Reaper Reborn

by Kel Carpenter

  “It does. Technically, it’s the spirit world; a place that all spirits return to once they leave your realm, but before they move on to their final destinations, as it were. Since you are in charge of all the souls on Earth, you can move freely between all of them. You can go anywhere that a soul can. On Earth, however, you are limited by its natural laws, physics, if you will.”

  I blinked at her. “Why don’t you try that again using smaller words,” I said.

  Thana smirked. “If you wanted to go to Antarctica, how would you get there?”

  “Why would I want to go to Antarctica?”

  “Salem,” she said with exasperation.

  “Okay fine, um . . . I guess I’d fly? Or get there by boat? And then use a dogsled or something.”

  “Or, you could come to this realm and be there in less time than it takes to draw a full breath.”

  It clicked then, what she’d meant by shortcut.

  “All you have to do is think about where you want to go and”—she snapped her fingers—“you’re there.”

  I remembered the forest. Seeing the werewolf and knowing I didn’t have time to make it to him before he attacked, but somehow I’d just managed to appear before him in the nick of time.

  “That is so fucking cool.”

  She was smiling again. “So, Salem. Where do you want to go?”

  My mind was blank for a second before a mischievous grin stretched across my face. “Let’s go spy on Graves.”

  Thana rolled her eyes but nodded. “Alright, picture him. Hold his image firmly in your mind. Focus on it. Once you do it a few times, it won’t require much more than a thought, but it’s a good way to learn.”

  I thought about Graves lying on my bed and felt an answering flutter low in my stomach. Alright, maybe I needed something less distracting. Instead, I focused on his spearmint and aftershave smell. The feel of his hand brushing low against my back.

  “Good job,” Thana said, interrupting my happy thoughts and sending my eyes fluttering open.

  We weren’t in a grayed-out version of my house anymore, but standing at the grayed-out back of the Council meeting. In this form, I was like a fly on the wall. No one could see or hear me.

  Graves was standing on my right, his face set in a scowl and his arms crossed over his chest. He was obviously unhappy with whatever the fae woman was saying.

  “How come I can’t hear anything?” I asked her, as I watched Nocturna’s mouth moving on the stage.

  “You can, you’re just focused on me and this realm right now, so everything else is muted. Think of it like needing to turn up the volume.”

  “With what remote, Thana?” I asked sarcastically.

  “You’re the remote, Salem,” she replied, matching my tone perfectly.

  Creepy.

  “I don’t know what that means, but whatever. Let’s give it a go.” I stared hard at Nocturna, focusing on her lips and my desire to hear what she was saying.

  “No, Salem—” Thana started.

  The world bounced back into stunning color. I squinted my eyes, not prepared for the sudden shift back into high definition.

  “Salem, what the hell are you doing here?” Graves asked beside me.

  Shit. Guess I didn’t nail that lesson.

  “Uh, hey. What’d I miss?”

  9

  Overturned

  “We shall call it to a vote,” a voice I recognized rang out. I peered over the heads of supes to see Nocturna standing at the head of the table. Her lavender hair was worn long, sections from the top pulled into tiny braids and then woven around her head to form a crown. Black flowers were interlaced, matching the ensemble she wore.

  “All in favor of execution?”

  At once, the thrill of being with Thana faded as the harsh reality of what was going on started to set in.

  Tamsin kept her hand lowered, as did the new warlock and female werewolf representatives.

  The vampire who had spoken out yesterday, Rembrandt, raised his hand.

  The female dwarf raised her hand.

  Nocturna raised her hand.

  And Dom raised his.

  “Son of a bitch,” I cursed, my hands balling into fists. Graves grabbed my forearm, pulling me back against his chest.

  Nocturna was talking, but I didn’t hear it.

  “Wait until we’re back at the Grimm house. They won’t respect him if you go after him here, and it won’t win us any favors.” Graves’ words washed over me, grounding me in the moment.

  “Or,” another voice said. I glanced sideways. Thana stood in her ghostly form, arms over her chest. “You could show them who you are. What you are. Their ruling is nothing compared to the will of a goddess.”

  I frowned, narrowing my eyes. “That’s not how we do things here.”

  “And you’re such a rule follower?” Thana replied in the same scathing tone. When I didn’t respond, her lips quirked up. “Didn’t think so.”

  “There’s a difference in not wanting to follow rules and wanting to make them,” I shot back. Several heads turned my way, and Graves’ fingers tightened.

  “Thana or Gretel?” he asked softly, his lips brushing against my ear. The words were barely more than a whisper as he worked to keep his voice quiet enough no one would hear us.

  “Who do you think?” I asked under my breath.

  “My least favorite demigoddess, then,” he replied.

  Thana narrowed her eyes. Yup. She totally heard that.

  “He’s a bad influence on you,” she said.

  I scoffed. “He is? Seriously?”

  She nodded, completely serious. “He lives by their rules, Salem. The Grimm Brotherhood is his legacy. He will conform you to them, so that you’ll be complacent. He’ll make you weak.”

  “He’s never tried to change me,” I hissed back at her.

  She lifted both brows. Her eyes flicked down to the hand holding my arm. A devious smile curled around her lips, but it was bitter. “Hasn’t he?”

