18
Brother, Where Art Thou’?
“Is there a vending machine in this place? Losing all this blood gives me the munchies.”
Graves groaned. “How are you thinking about food right now?”
My stomach grumbled in answer, and I flashed him a satisfied smile, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “Cheer up. It could have been worse.”
“How could this have possibly been any worse?” he asked, pushing the metal bar to open the door out of Town Hall.
“They could have just killed us on the spot. Or killed me and made you work in the mines. Speaking of mines—what was that short-looking dude that didn’t talk much?”
“Suirek. He’s a dwarf,” Graves answered as we stepped outside. The sun was low in the sky, but we still had a few hours of daylight to kill.
“Dwarves are real too . . .” I muttered. “So, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs—”
“Snow White was a real girl who took a real liking to seven dwarves, and they to her. The whole prince thing was added in later. That part’s not real.”
Ugh. Well, to each their own.
My stomach rumbled again, bringing me back to my immediate need. “I don’t know what your plan is, but I’m starving so—”
“The problem at hand has less to do with your stomach and more to do with your priorities. We’re tied now. The blood rite doesn’t expire. It doesn’t end. I don’t even think there’s a way to break it.”
“Look, I know I’m new to all this, and what happened today might have been my fault—”
“It was definitely your fault.”
I pressed my lips together, glaring at him. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. Today sucked. The outcome kinda sucked. If there’s no way to change it, though, harping on it isn’t going to fix anything, and it sure as shit isn’t going to find Shep’s killer.”
Graves scrubbed a hand down his face. “You know, sometimes I think about how nice it must be to be able to do that.”
“Do what?” I asked, starting down the stairs and toward his car where Tamsin was leaning against the door.
“Move on. Just like that. Don’t get me wrong; you’re impulsive because of it, and we’re in this problem to begin with because of you—but you just seem to roll with it no matter what happens.”
I shrugged. “My mom died when I was young. Shep and I came here and then our dad died. Now my brother is dead. I keep going because I have to. That doesn’t mean I forget, though. The reason I came back was for Shep. Things are more complicated now, but that hasn’t changed.”
Graves made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat as we approached the car.
“So,” Tamsin drawled. “What’s the plan?”
“Well, Salem is hungry,” Graves said as he unlocked the car, and we all slid into our seats.
“What else is new?” Tamsin said, shaking her head.
Ignoring them, I immediately went for my purse. “You can come out now”—my words died in my throat when Shep’s blue crocheted head didn’t appear. “Motherfucker.”
“What?” Graves and Tam asked at the same time.
I dumped the contents of my purse into my lap. Phone. Flashlight. Screwdriver. But no demonic stuffed animal. Groaning, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the seat. “Shep is at the Gamma Rho house. I need to go back.”
“What?” Graves repeated, this time in anger. “Did you seriously bring a demon into—”
“It wasn’t intentional!” I snapped back. “He snuck along in my purse, and when I dropped it, the bastard must have made a run for it. Again. I’d only just found him after he escaped the first time when you found me and then I got a little . . . uh . . . sidetracked.”
Tamsin snickered, and I rolled my eyes.
“You’re one to talk, succubus,” I said, peering at Graves from the corner of my eye. He was holding onto the bridge of his nose like he was fighting a headache.
I could see Tamsin smirking in the rearview mirror. “Hey, I’ve been on Team Just Fuck Already from day one. You kids do you. Let me know if you need any—”
“And that’s enough of that,” Graves said, turning the car on and twisting the knob on the radio volume all the way up.
Tamsin was cackling in the backseat as Graves drove back toward the university.
“I still can’t believe you said that about me in front of my dad,” Graves said after a moment.
“What? I can’t hear you?” I mocked, holding a hand up to my ear.
Graves twisted the knob again and glowered at me while we idled at a red light. “You know I’m never going to live that down, right?”
I shrugged. “You didn’t seem to have any problem watching them lay into me. It only seemed fair to share the spotlight with you. Since, you know, I am your fuck buddy as far as the entire supernatural council is concerned.”
His blue eyes heated as they met mine before he slammed on the gas once more.
Mildly flustered by the memory of his lips on mine, I started rambling. “At least we don’t have to use that stupid excuse anymore now. I mean, the Council basically assigned my training to you, right? So it’s expected that we’ll be spending time together. No more lying.”
“If you think anyone is going to believe you two aren’t banging every time you’re alone together, you’re dumber than your cottonheaded brother,” Tamsin said.
“No one asked you, Tam.”
She winked at me. “That’s what best friends are for. Telling you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it.”
“Oh look, we’re here,” Graves said, pulling up to the Sigma Upsilon house.
Tamsin grinned at us. “You two try and get through the rest of the night without killing each other, okay? I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she added, leaning forward to press a kiss to my cheek before climbing out of the car.
We watched until she disappeared into the sorority house before Graves pulled back onto the road. Without Tamsin as a buffer, awkward silence descended between us.
“So are we going to talk about it?” I asked.
“Talk about what?”
