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How did he beat me here?
He shook it off before his heterochromia eyes shined with mischief once again, raising his eyebrows at me in question.
“You know betting is against the rules,” I said, smirking at him and a few others who turned my way.
“That is right, Clarke,” our training leader Cassie said as she strolled into the room with the confidence of a woman who knew her worth. Her brunette hair was pulled back into a sleek bun, and she looked sharp in her all-black leader uniform as she went straight to the front, causing a ripple effect as all of us came to attention, even Thorn.
It was comical seeing a predator close to six feet long with his tail making up the majority of his length, a cat-like head, a short dog-like muzzle, and large rounded ears, sitting at attention. But what was weirder was the fact he was my friend rather than a pet. Having him here wasn’t a big deal since some Reaper families were known to imprint on animals. Those types of animals were there to serve and protect their Reapers. So, most Reapers just thought I was the first in my long Reaper family line to inherit the gene that allowed me to imprint Thorn. That’s all they needed to know about our bond, because if they knew the truth—that we could communicate telepathically—questions could come up because that wasn’t normal for an imprint bond. There were a select few people who knew of the unique ability I had with Thorn. Basically, Kaye and her parents were the only ones outside my family.
Cassie was our Operations Leader and top trainer at Nightmare Interference Tactical Reaping Agency, or N.I.T.R.A. for short. She had a reputation for being a hard ass when it came to training and didn't believe in cutting corners. Her next statement led me to believe she allowed certain things to slip past her, but she was always aware of them.
“But I'm sure you do it anyway,” Cassie said, turning and clasping her hands before her. Her hazel green eyes scanned the room before nodding, allowing us to relax.
“Okay, Reapers, today we have five assignments, and there are only twelve of you that are eligible. So, either team up or pray you scored high enough that you can pick an assignment on your own,” she said as she turned to her high-tech computer system and started typing.
Thorn led the way as we slipped through the five groups of trainees to the front of the pack to take in the leaderboard. I’d only slipped to second place once, but that was because I had a bad day and fought with my emotions instead of my head. I haven’t made that mistake since.
“I know I’m on top, so who’s pairing with me?” Walker called out, and I rolled my eyes so hard I blacked out for a moment.
Finn, Walker's friend, spoke up. “I’m in. I know I bombed my last training test, so I need the points,” he confessed.
“You on top? Pftt. No way. You would have to beat Clarke!” Mikhail exclaimed, walking into the room behind us. As he walked past, I stuck out my boot, and he bumped it in solidarity before joining Cassie. Mikhail was one of my favorite trainers, and I guess you could say a friend or more like a big brother since I could remember. He ran his hand through his short red hair before sending me a wink.
“Besides, you know I’m always on top, Walker,” I said, then dropped my voice to whisper, “Twenty down that I beat your ass once again.”
“Deal!” he agreed, right as the ranking board flashed and the new ratings appeared. Clarke, Walker, West, Le’Vey, and Lopez.
“Fuck. I didn’t even make the top five,” Finn whined.
‘When has he ever?’ Thorn huffed and rolled his eyes at the brunet.
‘Good point.’
“There are your rankings, and here are your last assignments before graduation. At number five, we have an unsanctioned vampire in Memphis that’s been posing as the late Elvis Presley. Don’t ask because I don’t know,” Cassie said as a few hands shot up in the group. “He needs to be contained and delivered to the Eastern facility.”
There were N.I.T.R.A. facilities worldwide where doors would send the Supes back to their original dimension, Purgatory. In this case, the Eastern facility was the closest place that could handle this Supe.
The next two assignments were tame compared to the ones I’d done in the past. A Brownie in Fort Lauderdale, which was a pixie that loves to clean, was pissed that they asked her not to clean a hotel room while an investigation was in progress and was rioting in the laundry room. Rumors were starting that the place was haunted, so they needed her taken care of, else they were going to lose business. Also, a bear shifter in Nashville was badly injured in a show of dominance, and they were having problems healing, so they needed to be transported to the nearest facility and sent back to Purgatory. We aren’t always the boogie men. A demon had crossed over and was currently loose inside a mental hospital, which piqued my interest until Cassie mentioned the last one.
“And for our number one spot, we have the local legend back from the dead—Julia Brown. And she’s pissed. She's threatening to erase the rest of the ‘bigoted’ South with the storm that’s brewing in the gulf,” Cassie said.
“Are we supposed to know who that is?” Finn asked.
“Well, I see who wasn’t paying attention in my class last week.” Mikhail shook his head as Finn blushed for being called out.
“That’s the Bone Witch that wiped out a small town north of New Orleans back in the early 1900s... when she died,” Walker explained. “Are you saying she’s alive in Ruddock?”
The thought of the old Bone Witch hiding out for the past hundred years kinda excited me. Now, this is the case for me, and since I’m ranked number one, I get first dibs.
“I thought her death was faked, and she was cast out of Earth, never to be allowed back because she killed all those people years ago,” West asked as he leaned against a wall.
“Either way, I doubt she’s here legally. I mean, why else would we be here,” Walker said arrogantly.
“A good point, Walker,” Cassie stated. “Priestess Tanda actually gave us this tip when a few of her customers told her about the disappearances in the swamp and people going missing. Apparently, the numbers are astronomical.”
“I’ll take her case,” I said confidently.
“Are you sure?” Cassie asked, cocking an eyebrow. “This isn’t a cozy assignment. You’ll be traipsing through the swamp in inhospitable weather.”
