Reaper of Souls: A fantasy short story Read online

  Reaper of Souls

  Holly Copella

  Copyright © 2007 Holly Copella

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN:

  ISBN-13:

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Copella Books: First Edition 2015

  Cover Artist: ktarrier

  SelfPubBookCovers.com/ktarrier

  Printed by CreateSpace, An Amazon.com Company

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Full-length novels by Holly Copella!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Chapter One

  The charming country tavern was alive with cheerful, drunken locals, who were line-dancing, playing pool, and socializing. A lanky man in his late twenties, Dylan Rampert, played pool with another man, Oscar. Dylan was cheerful as he was about to win another game. His young, attractive sister in her early twenties, Regina, watched the game from the sidelines. Dylan won the game, gloated some, and collected his money.

  “One more game,” Oscar insisted.

  “Just one more,” Dylan replied. He approached Reggie, picked up his bottle of beer from the table, and studied her. “Are you sure you don’t want to go someplace else? I mean, this is your college graduation night. I’m feeling guilty about getting off so cheap.”

  “You don’t have to go overboard, Dylan,” she informed him.

  “Mom and dad would have. They’d be proud of you,” he informed her then hesitated. “I’m proud of you.”

  Reggie smiled warmly and placed her hand on his lower arm. “Thanks, Dylan.”

  “You’re the only sister I’ve got,” he replied then teased, “Thank God. And if Brady doesn’t stop checking you out every time I turn around, I’m going to knock him on his ass.”

  “He’s a harmless pervert.”

  “Not from what I’ve heard,” Dylan muttered.

  “Come on, Dylan,” Oscar called. “Winner breaks.”

  “Let me beat this guy one more time, then we’ll go home.”

  She smiled and nodded. As Dylan returned to the pool table, she finished her drink then headed toward the restroom. A man in his late twenties, Brady, approached her as she passed.

  “Heard you’re officially a college graduate tonight,” Brady announced. “Congratulations.”

  Reggie offered a smile but didn’t stop to talk. “Thanks, Brady.”

  Brady cut off her path, forcing her to stop. “Since you won’t be tied up with your studies anymore, maybe we could pick up where we’d left off,” he said cheerfully.

  “As I recall, we’d left off with me telling you if you ever touched me again, I’d cut your childbearing years in half,” Reggie replied.

  Brady chuckled. “I know you weren’t serious.”

  “You tackled me to the ground--”

  “I was just playing with you,” he teased.

  “You stuck your hand up the back of my skirt,” she scoffed.

  “So I grabbed your ass,” Brady said with a shrug. “It was all in good fun.”

  “Yeah, so was my punching you in the mouth,” she replied.

  “Actually, that stung.”

  “Let’s get something straight,” Reggie growled. “I have no intentions on going out with you again. And you’re damned lucky I fight my own battles and didn’t tell Dylan what happened.” She attempted to walk around him.

  Brady caught her around the waist and playfully pulled her against him. “Okay, you can stop playing hard to get now.”

  She attempted to push him away. Her look was unpredictable. “Get your hands off me or we will pick up where we’d left off.”

  Brady laughed as if it was a joke.

  “Hey!” Dylan cried out.

  Brady and Reggie looked toward the pool area. Dylan was already standing before them with a look of mayhem on his face. Without warning, he punched Brady in the face. Brady released Reggie and fell onto a nearby table. Several glasses fell to the floor and shattered. The entire tavern fell silent and stared.

  “Keep your hands off my sister, prick!”

  Brady held his mouth and slowly straightened with hostility. “What’s your problem? We were just talking!”

  Reggie grabbed Dylan’s arm. “Time to go.”

  †

  The beautifully restored Victorian home was located on a secluded back road far from anyone. Several lights were still on within the house. Dylan sat on the sofa while flexing his sore hand. Reggie entered with an ice pack and tossed it to him. He caught it and held it to his fist.

  “Thanks,” Dylan muttered.

  “My overly protective, big brother,” she said with a sigh. “I can take care of myself. You don’t have to beat the crap out of every guy who talks to me.”

  “Brady wasn’t talking to you.”

  Reggie sat on the sofa next to him and smiled warmly. “I know you feel you need to look after me, but you have to stop beating yourself up over it.”

  Dylan studied his hand and avoided looking at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I know you feel guilty because you weren’t home the night mom and dad died in the fire. It wasn’t your fault. If you’d been home, you may have died too.”

  Dylan still didn’t look at her and frowned. “By all rights, I should have been home.”

  “It wasn’t your fate, just like it wasn’t mine. Accept it.”

  “It was my fate,” he insisted. “Going out at the last minute altered what should have been.”

  “Fate spared you if for nothing more than to look after me.”

  Dylan uncertainly looked at her.

  She smiled gently. “I never could have made it on my own back then,” she said. “I needed you to keep me sane.”

  He stared a moment longer, appeared to relax, and smiled timidly. “You’re stronger than I ever was, Reggie. It’s me who needs you, not the other way around.” He playfully slapped her leg and grinned. “I have something for you.”

