Reaper

I stood behind Sawyer’s broad shoulders, fidgeting nervously in my new clothes. I didn’t know where they had come from, but when I had woken up Sawyer was gone, replaced by a new pair of jeans and a new sweater. I had put them on dutifully, but the question remained. Sawyer glanced back at me, a question on his face.

I shook my head. “I’m fine.”

He shrugged, and turned back to the massive wooden door. Sawyer and Saphira stood in front of me, and Simon and Lina behind me, surrounding me in an effective barrier, just in case something went wrong. I didn’t let myself think of what that might mean, so I just lightly grabbed Sawyer’s hand and squeezed it. He returned the gesture.

Eros smirked from where he stood in front of Sawyer and Saphira. “Tobias will see you now.” And he smirked again, turned around, and hauled the massive doors open.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the inside of the massive room was nothing like I expected. The ceilings were at least 20 feet high, lined with gold and red and artwork all the way up to the arched roof. Gold pillars stretched down the room, giving it a royal, gothic feel. The place looked like it was a throne room straight out of a medieval castle – and it was in the heart of Chicago, 100 feet underground. Hidden. And created by vampires.

Along the second story, there was a loft where balconies, rimmed with the same railing. On them were other vampires – I couldn’t figure out how many there were, only that there were too many to count.

At the end of the long room sat a bored-looking man. I was surprised at how young he looked, for someone who was supposed to be so powerful – he couldn’t have been older than 30 or so. It was obvious by his grey pallor that he was a vampire, but there was something that made him different from the other few vampires I’d seen. His face was angular, jagged, like you could cut yourself on his cheekbones. He had brilliant, deep-set red eyes that were half-lidded and sunken. His lips were full, but almost blue in color, curled up at the corners in an amused ghost of a grin. He stared at us with vague interest, as if he had visitors all the time.

Once we reached the large chair and desk at which Tobias was perched, he stood up, clasping his hands behind his back. “Welcome, my friends.” His voice wasn’t as deep as Sawyer’s, but there was an air of authority to it, only enhanced by what must have been a German accent. “I understand you had a bit of difficulty on your way here?”

Sawyer nodded curtly, taking a small step forward. “Thank you, sir.” I could almost see the power radiating off of Sawyer. I hadn’t imagined he could take charge like that – it was breathtaking. “We were ambushed about an hour away from the city. A rogue pack of werewolves.”

A few of the vampires that were spectating gasped, and I heard a few hushed whispers begin to snake through the room. Tobias held up his hand, and the noise instantly ceased. “I am sorry to hear that. Were there any casualties?” He didn’t look sorry in the slightest.

“Two or three, on their end,” Sawyer answered, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “One of our allies was injured, and is still recovering in his room.”

Tobias raised an eyebrow in question. “Recovering? What, it’s not a human, is it?”

Upon hearing Jesse being called a human like that, Saphira took a step forward unexpectedly, making me feel extremely exposed and uncomfortable. I could feel the stares of the vampires, all of them I’m sure having figured out that I was a human, as well. I hugged myself, trying to push the thoughts from my head.

“Yes, sir, the human-“ Saphira spat the word back in his face, “Engaged in combat with one of the wolves, and was bitten. But, because of the quick thinking of one of our comrades, he is now recovering. He has shown many signs of rehabilitation, and is even conscious.”

Tobias showed little reaction to Saphira’s outburst other than raising his eyebrows. He pressed his fingertips together in front of his mouth, contemplating. I wasn’t sure exactly what about, but I’m sure it had to do with how he might use that information to his advantage.

While we waited for Tobias to gather his thoughts, I suddenly felt my hands twitch with nervousness. I gathered my hair into a tail and curled it between my fingers, trying to give them something to do to ease the shaking.

I felt a hard hand grip suddenly on my bicep, vice-like and urgent. “Charlie, you are standing in the presence of a coven of vampires,” Lina hissed quickly under her breath, “Cover your neck!”

Embarrassed, I dropped the hair like it was on fire, quickly spreading it back out so that neither side of my neck was exposed. It was an unconscious habit that I hadn’t even thought about. I hadn’t realized how much of a temptation I must be to the vampires, regardless of whether or not they could actually feed from me. I felt the blood rush to my face, and I ducked my head in embarrassment.

Tobias stared directly at me, and a sly smile spread across his face. “I suppose some humans do have… redeeming qualities,” he mused, his blood red eyes boring into mine. I fidgeted from his unwavering gaze and predatory expression. “Is this the girl?” His voice was much lower, softer, as though it was a secret. He looked pointedly at me, and he slowly licked his bottom lip.

