Immortal Grave (The Dark Betrayal Trilogy)

by Nichole Chase

  “Are you okay?” Ree pulled her friend over the upturned furniture and trash.

  “I’m okay. Where’s my mom?” Melanie looked around the front of the house. “Oh my God. Gran.” Melanie jumped over the fallen chandelier and grabbed her grandmothers’ hand.

  “She’s okay, Mel.” Paden didn’t look up at his friend. Instead he kept his eyes on Ellie’s face as he worked over her body with his hands.

  “I’m fine, girlie. Where’s your mama?” Ellie’s voice was faint and it made Ree’s jaw clench. She hated hearing such a vibrant woman’s voice reduced to a hoarse whisper.

  “I’ll find her, Melanie. Stay here with your Gran.” Roland stood and closed his eyes for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he turned and looked up the stairs. As if gravity had no hold on him, he leapt onto the landing above Ellie. Wanting to find the others, Ree headed for the back of the house.

  Juliette and Bryce were on the tattered back porch. Bright red blood covered his shirt and ran down along his arms. Juliette lifted his shirt and checked him for injuries, while he looked at her cheek that was covered with a large purple bruise, already in the stages of healing.

  “Are you guys okay?” Ree waved a hand in front of her face. There was a lot more smoke in the back yard. Turning to look at the destruction of the yard, she could understand why. What was left of the carriage house was engulfed in flames.

  “We’re fine.” Bryce grabbed Juliette’s hands and looked her in the eyes. “I’m fine, Jules.” Nodding her head, she slid his shirt down and back into place. Wiping a hand across her forehead, Jules turned in Ree’s direction and frowned.

  “Are you okay?” Jules didn’t meet Ree’s eyes, instead squinted at the blazing fire.

  “I’m fine.” Ree looked at Bryce and then back to Juliette, who still wouldn’t make eye contact. Her friend was upset with Ree and she knew there wasn’t much she could do about it at the moment. “Do you guys know where Weylin is?”

  “No. We were out in the backyard, watching for you.” Bryce gave her a sad smile. “I thought he was out front.”

  As they turned around, another explosion slashed through the air, knocking them all back to their knees and sending another plume of angry smoke through the yard. Coughing, Ree squeezed her eyes shut against the dust that assaulted them. The roar of flames made her scramble to her feet in fear. Bryce’s hand closed on her shoulder, his fingers digging into her skin, and dragged her into the house and toward the front yard.

  “Everyone okay?” Bryce’s voice demanded a response.

  “Ree? Is Ree with you?” Paden’s form materialized out of the smoke. His hands reached out to cup her cheek while his eyes traveled over her face.

  “I’m fine.” Coughing, Ree squinted as moisture gathered in her eyes. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  “Let’s go.” Paden tugged Ree away from Bryce and headed for the front door.

  Outside, the sound of sirens was unmistakable, which didn’t really surprise Ree. There was no way the humans could have missed the destruction and fire.

  “What do we do?” Ree sought Paden’s eyes.

  “We run. Now.” Paden turned to look at their bedraggled gang of immortals. Melanie was supporting Ellie, who looked much better than she had on the staircase. Roland was holding Melanie’s mother in his arms like a child. She seemed to be unconscious. Ree hoped it wasn’t anything serious. They couldn’t take the time to let Paden heal her right now.

  “Weylin?” Ree’s eyes searched the yard for her friend.

  “Last I saw him, he was heading out to look for you.” Paden shook his head. “Don’t worry, Ree. We will find him, but right now we have to go.”

  Their ragged friends followed them into the alley that Paden and Ree had recently used and headed away from the square. Ree realized Paden was taking their group toward one of the safe houses nearby. They needed to regroup and decide how to move from there. It was apparent to Ree they needed to get to the Island. She wasn’t sure what had caused the explosion, but it was obvious they couldn’t stay in the city.

  Chapter Four

  The golem, that they met just the day before, sat at the front counter, his expression neutral. Despite the dirt they shed as they shuffled through the door, despite the two human women that were half carried up the stairs, the creature barely acknowledged their entrance. He merely grunted as they hobbled up the steps to the door at the top.

