The Accidental Gatekeeper (The Accidental Midlife Trilogy Book 1)

by Carla Rehse

  It seemed an excessively dramatic and unnecessary gesture. Perhaps a snarky poke at my mom jeans, with their comfy spandex, and my plain black t-shirt? Or maybe a snide, unspoken comment that I was forty-five and having to live with my mother again due to my homelessness? I also could be overanalyzing everything.

  Hello, I’m Everly Popa. The newly arrived paranoid neurotic. “Warden?” I responded in a neutral but quizzical tone.

  As a rule, demons couldn’t visit a human’s home since they were warded against Hellspawn. Mama should’ve had runes painted on the outside of the house to bar demons from entering. Unless the new “friend” she’d casually mentioned in her phone call was a Shifter. She always had a thing for wolves. But keeping the house unprotected for a booty call wasn’t a smart move. I’d have to add that to the list of questions I had for her.

  Luna hovered by the coffee pot. She looked like she was trying to decide whether to order the demon to leave or offer him coffee.

  Pressure built up in my sinuses, while the muscles in my arms tingled. Orange Hellfire filled Zim’s eyes. “Gatekeeper,” he rumbled.

  The pressure in my sinuses grew until my teeth ached. I slammed my hand on the table, causing Luna to let out a shrill yip. “Could you hold off on the otherworlder, psychic mumbo-jumbo until I’ve had at least one cup of coffee? I warn you. Until I’m properly caffeinated, I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

  My trembling knees belied my bored, nonchalant tone. Zim was trying the same crap that Sebastian pulled last night. What was it with all the males in my life acting like a tool? Except for Lawson, of course. I sent him a silent apology. Lumping him in with demons and angels was bad but comparing him to my almost ex-husband hit super low.

  “Gatekeeper,” Luna whispered. “Shall I fix you a to-go cup for the search? Preacher Valencia is coordinating things at his church and is waiting for us.”

  A flash of white light made me blink. The Angel Calling Herself Nevaeh stepped toward Zim. “Demon. You should not be here.” She wore hunting leathers today, including shiny platinum-colored chain mail and some very gothy-but-cool Doc Martin boots.

  Zim glared at her. “I’m the Warden and should have been introduced to the new Gatekeeper last night.”

  The angel narrowed her eyes. “There were complications last night. Maybe you know something about it?”

  Orange light poured from Zim’s eyes and coated him like armor. “The Hellspawn have already been questioned by you Seraphs! We’ve nothing to do with that human’s disappearance. I’m tired of your baseless accusations.”

  “And yet, here you are, unbidden in the home of the newest Gatekeeper.”

  The angel circled around the demon. I had a really bad feeling things were about to throw down in my mother’s kitchen. While I should probably do something about that, I hadn’t had a chance to finish my first—drop an f-bomb—cup of coffee.

  Sheesh, it sucked being the only adult in the room sometimes.

  I stood. “I realize there’s a lot going on, but getting all Mr. and Mrs. Cranky Pants about it won’t solve anything. I don’t mean to be rude, but I need to grab as much caffeine as I can carry to help search for Heather—you know, the missing candidate. And as I expect the two of y’all will also be searching, why don’t we do all the ‘nice to meet ya’ out in the woods?”

  The Hellfire faded from Zim’s eyes as he looked me up and down. “Gatekeeper.” Without another word, he stormed out. Whatever he wanted, I didn’t think he found it. Whether that was a good or bad thing, I wasn’t sure.

  Luna cleared her throat. “Anyone wanna granola bar to go with the coffee?”

  The angel turned to me. “We have more important things to do.”

  I frowned. “Wait. Are you even imitating Nevaeh’s slight Jamaican accent? Seriously?”

  The Fake Nevaeh smiled. “As I said last night, I will be conducting your training. I find it helps if I provide a comforting and familiar image.”

  “It’s not working.”

  The angel glared at me. Pressure once again built up in my sinuses, as did the ants-under-the-skin sensation. From the angel’s constipated expression, I gathered whatever she wanted to accomplish, she’d been as unsuccessful as Zim and Sebastian.

  Interesting.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I really wish y’all would stop doing that. It’s like you’re trying to be Darth Vader in a very bad Star Wars remake.”

