The Reapers (The Hunted Series Book 1) Read online

  Nivian picked a machine off to the side that would give her space and still let her observe the humans. She lifted the lid of the machine and dumped all of her clothes into the opening and poured in a few cups of the soap she bought. The box had a picture of a lemon on it. She picked it out because the bright yellow and green color of packaging had caught her eye.

  Nivian took out the roll of quarters and looked at the machine in confusion, checking the sides and the front. She had no idea where to place the roll.

  Most of the humans were just sitting around playing on small devices or reading magazines. She looked around at the few people who were moving about. Catching a glimpse of one girl pulling individual quarters from her roll and placing them in the slot on the top of the machine, Nivian echoed her movements. Pushing buttons she turned a dial until the machine began to make noise and shake. Pleased with herself, she went and sat down in the corner to wait. Humans did do a lot of things the hard way.

  She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, relaxing as the hum of the machines began to lull her. A thumping noise jolted her out of her relaxed state. The noise grew louder and louder with each turn. Her eyes shot open. Her face paled; all eyes were now on her. Quickly glancing around, she spotted her machine—the only one moving violently. It rocked back and forth, smashing into its neighboring contraptions. Nivian jumped up and ran to the machine just as bubbles starting pouring out in a steady stream. The humans stared at her with a strange and horrified expression. She jumped up on the machine in an attempt to tackle it into submission.

  How was she supposed to calm this thing down?

  Kain

  Sitting on an orange hard plastic chair, Kain stared down at his phone. He contemplated calling the number back and demanding to know what it was about before he’d agree to meet anyone. At that moment, a loud banging noise from the front end of the laundromat caught his attention. People shouted. Curiosity got the best of him, and he placed his phone in his pocket, walking over to see what the commotion was. The sight that greeted him was beyond anything he would have ever expected. He didn’t know whether to help, laugh, or both.

  A girl with dark brown hair, covered in suds, drenched from head to toe, had thrown her body on top of a washer and appeared to be trying to wrestle the overflowing machine. Kain jogged over to her, slid her off, and lifted the lid of the machine, stopping its wild ride. The girl slid to the ground, landing on her butt. She brought her knees up to her chest and covered her head with her hands.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. She cringed deeper into herself. The girl was extremely embarrassed. He knelt down to her. “Was this washer trying to attack you?” he joked, offering her a hand to help her up. She sat unmoving on the ground breathing deeply. After several moments, she dropped her hands and lifted her head to meet his gaze. His smile fell, his hand dropped to his side. Her cheeks were stained red, and she looked as though she would rather crawl into a hole than get up and have people stare at her.

  “Thank you,” she said, biting her lip, her eyes looking down and away. Taking one last deep breath, she took his offered hand and let him pull her up. She tried brushing herself off as though she was only covered in dirt. When that didn’t work, she gripped the edges of her sweater and twisted it, water pouring out.

  He was staring, but he didn’t care. Those eyes. Pale blue and rimmed with the longest and thickest dark lashes he’d ever seen. He would know them anywhere. It was her. She’d dyed her hair and cut it.

  She was miserable and dripping wet—like a rain cloud personified, all dark and gloomy and creating puddles everywhere. The thought of her flying over the city, singing about being a rain cloud made him chuckle.

  She tilted her head.

  “So is this where you were going to do it? ‘Mr. Evers, in the laundromat with the washer?’” He nudged her arm with his elbow.

  “Sorry?” Her eyebrows furrowed together, as she dropped her hands to her sides.

  “Never mind.” He shook his head. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  “Of course I do. This machine is broken. Laundry can’t be that hard.”

  Laundry wasn’t hard. However, it was clear she had no idea what she was doing. Kain looked inside the washer. She had beyond packed it with clothes: darks, lights, bright colors, and an overabundance of suds. No, she really didn’t know the first thing about laundry.

  “Well, first, you have way too many items in this one load, and you have your darks with your whites and colors. Second, you used half a bottle of dish soap,” Kain looked down into the overly stuffed washer. “Have you ever done laundry before?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “No, ugh.” She looked down at herself. Her clothes were dripping with milky water. It felt heavy and gross. Nivian reached for the hem of her sweater and began to pull up. Kain’s eyes widened as her bare stomach came into view. She clearly didn’t have another shirt on underneath.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, harshly pushing her arms back down. Looking around, he checked to see if any of the other patrons had seen anything. They didn’t. They were all looking at their laps or out the window again, absorbed in their own personal worlds, hoping no one would talk to them.

  “I’m all wet, in case you missed that part,” she huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at his chest.

  “You can’t just take your clothes off in public. Come with me,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her to where his pile of clean folded clothes sat.

  “This matches your eyes.” He picked up a thick, sky blue hoodie and handed her the oversized sweater.

  “My eyes?” she asked, confused.

  “Yes. The bathroom is over there,” He pointed to the door with a stick figure wearing a dress painted on it. “That’s where you change.”

