Even dying, Gwendolyn maintained her adventurous spirit. Her unwillingness to slow down and stop made me want to protect and adore her so much. So fucking much. Who else would protect Gwendolyn like I could?
Stop.
I didn’t get to bask in that pleasant memory. Loathsome flashbacks of the last time I left the hospital hit me. I shouldn’t have left her. Not even for my duties. I didn’t realize how much Gwendolyn needed me. She paid for my mistake because of my mark.
Then the haunting replays of the gruesome scene of her death came. There were so many demons gathered to kill one dying human. It was a show of force by Harvester—a direct jab at all Reapers.
And she had no clue it was all my fault.
How I was supposed to keep my distance? How was I supposed to keep her safe when I was a threat too?
Wrath might be strong, but I was weak when it came to her. I never dared to want anything because I’d never encountered something—or someone—I wanted.
A menacing chuckle erupted in my skull, and I pressed my palm to the side of my face. “Shut the fuck up!”
Only it didn’t.
The noise—coming from a demon in the midst of descending—followed the bastard as he fell into Hell. Did he fear me and my insanity or the place he was headed to?
As the day went, I had a startling suspicion why my frantic thoughts were fueling my curse. What it wanted wasn’t close to me. Gwendolyn.
Fucking Hades.
I didn’t know how many hours it took. Time bled together and everything else was nonexistent before I finally gave into my desire and my sin.
The cackling in my ear grew silent as I slipped into her room that night. She looked so fragile lying on that huge ass bed. My heart cracked right down the middle. I wondered how long it took her to fall asleep? Did she cry? Was she terrified of that place? Of me? How much did she hate me for breaking my promise when all I wanted to do was take her home with me?
I drew closer to the bed, reached out to push her hair hiding her face, then stopped when I saw the dried blood on my hands. I glanced down at myself. I was filthy. No fucking way she deserved to be touched in that state.
With regret, I pulled my hand away and materialized a chair. Then I sat beside her and rested my head on the bed beside her.
And the laughter settled.
Until I left her side again.
Chapter 16
Gwendolyn
The next day I ventured outside with Maureen and Kitty.
“Where’s your scythe?” Maureen flicked her ponytail off her shoulder. It was time to learn how to be a Reaper.
I was off to a bad start. I’d forgotten my weapon. Whoops.
“I left it in the bedroom,” I admitted.
“Good. I wanted you to try something, anyway,” Maureen explained, stepping closer. “You’ve seen Barron materialize his scythe at will, haven’t you?” She held her hands out and two thin swords appeared. “Like this.” She twirled the blades around effortlessly. “This is Ben and Jerry, by the way.”
“Yeah,” I eyed her warily as she spun the weapons. “He’s done that before. I’m pretty sure he whipped it out the first time to scare me.”
Kitty and Maureen shared a mischievous look, then Kitty snorted and Maureen cackled. Their sly grins clued me into the hidden meaning of my words.
Kitty waggled her brows. “Whipped it out?”
My face burned. No doubt I was really, really red. “You know that’s not what I meant! His weapon, his scythe-thingy.”
That made them laugh louder. Maureen groaned. “Please don’t call it a thingy in front of him. He’s already struggling with your age.”
Anger and embarrassment washed over me. Why was my age and the way I spoke a problem? I was just being me. Barron didn’t like who I was? “I don’t care what he thinks,” I lied, ignoring my hurting heart. “Are you here to show me how to do the job I never wanted, or are you going to keep talking about your brother?”
“You’re his fate,” Kitty mentioned. “Do you truly not want to be with him?”
I spun away from them. “Forget it. Come find me when you’re ready to teach me something.”
“Hold up there, whipper-snapper,” Maureen yelled, and the two fell into a fit of cackles. They would never let the whipped comment go.
Siblings were terrible! No wonder Barron had anger issues.
It would be a long day.
______
“I thought you and Jackal were heading into the human world?” Prudence dragged her words out. With a hand on her hip, she glanced at Maureen.
