“Well, he walked out on me when I was two weeks old, so if he did, I can’t say I remember much,” said Reese, flatly. “The only reason I even figured any of this out was because I found his weapons and journal buried in our basement when I was thirteen.”
“Can someone just explain to me what the hell’s going on?” I finally demanded. “Who…and what are all of you people?”
“Care to clarify?” mused the magician. “Or do you wish for me to do the honors?”
Eric and Adam only exchanged uneasy looks.
“I’ll take that as the latter,” huffed Reese, turning to address me. “Back in the day when Lucifer and his legion fell from Heaven, these fallen angels fornicated with human women, bringing about a new breed called the Nephilim, otherwise known as Mages.”
“Mages?” I uttered.
“Historically, a Mage is the equivalent of a sorcerer. They possessed the powers of an angel and wielded the darkest, demonic magic. Drank the blood of their victim to steal their life source. Vampires. Nearly indestructible. To counteract the reign of terror they brought upon mankind, God flooded the Earth, wiping them all out,” Mr. Reynolds clarified. “Their spirits remained earthbound though, in the form of demons. Asides from your casual possession, they didn’t pose any threat. That is, until some occultists a few hundred years back managed to resurrect a demon, by the name of Azazeal, back to our world in bodily form. He repopulated the world with Mages, forcing Heaven to combat the movement. A small band of benevolent angels willingly fell from Paradise to bless the strongest and pure-hearted of men with the abilities to fight these new Mages, therefore creating Reapers. Us.”
“There’s a delicate balance between the living and the afterlife. Reapers escort souls to the hereafter, but they also have the power to resurrect the dead under certain circumstances,” added Adam. “If they do this, the person brought back is no longer human, but a Changeling. Half-Reaper, half-human—i.e., you.”
“Wait, you’re saying I died?”
“In a less than flattering sense, yes,” confirmed Reese.
“Who did this to me?”
“That’s the million dollar question,” growled Russell, cutting a glare at Blackburn.
“Don’t look at me,” said Reese. “If I was her Maker, I’d put everybody’s minds at ease and confess so I can get the hell out of here.” He continued fidgeting at the binds with no luck before looking to me again. “But back to my original point, Changelings have pretty much all the same skills and abilities as full-blooded Reapers, yet they’re still not heralded as equals to most Purebloods.”
Mr. Reynolds’s face contorted, and I couldn’t tell if it was the comment or the truth behind it that upset him.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“It’s not that Changelings are looked down upon; it’s just that they pose a risk to Reapers such as ourselves,” said Adam. “Hellhounds were created by the demon Ba‘al Berith, a chief prince in Hell. He tempts men and women alike to commit murder and destruction by way of a demonic virus. When an ordinary human is infected, it opens them up to possession. A malevolent earthbound spirit can take over the body of the host. Reapers are immune to the disease, as they were blessed by angelic blood. Changelings, however, still have human DNA, which makes them susceptible to the virus. If infected, the Changeling turns into a Hellhound.”
The growing pit in my stomach deepened as I looked over at Reese. That’s why I was attacked in the alley. “How do you get infected?”
“You have to be bitten,” said Adam. “Hellhounds generally go for the neck. Their fangs pierce the jugular vein, so the venom gets into the system faster.”
“Wouldn’t you bleed out?” I asked.
“You’d think, but it’s said that something in the venom causes the wound to immediately heal after the fangs are removed.”
Well, that didn’t sound too pleasant. “What happens if you get turned?”
“We can’t be turned, because we’re pureblood Reapers, from birth. If you get bitten,” clarified Russell, “then you become a member of Hell’s chief assassins. A shape-shifter with an uncontrollable blood lust.”
“Hellhounds don’t have any feelings. No remorse, no sense of pain. They kill at will, and the only thing they care about is carrying out their mission. We’re the only ones strong enough to defeat them, so taking us out is a Hellhound’s top priority,” said Mr. Reynolds. “And since Changelings can be turned, they seek out the likes of you in the hope of increasing their numbers.”