Chapter 6
Alistar told her he would be back in a couple hours. She waved goodbye as she got out of the car and ran inside to try to explain to her mother that she was going on her first date ever and hoped her mother wouldn’t make a big deal about it. She called out for her mother. As soon as her mother came around the corner she had a big smile across her face. “I see you have made a friend! Tell me all the details.” Valerie blushed at the thought and smiled. “I have a date tonight mom and please don’t make a big deal about it!” Her mother laughed and shook her head. “Okay I won’t but you have to tell me all about this boy when you get back!” Valerie hurried upstairs before her mother could ask any more questions. She brushed back her hair and began doing her school work as quickly as she could. An hour flew by and she was finally done with her work. She quickly changed clothes and pulled back her hair. She even put on a little lip gloss. She checked the time one last time before heading downstairs to tell her mother goodbye before she ran out the door. As she walked outside Alistar pulled up. She smiled as she climbed into the car.
Alistar drove them to the edge of town and pulled up to a two story Victorian house. The house was beautiful yet simple. Valerie had to admit she was a little nervous. She knew what to expect but she still wasn’t quite prepared for it. The two walked up the steps and into the house. There in the living room sat the ancestors. They both smiled at the pair as they walked in. The woman was the first to speak. “My dear Valerie I’m so glad you took my words to heart. You must know how happy it has made me that you have decided to accept your destiny so willingly. I wish I had had someone to explain things to me. Although I don’t think I would have been as willing as you were to accept fate.” She smiled as she finished speaking and turned to her match. He smiled at his wife and began to speak. “Hello again Valerie, we are so glad you have decided to embrace your future. Tonight is the night that you will claim your role as the reaper’s match. We will create a circle with our hands once again but this time we will say a few spells and call on the spirits to make you immortal and to give you the mark of the reaper. Valerie took a steadying breath and nodded her head. The man and woman then stood up and prepared to make their way to the living room where this would all take place. They made a circle but before they began holding hands Alistar whispered in Valerie’s ear. “Don’t be afraid you may see spirits but don’t be afraid of them, just remember I’ll be right here with you.” With his final words they all took hands.
The ancestors closed their eyes and bowed their heads as did Alistar followed by Valarie. The room became eerily quiet and still. No one said a word but the longer the silence went on the stranger Valerie felt. Then like a light switch being turned on she saw the spirits of the underworld. There beside her stood Alistar and the ancestors. They waited patiently with their hands folded at their waists. Valerie did the same but she searched the never ending abyss wondering what they were waiting for. A few moments passed and the spirits were still swirling like wind around them, finally the male ancestor took a step forward. The spirits seemed to halt immediately as if waiting for him to address them. The ancestor cleared his throat and for a moment spoke in a language Valerie was sure she had never heard before. After a short speech in this language he turned back to where they stood and motioned for them to come stand with him.
As Valerie approached him he grabbed her hand Alistar taking her other hand they formed a triangle. “Close your eyes Valerie. The spirits would like to communicate with you through us.” She did as the Ancestor had told her. A voice then came to her as if she was in a dream. “You were destined to be the match do you accept your fate my dear child?” she didn’t know where the voice was coming from but she knew she had better not anger it so she quickly answered. “Yes.” The voice seemed to enjoy her simple answer so he carried on. “Can you keep the secret of the reaper and carry out your duty to stand beside him for the rest of your immortal life?” Once again she took a moment to process the question. “Yes...I do.” The voice seemed amused by her wording. He continued. “And last are you willing to learn of your ancestors and the rules and ways of life of the underworld?” She had already expected this question thanks to Alistar pre warning her. “Yes I am.” The voice was silent a moment. “Then let thy will be done and the match be made.” And with that the voice and the presence of the spirit was gone. The three dropped hands and walked back to where the woman ancestor stood. She smiled warmly. “Now Valerie, we will all place a hand on you and silently chant the spell to begin transforming you. please bow your head.” She did as the woman told her and then she felt their hands touch her shoulders and her head. As they once again went silent she began to feel strange. Not sick or anything just strange kind of like a tingly feeling throughout her whole body. And then suddenly they were done the hands lifted and when her eyes opened they were back in the quaint living room of the Victorian house.