Maureen sighed. “I want to see if my theories are right about Gwendolyn. If she’d just try.”
“I am trying!” I yelled. “I can’t make my scythe appear at will.” I never thought of what I’d do with the scythe. I figured I’d just be guiding the dead to their afterlife, but hours out there with them proved how wrong I was. I didn’t know the first thing about a sword, let alone how to wield the curved weapon I owned.
“Maybe she truly can’t,” Prudence stated. We’d only met thirty minutes prior, but her calm persona was easier than Maureen’s. “Just because she has Barron’s essence inside her doesn’t mean she can use his powers.” Inside. Her words sent unwanted heat to my stomach.
Something of his was inside me. Inside. Me. Cue the hot cheeks.
“I think she can. She has a scythe,”’ Maureen said it like it made her argument solid. “Let’s try a different approach before I have to leave, all right?” She peered at me. “Instead of trying to call to your scythe, just think of any random thing. It can be food or whatever and wish for it. Hell, beg for it in your mind. You have to want it, Gwendolyn. Your power has to feel your desire. It’s really that simple.”
Prudence was quiet for a moment before she finally said, “Maureen’s right. Materializing things for us came before we could walk. You just have to want it. It gets trickier when you morph weapons or conjure things you’ve never seen before. But first things first. We need to know if you can use our brother’s power.”
“Where is that sassy attitude you had with Barron the other day when you walked out of the kitchen?” Maureen placed her hands on her sides and arched a brow. “Do you want to rub it in his face? Or were you just flirting?”
I bit my lip. I wanted to irritate Barron. A lot. Although I hardly knew my soulmate, I definitely knew how he irked me and how much I missed him despite that. He left and hadn’t even come to check on me. What if his family strung me up and hurt me? A preposterous thought. Other than teasing me, they didn’t seem to mind having me around. They were annoyingly thrilled about my presence, but I suspected they’d toss me to Barron the first chance they got. It was normal family behavior to meddle into each other’s lives, right? Helen had aggravated me until she got the information she wanted. I hoped there was some sort of Reaper housing where I could go until my Reaper came around.
If he came around…
Maybe he truly wanted nothing to do with me.
Saving people was a part of his job. It was foolish of me to think he might care about me.
Just stop.
No more thinking about it.
Whenever I got stressed, my right eye would jump. Even as a Reaper, I couldn’t escape my old ugly twitch. It was a clear sign that I needed to do something. In that situation, it was a reminder to stop taking everything at ease and react.
Honestly, I was scared to do anything. What if I freaked out and couldn’t recover?
At the moment, I desperately wanted to use Barron’s power. It was all I had that connected us. The realization scared me. I’d never had a someone. A person. It was startling to admit and feel how much I wanted there to be an us.
Anchoring my sanity was the idea of Barron and I woven together. It was the knowledge that some part of him was always with me even when we were apart. I trusted in that bond between us. He might not desire me as a mate, or maybe he was pretending, but he saved my soul from being destroyed.
Regardless, if he never saw us more than a nuisance, he would always and forevermore be my protector. He would always be there even with wrath flowing through his veins—making him less than friendly. My heart fluttered.
“Show me again,” I finally said, still wanting to annoy him a little, if only to get his attention.
“Are you hungry?” Maureen asked.
I arched a brow. “Um, yeah.”
“Good, think of a food you want and hold out your hand. Call it to you.”
Call it to me?
That was the part I couldn’t understand. I couldn’t imagine something coming to me just because I wanted it. They’d mentioned their powers had been a part of them since birth, so it wasn’t weird or confusing for them to visualize things. When I got hooked on a magic show, I spent a good year of my childhood trying to levitate objects with my mind. It never worked despite how much I begged my brain to make something appear or move on its own.
