1 Grim Tidings

by Amanda M. Lee

  “No,” Griffin agreed. “It seems to find you, though. It’s like you’re a magnet for trouble, and that scares me. Even with all this stuff going on, the one thing I’m sure about is that I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

  His words warmed me. “We can both agree on that.”

  “That we don’t want anything to happen to you?”

  I nodded, smiling despite myself. “Absolutely.”

  Griffin reached out, taking my hand in his. “Just be careful.”

  I tried to tamp down the warmth creeping up my body at his touch. “You, too.”

  “I don’t think I’m the one in danger,” Griffin said.

  “You’re a cop,” I replied. “Aren’t you always in danger, especially in Detroit?”

  “I guess,” Griffin agreed. “Somehow, I think the danger I’m in on a day-to-day basis is a little different than the danger you’re in.”

  “Not usually,” I countered. “When wraiths aren’t around, being a reaper is pretty boring. It’s kind of like being a travel agent – without the free first-class upgrades.”

  Griffin smirked. “That’s an interesting way of looking at things.”

  “I’m nothing if not interesting,” I teased.

  Griffin, still holding my hand, reached up with his other and brushed a strand of hair from my face. “This is all going to be okay, right? Your family will be able to handle this and things will be fine.”

  I didn’t know who he was trying to convince, himself or me. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I had no idea how this would end so I did what came naturally: I lied. “It’s going to be fine.”

  Griffin pulled my hand up and pressed a quick kiss into my palm before turning and moving down the front walk. “Don’t forget what you promised,” he called back.

  “And what did I promise?”

  “That you will be careful.”

  “I won’t forget.”

  Griffin was almost to his car, which was parked at the curb in front of the house. “Oh, and Aisling,” he said, turning back to face me. “You turned my world upside down before I knew what you were. Don’t forget that.”

  My heart flip-flopped as I watched him drive away.

  Crap. I’m in so far over my head here.

  Thirty-Six

  Once back at the condo, I left Aidan and Jerry to watch a movie – and whatever else they had planned (which I didn’t want to know about) – and climbed into bed. My body was still sore from the wraith attack, but for the first time in days I felt a sense of hope.

  Unfortunately, that hope was wrapped around Griffin, which made me feel a little pathetic. When you grow up in a family of men, you learn at an early age that you don’t want to give a man the power in a relationship. Where Griffin was concerned, I felt utterly powerless. And, while that’s exciting in some ways, it’s terrifying in others.

  Despite my busy mind, I dropped off to sleep relatively quickly. At some point in the night, though, something woke me. I bolted to a sitting position, my heart racing, and wracked my brain to remember what I had been dreaming about.

  Then it hit me: The symbol. The symbol burned into Brian Harper’s body. I knew where I had seen it before.

  I tossed the covers off and climbed out of bed, pushing the pain in my knee out of my mind. Aidan and Jerry weren’t in the living room. A quick look at the clock told me it was almost 2 a.m. They were probably in bed. I could only hope they were sleeping.

  I made my decision quickly. I would go and check my hunch. It wouldn’t take long and, if I was right, I could tell Aidan about it in the morning.

  I dressed quietly, climbing into simple yoga pants, a tank top and a dark hoodie to ward off the cold. I grabbed my keys from the hook on the wall and let myself out of the condo carefully, making sure not to make any noise as I exited.

  Once in the car, I jumped on the freeway and headed toward Detroit. It took me fifteen minutes – the roads were mostly empty at this hour – before I finally got to my destination: Eternal Sunshine Cemetery.

  The gate was locked, so I had no choice but to park on the street and slip through the gate bars. It was a tight fit. For the first time tonight I was glad dessert was so gross that I hadn’t eaten any.

  You would think that a reaper has occasion to spend a lot of time in cemeteries. You would be wrong. By the time bodies get to cemeteries their souls are long gone. So, no, I wasn’t familiar with this cemetery because of my work. I was familiar with this cemetery because this is where my mom was laid to rest.

