A Reapers Story

Chapter 2

Justin

10 minutes earlier

I shook my robes slightly as I walked down the hallway to our apartment. Dust fell from them in waves but, the dust was something that I was used to and didn't bother me. The road was always dusty, and it always clung to my cloak like a fine mist. Although, recently it had been much more than just dust, as the guys and I tried to fix the wrongs of our kind. Today, just like every day that we spent there, the battle had been horrible. We were in so deep that we didn't even know where to start or even how to dent the problem. The amount of deaths that hung around that place weighed on my mind and soul. Nevertheless, our hands were tied to the souls that were unable to pay the cost of crossing. Yes, I could take them down to the river Styx and Acheron, however, they still had no payment, no proper burial, so even if I did, Eli still wouldn't be able to help them cross.

I sighed heavily as I ran my hand over my hair, the braid that bound it fraying from the excitement of the day. I was just happy to be home so that I could take it out and wash any of the grime from the battle field from my body. I stopped in front of the door that was numbered 12 and just looked at it for a little. This shitty little apartment in the middle of town had been our home base for a while now. We'd gotten it so that we could all stick together during this trial. It was our safe haven, the one place where we could get away from everything and just ignore the world and all its fucked-up glory.

I shoved my key into the lock, finding it open I walked inside. My feet stalled on the threshold though. The sound of the shower running met my ears but was conflicted by the fact that William was standing in the kitchen making gods knew what for dinner. Then, with a single glance down I saw no one else's shoes, so who else was here?

I kept my mouth shut, but my lips formed a thin line wondering who the hell the mutt had brought home when we'd all agreed not to bring anyone here. I turned, handing my cloak from my peg and only glanced at it as it dripped some black foul-smelling liquid off the edges and onto the floor. That was going to have to go into the wash and William wasn't going to be happy about the floor. He was a bit ocd when it came to cleanliness, and that could be blamed on Theo.

Walking into the kitchen, I slid into one of the chairs and started unlacing my heavy combat boots. Only, when I'd taken one completely off and William still hadn't said anything to me, I asked the question burning on my tongue.

"Who's in the shower?" I made sure to keep my voice void of any emotions so that the shifter didn't get the wrong impression of me and thought I was attacking him. He was hard to anger; however, he went on the defensive easily.

When William didn't answer by the time, I got my other shoe off and was setting them by the door, grimacing at the slime that was attached to the bottom. I turned and looked at William, his face was set as he seemed to be glaring down at a pot of some type of pasta sauce, demanding something of it that it didn't understand.

"William?" I prodded softly and he glanced at me, his eyes were grim as if he weren't sure if he'd made a horrible mistake or not.

"I brought her here." He said softly, his arms stiffening across his chest as he continued to glare down at the pot.

"You brought a human here?" I asked the shock coating my words and face as he looked back at me and deflated, turning his back on the stove and leaving his hip up against it.

"She isn't human." His words sounded more like an echo of something that she'd told him and not something that he understood. I took the moment to really look at him. The three headed dog shifter was often lost in thought but his face showed more emotions than just the normal pondering. It was as if he didn't understand something, assuming that something was the girl he'd found, and that he was upset about it. "There's..." He started them paused as he ran his hand over his face then looked me directly in the eyes. "There's something off about her. Did you feel it when you looked at her before we jumped through the portal?"