling me with cold and heat and an undeniable desire for more.

  My mouth continued to water, and my demoness raged for more destruction. I pushed back against her with all of my might until I fell to one knee, gasping for breath.

  I lowered my scythe, the pounding in my ears dissipating. Whimpering filled my head instead. My eyebrows furrowed as I faced the alley entrance.

  Gloria sat against the wall, blood dripping down her neck and sobs shaking her entire body. Jamie sat wide-eyed and speechless against the opposite wall, her gaze glued to the bloody massacre I knelt in. There might not be bodies, but the blood was enough to paint a very vivid picture of what I’d done.

  My best friends had just witnessed me go demon. Shit.

  “J-Jamie,” I stammered, my words slurring slightly from my lengthened teeth. “Gloria.”

  Jamie met my eyes, horror plain on her face. Gloria didn’t even glance up. She was shaking like a leaf, and clutching her wound in her hand.

  My mouth dropped open. What could I say to explain this? What could ever make this okay?

  “Clara!” Ky’s voice broke through the panic filling my head. He appeared at the end of the alley, a cellphone I was sure wasn’t his in hand, and the same stolen clothes he’d worn in the club clinging to his body.

  “K-Ky,” I said. Tears burned the back of my eyes.

  What had I done this time?

  Chapter 23

  Ky raced towards me, his eyes darting around the alley, taking in my friends, the blood and the ash littering the pavement. He stopped inches from me and knelt, inspecting my face and body with wide eyes.

  “Clara, are you okay?” he asked, his voice feverish. He held his hands out like he wanted to touch me, but wasn’t sure if I was hurt.

  I looked down at myself, blood on my hands and ash clinging to my bare legs. Tears burned my eyes and I silently shook my head. I couldn’t even speak. The hazy memory of what my demoness had done—what I had done—flashed before my eyes.

  “It’s going to be all right,” Ky said. His mouth pressed into a firm line and his eyebrows set with determination. He dialed a number I vaguely recognized into the stolen phone before holding it to his ear. “Ryker. Get here now.”

  A mumbled voice came from the other end, but I couldn’t discern the words over the pounding in my ears. One of my worst fears had become reality. My best friends might not have been hurt by me, but they could have. If I hadn’t stopped myself from drinking Gloria’s b
lood, I could have killed her. I’d never wanted my friends to find out about my demon half like this. I’d never wanted them to find out about her at all.

  But they knew now, and they’d met her in the worst possible way.

  “Jamie. Gloria,” I gasped. I held onto Ky’s shoulder, my fingers digging into his black t-shirt, hoping he would understand. I could barely think let alone speak. Panic swirled through me like a hurricane of fear and anger. How could I have let this happen? Why did I decide I was okay to go out? I should have known better. I should have listened to Ky and Ryker.

  Ky nodded stiffly. “I’m going to check on them. Will you be okay for a minute?” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. His gaze swept my body again, pausing at my neck and shoulder. His frown deepened and his fists clenched. I had no idea what he was seeing. I couldn’t feel much through the cold leeching into my limbs and the shivers shaking me.

  “I-I’m fine,” I said. “Help them.”

  Ky glanced from my neck to my eyes. He must have understood my desperation, because he didn’t argue. Instead, he stood and made his way back down the alley. He paused at Jamie, but seeing no visible injuries, he continued quickly to Gloria.

  “Hey,” he said, his voice low, soothing. “It’s going to be okay, but I need you to help me keep pressure on this.”

  Gloria shook violently, her hands trembling and her eyes wide with fear as she leaned back against the alley wall, putting as much distance between her and this unfamiliar man as possible.

  “Bring your hand up here.” Ky carefully reached for Gloria’s hand. She winced, jolting away from him, but Ky forged onward, taking her hand and pressing it against the bleeding wound in her neck. “Press down as hard as you can.”

  While Ky helped Gloria with her wound, Jamie continued to stare at me, and the pool of blood I knelt in. The crimson liquid had begun to dry on my skin, the patches itching slightly. I opened my mouth and closed it several times. Though I was far from my friends, I wanted to say something—no, I needed to say something. I had to explain that this wasn’t me; that it was all a hellish mistake brought on by my evil ex-coworker.

  But I couldn’t find the words.

  Slowly, I stood. My legs shook and my knees threatened to buckle.

  “Clara,” Ky warned. He looked at me over his shoulder, holding his hand over Gloria’s to keep it pressed to the wound. Gloria’s tears had stopped and her shaking had calmed slightly.

  “I-I,” I tried to form the words to explain what had just happened, but my jaw ached with every move of my face, and my mind spun too fast to form complete thoughts. I swayed on my feet, but held the wall for balance. Once I was sure I wouldn’t fall, I stumbled a few feet closer to my friends until Jamie’s entire body stiffened.

  Fear widened her glassy eyes as she shifted back, trying to get away from me.

  My heart snapped with the realization that one of my best friends was terrified of me. Tears burned my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. My friends would hate me for this. I could see it now. They’d seen me kill. They’d seen me consume one of them. I wasn’t the Clara O’Connor they knew anymore. I was dangerous. I was a monster.

  And they weren’t wrong. I am a monster.

  I slid back to my knees only a few feet away from Jamie. Tears burned paths down my cheeks despite my best efforts to hold them back. “I’m s-so sorry,” I said between gasps of air. Panic bubbled in my chest, constricting my lungs. “I-I’m so so sorry.”

  Jamie stared back with the same look of horror on her face, her mouth frozen open in a silent gasp of horror.

