Reaping Willow

by D. N. Hoxa

  “What do you mean?” he said. “There were ashes all over the stairway.”

  If he was right, I hadn’t seen shit. I could barely remember walking down those stairs. The last thing I remembered with clarity was the stranger’s voice, his dark blue eyes, and…his wings. Huge, gray wings coming out of his back. I wanted to tell them, but I didn’t know how because I was ninety-nine percent sure that it had all been a figment of my imagination. If I could just figure out a reasonable explanation as to why Loretta left us alive, I’d be a hundred percent sure.

  “How’d you do it, anyway?” Adrian asked, but he didn’t sound suspicious. Just curious.

  “I don’t know.” It was the most honest answer I could give them. Maybe I really had killed Loretta—I just didn’t remember it.

  “It doesn’t matter how. All that matters is that she’s gone back to where she belongs, and Vin gets to come back home,” said Cirko with a huge smile. “We kicked ass in there, guys. Thank you.”

  “No thanks necessary,” said Adrian.

  He looked happy. Relieved. Just like Cirko. But I couldn’t bring myself to feel the same.

  “Is there something wrong?” he asked me when he saw that I wasn’t smiling.

  But how could I tell him the truth?

  I couldn’t, so I only told them half of it.

  “Just that…we almost died in there. It’s a miracle we’re still breathing.”

  We’d gone in that club, thinking it was going to be a walk in the park to kill a vampire who got away with murdering humans for more than two months. An amateur mistake I would never allow myself to make again.

  “It sure changes your perspective on things,” Adrian said, looking down at the isle in wonder.

  “But we didn’t die. We’re still here. Enough of that negativity already,” Cirko said. “You’ve done your part, and now it’s my turn. I’m going to make you a list of all the demons in New York, and we’ll take it from there. But first, I think it’s smart to lay low for a while.”

  “Why?” Adrian asked.

  Cirko shrugged. “It’s not like demons are team players, but when the word gets out that Loretta’s gone, they’re going to ask questions, and at least one of them will want to make sure that the threat is eliminated,” he said, and I agreed. “Just until the waters calm, that’s all. Demons forget very fast.”

  “I’m heading back to New Jersey tonight,” Adrian said. “I’ve got some things to take care of with my brothers.”

  “I’ll come with you,” I said in a rush. The thought of leaving him alone when there were creatures like Loretta out there scared the shit out of me.

  “Me, too. It’s not like I have something better to do,” Cirko said. “And I’m not taking Vin out anytime soon. In fact, I think I’ll just stick to phone calls from now on.” His voice was filled with regret.

  “So what, we’re going to be the three musketeers now? The demon, the trapper, and the soulless guy?” said Adrian with a laugh. He still thought he was soulless, and I couldn’t wait to tell him how wrong he was.

  “About that, I—” But Cirko spoke before I could finish what I was going to say.

  “We can even put a name to it. Make a band. We can even make a logo and wear matching shirts.”

  “Or, we can lay low for a while, like you said, and see what happens.” I wasn’t ready to go demon hunting again, at least not yet. Not until I figured out what the hell was going on, who the other trappers were, and how I could get rid of whatever was making me see angels.

  “I think I got that covered. Vin’s got a place in the Hamptons. We can crash there for as long as we need. He’s okay with it. It’s the perfect place to recover,” said Cirko.

  The Hamptons sounded mighty fine to spend the next few weeks running away from my problems. But the truth was, I wasn’t going to rest or recover anywhere until I dealt with it all.

  “Sounds good to me,” Adrian said with a shrug. “What do you think?” he asked me.

  “I think we should take things one at a time. We’ll go to Jersey tonight. We’ll come back here to deal with George tomorrow, then we’ll see what happens.” I wasn’t sure if I could leave my mother alone after I got rid of George for her, but I also thought that staying with her would put her even more at risk. Decisions, decisions.

