《Reaper of Cantrips》Chapter 20: Curfew
Advertisement
Pan slept late. She rose and dressed only to be greeted by a message from Casimir.
He’d pinpointed a new batch of deceased arcanes, all middle-aged or older. Much to Pan’s dismay, he’d found another out in the country. She did a quick travel estimate and found the trip to be twenty minutes shorter, but she didn’t think it was necessary.
In fact, Pan knew it wasn’t necessary. She was the reaper! She knew she hadn’t run out and murdered anyone last night. Pan caught her breath. But, she did run out and leave a little message on the wall of Solmart.
Pan looked at the clock and saw that mid-morning had already come and gone. She hurried to the lounge and checked the news. Only a few girls gathered there, but of course, her little stunt remained the talk of the city.
Her message warned the Scaldin to fear the murderer. It looked jagged and rather depraved on the lounge’s big screen.
Good, it should. Pan needed to get that murderer’s attention.
The newscasters, as per the Arcane’s orders, treated the whole debacle as a hoax. Pan thought that approach best because after all, the people of Pittura and Scaldigir had nothing to fear from her or even the murderer.
Pan left the lounge. She stopped in the hall. She looked out a window, but she didn’t really see through it.
She didn’t want Pittura’s attention, but she had it. She didn’t want Scaldin to panic, but they hovered on the verge. And, she didn’t want the Arcanes to search for her, but now a reaper lived among them. They wouldn’t stop, until they found her. She started it, and the only way out was through. Through to where?
Probably a personally fitted ankle cuff and some kind of cell.
Before that happened, she’d better solve her mystery.
Pan headed back to her room. With the day half gone and Casimir nowhere in sight, she might escape the hunt for murder victims. Maybe Casimir meant for them to work on his list tomorrow. She would double check his message.
Advertisement
She put her hand on the knob, but before she could turn it, she overheard a conversation between some of the girls and a handful of mentors. Their voices traveled from the floor below.
“How long will there be a curfew?” one girl asked.
“We’re not sure, but you are to take this curfew seriously. No one goes outside after 20:00.”
“Do we have evidence that there’s a reaper?”
A mentor answered. “Possibly. There’s a lot to investigate, and there is certainly a motive behind these messages. Frankly, we need to take it seriously.”
Curfew? Did that affect arcanes over twenty? The last thing Pan needed or wanted was a curfew. She stood frozen, one foot inside her ajar door.
“Pan!” Kat strode down the hall, with Brynn in tow.
Pan faced them and closed her door. She waited for them to come closer. “Yes?” She asked.
Brynn gestured for Pan to come hither. “Follow us. We need to discuss curfew with you.”
Pan followed them down the stairs. Brynn led them all to her quiet office. Brynn had a nice little window, a clean desk, and boring pictures on the wall: flowers with fuzzy edges and simple fish, painted in rich shades.
“Where’s Chara?” Pan asked.
They suddenly thought she needed guidance from two mentors, why not three?
“Chara?” Brynn said. “Why would you expect to see her in my office?”
Three chairs sat around the desk, but every woman stood. Brynn leaned on her staff, and Kat stood off to the side, arms crossed. Pan remained at the small office’s center, closest to the door.
Pan looked at Kat. “Never mind.” Pan could still get comfort from Chara; maybe, even tell her the truth, but not if Chara wasn’t present.
Brynn regarded Pan without emotion. “We want to discuss the issue of curfew.”
“Does that affect arcanes over twenty?” Pan asked.
“It affects everyone,” Kat said. “Except, maybe, you.”
Brynn said, “We realize that you need to leave the Complex after hours to assist with murder investigations and talk to spirits that might shy from the daylight.” Brynn pulled a shiny pass from her desk.
Advertisement
Pan lowered her gaze. Her skin burned.
Brynn tossed the pass to Pan.
It landed at Pan’s feet. She didn’t see humor or good nature in Brynn’s face. She didn’t pick it up.
“Go ahead,” Brynn said.
Pan bent and picked up the pass.
Kat shot Brynn a narrow-eyed glance. “Let’s try not to let our stress get the better of us.”
Brynn said nothing.
Pan fingered her pass, grateful to have it. She admired the gold finish. “I’ll take this, but I spend most of my time out with Detective Casimir. I imagine he’s immune to curfew. He kept me busy for twelve hours yesterday, and his next round of questioning looks just as bad. He said you don’t know how to use me properly.”
Kat’s mouth dropped open. “Let me see this schedule.” Kat gestured for Pan to come and use Brynn’s computer.
Pan hesitated but stepped forward.
Brynn took her seat. “Kat, it won’t be necessary. We’ll hold Pan’s other work. The Detective can use her.” Brynn stared hard at Pan. “Bring the pass with you, even if you spend the whole day with him. Just in case.”
Kat nodded. “You never know if you could be separated from him. Most of Pittura’s law force knows you, but let’s keep you safe.”
“Wait…When you say this curfew is for everyone? Do you mean everyone?” Pan asked. “Not just arcanes? I thought the population at large thinks this reaper thing is a hoax.”
Brynn spread her hands. “That didn’t last. The rural governors instated curfews for everyone. Pittrua’s governor followed suit. Meanwhile, some arcane blabbed to one of the newspapers that this is real. The news should start to report the same.” Brynn shrugged. “We have a traitor, I guess.”
With a sigh, Kat said, “I wouldn’t go that far. But, it was only a matter of time. Journalists can see how seriously we take these messages, and there are experts, academics that can analyze the situation for themselves. They didn’t stay quiet.”
Pan’s heart quickened. “Reapers aren’t going to bother everyone else. Why are they all so scared?”
