Reaper Mine: A Reaper Novel (15 page)

But as she said it, Elle took a shuddering deep breath making Kyra yelp in shock. Marlee on the other hand growled and stepped away from the group.

Ryder grabbed his wife and stepped in front of Marlee at the same time. “Gods.”

Victor held up his hands. “She is going to convulse, then we need to get her back to the house.”

He watched as she did just that, fifteen minutes of pure hell. And he swore it was worse to watch knowing what she was going through.

“We need to do something,” Kyra kept saying.

“There is nothing we can do,” Victor explained.

Finally, Ryder took Kyra away and put her in the cart. Marlee took off toward the house. The Freaks stood watching, quietly watching. Victor wished he could make them turn away, knowing they would report back to Aldon everything they were seeing.

Finally she stopped convulsing, her bloodshot eyes peeked open. “Victor?” she whispered. Her hand reached out and Victor scrambled over to her. “I need to go to them.” She pointed to the monsters. “End this.”

“Over my dead body,” he growled. Picking her up, he gathered her close. She was already starting to shiver.

“Not worth this,” she whispered, tucking her head into the crook of his neck.

“We’ll talk about it when you wake up,” he promised.

“No.” She wiggled. He knew she was trying to break free. But it was so pitiful it was almost laughable. “Nobody else needs to be put in danger.”

“What the hell were you thinking?” Victor growled, pulling her closer.

Her shaking was starting and he had to get her in a hot bath or shower fast, her teeth chattered as she looked at him. “Not worth it.” She shivered.

“I’ll decide that,” Victor said climbing into the Buggie. He nodded to Ryder to get them back to the house.

Victor swore. “Can’t this damn thing go any faster?”

Ryder gave him and incredulous look, but Kyra reached forward and put a hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “We are moving as fast as we can, Victor.”

“V—v-victor?” Elle shivered. Victor looked down. Elle’s golden eyes glowed in the low light. And her voice was barely a whisper he leaned down so he could hear her. “Why is this happening? I’m not worth this.”

Something tore from deep in his chest. “Yes you are.” The words were torn from him. He meant every word as he crushed her to his chest. "You are worth it to me. And the next time you try to give up like you just did, I will kill you myself."

She laughed. “No you won’t.”

He leaned back so he could look back into her eyes. “You don’t think so?”

“No.” She shook her head. Her body was wracked with such deep shivers her lips were starting to turn purple. “I don’t think you like to see me die.”

They pulled up to the front of the house and he was saved from having to answer. He jumped from the cart and bounded up the stairs to the house, the door was thrown open. He didn’t stop moving until he was in Elle’s bathroom. He balanced her on his knee as he turned her bathtub on.

“So cold.” She held onto his neck as he adjusted the water temperature.

Kyra was behind him. “What can I do?”

“She needs to be warmed up. Her body is cold,” Victor barked. Elle was trying to take off her clothes but her hands weren’t working.

“While I’m dead my body stops working. Ttttakes tttimes for ittt…” She shivered again, stopping what she was saying.

Victor slapped her hands away. “We get the point.”

“Do you want me to do this?” Kyra asked pointedly. Looking at Elle now semi dressed and Victor trying to undress her.

A blush crept up Elle’s neck and cheeks, but she kept her mouth closed. “I’ve got this Kyra. Would you mind getting her something to eat? Maybe check with Fiona about how to break this damn curse?”

Kyra nodded closing the door quietly behind her.

Elle visibly relaxed as Kyra left. “There are so many people here. Even with your block their emotions bleed through a little.” Her voice was shaky, and her skin was pale.

“Let’s get you in the bath before you freeze.” Victor steeled himself for the ordeal ahead. He finished undressing her, ignoring how beautiful her ivory skin was.

He picked her up to slip her into the tub, she hissed in pain. “It hurts.” She jerked her toes back.

“I know sweetheart. It’s just the blood flow coming back.” He continued to lower her into the water. She worried her bottom lip as tears flowed down her face in pain. It felt like forever but he finally had her in the water and her head sagged back against the side. She still shivered but after a few minutes it went away. Victor kneeled down next to the tub and brushed her hair from her face. “Please don’t do this to me again.”

She gave him a weak smile. “You’ll get used to it, if you continue to hang out with me.”

“How many times, Elle?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to the question but he had to ask.

That weak smile faded. “Thousands.” And she rolled her head away from him, her eyes drifted close. But, not before tears leaked through, to run down her cheeks.

Victor turned her face back to him. “How many of them alone?” Again a question he didn’t know if he wanted the answer too.

“I’m tired Victor.” Her shaking had stopped, and the glowing in her eyes had died down. Her eyes were a deep chocolate ringed in gold.

He should press her, but the answers weren’t something he wanted to here. He trailed his fingers down the side of her face and over her shoulder watching goose bumps raise on her beautiful skin.

“I’m not going anywhere, Elle. I’m here for you.” She didn’t move or respond to his words, so Victor settled down beside the tub. And rested his head against the side, he would wait until she was ready.

****

The knock on the door startled Victor who jumped to his feet. “What?” he barked before he realized what he was doing.

Kyra peeked in. “It’s been an hour. I was wondering if everything was okay?” she whispered.

Victor rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Shit.” He looked at Elle who was sound asleep. He stuck his hand into the water. It was luke warm. “Damn it.” He looked around for a towel.

Kyra handed him a warm towel. “Thank you.”

She gave him a smile. “I have to admit I’ve never seen a Reaper so…” He glared at her.

“What?” he asked once he had taken Elle out of the water and wrapped her in the warm towel. Kyra handed him another then wrapped Elle’s hair in a third.

“So… un-Reaper-like.” She smiled at him.

