Reaper (35 page)

“You’re going now?” René asked.

“No,” Ethan said at the same time I said, “Yes”.

“Annie,” Ethan nagged. “You’re in no condition to face her. I’ll make some calls and find out her work schedule. We’ll go from there.”

“She gets off at five tomorrow,” I said.

“How do you know that?” Keith asked.

“It’s her status,” I informed them, holding up the phone.

“People really need to be more careful with what they post on the internet,” Ethan said under his breath. “Tomorrow, we will follow her home from work and confront her at her house.”

I nodded. My body ached for sleep. “Yes. Tomorrow.”

“Tonight,” Ethan said. “You rest. We all should, really. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.”

“Do you think it will be bad?” Harrison asked.

Ethan shrugged. “I’ve seen people use personal items in hexes before. They can be dangerous, as we all know, but they are easily broken. The power lies in the personal object, like Annie’s hair. As long as we can find the hair quickly and destroy it, it really shouldn’t be bad.”

“That’s good to know,” René stated.

“Of course I have an exam tomorrow evening,” Keith scoffed. He waved his hand in the air. “Like I’ll be able to concentrate on it.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight,” René said with a smile. “Are you safe?” she asked.

I stared to nod and stopped. “I think so. If Mindy—I mean Clare—sent me into another dimension, I’m guessing it took a lot of energy on her part, even though her powers are borrowed. She won’t be doing anything serious tonight.”

“Good,” she said. “Well, I’ll go so you can get your rest. Call me when you wake up tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“I will,” I promised. I hugged her and Keith goodbye and brushed my teeth while Ethan walked them to their cars. My mind was racing when Ethan got into bed next to me. I was still cold; Ethan wrapped his body around mine and rubbed my back until I fell asleep.

I woke up at seven-thirty AM feeling hot from being sandwiched in between Ethan and Hunter. I kicked the blankets off and was starting to doze off myself when someone touched the outside handle of the door, jingling the knob ever so slightly. Hunter lazily looked up; he knew it was Harrison before he made it all the way down the hall. I telekinetically opened the door.

“How did you—”

“Shh! Ethan’s sleeping,” I whispered.

“No I’m not,” Ethan grumbled.

“Oh, I thought you were. Morning Har,” I said.

“Morning.” He stood awkwardly in the doorway.

“What are you doing up so early?” I asked.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Harrison ran a hand through his messy blonde hair.

“That’s a first.”

Harrison shrugged. “This house is creepy.”

I considered asking him if he was scared of what I had to do later. I opened my mouth and changed my mind, but was forced to say something. “Will you come with me to feed the horses?”

“Uh, sure.”

I pulled one of Ethan’s hoodies over my pajamas and walked with Harrison to the barn, Hunter trotting ahead.

“I need to tell you something,” he told me, gravel crunching under our feet on this foggy (but warm and sticky) April morning.

“What?”

“Mom blames Ethan for you leaving.”

Anger flashed inside me. “Why?” I spat.

Harrison shrugged. “She doesn’t know him that well—” he started.

“—so, that’s no reason to blame him!” I interjected. “He followed me! Without Ethan, I wouldn’t have known how to get insurance, fix the leaky sink, pay bills or—”

“I’m on your side,” he interrupted. I opened the barn door, seething with anger.

“It’s not fair!” I spat.

“I agree,” he told me. “But you have to think of it from their point of view; they have no idea why you left. You met Ethan the same time you wigged out with the magic stuff. For good reason,” he added quickly. “But what are they supposed to think?”

I sighed. Harrison was right. “It’s just not fair to Ethan. He’s a great guy. If Mom and Dad knew him, I’m sure they’d agree.” I opened the door to the feed room and grabbed hay, tossing some to each horse. Still upset, I didn’t speak to Harrison while I filled up the horses feed buckets.

“You’re right,” he said.

“About what?” I huffed.

“If Mom and Dad got to know Ethan, they would like him.”

“I know! I mean, what’s not to like?” I smiled. “And thanks.”

“I don’t know Ethan that well, but I like him. He seems like a real good guy.”

“He is. And I know we haven’t been together that long—”

“—six months is long,” he said.

“For you. But I feel like Ethan and I are really right for each other.”

“You are so lame,” he teased.

“Shut up! Maybe someday you’ll meet the right person.”

“What do you mean ‘the right person’?”

“You know, someone who accepts you for everything, flaws and all, and still loves you. And who you love and accept, pretty much no matter what.” I opened the feed room door. “That sort of thing.”

“So you’re saying you think Ethan is that person?”

“Yes.”

“And you know this after only half a year?”

I slid open Mystery’s door put his fly mask on him “I like to think so. But I’m in no rush to get married or anything.”

“So you think he’s ‘the one’ but you don’t want to get married?” Harrison closed Neptune’s stall.

“Not yet. I think he’s ‘the one’ but I think getting married is too much. Like, I really honestly believe we will someday, but I’m just too young. Does that make sense?”

Harrison looked at me quizzically. “You’ve changed.”

“In what way?”

Harrison followed me to the hose. “You’re grown up.”

I laughed. “Hardly.”

“No, really. You have a house to take care of, the horses…” He shook his head.

“Is it bad?” I asked loudly over the rush of running water filling Neptune’s empty bucket.

“No.”

I missed talking to Harrison. I always felt like he was more open and honest with me than his friends. He didn’t put up his ‘I’m too cool to give a shit’ front. Over the last year or two, he’d become more of a friend than my annoying brother. After coiling the hose, I picked two brushes from my grooming box, tossing one to Harry. He looked at it like he had no idea what to do. I rolled my eyes. Ok, maybe he was still annoying sometimes. Setting the example, I began to groom Mystery.