  Nivian

  Nivian walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Leaning against it, she let out a heavy sigh. Her mark had saved her. He wasn’t acting like she expected a hunter to behave. He was being kind to her. Heat made its way up her neck. She pulled the sweater that had already begun to form a small puddle under her feet, over her head, and dropped it to the floor. Looking around, she realized that the bathroom didn’t have any towels for her to dry off with. She planted her forehead against the door, and cursed herself. A knock on the door startled her, making her jump.

  “It’s me. I have a towel—if you want it.” Kain’s voice was hesitant. His nerves showing as he cleared his throat.

  A smile formed on her lips. She held the soft hoodie over her chest and opened the door. Kain stared down at her, wide-eyed. He swallowed loudly, shoved the towel at her, and pulled the door shut.

  “Kain?” Nivian asked through the door.

  There was a long pause before he answered. “Yes?”

  What was she going to do, ask him for a temporary truce? Just until she could get her scythe and end his life, that is. He would never go for it. She rolled her eyes at herself. “Uh… Never mind. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  Quickly drying off, Nivian pulled the light blue hoodie over her head. It was still a little warm from the dryer. She looked in the scratched up mirror. Her eyes were still ice blue, having forgotten to change them earlier in the day. Blinking once, they shifted into the dark brown they should be. She didn’t want to stick out in the human world, not when she didn’t have her cloak with her. She smoothed out her hair that had managed to take on the look of a drowned rat after her duel with the crazy machine.

  Rubbing her forehead, she mentally kicked herself for not having the foresight to at least bring her cloak with her, even if she wasn’t going to use it. Her stupid desire to do everything the human way today had caused her to be careless and leave it at home. All she wanted was the experience and challenge of it. Not to be tempted by the way she regularly traveled to get things done. Nivian sighed. It wouldn’t be long before she was back at her apartment and would have her cloak and scythe. She was just glad he didn’t see
m to want to kill her while she was unarmed.

  Nivian walked out of the small bathroom to find Kain putting her clothes in one of the large dryers on the wall. She walked up behind him and watched as he untangled all her items and tossed them in the dryer.

  “Here, hand me that and we can dry it with the rest of your stuff,” he said, pointing at the wet sweater she held. He was completely unfazed by her standing at his unguarded back. Maybe asking for a truce wasn’t necessary. He wrung it out over the washer she had been using. There was still a large puddle of water around it. “You sit down and make sure no one slips on this mess. I’m going to find a bucket and mop to clean it up with.”

  Nivian nodded and sat in a chair and faced the aisle she had turned into a temporary lake.

  Nivian watched in embarrassment, as Kain cleaned up the mess and returned the mop and bucket to the employee. The kid gave him a dismissive thumbs-up and waved him off.

  Kain walked back over to where Nivian sat and joined her. They sat side-by-side and waited for their clothes to dry, both stared straight ahead in silence. Neither knowing what to say.

  “Well, this is awkward,” he announced after a while. “I’m Kain.” He gave her a broad grin and stuck out his hand.

  “I know,” she said, looking down at his hand, blinking at the unfamiliar gesture. Was this guy for real?

  “This is the part where you shake my hand and tell me your name,” he whispered loudly, holding his other hand up to the side of his face, as though he was telling her a secret no one else could hear.

  Nivian furrowed her brows together and paused, giving his hand a look that suggested it was a rotting fish. Just when Kain was about to give up, she gingerly slipped her hand into his and said, “Nivian.”

  “Nice to meet you, Nivian. After this, would you like to grab a bite?”

  She leaned away from him with a look of horror on her face. “I don’t bite.” She said indignantly.

  “No. A bite to eat—food.” He shook his head. “Wow, they must have done a number on you.”

  Nivian looked down at her feet, heat crept up her neck and stained her cheeks. “No one did anything to me. It’s a lonely job. I don’t spend much time with people, and you say really strange things sometimes.” She looked up at him, and her wide, brown eyes held a look of alarm. “Don’t get me wrong I love my job, it’s just that I spend most of my time by myself,” she corrected herself quickly.

  She wouldn’t get in any trouble with Silas if she did hate her job and made it known to him directly. In fact, she loved her job, but like any job it had at least one drawback, hers just happened to be a lack of social time with others. Reapers were solitary beings, rarely interacting outside of assignments. She had spent more time with Caspian than normal recently, but it was business-related and had only increased lately due to the mark she currently sat next to. Nivian worried a small hole in the cuff of the oversized hoodie.

  “Is that a yes to getting food then?” he asked, the corner of his mouth lifting up into a smirk.

  Nivian glanced up at him. He was attractive for a mortal. His chestnut-brown hair was just a little messy all the time—in a way that looked as though he had styled it that way—with strands falling in front of his eyes. The way he smiled down at her made her tongue tie itself in knots. She didn’t understand why he flustered her in this way. Returning his smile, she nodded. She was after the human experience, right?

  “Great! I know this awesome place just down the road. Our clothes will be finished soon; we can just drop them off at our apartment on the way.” His grin turned into a full-blown smile. Nivian couldn’t remember seeing anyone smile so big at such a small thing.

  Giving him a sidelong glance, she asked, “Our apartment?”

  “Apartments. Our—separate apartments—that just happen to be in the same building now.” Kain’s expression fell, as he awkwardly stumbled over his words. “Sorry, I am a little flustered around you. You just seem so strange, I’m not sure what to say…”

  Nivian gave him a half-smile, placing a finger over his mouth to quiet him. “You’re rambling.”

