Reaper's Word

Chapter 11: Cat and Mouse

This was probably one of the most frustrating and challenging things that Isaiah had ever done. He should be happy about it, but he wasn't. The task he'd put himself to doing had sounded simple. If not requiring a bit of thought, but it was far more than that. Several times he'd stood in the garden area and was positive that Clair was down in the studio. Yet he could not get into the door that led to that part of the house.

It seemed that she had managed to do something to the house without meaning to. He'd never run across such a thing before. He figured it was due to the fact that this part of the house was rather neglected. She had given it use.

After all the house was more than it seemed. Responded to outside stimuli, it stood to reason. It did things to defend itself and it responded to him, but it had never responded to one of the humans. Maybe it was doing this to him on purpose, fucking curses.

One time he'd managed to get into the hall simply because he'd had the thought to not obtain her. Just to see what she was doing. He'd managed to go down to the studio but could not go through the very last door that separated her from him. He could hear her speak at times. Like she understood the house was really more alive than not.

When she wasn't in the studio he could go in. Always could go to any room in that entire section as always. Any door opening for him even if it was locked. This place might be his prison but it was his home, he was part of it and always would be. You didn't get bound by magic, and bleed for a place and not be tied to it. Still, this part was not cooperating with him.

So he had to resort to trying to either catch her on the way here or someplace else. He'd returned the drawings the same day that he'd taken them. It seemed that she hadn't come down to this part of the house in days shortly after that.

However he was fascinated by her work, her depiction of things. He could stare at them for hours. Wasn't like he could go out and see a gallery. So this was fresh and different. Something new to look at and puzzle over. He felt that her work with pencil and charcoal was better than with any other form of media. He desired to simply watch her work, to see how one such as her could create such vivid and real drawings. There were some drawings now that weren't from here. Memories or thought up images.

Currently from what he'd seen, as he would look when she left the room, the house letting him in. She was working on some bizarre image. One that he thought he'd seen somewhere, in a memory or in the house somewhere. There was a gallery not far above here. If he wasn't mistaken it was an image by M.C. Escher. Stairs moving every which way.

Isaiah turned from the garden area. Waiting wasn't going to work. Annoyed and feeling like taking his anger out on something, he moved to leave the area. There was still a good week plus before the full moon and he wanted to catch her before then. Just in case she didn't make it this time.

__Clair__

Clair pinched the bridge of her nose as she stared at the door to the garden area. It wouldn't open again no matter what she tried. Sometimes this would happen and she felt that it was more of a protective measure toward her. She let her mind go and felt the reason this time. Isaiah was beyond the door.

This had happened before and she didn't know the reasoning this time. She moved back to where she knew there was a staircase in the wall. Then went up. Thanking the house again for keeping her from him. Look she was not above thanking an object.

She was pretty damn positive the house was alive anyways. She glanced into the hall from her passage. Here there was nothing, she felt several people a good distance down the hall and Isaiah below her.

She sprinted with light feet down the hall and to another set of stairs. She went to a trap door and into the wall. There she went quickly through the house elated that she had managed to get away again. She came out near where her home was and stepped out.

No one it seemed was here. She didn't know how many were left in the house. A lot this time and it seemed that the hell hounds and Isaiah were keeping from this group a bit more. Not that she could blame them. She didn't think that druggies could taste all that good. Some it seemed were drying out. Others still had some drugs on them.

The odd thing was that those that supplied Isaiah with people, had brought another group a few days later. She was confused by this. Why were they bringing so many? One night she'd listened to a group and understood slightly.

It seemed that one of the groups wanted what those that keep Isaiah had, immortality. By keeping him locked here and bound to them they were immortal and would always be so. As long as Isaiah was stuck here. No wonder Isaiah was so pissed all the time. She would be too trapped against her will. Which she was so she understood totally. At least he didn't need to worry whether today was going to be his last.

Those in the house with her were crazy, occult nuts made up half. It seemed the ones who directly trapped Isaiah had wanted to get rid of and had brought them here. Her estimation was that there were close to forty people in the house. Growing a few shorter every day.

She stayed far away from a man named Gustav. He seemed a leader of some group and those with him were seriously devout. So much so, one had just walked right up to one of the hell hounds at his request and was killed. These people were insane. At this point she should really just stop asking how they got people constantly, and just accept what was.

This Gustav though. He was also a drug user of some kind too. So now she had to keep her eye out for those running through the house and the more deadly occupants. Clair came around a corner deep in thought, and nearly ran into Beta who was walking there with his head down. She felt so stupid, she should have been paying attention, not lost in her own thoughts. Her brain immediately started planning where she should run.

