Reaper

Chapter 17

"Anna!" Claire exclaimed. The figure moved towards us, Anna letting out occasional whimpers as they moved.

"Shut up, you little brat," the figure hissed venomously. Anna fell silent, something that scared me. They stopped when they were a few feet away from us and I was finally able to completely see the person holding Anna. Claire sucked in a sharp breath and the boy smirked, his pale blue eyes glimmering wickedly. "So you're the little girl that my brother was talking about," he sneered

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not a little girl," I said, anger starting to seep into my voice. "Let my sister go."

"Oh, this brat?" His gaze moved between me and Anna for a moment before his eyes settled on Anna. "You certainly don't look like sisters."

"She's still my sister. Now let her go."

"Why? She was caught trespassing on private property. That deserves a punishment," he growled.

"There's no indication that this is private property."

"Everyone knows this area is private." His eyes narrowed as they moved between me, Lauren, and Claire. "That includes the little bastard that you brought with you."

Claire gasped softly but I continued to glare at Travis. "I don't have any clue as to what you're talking about."

"You brought the Palmer boy with you."

"Leave Thomas alone!" Anna cried. "He didn't do anything."

"Be quiet, you brat," he growled, roughly pulling on Anna's arm. A whimper escaped her but she fell silent nonetheless.

A low growl came from my left where Claire stood. "What do you want from us, Travis?"

"Well, that's easy; I want you to leave and stay away from our house."

"That isn't the only thing that you want," Lauren argued. "What do you want." It sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

Travis let out a sigh, sounding bored with us. "Oh, alright. I also want both of these little bitches to die along with the two boys that are in the barn and that bastard Palmer boy."

"Why do you want us to die?" I asked, clenching my fists.

"Your kind are a plague and you need to be eradicated."

"And what, exactly, is so bad about my kind?"

"You're nothing but trouble, pain, and misery. Countless people have been hurt or killed because of your people and it must come to an end." Contempt filled his blue eyes and his face seemed to darken. Dark, muddy red seemed to violently pulse around him.

I faintly felt a sting of pain as my fingernails dug into my palms. Stepping closer to Travis, I said through clenched teeth, "You know nothing of my people. We are not the monsters that you us out to be. People die every day of any and ever cause, not just because of elementals. Some of my family may have hurt mundane people, but they did so unintentionally. My siblings and I have done nothing to your family; there is no reason to harm any of us."

"Oh, I beg to differ, my dear. You know so little about your eldest brother. You see, when we were children, Aiden and I were close friends."

My eyes widened. "That can't be true. Aiden would never be friends with someone like you."

"You have a very rude awakening ahead of you, Morgana." He laughed but it was dark and chilling, sending a shiver down my spine. "Aiden had me fooled for so long. He actually made me care about him," he growled, contempt spilling into his voice. "I pity you; there are things about your family that would terrify you if you knew."