  Eternal Sunshine is big – one of the biggest cemeteries in the area – but I knew exactly where I was going. The ambient light from the streetlights on the road surrounding the cemetery allowed me the ability to navigate the cobblestone paths without tripping.

  My mom was in the family mausoleum, located in one of the older sections of the cemetery. Grimlocks have been laid to rest in it for more than a century, but I visit only on my mom’s birthday to leave her a bouquet of lilies. They were her favorite, and that’s not just because she was named after them.

  It took me a few minutes to find what I was looking for: the Olivet mausoleum. It was two spots away from our mausoleum, and I had seen it so many times that I couldn’t believe that the symbol etched on its door didn’t jog my memory when Griffin was passing around his phone earlier.

  I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and tapped the flashlight app just to be sure. As soon as the light fell on the door I felt a chill rush through me. I turned the flashlight app off – it drains your battery pretty quickly – and considered my options.

  A smart person would turn around and go home, I told myself. She wouldn’t go into that mausoleum – in the dead of night – and snoop around. I reminded myself of my promise to Griffin, forcing my body to reluctantly turn and walk away. I was a smart person, no matter what the rest of my family thought.

  I was twenty feet down the path when another thought gave me pause. It couldn’t do any harm to look. Maybe if I saw some other occult symbols inside the mausoleum I would be able to help Cillian with his research. What? That’s a valid reason to look in that mausoleum. I’m certainly not doing it to prove something to anyone, especially my brothers.

  Yeah, I don’t believe it either.

  Still, I’m not a complete idiot. I pulled the phone out of my pocket again and sent a short text to Aidan.

  I found the symbol. It’s on the Olivet Mausoleum – in the same row as our mausoleum. Going to check it out. Be home soon.

  I flicked the button on my iPhone so it wouldn’t alert me to any incoming texts or phone calls and then slipped it back into my pocket. There. I covered my bases. Odds are I’ll be back home, in bed, before Aidan even sees the text.

  I strode back to the mausoleum, took a deep breath and turned the door handle. It was locked.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised. People break into these things to steal all the time, especially in a city as economically depressed as Detroit. Still, I couldn’t quite swallow my disappointment. I shouldn’t have sent the text. I could hear Aidan howling about my stupidity now.

  I tried the door again – not that I was expecting a different outcome – and then blew out a frustrated sigh as I turned to leave. Well, at least I had found the symbol. That was something. Unfortunately, that wasn’t all I found. When I turned, I realized I was no longer alone – and in a lot more trouble than I initially thought possible.

  “Hey guys,” I greeted the two wraiths with faux enthusiasm. “Nice night, huh?”

  The wraiths stood like twin pillars of dark death. I guess when you start sucking souls in an attempt to hold on to a life that is no longer yours the sense of humor goes first.

  I bit my lower lip, considering my options. If I fled in the opposite direction I would be heading deeper into the cemetery. I had never been to the far end of it, but I was pretty sure the same brick walls that covered the front surrounded the back. Otherwise, the gate wouldn’t be necessary – and lockin
g it would be a moot point.

  On the flip side, even if I had a weapon – which I didn’t think to bring (so much for being smart) – I couldn’t guarantee my ability to fight off two wraiths in the dark. I could try to track a wide circle and get behind them, but I wasn’t feeling all that comfortable with that scenario either.

  Well, crap.

  “So,” I tried again. “I don’t suppose you guys are just out for a midnight stroll and I can just be on my way?”

  No answer, just that airy hiss that was starting to invade my dreams nightly.

  “How about a truce,” I offered. “We all can just agree that it’s late, we’re tired and we’ll pick this up tomorrow. We can even set up a meeting time and place and the fight will be so much more interesting after a full night of rest.” What? It might work. Wraiths aren’t admitted to Mensa membership on a regular basis.

