Inhuman - Reaped Pt. 02

~"They will see more than some of them can handle. Is your wolf with them?"~

"Becca?" Jake answers that question himself. "What the hell is going on in here?"

"Uhm, hey Jake," I call. "How many inhumans are with you right now?"

"About three, why?"

"I think my hallucinations are about to become your hallucinations."

~"I am real,"~ Charos whispered.

"What are you talking about, Becca? Why isn't anybody moving in there?" I could hear voices with Jake, but they weren't loud enough to make out the actual words.

"Because Death is in here with a big-ass pause button, and I think he's about to prove I'm not crazy. Says some of you won't be able to handle what you see."

"Shit," Jake stood at the door and I could see him around the weird white robes Death was wearing. Then he disappeared as someone in shining silver robes showed up next to Death, blocking my view. And another in brown robes with shadows so deep in the folds the fabric appeared black and brown all at once. Nifty. "Okay, Becca. I've got only the inhumans with me now, the humans are staying back. Can we come in?"

"Tell them not to approach the people in wizard robes, 'kay?" I was starting to slur and lean heavier against Charos.

"Holy fuck," someone cursed. I looked up enough to see Jake and three others walking around the corner from the front reception area. Jake made a beeline for me, but I shook my head. I didn't think I could make Charos leave me right that moment. The other three were staring around, their weapons aimed at the floor.

"Uhm, Thanatos? Think you can let the hostages go?"

The white hood dipped a bit and all of the hostages were suddenly screaming. I was jostled, but Charos put his arms around me and people moved the hell around us like there was a barrier. I noticed they did the same with the rest of the reapers and minor gods in the room. The three cops who'd come with Jake got the hostages out of the area and back out to the other cops.

"Do we arrest them?" One of them asked, walking up to a gunman who was still frozen in time and poking him.

~"They are not yours to punish or bring to justice."~ I recognized that dry raspy voice, and looked over as the brown and black robed one moved toward one of the gunmen. The cop watched him, eyes wide, adams apple bobbing as he swallowed loud enough I could hear it.

"Who the hell are they, Jake?" One of the other cops asked. Jake just looked at me.

"I think the silver robes belong to Justice, and the brown is Punishment. The white is Death."

"Like, the Horseman, Death?" The cop choked out.

"All of them are Horsemen, except the black robes, they're reapers."

The silver robes moved to stand with the brown robes, and an inky black substance oozed out of the man's chest and into the hands of Justice. It was then passed to Punishment as a black ball to disappear inside the robes. The man blinked, groaned, and passed out.

~"They will not remember what they have done,"~ the voice was deep and melodic as the silver robes turned to the officer. ~"These souls were not supposed to be on this plane."~

They repeated the process with the rest of the gunmen, each of the souls they pulled out just as icky looking as the one that Charos had pulled from the first man.

"Is this what you saw each time, Becca?" Jake's eyes never left the brown and silver robes. Thanatos just stood there, his eyes swirling green as everyone ignored him.

"No. The souls never looked like that. They were shining, beautiful. These look wrong."

The silver robes folded behind Charos, and that deep voice came again, ~"All souls are beautiful, little moira. Even these. They will be cleansed before they are able to reincarnate, like all souls."~ He reached out and I felt Charos tense, but his hand went to the body of the gunman that Charos had pulled the icky black stuff from. A dull glow left the silver sleeve, and the man took a huge gasp that sounded painful.

The three of them went back to the center of the room as the police handcuffed the men and escorted them out. The brown robe reached up and shoved his hood back, revealing a handsome man with long black hair sticking out like the robe had grabbed it and ruffled it on the way down. "I never liked these robes. I look like a dirty medieval monk. Just give me a rope for a belt and call me Friar Tuck. Charos, you're going to have to let the medics get to her."

~"You said she would die a violent death,"~ Charos held me a little tighter.

"She will. Eventually. Not today, though. But you're putting out a big wave of stay the hell away, and they won't be able to get close enough to help her."

"He's right, Charos," I look up at him. "Pretty sure I'm going to need a trip to the hospital."

~"I do not want to leave you."~

"I know." I pushed my face under the hood and kissed him. "But this hurts like hell and I kind of want it fixed."

"Well, that happened fast," Vine rasped.

