The Ghost Lioness of Phantom Moon

Chapter 12 - Shifter vs Reaper

Amelia stared in horror at the large white lioness standing before her. She glanced down to look for her knife and saw it right by Aya’s paw. Aya lifted her paw and stomped on the handle of the knife, breaking it. If Amelia wanted to use it again, she would end up hurting herself in the process.

“I heard a rumor about you. I didn’t want to believe it. I heard about a giant ghost lion that haunted the grounds where Caelan lives. I thought it was strange that those rumors started after he brought you in. I did some research and found out that you are a shifter and shifters don’t like silver. I brought a back up.” Amelia sneered as she lifted the skirt of her dress and pulled a sheathed knife from a holder on her shin. Amelia lunged for Aya and narrowly missed her front leg. A bit of fur was taken off. The alley was almost too small for Aya to maneuver around in. Caelan pulled a pistol he kept in a holster in the back of his belt under his coat. He tried to keep it aimed at Amelia, but she and Aya kept moving too much. When he thought he had a shot, he took it. The bullet just missed Amelia’s shoulder and embedded itself in the brick wall behind her. She turned her attention to him and ran toward him with the knife above her head. Aya turned toward him and ran to stop Amelia.

“You should never have been born! If it weren’t for your mother, I would have married your father!” she screamed as she swung the knife at him. Aya moved in front of Caelan and a sharp pain ripped through her stomach. She let out a grunt of pain and stiffened. Pain shot through Sylas’s stomach and he gripped the weapon Greg had by the motor and ripped it out of his hands. His shoulder was cut open in the process. Sylas shoved the blade into Greg’s stomach and ran to Aya. Blood had started to pool under her feet as the knife remained in her stomach. She was glaring down at Amelia, her teeth bared, and her jaw wrapped around Amelia’s neck. Sylas placed a hand on his shoulder and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

“Aya, are you alright?” he asked in the link.

“If you can pull the knife out, I will be. It’s silver. I can’t heal the wound with the blade in my skin.” she replied. Sylas reached out and pulled the knife from Aya’s stomach. The bleeding slowed to a trickle almost instantly. Aya let out a relieved breath and tightened her grip on Amelia’s neck. Her teeth broke skin and blood dripped onto her tongue.

“Aya, let her go. I’ll see to it that she answers for her crimes. We’ll take her to the manor for now and take her to Scotland Yard in the morning. She’ll rot in a cell for the rest of her life.” Caelan said. Aya huffed, but opened her mouth and let Amelia fall to the ground. Caelan helped Amelia to stand. Once she was on her feet, the blade from Greg’s weapon burst through her chest from her back. Her lifeless body fell to the ground and Greg stood behind her. His wound was nearly healed.

“I must say, I’m surprised to see one of your kind playing butler. I’m only disappointed in myself that I didn’t catch it sooner.” Sylas said. Aya looked at him in confusion. Caelan took off his coat and draped it over Amelia’s face and chest.

“What do you mean, his kind?” Caelan asked.

“He is not human. He is what humans call a reaper. They all have bright green eyes, but you were hiding that. It’s what caught me off guard.” Sylas explained. Greg chuckled.

“You’re surprised? Imagine my surprise to see a demon playing butler. Not everyday you see that.” he said. He grabbed his weapon and went to leave, but Aya moved to block his path.

“Aya, don’t. He’s stronger than what you might think.” Sylas warned. She growled in response and bared her teeth at Greg. He pointed the blade at her and started the motor. Sylas started to move, but Caelan stopped him.

“Not yet. It’s bad enough I stopped her from killing Amelia. Greg took that from her all together.” Caelan said in a low voice. Sylas nodded, but didn’t look happy. He watched as his still wounded mate circled around a freshly healed reaper. A clap of thunder sounded and that was Aya’s cue to make the first move. She leapt over the blade and swiped her claws at Greg’s face. He swung the blade up toward her front legs and cut one open. She roared in pain and landed awkwardly next to him. He slashed at her again, but she rolled out of the way. She got to her feet and ran behind him and bit into his bicep. He shouted and turned quickly, cutting her back with the blade. The motor made the smaller blades rotate quickly along the longer blade, so when it cut her, a piece of flesh was removed. Each little cut took away a small chunk.