  “I never wanted any of this,” I said, words finally falling out of my mouth in a rush. “I didn’t want to be this way. S-She did this. She made me this… this thing.” I motioned at myself. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry Jamie. I’m so sorry Gloria.” My body shook as a sob snapped off whatever words might spill out next. I held my hands over my mouth, blocking the strangled sound.

  “Clara,” Ky said softly. “It isn’t your fault.”

  I shook my head. It was my fault. I made the decision to come out knowing that something like this could happen.

  The squeal of tires tore through the fog clouding my mind, and I jumped as a door slammed.

  “Clara!” Ryker bellowed. I looked up to find the vampire at the end of the alley. He blurred, reappearing before me. He crouched, his hand flying to the bite on my neck. “Clara, what happened?”

  I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands. How could I explain any of this? I could barely even look at him.

  “I think they were attacked by vampires,” Ky said, his voice tight with anger.

  “What?” Ryker snapped. Despite the rage rolling off of him, his hand was gentle when it cupped my cheek. He tilted my face up, and I lowered my hands slightly. “Clara. Please. What happened here?”

  I glanced back at the blood and ash covering part of the alley. “T-three,” I said between sharp inhales. “Three vampires.”

  Ryker’s eyes flashed crimson, and his jaw twisted. “You’re safe now.”

  I nodded numbly as his thumb brushed away the tears streaking my cheeks.

  “Ky, are the girls okay?” Ryker asked.

  “One has a bite wound, but the bleeding has slowed,” Ky said.

  Ryker dipped his chin in recognition. “Good. We need to get them to the car.”

  “W-What?” Jamie gasped, finally snapping out of her stupor.

  “We’re going to get you home,” Ryker said calmly.

  Jamie trembled as she shook her head. “N-No. I’m not going anywhere with you people.”

  I winced. “J-Jamie.”

  “No,” Jamie said. “Just… just no.”

  I looked back at Ryker, hurt like a knife slicing through my chest.

  “I’ll handle it,” Ryker assured me. Slowly, he stood and faced Jamie. My best friend froze as the vampire approached her like she was a wounded animal.

  “Stay back,” Jamie cried.

  Ryker held up his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “H-How do I know that?”

  Ryker lowered his hands. “You don’t. But trust in your friend.”

  Jamie glanced back at me, but fear still clouded her eyes. She didn’t speak, only narrowed her eyes at the slowly advancing vampire.

  “Trust Clara,” he said. “You know she would never mean to hurt you.”

  Jamie shook her head in defeat. She held her arms tight to her chest like a barricade. For the first time since I’d known her, I had no idea what she was thinking. She was closing herself off, her face going pale and emotionless, almost like when Zane put up that cold exterior wall of his.

  Ryker looked back at me before he crouched next to Jamie. My friend didn’t even move as Ryker slowly helped her stand. Once she was shakily on her feet, Ky helped up Gloria. Jamie immediately took Ky’s place, holding a hand over Gloria’s while regarding the rest of us with suspicion.

  Ky rushed over to me as soon as he was sure Gloria could stand on her own. He took my elbow and helped me clamber to my feet. Even with my legs under me, he continued to hold me, his warm fingers pressing tighter against my skin.

  We made it back to the car, but my mind began to blur with exhaustion. Gloria and Jamie took the backseat while Ky pulled me onto his lap in the front. I didn’t even have the energy to complain. My demoness had taken so much out of me that my head swayed and my world tilted.

  I settled my head against Ky’s shoulder and let darkness take me.

  By the time I woke up, Gloria and Jamie were gone and Ky was shifting me out of the car and into Ryker’s arms.

  “What’s going on?” I mumbled as Ryker cradled my legs and back, pulling me against his chest.

  “We took them home, love,” Ryker said.

  “And fixed up Gloria’s neck,” Ky added.

  I nodded slightly. I didn’t know when I’d come to trust these two men so completely, but I believed them when they said they’d gotten the girls home safely a
nd patched up my best friend.

  The world around me faded in and out, and I gained only snippets: a little of the lobby, the stairwell, and the floor. I heard doors open and close, and the smell of roses and morning dew brushed my nose.

  “What the hell happened?” a female voice barked as my eyelids fluttered once again. Neither man said a thing, and then soft, slender fingers brushed my hair back behind my ear. “Precious lily-girl, I’m so sorry for whatever happened to your beautiful soul.”

  I caught a glimpse of pastel green and mocha skin. Rose. She was here too? Was that what smelled so lovely?

  “We’ve got this,” Ky said, his voice a rumble of uncertainty.

  “Like hell,” Rose snapped. All sweetness vanished from her voice. “I’ll get my tonics. That bite is from a vampire isn’t it?” Danger lurked in that once kind voice. “Did you do this to her? I swear I will—”

  “I would never hurt her,” Ryker growled. His hold on me tightened, and my eyes fluttered back open.

  Rose glared daggers at the vampire holding me, her hands fisted, and her slender shoulders stiff like she might swing a fist. “Take her inside and I’ll be there in a moment,” she demanded.

  Her delicious smell faded at her retreat, and the door to my apartment appeared before me. Ky opened the door and let us in first.

  Boots thumped on the floor in the living room, and Zane appeared in the doorway. “What the hell took you so long?”

  “Get out of the way,” Ryker said, thrusting past the Reaper and into the living room.

  Zane paused, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “What happened?”

  “Vampires,” Ky said simply.

  Ryker kicked open my bedroom door and carefully lowered me onto the duvet.

  Zane stormed into my room, his face twisted in an angry snarl. “I told you not to go out. This is what happens when you’re untrained. You shouldn’t be taking any unnecessary risks!”

  The front door slammed shut and Rose’s smell returned. “Move!” she pushed between Zane and Ryker and knelt on the bed beside me.