Minutes passed, and each one that did brought home the fact that she was walking around in a cemetery, in the middle of the night, and it started freaking her out. Crickets chirped, branches shifted in the breeze, causing leaves to rustle and fall to the ground. The sounds of the night didn’t make her little excursion any easier.
Finally, she saw him. Reese spotted Dan sitting on one of the benches at the top of a slope. His dark red hair radiated a glow from the lamplight that shone down on him as if it were a spotlight. The bench faced the farmhouse and also provided a good view of the darkened cemetery before him, with its gravestones and markers barely visible.
Dan sat in a reclined position with his legs out in front of him. He tilted his head back and she saw a flash of silver and realized he was sipping on that ever present flask of his. Good grief, she wished that he would quit drinking. He was sabotaging the rest of his life by poisoning himself with booze.
Her breath caught when he froze as he pulled the flask away from his lips. She held perfectly still until he leaned forward and twisted the cap onto the small container. Once she was sure he hadn’t heard her, she stepped back off the path and into the shadows where she would be even more hidden if he should choose to turn around.
Once she was sufficiently enveloped by the darkness, she took a moment to wonder what the hell she was going to do now. I have sunk to an all-time low, hiding in the darkness and stalking. Just freakin’ great.
She didn’t have to wait long, though. Only a few moments later a door opened and shut down at the house and a figure could be seen making their way across the lawn and up into the cemetery.
She couldn’t tell who it was until they were practically right in front of her. Though, she did move further back, hiding behind the thick trunk of an oak tree.
“Hey man.” Greg’s voice was low as he approached his brother. “Anything?”
She peeked around and found Dan staring up at his brother. “No, all is peaceful … and boring. I’m exhausted.”
“Why don’t you go home? I can take over patrol.”
“Nah.” Dan shook his head. “This is a good place to think, and I have lots of thinking to do.”
“Well, that’s up to you, but I can hang with you for a while if you want,” Greg offered.
“If you want.” Dan shrugged, but he didn’t sound like he really wanted anyone around.
Reese tried hard to think of any reason why someone might need to patrol a cemetery. She could understand if they lived in a big city where there were criminals and tons of shady people, but this was Summer Hollow. There truly wasn’t any reason that walks in the graveyard at four in the morning would be necessary.
“How is Reese?” Greg asked softly.
Dan leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “As well as can be expected. She’s pissed and disappointed. She trusted us and now, I don’t know if we’re ever going to be able to make that up to her.”
“I don’t know.” Greg sat. “We’re keeping her safe. That matters.”
“Yeah, but it’s our fault that she was attacked and almost killed in the first place. There are a million reasons why she is perfectly justified to be angry with us.”
“We’re probably going to have to tell her. I just need a little bit more time. I’d rather not have to go that route if we don’t have to.”
“Why?”
“I told you earlier … hey, look.” Greg pointed off in the distance.
“Dammit, I was really hoping that we wouldn’t have to do this tonight.” Dan bent over and extracted two knives from underneath his coat somewhere
Reese scanned the area in the direction that Greg had pointed and couldn’t see anything. What on earth were they looking for? She turned her attention back to them and found Greg now had a large dagger in his right hand.
Good lord, what were they going to do with those?
“You packing, just in case?” Dan asked his brother in a low voice.
“Yeah, I’m not taking chances anymore.”
“Same here,” Dan mumbled and then gestured down the slope before them. “Looks like he’s coming this way. I know he can see us. Should we just wait, or go to him?”
Greg shrugged, “Let’s wait. It saves us energy if nothing else.”
Reese reminded herself to breathe. She kept catching herself holding her breath in attempt to be quieter. As soon as she’d seen those knives come out, a bad feeling had come over her. Something bad was going to go down, she was sure of it.
“Ready?” Dan held both blades loosely in hands, not even glancing at his brother as he asked the question.
“You bet I am,” Greg responded just as a man appeared, striding quickly up the same path that she had used.
Reese unconsciously stepped back one more pace and covered her mouth with her hand to help keep her quiet. The man coming toward Dan and Greg wasn’t one of the men from the bar. She had kind of expected it to be one of the men or the woman that she had seen that night.
“Well, well.” Dan flipped one of his knives, catching it by the handle. “Look what we have here.”
“Sorry,” Greg added, “No souls for you tonight.”
The man snorted, his blond hair glowing in the lamplight. He smiled wickedly and spread his hands out. “I’m not here for those souls. This time, I’m here for yours.”
Dan tilted his head. “Oh isn’t that cute. They couldn’t even win against us when they send ten of you guys. Now they send one and think that is going to get the job done.”
“They didn’t send me,” The man sneered. “I’m here on my own. Can you imagine what the Empress would award me if I brought her one of the Estmonds?” The thought seemed to make him giddy as he laughed at the thought of what he might receive.
Greg rolled his eyes, but kept his blade up in a defensive position. “Let’s get it over with. I need to go back to bed.”
