Reaper Mine: A Reaper Novel (21 page)

“Victor what are you doing?” she asked warily.

She gasped as she was swung upright and she had to grab him while the room spun for a moment.

“Take a shower and get ready we have plans to make.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Everything is going to be okay, Elle. Aldon and the Sons of Adam can go to hell, and I will personally take him there.” He winked at her.

“But…” Victor put a finger on her lips stopping her from saying anything more. “Elle you can stand here and worry yourself sick or you can get in the shower and then we can make plans to kick their ass. Which would you rather do?”

She growled at him. Which only made him laugh at her. But he turned and walked out of the bathroom leaving her to shower in peace. Elle just wanted to have her pity party, but she knew it wasn’t worth it.

Victor was right, she needed to suck it up and get to work. Crying about it wasn’t going to get anything done. But she wasn’t going to let him know he was right.

****

“There’s another two dozen Freaks at the gate,” Bowen announced as Victor and Elle came into the kitchen.

Victor nodded, and pulled on Elle who hesitated at Bowen’s words. Christian and Garrett were standing in the corner glaring at the Trackers at the table. “I thought we were going to try and get along?” Victor asked at the obvious hostility in the room.

“Yes, that was until that one thought it would be funny to pick a fight with Garrett.” Victor looked at Garrett and noticed he had a black eye and fat lip. “You want me to fix that?” he asked.

Garrett shook his head but his eyes never left Skylar who was eating a bowl of cereal. Victor turned to Skylar. “What did you do?”

“Asked him who the fuck he was?” Skylar shrugged, shoveling his cereal into his mouth. Taking Elle by the elbow, he pulled her into the seat next to him. Making Victor want to skin him alive. “You want some cereal love?”

He was going to kill the Tracker, that was all there was to it. Both Garrett and Christian took menacing steps toward Skylar and Victor had to step between them, making Skylar smile around another spoonful of cereal.

Elle glared at the Reapers. “Yes please, Skylar, and the name is Elle. We’ve had this conversation before haven’t we?”

Skylar reached for a bowl and the cereal and milk. “Have we?” he said fixing her a bowl.

She pushed at him with her shoulder. “Yes and stop trying to piss them off.”

“But it’s so much fun.” Skylar laughed.

“Yes I can see that. But it’s a little early, why don’t you save something for later in the day,” Elle offered eating her breakfast. Skylar grunted and went back to his cereal.

Victor shook his head. “You want something real for breakfast?” Ryder asked from the grill. Where he was grilling steak and eggs for breakfast. Victor nodded and grabbed the plate Ryder offered, pulling a chair over to sit next to Elle.

After several minutes of silence Skylar threw his spoon into his now empty bowl and glared at Christian and Garrett. “Are they just going to stand there and glower?”

“No,” Victor said.

“Then what are they waiting for?” Skylar asked Victor.

“They are waiting for you to finish your breakfast,” Victor said not looking up from his own breakfast.

“Well I’m done,” Skylar said.

Victor nodded and pulled on Elle’s chair so she was flush with Victor. Ryder muttered something from his position at the grill, Bowen said something. Skylar looked at the group like they had all lost their minds.

But before he could say anything more the Reapers moved in. Garrett caught Skylar with a solid punch throwing him back from the table.

Elle made a squeaking noise. “You done?” Victor asked.

Elle looked from her breakfast, to Victor to the fight and back, Victor reached over with an index finger and held her chin. “Ignore them.”

“Kinda hard,” she said when a wild kick connected with her chair making her jump.

“Watch it,” Victor snapped over her shoulder at the fighting duo. Victor finally turned to Christian. “What exactly did Skylar say?”

“Why is it always me?” Skylar muttered from the fight on the floor.

Bowen and Ryder both snorted.

“Called Garrett a pussy for once being a Guardian,” Christian answered making Victor shake his head.

Victor had to grab Elle as she leaned over and grabbed Skylar by his t-shirt. “You stop fighting right now.” She pulled the two of them apart, climbing onto the back of her chair. Victor was now holding her around the waist keeping her from tipping over the back of the chair.

“You are both acting like children.” She slapped Skylar upside the head. “How dare you call Garrett names? Are you ten?” Skylar just stared at her for moment. And then shook his head.

“Did you just hit me woman?” he glared.

So she hit him again. “Being a Guardian is a noble thing, you idiot. What is it with you calling people names? You need help. And Garrett, grow a pair, so what if he called you a name. I’m sure you’ve been called worse. And if not…” She hesitated and looked around the room. Nearly toppling off her chair, Victor had to tighten his hold on her. “"You will be, if you hang out with this crowd for too long. So, you'll need to get used to it. Not everything can be solved with fists. Don’t make me hit you too.”

She turned back around and ignoring the stunned looks on the men’s faces she continued to eat her cereal. Not realizing she had threatened to hit a Reaper, and had actually hit a Tracker, not once but twice. Or the fact she had stepped into a fight between the two. Something you just didn’t do.

Now the Trackers and Reapers in the room weren’t sure if the woman was crazy or not. One thing was for sure. She had just earned their respect. And possibly the love of every single one of them.

****

“We need to draw Aldon out,” Falcon said again. Making Victor grind his teeth together.

“How many times do I need to say no?” Victor said.

“He is the key.” Falcon slapped the table making it wobble on its repaired legs.

“If we draw him out, and bring him through the wards, we could be leaving ourselves open for attack,” Kyra explained.

“We should leave,” Elle offered.

“Oh you want to leave now?” Sky asked sarcastically.

“Your being a complete ass, you realize that don’t you?” Elle asked him. “Would you like to explain that?”

“Because,” Sky said petulantly.

“Well at least you’re acting like an adult,” Elle said crossing her arms over her chest she glared at him.