  She watched the tension leave his body, as his lips lifted into a smile once again. He did that a lot. And she found herself doing it more since he’d rescued her.

  They continued to sit, waiting for their clothes to finish in the dryer, and looking straight ahead, neither one speaking. This was the second time they had spoken to each other. Nivian was beginning to think he wasn’t as dangerous as she had been led to believe. Occasionally sneaking a glance at him out of the corner of her eye, she watched expressions flit across his face, while he attempted to find something they could talk about.

  It’s actually a little charming. She thought, her mouth forming a crooked smile.

  Fifteen

  Nivian

  Nivian and Kain walked, each holding their bag of clothes. The tension reverberated between them, creating an awkward silence. Nivian sighed. He might be her mark, but she was relieved he’d been there to help her out. As they left the laundromat, he had promised to show her how to properly do laundry next time. Nivian had excitedly agreed—until she realized it wasn’t likely to happen. He was still a mark she needed to finish sooner rather than later. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment as she eyed him out of the corner of her eye. It was too bad; they could have been really close friends. Kain would’ve been able to show her more human behaviors, like cooking and driving.

  They walked up the stairs of their shared apartment building, parting ways when they reached Kain’s floor and agreed to meet back down in the foyer.

  Nivian was already waiting next to the mailboxes when Kain reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “Where are we going?” Nivian asked, pushing away from the wall.

  “It’s this great burger place down the road. Not many people seem to know about it,” he said. “That just means there’s more for me.” He added, winking playfully.

  Nivian couldn’t help but smile at his good-natured manner. Shaking her head she kept her eyes ahead of her.

  “What? You’re not a vegetarian, are you?” Concern filled his eyes, hoping he didn’t just make a big mistake with her.

  “No. I just don’t need to eat.”

  “You don’t eat?” Kain grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

  “I can eat if I want to, I just don’t need to in order to survive. I’m not alive like you. It’s such a weird process. Putting stuff in your face hole and smashing it around, then waiting as it travels…” Nivian stopped, seeing the expression on his face, and wondered if she had made a mistake. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “You’re just very weird.”

  Giving her a half-cocked smile, Kain motioned for them to keep going. They continued to walk the few remaining blocks to the small hole in the wall diner he had picked out.

  Kain stopped walking; a large grin plastered all over his face. “Best food in town. You will love it, I promise,” Kain announced, licking his lips.

  Nivian looked around and only saw a thin yellow door with peeling paint. She smiled awkwardly as he held the door open for her, motioning her to walk in first. She hesitated.

  “I—I’m not sure this is such a good idea.”

  “It’ll be okay. You’re missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures, and I intend to remedy that.”

  The outside was run down and easy to miss. There was no sign above the door to draw in new customers. Inside, the diner was clean and had the vintage feel of the sixties. A bold red, neon sign announced “Betty’s Diner” above the stainless steel counter that ran from wall to wall cutting the room in half, only leaving a small square space for a half-dozen tables. Round, swiveling stools padded with bright teal upholstery lined the front of the perfectly polished counter. On the right wall, three red neon signs glowed “Burgers,” “Fries,” “Malts.” The floor had a black and white checkered pattern. Small two-person booths ran along the windo
w at the front.

  “Kain!” An older woman in her fifties walked up to Kain and gave him a big hug, “It’s been a while. Where have you been?”

  “I’ve just been keeping busy at work.”

  Beatrice smiled at him, waving her hands at Nivian. “And who is this lovely young lady?” Her face brightened.

  “This is my friend, Niv. I saved her from a washer today.”

  “Nice to meet you, Niv.” Beatrice grabbed two menus and ushered them to a booth in the corner. Kain placed his hand on the small of her back at the contact. A shiver shot down Nivian’s spine at the contact. The sensation flowed through her body and settled in her fingertips. She jerked away slightly and eyed him. If he noticed anything, he wasn’t letting on.

  Weird. Maybe our powers are clashing against each other… She took a seat across from him. She flexed her fingers, willing the tingle to stop.

  “I’ll be back in just a moment to take your orders.” Beatrice flitted off to greet another customer just walking through the door.

  “Niv?” she whispered to him, watching Beatrice walk away, her forehead creasing in annoyance.

  “What? You don’t like it?” he asked, shrugging and looked down to scan the menu.

  “No. My name is Nivian,” she bristled and picked up her menu. If she wanted him to call her ‘Niv,' she would have told him that was her name.

  Grudgingly, she looked down at the menu—she had no idea what to order. This was something she never thought about. Cooking—yes. Eating—no. She looked up at Kain, who gave a nod to his menu before closing and placing it on the table.

  “I’m getting the cheeseburger and fries. What are you getting?”

  “The same,” Nivian answered, quickly folding her menu and setting it down in the same fashion.

  Kain smiled inwardly, as if he understood she was just going to get whatever he ordered. Nivian looked at him, stone-faced, and he looked back. "Are you trying to have a staring contest or attempting to set me on fire with your mind?"