Reaper (48 page)

“About our current situation,” Ethan said. I internally sighed the biggest sigh of relief. That was one of the many things I loved about Ethan. I knew he was still mad at me but he was going to let it go for now so we could focus on what was important…and I knew I had learned my lesson about lying. “Do you know how to keep Melcovel out of the mirrors?” he asked me.

“No. But I think I know a way to summon him—safely. Then I will kill him and end this once and for all.”

“I believe you, Annie,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.”

“I haven’t worked out the fine details,” I admitted. “I was hoping for more time, but I don’t think I’m gonna get it. If Melcovel is moving in on René, then who is next? No one is safe; there’s no telling what he would do.”

“So what’s the plan thus far?” Ethan asked.

“Upstairs,” I told him. “I wrote out some spells.” Muscles stiff from standing still for so long, my thighs ached when I moved. Once this was over, I was so getting a massage. Hunter raced up the stairs in front of us, Buffy brought up the rear and almost tripped me in her mad attempt to keep up with Hunter.

“Buffy!” I scolded. “You can’t do that, someone could get hurt.”

“Oh yeah,
explain
to the dog why she can’t push past you on the stairs,” Ethan teased.

“Shut up. It’s hard to remember she’s not like Hunter.”I cast my eyes behind me. “Coming?” I asked Nik. He smiled and dashed to catch up. I strode across my room and put a hand on the dark oak book shelf.

“Alright,” I began, looking for the notebook. I yanked it from its home a little too fast and knocked another book down. Ignoring it, I flipped through the notebook. “Here,” I said and handed the book to Ethan. We sat on the lounge chair. I bit my lip and watched Ethan read over the notes.

“It seems safe,” he concluded. “It needs a bit of tweaking, but it’s do-able.”

“Great,” I said and smiled. “What needs fixing?”

“Well, where will you be?”

I shook my head. “That’s what I can’t figure out. I was thinking I’d start outside the circles and move in, once he’s summoned. I’ll wait and make sure he can’t get past the first circle. He’s stuck in a small space. I also thought I could telekinetically pin him down and stab him.”

Ethan nodded in approval.

“And,” I went on. “You and Hunter will be there as back up. I’m not sure if bullets will kill Melcovel, but I’m thinking if you shoot him in the face repeatedly, it will at least slow him down.”

“Hopefully,” Ethan said. “Where are we going to do this? The basement?”

“Heck no,” I told him. “I don’t want a demon in the house. How about the old barn? I mean, we did pay to have it restored, so why not use it?”

“Perfect. It’s big enough.” He smiled. “And the hayloft is the perfect vantage point to play sniper. Let’s do it.”

“Right now?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat.

“Yeah. Like you said, we don’t know what Melcovel is going to do. I don’t know about you, but I feel like he’s planning something.”

“I agree. He needs to die.”

Ethan closed the notebook and put his hand on my knee. “Should we get started?”

I nodded. “We need to empty that barn. There is some old farm equipment in there; I don’t want anything that can be used as a weapon within Melcovel’s grasp.”

“Good thinking.” Ethan stood.

“Nik,” I said, turning to the faery. “Can you drive?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yes,” he answered as if that was the world’s dumbest question.

“Do you mind hanging out with René?”

“Not at all, my lady. I prefer not to be here when the demon comes about. Dark forces have an affinity for faery dust.”

“They do?”

“Oh yes,” he replied gravely.

“Then I better get you out of here.” I rose from the chair. “I’ll program René’s address into the GPS. Don’t, uh, get pulled over. I’m guessing you don’t have a license.”

He smiled. “No, I don’t. Don’t worry, my lady. I am an excellent driver!”

I grabbed my purse from inside the closet and fished around for the keys to the Prius. I walked downstairs with Nik to program the GPS. Once I was done, I handed him the keys. “I’ll call René when this is over,” I told him.

Nik nodded and tears brimmed his big brown eyes. He threw his arms around me. “Be safe, Anora,” he pleaded.

