Blue Moonlight Part Six: A Gift to Reap

My quaking fingers opened the door to the meeting, only for me to end up in the woods. Howls erupted around me, a pack of odd looking black wolves surrounded me. Cold sweat dripped down my forehead, my eyes seeking an escape route. My boots pounded against the jagged forest floor, a bunch of wolves chasing after me. Psychotic laughter exploded around me, the wolves scampering into the woods. Well, that can’t be good, the only thought being interrupted by a six foot tall man with long black hair landing in front of me. His red eyes glittered excitedly, a skeletal handle holding a blade twice as long as him. His black crop duster coat blew about in the wind. Stitches lined his face, a clever grin brightening his face. Raising my trusting scythe, my red eyes scanned him for any weakness.

“I hate to inconvenience you, but I need to talk to you.” The odd fellow asked, bowing to me. “I am Sir Deathwish and my people need your help.” My eyebrow cocked in suspicion, his grin growing creepier. Resting my scythe on my shoulder, my eyes watched him as he sauntered towards me. Rolling my eyes, my tail twitched irritably.

“What do you want?” I growled, a snarl forming on my lips. “Surely, you can just send me back. I am not interested.” His head tilted, his finger resting on his lips. His hand touched my shoulder, my life force protesting furiously. He was a grim reaper, my body quaking with weakness. My breath grew short, my eyes darkening with fright.

“Lady Iceheart is taking all of my souls, I mean all of them.” He grumbled, shooting me puppy dog eyes. “I also might know a permanent way to help your little curse of your powers.” Slapping his hand away, a gentle smile spread across his face. Chuckling to himself, he covered his lips with his hands.

“What is so funny?” I snapped, glaring into his eyes. “Why do I care about your problems? I have enough of my own. If your solution is death, then I don’t bloody want it.” My face flushed scarlet, his finger playing with my fire ears. His face was inches from mine, the oddly sweet smell of lilies wafting up my nose.

“I mean no harm, little fox.” He teased, stepping back. “I just want my soul collection business back. No, I am happy with her right now. As for the solution it is death, but you have no soul. Being a vampire and all denies you of that simple human pleasure. Yet when I touched your shoulder, you secretly wished for death. Why is that?” Shock paralyzed my body, my hand gripping my scythe tighter. Panic ran through my mind, his touch on my shoulder was him reading my memories.

“How about you butt out of my life!” I shouted, tears welling up in my eyes. “Doesn’t everyone have that thought at least once in their lifetime? Besides, you can read-” Jean's familiar scent warmed my soul, his arms wrapping around my waist. His kind eyes gazed into mine, a slight possessiveness glowing in them. My lips parted to speak, but he pressed his lips against mine hungrily.

“Did you harm my queen?” He interrogated intensely, playing with my ears. “I brought the meeting to you, my queen. Is that okay? Also if you have a matter to discuss, you must discuss it with all of us. The pressure on her shoulders is already heavy enough. You do know she has friends to help her through the mess that follows her.” My ears flattened in shame, Jean’s crooked grin beaming down at me.

“What is all this crap?” A rough voice inquired, an older man with slicked back gray hair stepping forward. “I am Captain Smitty, the only human on the council.” His large mustache wiggled in disappointment, his blue eyes falling in dismay. Warmth illuminated them, his eyes meeting mine. Another voice piped up, a shorter woman with blue hair and green eyes waved at me. She smelled like a dog, her red plaid shirt hugging her slender finger. Blue jeans hugged her bum, Deathwish looking at her hungrily. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

“I am Avery Smitty, his daughter.” She introduced herself, shaking my hand. “I am a werewolf, the only one of the council. I see that Jean won’t let you go won’t he. He is even more of a dog than me.” Jean stuck out his tongue, his arms holding me tighter. Scarlet burned ever brighter on my cheeks, her finger lifting up my chin. Her eyes fell on my ears and tails, shock widening my eyes as she pulled on my tail. Wonder soon melted to terror, a dark cloud hanging over Jean’s head. Pure fright trembled my body, his red eyes boring into hers.

“I am Emily, his queen.” I sighed, giving up on trying to get out of his arms. “Sir Deathwish here is saying that Lady Iceheart is taking all of the souls from the reapers. We need to help them.” Everyone’s mouth dropped, their hands feeling around their pockets. The air grew still, ice creeping under my feet. Ice narrowly missed my head, Jean throwing me out of the way. A woman in an icy blue clown outfit stood triumphantly in the way, her tight blue curls hanging wildly around her head. Chipping paint fell off of her face, a cane spinning in her hand.

“Well, what do we have here?” The garishly dressed petite woman joked with a creepy giggle. “I am Cirque du Mort, here to entertain you until you die.” The blue moonlight bathed the scene, exposing an obscene amount of puppets. Shivers ran up my spine, their dead eyes staring into my non-existent soul. Snapping her fingers, wood clanked as the puppets launched themselves toward us. The deck of cards flew from Jean’s hand into the air, minus the joker. The sharp cards cut puppets down, her face growing more irked by the second. Blinking my eyes, her white eyelashes were tickling my face.

“What is your problem?” I growled, standing to my feet. “I just want to be left alone.” Childish giggles exploded from her lips, her slight hand ripping off my bracelet. Keep calm, and I will be okay.