  He jumped up from the sofa, removed a gift-wrapped box from the end table drawer, and proudly handed it to her.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “A little graduation present.”

  He sat alongside her as she opened the box. It was an opal ring with diamonds on either side. Reggie smiled happily and hugged him.

  “It’s absolutely beautiful, Dylan. But you shouldn’t have.”

  “Of course I should. It’s symbolic,” he informed her. “That’s the opal from mom’s surviving earring that dad gave her on their tenth wedding anniversary. The two diamonds are from dad’s watch that stopped when he had to unexpectedly deliver you on the kitchen floor, and the gold band was melted down from my class ring that I never wore.”

  Reggie stared at him a long moment with surprise. “Well, aren’t you the sentimental big brother.”

  “Well, at least I’m good at something.”

  Reggie smiled and playfully patted his leg.

  Dylan sighed and stood. “Do we have any Twinkies?”

  “Of course we have Twinkies,” she said with a groan. “You’d starve to death if we didn’t.”

  “I’m a Twinkie addict, I know. But I’m just not ready to quit.”


  “You feed your addiction. I’m going to bed,” she remarked and stood. “Don’t leave the wrappers scattered about again. It’s like a trail of Twinkie wrappers from the kitchen to your room.”

  †

  Two A.M. Reggie slept peacefully beneath the covers in her dimly lit, second floor bedroom. Low, muffled voices were heard from the bedroom next door. There was a moment of silence followed by a loud clunk. Reggie suddenly woke with disorientation and looked around. There was another clunk from Dylan’s bedroom. Reggie gasped and jumped from her bed. Dylan suddenly cried out in terror and possible agony. Reggie ran from her room. She slid before Dylan’s door and attempted to open it. It was locked. Dylan cried out. The sound was horrifying. Reggie pounded on the door.

  “Dylan! Dylan, open up!” she screamed. “Are you okay?”

  He continued to cry out. There were more loud thumps and crashes associated with a struggle. Reggie was now terrified. She rammed her shoulder into the door. It didn’t budge. She stepped back as Dylan’s scream faded and kicked the door inward with one violent thrust. As she stood in the doorway, horror swept over her. There were broken objects, furniture was overturned, and the bed was covered with blood. Reggie was frozen with terror as she stared at the blood on the floor and surrounding the broken window. A bloody Twinkie wrapper lie on the nightstand.

  †

  Two weeks later. Reggie sat on the porch, stared blankly at the woods, and spun the opal ring on her finger. She was lost in her own world. She actually hadn’t been right since Dylan’s abduction. She knew calling it an abduction was wishful thinking, but she didn’t want to give up hope. A police car pulled up to the house. Sheriff Martin got out and walked onto the porch with a tiny, pleasant smile.

  “Evening, Reggie,” Martin said.

  Reggie attempted a smile. “Hey, Sheriff.” She shifted in her chair. “Anymore leads on my brother’s abduction?”

  Martin casually sat on the railing facing her. “No, Reggie, I’m sorry. I know you’re dealing with this the best that you can,” he said, “but you know he couldn’t have survived that sort of attack.”

  “I broke into the room only seconds after the attack ended,” she insisted. “Whoever did this wouldn’t have had time to remove his body--especially from the second story window. He has to be alive.”

  “I don’t know what to think, Reggie,” the sheriff said with a defeated sigh. “We didn’t find any blood outside the house. There’s not enough evidence to support any theory.”

  The faint sound of a creature was heard wailing from somewhere within the woods. Martin looked toward the nearby woods.

  “What’s that?” the sheriff asked.

  “A wolf, I think,” she replied and rubbed her chilled arms. “It started a few nights ago.”

  “Sounds like it’s sick. You’d better be careful,” he announced. “If it comes around the house, call me, and I’ll put it down.”

  †

  Two days later. Reggie sat at the island counter while eating dinner alone. She stared at the wineglass in her hand as Dylan’s screams from that night echoed through her mind. Her emotionless expression suddenly hardened. Reggie threw the glass across the kitchen, and it shattered against the back, French doors. Red wine ran down the glass. Brady stood on the other side of the door with a look of surprise. Reggie saw him, rolled her eyes, and groaned softly. Brady opened the door without being invited and offered a tiny, sympathetic smile.

  “Did I pick a bad time?” he asked.

  “Yes, a very bad time,” she replied while standing then indicated the broken glass. “If you don’t mind, I have some cleaning to do.”

  “I thought I’d see how you were holding up,” he said, sounding moderately drunk. “I guess I was right to be worried about you.”

  “Are you drunk again?” Her look was harsh as she approached and pushed him back toward the open doorway with a firm hand to his chest. “Out, Brady. I’m not in the mood to deal with you.”

  Reggie pushed him out the door and onto the patio. She was about to take a step back inside when he caught her arm, startling her. She immediately turned hostile.

  “Don’t be this way, Reggie,” he said firmly. “We were meant to be together. Now that Dylan is gone, you need someone to look after you.”

  Reggie pulled her arm away from him. “I’m looking after me!”

