The Grim's Daughter

Chapter Nine:

Nevaeh's eyes slowly opened. She cried with pain as she tried to get up. Her side hurt.The room was dark, with no lights at all. Nevaeh hurried to get up and tried to feel for a door. Nothing. She slapped the walls until her hands started throbbing. "Help!" she cried. 

"Nevaeh?" someone asked from outside.

"Dusk? Is that you?"

"Of course it is! Who did you think I was?" laughed Dusk. mockingly. He opened the door. 

"You've been asleep for quite some time, Nevaeh."

"Why am I here?" she asked, her face dropping.

"You're the Death's daughter, Nevaeh. Therefore, you must become the next Grim Reaper." He smiled warmly. "Anyway, I have to get going. Go straight to room six as soon as you can, you're a little late for your lesson."

"My lesson?" asked Nevaeh, but Dusk had already vanished. "I've got to get out of here," she whispered to herself. "But how?"Nevaeh ran out of the room, ready to search for a way out of Reaper Manor, there had to be atleast one way out. 

There was so many corridors leading her farther away from where she wanted to be- out. Nevaeh could hear someone's footsteps, no doubt it was a reaper. Nevaeh walked a little faster, but tried to stay as quiet as she possibly could. The footsteps went at a faster pace. Nevaeh was now running as fast as she could, only thinking about running through the doors that she wanted to be around the corner. She spun around one more corner, hitting something.

"Why are you here? You should be at your lesson, not jogging about," another reaper said as he helped her up. 

"I'm trying to look for a way out of here, not that it's any of your business!" said Nevaeh, but the reaper took no such notice of her, only gave her a look of sympathy and took her to room six, where she would be having her lesson. 

 There was a reaper inside the room as well, sitting on the desk at the front of the room. The room was full of tables and chairs. 

"Sit down," he demanded. That voice sounded familiar also. If only she wasn't half asleep. Nevaeh noticed a blackboard behind the reaper with faded blue chalk forming unreadable words.

Nevaeh sat down in the chair closest to her. "I'm not staying for long, you can't make me!"

"Ah, yes. Like you told me before," said the reaper picking up a book from his desk and turning the pages.

All of a sudden, Nevaeh felt fury sink into her. "Your the reason I'm here! You and your little fake promises. Now I have to become the new Grim Reaper!"

 Nevaeh's face had turned red with anger. She ran for the door, but Luko raised his hand and the door slammed back into place. "You can leave once this lesson is over. Sit! We have to get through this work before I fall asleep." Nevaeh had never hated someone so much in her entire life.

"Right," continued Luko, "Do you know any of a reaper's special weapons?"

Nevaeh shrugged her shoulders as she slouched back into the small wooden chair. 

"Haven't they gave you the things your father left you?" Luko asked, confused. Nevaeh shook her head. "Follow me," he ordered.

Luko took her out of the room and up a pair of spiral staircases where there was another set of doors. One stood out among the rest, a black door with many bolts across it. While Luko unlocked them, Nevaeh admired the paintig upon the wall. Twety-four paintings Nevaeh counted. She could hear the locks click inside of the door. 

"Walk in," said Luko, walking into the room first. He took a box of matches from his pocket and watched the flame dance on the matchstick before lighting a candle on the high shelf, above his head. Luko pressed his fingers to his lips and blew, whistling. 

Two dark figures and a low growl imerged from the dark shadows in the corner of the room. 

"Don't growl at me, Dawn," warned Luko. 

Suddenly, the growling stopped, and out from the shadows appeared two black hell hounds. 

"Meet Phantom and Dawn," explained Luko as they came closer to him and Nevaeh. "They'll be your guides, they will protect you." He took one look at Nevaeh. "I think you're going to need them."

Nevaeh pretended she had not heard the last few words of Luko's speech, and crouched down to the hel hounds' level, almost afraid to look into their hungry, black eyes. "So my Dad left me two pets?"

Luko looked down on her with a face showing only mockery. "Every Grim Reaper needs a guide by their side. Anyway, you have more."

"More than two mutts and becoming a Grim?" said Nevaeh, sarcastically. She patted her knee to beckon the Phantom and Dawn over, which they did. They were very energetic, and bit eachother playfully, taking no notice anymore of Luko, who was trying to scold them.

Luko just left them and walked over to the back of the room with the lit candle he had taken from the shelf. "Come here," he called from the shadows.

"What's that?" Nevaeh asked as she saw Luko unlock a long, dark chest. He pulled out a scythe and stroked the blade with his gloved hand. "Some people can't use such a beauty," he said, a look of sadness showing in his eye. "A normal reaper can't use the scythe of souls, but a Grim Reaper can."

"I'm not becoming a Grim Reaper!"

Luko's head raised, and quickly, he swung the scythe around his head and held it at Nevaeh's chest. "Not another word! Most people wish they could have such a thing. Be grateful!"

Dawn started barking loudly until Luko backed away. He put the scythe on a hook where it  dangled. "Hush, Dawn. I can't use it anyway. As I said, a normal reaper has no control over this type of scythe."

The hell hound stopped barking, remembering who exactly dhe was threatening. Nevaeh hurried away, followed by the two hell hounds.