Harrison helped me put the horses out after they ate. He waited in the driveway while I opened up the barn doors, wanting to let as much fresh spring air in possible.

“How did you open the door?” he asked suddenly.

Thinking of the Dutch doors I had just opened, I replied, “Uh, I unlatched it.”

“No, this morning. You didn’t touch the door.”

“Oh, like this.” I took Harrison’s phone from him, tossed it up, and caught it telekinetically.

“Holy shit,” he whispered as he waved his hand under the phone. “Wha-what?”

“Telekinesis,” I explained. “Pretty cool, isn’t it?” I made the phone spin.

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly. He turned to me and cocked his head. “You’re kinda scary, little sister.”

~*~

“Do you think it will work?” René asked.

“I hope so. If it does, it will scare the crap out of Clarice.” I studied my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My plan, whether it was genius or not was yet to be determined, was to cast a glamour on myself and take on the appearance of Mindy. I exited the bathroom and plopped down on my bed. Ethan’s handsome face was muddled with anxiety. “Cold feet?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” he sighed, sitting next to me. “Well, no. But who knows how much power she was given.”

“What do you mean ‘given’?” Harrison asked as he leafed through the ancient pages of the BOS somewhat cautiously.

“Mindy, I mean Clarice, is worshiping something. Which is another point, Anora; we have no idea how powerful he is.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you assume the demon is male? In case you forgot, Asaroth was a girl.”

“Who?” Harrison wondered.

“Jenny wasn’t her real name, Har.”

His cheeks turned red. “Oh, uh, yeah.”

Ethan stood, pacing like he does when he’s nervous. “Anora, this isn’t the time for jokes, ok? This is serious and you need to be serious.”

“I am serious. Trust me, no one wants this to end more than me. It was my head she was messing with. All I have to do is get the hair and be done with it.”

Ethan balled his hands into fists. “I know,” he said, still pacing. I watched him peer out of the curtains in the sitting area, walk briskly around the bed, and look out another window.
 
He relaxed finally and sat next to me, gripping my thigh.

“I don’t think Clarice is the scariest ghost in the graveyard,” I muttered, taking one last long look at her profile picture before snapping my laptop shut. “I don’t expect much from her face-to-face. I think she does her best work hiding behind the hex she created with demon powers.”

“So,” Ethan began. “At four-thirty, we’ll be there, follow her home, and watch her run screaming when she sees you with the glamour.”

“Exactly,” I agreed.

René picked up Romeo, who had been running around the whole time we discussed our plan. “Then what?”

“I was thinking another interrogation, since the last one went so well,” I joked.

“Hey, we did a good job!” she shot back. “And you tied William up like a pro!”

Harrison said, “Uh, am I missing something?”

“Yes,” I told him with a nod. “You’re missing a lot. I’ll tell you later, ok?”

“Ok,” he agreed.

René set Romie down on the bed. “Well, I have class. I’ll be back around four.”

“I’ll walk you out,” I told her. Harrison said a polite goodbye and said he was going to take a nap since he didn’t sleep well last night. I stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, not wanting to cross the gravel drive with bare feet. René hugged me goodbye and got into her car.

I dashed back into the house and almost ran into Ethan. “Do you think you should have magical backup?” he asked.

“I’ll have Hunter,” I told him.

“I mean like Vesta bombs or potions to throw.”

“Oh, I guess it couldn’t hurt. Clare is just a person. I’m not saying it’s gonna be a cakewalk, but I don’t think I need to go in with a magical arsenal.”

“Right,” he agreed. It was weird seeing Ethan this jittery. We still had a little over four hours until we put our ever-changing plan into action, so it was easy to get him alone.

“Are you ok?” I asked gently and took his hand.

“Yes,” Ethan answered automatically. We sat on the family room couch. I placed my hand in his. “Actually, I’m not.” He squeezed my hand. “Anora, last night…” He pulled me closer, entangling his strong arms around me. “Nothing bad can happen to you again. It just can’t.” His muscles tensed. “I can’t—” he stopped, struggling with voicing his emotions. “The first time I told you I loved you—I of course meant it—but, I…”

I reassuringly smiled, a little apprehensive as to where this conversation was going and what it would reveal.

“I loved you as much as I thought I could,” he continued. “I didn’t know that I could love you more, I guess. But every day…you just can’t have anything bad happen to you, ok?”

I felt the warmth of Ethan’s words prick tears at the corners of my eyes. “I love you more everyday too,” I whispered. “I think I know what you mean.”

“Good.” He let out a breath hugged me tighter. His beautiful brown eyes locked with mine. And then he was kissing me, fiercely and passionately, as if this may be our last kiss. I straddled him, pressing down hard with sudden need. His hands pushed up my shirt and his mouth moved to my breasts. Desire pulsed through me.

“Agh!” Harrison let out a choked shriek of disgust. I snapped my head up; I hadn’t even heard him descend the stairs. Ethan straightened my shirt, cleared his throat, and looked annoyed. “I’m, uh, gonna go back upstairs,” Harrison stated and loped back up.

“That kinda killed the mood,” Ethan sighed.

“Just slightly.” I rested my head against his. I moved off of Ethan and resituated in a more comfortable position. Ethan turned on the TV. We stayed like that—watching lame day-time television just like a normal couple—until it was time to get ready to take my hair back and break the curse. The couple that seeks vengeance together stays together, right?

~*~

“This is wrong,” I said aloud to Hunter. I shook a mop of blonde curls out of my face. I tore my eyes away from my reflection. I looked the same to Hunter, well directly at least. He saw me as Mindy in the mirror, the way the rest of the world will soon see me. A full body glamour felt weird, like wearing a veil of sticky energy. I was afraid that if I moved too fast, my real appearance would pop out and give me away. I didn’t have to wear this long, thankfully. Not looking like me was really unsettling.