~"You are jealous because Rowan took longer to come around,"~ Death thumped Vine on the shoulder.

Vine glared at him, the cops looked more confused than ever, and Jake was hovering a few feet away. "Let Jake take her to the healers, Charos."

~"They will take her arm for this wound,"~ his hand hovered over my shoulder. I didn't remember him taking them out of the sleeves.

"Modern medicine has come a long, long way since the Roman Empire," I tell him. "They'll clean it and stitch it up and I probably won't be able to use the arm much for a little while."

He gets up and moves back, and Jake steps in to help me to my feet and get me out to where the medics are waiting. They get me onto a damn gurney, and get an IV in with painkillers while we're in the elevator, and I'm feeling real good before we leave the building. The paramedics fussed over me, and the cops were trying to figure out what the hell had happened. None of the humans believed that Death had been there, but the inhumans were all telling the same story.

In the hospital, Charos came back and leaned against the wall with his hands pressed behind him. Jake stayed with me since he was technically off-duty, and frowned when two men in black suits came into the room.

"Ms. White," the one on the right said. He had blonde hair, but everything else about him looked the same as the one on the left. Not that they were twins, or even brothers, they were just the same flavor of bland. "We're here from the Bureau of Inhuman Affairs, and we need to ask you some questions."

"What kinds of questions?" I'd never seen anyone from the BIA before. They looked as generic as the stereotypical federal agents from TV.

"About what you are. It has come to our attention that you are a possible new kind of inhuman race, and it's our job to find out what you're capable of," the one on the left had brown hair. I wondered if their names were single letters or just a series of numbers.

Charos stepped away from the wall and stood next to the bed, but I did my best not to watch him and keep my eyes on the men by the door. Their faces stayed blank even as Charos leaned over me, ~"I cannot reveal myself to them. Only a Horseman can do that. I can find Timoria, if you wish."~

I push against the bed, trying to sit a little straighter and nod at Charos, who disappears. Jake stands and helps me adjust the bed and puts a pillow under my arm. They were still looking through x-rays and other stuff to see if I would need surgery of any sort before they went further with my shoulder. "I don't really think my race is capable of a whole bunch. Not in the showy way, at least."

"We will have to be the judge of that, ma'am," Blondie says.

"You have no business here," a dry voice said from a corner of the room. Both men jumped and reached for guns, aiming them at Vine. He was in jeans and a white undershirt untucked over bare feet.

"Did you just get out of a shower?" I ask him.

"Those robes are terrible, little one," he smiles at me, then disappears only to reappear behind the BIA agents and shut the door. "Your guns can do nothing to me. Put them away before you hurt yourselves."

"Who are you?" Brown Hair asks, and his breathing is a little too fast.

Charos is standing behind Jake, and I nudge Jake aside so Charos can stand next to the bed. With Vine to keep the BIA busy, I reach for Charos's hand and don't care if they can't see what I'm holding.

"I'm Vine," he says. "I believe you have me listed as a higher demon, bound to the summoner, Rowan. Of course, your information is far from complete, and you will not be completing it today. Nor will I see the BIA around the ranch after this." He reaches out and touches the lapel of one of the suit jackets, then black mist forms around him and he's dressed in the same kind of suit. It disappears just as quickly, leaving him as he had been. "That uniform is worse than my robes. No freedom of movement. No wonder you're in such a bad mood with such binding underwear."

Both of the agents blush, but Blondie recovers first, "Sir, we can't not add to our database if it means more information on inhuman race abilities."

"She can see reapers," Vine says. "It doesn't come with any abilities."

"What do you mean, reapers?" Blondie asks.

Vine points at Charos next to the bed, and both agents startle again as though he just appeared. I suppose he did, for them. "That is a reaper. He works for my brother. She is his moira. The one soul who can see and touch him, keep him grounded."

"And who's your brother?" Brownie asks, sounding suspicious.

"Death," Vine says it like it's obvious. "Only a Horseman can reveal the reapers to mundane view, and believe me, you don't want my siblings showing up. I like to think I'm the nice one."

Jake snorts, and Vine points at him. Jake holds his hands up, "I've met your horse. I'm not saying anything."

"But we have to know what she can do," Brownie waves at me.

