Chapter Nine
Walking, no- TRUDGING through the filth with my scythe strapped to my back, I followed Grace as she led us out.
I sighed. 'This stink is going to stick on me for ages.'
'I'm just glad I didn't have to Phase.' Grace laughed, caught my expression and stopped. 'Sorry.'
'Yeah, whatever.' I crossed my arms in annoyance. 'Are we almost there?'
Grace stopped suddenly, and I ran into her. Looking up, I saw we stood in a puddle of both artificial and moonlight, minutes away from dawn.
'Oh.' I smiled.
Grace began climbing up the manhole whilst I scratched my nose and started humming 'Need you like a drug' by Zeromancer.
'Just take your time.' I called as Grace laboured.
'I'm just gratifying in the fact that I get to go first, and so whatever comes off my shoes you'll have to touch.' She beamed, showing off her braces.
'Uncool.' I warned. Voices echoed up, and it was the obvious that the owners were still faraway but I didn't want to run into anyone. If they were ordinary mortals I didn't want to explain what I was doing down here (my scythe had dissapeared again) and if they were ShapeShifters, I wouldn't be able to get close to taking them down, especially down here.
'Grace!' I hissed.
'Hang on.' She called back down. 'Keep your pants on.'
'Hurry up! There's people down here!'
'I'm just opening it now...' Her voice was strained with exertion.
'Oh no!' One of the voices obviously male but surprisingly young, yelled.
'Flash flood!' A young girl's voice called.
'Flash- what?' I cried as a tidal wave of...'water' ran towards me.
'Oh shi-'
***
I sat on the bonnet of Grace's elongated red Mazda 6, out on a broken down bridge in one of the biggest, fairly isolated fields in Ireland. Below the bridge was a far-flowing river that could put the Thames River to shame.
Because my life is just SO glamorous, I happened to have to crawl out of it.
Grace sat beside me; turning to me, she said, 'You smell like a toilet.'
Facing her, I said, 'Bite me.'
***
The massive, high-fenced backyard had been tricked out into an obstacle course/weightroom/weaponry builder-fixer set up, and overrall was pretty cool.
Sharpening my scythe on a stone-and-metal wheel thing (I don't know what they're called. Like a buffing wheel but not) I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
Clouds hung in the sky, not quite covering the sun and making it muggy.
Just as I was about to start sharpening the scythe again, a voice beside me said, 'Shouldn't you be wearing safety goggles for that?'
'Aah!' I jumped back and fell, tripping over a dumbell. Jensen looked down on me, laughing slightly.
'Nice to see you too, love.'
Propping myself up with my scythe, it quivered under my hands and the tattoo burned.
'What do you want?' I snapped.
'Do you reckon we bicker so much is because of the sexual tension? Becuase I think you like me.' He said, studying his fingernails as if he were bored.
'Sexual tension?!' I almost fell back again. 'The only tension I have over you is the headache I get when I'm decided whether or not to kill you and send you to Hell so you'll stop annoying me!'
Like you're meant to kill him, a voice in my head said.
I stood, ignoring the voice.
'Surely even a Reaper like yourself couldn't possibly be so bitter.' He looked at me.
'I'm not a Reaper.' I said. 'And I'm not bitter. I just don't like you.'
'Oh.' He nodded, smiling slightly and showing one of his fangs. 'Ugh, what's that smell?'
'What?'
'You smell like a toilet.' He beautiful face pulled down into a grimace.
Needless to say, I seethed.
'I do not!' I cried. 'You try going through the sewers and getting caught by a flash flood!'
Jensen chuckled. 'You're so cute when you spazz out.'
I couldn't stop the flush from heating my cheeks.
'Anyway, I heard about your little ShapeShifter...problem.'
'Where'd you hear that?' I asked darkly.
'When a Rogue Demon Hunter gets as badly humilated as you did, word travels fast.' He laughed again. 'Anyway, I'd like to help you.'
'No way, in Hell.' I said without hesitation.
'Please Alex?' His blue eyes pleaded with my green ones.
I sighed, shut my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. 'Wanna tell me why I'm considering this?'
'Don't act like you don't know, Hunter.' Jensen spat suddenly, and I opened my eyes.
'What?'
He sighed. 'Look, needless to say I've got HellHounds on my ass and I thought maybe helping the weak and hopeless could help my case.'
'And I'm classified as the 'weak and hopeless'?'
He smiled wickedly, setting my stomach aflame.
But in a good way.
'OK, fine.' I started walking back to the house. Over my shoulder, I called, 'And by the way, I may be desperate, but I'm not hopeless.'