  Cirko walked over to the windows and drew the blinds. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to order some sushi, and I’m going to watch movies until nightfall.” He sat on the couch and turned the TV on, then looked back at us.

  Watching movies all day to take my mind off things while my body rested was just what the doctor ordered.

  “Coming?” I said to Adrian and went to sit next to Cirko.

  Adrian joined us, too, and though the couch wasn’t exactly big, we were very comfortable sitting next to each other. For once, I didn’t think about what my father would say if he saw me hanging out with a demon. I just lived in the moment and watched a movie.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Adrian insisted I stay in the backseat, even though I told him that a lot of people had seen my face the night before when we left the club. Nobody had come to kill me.

  We were in the parking lot across from his apartment building, waiting for Cirko, who’d gone to see his friend Vin and get the keys to his place in the Hamptons. He was supposed to be here five minutes ago, but we were still waiting. I’d taken two more pills before leaving, so I already felt numb, but the pain was still there, mostly on my neck.

  “Have you thought about what’s going to happen if they refuse?” I asked Adrian. I didn’t want to, but I wanted to make sure he was prepared because I doubted his brothers were just going to say no to the Devil.

  “Have you?” he asked me instead. I knew exactly what he meant.

  “I’m not going to kill them, Adrian.” I knew how much that would hurt him. I had family, too.

  He turned around in his seat to look at me.

  “You’re…different,” he whispered, searching my face.

  I felt different. How could I not? Basically everything I thought I knew turned out to be a lie, and on top of all of that, there was Adrian.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” I said with a sigh. I’d postponed it for long enough.

  But Adrian beat me to it. “Why do you think the vampire reacted that way when she tasted my blood?”

  “What?” I asked a second before I remembered. Loretta had scratched him under the chin, and she’d licked his blood off her fingernail before spitting it out.

  “Have you asked Cirko?” He was more of a vampire pro.

  “He has no idea,” Adrian said. “Do you think it’s because of the deal I made? Like, I’m off limits because I already belong to the Devil?”

  “You don’t.”

  “I don’t, what?”

  I smiled. “You don’t belong to the Devil. I’ve seen your soul. It’s there.” There. It felt so good to finally tell him. He deserved to know.

  Adrian raised his brows in suspicion. “You’ve seen my soul?”

  “When we…when we…” I pointed back and forth between us.

  “When we kissed?” he asked, and I nodded, looking away. Blood rushed to my cheeks, but it was too dark for him to see it. Hopefully. I wasn’t usually shy about kissing, but with Adrian, it was different.

  He was silent for a long minute. “Are you sure it was my soul and not just…you know…”

  I had to laugh. “I’ve kissed guys before, Adrian. I know what I saw.”

  “How many?” he asked. Was he serious?

  “I’m telling you that I saw your soul, and you want to know how many guys I’ve kissed?” It was too ridiculous to even laugh about it.

  He grinned. “You know, I didn’t feel your soul that time, but I wasn’t exactly looking for it. Who’s to say I won’t find it next time?”

  Oh, smooth. Real smooth.

  “Next time?”

  “Just to search for your soul, that�
��s all. I want to make sure you’ve got one, too,” he said, and he looked a lot more like himself like that. It had only been two days, but I’d missed the playful side of him more than I cared to admit.

  “I already have a soul, trust me,” I said, but my insides were melting at just the thought of feeling his again. I’d gone far too deep before realizing it with this guy, and there was nothing I could do about it now.

  “I do trust you, Willow,” he said, suddenly serious again. “Do you trust me?”

  “I do,” I said without a second’s hesitation.

  “Then why don’t you tell me what happened last night?”

  Oh, crap. “I already told you, I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

  I expected him to look disappointed, but he didn’t. “Okay. Will you tell me when you do remember?”

  The passenger door opened, saving me from having to answer. Cirko hopped in the car with a huge smile on his face.

  “Sorry I’m late. I’m all ready to go,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

  I was going to tell both of them what I thought I saw that night, but I just wasn’t ready. Not until I was either convinced that I was seeing things or that what I’d seen was real.