I shift on the bed and whisper, "I see dead people."

"No you do not," Vine snaps. "You're a moira, not a necromancer. She can see two reapers, can feel any of them if Charos would let them close enough, and she can talk to the Horsemen. That's about it, so you have nothing to report, really."

"We have to be able to prove all of this, sir," Blondie says, sounding bored.

Vine looks over and says to Charos, "Block her view of the rest of this room for a minute. She doesn't need to see this." Charos leans a little more over the bed, pulling my head against his chest until all I can see is his robe. Someone snaps their fingers and then I hear what has to be a horse blowing, and the BIA agents are freaking out. Then another snap and Charos lets me go. "Will that suffice for your proof?"

"Y-yes, sir," Blondie is staring at something behind Charos, whose eyes are glowing green with amusement. At least I figured that color out.

"Leave now," Vine waves his hand at the men, "before I get bored."

They scramble out of the room, and Jake chuckles, "I've got five bucks says the BIA goes out to the ranch real soon." Vine just chuckles and disappears.

===

It's been two months since the attack at the paper and the serial has been a great hit. I'm sitting at the coffee table, typing up the next three or so articles, when I feel Charos pop into the apartment. He slides behind me and wraps me in his arms.

~"You need a break."~ His hands rub over my shoulders, paying more attention to the right that still had some healing to do. I'd been out of the sling for a week now, but had to stop typing about every half hour to stretch. At least I could use both hands to type now. That had been brutal when I couldn't get my laptop in a comfy position to use my right hand.

"I'm almost done and then I can take a break. I need a shower, too," I wrinkled my nose over my shoulder at him. "Do you want to watch a movie tonight?"

His lips grazed the back of my neck, making shivers go up and down my spine. ~"If that is what you want."~

"Mm," I reach up and flick the edge of his hood. "Quit it. You're distracting me."

~"I am trying to distract you,"~ he nibbles the spot where my neck meets my shoulder, making me squirm.

I get about three more words on the document and save it. "I give. I'm done. Let me take a shower and we can watch movies or something."

When I stand up, stretching my right arm, his fingers trace along my legs. I look down and can just make out the edge of purple eyes around the hood before he moves. Reaching down with my left hand, I wiggle my fingers next to the hood and sigh when his hand slips into mine and he stands. I pull him with me through the apartment to the bathroom. ~"What is this?"~

I let his hand go when we're in the bathroom and reach in to turn on the shower and let it warm up. "I want you in the shower with me."

His eyes flash wildly before settling on an odd mix of purple and orange. He rubs his hands together like he's nervous. ~"Rebecca..."~

I pull my shirt off and let it fall to the floor. "You can keep your robe on if you want. Is there a rule against getting it wet or anything?"

~"It is not a gremlin,"~ he mutters, but his eyes are almost solid purple now. With only a trace of another color I can't make out at even the small distance between us. I tug the leggings down my legs and turn to check the water temperature and adjust it a little warmer. His hands find my hips before I can turn around, and then his naked arms snake around my body. He kisses my neck and when I lean back it's against a naked chest. I let my eyes close. ~"Now you are distracting."~

For a couple minutes I just lean into him, letting myself feel his rough hands on my skin, his mouth on my neck. "Can I see you, Charos?"

~"You have to open your eyes for that,"~ I can feel his lips stretch into a smile against my shoulder. He nudges me hips until I turn around.

His body is just as hard looking as it felt under the robe. It's as if he's solid lean muscle, traced with countless scars, but I want to explore and try to count them. His skin is a soft bronze, his hair as black as his robe, and his eyes are swirling yellow now as his face darkens in a blush. The scar I'd felt on his face looks a lot rougher than it felt under my fingers, and pulls his mouth up a little at the corner. I reach out and put my hand on his chest, feeling the hair under my palm. A sigh leaves him when I take the tiny step closer to press our bodies together.

Something in the mirror catches my eye, and I laugh. "That's a little freaky. Are you sure the robe isn't a gremlin?"

He turns and startles. Behind him, his robe is just sort of hovering off the ground as though he's still in it. ~"I did not know it would do that."~

I reach down and trace my fingernails over his hip and he groans, turning back to me and crushing his mouth against mine. I push my hands up into his hair and moan when his hands move over my ass, his fingers just brushing between my legs. His teeth catch my bottom lip, biting almost too hard before kissing the mark away again.

