Reaper Mine: A Reaper Novel (13 page)

“We come prepared,” Ryder said with pride. “And my Ambush iS?, is perfect for this fight. You did say there were Freaks at the gate right? Well this baby will make them go away.”

They didn’t say anything else as they rode the mile and a half to the front gate. The Freak was ramming his shoulder against the huge iron gate. But the wards were holding him off and he was bouncing off of it with shocking sparks of orange and red electricity. With grunts of pain, it would stumble back shake it off and ram itself against the gate again and again.

Victor and the others climbed out of the Buggie, Ryder and the other Trackers loading up with guns and knives. “What do you want?” Ryder asked.

Victor shook his head and pulled his scythes from under his jacket. “I don’t need your weapons.” He flipped them out letting them catch the light. “I want to spill his blood before I make him tell me who his master is.”

“Oh so we aren’t just going to waste him?” Lykar asked.

“Damn it,” Skylar cursed.

“You ruin all the fun,” Ryder swore and put his weapons back in place. “I’m going to wait here.”

The Freak at the gates hadn’t stopped in its quest to beat down the gate. And Victor moved over to the gate and regarded the ugly thing it was a dead ringer for the first thing he had come across in the graveyard.

“Does that thing have cloven feet?” Skylar asked. “It doesn’t smell right.” He sniffed the air. “I need to get a closer smell.”

Skylar walked to a hidden door. Using a keypad, he unlocked a door, popping it open with a click. The Freak stopped mid-step and snarled at Skylar, who slid through the door. Letting it close silently behind him.

“Bring me Elle,” It snarled.

Victor felt a swell of such rage he was sure his head was going to explode. When had they learned who she was? Up until that moment they had referred to her as the woman, or her.

Victor stepped forward. “Go to hell,” he snarled, getting the attention of the thing.

“Ah, the Reaper. Do you think you can keep her from my master? She belongs to him.” The thing ran at the gate slamming against it. Causing sparks of electricity to fly at Victor where he stood just on the other side.

“You’ll have to go through me first,” Victor snapped.

This time it didn’t back up, but reached through the iron bars toward Victor. His clothing starting to smoke as he tried to get a hold of Victor. “Bring her to me and no one else has to get hurt.”

Victor stepped forward and slammed a fist into the thing’s face through the bars. It stumbled back into Skylar’s arms who put him in a strangle hold.

He watched as the thing started to fight off Skylar, and Skylar’s eyes flickered as he processed information. When he released the monster, he stumbled back, his eyes rounded. He grabbed it by its shirt, spinning it. He pulled a gun from the holster at his side and put a bullet in its forehead. It stumbled back several steps then crumpled to the ground.

Victor screamed in outrage. “That kill did not belong to you.”

“What the hell, man?” Lykar bellowed.

Ryder burst out laughing. Victor swung around and glared at him. “Don’t make me stab you.” He waved one of his scythes at him as he stalked over to the hidden door. “Give me the god damn code.”

Lykar jogged over to let him out, they both stalked over to Skylar and the thing that now lay twitching in the dirt.

“What part of I wanted to question him was so hard to understand?” Victor snarled.

“That thing isn’t actually alive,” Skylar said. “And anything that isn’t alive doesn’t have anything to lose. He didn’t have anything to say.”

Victor swore and glared at the Freak, then hauled off and kicked it. Which made Ryder laugh even harder. “That’s it. I’m going to stab your brother.” Victor glared at Ryder, who had his feet propped up on the dash of his Buggie.

“Be my guest. Just remember you have to deal with Kyra.” The last thing Victor needed was an emotional female. Besides stabbing Ryder wouldn’t solve any of his problems.

They were surprised when three more Freaks appeared with a snapping sound. Making a growling noise, they grouched down into a lung position. Surrounding them, Victor looked at them and shook his head. “What the hell?”

Victor, Skylar and Lykar all took on attack poses.