Valerie suddenly felt very hungry and exhausted. Her stomach began to rumble and Alistar and his ancestors began to giggle. The woman stopped giggling and put a hand on Valerie. “First trip to the underworld made me pretty hungry too! Come my dear I hear you like pizza! We will talk more once you have some food!” Valerie couldn’t even turn down pizza she was so hungry she felt like she could eat a whole cow. The four of them filed out of the house and climbed into a red Aston Martin. Valerie guessed it was the male ancestor’s car. Alistar and the male ancestor took the front while Valerie and the female ancestor rode in the back. The woman cleared her throat and began to speak. “Now that you are one of us we may tell you our names and our history. My name is Eudora was born in the Victorian Era. I was to be matched to Lucius, at first I did not accept my destiny but Lucius never gave up trying to show me that his world wasn’t all bad. Finally, I gave in and embraced him and my fate.” She smiled a little at the memories coming back to her from so long ago. Valerie waited quietly for her to return from her reverie and begin speaking again. A short moment passed by and Eudora cleared her throat and blushed a little. “Anyways! Lucius is the original reaper. We had no idea that another reaper and match would ever be presented. However, when Alistar was born the spirits called on us and claimed a baby was born unto the world with the mark of the reaper. We were told to take him and raise him as our own and to teach him the life of the underworld and his role as the reaper.” Eudora gave an expectant look to the driver seat where Lucius sat. He quickly began to pick up where she left off. “We knew that one day I would step back from being the reaper once he had perfected his role and fully understood his duties but we never expected a match. Seventeen years ago the spirits began to speak of you. They came to Alistar and often shared bits of information on you. However, they forbade him to step into your life until just a few days ago.” They came to a smooth stop in front of the local pizza joint and all conversation of the underworld ceased. The four walked in and sat down just like any other normal group of people would and carried on a normal conversation. To Valerie’s surprise she really enjoyed their company. They were smart and funny and they told great stories of the travels they had been on. Normal or not the fascinated her.
They finished off two pizzas and Valerie decided it be best if she just went home and got some rest and talked more about the history and rules another day. Lucius and Eudora agreed that was best and assured her that once her transformation was done she wouldn’t feel so exhausted. She was glad to hear because she could barely keep her eyes open as they drove her home. She wasn’t sure how she was going to stay up long enough to satisfy her mother with details. The car came to a stop and Valerie awoke realizing she had dozed off in the back seat. They were stopped in front of her house. Alistar climbed out and walked her to the door he quickly kissed her cheek and walked back to the car. They were gone before she even had her front door open. Yawning as she opened the door she kicked her shoes off and made her way to the kitchen where her mother was waiting expectantly. When she rounded the corner her mother was practically boun
cing in excitement. “Well how did it go? where did you go? Did you have fun? Are you going to see him again?” Valerie sighed and finally managed to slow her mother down. “It went great mom, I met his parents and we all decided to go out for pizza and yes I will be seeing him again. Don’t worry you will meet him eventually.” Before her mom could protest the eventually part Valerie kissed her mom’s cheek and told her she still had some work to do and hurried upstairs. She knew she wouldn’t be doing any work but she pulled the books onto her bed just in case her mom came up it would look like she fell asleep doing her work. She immediately fell asleep. That night she dreamt of the spirits. They spoke to her as if she wasn’t dreaming. They told her stories of the underworld and the history of Lucius the original reaper. None of this scared her after all it was no longer a nightmare it was now her life. When she awoke she still felt tired but nowhere near how she felt last night. She knew she had to get ready for school but she took five more minutes to just lay in bed.