Reapers - Thirteen Brothers

XXVII - The Mystery Man

I've got just one order. Stay alive.

Vincent's words played in my mind again and again. Clenching my teeth, I breathed harshly, trying to force back whatever it was that wanted to take over my body. It screeched hatefully as I sucked it in and fought it hard, pushing against it until it was backed-up in a corner, cowering in fear where it couldn't do any harm.

The red stains from my vision cleared slowly, the pain easing slightly as the seconds ticked. But somewhere inside me, the strange entity was still there waiting for a chance to get out if my control over it weakened.

I opened my eyes, gasping for breath. Sensing the small legion of wraiths still surrounding me, I tightened my fingers around my staff and trained my eyes on them. Why they had not attacked while I was still vulnerable was still a mystery to me. Too bad I didn't have time for an exclusive interview. When I got up, they started to hiss angrily at me. Not a good sign.

They were just about three yards away, but before the wraiths could make the first move, I thrust the butt of my staff into the ground with all my strength. Rocks, pebbles and dirt blasted every which way, distracting the wraiths. I spun my staff around my wrist and caught it at the nub end, striking some of the wraiths while spinning it over my head. Only, it wasn't a staff anymore. A latch sprung out from the middle of the rod while on the other end, a curved glass blade about four feet long and a foot wide swung out like a Swiss army knife.

My eyes widened as two of the seven wraiths fell down somewhere down the bushes. But I couldn't afford to waste time being amazed at the moment. As the rest of the remaining wraiths scattered high up above, I did a mad dash back to the road where I could get a good view of them all at once. The scythe was a tad too big for me so it clattered heavily against the ground while I ran.

The wraiths shrieked hatefully and charged at me all at once, this time more fiercely. My weapon was slightly heavier now so they were able to veer off easily when I tried to hack them. It might take a little while before I got used to it.

Three wraiths launched themselves to me with a somewhat organized attack, sending me flying across the street. I slammed against a tree. That was weird. As far as Rosario taught me, wraiths normally act by instinct. They didn't team up and in fact, they had always competed against themselves. But now...

As I coughed and caught my breath, I saw half of a wraith's head dangling on the tip of my scythe. Lucky strike! But there were still more of them.

It seemed endless and I was in the brink of exhaustion. I couldn't think straight with the pain all over my body. All I could manage was to hack blindly at them while keeping my back on a tree so that I wouldn't fall helplessly to the ground.

Vincent! I called in my mind out of desperation.

"Need any help?" a familiar voice whispered from behind me.

At first, I thought it was Vincent but realized all too soon that it was Amyr with a big warm smile on his face. Just seeing that made me want to keel over and stay unconscious for a month.

"Where have you been all my life?" I croaked with a weak smile.

Amyr tugged on his black Nysmic suit and cracked his knuckles. "The world of misery," he replied, smirking comically. "But now that I see you, I'm all better."

"I'm touched," I panted, sagging weakly against the tree. "But could we get on with wraith-killing part?"

After tipping an invisible hat, he bounded toward the wraiths, the look of ease on his face suddenly being replaced with a wild exhilarated grin.