Brynn set a stern gaze on Pan. “You kids don’t learn anything anymore. You’re old enough now. Maybe, you should look it up. A lot of non-arcanes died too.”
Pan narrowed her eyes, and her lips parted.
Kat’s voice sounded surprisingly soft. “None of us are happy about the prospect of a reaper among us. And, Pan, I know you have a temper, but there’s nothing you can do. Just keep your head down and do your job. You have a valuable power. You’re an ideal candidate for murder by reaper.”
Pan nodded. She’d recently learned just how valuable her ghost sight was. All her teenage years and early twenties, she could have questioned ghosts to find the long dead bodies of arcanes – at least, in theory. Who knew how long a power might remain in a body, ripe for the taking? Then again, would those actions turn her into a force of destruction?
Brynn added, “Ghost seeing is just the kind of power a reaper would want. It may come with a burden, but a reaper could use it to kill someone and question the ghost. In that way, a reaper could get security protocols, classified information, anything. Ghosts don’t lie to you – well, not much.”
Wonderful. Even more things Pan could have been doing with her existing power. “I never thought about that.”
Brynn shifted and made herself comfortable at her desk. “That’s because you’re a good person.”
Pan held her golden pass tight and left the room. They would find her, and maybe, they should. Maybe, the murderer had been right to exterminate the reapers.
Advertisement
Immortal Desire
As a pureblood vampire, Fleur is truly eternal. She cannot age. She cannot die. Nothing can kill her; she will exist so long as Ether exists in the world.At first, she had thought it was a blessing. And after the one she loved died saving her, she had thought her immortality was a chance to make things right again by protecting his family. But as life after life, her very presence leads to the ruin of all that she loves, she has learned her lesson. She is a monster. And the love of a monster is a curse.But although she swore never to love again, sometimes fate cannot be controlled. As the years pass, so does her hunger grow. She must search for a way to sate her hunger or cure her vampirism—or risk degenerating completely into a mindless monster. So when she learns of a secret expedition of heretics out to find Ladvin's Vault—said to hold the legendary Panacea—she doesn't hesitate to join.Yet, she never expected herself to become drawn to one of her mortal companions, something she had sworn to herself to never allow. Will the beating of her eternally-stopped heart a blessing or a curse? And with companions that have deadly secrets of their own, and the Order at their heels, will they be able to find and snatch the Panacea? ...And who will be the one who gains it?—Prince Adrian seemed to be blessed with everything anyone can dream for. An Emperor for his father, natural talent, and even Adriel’s Blessing of divine power. But fate has played a trick on him just a year his coronation, for he was struck by a mysterious illness incurable by even the best mages. He was dying, before he had a chance to use his talent to fulfill his dreams. But even though everyone tells him it is hopeless, he refuses to just sit back and wait for his death. Even if it means abandoning everything he had and betraying everything he had stood for, he would do anything—anything—to find a cure and live.But as he leaves behind everything he had known to chase legends and cavort with the heretics he had once despised, he becomes drawn to one of his companions—as well as competitors. But will this new love be his salvation? Or will it be his ruin?
8 184A Man and His Greatsword
Michael Adkins is a unique 28-year-old man. Born with above average strength and emerald green eyes, he always wanted to live in a fantasy world. He was very much into fantasy light novels, manga, and anime, especially a certain one that involves a black armored man with a large greatsword. Michael always dreamed of going on an adventure in a fantasy world. On a whim, Michael is summoned by the god of Alorah, one of the fantasy worlds he had always read about! Alorah's God, Eden, gives Michael a choice of three bonuses and a custom class to take with him into Alorah. This is the start of Michael's fantasy adventures. P.S. This is my first novel, I'm writing this since there were little novels I've found with a main character that wields a greatsword. Don't expect anything good. There will be a lot of mistakes, so please help me with that! P.P.S The later chapters will (hopefully) be much less cringy than the early ones. Please give it a shot!
8 58Worldbreaking
A tensei (reincarnation) story of a Demon King who reincarnates as the race he despises the most upon his death, human.
8 224The Man With The Gloves (mxmxmxm)
TW: SELF-HARM This is a BXBXBXB story. Don't like, don't read. "Be careful, Fayez, not to touch anything or anyone. Keep your gloves on at all times, my sweet prince, or who knows what might happen".Fayez is the last-born child of one of the strongest family of vampires that ever existed. According to most, he should have led an easy life, for money was never a problem and he had many servants more than willing to fulfill his wishes. Fayez had everything to be happy, except for the fact that he was a burden to his own parents. See, there was something terribly wrong with his hands: everything he touched became rotten, so he had to keep his gloves on at all times. He was a leathal weapon, one that had to be kept a secret, so that other people wouldn't try to use his curse for their own benefit.When Fayez turned 21, his parents decided that their son could not be kept secluded in their castle any longer, and that it was more than time for him to face the outside world. They sent him to the prestigious ISB - Institute for Supernatural Beings, where every supernatural creature from age 20 to age 30 is given a special training to enhance his natural capabilities. How will the priviledged Fayez, who only ever knew the faces of his family and servants, survive in a place where most of the residents have experienced violence and cruelty from a very young age, and are street smart?More importantly, can this haughty, strong yet inexperienced, touch-depraved young man learn how to love and be loved in return, or is he far too gone already?
8 317*NSFW* OHSHC Imagines [DISCONTINUED]
DISCONTINUED Started: 03/09/2020Ended: 06/22/2022
8 196wlw smut; nessa barrett fan fic
a sexy lesbian smut about nessa barrett from y/n's point of view, enjoy!(FINISHED)
8 81