Free The Reaper's Apprentices #1: Awakened by CS Patra Page A

up. “I take it you don’t care?”
     
    “Get them!” someone yelled from the back.
     
    “Run, girls!” Yuka yelled, pushing them out the door. In what felt like seconds, the whole room erupted in chaos and noise. They had gotten a head start, but the demon slayers were starting to catch up. Whatever these humans were yelling, the girls couldn’t make it out. All they cared about was getting to the portal. Once they found that, they could get home. No human could use those portals. They’d be safe for the time being.
     
    “Where is it?!” Kaska yelled, dodging arrows, rocks, and other things that were being thrown at them. An arrow whizzed past her ear, and she gasped. “Someone find the portal fast!”
     
    “Maybe we should split up!” Yuka exclaimed, turning around to see about twenty demon slayers on their trail. “Oh hell…” She looked ahead and saw more demon slayers. “We’re trapped! What do we do now?!”
     
    “I don’t think we’ve got time for splitting up! Let’s go through here!” Tessa exclaimed, opening a door in the side as the demon slayers neared them. She screamed and pushed past them, running down the hall. More things were flying around now, and she kept hoping that none of them would get her.
     
    “This is the worst night of my life!” Avani yelled. “Why am I wearing these shoes?! I didn’t expect to run tonight!”
     
    “That’s great, Avani! Shoes! Tell you what: let’s complain about our shoes once we get back to Tartarus Sanctum!” Yuka shot back, finding another door that revealed another hallway. “What is this, the house of hallways?! All I want is a damn exit!”
     
    “Maybe we should have listened to our masters!” Tessa pulled open another door. “Oh God, it’s another hallway! Don’t these people have any rooms?!”
     
    “My side is killing me,” Yuka moaned, doubling over in pain. “We should not have eaten those two large pizzas! I don’t think I can make it!”
     
    “But you have to make it! We need to get out or we’re history!” Avani reminded her as they ran straight into a wall.
     
    “Oh no! What are we going to do now?!”
     
    “It’s a dead end!” Kaska yelled as they tried to claw at the wall. She looked up at the ceiling and didn’t see any means of escape there either. “Holy crap, we’re trapped! What do we do now?!”
     
    Yuka fell to the ground and turned around, expecting to see a demon slayer. But instead something moved in front of her, blocking her from harm. Slowly, she got back to her feet and tried to grab the wall as the shadowed figure moved in front of her. A familiar feeling fell over her, and she knew who it was. They were going to be safe.
     
    “Master!” Yuka exclaimed, as Sebastian got between her and the demon slayers. He didn’t bother to look at her, but rather focused on blocking the attacks. She noticed how swift he was, pushing the slayers aside with ease and tossing them to the ground like they were rag dolls. For being young, he was stronger than her. It was clear why he was close to being a Grim Reaper. He stood with the same confidence Grim Reaper Linn had. It was a confidence Yuka was still trying to gain and currently failing at.
     
    “I’m so glad to see you,” she began, even though she knew he didn’t want to hear it.
     
    “Sit down, Yuka,” Sebastian ordered. Even though she was feeling weak, she tried to stand her ground. “Do you need any help here?”
     
    “No, you need to keep out of this. Stay low and don’t try anything,” he commanded her. As it turned out, he wasn’t the only one there. All their masters had shown up in time to protect their protégés. “All right, demon slayers! Let’s dance!”
     
    “You picked the wrong demons to attack, slayer,” Fabian threatened, holding up one of them by his throat. “Now how am I going to make you pay for that? Let’s see…do I take your heart? Do I rip out your jugular? Or maybe I can rip your face right off