After several minutes, Aya was barely able to stand, while Greg looked bored. He was about to attack Aya again when she jumped up and tackled him with her jaw around his neck. She bit hard and drew blood. She had his arms pinned under her front paws, so he couldn’t hit her with his blade. She was about to bite into his carotid artery when a metal pole impaled her through her stomach from above. She released Greg’s throat and screamed in pain. The pole was removed and she fell to the side.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to simply kill him, as much of a hassle as he is.” a voice said from above them. Another man jumped down from the roof next to them. Greg looked up at him and he smiled.

“Wyatt! Am I happy to see you! Are you here to rescue me?” Greg asked. Wyatt sighed and grabbed Greg by the collar of his coat and dragged him along. He approached Caelan and Sylas.

“I do apologize for the trouble this one caused. He broke several of our rules and will be punished accordingly.” He bowed to Caelan and Sylas. When he stood again, he wore a sneer and said,

“I hate having to apologize to a rabid dog like you. Demons are such a nuisance.” He walked down the alley and disappeared into the darkness. Sylas rushed to Aya’s side and knelt beside her. She was barely breathing.

“Is there anything I can do to help you heal?” he asked.

“I need you to cover me with your coat. It’s too much of a strain to stay in this form. I can heal faster if Nova takes over. Also, can you carry us? Being with our mate heals us faster.” Aya replied in a weak voice. Sylas quickly shed his coat and draped it over Aya’s body. She shifted back to Nova and he carefully picked her up and carried her to the carriage. Caelan got inside and Sylas held Nova close to him as they went back to the manor.

Once they got back, Sylas rushed Nova to her room and laid her down on the bed. He started hot water running in the tub in her bathroom and put the plug in the drain. Once the tub began to fill, he picked her up from the bed and carefully set her in the tub. When it was full, he turned the water off and started washing where the cuts hadn’t started to heal yet. Ellie rushed in and started to panic when she saw Nova. Sylas shushed her and she stopped.

“She’ll be alright. She said she needed her mate next to her to heal faster. I thought it would help to clean her wounds. It seems to be helping, they’re closing already.” Sylas said in a low voice. Ellie apologized and quietly left the room. After a few minutes, Nova’s eyes fluttered open.

“Sylas? Where am I?” she asked.

“We’re home. I’m cleaning your wounds. Aya said you needed to be near your mate to heal faster. Don’t you remember the fight with Greg? Then that other one impaled you with a metal pole. Do you remember that?” he asked in a worried tone.

“I remember the first few minutes of the fight, then the pain got so bad I passed out. I think Aya was driven by pure anger.” Nova replied in a weak voice. Sylas kissed the tip of her nose and cleaned her wounds more. When he was sure they were all closed, he drained the tub and helped her to stand. While she dried off, he rinsed the bloody weather from the tub and helped her to bed. Nova stopped and Sylas turned to look at her.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” he asked.

“Can you stay with me tonight? I understand if you need to talk with the master about tonight.” Nova said, looking down at the floor. Sylas took her hands and lifted them up to his face. He kissed the backs of her hands and took her face in his hands to gently lift her face to look into his eyes.

“I can stay with you for as long as you want. Get into bed, I just need to tell him where I’ll be for tonight. I’ll be back before you know it.” he said. A small smile played on Nova’s face and she slipped out of his hands and climbed onto her bed. She snuggled under the covers and waited for him to return. She was shaken awake later by Sylas.

“You fell asleep in only three minutes. You must be more worn out than I realized. Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked in a worried tone. Nova gave a sleepy chuckle and pulled him to lie down beside her.

“I’ll be fine now that you’re here. I’ll be completely healed in the morning. Maybe a bit stiff from the fight, but otherwise fully restored. It’s been a long time since we were in a fight that brutal.” she said in a tired voice. She moved Sylas’s arm to cover her as she turned to curl into his side. In seconds, she was breathing steadily and deeply. Sylas laid beside her all night, hoping that she would be alright like she said. He had never felt anything like that before. He was thankful to whatever thought he deserved gifts like Nova and Aya. It made him want to talk to Caelan about the terms of their contract. He made a mental note to talk to him about it later. After the Jack the Ripper business was over with.