The Reaper's Apprentices #1: Awakened (6 page)

Chapter 6

The next
day was one of the calm moments that Tartarus Sanctum had; almost everyone was either studying or relaxing. The girls were relieved to get a brief resting period and were now trying to work on their various crafts. Yuka kept flexing and pointing her feet in the corner as she stretched her body. Kaska was trying to draw something outside with colored pencils, groaning whenever it didn’t come out right. Avani played a few keys on the piano, while Tessa rubbed her wrist from writing so much.

“Turn on the TV,” Fabian suggested, letting Oscar sit down by his feet. “I want to see if that incident ended up on the news.”

This caught everyone’s interest, and Kaska put down the pile of yarn she was fiddling with. “What incident are you talking about, Master?”

“Apparently, some demons were terrorizing people at an airport.” He flipped to the news. “Now I have no idea how true this is, but it’s the big news now. In fact a lot of other airports have gone on lockdown. Some flights have even been canceled. People are being advised to change their flights or stay home until this settles down.”

“Seriously?” Yuka looked confused as they watched the news. “What are demons going to get out of terrorizing people in an airport? And why would they pick an airport in the first place? There’s security everywhere.”

“I don’t know the details, Yuka. Now stay quiet. I want hear this.” Fabian raised the volume, and they all listened in. The reporter looked down at the papers in front of her, seemingly worried about how to spill this news. A shot of something with glowing red eyes popped up in the box by her head.

“The authorities are still trying to control the demon situation that is taking place in New York,” she began to say, as a scene from La Guardia airport was shown. People were walking around, picking up baggage, getting their tickets, and going through security without a problem. Nothing seemed to show any demonic activity. No one looked scared at all. “Eyewitnesses in La Guardia Airport claim that several creatures were seen running around the terminal, threatening to destroy the area. While there has been some footage of these demons, police say that the tapes do not prove anything.”

“Well, that’s helpful,
” Kaska commented, wrinkling her nose. “You might as well be telling us wild animals are loose in the airport, but there is no evidence.”

“Passengers are being advised to change their flights or stay home if necessary. Anyone who is caught in this situation will be reimbursed; contact the airlines for more information. As for the creatures themselves, authorities are still looking for them. If anyone should have any information, please contact the police immediately. Do not attempt to confront these unknown creatures on your own.”

Tessa was confused as the news reporter went into another story. “That’s all they’re going to talk about? They didn’t even show us the footage of the demons.”

“I don’t expect them to,” Adair admitted, lowering the volume on the TV. “A lot of people still don’t believe we exist. You heard how that reporter sounded — she thinks this is all a joke. She’s not the first one to think that way either. We’re a myth in this world. In some ways, I think that’s a good thing.”

“How come?”

“Well, it would change a lot of things if people knew about us. We’re not exactly portrayed in the best light,” Sebastian explained. “I mean, glowing eyes, big teeth? Would you really want to hang around with something that could rip your heart out?”

“I’d never do that to anyone,” Yuka pointed out.

“I know that, but they don’t. They live in a world where those things are considered dangerous. That’s why you should never try to get along with humans in your demonic form. Never try to tell them what you really are. They may never accept you.”

“But maybe they would,” Avani said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe if we gave them a chance to get to know us better they’d….” 

Gideon gave her a smile, but he couldn’t agree with the thought that she couldn’t even finish. “That won’t happen until sometime in the future, Avani. Even then, it may not turn out to be a good thing. Everything they’ve known about this world will change.” Seeing that he wasn’t making anyone feel better, he tried to take an optimistic turn. “But that’s something we don’t need to worry about. Focus on what you should be doing and no one will care what you are. As long as you keep this side of you a secret to humans, you’ll be okay.”  

They spent the rest of the evening studying and thinking about the news report. It had now spread throughout the house. No one could stop talking about it. A few were even tempted to go to LaGuardia and check out the so-called demonic activity. The girls kept going downstairs to see if anything new was reported on the incident. Unfortunately, no station was willing to show the footage that had been recovered.

“What’s the point in mentioning you have something on tape when you won’t show it?” Tessa asked, as they gathered in the garden to feed the fish. The fish were now swimming toward the food as the girls watched. “You’re just going to make people more nervous and curious.”

“I guess it’s to assure those who saw something that they aren’t crazy,” Kaska guessed. . “And at the same time, they’re trying their best to keep others calm. I wouldn’t want to see myself on tape either. I just wonder why the demons are there. And in broad daylight! Demons are supposed to stick to the shadows.”

“Well, maybe these demons get tired of the shadows. Maybe they want to enjoy the sun and be in the open like everyone else,” Avani suggested. “This is probably the most excitement they’ve gotten IN A LONG WHILE.”

“Yo, girls! Are you out here?” Adair called out to them.

“Yes, Master!” Tessa yelled back. “Is something wrong?”

“No, we just wanted to see where you were,” he said, coming into the garden with the others. They were all dressed to go out, so the girls sat up straight. “I’m glad to see you haven’t wandered off.”

“Why would we wander off?” Kaska asked, eyeing their outfits. “Where are you going?”