The man nodded, pulled his own blade from a sheath at his hip, and lunged toward Dan and Greg. Dan kicked out, his boot connecting with the guy’s chest and sending him backward a couple of feet.
At the same time, Greg rounded behind him and tried to go in from the other side. The brothers appeared to have the upper hand, until the man suddenly smiled and performed a standing backflip which took him out of the space between Dan and Greg.
The blond man, using a fast pace, circled the brothers, pointing his knife at them. “All I have to do is throw this and it will hit the target I aim for.”
Dan sighed and rolled his eyes. “All right.” He turned, never taking his eyes off the guy. “I’m tired of screwing around.” He returned one of his blades to its sheath and replaced it with his gun. “Leave now. This is your only chance. Leave now or I’m going to have to kill you.”
“No!” Unable to help herself, Reese burst out onto the path. She hadn’t intended for them to see her, but she would not witness a murder while hiding in the bushes. She didn’t care what kind of beef these guys had with each other.
“Reese!” Both Dan and Greg cried out in unison, heads swinging her way.
“Don’t kill him.”
The man took the opportunity and lunged at Dan, his knife poised to stab Dan wherever the blade happened to land. Greg reared back and threw his dagger, apparently not aiming, but only reacting to save his brother. The dagger sailed through the air, end over end, until it finally hit home, sinking into the flesh of the blond man’s shoulder.
“Mother fucker.” The man dropped his blade and it fell to the ground with a dull thud. He clutched the hilt of the dagger that was sticking out of his shoulder and yanked as he fell to his knees. The dagger, covered in his blood, slipped from his fingers and tumbled down.
Reese gasped and stood frozen in place as she watched blood pour from the wound at the man’s shoulder, staining his light blue sweatshirt black as the blood soaked into the fabric.
“Get out of here.” Dan grabbed the man by the arm, forcing him to stand and then shoved him hard. “If you come
back here, or mess with anyone or any place in this town, you won’t get the same chance again. Understand?”
The guy didn’t even answer, he just glanced back at them, a fearful expression on his face and then took off running.
Reese watched as he disappeared into the darkness. She had no idea what to think about all of this, but turned to the brothers and blinked. “You … you were going to murder that man.”
Dan shook his head. “Reese, you don’t …”
“Don’t tell me I don’t understand. Do not tell me that. I know what I saw.” Greg moved toward her a few steps and she moved backward. “Stay away!”
“He tried to murder us first,” Dan exclaimed, his voice almost like a child blaming another child for kicking down his sand castle.
“Seriously, that is what you are going with?” Reese couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Dan and Greg looked at something to the left of them and nodded. Then they glanced at each other. Dan stepped toward her, reaching out a hand and in response she stepped backward again. “I said stay back.”
With a sad expression on his face, Dan caught her gaze and their eyes locked. “Reese. We can see spirits.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DAN
“What? You … what does that have to do with anything?” Reese responded to his admission with the expected confusion.
He glanced over at his father, asking him silently if he was sure that they should tell her this right now. “Yes, it’s better if she thinks that you are a family of crazy people who belong in an institution, rather than a family of murderers.”
He had been shocked to see Reese barreling out of the darkness, screaming at them. He had been somewhat prepared to tell her their story, but not like this. Nowhere, in any of the scenarios he had played over in his head where he explained everything to her, did it involve having to do it after a confrontation with a Reaper.
Dan sighed and holstered his gun. “The Estmond family, all of us, we can see ghosts. We were born with the ability to see spirits.”
Reese’s lips parted in disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me?”
He ignored her and continued. “We are called Keepers. Keepers have existed for many generations. We are born to protect souls, to keep them safe.”
Reese appeared to be taking this all in, but she didn’t look like she believed a word of it. “I need to go.” She cautiously sidestepped and then turned.
“Reese. Wait,” Dan begged. “Let me finish.”
“I’ve heard everything I need to hear.” She looked like she was going to bolt at any moment, but remained where she was.
“No, you haven’t. There are another kind of … being, I suppose would be the word. They are called Reapers and they feed on the souls. The spirits are what keep the Reapers alive and strong.”
“Reapers? Do you honestly expect me to believe this?” Reese’s eyes were wide. “You are all insane.”
Dan nodded. “I understand why you would think that. This is why we couldn’t tell you before. We’ve gone our whole lives protecting the souls in this graveyard. We have had to lie to everyone we have ever known in order to maintain this secret. As much as it hurts us, as much as it completely sucks not to tell the people closest to us, we can’t go around telling everyone what we are. We … I never meant to hurt you by keeping this from you.”
Greg stepped in when Dan’s voice faltered. “There’s more. There is a prophecy, the prophecy says that they seventh child from one of the original seven Keeper bloodlines, born on the seventh day of the month, will bring forth an end to the warring between the Keepers and the Reapers.” He paused, took a deep breath and then continued. “It’s Lucy. The Chosen One to bring forth the end of all this is Lucy.”
Dan took in how shocked Reese was. She stood frozen in her spot, her arms crossed in front of her, hugging her own body. Her eyes glittered with disbelief and probably anger.