Sawyer stepped to the side so that he was completely blocking Tobias’s view of me – clearly I wasn’t the only one who noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere. “Yes, sir.”

No one had to clarify. Nothing else was said. I got the feeling that I was missing something, but that was a feeling that I was slowly getting used to. I was surprised when Tobias slowly walked out from behind his desk and strode toward the group of us. I saw all of the Reapers stiffen, their senses on high-alert. Meanwhile, I could only make my hands stop shaking long enough to wrap them tighter around myself, as if that subconsciously would protect me.

The way Tobias walked towards me would haunt me for days. It was predatory, like he was a lion and I was a zebra with a limp. It was obvious from the look in his eyes that I intrigued him, but I was too nervous to think about the context. I only hoped that Sawyer’s mass would protect me well enough, as I felt my heart beating in my throat.

When he was in front of Sawyer, he looked around to me. He was very tall, almost as tall as Sawyer, and he loomed over me. I held my breath – the stench of blood and sweat assaulted my nose. Coupled with the events from earlier, the urge to vomit forced its way back up my throat. He sniffed the air lightly, like an animal. Sawyer and Saphira were still, with coiled muscles, ready to strike if need be. But after a few moments, Tobias held up a hand and took a timid step backwards.

“It is quite rare, indeed, for such a mortal to possess such a unique gift,” he said quietly, only loud enough for us to hear, almost as though he was talking to himself. “Tell me, how exactly can she be of use to me?” He folded his hands behind his back and began to pace in front of Saphira.

She cleared her throat. “Sir, we have reason to believe that she possesses some qualities that are unique to all races, not just Reapers,” she told him quickly, her head following his movement as he paced up and down. She exchanged a glance with Simon in a millisecond, and he gave her a quick nod, before she continued. “In fact, our injured human was cured with the use of her blood as an antivenom.”

The silence that fell on the massive room was smothering. I watched as the man halted dead in his tracks, his face suddenly turning toward Saphira with a newfound interest. “What?”

Simon cleared his throat awkwardly behind me. “Yes, sir, you see, I believe her blood contains enzymes which unzip the DNA helicase-“

Tobias held up his hand again, annoyed. “Spare me the details.” He whirled on Saphira again, and then looked at me. Then back at her, and then to me. It was as though he needed a visual confirmation that what was being said was, in fact, true. But we had none to give him. “You’re serious? Her blood protects against Wolves and Reapers?” His face was in awe.

Sawyer clenched and released his fists. “It has succeeded so far, yes, but it’s hardly definite-“

“Yes.” Sawyer glared at Saphira for interrupting him, but she simply stared at Tobias.

The man’s stoic expression suddenly broke into one of realization. “Ah, I see.” He began to retreat back to his desk, slowly and gracefully stalking back to the ebony wooden throne. “Well, since you’ve come all the way here, I suppose you’re looking for something in exchange for this information?”

Saphira nodded curtly, her black hair bobbing lightly. Sawyer stared at her, obviously completely in the dark about what Saphira had been planning. “Well, sir, we ask that you give some medical aid to our injured friend-“

“Done.”

“-And that the six of us be given protection.”

Tobias stiffened as he lowered himself into the chair. He slowly picked up a long-stemmed wine glass that sat on the surface, filled halfway with a murky, dark red liquid. I shuddered and pushed the image to the back of my mind, knowing it was blood. “Surely there must be a reason for which you need to go to such lengths for protection,” he prompted, taking a long draw from the glass.

Sawyer finally snapped out of his anger-induced trance. “An Alpha leader in New York is in pursuit of her,” he said warily, unwilling to speak any louder than necessary. “We have done all we can on our own to protect her gift, and prevent it from reaching the wrong hands, and we have come to the conclusion that we are in need of your assistance.”

I was too stunned to move after Sawyer said that. I realized, with a heavy heart, just how difficult that must have been for Sawyer to admit. The whole time I’ve known him, he’d taken the responsibility of protecting me all on his own, never admitting to needing help. He refused help. But the blow to his pride was so massive, even I felt it. We all felt it. I quickly grabbed his hand again for reassurance, but he dropped it quickly in one fluid motion.