Closing my eyes, I did as Maureen asked. It was hard to concentrate at first. Flurries of colors and dots appeared and distracted me. Ignore the dots! Everything disturbed me—the sounds of the surrounding woods… a river running… Without trying to, I heard the sisters breathing.
I inhaled and let myself focus on the slight gnawing in my stomach. I wasn’t starving, but I was getting hungry. If I was at home, I’d look for something sweet—like a Debbie cake. Afterward, I’d want a cheeseburger or something else unhealthy. Maybe I’d get Barron to take me to the human world for food.
Ah, my Reaper.
I wondered where he was and what he was doing. Most importantly, why wasn’t he with me?
I shouldn’t have thought of him.
The air changed. It crackled and heated with wild, restless anger. A storm. My hateful storm had come. I shouldn’t have opened my eyes. Black material grazed my hand. A towering figure, with its back turned, shimmered into view. And he brought something with him. An awful, guttural squawk escaped the slimy-looking creature as Barron squeezed its neck.
With his hood still covering his head, Barron looked around. He didn’t notice me standing behind him. “How did I get here?”
Bones snapped in Barron’s palm, and my skin crawled. He was murdering someone else in front of me.
Better get used to it, I thought.
Who knew when I would have to kill something? The whatever-it-was thudded to the ground as Barron let go.
“Holy shit,” Prudence droned out. “Did she conjure Barron?”
“I said food, Gwen. Just what kind of dining do you have planned?” Maureen’s amused chuckle had blood rushing to my face and neck.
“Dick,” Kitty chimed in.
The blushing got worse.
Slowly, Barron faced us. His cold, dark eyes narrowed on me. His entire body seemed to shimmer in and out. Skin then bones. Skin then bones.
“It wasn’t me,” I blurted. It wasn’t technically a lie when I wasn’t sure if I summoned him. Okay, maybe that was two lies stacked against me.
“You brought me here?” He stared down at me, lips in a firm line. The muscles in his shoulders tensed, calling attention to the massive size of my soulmate.
I loved thinking that.
Soulmate.
“You didn’t come here on your own?” I asked anxiously, knowing the answer but trying to deny it.
“She conjured you here all on her own,” Kitty said through a burp. What was she drinking?
“She’s blushing,” Maureen whispered with awe in her voice.
I would give those sisters a piece of my mind when—
“Maureen,” Barron warned, never taking his glare from me. “You’re supposed to help her learn, not this.” The mortification seeped all over me, reddening my skin when he waved his hand in my direction. “Whatever it is you’re showing her.”
“She might as well get used to it with our family,” Prudence murmured as she studied her nails.
“That’s why I wanted Mom to deal with her.”
Deal with me?
He exhaled painfully, like he truly hated bothering with me.
Hurt churned in my stomach like acid.
That snapped me out of my flushed state. Unwanted. I already knew what that felt like. I wouldn’t let my supposed lover break me with his rejection. Seemed to me, for better or for worse, Barron was stuck with me. Besides, how could I annoy him if he pushed me onto others?
Despite how Barron felt, I was worth love. Never in my life had I felt the need to prove that statement to someone until I encountered my Reaper.
I relaxed my shoulders, dropping a hand on my hip. “This proves I’m capable of using your powers. I think instead of tossing me to someone else, you should show me the ropes. After all, I am your partner.” He stiffened, and I refused to let it bother me. I was more than a problem for him. He saved me and brought me to his family. That had to mean he saw me as something special, right? I shrugged, letting the truth slip away so that I could be carefree. “Oh, relax, will you? I’ll keep my hands to myself for the moment.” I relished the way his eyes bulged, cheeks turned slightly pink, and his sisters snickered. “I want your help with this world. Let’s go back to being friends, huh? How about it?”
I’ll take your grumpy, distant tail any way I can, Barron.
Maybe then… We might, he might want more. The way he had claimed the night he kissed me.
My heart fluttered in a way that was dangerous for my emotions.
Don’t get attached. Don’t imagine the what ifs. Stop expecting.