  Paden took the lead, as usual, carefully opening the door and giving the area a quick scan before motioning for everyone to enter. Roland immediately set Melanie’s mother down on the small bed. She gave a painful cough and grimaced. Paden went to her quickly and ran his hands over the older woman’s head. His hands glowed gently as he worked to heal whatever was causing the woman discomfort.

  Roland moved away from the bed, taking a place near Ree as Paden worked. Melanie sat on the edge of the bed frowning, her eyes on her mother’s face. Ree looked away from the scene in front of her and met Roland’s weary gaze. It bothered her to see his eyes clouded, his expression so somber. Gone was his normal smirk and teasing eyes. The weight of his years seemed to be sitting on his shoulders, the loss of his longtime friend eating at his frame of mind. But there seemed to be something deeper, something confused and forlorn in his expression as he stared back at Ree.

  Clearing her throat, Ree looked back at Paden, and Melanie’s mother. “Where did you find her?”

  “She was trapped under a large armoire. She was unconscious and I suspect she suffers from a concussion. There was also a great deal of smoke upstairs. She probably breathed in too much of it.” Roland tilted his head down to speak quietly in Ree’s ear. She could tell from his voice he didn’t want to upset Ellie or Melanie with the details. “I could hear her heartbeat, but could also tell her breathing was labored. Something happened in the initial blast that caused a fire in the upstairs area. The flames were devouring the old walls and flooring.” He took a deep breath, and in an uncharacteristic show of frustration, shoved a hand through his hair causing it to spike in odd directions.

  “What’s bothering you Roland?” Ree leaned closer to him, worried at his show of vulnerability.

  “Those flames were not normal flames, little Ree. Those were the green and blue flames of the gods. Something is very wrong that they would attack a place of safety.” A deep note of anger crept into his voice. “Even worse is the fact that those who should be keeping us safe should have noticed something was wrong. Where were they, Ree?”

  “The bed and breakfast wasn’t really a safe house, though, was it?” Ree lowered her voice so it wouldn’t carry to those around her.

  “Perhaps not in the sense of it being sanctioned by the gods, but Ellie’s magic protected us from the Dark Ones just as well. It’s the lack of protection from our supposed allies that have me worried.” Roland shook his head and looked back to where Melanie and her mother sat on the bed. Paden was still checking for injuries, his attention on the woman in front of him.

  “If we go to the island, will we be safe?” Ree searched Roland’s eyes. “If we are on sanctioned land, it would be harder for the gods to miss something that happens to us.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know why they didn’t act this time. I would have thought Brigid or Hecate would have responded on our behalf. And the way Athena was eyeing you last night, I’m surprised she didn’t show up either.” Squinting at Ree, he titled his head to the side. “What was she looking for, little Ree? She didn’t show up until Sophie had died. Not until after…” His eyes widened fractionally. “Not until after you received Sophie’s Death Gift.”

  Ree kept her gaze locked on his and hoped her heart didn’t speed up. Had he guessed what was bouncing around in her head? Was it even possible for what Ree suspected to happen? It seemed crazy, and yet, he’d obviously had the same thought. She could see it written on his face. Maybe Sophie had passed on her Immortality too.

  “I’m not really sure what she wanted.” Keeping her voic
e bland, Ree looked at Roland and shrugged.

  “Not sure, or don’t want to say?” Roland’s eyes bored into hers, making her want to squirm.

  “What are you two talking about?” Juliette had slipped next to Ree without notice.

  “Honestly? I don’t really know.” Turning away from Roland’s penetrating stare, she tried to not think about how well he seemed to be able to read her. She’d rather face Juliette and her anger than Roland’s thoughtful assessment. Or maybe not.

  Juliette had her arms crossed and a frown on her face. She was pissed and Ree could tell it was going to take a lot to calm her down. There was only one thing that would make Juliette this upset.

  “I’m sorry Bryce got hurt. Is he okay?”

  “Uh-huh.” Juliette narrowed her eyes at Ree and uncrossed her arms. “You’re real sorry. You know, he was out in the back yard looking for you, Ree. If you hadn’t been out there gallivanting around, he wouldn’t have been nearly killed by flying debris.” Juliette poked Ree in the chest.