  The angel took a step back. “That is not … you should not … Are you experiencing altered sensory sensations?”

  “If you mean are sounds and lights louder and brighter, then yeah. But my heart hasn’t exploded yet.” I kicked myself the second I uttered those words. I’d forgotten I shouldn’t have been able to listen in to the Angel Channel last night. I hadn’t heard anything today, so maybe it’d been a fluke.

  “I will get back to you.” The angel disappeared in an orb of light.

  I blinked until the flashing halo disappeared from my eyes. “I’m gonna need sunglasses.”

  Luna handed me a large travel mug. “I have an extra pair in my car if you want them.”

  I gave her a thumbs-up. “Great job. You’re hired.”

  Luna gasped. “Really? You don’t want someone more prestigious like Bernice Russo? Maybe one of the Valencia boys?”

  “I’m not sure what my job entails, much less an assistant’s. We’ll try this out for seven days and see where it goes from there. You were in school with Heather Russo? Tell me everything you know about her on our way to Preacher Valencia.”

  By the time Luna drove us up to the only church in town, my head was spinning from useless facts. How Luna knew that Heather had dated, not one but, five roving Hunters that randomly came to town was beyond me. I was afraid to ask and receive a very long, brain-numbing explanation.

  Outside the whitewashed wooden church, Preacher Valencia stood underneath a live oak tree and next to a small table holding water bottles. Time had taken a toll on him. Mostly bald now and slumped over a walker, I wouldn’t have recognized him except for his walrus mustache and white collar.

  “Good morning, sir,” I said carefully. Lawson’s father had never approved of our friendship.

  “Gatekeeper.” Preacher Valencia coughed deep and moist. “Are you here about the funeral arrangements?”

  I grimaced. How could I’ve forgotten that Jack Russo died yesterday? So much else had happened in the last twelve hours that I had a hard time keeping track. Maybe I really did need an assistant. “I’m sorry, sir. Luna and I want to join the search for Heather. I figured it was an all-hands-on deck need?” I didn’t apologize for not getting here sooner.

  The crowd at the coordination site looked small, though most should already be out searching. Janice wasn’t here, neither were any of the other Russos. I’d try to talk to her later, useless as words would be at this time.

  The door to The Spiced Tea Shoppe and Bakery opened across the street. Mrs. Baker held up a tray of pastries and called out, “Gatekeeper Popa! Mr. Baker and I are doing our part by keeping everyone’s energy up! Just ask those boys.” She pointed to the only group of Hunters I saw. Lawson stared at a map—paper, not a newfangled GPS—while two young men stood respectably nearby. As to the map, I didn’t know what sort of cell service Crossing Shadows allowed. Lawson met my eyes for a few seconds, smiled, then went back to his map.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Or him to be honest.

  Our relationship had been built on teenage rebellion as the three High Marked families are forbidden to breed together. How that would affect the selection of a Gatekeeper made little sense. But like so many of our rules, it’s unbreakable, though the punishment for doing so was never clearly defined. Not that any of the town’s elders ever acknowledged Lawson and I were more than training partners. Come to think of it, it was probably one of the deciding factors the Council used to deny my Hunter application. The misogynistic rat bastards.

  After grabbing a cre
am cheese kolache that Mrs. Baker insisted I take, I surveyed the area. Besides Lawson’s group of Hunters, the only ones here that looked like part of the search were a couple of Shifters sleeping under the shade of a tall cedar bush. I assumed they were Shifters as they were bare chested with a claw mark tattooed on their upper arms. Shifters tolerated the sun far better than vamps, but they were still a nocturnal species.

  Luna kept staring at the Hunters, while messily eating her kolache. The young guys, whom I didn’t recognize, looked around her age. The guys appeared to be doing their best to ignore Luna and me. I handed her a napkin. “You know ’em?”

  She wiped her face. “I guess most people are out searching. Doesn’t look like the preacher is really coordinating things.”

  I noticed that as well. Unless Lawson was the one handing out search grids. I also noticed she didn’t answer my question. “Do you mind driving to my truck? It broke down outside the border and all my belongings and phone are in it. Maybe we’ll spot a search group we could join.”