  “Buckle up,” said Adrian and turned the engine on.

  “Buckle up? I’m a demon, dude,” Cirko said, as if he were offended.

  “I don’t care what you are. Just buckle up,” Adrian said, laughing. His voice was lighter somehow. Happier. I guess I would have been happy, too, if I thought I didn’t have a soul, and someone told me I did.

  “It’s a bit chilly tonight,” said Cirko when we were on the way. “I can’t wait to get to the Hamptons. Vin’s house is awesome.”

  In fact, now that he was mentioning it, I did feel a bit cold. So I opened my duffle bag to get my jacket.

  The sight of the black Ping-Pong ball shocked me like I was seeing it for the first time. Trip’s face appeared in front of my eyes, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I’d forgotten all about him, probably because I’d had other things to deal with. Now that I remembered, the fear of looking into that man’s eyes returned full force. I grabbed the ball and analyzed the circles that decorated it in wonder. What the hell was that thing?

  “Hey, Cirko,” I said, leaning closer to the front seats. I showed him the ball. “Do you have any idea what this is?”

  Cirko took it and analyzed it for a second. “No clue,” he said. “But I might know a guy. Where’d you get it?”

  “Just some scary guy gave it to me. Said I’d know what to do with it, but I have no clue. Who’s your friend?”

  “A ghoul. He’s been around for a couple centuries. He might know what this is. I can send a picture if you want,” he said.

  “Do you trust him?” I asked.

  Cirko didn’t hesitate. “I do. He’s one of the good ones.”

  “Then send it. And ask him if he knows anything about the Velluum Sisters.”

  He took a picture of the ball and gave it back to me. Whatever that thing was, I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it, but the sooner I knew what I was dealing with here, the better. I put the ball away and closed the bag.

  My father had been right about a lot of things. Well, mostly about how to kill demons, but he’d been wrong about a lot of things, too. Not everything is black and white like he thought. Like I thought until very recently. Turns out, if you look hard enough, you’ll find a demon who’s a decent guy, who’d give up his own life for a human. You’ll even find a guy who sold his soul to the Devil, and then somehow broke his deal because he refused to take a life. The world is full of wonders—and lots of grey areas, too. For so long, I lived my life based on my father’s experiences, on what he said was right and wrong. It felt good to be able to come to my own conclusions, based on my experiences and my thoughts. My feelings.

  It was going to take us about two hours to get to Adrian’s house, so I made myself comfortable in the back and closed my eyes, thinking we were safe.

  I should have known better than to make that mistake.

  The impact came from our left. I was resting my head against the door, so it threw me all the way to the other side of the seat. The car spun around like it was a toy before it hit something and turned upside down. I tried to hold onto the seats or the roof of the car, but it was useless. I slammed my head in half a dozen places, and when the car stopped moving, I was sprawled on its roof. I wanted to speak, to call Adrian’s name, to ask if he was okay, but I couldn’t even open my eyes. My head spun and my body felt like it had been through a grinder. I could barely hear shouts like they were far away from me, or maybe it was all inside my head. It all happened so fast, I’d had no chance to prepare.

  When something grabbed me by the arm, I couldn’t move a single inch. I had no strength to push myself while whoever was holding me pulled me out. Adrian’s face appeared before me, and it looked like he was calling my name. My ears still rang so I couldn’t hear him, but I could read his lips.

  He was okay, and so was Cirko. He kept slapping me on my cheeks, until I finally began to feel him.

  Suddenly, everything came into focus.

  “You’re okay, you’re okay,” Adrian repeated, grabbing my face in his hands. “You’re okay.”

  I took in a deep breath and made myself focus. Half a moon shone in the starless sky, and there were no lights on this side of the road—just grass.

  “Help me up,” I said, reaching for Cirko’s hand, and he did. I sounded like someone had punched me in the throat. The world tilted before coming into focus again. We were on a highway, and Adrian’s car was upside down three feet away from me, right by the road.