“I’ll try,” I told him, not wanting to make a promise I couldn’t keep. “Thanks, for everything,” I said. “Now go, have fun! Go shopping or something,” I added with a laugh.

He got in the car and smiled at me. I waved as he drove down the driveway. I closed the garage door and went inside through the kitchen. The stairs creaked when Ethan came down.

“Ready?” he asked.

“To summon Melcovel?” I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be fully ready. “Yes.”

He smiled and opened his arms. I stepped into his embrace. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too. And I’m sorry I kept things from you. I won’t do it again.” Unwillingly, I backed away from his hug to get started on cleaning out the barn.

It took us several hours to remove the stuff that cluttered the old barn. The bed of the truck was full of crap to be taken to the junk yard and two garbage cans were full of broken tools and tractor parts. Ethan and I bickered over whether or not the contents were recyclable or not.

It was late in the afternoon when we went back inside. Hungry, I made tuna salad sandwiches. I set my plate down on the table and walked to the fridge to pour myself a glass of milk. In the two seconds my back was turned, Buffy jumped up, putting her paws on the table, and stole my sandwich. I pressed my lips together and shook my head. That dog was in major need of training.

“No!” I told her. She flicked her dark eyes up at me, looking pitiful. My heart melted and I felt sorry for her. She had been starved, after all. I’d start her training
after
I kill the demon. I poured a cup of juice, made another sandwich, and joined Ethan on the couch. We ate in relative silence, the looming kill weighing on our minds.

After lunch, we went back into the old barn and raked the dirt floor. Wanting perfect circles, I had Ethan hold a rope and stood in the middle of the first circle.

“You’re a perfectionist,” he teased. “The circles can be slightly oval and still work, I’m sure.”

“It will be better if it’s neat,” I told him, though I had no valid reason why that would be true. I scraped the ground with a shovel, holding the end of the rope. Ethan gave me two feet of slack and I etched another circle. We repeated the process until six circles were drawn into the dirt. Then we each took a canister of salt and filled in the ruts.

“It reminds me of crop circles,” I said when we were finished.

“Kind of,” Ethan agreed. “You ready? We don’t have much daylight left and this barn doesn’t have power.”

I nodded. “It won’t take long to cast the circles.” I opened up the bag of supplies I brought into the barn. I pulled out a Ziploc baggie filled with carefully selected crystals. “Can you put these around the first circle? Alternate between the tiger’s eye and the quartz.”

Ethan nodded and took the bag from me. I placed candles on the north, east, south, and west parts of each circle, lighting them as I went. I strode over to the bag and extracted the black mirror. I took a deep breath and stood, prepared to set it in the center of the circles. The sound of tires on gravel made me jump. Hunter was the fastest; he exited the barn first.

It’s René
, he told me.

“René?” I said aloud. No, she shouldn’t be here.

“René?” Ethan echoed. We jogged out of the barn. René got out of the driver’s side of the Prius and started marching to the house. Nik scrambled out after her, pleading for her to get back in the car.

“Hey,” I called. René jumped and whirled around.

“Anora!” she replied. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t summon that thing! It’s going to kill you. I have a bad feeling about it!”

“I’m so sorry, my lady,” Nik gushed. “I tried to stop her. This one,” he pointed at her, “has quite the temper. She’s a bit scary when she’s angry.”

René’s eyes flashed. “Anora, please. I know I’m not a witch like you, but I have had a bad feeling for days. I keep dreaming that you die. I don’t get the specifics of the dream but it’s entirely possible this is what causes it. And I know we haven’t been friends for that long but you are the only person I can be myself around not feel like a freak. Besides Keith,” she added. “But he doesn’t count. The point is I don’t want to lose you.”

“René,” I started, annoyed and flattered. “Don’t worry. We have it all planned out. Here,” I said and motioned to the barn. “Come see for yourself.”

“Fine,” she huffed. She followed me back into the barn.

“Whoa,” Nik muttered. “You mean business.”