“Just don’t tell my brothers,” he said walking into the other room. Elle’s bed was turned down, Fiona stood next to the bed. Victor nodded at the older woman.

“How about Celeste?” Kyra asked with a smile.

“Oh, gods. Especially not Celeste,” Victor said. Gently laying Elle down in the bed, he turned to Fiona. “What can you do for her?”

“She is weak,” Fiona said looking at Elle carefully. “Years of solitude have weakened her further. We need to build her demi-god strength.” She reached for a small vial on the table side. “We need to wake her up and get her to drink this. We can mix it with water.”

Victor took it from Fiona and smelled it, it smelled horrible. “What is it?”

Fiona nodded. “It will awaken her dormant side.” She reassured him. But he was anything but reassured.

“Will it hurt her?” The last thing he wanted was to cause her pain.

“From what Kyra has said, she has been cursed,” Fiona said softly. “I cannot remove the curse. However, she seems to have let her demi-god senses go latent. Something she probably didn’t even realize she was doing.”

Fiona placed a hand on Elle’s cheek, her eyes drifted closed for a moment. “Her demi-god abilities are what bring her back. Then they go latent again. If she is to heal completely then we need to strengthen her further.”

“She slept for three days the last time she was killed and came back,” Victor explained.

Fiona nodded, and shook her head. “She is weak, do you think she could survive doing it so close to the last time?”

Frankly Victor didn’t know. “What do we do?”

“Let’s wake her up.” Fiona started to mix several drops of the liquid in a glass of water and Victor looked at Kyra who motioned to Elle.

She smiled. “Be my guest.”

Victor wasn’t sure how he was supposed to do this, he leaned down and gently shook Elle. “Elle, wake up.”

She didn’t even budge. Didn’t make a sound. He shook her harder. “Elle. You need to wake up.”

Still nothing.

He looked over to Kyra. “Try harder.”

Victor sighed. “God’s help me.” He sat on the edge of the bed and took a hold of Elle by each of her shoulders and shook her. “Elle.”

She moaned and her eyes peeked open. “Tired,” she muttered.

“You need to wake up.” Victor shook her some more.

“No.” she swatted at him. “I’m tired, Victor.”

“I need you to drink this.” He reached for the glass Fiona was holding.

“No.” She tried to pull away from him. But he wrapped an arm around her to keep her from lying down. Instead she curled into him, he leaned away from her. “Elle stay awake.”

“No. So tired.” She yawned.

“Elle I will let you go back to sleep after you drink this.” He leaned away from her. Trying to get her to sit up. He looked over at Kyra. “Can you please help me?” he asked.

Kyra was hiding a smile behind her hand. “Yes,” she said stepping forward. “Elle?”

Kyra sat down facing Victor and pulled Elle back away from Victor. She was asleep again, and Victor was forced to shake her again. “Elle, wake up.”

Her eyes cracked open. “Leave me alone,” she snapped.

“Elle, if you drink this I will leave you alone.”

She shook her head, dislodging the towel wrapped around her head. Sending her wet hair cascading around her. Kyra gathered it and pulled it aside. Victor had to admit she looked like a fallen angel and he caught his breath as her eyes dropped again. He shook her again. “Elle, you need to stay awake.”

“No.”

He was getting sick of that word. Dipping his fingers in the water he splashed the cold liquid into her face. Kyra opened her mouth in shock, and Elle’s eyes snapped open. “What…”

“Don’t make me throw the cup in your face,” he threatened.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Victor held up the cup. "You just have to drink this and I won't have to throw it in your face."

Elle sighed and held out her hand. Her hand shook slightly and he felt bad for threatening her but wasn’t going to fight with her over it.

Kyra steadied Elle’s hand as she pressed the glass to her lips. She tipped the glass up and finished it off.

Then tossed the glass back at Victor. It hit him in the chest. “Happy?”

Victor handed the glass back to Fiona, who nodded. “Yes.”

“Now can I sleep?” she glowered at Victor who nodded back. But Elle had already pulled out of Kyra’s arms and rolled over into the bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Victor snorted. “I thought you said she would be stronger?”

“We need to get her to drink this at least every hour until she is strong enough to stay awake.”

Victor felt like shit. And they needed to do this again? Kyra patted him on the shoulder. “Get some sleep, I’ll wake you in an hour.”

She turned off the lights as they left. Victor wasn’t sure if he should thank her or not. He should go to the Infernos and let Dante know what was going on. He needed to gather his brothers to fight off those Freaks. He should be finding out who the hell Aldon was and why he wanted Elle.

Instead he laid down next to Elle and pulled her into his arms. He feel asleep about as fast as she did.

****

Elle was pretty sure the next time she saw Victor she was going to cause him some serious physical harm. When someone knocked on her bedroom door, she grabbed the shoe she was putting on and threw it at the door.

It cracked open and Kyra peered around. “Was that a come in?” she asked with a smile.

Elle felt horrible. “Sorry, just irritable.” Kyra bent down and grabbed Elle’s shoe and tossed it back to her.

“I understand. Being woken up every hour and forced to drink that foul liquid would put anyone in a horrible mood.” Kyra leaned against the door.

Elle couldn’t agree more, but she had to confide she felt better then she had in years. “What is going on this morning?”

“Well figuring out what to do about with those Freaks is at the top of the list,” Kyra said.

“I still think we should look at the option of handing me over to them. I mean they might kill me but I’ll come back.” The thought caused her shivers.

Kyra shook her head. “You can’t want to be taken by those things. And we don’t have any idea what Aldon wants with you.”

“Who is Aldon?”

“The man controlling the Freaks. The master mind behind all the voodoo,” Kyra said with a smile.

“Was anyone going to tell me?”