Free Reapers, Inc. - Brigit's Cross by B.L. Newport Page B

the
floor at her feet. She looked to John and was alarmed to find him
in the death hold of the monster he had called out. By the stench
that filled her nostrils as they wrestled, she easily guessed which
door this one would be going through once they had him under
control.
    Quickly, Brigit sprang into action. Her boot
to the monster’s backside caused him to release John and turn on
her. He was snarling, like a rabid animal that had been cornered.
His stench mounted with his fury as he hunkered down to leap on
her. Despite the distraction of his skin peeling from his face,
Brigit never let her attention leave the yellow eyes that were
assessing her.
    “John, where’s the door?” she asked as she
took a step back from the approaching monster.
    “To your right,” John gasped from where he
had fallen when the monster had released him.
    “Open the damn thing already,” Brigit
instructed as the monster launched itself like a missile across the
space between them.
    Instinctively, she punched at it, her fist
sinking deep into its face where its nose appeared to be. If it had
been human, she was sure she would have heard the sound of breaking
bones and cartilage. Her adrenaline hit maximum capacity as she
felt its claws sinking deep into her shoulder. She noted briefly
that there was a sensation where Demetrius had a hold of her, but
she knew it wasn’t pain she was feeling. It was something more akin
to sudden nausea – the same feeling she had felt at the scene of
her accident.
    Together they fell to the floor. Brigit heard
a sound like a sucker coming off a pane of glass as she yanked her
fist free. She looked up in time to see sharp yellow teeth
glistening beneath the cavity her fist had created in the middle of
the monster’s face. Quickly, she turned her head away and felt the
monster’s weight suddenly lifted from her.
    Then she heard a door slam.
    Gasping, Brigit lay on the floor for a moment
before turning her head to look at John. Casually, he brushed the
sleeves of his suit coat and smoothed his black hair before
extending a hand out to Brigit.
    “I hate when they start a fight,” he remarked
as he helped her to her feet.
    Slowly, he turned her and pressed his fingers
against the place where the monster’s claws had marked her. The
punctures had gone just below the skin’s surface, barely touching
the muscles below. Brigit had been saved by the padding of her
coat. John sighed in relief. Everything would be mended by the time
they were through the portal. Only the memory of the attack would
remain.
    “It doesn’t hurt,” Brigit assured him.
    “Of course it doesn’t. We’d have a problem if
it did,” he retorted.
    “Why do you say that?”
    “Because, love, it would mean that you’re
still alive,” John explained. “We’re done here today. How about a
beverage before we return to the office? We have a few more things
to discuss before you start fulfilling your assignments,” he
suggested. Brigit nodded silently and followed him from the
basement.

8: Explanations

    The coffee shop patrons had not changed since
the visit the day before. The old man with the sad blue eyes
remained in the booth by the window and the waiter behind the bar
stood ready to serve them beverages as soon as they walked through
the door. As they took their seats at the counter where Giuseppe
had served them in the same smiling silence he had done the day
before, Brigit’s thoughts were beyond the perfectly prepared cup of
coffee sitting on the bar before her.
    “You seem pensive,” John commented as he
stirred his tea.
    “I suppose I am,” she admitted. “Could
Demetrius Rudikov have killed me?” She heard John sigh gently as he
balanced his teaspoon on the rim of the saucer under the
teacup.
    “Darling, you’re already dead,” he reminded.
“No, he could not have killed you. However, had he managed to maul
you any more than he did, you would have been dastardly ill for
quite some time. Unfortunately, it’s not