Chapter 5 Julia, stolen

-JULIA POV-

"It doesn't matter. I've claimed her, she's mine. Unhand her, now."

My master commands him rather dismissively.

We're still in the dining room, the tension thick in the air. The food is probably cold by now, and I know how much my master despises a cold steak.

Rolio's grip still remains on me, tight and threatening.

"Reaper, you should know by now. It doesn't matter to me who you are. I was chosen for a reason. You continue to defy laws and traditions. You rejected all the slaves given to you, and decided to take a soul that was supposed to go straight to hell. Do you have any idea what punishment lies for you?"

He doesn't let my master say anything, and he presses on.

"I couldn't believe this had been going on for 8 whole years! I had to find this little mess out from an angel!"

He scoffs.

"Is it Gabriella? You know I always hated her, she's too talkative."

My master mentions with a shrug before going around to sit at his place, like nothing just happened.

"It doesn't matter who it is, Reaper. Time and time again, you screw up! Why can't you just abide by the rules?!"

He cuts through his vegetables, sighing.

Is my master's name 'Reaper'? It's a little odd, considering he's a Grim Reaper. Rolio keeps calling him Reaper. I never knew my master's name. He said to only call him master, and nothing else.

"Julia, its cold now."

I bow my head instinctively.

"I'm sorry, master. I can make it better for you."

He waves a hand off in my direction.

"Let her go, you're hurting her."

My master tells Rolio, to which he does listen this time, releasing me.

"Come here."

He beckons me to him with a commanding gesture, and I crawl over obediently. Without a word, he throws the food down onto the floor in front of me.

"Eat it."

I swallow the lump in my throat, I would have to do it, no matter what.

"Enough of this. She's coming with me."

Rolio walks to me, but I grab into the steak, biting it whole.

I knew master was testing my loyalty this way, and I wouldn't just up and leave. Not after how he cured my cuts and bruises or pleasured me or even gave me my own room. The saying is, 'you don't bite the hand that feeds you'. Besides, whether Rolio was a hot snack-and trust me, I've seen a lot of men in my life, I knew that my loyalty still had to lie with master.

I felt the bile rise immediately, and I couldn't suppress it. I vomited everything out, retching violently. When I was done, I looked back at my master, trembling and afraid of his reaction.

"Eat it again."

"Reaper, enough!"

Rolio's voice boomed through the room, a thunderous intrusion that my master did not appreciate. In his own home, only he was permitted to raise his voice. I had never seen master use much of his powers apart from healing me, but now, I watched in shock as he made Rolio fly across the room. Rolio's back slammed against the bars of the window with a resounding crash.

Rolio staggers to his feet, fury contorting his features as he moves to retaliate. Rolio grabs me and starts dragging me away. Panic seizes me, and I scream for the only man I could trust.

"Master please! Please don't let him take me! Master!"

My legs bounce down the short flight of stairs, bruises beginning to form, but he sits there, not even glancing at me.

My master gazes absentmindedly, that for a moment, I think he's going to let me go, but he doesn't. His gaze sharpens, mad with a fury that ignited so deep within him. He stands and snaps himself in front of Rolio, appearing before us in an instant.

"You're starting to piss me off, Rolio. Have you read my reputation? I'm sure you have, and you would know, that you shouldn't piss me off."

His tone was distant, cruel even.

"Why should I be scared of you? You're just someone God has to mind, like a child."

Master waved his hand, then closed his fist. I felt Rolio's grip loosen, his hands clutching around his own body.

"Julia, kneel next to me."

I quickly move next to my master, kneeling beside him as I watch Rolio crumple to the ground, clutching his body. Rolio approaches him, reaching down. Rolio looks like he's in excruciating pain, and a smile spreads across master's face.

"We Grim Reapers have no soul, but we have something called an essence. My favourite part about it, is that I can choke your essence, squeeze it so tight that you feel like death came knocking on your door when it shouldn't."

He kicks at Rolio's abdomen, making him roll on his back.

"You will never be able to do what I do. You're just a seat filler, Rolio, God's dog for the lost souls."

He turns, going back to standing next to me.

"Get out of my house."

As soon as master mentions it, Rolio starts to recover, slowly rising from the ground. In the next moment, I watch him vanish, disappearing without a trace.

My master sighs beside me.

"My steak is cold, half eaten, regurgitated, and a mess is on the floor."

"I can clean it for you, master."

"Yes, go do that, slave. After that, we'll be heading out for dinner."

My eyes lit up with excitement. Master rarely took me to the human world-it was a special treat reserved for times when I had pleased him immensely.

He noticed my excitement and gently cupped my face in his hands.

"Make sure to wash up. I want you to look pretty."

"Yes, master."

He bends down to remove my shackles, and instant relief floods through me.

He nods for me to go, and I eagerly make myself useful, cleaning up the mess on the floor before heading downstairs to shower and change. While I don't have my own bathroom, master allows me to use the guest bathroom on his floor, and I quickly shower, excitement coursing through me.

