The Soul Reaper's Arranged Marriage

Chapter 6

Hunter quietly made his way over to the sitting room adjacent to his bedroom. About two weeks had passed since the wedding, but Daisy had not spent much time with him. He knew that she only went out on an assignment for Osiris about once a week, so where she was the other nights, he had no idea. She would be gone when he went to bed, but she was asleep on the sofa every morning when he would wake up.

Hunter stood behind the sofa watching her sleep, his eyes tracing the golden curls of her hair fanned out across the pillow. She had one arm draped across her stomach, and the other lying palm-up next to her cheek. He wasn’t sure if it was her reputation as a powerful Soul Reaper or her attractive beauty, but she was a bit intimidating in person. However, in this moment she seemed so peaceful while asleep.

His gaze fell on a tattoo she had on her left forearm, which peeked out from the hem of her sleeve. This was a new discovery for him.

But as he leaned over to get a better look, he recognized it immediately. He let out a small, involuntary gasp, but quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

It was not a tattoo; it was a burn mark from a branding iron. Osiris branded all his female followers with the Egyptian crook and flail symbol. It was the insignia of a pharaoh’s authority, with the shepherd’s crook indicating kingship, and the flail representing the fertility of the land. To the Osirians, it was a reminder that each woman belonged to Osiris as his property, and that the Witch’s role was to submit and be obedient to the Wizards in their society. And the flail also symbolized her fertility and the importance of bearing magical children to keep their race alive.

The only reason he knew so much about it was because his mother had also been branded long ago, before the Rebellion. It always made him uncomfortable when he caught a glimpse of it, but so rarely did he have a clear view of it for this long. Hunter knew it had to have been painful for both his mother and for Daisy. She had to have either received it recently when Osiris returned, or as an infant during the first Rebellion before he was defeated, as only Osiris performed the branding ceremony.

The thought made his stomach churn.

He stood frozen over her, hoping he hadn’t woken her up with his gasp. She stirred gently but did not awaken. Hunter let out a silent breath of relief. She typically slept most of the day and would only join him, his parents, and Osiris for dinner in the evenings.

Still feeling a bit perturbed by her brand mark, he decided to go for a morning jog around the grounds to clear his head a bit. He figured he would spend the rest of his day by the pool, enjoying the last few days of summer and freedom before he had to return to school.

***

Daisy sat at beside Hunter at a long table in the grand dining room, his parents sitting across from them. Patiently, they waited for Osiris to arrive for dinner without a word to one another, as they did every night now.

The double oak doors opened as Osiris walked in, stretching his arms out wide in a sweeping greeting to them. “Ah, good evening, friends.”

He made his way to the head of the table, where one of the manor’s servants waited to pull out the chair for him.

“I have some news,” Osiris announced. The servant placed the linen napkin in Osiris’ lap, then gave a stiff bow before retreating to a buffet table in the corner.

“Daisy, my dear, I have a special assignment for you,” Osiris said with a smile, although his eyes held a devious glimmer that made Daisy squirm in her seat.

“Yes, Master?” Daisy inquired.

Osiris picked up his spoon as the servant placed a small cup of soup in front of him. Osiris was always served first, followed by the men from eldest to youngest, and then the women in similar order. Osiris did not wait for anyone else to be served before he started on his soup, and neither did the men. It wasn’t customary for the Osirians.

“As you are aware,” began Osiris between slow sips of soup, “our primary objective is to take back the Gealach School of Supernatural Beings and overthrow their leader, the Witch they call Cassandra. As you are a foreigner from America, I should mention that Castle Gealach is not just a school, but it is the place that governs the three magical races here in the British Isles, the Wizards and Witches, the Vampires, and the Werewolves. One could say that we are governed by a ‘scholastocracy’ form of government. As High Priestess, Cassandra is essentially the queen of our people, or the President, as you Americans would call it. She’s held this position for at least forty years, and she’ll continue to do so until she passes away, which, unfortunately, is unlikely to happen naturally for at least a few more decades. We cannot wait that long to ascend to power. Do you follow me so far?”

Daisy quickly nodded in response.