“We’re going to check out something that happened nearby. It has nothing to do with the airport stuff, but Grim Reaper Linn wants us to see it. We’ll be back in a few hours,” Sebastian told them, heading for the gate. “Now I want you guys to stay here. Practice or do whatever you want, just don’t leave the gate. If you need any help, ask one of the older demons. Don’t try to set anything on fire or break the house or anything.”

“Okay, Master. I won’t burn anything down,” Yuka said, waving her hands around. “Not like I can make fire anyway.”

“I would start a little simpler than that, Yuka. Phlegethon is a hard river to harness when you’re a beginner,” he said. “Anyway, I think you can take a break for a few hours. We’ll try to resume training if we get back in time. If not, we’ll pick up tomorrow. Take care, girls.”

Once their masters were gone, the girls tried to harness Phlegethon’s power again, but couldn’t even produce smoke. Yuka struggled the hardest. She felt terrible that her master figured out Phlegethon from the beginning. Then again, Sebastian was perfection personified. If anyone would know how to harness Phlegethon, it would be him. The more she thought about it, the more she began to doubt herself.

“I feel bored,” Tessa complained. “Ever since this started, no one wants to be with us. No one wants to talk to us. We can’t go anywhere without telling anyone. We have to practice all the time. I never knew being a guardian could be so bad.. What’s the point in being the most powerful demon when you have to suffer for it?”

“You’re telling me. I just want to escape this place. All we’ve done is train and talk about responsibilities. We get all the stories about other guardians and how they were better than us. It’s like that’s what they want us to be — just like them. They don’t want us to have fun or lives,” Yuka grumbled. “I’d like to be an irresponsible teen for a few minutes. I want to go out and see stuff. Can they give me that much?”

“Then let’s do it,” Avani said. “Let’s go see stuff.”

She looked up. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. You want to go out and be an irresponsible teen for a while? Then let’s be irresponsible teens. Let’s break the rules for one night! As long as we don’t do anything illegal, and we get back by curfew, we’ll be in the clear!”

Tessa didn’t seem sure about the idea. “Really? Maybe we should tell someone if we go out.”

“We’re not going far, Tessa. We could just go down a few blocks and see the sights. It will be a lot of fun just to get some fresh air and mingle with people! Think about it.”

“I always did want to know what night time was like out here.” Yuka sighed, looking at the gates that led to the other world. “I guess it can’t hurt if we were to go down a block or two. The cabin fever is getting to me. I’m so tired of all these practices. I need to stretch my legs for a while. What do you guys say?”

“I say let’s go for it! Let’s get out of here for a while. Maybe they just don’t want us to wander to the airport or something far away. One or two blocks isn’t going to hurt anyone. As long as we come back by curfew, I’m sure they’ll be okay with it,” Kaska added. “We’ll just get back before they do. They’ll never suspect a thing.”

“Okay, but where are we going to go?” Avani asked. “I’m feeling a little hungry. I want to eat something that isn’t healthy for a change. In fact, I feel like having a pizza loaded with everything and two hot fudge sundaes for dessert! ”

“I take it that you aren’t doing any modeling anytime soon?” Yuka asked with a smile. “What about that Givenchy campaign that you’ve been talking about? ?”

“I didn’t get the Givenchy campaign,” she explained with a sigh. “They thought I looked too young. Oh well, I guess there’s always next season. By then, I’ll be fifteen and hopefully more up to standards. For now, I just want to be young and happy. What better way to do that than to go out for a while and eat some junk food?”

“Well, let’s celebrate being young then,” Tessa suggested. “After all, we’re going to end up being immortal by the time we’re in our forties. Let’s enjoy the time that we have now.”

“That’s the first great idea you’ve had in a while,” Kaska said. “Let’s celebrate being young! And to Paris. Things are going to be great, girls. As long as we don’t think too much about being Guardians, we will be good.”

They were back to being Debra, Rosemary, Tiffany, and Suzanne for the night.

Dinner turned out to be two large pizzas that they happily devoured. It had been weeks since they had eaten out
, and each bite was more delicious than the last. It was nice to see people around and to be talking in a crowded restaurant. All the time in Tartarus Sanctum had made them forget how nice the outside world could be.

“Best decision we have made in our lives!” Suzanne exclaimed, taking another slice. “I know my agency is going to kill me, but I can’t help it. There’s always next season and the gym-.”

“Maybe we should slow down a little bit,” Rosemary suggested, as people were staring as they walked by. “We’re the only ones eating like animals here.”

“Well, they kinda consider us animals,” Debra said. “They shouldn’t be that surprised.”

“But we’re in human form,” Tiffany whispered. “At the very least, we should try to act like humans. Let’s look at what’s on the TV.” She pointed to one of them. “Hey, it’s a football game! I wonder who’s winning.”

“Who cares? Look at that explosion!” Rosemary was looking at another TV where something had blown up. “Wow, those are some amazing special effects!”

“Special effects? They’ve got Brady Bunch reruns on this screen.” Debra turned to another one. “Man, I like a place that doesn’t just have sports on the tube. We did make a good decision to stop by here, especially since it’s not too far away from home. I forgot how fun being a human can be. It’s all the little things people take for granted.”

“For sure. Check out the news!” Suzanne turned to the next TV, and her smile faded when she saw the airport. “More airport news? Don’t these demons know when to stop?”

“What are they even doing there?” Tiffany asked. “You’d think that with all the media and police around, they would try to hide.”