But it was too late, because I’d been wishing for Barron ever since he came to me.
“We’re not friends,” he grunted, dragging his gaze from mine.
“Sure, we are.” I got on my tiptoes, attempting to look him in the eye. No matter what I tried—jumping up and down or grabbing his shoulders to pull him closer—nothing worked. Barron remained out of reach.
“That desperate not to look at me?” I challenged. Ignoring me only made me more determined.
Finally, those words forced a reaction. Barron growled and pinned me with a stony glare. “What are you doing?”
Man, he truly was the image of wrath with almost black eyes and crinkled forehead. Always angry….
So handsome, my…
Soulmate. The word was taking over my brain.
“You’re the one that won’t look at me,” I told him.
“So, you have to be a pest until I do?”
I nodded. “Pretty much.” Then I couldn’t help but add, “Coward.”
His shoulders tensed even further if that were possible. I reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Don’t touch!” Barron pulled away quickly. I’d never seen someone have to brace themselves so much for a touch as much as he did when it came to me.
His muscles were so corded and tight, I could see them flexing beneath his cloak. I wanted the chance to ease his stiffness. “You need to chill. You’re always so wound up.”
His red essence flared around me. Dozens of red hands reached for me through the fog. They latched onto my fingers, hands, and arms. Yanking away didn’t help. They kept coming.
“You need to keep those to yourself!” I squealed, trying to smack them away but my fingers passed through the shapes. “What are they?”
“What’s going on?” Prudence asked carefully from behind Barron.
“I don’t know,” Maureen whispered. “Barron, you need to stop denying yourself or her. I think it’s causing your sin to act strangely.”
“Go,” Barron muttered as he pushed me away.
“Go?” I parroted, gripping my shoulder.
His skin started to shimmer again. Skin then bones played peekaboo beneath his clothes.
“Oh, fuck!” Maureen hissed.
“Do you have the syringe?” Kitty asked.
“It’s coming this time!” His voice was frightening like when he shoved the heart in my chest.
I took a step backward.
“Get… Her…” He
stumbled away. One second, my haunted Reaper had been there, then he wasn’t. His stormy red essence circled him like wildfire, then burst outward revealing mostly bones. His flesh just dissolved. It didn’t melt or burn. It was there, then it wasn’t. Nothing remained but Mr. Bones.
“Oh, boy,” Kitty murmured.
“I’ll get the girl,” Prudence shouted. She jumped into the air, but so did Barron. As they collided, he swung his hand and sent Prudence flying across the room.
Maureen faded in beside me, hooking her arm around my waist. “Gotta get you away from him. We know you have his power, but let’s not find out if you have his immortality too?”
My stomach dropped.
Barron was attacking his sisters. He didn’t seem like the same skeletal monster that made the creepy proposal. He had been frightening, but not dangerous.
Mr. Bones slash Barron must have heard Maureen. Still floating in the air, he turned his head toward us, then hit the ground with a thud. As soon as his feet touched, he faded.
“Shit!” Maureen said in my ear. She glanced around the room before fading with me. When we reached that in-between space, Barron was there waiting for us in the darkness. It wasn’t just black. It was a state of nothingness—no floor, no ceiling, no walls.
His bony fingers wrapped around Maureen’s neck and flung her like a rag doll. She flipped a few times before she paused in midair.
“Barron, stop!” she screamed while rubbing her neck. And then, she ran.
Barron’s thick essence glowed as he stalked Maureen, but there was no fear on her face. She kept running. Not that there was much else she could do.
It didn’t seem possible to be able to walk on nothing yet they were. I glanced down at my feet and took a step. I could float-walk too.
Talk about weird out-of-body moments.
“Shit,” she muttered. “I can’t do anything to him this way.” Lifting her hand, a thick orange chain appeared. She tried whipping it around him, but he disappeared just as it began to wrap his body. When he reappeared, he was closer to her.
Conjuring Wrath (Seven Deadly Book 3) Page 12