Reaper Mine: A Reaper Novel (6 page)

Which apparently the bastard would enjoy. It was just all too much. Elle pulled the covers over her head and turned away from the Reaper. She couldn’t think about everything that was going on. It had been well over twenty-four hours, of the seventy-two that Helena had given her. She needed to come up with something, and she didn’t know if any more of those Freaks were coming after her.

Maybe she should think about trying to get away from the Reaper? If he continued to refuse to help her it was her only option. One more day of letting her ankle heal and maybe she could get the keys away from him while he slept. Then she would still be able to get to Atlanta on time.

It was a good plan and with that thought she was finally able to fall asleep.

****

Victor glared at her, a demi-god, what were the odds? Gods, of any kind were trouble, and demi-gods were trouble with a capital ‘T’. Trouble the Reapers didn’t need at the moment. She had needed immediate medical attention, and he had brought an Abda from the Infernos to treat her. He hadn’t felt bad at all about lying to her, if she was afraid of him it was okay. The Abda had used herbs to aid her in her healing. The faster she healed the better.

The faster he found out what was going on, and he got her to her sister the better. He also needed to find out why the Tribunal wanted her. But right now getting them food was at the top of his list. When he was on the mortal plane he ate fast food. It was a huge weakness. It was something he didn’t indulge in very often but when he did, he always went overboard.

What the hell was he going to do with this demi-god? Stuffing another cheeseburger into his mouth he glared at the woman who had been sleeping for another twelve hours now. He supposed he should wake her and feed her again. But he was enjoying watching her sleep something he had never indulged in before either, Dante had told him to stay with her. He wasn’t really into babysitting, he could think of several things he did want to do with her. However, babysitting her wasn’t one of them.

Shaking himself, he threw the wrapper of his burger on the table and went to the window to glare out at the cityscape. He had to admit it was beautiful, after centuries of the oranges, and reds of the Infernos he had a healthy appreciation for the blues, greens, and yellows of the mortal plan.

“Find out what is going on. Find out if they will side with us. But whatever you do, do not let them know about Celeste and Marcus and where we currently stand with the Tribunal. Or that we are still down a Reaper. The last thing we need to do is let them know we are weak. And stay with the demi-god. You never know when we can use a demi-god.” was all Dante had said about the demi-god. Yeah, then he had returned and told her she had to give him something in return for his help. So he was making a great impression on her, leering, lying. Yup this relationship was going great.

Moving to the bed he kicked the mattress. “Time to wake up and eat, sleeping beauty.”

She didn’t move so he kicked the bed harder. Still no movement, he could hear her breathing so he sat down with another burger and continued to shake the bed with his foot while he ate.

She finally rolled over and took a weak swing at his foot. “Stop.”

“Get up.” Victor finally left the bed alone. “You need to eat and take a shower.”

She made several unlady like grumbles and then squeaked in pain, he turned and she was holding the edge of the bed as she inched around it toward the bathroom.

“Gods,” Victor muttered and swept her up into his arms. He tried, gods he tried, to ignore how she fit against him. That despite the thin sheet she clutched against her it really didn’t cover anything. And damn she was beautiful, her legs were long and toned. Her long honey colored hair hung in tangled waves over his arm. And she stared into his eyes with those golden brown eyes he wanted to drown in.

She flayed for a second. “Calm down.” He squeezed her until she quit moving and then walked her into the bathroom, where he deposited her on the edge of the bathtub. “Don’t put too much weight on your ankle. I used special herbs which will aid in your healing but not if you do something stupid. Call when you’re done.”

He kicked the bathroom door closed and had to admit he was getting a strange sort of satisfaction knowing she was helpless without him. Thirty-six hours with her and he was losing his mind. He had never taken care of anything before in his lifetime and it created strange feelings in him, he rubbed at his chest and wondered if he was going soft. “I need to collect a soul,” he said more to himself then to anyone else, burying himself in the darkness of the world he was used too.

“What?” Elle called from the bathroom. “Are you talking to me?”

“No,” he said back with a smile.

He ate another burger, a helping of fries, and the chocolate milk shake before she finally opened the door and called to him.

“Reaper?”

He pushed himself off the bed and walked to the bathroom. “I have a name.”

One delicate eyebrow rose over the pools of golden amber orbs. “Pardon me. Victor?” Something about the way she said his name put him off. He almost preferred she call him Reaper.

“You need to eat more,” he muttered to her before dropping her back onto her bed. He handed her a coke and a bag of food.

Victor looked into her eyes as they rounded in shock. “Okay I agree I need to eat more and I am thin but there is no way I can eat all of this.”

“You hardly ate anything yesterday and then slept for over twelve hour Elle, eat.” Victor settled on the other bed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, he tried to ignore the way her clean dark brown hair had curled around her round angelic face. He hadn’t thought it possible but she was even more beautiful than before. It pissed him off, and he couldn’t understand it. “Eat what you can,” he said again the words coming out sharp and hard.

“Victor?” she practically whispered, and he peeked open his eyes. “I wasn’t kidding yesterday. I have nothing to bargain with. You already said my body and soul belonged to you. Can you explain that in more detail to me?”

He would have laughed at the look on her face, but he wasn’t sure if doing so wouldn’t just make her cry. So he gave her a pointed look at the food and as she pulled it to her and started to eat he swung his legs off the bed resting his elbows on knees.

“What do you know of a Blood Call, Elle?” he asked.

Elle shrugged. “If I say nothing are you going to be mad?” she asked around a mouth full.