  On the road was another car, a black Jeep, with its bumper on the ground. Adrian was standing in front of it, looking back and forth from it to his ruined car, holding his head in his hands.

  “What the hell, man?” he was shouting. “What the hell?!” His voice echoed in the night.

  But it was a mistake.

  I knew it the second I laid eyes on the driver, and he saw me.

  He stepped out of the car, looking at me like I had his soul right there in my pocket. But I didn’t. The Devil did.

  “Adrian,” I whispered, trying to tell him to get the hell away from that man.

  The stranger raised his hand. My body was still in shock from the crash. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. Time slowed down to a crawl as the barrel of the man’s gun shone silver under the moonlight. His eyes were glazed over, like he was a puppet rather than a live being.

  That was exactly what he was. And that’s why he pulled the trigger without even blinking.

  I was frozen, and even the sound of the gunshot didn’t shake me. I couldn’t move, but Adrian could.

  Adrian did.

  One second he stepped to the side, in front of me, and the next, he was on the ground. The whole world disappeared to my eyes. A scream tore from my throat as I ran, no longer a prisoner in my body. I fell on my knees on the asphalt and turned Adrian over, praying with all my being that that man had missed, even though I knew in my heart that he hadn’t.

  Adrian was panting, his eyes wide as he tried to move his hands up to his chest. Dark blood covered his shirt. I couldn’t see where the bullet had hit him, but I put both my hands on his chest and pressed as hard as I could. Pressure. I needed to apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.

  “Adrian!” I kneeled over him so he could see my face. “Adrian, look at me. You’re going to be all right. You’re going to be fine,” I said because I was a fucking liar. His eyes met mine, and for a second, I felt his pain in my own chest, tearing me open. I blinked the tears away because I didn’t want to miss a single second. “Stay with me, okay? Just stay with me!”

  He was trying to speak, but no sound came out of his mouth. A thousand Lorettas wouldn’t have made me feel the suffocating fear I felt when he closed his eyes.

  “No!” I shouted, taking his face in my bloodied hands
. “Stay with me, damn it! Don’t die! Please don’t die!” I slapped his cheeks, and he did open his eyes for a second but closed them right away.

  I screamed and I shouted, at him and at the sky with all my heart, but I already knew it wasn’t going to work. He’d already lost too much blood. The sound of the second gunshot shocked me, and I stopped screaming, for a second hoping that that man had put a bullet through my chest, too. It made sense to die but not to live. If I died, maybe I wouldn’t have to let go of him.

  A black hole in my gut devoured me, mind and soul, as I watched Adrian take his last breaths. He was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it, even though I wanted to. God, I wanted to break the world apart, set fire to heaven, shatter hell into a million pieces, do whatever it took to get him back.

  Whatever it took…

  The darkness came suddenly, and it was all consuming. Relief settled on my shoulders because I thought I knew what was happening. The man had shot me, too.

  Only when I realized that I was still breathing steadily did I know that something was wrong.

  By then, it was already too late.

  I opened my eyes, desperate to see Adrian’s face, but he wasn’t there. Underneath me was no longer asphalt but shiny black tiles. There were no cars around me, no highway. Just a floor set with black tiles.

  Every instinct in my body wanted me to start running but where? There was only darkness around, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure how I could even see anything because there was no light. No stars, no moon, no sky.

  Just as I thought that, the tiles on the floor, even the darkness, took on an orange hue. I jumped around to see a single white candle floating on air, its small flame making much more light than was reasonable. A blink later, a hand appeared out of nowhere, holding the candle. And an arm and a shoulder and a chest…

  I stepped back. I could feel myself moving, yet no matter how many steps I took, I couldn’t seem to get away from the candle. From the man holding it.

  But he was no man. He wore a black suit with a black shirt and tie. His eyes were the same, and so was his hair. The only thing with color on his body were the golden cuffs around his sleeves.