The Reaper's Apprentices #3: In The Blood

By CS Patra

The story of the demons and demon slayers continues in the third installment of The Reaper's Apprentices series. DS461 must find out who saved them and take down the demons that they failed to catch last time. What they don't know is that they have some help from the least expected sources; Reaper's Apprentices.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CS Patra
• Release date: Mar 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310189951

CS Patra

Grace Templeton has been writing for a long time and is the author of many series. Her books include the Operation: Genome series, The Reaper's Apprentices series, Cirque Macabre series, The Portman's Creamery Mysteries, Patterns and Parallels series, and the recently added Ghosts of Burning Inn. She currently lives in NC.

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The Reaper’s Apprentices #3:

In the Blood

CS Patra

Cover by pixelstudios

Editing by… www.ultraeditingco.com

Formatting by exnihilo

To my lovely fans

Prologue

DS461 was in a bad position right now. The four men who made the team up had no idea just what they had done. Trip Duncan, Alex Ruteger, Dylan Grier, and Cole Sawyer were unaware of everything that had happened around them.

It wasn’t something that was supposed to happen. They had a normal job that was supposed to have gone by smoothly. The thing was that their job was hunting demons. They had been good at it. They should have succeeded tonight. This was something they had done time and time again. However, this time was different. This time, they had a long fight that didn’t end well.

All four of them were young but they were anything but weak and frail. They had come from different backgrounds, but learned to work with each other. It didn’t take very long for them to become friends and they invented their own language that no one else could understand. That language became something that they began to use on missions. It was mostly through hand signals, but they understood it well. No one else in the DS could ever figure it out.

In the beginning, they weren’t a group of four. They used to have a leader before Trip was there. His name was Corwin Weaver and he was the one person they all looked up to. Even now, Trip admitted that he would never be the best leader that DS 461 ever had. There was just something about Corwin that made everyone trust him. He had those eyes that had a small spark in them whenever he got excited. His smile was warm and mischievous. He could get serious when he needed to, but he had no problem joking around and relaxing when time called for it. He wasn’t that much older than them, but he was experienced and tough. Everyone said that DS461 was lucky to have him as a leader. As long as Corwin was in charge, they were going to be fine.

As for Corwin himself, he had a pretty rough life from the start. At ten, his mother had passed away after a very short fight with breast cancer. It had spread so fast that they never had time to say goodbye. Three years after her death, Corwin’s younger sister fell into the family pool and drowned. She was barely four at the time. Corwin’s father struggled hard after the death of his wife and youngest child. He tried to throw himself into his career, but it wasn’t enough. Somehow, he managed to crawl into the life of drugs in hopes that would help. It didn’t take long for him to get addicted and lose just about every shred of sanity he had. A few years after getting into drugs, he was found dead in a hotel room. The cause of death had been a heroin overdose. Corwin was eighteen at that point, legally adult, and already working for the DS for two years. He had told everyone that he was glad to be out of the house then. He couldn’t have saved his father from his self-destruction.

The life of tragedy had never stopped Corwin from being the best demon slayer he could be. It wasn’t long before he went up the ranks in the DS and he had his own team. They were team number 461 and all four of his teammates looked up to him. He was the one they always wanted to please. When he called for them, they would all come running. It had been Corwin’s idea to have a big birthday party for Cole and he suggested they head to the beach. It was a perfect place to celebrate. Not only that, it was also a prime demon hunting ground. Demon slayers were already having some issues controlling the demonic activity on the beach. When Corwin told everyone about it, Cole immediately liked the idea. He wanted some adventure for this birthday and the others were also excited by it. The plan was set and they knew what they had to do.

Not everyone was thrilled by the idea though. Sly Keane, one of the heads of the DS, had begged them not to go that night. He had a suspicion that nothing good was going to come out of this. He even tried to give Cole a better birthday present such as a trip to Europe or a higher raise. Cole liked them, but he was hungry to fight demons. He had already been to Europe and he was making good money at nineteen. In his mind, demon hunting on the beach would have been the best birthday present in the world. After Corwin talked with Keane about the situation, things were packed and they were on their way. Keane never lost his sense of suspicion and he kept wondering if he needed to put his foot down.