“Oh, how pathetic.” She mumbled to herself, reaching for my ears. “I kind of thought you would go full demon on me. You are not living up to your reputation.” My fist clenched tightly, my other hand gripping the handle of my scythe tighter. Keep calm, I just kept telling myself. Sharp pain electrocuted my body, her cane slamming into my stomach. The spike opened up, tearing apart my skin. My foot slammed into her chest, sending her into the nearby tree. Blood flooded from my wound, my boots bounding towards her. Jean slammed into my body, a blue wolf leaping over us.

“What the fuck!” I screamed at Jean, shoving him off of me. “Why did you do that?” His arms reached out for me, an excruciating whine echoing around us. Avery crashed to the ground, my inner demon telling me it was time. If I can keep the balance in my head, we can do this together. Inky blackness dyed my eyes, my scythe turning black. The usual urges weren’t there, strength surging through me. This time it didn’t hurt, relief washing over me. Launching myself into the still night air, sparks rained around me, my blade meeting her cane. A mischievous grin danced across her childlike features, her tongue licking her lips.

“I guess the fox did come out to play.” She taunted with a sarcastic tone. “This just got excitable. Prepare to die.” Horror gripped me, the realization that she was faster. Her cane struck me again and again, fresh agony running through my body each time. The dirt blew up, my body slamming into the ground. Her tired face hovered over mine, her cane over my heart. A defiant smile spread across my bruised face, confusion twisting her face.

“I hope you like skeletons.” I coughed, blood covering my hands. Her head tilted to the right, her eyes meeting Sir Deathwish's eyes. She dodged the hit, my scythe stopping him from hitting me. My demon form relaxed to my usual form.

“Hello, my pathetic little apprentice.” He mused, swinging away at her. “I am most disappointed in your level of training.” Frustration grew on her face, his speed twice as fast as hers. Blood rained down on us, his blade slicing her in half. Nausea wracked my body, her two sides landing in a pile of skin next to me. The puppets crumbled into dust, wonder illuminating my eyes.

“I hate half breeds who don’t listen.” He groaned, wiping his blade. “That little freak was half reaper, half demon. I tried to get her to see the light in her life, but no she sold her services to my worst enemy. Anyhow, how about I heal you right up? I take it you don’t want gaping holes in your body.” Looking down, he was right. My body looked like Swiss cheese, Jean fretting over me with sad puppy dog eyes.

“I guess.” I shrugged, the pain hitting me once again. “Your fight distracted me from my p-” The room darkened, everyone looking up to see James in a black velvet suit. His teeth were dripping in blood, black blood dripping off of his gloves. Alarm widened my eyes, my lips parting in horror. Elania hung lifelessly on her arms, Shadow running behind him. Fury boiled in my veins, inky blackness taking over my eyes as claws grew out of my hands. The dark urges grew inside of me, James tossing his sister to Jean. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his eyes meeting mine. Lifting my scythe, the air rushed around me as my foot landed in James face. Pleasant surprise illuminated his face, his arms pulling me into his arms.

“You must really want me.” He gloated, licking his lips. “Come with me now, or I will kill you right here and now.” He raised his hand to slap me, Jean slapping his arm away. James tossed me aside in a huff, Jean pulling out a fresh deck of cards. His black dagger swung down towards Jean’s head, James' skin popping as my fangs sank into his arm. The distraction gave Jean the time to pull out the joker card, the card blasting him into the night. Intense chest pains burned in my chest, Jean slipping on my bracelet. Red took over my eyes, my scythe powering down. Shadow sprinted to Elania, who was being worked on by Sir Deathwish. Tears streamed down my face, dismay dulling the cheerful eyes of the reaper.

“Use your excess power to heal her.” Lady Firefox whispered in my ear, her sweet hand patting my head. “Chant the words fire to her heart.” Nodding, my eyes closed. Allowing the excess magic to gather at my palms, I placed my hands on her heaving chest. Everyone backed up, curiosity fresh in their eyes.

“Fire to your heart.” I chanted, coughing up blood. Childlike wonder brightened our eyes, orange flames licking our wounds. Golden sparkles drifted aimlessly around us, our wounds sealing shut. Her eyes fluttered open, large salty tears streaming around us. Shadow pulled her close, his lips mouthing thank you. Captain Smitty sat on a nearby tree pointing up to the sky. Panic gripped my mind, the sun was coming up. Sir Deathwish snapped his fingers, everyone back in the headquarters.

“I must be on my way.” He announced, bowing towards all of us. “You have the backing of the reapers.” He turned to leave, my hand grabbed his arm. A kind smile flashed in my direction, sadness in his eyes. Surprise illuminated his eyes, my arms wrapping around his waist. His body was stiff with shock, his arms eventually wrapping around me.

“Thank you for helping us.” I uttered, my face flushing as he played with my ears. “Would you like to be a council member?” His eyes met mine, tears of joy streaming down his face. His head tilted up towards the ornate painting, his arms pulling me tighter. Breathing got harder, his strength being quite impressive.

“I can’t believe you guys want me.” He sobbed, letting go of me. “Of course. I have to go before I make an even bigger fool of myself.” Before I could protest, he was gone. My friends rushed around me, wrapping me in a giant embrace. A dark look from Jean made everyone go to their rooms, leaving only us.

“I am so proud of your ability to control yourself, my queen.” He mused, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Keep up the good work.” His crooked grin wired me up inside, his embrace feeling like home.