“We must take Castle Gealach,” continued Osiris, “to gain control of the magical administration and implement the policies needed to rebuild our dwindling population. There will be casualties of magical blood, which pains me to admit, but their sacrifice will be for the greater good of our society in the long-term.”

Finally, the servant placed the cup of soup in front of Daisy, who was the last to be served at the table. Osiris was already pushing his empty bowl away from him as Daisy took her first spoonful.

“Jason,” Osiris started, turning toward Hunter’s father. “Have you assessed the timeframe for us to gather enough forces to launch our attack on Castle Gealach?”

The servant swapped out Osiris’ empty soup bowl and replaced it with an entrée plate consisting of roast, carrots, and potatoes. A basket of bread was also placed next to Osiris, which emitted a buttery, freshly baked aroma. Not having yet eaten that day besides the broth in her bowl, the smell of the meal made Daisy’s mouth water, and she momentarily forgot that Osiris had yet to reveal her assignment.

“Yes, Master Osiris,” replied Hunter’s father. “I believe we should be able to take the castle by this time next year. We have already spoken to a couple of Vampire and Werewolf factions that are eager to see a Witch removed from power, but we are still in negotiations. And we are still in the process of discreetly reaching out to former Osirians to announce your return and garner their support. There is also some interest from some foreign magical communities that wish to aid us in our cause by providing reinforcements, but it is too early to gauge their level of commitment and how many Wizards they would send. But overall, we should have, at minimum, twice the manpower we had during the Rebellion.”

Osiris listened intently as he worked his way through his meal. A smile appeared on his face when Jason Armstrong completed his report.

“Excellent,” Osiris muttered quietly, a smirk appearing on his lips. Daisy shuttered at the way his voice lingered over the consonants, reminding her of a rattlesnake’s hiss.

At last, the entrée plate and breadbasket were placed in front of Daisy. She lifted her silverware to cut into the roast, a pang of hunger tightening in her stomach. But before she could take a bite, she was interrupted by Osiris.

“This is where you come in, Daisy dear.”

Daisy looked up at Osiris, wide-eyed.

“We need to have a spy on the inside to keep tabs on Cassandra and report back on her. We have very little knowledge of what they’ve done to prepare for an attack in the past sixteen years. Although Jason here serves as the head of the school’s governing board, he is unable to be there in the day-to-day operations of the school. She’s certainly not revealing all of her cards to the governing board, which is why we need you to fill a vacant role on the faculty as a professor.”

Daisy stared back at Osiris, blinking in confusion. “A professor?”

“Yes, Jason has secured your employment in the newly-created position of Professor of Dark Magic.”

“B-but Master,” Daisy began hesitantly. “Aren’t I the same age as some of the students? And I’m not really sure I’m qualified to teach; I’ve never actually been in a classroom-“

“Nonsense,” Osiris interrupted, waiving his hand to brush her concerns aside as irrelevant. “I paid for the best Dark Arts training for you and the other Soul Reapers. Your magical ability is far superior to the senior students at Castle Gealach, and quite frankly, to most adult Witches and Wizards. Just use the principles that Jack taught you. These students have been prohibited from studying Dark Magic, which is a disservice to our natural abilities as a magical race.”

Daisy just stared back at him, her jaw slightly agape.

“Now then, you will be expected to continue your duties as a Soul Reaper, but the proximity to Hunter there will allow you to spend more time with your husband. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we received news of a pregnancy by Christmas.”

Hunter noticeably choked on his water and began coughing, drawing Daisy’s attention as well as the others at the table.

“Oh, one more thing to note,” Osiris said, turning his head back to Daisy. Osiris’ eyes narrowed in a way that Daisy had not quite seen before now. His eyes were locked on hers, unblinking. Daisy felt as though he was trying to gaze at her inner thoughts given the intensity of his eyes. Her heart began pounding anxiously in her chest from fear.

“Catherine Edwards, the powerful Witch that was thought to have defeated me in the Rebellion, has recently passed away. I regret the fact that I was not quick enough to exact my revenge on her myself, but she did leave behind a son, Noah. I want to know if he is as powerful as his mother, since I intend to kill him in her place.”