“Hold.” The commanding voice spoke from Victor’s left. Victor turned to the man he had fought several days before. The man who had killed Elle. Victor wanted this man on the end of his scythe, he wanted his soul delivered directly to Hell itself.

“You’re not long for this world,” Victor said pointing his scythe at the man. Black eyes glittered back at him.

The Freaks backed up, and surrounded the man. The man’s head tilted to the side as he regarded Victor. “Give me Elle.”

Victor advanced swinging his scythe at the first hooved Freak who got in his way, carving a deep groove into the bicep that swung at him. He followed up with a side kick to the things stomach knocking him back on his butt.

“Go fuck yourself,” Victor snarled. The other Freaks surged forward, and Victor could feel the two Trackers move in behind him. In short order, they had removed the Freaks standing between them and the man. “He belongs to me,” Victor said to Skylar and Lykar.

“Who is Elle to you?” he asked.

Bottomless black eyes stared back at him. Hair hung down over a broad forehead. “More of my pets where they came from,” he said of the things laying in heaps at their feet. “And the beautiful Elle has been promised to me. Now bring her to me.”

“What is she to you?” Victor demanded. He needed some damn answers. Whatever was going on, this piece of shit had the answers. And Victor needed them, before he took his soul to Lucifer.

“Hiding her behind those pitiful wards is useless.” He looked over Victor’s shoulder at the gates to The Staten.

Victor snorted. “It seems to be keeping your ass out.”

“For now.”

“Victor.” Lykar spoke close to Victor’s ear. Victor shrugged him off.

“Tell Elle, Aldon awaits her.” Victor had heard enough. He stepped forward and swung one of his scythes at Aldon. Who moved with a speed Victor hadn’t been expecting. One moment he was standing there and in a blur of movement, he shifted away. Victor swung again, but Aldon continued to move with blinding speed.

Victor snarled and moved just as fast, the two shifting around the space neither touching each other. Until the sound of several guns cocking into action stopped Victor. He pulled up short next to Lykar and Skylar.

More than a dozen slavering Freaks stood between them and the gates to Staten.

“As I mentioned, I have many more pets where they come from. How long do you really think you can keep your wards up, while under constant attack.” Aldon laughed and with a snapping sound, he disappeared.

“What the fuck is he exactly?” Victor snapped.

“Smells mortal,” Lykar said, and added. “But something Other added in there. Not sure what else. Has to be something very ancient.”

“And these undead pieces of shit?” Sky asked pointing at the group; cloven-hooved, multi-colored, horned and unhorned, and some hairless, others with hair flowing down their backs. One had dreds, another had a high and tight haircut. All of them looked like they wanted nothing other than to tear the three of them too shreds.

“I’d say kill them but since you say they are already dead.” Victor shrugged.

“Well dead is relative. They have all the parts.” One rushed at them as Skylar started to explain. Lykar shot at it, he hit it in the shoulder. It was smaller than the rest but the bullet didn’t even slow it down as it charged.

“Really?” Sky turned on his brother. “Who taught you how to shoot?” he stepped out of the way as the thing rammed past them. Lykar rolled his eyes and put a bullet into the thing’s head as it passed. It crumpled to the ground. “Anyway, they have a beating heart and everything else, but there is nothing going on inside. There is nothing there.”

Victor looked on as several more broke from the main pack. “Was there ever anything there? Where they mortals at some point?”

Skylar shook his head. “Naw, man. No lingering mortal there.”

They fought a couple which had broken from the main pack and had attacked the gate. Finishing them off quickly. The fact that they hadn't been mortals at some point, relieved Victor slightly. He didn't want to report to Dante that something was turning mortals into hideous freaks. On top of Reaping their souls, to boot!

“Now what?” Sky asked.

“Yo, Ryder?” Lykar screamed over the noise of the Freaks.

“Falcon is going to be so pissed,” Ryder screamed back.

"Yeah, but, you're ok?" Lykar asked.