Returning to the attic where my room is, I carefully tie my hair up with two small hair ties, opting for cute little pigtails that make my curly light brown hair bounce playfully on either side of my head.

I slip into another one of my identical outfits: a white tank top paired with a short, pleated white skirt.

As I step out of the attic, master's voice echoes from the ground floor.

"Julia, you shouldn't take this long! Come wear your shoes!"

Master always kept my shoes. He said it was a precaution, for if I ran, I couldn't go far on bare feet. I could tell that sometimes, he felt insecure about me being disloyal.

"Yes, coming, master!"

I rush down the flights of stairs, but as soon as I catch sight of him, I slip and fall hard on my butt, leaving me seated on the stairs.

Pain shoots through my hip and back, but it vanishes in an instant. I know he took the pain away, but the disappointment in his eyes is unmistakable. He had always warned me not to run in the house, and I knew the excitement of going out would somehow get me into trouble.

"Bend over."

He sternly says, and I bend over on the staircase. My legs standing, and my hands on one of the steps.

"Count."

He demands, and I do.

He spanks me, and the pain riots through me with his precision. I bite my lip to not scream, but I still say the number.

"One."

I feel another hard spank, and my hips buck back.

"Two."

He lays one last hard one on the other side of my ass.

"Three."

Just then, I feel his fingers in my panties, and he's pinching the bud of my pussy. I can feel myself start to pulse at his touch.

"What do I always say about running, slave?"

I suppress a moan when he starts to twist my folds between his fingers.

"No running in the house, master."

I feel him dip the length of his finger into my hole and then pulls it out.

"Make sure you remember that. Put on your shoes."

I turn around, and I watch him suck on his middle finger before pocketing his hands.

"Shoes."

He commands more sternly with the raise of his brows. I grab the socks he balled up for me, and I put them on, followed by my white laced sneakers. It had beautiful flower designs on it, and with a platform height. I tied the laces well, and he gave me a hand to help me up, and I took it. As we left the house, he was going over the rules about being outside. We had to act like normal humans basically, but I also had to obey everything he said.

Acting like normal humans also meant driving to wherever we wanted to go. Before this, master used to simply snap his fingers to teleport, but when people started catching glimpses of him on tape while he wasn't invisible, they mistook him for a ghost or sorcerer. It was these minor incidents that got him into trouble, though I'm certain there were worse things. He doesn't talk about it much, though. Besides, it takes power to make him invisible.

My master presses his thumb to my forehead, and I feel another surge course through my body. We souls are always invisible, unless Grim Reapers press some magic on us.

"Can humans see me now, master?"

I ask excitedly, my toes tiptoeing as I do.

"Yes, they can. Get in the car."

I climb into his sleek black Mercedes, a definite upgrade from the junk my father used to drive me around in when he pimped me out. I settle into the front seat while he takes the wheel.

I never learned how to drive, never had the chance.

We pull out of the driveway, passing trees and descending from the secluded upper hill, finally reaching the bustling town of people, the sea, and lively music accompanied by festive lights.

"Tell me what you want to eat."

"Burgers."

I said excitedly to which master laughed at, and then it dawned on me. I can't eat.

"I'll let you watch me eat it."

He was so cruel sometimes.

I chose not to talk back or say anything, because that will probably land me another spank. He didn't heal the ones he made on me earlier, so I can still feel the sting. I turn my head to face my side of the window, and I'm seeing children playing with little fireworks, couples holding hands, and older kids walking in groups while laughing.

"Master?"

I was nervous, wanting to ask him what we're really doing here. He was pretending like another Grim Reaper didn't just come by his house, and I thought me pretending too will also work in my favour, but it's not. I'm just getting more curious by the second.

"Hmm?"

It's his way of granting me to continue when he makes a left turning on the street.

"Why are we going out tonight?"

"Well, my steak got cold, and that was the last steak I had. I can do a lot of things, but I can't snap my fingers and have steak in front of me."

He chuckles while saying so.

"But why bring me?"

I press, and I regret it, because the atmosphere in the car changes to a tense one.

"Do you remember that Grim Reaper that came into my home?"

"Yes, master."

"His name is Rolio. Rolio is predictable. He's going to tattletale to God about you being with me, and then he's going to storm my house with a bunch of angels, just to take you away from me."

"But why, master? I'm yours."

He smiles at me before coming to a stop, touching my chin.

"Yes, you are."

I happily grin back at him, but then frown when I recall something Rolio said.

"Rolio said there were others, but you never took them as slaves, only me. He also said I was never a slave to be gifted to anyone. I was just a damned soul."

He shrugs, so nonchalantly, that it makes me think he's hiding something. But I don't press further, I don't want to ruin our night out.

"You wouldn't even care if it's true."

"Is it?"

I mutter so softly, a whisper to myself, but he had heard me loud and clear. I watch the light turn green, and the car is moving again.

"It is true, and that's why I'm the only one you can trust."

I look at him, his eyes trained on the road as he makes several other turns.

"Who do you trust, Julia?"

"You, master."

"Good girl."

He says with a wide smile before finally making a stop.