Reaper of Souls: A fantasy short story by Holly Copella

Chapter One
     
    T he charming country tavern
was alive with cheerful, drunken locals, who were line-dancing, playing pool,
and socializing.  A lanky man in his late twenties, Dylan Rampert, played pool
with another man, Oscar.  Dylan was cheerful as he was about to win another
game.  His young, attractive sister in her early twenties, Regina, watched the
game from the sidelines.  Dylan won the game, gloated some, and collected his
money.
    “One more
game,” Oscar insisted.
    “Just one
more,” Dylan replied.  He approached Reggie, picked up his bottle of beer from
the table, and studied her.  “Are you sure you don’t want to go someplace
else?  I mean, this is your college graduation night.  I’m feeling guilty about
getting off so cheap.”
    “You don’t have
to go overboard, Dylan,” she informed him.
    “Mom and dad
would have.  They’d be proud of you,” he informed her then hesitated.  “I’m
proud of you.”
    Reggie smiled
warmly and placed her hand on his lower arm.  “Thanks, Dylan.”
    “You’re the
only sister I’ve got,” he replied then teased, “Thank God.  And if Brady
doesn’t stop checking you out every time I turn around, I’m going to knock him
on his ass.”
    “He’s a
harmless pervert.”
    “Not from what
I’ve heard,” Dylan muttered.
    “Come on,
Dylan,” Oscar called.  “Winner breaks.”
    “Let me beat
this guy one more time, then we’ll go home.”
    She smiled and
nodded.  As Dylan returned to the pool table, she finished her drink then
headed toward the restroom.  A man in his late twenties, Brady, approached her
as she passed.
    “Heard you’re
officially a college graduate tonight,” Brady announced.  “Congratulations.”
    Reggie offered
a smile but didn’t stop to talk.  “Thanks, Brady.”
    Brady cut off
her path, forcing her to stop.  “Since you won’t be tied up with your studies
anymore, maybe we could pick up where we’d left off,” he said cheerfully.
    “As I recall,
we’d left off with me telling you if you ever touched me again, I’d cut your
childbearing years in half,” Reggie replied.
    Brady
chuckled.  “I know you weren’t serious.”
    “You tackled me
to the ground--”
    “I was just
playing with you,” he teased.
    “You stuck your
hand up the back of my skirt,” she scoffed.
    “So I grabbed
your ass,” Brady said with a shrug.  “It was all in good fun.”
    “Yeah, so was
my punching you in the mouth,” she replied.
    “Actually, that
stung.”
    “Let’s get
something straight,” Reggie growled.  “I have no intentions on going out with
you again.  And you’re damned lucky I fight my own battles and didn’t tell
Dylan what happened.”  She attempted to walk around him. 
    Brady caught
her around the waist and playfully pulled her against him.  “Okay, you can stop
playing hard to get now.”
    She attempted
to push him away.  Her look was unpredictable.  “Get your hands off me or we will pick up where we’d left off.”
    Brady laughed
as if it was a joke.
    “Hey!” Dylan
cried out.
    Brady and
Reggie looked toward the pool area.  Dylan was already standing before them
with a look of mayhem on his face.  Without warning, he punched Brady in the
face.  Brady released Reggie and fell onto a nearby table.  Several glasses fell
to the floor and shattered.  The entire tavern fell silent and stared.
    “Keep your
hands off my sister, prick!”
    Brady held his
mouth and slowly straightened with hostility.  “What’s your problem?  We were
just talking!”
    Reggie grabbed
Dylan’s arm.  “Time to go.”
    †
    T he beautifully restored
Victorian home was located on a secluded back road far from anyone.  Several
lights were still on within the house.  Dylan sat on the sofa while flexing his
sore hand.  Reggie entered with an ice pack and tossed it to him.  He caught it
and held it to his fist.
    “Thanks,” Dylan
muttered.
    “My overly
protective, big brother,” she said with a