  Thana disappeared, and I let out a string of curses that would have drawn more attention were the room not clearing.

  “Motherfucking vague-booking sister—”

  “I take it she left?” Graves asked, releasing my arm.

  I blew out a breath. “Yup. Maybe I should go after her . . .”

  “Graves. Kaine.”

  I glanced across the room at Dom. His eyes were hard. My original anger toward him for reversing the vote came back.

  “Nice of you to show up,” he continued in his dry, arrogant tone.

  “Not even one day in your new role and you’re already sentencing innocent people to death, Dom. Way to ring in a new era of peace and acceptance.”

  His eyes narrowed and deep lines bracketed his mouth. “This is not the time or the place for your shitty attitude. Not that I need to explain anything to you, but that wolf is far from innocent. Sure, he may have been coerced into the most recent murders, but that first one was all him. The law is clear, and so is the punishment.”

  I scowled, sliding my arms across my chest, about to lay into him when Graves’ fingers pressed into my hip.

  “You don’t really think they’re just going to hand him over,” Graves said in a carefully neutral voice.

  Dom shrugged. “Not my problem. The Council gave them until sundown tomorrow to bring the kid in—which is more than we had to give them,” he added, glaring at me. “They don’t show, the reapers will go in and get him.”

  “Dom, you can’t let that happen. It’s practically a declaration of war,” I insisted as the scenario played out in gory detail in my mind. The wolves would take it as a sign of aggression if the reapers invaded their land to search for Gerard. Everyone knew wolves were territorial. It didn’t take a genius to see how such an act would end.

  “If it is, we aren’t the ones making the declaration. Reapers enforce the law. As long as everyone follows the rules, there’s no need to enforce them, is there?”

  I was shaking my
head, his logic so black and white, and so utterly wrong. “You can’t be that stupid,” I said.

  He glared at me. “Watch that pretty mouth of yours, Kaine.”

  “Or what? You’re going to execute me too? Good luck with that, Fuckface. Don’t make me out to be the enemy because I call you on your bullshit. This is fucked up, and you know it.”

  Dom sighed. “I didn’t ask for this, but if I recall correctly, your hand was in the air backing me. So fucking back me, Salem.”

  I froze, my mouth opening and closing like a fish at his words, permeating the anger clouding my mind. He was right. I had chosen him. I just hadn’t expected him to disappoint me so quickly.

  It was my turn to sigh. “I thought you would be a little more open-minded. Was I wrong?”

  Dom and I shared a look. I wouldn’t say it was friendly, but there was a sort of grudging respect there.

  “You may not agree with me, but at least trust that I’m doing what I believe is right, not just for the reapers, but for Farrow’s Square. Believe it or not, Kaine, I’m trying to avoid a war.”

  My shoulders sagged, the last of my anger fleeing. “Fine. But when this goes to shit, you bet your ass I’m saying I told you so.”

  “You? Really? How out of character.” He gave me a smug grin.

  I glared at him.

  “Why’d you call us over here?” Graves asked, moving the conversation into smoother territory.

  “I need people to watch the werewolf property to make sure they don’t try to smuggle him out. Given your father voted for him to live, they will hold less of a grudge against you.” Dom nodded toward Graves, his expression guarded. It occurred to me he may actually be telling the truth here. I just didn’t understand his endgame.

  “You want me to lead the patrol,” Graves surmised.

  “Correct.” Dom nodded. “Kaine needs to stay behind, though.”

  “What?”

  “You remember our talk yesterday?” Dom lowered his voice.

  “So? If there’s trouble, I should be there—”

  “I agree,” Graves said. “Salem should stay behind.”

  Real outrage filled me as I turned on Graves.

  “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me—”

  “Someone needs to watch Esme.”

  “What? Esme”—I paused, realizing he was really talking about Thana. There were things he didn’t know, though. Like the fact she could literally be anywhere in the world at any time with only a thought. Meanwhile Death was out there . . .

  “Esme is a grown adult who does what she wants,” I said eventually.

  “You weren’t telling me that earlier,” Graves replied, an edge entering his tone.

  “I’m not my aunt’s keeper,” I fired back.

  “Well, that’s unfortunate because either way you’re staying behind. You care too much about this, Kaine, and I can’t have you interfering right now. For better or worse, you need to sit this one out.” Dom put a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.

  Turning on my heel, I started for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Graves called out.

  “To do what you said,” I replied. “Keep an eye on my aunt.”

  I thrust the door open and stepped into the empty hallway. It slammed shut behind me. Closing my eyes, I focused on being nothing. Feeling nothing.

  It came easy this time.

  Easier than it should have.

  Graves’ footsteps faded as the world of the dead welcomed me. I opened my eyes right as the door burst open.

  Graves looked up and down the hall. Surprise filling his features.

  He can’t see me like this, I realized. Given how fast things happened when I first showed up with Thana, I wasn’t quite sure.

  I didn’t want to hurt him. Well, not much anyways. I cared about Graves. More than I was ready to admit, especially when him and Dom were being so stupid about this whole thing. If Dom was so insistent I needed to stay away, and Graves was going to side with him, I wasn’t letting either of them off easy. Just because I voted for the fucker didn’t mean he got to decide how I was running my life.