Tobias thought about this for a moment, his face growing tired. He pressed his fingertips to his lips again, clearly mulling over the idea in his head. “Though I do see the value in your… special friend,” I shivered at the way he said that, “The fact remains that I cannot afford to alienate such a large group of the supernatural world. Alpha Reapers are one hell of a force to be reckoned with, and what with a war looming…”

There was more deafening silence as he trailed off, and I was under the resounding impression that there was something I was missing. Clearly, Sawyer and Saphira and the others knew that there was a war, and so did the vampires in the room, but I was completely blind sighted. A war? I had thought that war was purely a human invention. Surely if these people are so much more evolved than we are, then shouldn’t they have come up with a better solution than killing each other? Who was fighting whom? And for what? How many Vampires and Werewolves and Reapers even existed?

Lina leaned in towards me, reading my thoughts. “The Wolves and the Vampires have been at war for a hundred years,” she whispered, “But they’re small skirmishes, nothing full-scale. They can’t do that unless Reapers are involved.” She leaned back, brushing her hair out of her face, and quickly resuming her guarded stance.

We all stared at those opposite as well as those on our side, like we were determining what move to make in chess. I got a funny feeling that I was a queen in that comparison.

Sawyer and Saphira exchanged glances. Saphira’s eyebrows were raised, a question on her face that I didn’t know how to discern. But, I realized with a sting, Sawyer seemed to be able to. His face grew cold, stern. He shook his head curtly. Saphira’s eyes pleaded with him silently, and I could see the resolve in both of their eyes. They were making decisions, that I couldn’t even dream of having to make, and it was killing me that all I was useful for was a bargaining chip.

Before Sawyer could stop her, Saphira spoke up. “If you provide us protection, the Omegas will aid you in the war,” she blurted.

The room that had been suffocating in silence suddenly erupted in noise. The vampires talked excitedly among themselves, their faces a mixture of intrigue and concern. Tobias stood up quickly, calling for his guards to calm the chaos. I stood there, rooted to the spot, too overwhelmed to say anything.

“That’s ridiculous!” Sawyer hissed, barely audible above the roar of the crowd. “We can’t even promise our own pack’s allegiance, much less that of an entire species, Saphira!”

“What were you thinking?” Simon spat, suddenly tense behind me.

Lina bit her lip, glancing around the room frantically, but didn’t say anything.

Saphira whirled on them. “We need this, Sawyer! If that wasn’t obvious enough by the attack last night, then I don’t know what to do to show you.” She nodded in my direction. “Charlie has something, something that we can use to our advantage.”

“She’s not a pawn,” Sawyer seethed.

Saphira took one step up to Sawyer, her face inches from his. I could feel the tension rolling off of the two of them. “Do you have a better plan?”

Suddenly the noise in the room was hushed. The vampires stood in the balconies, anxiously awaiting the word of their leader. Tobias sat lazily in his chair, folding both of his hands behind his head. His face was stony at first, but after a few tense moments, he slowly let a smile spread across his lips.

“Very well. You have a deal.”

Sawyer let out a grunt. “Saphira, there’s always a better plan.”

Before any of us could process what he had said or consider what he meant by it, he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder, hauling me effortlessly, like a sack of potatoes. I hung limply from his shoulder as he ran, my face slamming against his broad back, dizzy from the sudden reversal in gravity.

Sawyer sprinted from the room. I let out a terrified scream, wondering what the hell was going on, as I clung to his hack for dear life. He tore around corners and down hallways, and I could hear the many Vampires and the others running after him, but he was too fast. My head was spinning as he made his way to the elevator and quickly the door slammed shut, making the others stranded on that floor.

In the silence, my head regained some of its ground. “What the hell-“

“Shh,” he bit back. “Get ready.”

A moment later, the doors to the elevator opened, and Sawyer made a beeline for the cars parked outside. He opted for the van that Simon and Lina had driven, I’m sure because it wasn’t covered in blood like the truck was, and quickly threw me into the backseat, pulling his keys out in a flourish. I sat there, dazed, as I looked out the window desperately for a sign of what was happening.

In the doorway of the warehouse stood the silhouettes of Simon, Lina, and Saphira, all stunned by what they were seeing. They were mirror images of what I’m sure my own expression looked like, shock, surprise, and confusion. I wanted so badly to know what was going on, but my brain couldn’t make sense of anything but the fact that Sawyer was running, running far away, and he was taking me with him.

Sawyer slammed on the gas, and I was jolted form my seat. “Charlie, do you trust me?” he breathed, desperate and so quiet I almost didn’t think I heard him right over the roar of the engine.

I sat back for a moment, trying to steady myself. I didn’t have to think about my answer, even after what had just happened. “Yes, of course.”

He looked at me in the rearview mirror, his eyes sad. “Then buckle up. We’re not stopping for a while.”