  He caught her by both arms and forcibly held her. His look was stern and aggressive. “No more games, Reggie. You need to start acting like my girlfriend. You’re the only woman I’ve ever really wanted, and I’m tired of waiting.”

  She glared into his eyes with an unpredictable look. “You’re right. No more games.”

  Reggie suddenly kicked for his groin. He reacted quick enough to take the shot to his thigh instead. Brady cried out in pain from the sharp thigh shot and released her. She attempted to punch him in the mouth, but he dodged it and shoved her backwards. Reggie struck the glass door, cracking the glass with the back of her head. She clutched her head and appeared unable to move.

  Brady straightened and again grabbed her by the arms. “You need to be taught a lesson--”

  A low, gurgled snarl was heard from nearby. Brady stared at the dazed woman he held and appeared bewildered by the sound. Something slowly rose above him from behind. He uncertainly released Reggie and slowly looked behind him. The seven-foot tall, black creature towered above him, snarled through exposed fangs, and stared directly at him. Its large, long tail thrashed against the patio like a bullwhip then slashed for Brady. He leaped out of the tail’s path. Its tail struck the second glass door and shattered it. Brady rolled across the patio and looked back at the creature with a horrified stare. Reggie slowly lowered her hand from her head and also stared at the creature as her mouth hung open. She was too frightened to move. The creature again whipped its tail at Brady. He dove from its path and scrambled to his feet. The tail struck the patio with a thunderous crack. The creature’s tail rotated and whipped sideways, striking Brady across the buttocks. He was thrown several feet and knocked into the backyard. Brady made it to his feet and ran across the yard. The creature lowered on all fours and sprang onto the side of the house. It ran along the stone siding then jumped into the yard, chasing Brady. Reggie turned toward the broken door, felt dizzy, and clutched the doorframe for support. The low, painful wail she’d heard earlier from the woods was now behind her. Reggie slowly turned with fear. The large creature sat in a condensed lump on the porch railing and stared at her. It appeared almost pitiful and again wailed softly. Reggie stared at the creature while clinging to the doorframe. Despite her fear, she was curious.

  “What are you?” Reggie asked softly. “Why do you sound so lonely?”

  The creature gurgled a soft response and continued to stare at her. Reggie touched the back of her head then looked at the blood. The creature wailed once soft and short. She looked at the creature.

  “Blood,” she gasped softly. “God, I hope you’re not hungry.”

  The creature slowly crawled from the railing on all fours and moved a few feet closer. Reggie tensed. The creature stopped and again collected itself into a condensed lump, as if cowering before her. Reggie watched the creature and attempted to relax. She slid down the doorframe to its level and slowly extended her hand toward the creature. The creature extended its tail to her. It could touch her with its tail if it wanted to but held back. Reggie appeared startled and stared at the long tail before her. She slowly reached out and touched the tail, running her hand along it.

  “Reptilian--like snakeskin.”

  The creature slowly eased its way closer to her while she held its tail. Reggie watched the creature closely but didn’t move. It stared at her and gurgled softly. She uncertainly reached out and touched its head. It again gurgled softly. Reggie smiled then laughed while running her hand over its smooth, dark head.

  †

  Reggie sifted through the refrigerator and removed some fruit and meat. She eyed the meat then quickly re
placed it and grimaced.

  “Pray for vegetarian,” she muttered.

  She shut the refrigerator door, turned, and looked around for the creature. She could hear its claws tapping on the floor as it scurried across the kitchen on all fours behind the island counter.

  “I have fruit for you. No meat,” she said firmly. “I don’t want to give you any ideas.”

  The creature rounded the island counter and came into view. She stared at it and marveled at its size.

  “Jesus--”

  It approached the pantry, straightened on its hind legs, and opened the door with its tail. Reggie watched with surprise. The creature used its clawed hands to remove a box of Twinkies. It dropped the box on the floor and tore into the box of snack cakes. Reggie stared with a look of shock as the creature ate the Twinkies, wrappers and all. She dropped the fruit.

  “Dylan--?”

  The creature suddenly spun and straightened. It stared at her and sharply gurgled. Reggie slowly approached the tall creature. It sank to five feet as she approached. She stared into the creature’s eyes. Dylan’s eyes stared back at her.

  “Oh, my God! Dylan!”

  Reggie suddenly threw her arms around the creature’s neck and hugged it. The creature placed its paws around her waist and wrapped its tail around her. It buried its large head into her neck and wailed softly. She sobbed softly onto the creature’s shoulder. A little while later, Reggie paced the kitchen while unwrapping a Twinkie. Dylan-creature sat near the island counter and patiently waited. She tossed the Twinkie to him. He caught the Twinkie in his mouth and waited for another.

  “I wish you could explain how this happened.” She removed another Twinkie from the crushed box and opened it. “This is just too X-Files for me,” she said. “Maybe we can reverse it somehow.”

  She tossed the Twinkie to him. He caught it in his mouth, swallowed it, and waited for another.

  “We certainly can’t tell anyone. They’ll lock me up for sure,” she muttered then looked at the creature. “Think of some way to tell me what happened to you.”