SOMETHING ROAMS THE NIGHT...

THIRTY SEVEN

All this time, it had been Damon. All this time, he had been the one making my life a living hell.

I'm really enjoying this, Haley...

The foul creature was getting inside my head again. I was sure if it continued on like this, I wasn't going to be able to withstand it.

"I've never really wanted you all to leave," Damon the reaper said. "Because if you humans left, where would we get our food? How would we feed?"

"Sh-," Ezra cursed. "You played us from start. Wanting us to leave when you knew we didn't want to. Trying to chase us out when you knew we were just going to stay."

"Bravo," it showed its two rows of teeth. "And it worked, didn't it?"

"Now that you've told us, we're going to leave, and let you all die of hunger," Ezra was trying to sound brave, but I could hear the shakiness in his voice.

"Did you think it was going to be that easy?" the reaper sneered. "Did you think I would let that happen?"

"Do you know how powerful we are?"

There was the sound of wind whipping up, and then shadows began to coalesce into figures. My eyes began to burn when a horrid, ghastly smell seeped into the house. One by one the figures shaped themselves into reapers, the scratching and hissing sounds intensifying with every new breath.

Within seconds the entire house was jam-packed with more than thirty reapers, more than sixty menacing eyes fastened on us. The sunlight that came through the windows beamed down on them, but nothing happened. It made them a million times more intimidating.

"We are born from the shadows, and impenetrable to the sun," the reaper which was once Damon, locked both pools of yellow eyes on mine. "There is no way you can ever escape us now."

Ezra put an arm out before me, protecting me with his body. "Stay away from her," he warned. "If you harm her again, I swear-"

"You're gonna kill me?" the reaper let out a scornful laugh. "I am death."

As it skulked towards us, we backed away, Ezra still blocking me behind him. "She's innocent. If you want her, you'd have to get through me."

How could he still say those words? Did he not realize how many reapers there were in the room? How could he be so brave?

"Acting all manly, eh?" the reaper teased, flicking out its tongue. "It's just too bad you'll have to die this way..."

Without warning it lunged at Ezra, claws outstretched, jaws wide open.

I shut my eyes, and let out a maniacal, high-pitched scream.