  Graves was right that I needed to keep an eye on Thana. Much as I hated to give him any credit.

  What he didn’t realize was that in this form, I could kill two birds with one stone.

  And that’s exactly what I planned to do.

  10

  Spyception

  “When you told me we were going spying on Graves, I thought it was going to be a little more exciting,” Thana said, leaning against a tree and inspecting her nails.

  We’d been out here for a few hours now, and so far it was about as exciting as watching a slug race.

  “How was I supposed to know all they were going to do was walk in circles for hours on end?”

  “Didn’t you patrol with him? Isn’t this what you’re used to?”

  Thoughts of a succubus house party came to mind, and I smiled. “Patrol was usually a bit livelier in my experience.”

  Thana hummed. “What would your lover say if he knew you were spying on him?”

  Graves would be pissed. Not at the invasion of privacy, since this was patrol and not alone time—although surprising Graves in the shower could be fun—but that I’d gone against his wishes. “About as happy as you’d expect,” I muttered.

  “Why are you allowing a man to control you?” she asked, pushing off the tree and giving me her full attention.

  I eyed Graves and Randy, who were talking in low voices a few yards away.

  “I don’t let him control me, but I respect him and his advice. There’s a difference.”

  “Is there?” she sneered. “From where I’m standing, you’re hiding in the shadows, afraid of upsetting a couple of reapers. Do you have any idea how powerful you are? You shouldn’t be afraid of anyone, Salem. They should fear you.”

  “Not even Death?” I countered, wiping that condescending smile right off her face.

  “That’s different, and you know it.”

  “Do I?”

  She scowled at me, throwing her hands in the air. “Sometimes I wonder why I ever missed you. You’re a giant pain in the ass.”

  I laughed at that, wholly unoffended. My friends and family have been telling me that for years. “Right back ‘atcha, Sis.”

  “I mean it, Salem. You’re wasting your talents skulking about like this. You are a goddess. If you want something, take it. If you disagree with something, put an end to it. Why the games?”

  I could tell by the frustration in her voice that she really didn’t understand. Just like with Dom, it was black and white for her.

  “Because sometimes, Thana, to get what you want, you have to work within someone else’s boundaries.”

  “Why?”

  “Because,” I snapped, “I’m not the only person who lives here. I can’t just go around ordering everybody to obey me. That’s not how peace works. That’s not how relationships work.”

  “And how is hiding in the spirit world getting you any closer to obtaining your goals?”

  At the moment? It wasn’t, but I wasn’t about to tell her that.

  “Right now, we’re keeping an eye on the reapers, while they keep an eye on the wolves. If anything gets out of hand, we’ll be able to step in and save the day. It’s a failsafe.”

  “It’s boring.”

  “You can leave whenever you want.”

  We’d gotten so distracted by our bickering that we didn’t notice the porch light turning on up ahead. Graves and Randy had gone completely still in front of us as the back door to one of the houses slid open.

  “You planning to wait out here all night?” a masculine voice called. A hulking form, backlit by the light inside, filled the doorframe.

  Graves’ jaw tightened. “Just doing our job,” he called back.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” The figure stepped outside. I recognized the old pack representative. His grey hair reflected in the moonlight. Shadow
s played off the scar on his face, making him appear menacing, if not for the slightly amused expression. “Why don’t you come inside?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea—” Graves started.

  “You got any food?” Randy asked.

  The werewolf nodded. “We ordered pizza.”

  Like any good pothead, Randy’s feet were moving before his brain ever had a chance.

  Graves reached out to stop him. “We’re supposed to be patrolling.”

  “Really, man? I know you and Salem spent most of your patrol time at the succubus house. I’m not one to judge . . . but don’t give me shit.” Randy shrugged Graves off.

  Graves’ jaw tightened, and he followed after his stoner friend.

  “Your lover in this life is a real stick in the mud,” Thana said.

  “He takes his job seriously,” I answered defensively.

  My doppelgänger rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed by that answer. “He’s not your usual type,” she continued, starting toward the cabin after them.

  I kept pace alongside her. “My usual type?”

  “Mhmm,” she hummed. “You like them smart, a bit arrogant, strong.” That last bit came out in a sexual purr that would have given Tamsin a run for her money.

  “You clearly don’t know Graves if you don’t see how that fits.”

  “Perhaps,” she said, walking through the back door.

  I followed suit. Inside, both reapers sat at a large dinner table, stacked high with boxes. The werewolf rep sat across from them.

  Thana took my silence as an excuse to continue with her storytelling. “In your last life, you had a werewolf lover. An alpha. He was a possessive one. You liked that. Mostly because you liked pushing his buttons.” She strolled forward, walking around the table, her eyes focused on Graves, who had no idea we were here. “Before that, it was warlocks. Two of them. Brothers. You enjoyed pitting them against each other to win your affection. You did that in a few of your lives, took multiple lovers. Only ones that couldn’t play nicely, though. It was a game for you. Love always has been.”

  “That doesn’t sound much like me,” I said, unsure what else to say to that.