A phone rings and Charlie fishes it out of his pocket. He glances at the screen and then frowns. He lifts it to his head and sighs. "Hello?" There is a pause for a moment before he sags back into the couch. "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute."
"What's wrong?" Why in the world is he acting like that?
"I told them I needed today off, but someone called in sick." He pouts and drops his phone in his lap. "I have to go into work today, so I can't spend the day with you."
Oh, that sucks. I kinda thought he would go with me, but I don't want to make him feel worse than he does. "No big deal. It's not like it was going to be a relaxing day anyways." I force a grin. "I'm just going to check out the house and hope there is someone there willing to train me for Hell."
"Even more reason I want to go." He opens his mouth but then closes it and bites his lip. He taps his foot on the ground and then lets out a groan. "Dammit. I want to ask you not to go, but you need to start training as soon as possible. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Hey, I'll be fine." I don't want to lie to him, but I didn't get any bad vibes from my vision. "Nothing seemed wonky. I think it'll be fine."
He leans over and kisses my lips once more. "Fine, but you better be here for dinner. If not, I'm going to send out a search party."
"I'll make sure I am." I laugh and stand. "You better get going before you get in trouble. I'll see you back here in a couple of hours."
"Fine, be the responsible one. Oh, and your car is parked back in your spot." He winks at me and walks out the door.
"Thank you." I call out just as the door slams. Once I'm alone, I run to the bathroom and gather my things. I grab a quick Pop-Tart and head out the door. It's time to go investigate.
I hurry down the stairs. Soon I'm climbing into my car and my cell phone rings. I pull it out and my caller ID shows Council. Yeah, no. I'm not answering this call right now. I'm not in the mood to deal with their antics. I clear the call and throw my phone in my passenger seat.
Focusing on the house in my mind, I drive to the location. When I pull down the road, the houses are older, but large. I pull into the driveway of a white house with a large garden out front. It reminds me of the kind of flowers I read about in my childhood stories. I climb out of the car and walk up the stairs. The front door is made of wood and has a symbol similar to a star with swirls on the end.
Not sure what else to do, I reach out and ring the doorbell. At first it doesn't sound like there is any movement on the other side of the door, but without warning, it opens. I jump back a step or two.
A tall man with long, brown hair stands before me. He's lean but muscular and his ears end with a very slight point. "Hello, are you lost?" He has a faint accent, but I can't place where it's from.
"Uh... no." How do I explain I was led here without coming off insane? I take a deep breath and let it out in a huff. I guess I'm going to have to trust myself and magic. It led me here for a reason. "I'm able to find things that I need and was led to you."
His vivid green eyes widen, and he tilts his head. "Oh, really now? And why do you think you were led to me?"
"Well, I'm needing to go to the Underworld, so I need to be trained to fight the things that live there. That's what I was thinking about and this place came to mind." I sure hope I'm not making the wrong choice here. I'm relying on my instincts at this point. "So, can you help me?"
"Let's say I could help." He leans his head with his brows furrowed. "Why would I help a little girl like you, a reaper no less?"
"Because I've collected the Mother Earth and Angel's Breath." I stare him in the eye and reach down inside me to connect with my magic. I hold out my hand toward the inside of his house and push some of the power inside. There in the middle of the room, a small tornado forms blowing items left and right, but not hard. I'm not trying to cause chaos and destruction, just showing him I'm more than what meets the eye.
He glances behind him and then back at me. "Okay, you've gotten my attention. I'll train you but know you may regret it." He holds out his hands and grabs mine. "My name is Barley."
"It doesn't matter if I regret it or not. I need it to survive." I remove my hands and nod. "My name is Christina."
"Aw, look at the happy couple." A voice I'm all too familiar rings in my ear.
I turn to find the expected red hair walking up behind me. "Hello, Sienna. Did you miss me?" How did she already find me? I haven't been here even twenty-four hours and she's already located my whereabouts. I guess the council is desperate to talk to me.
"Oh, please. I'm just here to tell you to get your ass to the Council House." She rolls her eyes and glances behind me at Barley.
"I'll be there in a little while. I just need to run an errand first." I wish she'd just go away. I don't want her relaying back my whereabouts to them. They already know enough about me, but of course they still have to send their