  Still nothing.

  “Okay,” I held up my hands in surrender. “Take me to your leader.”

  The wraiths remained where they were, not a hint of movement or understanding emanating from them.

  Maybe they’re confused? Maybe they don’t know who I am? Maybe I’m deluding myself? That sounds more likely.

  I took a step to my right. The wraiths remained immobile so I took another step, and then another. I almost convinced myself that I was going to be able to get away, that they were going to just stand there while I moseyed out of the cemetery. That’s when I noticed another pair of wraiths standing beside a large willow tree about twenty feet down the path.

  Well, double crap.

  “Did someone forget to send my invitation to the party?” The fear in my voice was evident despite my feigned bluster.

  I glanced around, peering into the dark to see whether I could find more hidden wraiths. After a few moments, I was fairly sure that it was just the four of them. That was still four too many.

  I was out of options. I could run or I could die. Maybe, if I was lucky, I would be able to hide in the cemetery until it opened the next morning. The wraiths would be less likely to show themselves once the groundskeepers and visitors started to arrive. Plus, once Aidan got the text, he would call the rest of our family and they would come. I just needed to hide for a few hours.

  I edged over to my right, making sure I had a clear shot around the mausoleum. It was now or never.

  That’s when someone else joined the party.

  “Freeze!”

  Thirty-Seven

  “Griffin?”

  Relief washed over me – followed closely by a new wave of terror. What was he doing here? How had he found me? Did Aidan call him? No, that wasn’t possible, I had sent the text just a few minutes ago. Even though I wasn’t alone now, that didn’t mean I was safe. All that it meant was that Griffin would probably die, too.

  “Aisling, stay where you are,” Griffin ordered.

  It was hard to see his face in the dark, but the tone of his voice told me he was deadly serious.

  “There are four of them,” I said. “There are two more under the tree over there.”

  “I saw them.”

  Griffin’s arms were locked and, even though I couldn’t see him clearly, I knew he had a gun in his hand. I had no idea, though, whether a gun would have any effect on the wraiths. I had never really thought about it before.

  “You should run,” I said. He still had a chance. He could get out of the cemetery. He wasn’t surrounded. “Go and get help.”

  “You think I’m going to leave you?” Griffin’s voice was steady, but his anger obvious.

  “If you stay we’ll both die,” I said, trying to be pragmatic. “If you go, there’s a chance you can get help.”

  “If I go you’ll be dead,” Griffin replied.

  “If you stay I’ll probably still be dead.” I hated the hitch in my voice.

  “Well, I guess we’ll just have to find out then, because I’m not leaving you.”

  The wraiths closest to me hadn’t turned their attention to Griffin despite the gun in his hand. The two other wraiths, though, were starting to edge closer.

  “Do you have any ideas on how to get out of this?” I didn’t expect an answer; I just wanted to hear the sound of his voice. It was the only thing keeping me sane.

  “Not particularly,” Griffin admitted. “If I shoot these things will it hurt them?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “If you do shoot them, aim for the heart. That’s how we killed the others.”

  “Does it have to be silver, though?” Griffin sounded worried. “Didn’t you have to use silver when you killed the one at the retirement center? That’s what you said after, when we were talking in the room.”

  “Yeah, but the knife Aidan used wasn’t silver,” I said. “I think it just has to be a direct wound to the heart.”

  Griffin grunted. “Great. And where is the heart on a seven-foot freak?”

  “Just guess,” I suggested.

  “I can’t just shoot them,” Griffin argued. “I have to give them proper warning.”

  “They’re not people,” I said. “And I think that you’ve given them proper warning. They’re not deaf.”

  “Didn’t they used to be people?”

  “A long time ago,” I said. “Now they’re ghouls. They don’t have souls and they’re not alive. Just shoot one and see what happens.”

  “I don’t know if I can,” Griffin said, his voice strangled.

