Reaper

Ashes of the past

“Open your eyes. Vanessa, please get up!” David shook her firmly, but she made no response. Though the wendigo had been killed, the woods were a precarious place to wander around after sundown.

As the sun dived under the amber washed western horizon, night drew its dark veil over the face of the earth, forbidding all mortals to look at the heavens. David could hear his heartbeat grow louder by the minute. He could sense the presence of malevolent beings coming out of the shadows.

Vanessa was still lying unconscious in his arms. His desperate attempts to wake her, all ended in failure. Seeing as no other option was open to him, he lifted her up. Instead of waiting inside the treacherous woods, he decided it would be better to carry her to the car.

David had a slender athletic body with well toned muscles, but it was a long walk back to the car, made especially arduous by the fallen trees and sweeping vines which dotted his path. The night was cold and the sky cloudless and silent, was crowned by a waning moon and her starry entourage. Owls hooted in the treetops and cicadas buzzed all around. The faint light of the moon lit up patches of the undergrowth, offering sufficient light for David to navigate the maize of hedges and shrubbery bushes on his path.

By the time he was out of the woods, his legs were trembling and his arms were almost ready to give in. His sweat dripped on to his boots as he covered the last stretch and reached the car. Vanessa looked beautiful under the pale light of the moon; it wasn’t the tamed pristine beauty of a dainty damsel but a wild, untamed beauty of a rebellious soul.

“My...flask,” she spoke out in a muffled voice, pointing her fingers in the direction of the car. Supporting her on one arm, David unlocked the car’s front door.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“The flask, please.”

David followed her fingertip which was hinting at the glove box. He hurriedly opened it and began rummaging through the papers and small trinket boxes inside it, till he finally touched a small metal flask. “Here you go,” he said, twisting open its cap.

She drank the cold watery liquid in little fervent sips. It quenched her thirst and gradually helped her to regain her strength. She could now stand on her own once again. Putting the flask away inside her jacket, she composed herself and looked at David. “Thank you for not leaving me behind.”

“Did you really think I would have left you all alone inside a forest?”

“I...wasn’t sure how you would react after what I did there.”

“You saved us both and killed that creature. That’s what you did. I don’t want to know how you can summon a murder of ravens. I am just glad we managed to take down the wendigo.”

Though David wasn’t one to pry into other’s secrets, Vanessa knew it would only breed mistrust and misunderstanding if she hid her true identity from him. She climbed into the car and asked him to get inside as well. It was a bitter struggle for her, trying to recall her painful past. Her sweaty fingers slipped around the steering wheel and her eyes gleamed with a haunting sorrow. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded cracked and hollow.

“I am not normal.” She paused to gather her thoughts and then continued in an almost whispering voice, “I am a witch, the last of my coven. It was called the Ashborn Coven. Now, all my other sisters are dead... killed...I use dark magic to cast my spells. And... whenever I use any spells or incantations, I can feel their suffering. We are connected even in death and their screams tear through my soul. It's horrible! I can never forget their faces. I'm not the kind of person you want to be around.”

It wasn’t the sort of explanation David had been prepared for, but nothing around him had been normal ever since that night. He couldn’t judge her for what she was, perhaps because she was his partner or maybe because he knew very little about witches. And so he kept staring at her with a blank expression pasted on his parted lips. It took him a while to get a grip on things. 

“I am really sorry to hear what happened to your sisters. Maybe you will be able to get over it with time. Your past doesn't have to define you. And hey, even I am not normal anymore. I am a Reaper now. I am just glad you told me about your secret. It's not a bad thing to know magic."

“You don’t understand, do you?” Vanessa cried. “I...am nothing like you. In your case you never had a choice, but it was different for me. 5 years ago, I made a pact with one of the greater demons and now I have dark magic flowing through my veins. I didn’t want to harm anyone, I just wanted to learn more about the mystic arts, but it was my greatest mistake to trust a demon. Sometimes, when I lose control I hurt people around me. Ever since I made that pact, my body has become a vessel for demons. If I am not wearing any enchantments or if my mind is clouded with dark thoughts, I am susceptible to being possessed by greater demons from hell.”

This revealing insight into her past came as a shocker for David. She didn’t seem like the type to hurt people on purpose, despite her bitter tongue, but this pact made her a living time bomb, a perfect host for the forces of evil. All this made her a nightmare to be with. David was scared, just like any sensible man; however, he wasn’t ready to walk away from her. Ryder had chosen him for a purpose and she was his hunting partner. She had saved his life twice now and cop or not, he sure as hell wasn’t going to let her down.

He caught her wandering gaze with his own and looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t know a lot about witches or even the demons. I am not a master of the occult. But I can be a good friend. We are a team now and I won’t judge you for your past. It doesn’t matter to me whether you are a human or a witch. I really don’t know what you are going through, but you are not alone anymore. You are a good person, Vanessa.”

She broke down into sniffles. “No one would ever want to associate with a witch like me. Wherever a witch goes, she only brings ill luck. That’s why I keep pushing people away. I don’t want to put their lives in danger.”

“I guess it doesn’t apply to me since I have never been too lucky to begin with. I have already died once. How bad can it be?”

This made her smile ever so softly. She wiped away her tears and added, “We should head back to Ryder’s place.”

During the drive back to Ryder’s mansion David’s thoughts lingered over his own past. All his friends and neighbors must have already forgotten him, and back at the police department some new cop would have taken his place. The orphan who had wanted to become a respectable cop and be remembered by people, had been pushed to live on the fringes of society once more. He had been chosen to walk down a dangerous and difficult path, one which was beset with all the horrors of hell, and there was no turning back now. He still couldn’t accept his fate and come to terms with this new life, but he was glad that he wasn’t tied to his desk as before.

When they returned to Ryder’s house, it was well past supper time. David walked up to knock on the door, but it was already unlocked. He gently pushed it open and stepped inside. He had just taken his first few steps when he froze in terror. His face turned pale in horror as he laid his eyes on the gruesome scene inside the house.

Marianne’s severed head was lying on the ground, her bulging eyes ready to pop out of her horrified face. The carpet was painted with bloodstains and the mutilated bodies of the rest of the attendants were nailed to the walls. Ryder’s entire household had been massacred.