  “Sounds good,” she said hurriedly.

  Once we were in her car and driving down Main Street, I asked again. “You know those Hunters?” Of course, she did. But something seemed wrong, so I wanted to ask as noncommittally as I could.

  Luna shot me a quick glance. “Yeah. One’s my twin brother. I wanted to join when he did, but … there’s the whole female thing.”

  “What?” I turned in my seat to face her. “Are you telling me the Council still refuses to allow females to become Hunters?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Yep.”

  I settled back into my seat, shaking my head. “The Council seriously can’t be that stupid.”

  Luna snickered. “Careful. The Gatekeeper is a Councilmember too.”

  “Oh yeah.” I’d forgotten about that.

  The almost-ex didn’t like that I’d raised Sadie to be a strong, independent woman, unafraid to be anything she wanted and to speak her mind. Of course, since she’d chosen his side in the divorce/criminal charges fiasco, he must be more appreciative of her strength. And strong she was. I was very proud of that, no matter how much it sometimes broke my heart. I was glad she had protection outside this backward town. Though I tried to pretend otherwise, the angels’ conversation last night weighed on me.

  Old. Useless. Not good enough then, not good enough now.

  I stared out the window at the rugged limestone hills, dotted with scrubland and a few wildflowers hanging on in the mild autumn weather. The land appeared wild, untamed. So vastly different from the big-town feel of Houston, where I spent most of my adult life. I loved these hills and had traipsed every square inch of the town and the countryside when I still thought I had a future here. The bitter anger that consumed me when I stormed away from everyone and everything I knew flared through me. There was a difference this time, though. I’d grown past that kid, full of righteous piss and vinegar and hormones. I knew life’s game now. And how to play it.

  “I’m a Councilmember?” I waited for Luna to nod before smiling. “My almost-ex-husband claims I have the ability to annoy God Himself. Perhaps I should try my talents on a handful of angels and councilmen first.”

  “Don’t forget the demons!”

  I laughed. “That’ll be fun too.”

  The town’s solid-iron wall came into view, and a strong warning to stop vibrated like an ice pick inside my head. Guess they weren’t kidding when they said Crossing Shadows wouldn’t allow Gatekeepers to leave. So where was Heather?

  Luna pulled over to the shoulder. “I don’t see any boundary guards. Maybe they’re out searching?”

  “That’s not right.” I got out of her car, then looked around. Something felt wrong, like a deep itch inside my skull. “Is there cell service here?”

  Luna shot me the exasperated look the young gave to clueless old people. Ouch. “It’s not the dark ages here! We even have internet and satellite TV.”

  I frowned, trying to work out the metaphysics of getting Netflix in a magically hidden town. “Could you call the mayor? Something’s hinky.” I started walking toward a copse of tall cedar bushes before I realized I’d moved.

  A need drove me, stronger than anything I ever felt before.

  Luna kept calling my name, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. I had to get past the bushes.

  I shoved between two huge mountain cedar bushes, their leaves scratching my exposed skin. More cedar and live oak trees were scattered around, while prairie grass stood waist tall, hiding cacti and fire ant mounds.

  The sounds of birds singing overhead and insects buzzing in the grass roared in my ears, then dimmed as if I’d pressed the mute button. The aroma of plant decay and pollen and animal waste also went away. My eyesight sharpened, easily deciphering the shadows from the sunlight streaming through the trees. I carefully skidded my way downhill toward an outcrop of boulders stuck into the hillside.

  “Gatekeeper! Everly!” Luna grabbed my shoulder.

  I spun to face her, fighting the compulsion to keep moving. Her eyes were huge, but she held an iron knife. The kid had spunk, I’d give her that. I exhaled shakily. “Something’s drawing me down the hill.” With exasperation at my stupidity, I realized I’d left my knife on my nightstand. Too many years had gone by since I needed to walk around iron-armed.

  Luna pulled out a second knife from her boot and gave it to me. “Just in case. Something large came through here. See the broken branches?”

  She was right. Broken branches hung from the oak trees. The mountain cedar bushes, with their springy limbs, appeared unscathed. The smart thing to do would be to scan the area. Devise a plan. Maybe even call for Hunter backup.

  The pull or compulsion or whatever it was had other plans.

