"Raven...Raven, honey. Wake up." I scrunched my eyes and tossed in my sleep. Something shook my shoulder and I opened my eyes expecting the Other Side, but instead, my mom was sitting on my bed beside me with a worried look. "You need to get up before you're late for school. You're father has some pancakes made for when you're ready."
I looked around my room in confusion. How did I get here? I snatched the blankets off finding that my dress was gone and was replaced with my old t-shirt and pajama bottoms. "How did I get here? Where's Damian?"
Mom looked at me confused, "What are you talking about, sweetie? You've been home since you came in from school yesterday, and I've never heard you mention a Damian. Is he new at school?"
I shook my head and scrambled out of bed. I remember being at the party and then Lucia came...."Orion has them all...." Mom touches my wrist, "What now? Who are you talking about, you're really worrying me, Raven." I looked down at her hand grasped around mine, and hope filled me. The black skull was still tattooed there.
"Okay, sorry. I'm up." She smiled with worry still on her face, but she left none the less. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a Paramore t-shirt. I slid on some old sneakers and opened the window to the drop below. I climbed onto the roof, slid to the edge in my butt, and dropped letting my heightened strength absorb the shock.
I ran through the forest until I came into an empty clearing where I knew the house was supposed to be, but there was nothing. I tried to step into the clearing, but my foot wouldn't pass as if there was a sheet of glass preventing my entrance. I kicked at the barrier and a shock ran through my body making me fall to the ground in spasms screaming.
When the spasms finally stopped, I stood up and brushed the dirt from my clothes and removed the stick in my hair. "I know it's here! Why won't you let me in?!" I eyed the invisible electric fence and decided to come back after school. I couldn't risk suspicion now that nobody remembers that I died and that I still am.
I ran back to the house, grabbed my pack, and ran to school. I was so glad my powers were still here. I sat through all the classes not bothering with any communication with the other students and rushed into the English class finding Damian's seat empty.
Mindy grabbed her usual seat and I turned to her, "What do you know about Damian Castellan?" She shook her head, "I don't know who that is. Where did you hear about him?" I shrugged, "Nowhere, I was just curious." She frowned, "You've been weird all day, Ray. Mind telling me what's up? I mean, you even got a tattoo."
I ran my fingers over the mark finding no connection to Damian though I've been trying all day. "It's nothing." She shook her head, "It's not 'nothing'! You act as if no one is important to you and that you could care less if you were even at school right now. Whoever this Damian guy is, I can see you care for him. Now tell me what's going on."
I closed my eyes in thought and remembered her grandmother. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of her seat and basically kidnapping her from the school. "Where are we going?! Class starts in five minutes!" I glanced back at her, "You want to be my friend, and I want to trust you. But I can't tell you what's going on, I have to show you."
She frowned and allowed me to pull her into the woods to the clearing. "Okay, a meadow in the woods. Nothing new." I smiled, "How do you feel about the woods?" She looked around, "Nothing special I guess." I smiled, "When I first came to Red Creek, everyone told me that it was dangerous and that I should never go there. You even said it yourself. Do you know why? Because it's home to the Castellans. Reapers."
Mindy frowned, "I don't know about any of that." I nodded, "Alright, well what about my funeral? I died a couple weeks ago and everyone from school attended. I even attended myself." She frowned again, "You're not dead, and there definitely wasn't a funeral. I would remember if my friend died."
"You don't believe me? Feel my pulse." She stared at me for what seemed like forever before grabbing my wrist and closing her eyes in concentration before snapping her eyes open in horror. "Y-you don't have one." I nodded, "Because I died. I'm what's known as a Familiar. When a Reaper decides to save someone, they make a Familiar. The Familiar's duty is to repay their debt to the Reaper by becoming their servant for all eternity or until one of them dies. Again."
Mindy backed up from me with horror written all over her face. I held out my tattoo, "This is the mark of a Familiar. Damian Castellan has a matching one on his neck. Please believe me, there's no one else to trust with this. I can't even return to the mansion, there's some kind of force field surrounding the house so I can't see it or go there."
She looked at the empty field, "That's because there's nothing there. This is crazy." I shook my head, "Trust me, it's there. I tried this morning, and it tends to give a nasty shock when I try to pass." I took a deep breath and kicked the barrier receiving a worse shock than before.
I cried out and fell to the ground riding the spasms like waves on the ocean. "STOP, FAMILIAR. YOU ARE FORBIDDEN ENTRANCE TO THE CASTELLAN HOUSEHOLD. THE SHOCK WILL KEEP GETTING WORSE UNTIL YOU GIVE UP." I grimaced through the pain as the voice from the day I died echoed in my mind. "I-I'll never s-stop trying!" The voice laughed, and I could see Mindy's confusion and concern as she knelt beside me.
"I AM UNDER ORDERS FROM DAMIAN CASTELLAN AND LUCIA CASTELLAN. YOU ARE NOT TO RETURN TO THE REAPER WORLD." I shook my head as a tear rolled down my cheek, "A-and I say I-I will!" The voice was silent, "THEN YOU WILL SUFFER."
The tremors finally subsided and Mindy helped me to sit up, "Who were you talking to?" I frowned, "A voice. She was there when I died too. She's a real bitch." Mindy looked back at the empty field, "I believe you now. What are you going to do?"
I closed my eyes, "I'm going to keep hitting that wall until it breaks. I don't care if she punishes me, I'm going back to get them. Orion has them all somewhere in Limbo, and who knows what he's already done to them." She helped me to my feet, "So, do you have any weird powers or something?" I smiled, "Hell yeah I do." I touched the tattoo and something new filled me.
Ice flowed through my body and then concentrated at my palm. A sword hilt emerged from my skin at the tattoo. Shakily, I grabbed it, pulled, and a full on katana was pulled out of my arm and it seemed to be made of pure onyx. "Did you just pull a sword from your arm?" I nodded, "Pretty cool, huh? I guess it's my scythe. I've heard that we all get one, but this is my first time summoning it."
She nodded with a smile, "That is so cool." I grinned, "Yes it is."