  Frowning, Ree rubbed the spot Juliette had touched. “I’m sorry, Jules. I’m really sorry Bryce got hurt.”

  “You know, this stuff doesn’t affect just you. We’re all caught up in this mess, too. Bryce could’ve been killed, Paden could have been caught by the police while he was out looking for you. And who knows what’s happened to Weylin. All because you freaked out and tried to run away?” Juliette moved closer to Ree and poked her again.

  “What?” Ree felt a surge of anger. “I didn’t run away, Juliette. I was chasing a darkling. And if I hadn’t chased him, then I would be dead. I was sitting right under the tree next to the carriage house.”

  “You should have called one of us. It isn’t like you could keep up with the darkling anyway.” Juliette poked her one more time and Ree snapped.

  “My puny human legs somehow managed to keep up, thank you very much. Not only that, but I managed to remove the Dark One taint from him too.” Without thinking, Ree reached out and pushed Juliette’s shoulder, only to watch her stumble back a step.

  Roland sucked in air somewhere behind Ree and Juliette looked at her with large eyes. “How—“

  Ree leaned toward Juliette, her shoulders tense and her spine stiff. “I’m sorry Bryce got hurt. I’m sorry all of you have been dragged into this mess, but don’t you dare accuse me of running away. I might’ve had a freak out or two. I might have been scared out of my mind, but not once have I tried to duck my responsibility.” Ree took a deep breath and looked away from Juliette. “Not once, Jules.”

  Rubbing her shoulder with a look of confusion, Juliette nodded as if understanding. “I’m sorry. I should’ve known you wouldn’t run away. I freaked out, okay? He was covered in blood and there was this huge splinter stuck in his side. Can you imagine what it was like to see that?”

  “Yeah, I can.” Ree remembered all too well, the bullet holes in Paden’s shirt and jacket. She remembered feeling his body jerk against hers with each shot. “I get it.”

  “If you two are done we need to focus on what we’re going to do next. Like finding out where Weylin has disappeared to.” Paden placed a hand on Ree’s shoulder. She hadn’t even realized he had left Melanie and her mother, but knew he must’ve responded to Juliette’s posturing. Which was silly, because no matter how mad Jules had been, she would never hurt Ree.

  “We also need to talk about what just happened.” Roland’s smooth voice cut through Ree’s thoughts.

  “I think they’ve already settled it, Rols.” Bryce was standing behind Juliette.

  “Oh, not that. I mean the fact that Ree gained a little more than extra power from Sophie’s Death Gift.” Roland’s smirk was back in full force, the light in his eyes causing Ree’s stomach to flip.

  Paden leveled thoughtful eyes on Ree. “I thought you kept up with me earlier today pretty easily.”

  “It could just be all the exercise I’m doing now.” Ree looked away from everyone. She didn’t like the way they were looking at her, as if she had done something new and weird. Which, if she was being honest with herself, was exactly what they were thinking.

  “And you were able to catch that darkling yourself.” Paden looked at her shrewdly.

  “Ree, you caught the darkling?” Melanie grinned at Ree enthusiastically. “Way to go.” Paden glared at Melanie until she schooled her features into a serious expression. “I mean, you could’ve been hurt!” When Paden turned his attention back to Ree, Melanie winked and flashed a thumbs-up.

  “It occurred to me last night something had changed. Do you remember the Dark One that came out of nowhere? I was able to push him away from you. I did it without thinking, but he should’ve brushed me off like a fly, right?” Ree shook her head, still awed by what had happened. “That’s why I went outside this morning. I was thinking about everything, trying to get a grasp on why Athena had been watching me so closely.” Should she mention seeing Athena in the square earlier? She still wasn’t sure what the goddess had been looking for.

  “Ree.” Paden looked down into her eyes, obviously aware she was keeping something from them. “Tell us.”

  “I saw Athena today. In the square as we were leaving. She was sitting on a bench, watching us.” Someone mumbled an explicative, and Ree was surprised to realize it was Bryce. He was usually the last one to freak out. Raising an eyebrow, Ree cocked her head at him in question.