This night turned out to be anything but great. No sooner had they got to the beach, they were ambushed. It became a warzone and everyone fought hard to stay alive. Somewhere in the middle of the battle, they ended up being separated and struggling for survival. When they finally found each other, after being beaten and getting hurt from flying debris, the worst had happened. Corwin had his arm ripped clean off his shoulder. There was nothing they could have done to save him as he had lost so much blood. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of the horror. For the next hour, everyone would be consumed with revenge and trying to kill all the demons on the beach. That revenge blinded them and made them weaker as a result. That hour essentially became torture as demons bit them, burned them, and tried to drown them.

Keane’s worst suspicions came true once he got the news from the beach. Corwin was dead and the rest of DS461 was seriously injured. That was enough for him to drop what he was doing and drive down to the beach in the middle of the night. All of their families had also been contacted and were heading down at that hour. When he saw them in the hospital, the injuries were fairly awful. They had bites on their bodies that would never disappear. They were also very sick from running around in the cold air and getting exposed to all kinds of germs. However, the physical pain was something they could live with. The emotional pain was going to be a much bigger hurdle. They had lost the one person they all looked up to. Their friend, the same one who taught them to be slayers, was gone forever. That alone had shaken their world.

Keane knew he had to fix this. They were too young to experience this kind of trauma. He would never be able to change the past but he could prepare them for the future. It wasn’t that they needed any encouragement; he could tell they were ready to take down all demons. He took one look at their faces and he could see the determination and anger behind the grief. They were going to do everything they could to take down evil. The only thing Keane was worried about was that they would lose their sanity in the process. He had seen many demon slayers give up their morals and go against the law in search of revenge. He didn’t want it to happen to DS461.

Just promise me you won’t lose your humanity, he told them. It happens too often in this field. I’ve seen too many demon slayers get so obsessed with revenge, they forget everything else. I know you want your enemies to feel the same pain and humiliation that you felt that night. However, remember that you are not like them.

We know that, Alex had said. I don’t think we’ll lose ourselves while we’re searching for revenge. I get that you’re looking out for us, but we know what we’re doing.

Everyone says that, Alex. It doesn’t take long for revenge to plague your minds. I want you to remember that you are humans. You will always be humans and you can’t let anyone tell you otherwise. No matter what you do, you cannot forget who and what you are.

Trip bit down on his bottom lip when he heard that. This was not the first time he had heard someone say that. It was one of the last things Corwin had told them too. He insisted, while struggling to stay alive, that they never forget what they were. Somehow, he had sensed that the four of them were already plotting revenge. He knew that they were going to do something they would regret later. With his final breath, he reminded them that they weren’t monsters. When the time finally came to confront Corwin’s killer, they would fulfill their desire. Until then, they would keep working hard and being the best demon slayers they could be.

DS461 hadn’t had a bad night since The Night of Black Rain. Although they had come out of it alive, they felt dead inside. It was amazing how their excitement turned to grief and then to anger and fear. They never wanted to see anyone die in front of them. The explosions and screams were bad enough but seeing Corwin die was a whole other horror. All the blood draining out of that gaping hole where his arm had been, was sickening. Trip was desperately trying to stop the blood from pouring out, but to no avail. His arms were soaked with Corwin’s blood, but he wanted his mentor to hold on. The others were also trying to keep him alive. Corwin, however, knew that his time on Earth was over. He didn’t want them to stay and watch him die.

You’ve got to go, they remembered him saying with his ragged breath. Just…go. Don’t forget…what…you are.