  He was in an untenable situation. I knew he would rather be anywhere but here. I also knew that we didn’t have a lot of choices. “This isn’t much of a rescue.”

  “You wouldn’t have needed a rescue if you had stayed home and safe like you were supposed to,” Griffin shot back. “I knew you wouldn’t, though. How do you think I found you?”

  “You followed me? What, were you parked outside my condo?” Men, I swear.

  “I wanted to make sure you were safe,” Griffin replied.

  “It’s still an invasion of privacy.”

  “And where would you be now if I hadn’t done it?”

  “The same place I am now.” What? It’s the truth.

  “Are you trying to piss me off?”

  “Is it working?”

  “Yes,” Griffin growled.

  “Then shoot something,” I said. “It will make you feel better.”

  “Just be quiet,” Griffin ordered. “I need to think.”

  “Is that your answer to everything?” I grumbled.

  “I heard that.”

  “Good.”

  Apparently the wraiths weren’t entertained by our banter because they started to move. The two closest to the mausoleum were on me before I could warn Griffin about the two moving in on him.

  The wraiths tumbled me onto the ground, my breath trapped in my chest, as the white hands of death closed around my throat. I bucked up, trying to dislodge the wraith from my chest, but I was drained already. Obviously a wraith has the ability to suck a soul from a living person with its hands – no scepter required. That little tidbit might have come in handy earlier. I fought against my captors, jolting when I heard Griffin’s gun go off. I couldn’t see him, though, so I had no idea whether he hit anything.

  I was starting to lose consciousness. From the lack of oxygen or the wraith’s hands, I had no idea. I reached up, wrapping my own fingers around the wraith’s claws, trying one last time to push them from my neck.

  Griffin’s gun went off again. I registered the sound, but my mind was drifting. My last thought was of Griffin – and then everything was black.

  I HAVE no idea how long I was out. Consciousness reclaimed me in a slow and painful trickle, gradually building to a fast-moving river and then crescendoing with a waterfall of agony.

  “Sonofabitch!”

  “Are you okay?”

  It took me a second to regain my senses. When I did, I found myself in a small room, marble statues on each wall and memorial plaques in every direction. We were in a mausoleum – the Olivet one, if I ha
d to guess.

  I was on the floor, my back propped against one of the marble walls. Griffin was at my side, his leg pressed against mine and his arm around my shoulders. I risked a glance at his face, the left side already coloring with what was sure to be a world-class bruise – if we lived long enough for the color to set, that is.

  “What happened?”

  “Well, we didn’t win.”

  “I figured that out.” We appeared to be alone. The wraiths were gone and the mausoleum was empty. “Where are they?”

  “One of them is gone,” Griffin said. “The other three are somewhere outside. I heard a woman’s voice talking to them when I came to.”

  “A woman’s voice? You’re sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  I reached a hand to my temple, touching it experimentally. When I pulled my fingers back I saw blood. “How did this happen?”

  “I don’t know,” Griffin admitted. “I couldn’t see you. When they got their hands on me it was like … it was like I couldn’t breathe. I managed to get one in the heart and it just kind of blew up in a dust bomb or something. I winged the other one, but it wasn’t enough to take it down.”

  “You should have … .”

  “Don’t even say I should have listened to you,” Griffin said. “I already know that. Those things aren’t human. It’s just hard to kill something without giving them a chance to surrender.”

  “Wraiths don’t understand surrender,” I said. “They understand eating and nothing else.”

  “Well, next time.”

  I knew he was going for levity, but I couldn’t join in. “Why haven’t they killed us?”

  “I have no idea,” Griffin said. “I thought when I lost consciousness that was it. I figured one of your brothers would show up and collect my soul and that would be it.”

  He had a point, although I don’t think he realized it.

  “You’re not on a list,” I said after a second. “I’m not either. If we were, my brothers would have been tipped off that something was going down and they would have locked me in the manor and kept me under armed guard.”