Clair froze and it took him a second to realize she was standing there. Clair grabbed the door next to her and pushed going into the room as he lunged. He hit the door as she was trying to close it. He tumbled into the room, sliding to a halt, but Clair was out the room instantly slamming the door closed running for her life up a set of stairs.

She heard the door splinter and his claws scratching on the wooden floor as he tried to catch traction. She was to the end of the hall as he was bounding up the stairs. Her worst nightmare happened as she turned the next corner. Isaiah was at the very end of the hall. She had to act quickly or she'd be caught.

Clair bolted the other way as fast as her legs would carry her. Hitting the swinging door she knew was there, as it was part of the wall. She fell through it to the room below. Glad that she had committed so much of this time to memorizing the lay out of the house. They were coming after her. She knew it, could feel it, both of them had an elated air about them.

Clair landed in a crouched position on the sofa below and ran out of the room and around the corner. She felt rather than heard Zeta in the hall to her left, unaware of her approach. Why were they out at such an early time? She’d gotten complacent in the routine when no one was here.

She took her chance and went past the hall and Zeta could never resist the chance of one that was running. She went into one of the larger rooms. There was a small group of people here and she ran to the other side. A distraction, good she could maybe get away so she shouted.

"They are coming!" She snapped at them, and this group darted every which way as Zeta appeared in the room. Clair was no match for the speed and agility of Zeta. When she leapt, Clair was driven to the ground. The air was driven from her lungs for a moment at it.

Clair didn't let the fact that the air had been driven from her, stop her from trying to defend herself. She curled into a ball as Zeta's nose jabbed her in the arm covering her head and neck. Zeta opened her jaws and closed them over Clair's upper arm.

It hurt but she was surprised, yet still terrified, as the teeth barely broke the skin. She was pulling Clair with her across the room now. Clair struggled trying to free herself. Zeta stopped pulling and turned her body stepping on Clair's midsection. The weight of the animal hurt and the message was clear. Keep struggling and she'd not be so kind.

All of this happened in less than a minute and Zeta had a very giddy and joyous air about her. Oh no, was she taking her back to Isaiah like some kind of hard won prize?

"That's her, the one that knows how to avoid the demons so well!" Someone shouted, well she wasn't doing so good now was she?

"Gustav wants her, he wants to know her secret!" Great out of the group she had to encounter it had to be the small one that was part of Gustav'. Still that was the least of her worries.

"Kill it!" Someone said and Zeta let go of her arm coming over Clair as she curled up again to try and stop damage to anything vital. Zeta out a loud growling bark, snapping her jaws. Clair chanced a look, those in the room were moving toward them. They clearly thought the could take her as a group.

If they freed her from Zeta she would do whatever they asked. She'd even shoot up or cut herself or whatever freaky shit they were into. She would be alive not mauled to death. The things you were

willing to do to survive... these were thoughts that Clair would never have thought herself capable of, but now she knew.

Zeta crouched lower over her. Her fur brushing Clair, she would have thought that the fur that looked spiky would be hard and bristle like. It was soft. Soft like down and Zeta had the strong smell of ocean to her, how odd.

Zeta lunged leaving Clair, no more than two minutes now had passed since she started running, but Isaiah and Beta would be coming as well. She could feel them, and she didn't look. She knew they were in the room. She ran for it. This was a sitting room and over in the corner was a ladder that went to a second level. Right where Clair wanted to be as the exit there led her to a grate she could get into. She grabbed a wrung, but fate didn't seem to be on her side this time. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

She was jerked to a stop. The wind driven from her as the steel band of an arm came around her midsection. Clair went wild, she was not going to die like this! She was lifted off her feet, she scratched and clawed. She bit the hand that came up to her face. He pulled it away and the other grabbed her throat with an intense amount of force. It didn't break or crush her neck but it did cut off her air.

"Not today Clair." She recognized Isaiah's voice and she felt tears flooding her eyes. There was growling and shouts, from behind them. No, no, this was it? She'd been doing so well.

"Are you going to behave or do I have to take care of you right now?" He loosened his grip so she could talk. The Hell hounds pushing the others back, ready to attack.

"Behave." She gasped out dragging in a lung full of air. There was chaos in the room as Beta and Zeta circled the others, but they were off to the side.

"Good." He turned her toward the door that they had come in. They moved forward. He moved his hand to the back of her neck leading her. She could feel that he was really happy all of a sudden. Clair glanced to her left and stopped in her tracks, Isaiah walking into her.

"Oh god!" She choked, not caring that he was holding her and she turned from the group. One was holding some kind handmade explosive. She tried to move and protect herself seeing it. She felt Isaiah's grip loosen as he too saw it too.