The Reaper

Chapter 10: Enter Claire

"Janice, did you have to come with me?" I asked. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the company, it was just that having her there made it harder to concentrate on my job.

"Of course," she replied, tone completely serious.

"Just... don't break anything, okay?" I said, turning a corner.

"This is a very nice house."

"Manor," I corrected, "Worthington Manor. At least, it was. Mrs. Worthington didn't have any children, and anyone else she could pass this place down to is also deceased, so soon it won't be the Worthington Manor anymore."

"Shut up. By the way, I think your scythe wants you upstairs."

I looked up, and Ares was indeed attempting to pull me up the long, spiral staircase. I pulled him back before making my way up the dizzily winding staircase. Janice, of course, followed me.

As soon as we were upstairs, Ares begun to drag me down the hall. Until he stopped at the bathroom.

"She died in the bathroom?" I asked. It seemed like such an unceremonious place for a forty year old aristocrat to pass away. Still, I opened to door to see... nothing?

Well, not nothing exactly. There was a woman there, but she was very much alive. In fact, she was sitting on the bathtub, reading a magazine, and humming a song I reckognized as Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Set it Off.

"My, you're late. I was expecting you here about ten minutes ago!" she exclaimed, looking at a nonexistent watch on her wrist.

"Who are you?" Janice asked, reaching for her weapon.

"Claire," the woman said, smiling, "and who might  you be?"

"Janice."

"Lovely name. Listen, I took care of the spirit already."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, human spirits are very valuable in the market. So, I sold it," She smiled again, tucking a blonde lock behind her head.

"You mean you just gave it away?"

She clicked her tounge. "And I thought you were supposed to be smart." she chirped.

Janice scowled. "Can we trust you?"

Claire shrugged. "Perhaps at the moment. As for the future, who knows?"

"Listen, lady. We don't need any of your cryptic bullshit," Janice said.

"Cryptic? No, my dear. You are simply not listening."

"Well, if you already took care of business, why are you still here?" I inquired, brow raised.

"Just wanted to chat. Now, I must be off." she offered me a smile.

Janice, being Janice, glared at her as she left. "Well. That was something."

"It certainty was," I agreed.

"You think she's dangerous?"

"She is powerful enough to move a spirit without help," I said.

Janice cocked her head. "So, you're saying she's not human?"

"Most likely, no. But there's no way to tell if she's an enemy or not."

Janice nodded. "We should go. Maybe Randy has information about her."

I shrugged. If Randy did have info, it would be helpful. We did need to know who we could trust, and who we couldn't. But, so far Claire had only gotten us out of work. She seemed more crazy than evil, although one could often be mistaken for the other.

I just hoped I hadn't mistaken evil for crazy.

Authors Note: And here we have Claire, the sort of main villain for the book. I've had her planned out for a while, and I am in love with her. I think she's one of the best I've thought up. Anyway, hope you enjoy.