  “The goddess of strategy was watching you kick darkling butt? She was waiting to see if her plan had worked.” Bryce shook his head. “I would bet money she had planned for Sophie to make a Death Gift to you all along.”

  Ree couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her mouth, nor the tears that gathered in her eyes. “She told me. Sophie told me it had always been the plan, and she did it anyway.”

  Roland growled deep in his chest and walked away. He stood staring blankly at the wall before letting loose a roar and slamming his fist through the drywall. Leaning forward, he let his forehead rest just above the hole, his shoulders shaking with each breath. Silence was thick through the air as everyone watched Roland work through his anger.

  Pain and fear washed over Ree in waves, making her wrap her arms around her chest. For over a thousand years, Roland and Sophie had been used and manipulated. She hated seeing him hurt so much. She hated knowing Sophie had been another pawn in this war, just another tool in the gods’ closet.

  Taking a deep breath, Ree looked away from Roland and her gaze fell on Melanie. Two tears made tracks down her friend’s cheeks, but it wasn’t the sadness that surprised Ree. It was who Melanie felt sad for that caused her to pause. Even without her extra sense to make it clear, Ree could see the longing on her friend’s face.

  Ree turned to look at Juliette, their argument forgotten. She wanted to know if she was the only one aware of how Melanie felt. When Ree raised an eyebrow, Jules gave a soft jerk of her chin in acknowledgment. Ree frowned, knowing her eyes communicated her confusion. When had this happened and how had she missed it? Guilt and frustration rolled in her stomach. Here was one of her best friends, in love with someone that had feelings for Ree. To make matters worse, Ree had mixed-up feelings for Roland, too. And Melanie had never said a thing.

  Cutting her eyes to Paden, she saw the compassion in his features as he watched Roland. In that moment, she understood the true extent of the gods’ plan and the cruelty it depended on. Ellie had even told Ree, just because you loved someone in one life, it didn’t mean you were soul mates. You could love many people, but only your soul mate truly completed you.

  There, in Roland’s most desperate moment, the gods had capitalized on his love for Tria, promising he would be with her again. They never promised they were soul mates, never promised the love they felt for each other would be the same in her new reincarnation. For centuries, Roland had been waiting for Tria, thinking they were soul mates.

  “Ree?” Paden must have felt her anger and sorrow. Turning to her, he reached out to touch her cheek. In his eyes she saw h
is worry over the possibility that she wanted to go to Roland, but that wasn’t what she was feeling. She did want to go to Roland, to comfort him, but not in the way Paden worried.

  The gods had provided two protectors for their surprise weapon. Two men that both loved her for different reasons. Two men that would give their lives for her, perform amazing feats of strength to safeguard Ree. The inhumanity of their decision, the cruel manipulations and calculations left Ree breathless. Was this what Roland was realizing in this moment?

  Looking past Paden, she watched as Roland’s shoulders jerked with each ragged breath. Had the gods overplayed their hand? Would he handle this well or would he defect? Could he turn his back on everything?

  Turning his head slightly, Roland’s blue eyes met Ree’s. For just a moment, she could see the ragged edges of his pain, frustration, and rage; then, just as quickly, everything disappeared. A blank expression slid over his features, and the Roland she knew disappeared behind a mask of icy consideration.

  Cold crept into Ree’s stomach and left her with an empty feeling. Love walked a fine line with hate, and from the way Roland was looking at her in that moment, she couldn’t read anything other than resentment in his expression. Part of her wanted to cry, part of her was so bruised and beat up inside she could only feel resigned. Somewhere deep in her heart she felt the memories of Tria, knew they were teasing them both, and she wanted to scream.

  The sound of footsteps on the stairs broke the connection that held them, and the door flung open to show a filthy Weylin. Taking a deep breath that was purely for show, he gasped and held a hand to his chest.

  “There are entirely too many safe houses in this city.”

  “Where have you been?” The relief in Ree’s voice was obvious as she went to hug her friend. “We’ve been so worried.”

  “Me? Well, I was arrested, broke out of a cop car, and then stole a truck.” Lacing his hands together, Weylin popped his knuckles and smiled. “So, are we ready to go? Or are we going to wait for someone to realize their vehicle has gone missing?”