  Once again, I found myself moving without consciously deciding to do so. It felt like a magnet yanked on the metal disc in my arm. Was the entrance to the Hell Gate down here? Damn, this couldn’t be a normal Gatekeeper side effect. Leave it to me to develop some weird reaction, like when I break out in hives after a flu shot.

  More worried than curious now, I stumbled to the rock outcrop, Luna on my heels.

  Cautiously peering over the ledge, I spotted a small blue car mostly hidden in the grass.

  “That’s weird,” Luna said.

  “Right.” I decided not to embarrass myself by doing anything fancy, so I scooted off the ledge on my butt.

  My body and gravity had a serious discussion as I found myself running/sliding until I hit the back of the car. “Oomph!” I whined. My left knee and lower back were already requesting more of Mama’s hot cocoa.

  “You okay?” Luna called out as she slowly made her way to me.

  “I’m fine. I—”

  The Tardis sticker in the back window looked very familiar. I’d ordered the same custom sticker off Etsy for Sadie. We loved Dr. Who, but how she preferred Matt Smith as The Doctor over David Tennant was beyond me. Though, we both liked Jodie Whittaker … And there my brain went again—doing the useless trivia thing. A blue metallic Prius. With a customized sticker. I knew this car.

  A siren blared from town.

  “Gatekeeper! Uh, Everly! That’s the warning bell. We have to get to the community center ASAP.” Luna shoved her knife into the holder on her hip.

  “I-I … know this car.”

  Using the car for balance, I skirted around to the driver’s side. Why would Sadie be here? How could she be here?

  The door opened easily, and I blinked. The smell registered in my brain before my sight did. Red dripped over the dark-gray interior like a grenade had gone off.

  I stumbled back and fell hard on my ass. “Sadie!”

  SEVEN

  Failure ain’t just a word in the dictionary

  I tried to scream Sadie’s name again, but only a squeak came out. The blood in the car couldn’t be from my baby girl. It just couldn’t be. I rolled to my hands and knees, so I could get to my feet. I had to find her.

  My hand touched some
thing squishy and warm.

  Blood coated my fingers. I pushed back the grass and spotted a severed hand. My lungs tightened against the shriek building in my chest, forcing me to pant to breathe. From the short fingernails, I was pretty sure it wasn’t Sadie’s. Unless she’d stopped getting those fake nails. Spots swam in front of my eyes. My stomach roiled. Thank goodness I hadn’t eaten the kolache.

  “This can’t be happening. It cannot be happening,” I whimpered, rocking back and forth.

  “Gatekeeper.” Luna held up a cellphone. “I finally got through to the mayor.”

  Another warbling wave from the siren filled the air, then light flared behind Luna. She yipped, then tumbled to her knees next to me. Sebastian strode from the light with his lilac-colored frock coat flaring behind him. “I sense angel blood. Cover your eyes!”

  I pulled a mom-move and used my body to shield Luna. A blazing glare flooded over us, so bright that even with my eyes tightly closed, the light felt blinding.

  “It is okay now.” Sebastian sounded tired. How could an angel be tired? They had an unending supply of Heaven’s Grace.

  Carefully, I sat up. After-images spotted my vision, and I blinked tear-filled eyes until my sight returned. Greasy, black smoke rose from six scattered piles on the hill. Flames still engulfed Sadie’s car but quickly extinguished.

  Luna covered her mouth with her hands, while I cleared my throat so I could talk. “How is my daughter’s car here when your angels are guarding her in Austin?” Because none of that blood belonged to Sadie. It couldn’t belong to her.

  “How did you find this?” Sebastian countered.

  Irritated that he answered my question with a question of his own, but figuring arguing would take longer than answering, I said. “I’ve no idea. Something pulled me from the road.”

  “You were drawn here? To angel blood?” His tired look went away, replaced with a worried expression.

  Knowing the town’s head angel was perturbed ratcheted my anxiety to Defcon One level. “Angel blood only, not Sadie’s?” I knew it! But where was she?

  He shook his head. “Cael, one of your daughter’s protectors has sacrificed his earthly body, as attested by the amount of Guardian Angel blood I located. I found no trace of your daughter’s physical presence.”