He actually growled at her, and she stopped eating her eyes rounding in surprise. “You used an ancient Blood Call, you put your soul on the line, and you know nothing about it.” He wanted to shake her. “The Tribunal is hunting down Others and you throw your soul away?”

“I didn’t know what I was doing. I had a slathering Freak trying to tear me limb from limb. When Helena taught me the emergency number she never said it was a Blood Call,” Elle cried.

“Yeah well maybe you should have asked her what it might cost you to use this emergency number before you used it,” Victor said. “Anyway, the blood has been cast, and you, my dear, now belong to me.”

Elle threw her hands in the air. “You are so impossible. Please stop saying that.”

Victor pointed to the food. “Eat.”

Elle glared at him. “I’m not hungry.”

Victor glared back. “I didn’t ask if you were hungry. You need to heal and regain your strength. In order to do that you need to eat.”

She crossed her arms over her chest obviously ready for a fight. Victor almost smiled because she had no idea what she was up against.

“I need to find my sister.” She glared back at him.

He starred at her, and pointed at her food. “Eat.”

They starred at each other; but Victor won like he always did. Elle picked up her food and started eating again. When she had eaten enough to satisfy Victor, he took up the conversation again. “Why do you need to find your sister?”

“I need to make sure she is okay? The Tribunal is after us. She warned me they were coming for me. That they may attack me.” Elle chewed her bottom lip as she finished.

Victor pulled a phone from his pocket and tossed it at her. “Call her and let her know you’re okay. Will that be enough?”

Elle caught the phone and stared at it like she had never seen it before. “Where the hell did you get a phone?”

Victor rolled his eyes. “Just because I’m a Reaper doesn’t mean I have my head in the sand.”

Victor kicked his shoes off and leaned back on the bed. “Call your sister Elle. And sleep through the night.”

“You said last night I had until tonight,” she accused.

Victor sighed. “That was until I realized you wouldn’t be healed and well. We can’t travel with you like this.”

“One more night, Elle. And then we are moving. The Tribunal will be moving in on us,” Victor couldn’t afford to keep them holed up for much longer. It was only a matter of time before who every was looking for her found her.

****

“Where the hell are you?” Helena shouted into the phone. “I’ve tried your phone fifty times.”

“But my seventy-two hours isn’t up.” Elle started.

“That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t answer your phone. The Tribunal has been going crazy everywhere.” Helena explained. “Now explain why you haven’t answered your damn phone.”

Elle held the phone away from her ear, and looked over at Victor. He didn’t make any move to show he was listening, but she didn’t doubt he was listening to her conversation.

“Did you know the emergency number you gave me would sell my soul to the Reapers?” Elle asked.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Helena shouted just as loud as her other questions. “The only damn way it would happen is if you used your own blood to scribe the call. And since I never taught you to use your blood as the medium it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Information that would have been helpful a couple of days ago,” Elle said more to herself then to Helena.

“Please tell me you did not do what I think you did!” Helena screeched.

“Just stop screaming,” Elle said. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she was starting to get a headache. Even through the phone she could feel frustration and anger Helena barely held in check through the phone.

“You should be close, where the fuck are you?” Helena demanded.

“Well obviously I’m not. I was attacked by some Freak who tried to tear my foot off,” Elle explained.

“How long before you can get here?” Helena demanded.

Elle felt like she was about to cry just a little sympathy. Could Helena give her a little sympathy? “I don’t know. I’m not in control of the situation.”

“For the love of the gods Elle, I don’t have time for this bullshit. Isn’t it enough we have to wait for you?” Helena asked.

“I called a Reaper, and now he is in control,” Elle said looking again at Victor.

She could practically see Helena shake her head in frustration. “Then get away from him. He probably has better things to do then babysit a cursed demi-god.”

Her words shouldn’t hurt, because they were true. But gods did they ever hurt. Like a damn ice pick to the fucking heart they hurt. Elle swallowed past the lump in her throat. “What’s the plan?”

“Get to Atlanta, stay in touch dammit.” Helena hung up.

Elle starred at the phone for a minute before placing it on the bedside. She curled into her side and pulled the sheets up to her chin. She took several deep gasps and forced herself to relax. Thank the gods her body was still trying to recover and she finally feel into a deep sleep.

****

Victor stuffed a burger into his mouth and glared at the phone as he remembered the words from Elle’s phone call the night before the waspish tone of her sister’s words still ringing in his mind. Her sister was a piece of work, and she had certainly upset Elle. Why that upset him he didn’t know, the only thing he knew was his brothers would never speak to each other that way.

If Elle believed for one second she could run from him she had another thing coming. The assumption was laughable at best. If he ever got the chance he was going to tell this Helena a thing or two about what it meant to be family.

At the moment Elle needed him, and although he hadn’t wanted to at first he knew Elle didn’t have anyone else in the world, after the conversation he had overheard Helena didn’t count. Victor swore and tunneled a hand through his hair. “What have I gotten myself into?”

“Are you talking to me, Reaper?” Elle asked her voice scratchy from sleep.

“Damn, I thought you were going to sleep all damn day.” Victor tossed a bag of food toward her.

Elle wrinkled her nose at the food. “Do you eat anything besides hamburgers and fries?”

Victor shrugged. “When on the mortal plan, not really.”

She smiled at him. “Well I like to eat more than hamburgers and fries,” she said pulling herself from the bed she tested her weight on her leg. “It feels much better today.”

“Let me look.” Victor sat on her bed and held out his hand. She placed her foot in his hand, and Victor looked at the wound. It was almost healed. The skin was puckered and pink but almost totally healed. “Good, almost totally healed. How are you feeling otherwise?”