“You know . . . the whole hallway make out thing . . .” I said nonchalantly.
Graves peered over at me, those eyes of blue fire setting my blood aflame. “I think I made my feelings toward you pretty clear.” His tone of voice suggested he wanted to pick up where we left off, but the parking lot for Gamma Rho was right around the corner.
“Alrighty then.” I wasn’t sure what that made us exactly, but at the moment it didn’t particularly matter.
Graves pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine.
I hopped out of the passenger side, leaving my purse in the car and slamming the door behind me. Graves followed after.
“Okay, so I think we should start in the hallway where I lost him,” I said, flinging the back door open. We stepped inside, not alone anymore. A couple of brothers lingered in the main living area. The fridge closed from the kitchen beside us, lumberjack boy, AKA Samuel, peered over.
“Back so soon? Looking for another reaper to finish what Graves couldn’t?”
While I wanted to punch him for how he treated Tamsin, I couldn’t help but snort. Beside me, Graves turned icy.
“Fuck off, Sam. I wasn’t the one caught getting head from a fairy two years ago in a public bathroom while her werewolf boyfriend fucked you in the ass.”
Samuel turned a deep shade of red, but didn’t say anything more as he turned to the kitchen counter and started making a sandwich. I let out a laugh as Graves grabbed my forearm and pulled me through the main area, not bothering with introductions as we headed straight for the stairs up to the second floor.
“How would that work with a fairy and—”
“So not the time, Salem,” Graves replied. He released my wrist at the top of the stairs and turned on a dime. His pace was brisk as he walked the hallway lined with doors, going straight for the one at the very end. He grasped t
he handle, opening it and peering in.
Dread filled me before he even said a word.
“Not here.”
I hung my head, pinching my forehead. “Fuck.”
“We need to find him before another reaper does,” Graves said, closing the door.
“No shit. He could be anywhere, though. This place is huge,” I said as I motioned to the building. “We should split up. How about I take the top floor and—”
Graves lifted an eyebrow. “Not happening.”
“What?” I asked defensively. “I’m a reaper now. I mean, I was before—but it’s official now.”
“Yeah, and you’re looking for an excuse to snoop. I’m going to take the top floor. You go check the main floor before we start looking in rooms. If we gotta check those and we get caught, there will be hell to pay—and this time it’s Dom we’ll be answering to. I, for one, don’t want to deal with his shit again today.”
I could agree with that logic. “Fine, but what do I say if they ask why I’m here?”
Graves shrugged. “Do what you do best. Tell them the truth.”
With that, he reopened the door and disappeared on the other side. It shut with an audible click. I grumbled, but like the good Salem I was, got to it.
I made my way back down the stairs with no real destination in mind. What I remembered of the layout was limited to the brief glimpses I’d caught earlier that day. At the bottom of the stairs, I turned left, heading into what looked like a game room. There was a massive flat screen television, every gaming console produced since 1972, a couple of stand-up arcade games, a ping pong—or more accurately beer pong—table, and an air hockey table. In the rest of the space, sofas, recliners, and a couple of bean bag chairs littered the floor. A few reapers were lounging around, making bets about whatever was happening on the screen. They didn’t even notice me as I moved around them, eyes scanning the ground for a sign of a little blue sheep.
I wasn’t sure what Shep was up to, but I couldn’t imagine he’d be heading for an overly populated area. With that in mind, I stepped out of the game room and into the main entryway. Crossing that, I moved into what looked like a library. Not surprisingly, this room was empty. Rows of shelving overflowing with leather bound books and random items surrounded the space. I moved inside, eyes glazing over as I briefly inspected the titles. The center of the room was mainly taken up by a beautiful wooden table.
Peering under the table, I whispered, “Shep? You in here?”
For once I was hoping to hear his annoying little bleat, but there was nothing but silence.
“Well that’s a nice view,” a voice said behind me.
My head slammed into the bottom of the table before I pushed myself back into a standing position. “Uh, thanks?” I said, rubbing my head.
The guy was tall, and handsome in a preppy East Coast kind of way. He was too pretty for my taste, though, with his feathered blond hair and chocolate eyes.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked, seeming more amused than suspicious.
“I, uh, lost my stuffed animal,” I said, taking Graves’ advice and going with the truth.
He raised a brow my answer. “Were you here for a sleepover or something?”
I smirked. “Or something. It fell out of my purse earlier; my brother gave it to me . . . before he died. I’ve sort of kept it with me ever since.”
Preppy’s eyes filled with sympathy. “You must be Salem. I’m Dale.” He held out a well-manicured hand.
I shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“Would you like some help with your search?”
“Nah, that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to interrupt your evening, but if you, uh, see a little blue sheep running—lying—around,” I immediately corrected, hoping he didn’t pick up on my slip, “could you give me a holler?”
“Sure thing.” Dale gave me a little salute and turned and left the room.
I watched him leave, happy to know that not every reaper was a mega asshole when my phone gave a little chime. I jumped, having forgotten it was in my pocket.
