Reaper

Written in blood

Out of all the places Vanessa had spent her nights in, Ryder’s house had to be the safest. He had never allowed any of his guests or servants to be harmed. But now, the only safe haven for David and Vanessa had been desecrated by some terrible evil.

“This can’t be happening! Who could have done such a thing?” David had never seen anything like this in his entire career. There were a total of 5 dead bodies and a severed head. The servants and butlers didn’t even have the chance to put up a fight. “There are no signs of struggle anywhere. How can someone just come in and s*******r an entire household?”

Vanessa was still examining the gruesome scene when she noticed a message on the wall of the living room. It was written in human blood.

“COME OUT RYDER! WE ARE WAITING!”

She knew whoever had slaughtered the servants might still be inside and so she cautioned David. “Keep your senses alert. We are not dealing with a simple serial killer here. This is the work of an evil entity.”

“I can sense it too. There is a dark aura in the air, but it isn’t too strong. I don’t think the creature is here anymore,” David replied.

Vanessa unzipped her leather jacket at the neck and pulled out a tooth shaped green crystal radiating a faint light. As she held it out in the open, it quickly changed color and turned a shade of bloody red.  She clutched it tightly in her trembling fingers and slipped it back inside. Turning to David, she exclaimed in fear, “This was the work of a demon.”

“A demon?” David reeled in shock.

“Yes, and I think I know which one. This demon was sent specifically to target Ryder.”

“Who was it?”

“It was Andras, a Marquis of Hell. He is known by many names, but chiefly as the ‘destroyer of households’. He is only sent upon this earth by Lucifer’s will, to hunt down his enemies and eliminate their bloodline.”

“Lucifer? You mean the devil?”

“Yes, the ruler of hell, the fallen angel who lords over the 9 kings of hell and all their subordinates.”

“We should inform Ryder immediately!”

“Let’s hope he is fine.” Vanessa dialed Ryder’s number from her cell phone and waited for him to pick up. She began pacing around the room, with the phone pressed against her ear. “I can’t reach him. His phone is switched off. This is bad!”

“What do we do now?” David asked.

“If the greater demons have found their way on to this world, there will be no place to hide. We have to prepare for the worst. You are going to need a Reaper’s special weapon. Follow me.” Vanessa walked towards Ryder’s bookcase.

She took out a book bound in scarlet leather. Its pages were blank and even its cover was unlettered. Flipping through the pages in a hurry, she found the bookmark she had been searching for. When the page was flicked aside, a silver key presented itself. It was no bigger than her thumb and had the letter ‘R’ etched on its head. She took it out and returned the book to the bookcase.

David followed her to Ryder’s room, which she unlocked with the silver key. Once inside she hurried towards the fireplace. There was a stag’s head mounted on top.

“Draconus Daemonum,” she chanted.

The stag’s eyes flashed red and the fireplace parted in the middle to reveal a narrow, soot covered passage lit with torches on either side.

Vanessa took one of the torches from the wall and entered the passageway. David trailed behind her, keeping his eyes in front and his hands on the gun. The dark path led them to a small rectangular room with crumbling walls. A stream of bright white light issued forth from inside. They shaded their squinting eyes with their palm and slowly walked up to the source of light. When David’s eyes had readjusted to the sudden brightness, he slowly reopened them. Right in front of him floated a sword, encircled by a ring of white light.

“This is the Demon Killer, a sword which can only be wielded by a chosen Reaper. If we are to fight the demons, we need weapons which can harm them. Silver works against the lesser demons, but the greater demons are only vulnerable  to  angelic and demonic weapons” Vanessa looked at him and spoke with profound faith. “Go for it. Your destiny calls.”

David felt a rush of nervous excitement rush through his veins as he reached for the weapon. His fingers were almost burnt by the heat emanating from the weapon, but he gripped it tightly and pulled it out of the circle of light. The demonic katana flashed red in his hand, and he could swear he heard wails coming from inside the blade.

“What kind of a weapon is this? Are you sure it’s not cursed?” he asked.

“It’s not cursed, but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. This katana is a demonic weapon and you will hear voices from it from time to time. But don’t let that get inside your head. It may try to tempt you or taint your soul, but you must resist its darkness,” Vanessa replied.

“Will this be enough to defeat a demon?”

“In its empowered state it can even slice through the most powerful greater demons. This is no ordinary weapon. Its power grows with each enemy you slay with it. But its real potential lies in its wielder. Whenever you kill an enemy with this weapon, you will absorb its powers and gain special abilities.”

“I don’t even want to know how Ryder obtained it. This sounds incredibly twisted and powerful at the same time,” David exclaimed, gazing at his shiny new katana.

“There are many such demonic and angelic weapons on earth. You just need to look in the right places. In fact, your sword has a sister, a pure angelic counterpart which can absorb the power of the elements.”

“Ryder should have given me this weapon on the first day itself.” David’s voice sounded bolder than before as he admired the blade in his hand. “I will not let you down. Andras will pay. I will send him back to the hellhole he crawled out of.” The weapon had become a part of him now. His nervous face and trembling fingers had now took on an air of resolute confidence. He felt he could face any enemy right now.

“You were not ready to handle this power that’s why he kept it away from you. But now we don’t have any choice. This place isn’t safe anymore. We must go back to my place,” Vanessa urged. “Come on, it’s getting—”

Suddenly they heard a loud shriek! David felt a tingling sensation run along his spine and his lips tasted like sulfur. His ears pricked up and he listened closely to the noises outside. Sounds of agonized snarling came from the hallway downstairs.

David grasped the sword firmly in his right hand and grabbed the silver Beretta with his left. He could sense the dark aura spreading through the mansion.

“I hear them all salivating. There are demons waiting for us outside. They have picked up our scent.”