“Can I just go out and kill something?” Sky asked standing, he glared at the group.

“No.” Falcon glared back at him.

“Can we circle back to us leaving?” Elle addressed Victor.

Victor rolled his eyes and turned to Falcon. “I don’t want to bring Aldon into the wards if it will weaken them.”

Falcon thought for a moment. “I agree. We need to find some common ground that will be safe.”

“We try to leave and that horde of Freaks will be on us.” Victor swore.

“Not if you go out through the tunnels,” Falcon offered. “We can get you out the tunnels when we are engaging the Freaks. Create enough of a diversion. We could give you a day, maybe more. Then meet up with you. But where?”

“Hallowed ground,” Elle offered.

Victor turned to her. “What?”

"The Freaks. They're soulless. They can't go onto hallowed ground. But the Sons of Adam can. You would be able to fight Aldon one on one.” Elle smiled.

“Yeah, but Aldon isn’t just going to show up for a fair fight. He’s smarter than that. Plus I’m pretty sure he knows who we have on our side.” Victor looked at the six Trackers and three Reapers, an Elemental Enforcer, Elle. “All of us against him?”

“Yeah that’s why it will be just you and Elle against him,” Falcon said with a smile. “Until it’s too late. Then the rest of us will show up and we will kill the bastard.”

Victor wasn’t sure about this, but he didn’t really have another plan. “Okay but where is this going to take place?”

Falcon gave him another smile. “Oh I have the perfect spot. And the perfect hiding spot for the rest of us. The bastard Aldon will never see us coming.”

Elle clutched the gun Victor had given her as she hid behind the large tombstone. She could feel Victor somewhere in the recesses of the huge cemetery but with the moonless night she could barely see her hand in front of her face.

“This is such a bad idea,” she whispered.

“We’re supposed to be silent,” Victor whispered back. They had on some high tech equipment Bowen had given them before they had left Staten. They all had them but the Trackers and the other Reapers wouldn’t be activated until they showed up. And she wasn’t even sure it would happen.

“Yes, because radio silence going into this plan is such a good idea,” she muttered.

She could hear Victor chuckle but she didn’t mention it. They had escaped the Freaks, and fled to Louisiana where the Trackers had several properties and where there were more graveyards and hallowed ground. In fact Elle was pretty sure you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting hallowed ground. Not that mortals would understand, but Louisiana wasn’t just a hot bed of supernatural but historically had the most hallowed ground per square feet in the United States, besides Utah and New Mexico. So they were here because they could hide. Elle shivered, tucked behind a huge stone angel wondering if this was where it was all going to end. And she couldn’t help but think this was one of their stupider ideas. She had stayed alive for the last several millennia by running and hiding and it really appealed to her. Elle was about to make another appeal for that argument. What could it hurt? Just sitting there, awaiting a madman who wanted to mate with her, was making her want to cry. She was pretty sure her night was going to get pretty shitty. Either way, at least she would be heard.

“Hello, Elle.”

She shrieked, just like every girl in every scary movie ever had. Then she scrambled out from the shadows of the huge angel watching over her.

He reached for her but she slapped his hand away. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

Aldon held his hands up in supplication. “I only wanted to ensure your safety,” he said quietly. “I would hate for you to trip and fall. Without even the moon to lighten your way.”

“I’m coming Elle,” Victor whispered in her ear.

Aldon looked around with a smile. “It took me some time to locate you, but from your surroundings I assume you know what I am?”

Elle shrugged. “What makes you think that?” she took a step back putting some distance between them. Remembering the last time they had been together he had put a knife in her chest. She wasn’t keen on a repeat performance.

Aldon gave her a smile, showing her straight white teeth beneath the gray pallor of his skin. She had to say although he looked slightly sickly he was a nice looking man. If he had a little sun he would actually be good looking. With broad shoulders, sandy blond hair he flipped out of his amber brown eyes.

Wait, hadn’t his eyes been fathomless black? “Your eyes? And your hair is different.”

He smiled at her. “You prefer this don’t you?”

Elle shook her head. “I prefer the truth.” She shook her head again and blinked several times and re-focused on him. When she did his eyes were black again as was his hair.

He sighed. “It is hard to hide the truth from you, Elle.” He shrugged. “But I guess if you are to be my mate I would prefer to have little between us.”

“Yeah about that, I’m not really interested in being your mate.” Elle took another couple of steps back.” She searched for the slab of granite she knew was back there. “If it’s all the same to you.”

Aldon took a step toward her. “Now see, that isn’t going to work for me. There is so much more at stake than whether or not you want to be my mate. And well…” he took another step toward her. “It’s really not up to you.”

Elle glared at him, “No you see, that really isn’t going to work for me.” She threw his words back at him. “Not sure how you found out about me, or what you might have heard but I’m not really in the market for a man.”

Aldon chuckled, but it was a dry and humorless sound. “I’m sorry to hear that, Elle. However, I must insist that you reevaluate your decision. I will not take no for an answer. The fate of the immortal world lies before you.”

“Yeah, I could give two shits about the fate of the immortal world.” Elle said.

Something hard flashed in his dark eyes, “Elle that can’t possibly be true. Everyone cares about their own Fate. Don’t you have a legacy you wish to pass on?”

Elle thought for a moment, “I suppose. But it isn’t something I want to pass on with a stranger.”

“That’s all I ask.” He jumped at her. Making Elle jump back. “Just a chance to get to know you. To plead my case.”

Elle barked out a harsh laugh, “Kidnapping is against the law in both the mortal and Other worlds.”

“I am offering you the chance to be someone.” He pleaded. He was so earnest; it almost tugged at her heart strings. If he hadn’t sent savage Freaks after her she might have listened to him.