Pulling it out, I saw that I had a text from Graves. Is he really that lazy he couldn’t just come down and get me?
Found him.
That was it. Just two words.
“Over excited much?” I muttered, stuffing the phone back in my pocket as relief flooded me. At least one thing was going my way today. Ducking out of the library, I hurried back to the stairs, freezing at the sound of Dom’s voice.
“I can’t believe the Council let them off so easy,” he was saying from somewhere behind me.
Shit. Even though I technically had a right to be here now, Fuckface was the last person I wanted to run into. I’d had my fill of his toxic masculinity for one day. I took the stairs two steps at a time, running down the hall and beelining for the door where I’d last seen Graves.
Flinging it open, I stepped inside and closed it as quietly as I could behind me. The locked clicked, and I let out a heavy exhale.
Gathering my wits, I looked up the dark stairway. At the very top the silver door stood out in sharp relief, despite the lack of light. I climbed the stairway as quickly and quietly as possible.
It was only just beginning to cross my mind how strange it was that Graves hadn’t wanted me in here, and yet he texted me instead of coming downstairs. I shook my head, reaching for the handle made of bone. Guys were weird sometimes. Right?
I opened the door.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
No. Not fucking right. I was dead wrong.
19
Up in Flames
“What’s going on?” I asked, rapidly trying to understand the situation.
The room was large and old. While maintained like the rest of the house, this one had clearly been kept in its original state for a purpose, instead of being remodeled. With only a single dated window, antique shelves full of old books that resembled the summoning one Darla gave me, and mismatched furniture—I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I didn’t really have the time.
Not with Graves’ younger brother, James, standing beside the fireplace. In his hand was a wriggling blue sheep being dangled inches above the flames.
“Salem, I see you got my text,” James said, flashing a phone I could only assume was Graves’. Halfway across the room, but still a good ten feet away from him, stood Graves.
“James, what are you doing with that sheep?” I asked, slowly starting for it. My heart thundered in my chest.
While the flames wouldn’t destroy his soul, I would lose the only connection I had to my brother.
“Saaaaalem,” my brother bleated. I ignored him for the time being.
“This one?” he asked, like it wasn’t obvious. “Well, you see, I found it on my way up here to grab a book. It was very curious, a demon ending up in the house. I figured I’d take a seat and wait for the person who was concealing it to come back.”
“He’s mine,” I said in a rush. “I dropped him when I was here earlier—”
Beside me, Graves had yet to move or speak. James seemed utterly delighted, and I didn’t understand.
“Yes, my brother told me that part. When I asked him why you had a demon, he neglected to answer. Demons are dangerous, Salem. How this one ended up in your possession . . . well that’s a story I’d like to hear.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip.
James seemed a bit off, and that wasn’t just because he was dangling Shep over a fireplace. Something just didn’t seem right with him.
But he was Graves’ brother.
“Why did you text me from Graves’ phone instead of coming to find me?” I asked, deflecting instead.
“My brother wouldn’t answer my questions. I thought you might. Come now, Salem. I saw you at the Bitter Bean. You aren’t surprised in the slightest by this little guy moving. I know you know more than you’re playing at. Why do you have a demon?”
I swallowed hard. He might be Graves’ brother, but he also took
his phone.
He might not be Dom, but he couldn’t be trusted. That was for damn sure.
“I . . . found him,” I said, trying to not look away.
“Baaaaad Saaaalem,” the sheep bleated louder. If it weren’t so dire, I might have been amused my brother had it in him to call me bad in a situation like this.
“Found him?” James repeated, clearly not buying it. “Where did you find him?”
“I—uh—at . . . the graveyard?” I said, answering it more like a question. Inside, I cursed myself. Stupid inability to lie.
“I don’t even know you, but you’re a terrible liar. So let’s try this again—how’d you end up with a demon? If you don’t want to tell the truth, well, I’ll just have to toss him in the fire. Demons are illegal to keep, you know. It’s my duty as a reaper to eliminate any I come across.”
My heart was racing so fast that I felt like I could puke. The situation was so far out of my control, I wasn’t sure how to even proceed. How had it escalated so quickly?
“Why are you just sitting there?” I hissed at Graves, trying to buy myself more time as I scrambled to think up an excuse.
His blue eyes shot to mine, a warning I did not remotely understand shining in them. Was he telling me to watch what I said? To stay away from his brother? I already knew we were fucked, so anything other than specifics wasn’t going to help me.
James’ smile grew at my question. “My big brother knows something you don’t.”
“Oh? What’s that?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“Ah ah ah,” he sing-songed, “you still haven’t answered my question, Salem. Why do you have a demon?” With each word, he lowered the sheep until the flames were less than an inch away from his face.
“No! Please stop. I’ll . . . I’ll tell you, okay?”
“I’m waiting,” James said, his hand steady once more.
“Saaaaaalem noooooooo,” Shep screeched.
“It’s my brother,” I blurted, the words coming out in a rush. “I found a spell to summon him back. I wanted to see if I could find out who killed him, but—”
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