No one understood what he meant by that and they were hesitant to go. For the first time in years, all of them were crying. They tried hard to stay strong, but they broke down when they realized that Corwin was dead. He passed away in front of them and they felt too numb to move. The world was crumbling around them, but they didn’t know what to do. The other three finally turned to Trip for orders and he told them what they needed to do; kill any demon they ran into. They were not going to let Corwin or anyone else die in vain. That was the night where they went from being amateurs to full-fledged demon slayers. They split up and went on their rage-induced demon slaying spree. Despite the torture they had endured in the end, they were satisfied with their kills. Corwin would have been proud of them.

While they felt strong, Keane felt otherwise. He was so racked with guilt after what had happened that he tried to keep them closer to home. He knew that Corwin’s death affected all of them and now they were without a leader. Somehow, Trip ended up taking over. The reason for that was because the other three felt he had the qualities of a leader. He might have been young, but he could hold himself together. He knew how to behave when tough times were rolling around. He could pull himself into place and get the rest of them to straighten up. Everything that he had done that night had put him in this position. No one complained about it since Trip was the most deserving. No soon after they had come home from funeral, Keane had given him a small present. They were Corwin’s black leather gloves, his watch, and ring. The fallen leader’s possessions were always given to the new leader and Trip always kept them locked with his valuables. He only wore them when occasion called for them. That moment was when he officially took over.

All the same, there were nights when Trip wanted to break down. He would come home from class, drop down in his bed, and think about what could have been. If they had not gone to the beach, where would they be now? DS461 had gotten better with their skills but they were always hurting inside. Trip couldn’t replace Corwin, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t be the same kind of leader. It was something he told Keane whenever he was feeling down.

I’m not Corwin, he would murmur whenever they were alone. I know I should be better than I am, but I can’t follow his example.

Keane sighed. This was what he expected and somehow the truth never sank in. You’re right. You’re not Corwin. No one thinks that you’re Corwin, therefore you shouldn’t expect to be like him. You run your team the way you feel is right. In fact, the others would probably feel better if you weren’t trying to be Corwin. They’d want you to be yourself.

Still, I feel like I’m doing something wrong, Trip said. I should be stronger and I’m not. I panic during certain situations and Corwin never did that. I’m not sure the others want a leader that can fall under pressure. There’s still so much I don’t know about the demon world.

I wouldn’t be so sure. Corwin got scared from time to time. He didn’t always know everything either. No leader knows what demons are thinking and they’re learning new skills all the time, Keane reminded him. You can learn from everything he taught you, but don’t be like him. In time, you’ll learn to be a leader in your own way. As for the others, I know they’re grateful to you. You saved them that night and they know it.

Keane was always right, but Trip continued to work on himself. He was going to be a good leader in his own right. So far, he thought he was doing a decent job. No one had any complaints about him. Since that night, they stuck together and did as he asked. Together, they trained harder and came up with better ideas on how to fight together. They came up with better inventions and weapons. They tried not to let rage overcome them in battle. Instead, they relied on their own wits to hold them back and take their enemies down. Keane was impressed by how much they had changed, but he was still afraid to send them on another big mission.

I just think it’s too risky right now, he told them. You’re much younger than most demon slayers. You’re not as experienced as they are. I think you’ll be better off trying to save the people over here. Don’t forget, they need you too.

They did save people in town but that didn’t mean they didn’t take on tough missions. In secret, they were starting to leave at night and look for dangerous demons. Most of them were deadly and threatening towards humanity. If no one else took them out, DS461 was on the job. They were tired of sitting at home and waiting for good opportunities to come by. If Keane wasn’t going to give them a mission, they would seek one out.

Tonight’s mission wasn’t a secret one, but it had been tough. They had been after the Van Pelt gang and didn’t realize how tough their opponents were. They didn’t know much about their targets except that they had killed a journalist and were considered dangerous. It seemed like it wouldn’t be much of an issue based on the briefing. They figured they would go in, get their targets, and come home.

As it turned out, the night had been anything but easy. The Van Pelts ended up getting the advantage and were formidable opponents. The group had split up in hopes of each one being able to take down a different member. It had been a difficult fight where they almost lost their lives. The only thing that saved them