"No. I need a fucking hug because Freaks are attacking you piss ants." Was the sarcastic reply.

Lykar shook his head. “Well at least Ryder is fine.”

“We need to get back behind the gates,” Victor said.

“Shit.” Skylar swore and turned from the gates. “If you thought it was hard to get into the Staten just wait.”

****

"Eric, for the love of all the gods! The Staten is under attack! We need to get back in there."

“Go to hell. I’m not allowing a Reaper into the Haven,” came the calm reply.

Skylar grabbed the box and shook it, but it didn’t move.

“Skylar, I can see you. You dumb ass.” All three men looked up at the camera over the gate. Lykar waved, which made Skylar shove him. And flip the camera the bird.

“Eric for the love of all the gods. The Staten is under attack, we need to get back in there.” Skylar forced the words out between his teeth. It was all Victor could do to keep quiet. He knew anything he said would only antagonize the leader of the Elemental Enforcers.

Eric didn’t like him, and he understood why. If Celeste had been punished like Kyra had for crimes she had committed by the Elemental Enforcers, then Victor would have a beef with Eric. So he was just going to keep his mouth closed for the moment.

But Kyra had been punished by Dante, for foolishly and accidently opening a Pandora’s Box. And she carried the scars on her soul to prove it. But this wasn’t about Kyra, and damn it he needed to get back to Elle.

There was a buzzing sound and then Eric appeared as the gates swung open. He held a gun to Victor’s forehead. “Don’t by any means, think this makes us even, Reaper. Or friends. You will follow them to the tunnel you will touch nothing. And you will never return.”

Victor just nodded. He didn’t care, he just wanted back in. Eric lowered his gun. “Follow me.”

They ran the two miles to the Haven, and took an elevator down two floors. “What’s with the golf carts?”

Eric just gave him a strange look. “This one will take you the six miles between the Haven and Staten in four minutes.”

“That’s pretty fast.”

They climbed behind the wheel. “Seal the entrance,” Sky said.

“Tell Kyra to let me know what the hell is going on,” Eric said as he closed the door and Victor could feel the wards come down around the room sealing them in.

Sky smiled. “Let’s go home.”

The ride back to Staten made him vomit, and Lykar and Skylar laughed so hard he ended up slugging them both in the face. He wasn’t sure who ended up the worse for the ride. When the three of them stumbled into the kitchen Sky was holding a bloody lip, Lykar was trying to stop his bloody nose and Victor was trying to keep his stomach under control. He was sure none of them were ever going to speak about it, ever again.

He barely caught Elle as she threw herself into his arms. “Oh, my god, they said you were coming back but until I felt you a minute ago I wasn’t sure. Are you hurt?”

“Elle…” Victor tried to pull away from her but she was plastered against him. And part of him was glad she was there and in his arms.

“Don’t ‘Elle’ me,” she muttered against him.

“Ryder said there are Freaks attacking the gate. That you guys were trapped outside the gate.” She pulled away from him, ringing her hands as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

Victor sighed and cupped her cheek, he eased her lip out from between her teeth. “I’m fine, Elle. Have you gotten something to eat? How are you feeling?” He tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

They both realized at the same time how quiet the room was and turned to look. The room was occupied by five different Trackers and Kyra. All of whom, starred at Victor and Elle, as if they had never seen them before.

Victor glared at them “What?” he demanded. Wanting to pull Elle behind him, he wasn’t sure what they were staring at. His only instinct was to protect Elle.

Kyra was the first to recover. “Um… nothing. I just finished making her eat something. Didn’t I, Elle?”

Elle nodded. “I’m feeling much better. We should leave.”

“Are you kidding?” Skylar barked with laughter, making him grin around his spilt lip. “Just how do you plan to get around the dozen or so Freaks at the gate sweetheart?”

Victor shoved him. “Don’t call her sweetheart.”

“Christ above and below. We literally have Freaks at the gate and you have an issue with me calling her sweetheart?” Sky asked.