“Yes,” I told him. “I do.” I smiled and faced René. “See, I’ll be fine. No dying today, alright?”

“Ok,” she said. “Can I help?”

“No,” Ethan and I said and the same time. “Like you mentioned,” I began. “This is dangerous. You and Nik will be in the house. You can keep Buffy company,” I suggested.

“Ok,” she said again. “How long is it gonna take? I want to know when I should start worrying,” she joked.

“Hopefully not long,” I told her. “As long as the circles hold, it should be an easy kill. Melcovel literally has like two feet of space. He won’t be able to get away from me. Just one stab,” I made a motion with my hand, “and he’s a toasty goner!”

“Just keep him away from me,” Nik added. “Kill him dead,” he ordered with a smile.

“That’s the only way,” I replied. “Now hurry! The sun is sinking and I don’t want to do this in the dark.”

“Alright,” René said ruefully. I waited until she and Nik were safely in the house before going back into the barn. Ethan climbed up in the hayloft. He had a shotgun, a high powered rifle, and his favorite pistol all at the ready. I buckled a belt around my waist and attached the dagger.
 
Hunter slunk behind the door, out of sight. Using the tip of my dagger, I sliced open my finger. Before the wound could heal, I drew Melcovel’s symbol onto the mirror. Stepping over the salt lines, I placed it in the center of the circles and backed away.

I closed my eyes and let the shields drop. A rush of whispers filled the quiet. I opened my eyes and looked around. Muted golden light filtered through the slats in the wood. Dust specked the air.
Melcovel
, I thought. To my right were the necessary items to open a portal to the Nether. I looked up in the hayloft. I couldn’t see Ethan, but it was reassuring to know he was there.

I poured a blend of herbs and sand into a cast iron cauldron. I invoked their powers and set them on fire. Blue smoke wafted from the bowl, hitting me in the face. I coughed and fanned it away. The spell was written in Latin, and I knew I mispronounced more than one word. It was to be repeated three times. By the third time chanting, the blue smoke billowed faster from the cauldron. I lifted it up and walked to the center most circle. I poured the magic mixture around the black mirror and darted away.

I raised my hands and chanted the spell three more times. The blue smoke swirled, creating a wind that rustled my hair and blew the dress around my legs. Maybe I should have changed into pants; I hadn’t counted on needing to make a fast getaway. I let my hands fall to my side and watched the smoke shift and dance.

I swallowed my pounding heart. Sweat trickled down my back. The blue smoke darkened and settled closer to the ground. A white light glowed from inside the mirror. There was a loud ‘pop’ and the blue smoke turned into the black mist. It twisted, filling the small circle. Footsteps echoed, footsteps from within the Nether. Legions of dark whispers filled the empty space. My pulse quickened. I took in a ragged breath. The smoke took on a human form. This was it. I unsheathed the dagger.

Forcing myself to gather my composure, I took a step forward.

“Anora Benson,” Melcovel cooed. Black mist covered his face.

“Melcovel,” I said in a surprisingly level tone. I hoped the dagger wouldn’t slip out of my sweaty hand.

“How nice of you to invite me here,” he spoke. His voice was deep and throaty.

“You won’t be thinking that in a minute,” I tried my hand at wit. “When I kill you.”

Melcovel laughed. The mist began to fade away. He turned around, black cloak sweeping behind him. His strikingly feminine face was etched with evil. Paper thin, pale skin was stretched tight over high cheek bones. Candlelight flickered in his dark eyes. “Kill me, I’d like to see you tr—” he stopped, running into the wall the first circle created.

I let out a breath of relief and smiled. “I won’t even have to try,” I said confidently and stepped inside the first circle. “You see, you’re stuck.”

Panic flashed through his black eyes. He thrust his hand forward; blue energy rippled along the wall, encasing him in a cylinder of magic. I crossed another circle.

“Why me?” I asked him. I knew enough not to take anything he said seriously. “Why wait for me?”

“Because,” he said. His voice was grand, as if every word he spoke held some great truth. “You are different than the others.”