She didn’t believe them.
But, did he really expect her to just say, ‘Oh, so that’s why all of this has been happening, thanks for coming clean.’ No, he had expected her to start making calls to have the whole family carted off to the asylum.
“I … I don’t even…”
Dan held up his hand. “You don’t have to say anything. We know how this sounds and that is why we couldn’t tell you, why we haven’t ever been able to tell anyone.” Right at that moment, his phone rang.
“Shit,” he cursed, digging his phone out of his pocket. “It’s James. Hello?”
“Reese is gone!” his brother cried out over the line. “I’m sorry man, I don’t know what happened. I’ve been awake and right here the entire time. I thought she was asleep in her room.”
“Don’t worry,” Dan assured him, tossing an accusing glare at Reese. “She’s here. She must have followed me from her place.”
“Dammit. I’m sorry man,” James apologized, but Dan could tell that he was relieved Reese was with them and not kidnapped by some Reaper.
“It’s okay. We’re telling her the truth now.”
He could practically see his brother roll his eyes. “Oh, that’s going to go over well. Good luck.”
“Doing it now, gotta go.” With that, he hung up on his brother. “That was pretty low to sneak out on James. He thought you were taken by a Reaper or something.”
She shook her head. “Do you think I really give a fuck about that right now? You all, those … Reapers, you are all killers.” She backed away several steps this time. “Stay away,” she hissed. “Stay out of my bar, out of my apartment and away from me.”
“Reese, please.” Dan knew he was begging. “The Reapers have been gunning for our family. They don’t want the prophecy fulfilled.”
This time, she didn’t bother responding. She turned and ran, tripping over her own feet at first, but then catching herself and picking up speed as she descended the slope of the hill.
Dan glanced at Greg. “Shit!” He turned and kicked the bench. “Shit!”
“You should go after her.” Their father’s voice interrupted his tantrum. “She needs more than what you were able to tell her.”
Greg nodded. “I agree with dad. This wasn’t a total shit show, but she shouldn’t be alone right now. Also, we need to make sure she doesn’t call the cops or anything.”
Inhaling deeply, he turned to his father. The shimmering blue mist that made up his father’s soul wavered, ebbing in and out as he struggled to stay solidified. “Dad, this is …”
His father nodded, understanding. “She will come around. But, stay with her. Just feel lucky that she showed herself. If you hadn’t known she was here, there could have been a real problem on your hands.”
“Okay.” Dan nodded, gathering his courage. “You’re right. She’ll come around. David did fine when we told him about the family.”
“But David was also closer to us than Reese is. You may have known her all your life, but that doesn’t mean she was close,” his father explained and then waved him off. “Go.”
Dan felt a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is hard, but this definitely not the hardest thing you’ve ever gone through.”
Memories of opening the door and finding Anna’s body lying amongst the remnants of a broken coffee table, blood hardening the frilly pink top she wore and staining the pale blue carpet all around her, flooded his consciousness.
No, this wasn’t the hardest thing he had ever gone through. But, that didn’t mean it wasn’t hard.
“I know you care about her.” Greg tilted his head.
Dan nodded, but didn’t respond.
“It’s not cheating on Anna, Dan. Anna wouldn’t want you to be miserable the rest of your life. And the fact is that Reese is good for you. She’s tough and speaks her mind. She hits you with a baseball bat if you get out of line.”
Dan couldn’t help but smile. That much was true. Reese was a force to be reckoned with. She was one of the strongest women he’d ever met.”
“I’m not saying go out and make a move on her, but at least try to salvage this friendship. We love her, the whole family does, but I see something more in your eyes. Go. Keep her safe and try to explain again. She probably just needs to get over the initial shock.”
His brother was right. This was how anyone would react if they were told that an entire family could see spirits and it was their birthright to protect them from people who sucked souls to survive.
Yeah, that was crazy.
“All right.” He nodded. “I better go.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
REESE
Reese burst into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind her. Did they seriously expect her to believe that shit? Who the hell did they think she was, anyway? Their stories just kept getting more and more unbelievable.
James shot up from where he had been sitting at the dining table. “Reese! Thank god, you’re back.”
She pointed. “Get the hell out of my apartment, you lying, murdering piece of shit.”
His mouth feel open in surprise but nothing came out.
“Get out!” She screamed, stomping her foot for emphasis.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “All right. All right. I’m going.” Still holding his hands up, he circled around her. She circled as well, her moving into her apartment and him moving toward the door.
“Whatever happened, I’m sorry,” James told her in a soft voice.
Heat coursed throughout her body. She was so angry. She couldn’t remember when she had ever been this mad. How could she have missed that this entire family needed to be inside a looney bin? “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” she seethed. “Just get away from me.”
He reached over and opened the door. “I’m leaving. Don’t do anything stupid okay.”
She snorted. “You’re one to talk.” Her words were out just as James was closing the door behind him. “Keepers and Reapers. Fucking crazy bastards.”
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