I squeak a little when his hands grab the backs of my thighs and lift me, leaving me to cling to him or fall on the floor. When he starts walking I come up for enough breath to think and realize he's going away from the shower. "Wait. I need to turn the water off."

He growls, but lets me down to shut the shower off before lifting me up again. We make it to the bed and he climbs across on his knees, lowering me down to the mattress without taking his mouth from my body. His mouth trails kisses across my chest and follows the mark between my breasts and across my ribs, nibbling until I squirm beneath him.

When he takes my nipple in his mouth, a soft moan escapes me and I bite my bottom lip, arching into him at the rush of sensation. He releases me, kissing back up the line of my neck to my mouth. ~"I want to taste you."~

All I can do is nod and make small noises, beyond the ability to use words. He lets out a low laugh and moves back down my body, trailing kisses and gentle bites until he's settled between my legs. His fingers slide up and down my thighs as he feathers kisses over me before his tongue moves through me. I gasp, my hips rocking against his mouth as he drives me to the edge impossibly fast. As if he knows I'm about to lose it, he backs off and lets me calm down. "Oh my God, why did you stop?"

He squeezes my hips until I look down at him, meeting his dark purple eyes, ~"I want this to last. You are more responsive than I could have hoped."~ As if to prove his point, he licks me and I writhe. His tongue is slower now, almost lazy, and I'm able to relax into it. His hands slide over my hips and stomach, up to my breasts before he pulls one back down my body. I feel his fingers slide into me and I groan, catching his other hand as I fight my body not to clench around him. ~"Let me taste your pleasure, love."~

His fingers squeeze around mine as his tongue and fingers drive me over the edge, and he has to drop my hand to wrap his arm around my hips to hold me still. Finally, when it's almost too much, he pulls his mouth away from me and nestles his cheek against my thigh. His fingers keep moving, though, sending small shocks up my spine. I reach down and gently tug on his hair, pulling him up my body so I can kiss the taste of myself out of his mouth.

He tries to push into me and keep the kiss going, but he's too tall and starts to growl with frustration. I shove his shoulder until he rolls, and I follow him. His eyes flash orange as he lands on his back and I take him inside me all at once, then they bleed back to purple as his hands find my hips and I start to move. Bending, I kiss him.

The change in angle is my undoing, and I moan into his shoulder as his hand spreads across my lower back and I feel his legs move to give him the leverage to keep thrusting up into me. His other hand holds the back of my head as he draws every ounce of pleasure out of my orgasm before letting out a long, guttural moan. His own release sends mild shocks through my body, nothing painful, but enough to let me know he's not human.

When I try to move off his chest, his arms tighten around me. ~"Not yet, please."~ I let out a laugh and move enough for him to slide out of me then shift so I'm laying between his thighs instead of straddling him, giving my hips a different position.

"That was amazing, but we're going to have to clean up or the mess will dry."

His fingers hook under my chin and pull me up enough for a kiss. ~"I do not mind the mess. I am not ready to let you go."~

"I already invited you to shower with me. You don't have to let go, but I do need to get clean." I could feel my body letting things out and it made me feel squicky.

He took me at my word and kept his hands on me as I got up and made my way back into the shower. I really hoped his robe wasn't sentient in any way, or at least not easily offended as we went for round two.

He had to leave after that, and the robe disappeared when he did. That was a relief because it was kind of creepy that it just stood there, like a pair of jeans that hadn't seen the inside of the washing machine since the summer of 1984. He came back when I was toweling off, immediately ditching the robe.

When he climbed into the bed with me this time, he stretched out on his back and I snuggled in against his side. I yawned a little, my body already relaxing toward the pull of sleep, when I had a thought. "If you're going to walk around without the robe now, I'm going to get you some clothes."

He snorted and ran his fingers along the edge of the panties I had on. ~"Will I have to wear such tight things?"~

"No. I'll just get you some sleep pants or something so I can think straight. Unless women's underwear are a thing you want?"

~"Ladies undergarments were not so constricting last time I was alive, and I do not have to wear anything under the robe. It is comfortable that way."~