Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (Dead Things Series Book 1)

by Martina McAtee

  Ember, Luv, I assure you, the Grove exists. I’ve been on the other side of their displeasure. None of you want that, I promise. What is the worst that could happen if you met for coffee? At least give the man a chance?

  Why are you campaigning so hard for him? What on earth could you possibly gain from me bonding with my uncle?

  This isn’t about me, it’s about you. It’s about keeping you safe. No easy feat. Besides, you can ask him about Romero’s paw.

  She paused, turning to look at him with narrowed eyes.

  Ugh, fine. I’ll talk to him, but not outside of school. Not yet.

  Fine.

  His phone vibrated with another message but it wasn’t Ember this time.

  The package is ready for transport.

  He flinched at that, suddenly uneasy. He didn’t trust the witch could do as he said. He didn’t think he’d be able to block the pull of Ember’s magic.

  Okay. What about the other thing I asked about?

  We can talk about that tonight. If you are still looking to talk to a reaper, Cael is in town.

  He sighed. Of course, she called Cael. Of all the reapers Shelby must know, she chose him. He needed a vehicle and a good excuse to leave Belle Haven.

  He fired off a text to the human. Find what you needed in New Orleans?

  Sort of, but not really. More questions than answers.

  Would an audience with an actual reaper help?

  There was a long pause before Quinn’s response. Um, I don’t know. It couldn’t hurt. How would we manage a meeting with a reaper? We are being watched all the time. Kai will never let me go anywhere alone with you.

  Let me worry about the how of it. You just need to make sure we don’t get caught by the little alpha.

  I’ll see what I can do.

  He fired off a text to his supplier

  We will be there tonight.

  As Mace sat there, staring at the back of Ember’s neck he couldn’t help but think this was a very bad idea.

  42

  EMBER

  Ember stood outside the door of the classroom with Neoma and Donovan. Mace had excused himself from her meeting with the witch. She was fine with it. She didn’t really want to see him anyway and, for once, her magic seemed to acquiesce to her demands. She could still feel the power, pacing inside her, restless, but it didn’t flare out of control when he left her sight.

  “Sure you don’t want us to wait for you?” Donovan asked.

  “No, I’ll walk home afterwards.”

  Neoma bit her lip, “What are you going to say to him?”

  She shrugged, “Um, hey Uncle Alex can you fix my dead but not dead dogs foot?”

  Neoma stifled a giggle and Donovan laughed, “I guess that’s one way to go about it.” After a beat, he looked her in the eye, mouth hitched in a grimace, “Don’t trust him, Ember. I know he’s your blood and all, but witches can’t be trusted. It sucks but that’s just how it is.”

  She nodded once, “I’ll see you guys at home.” Her stomach still flip-flopped at the word. It still felt false on her tongue.

  “Not me, I’m leaving for a few days but I’ll be back,” Donovan told her. They nodded and walked off, Neoma following Donovan as he twirled the car keys in some elaborate spin.

  “Well if it isn’t the queen of the damned.”

  Ember sucked in a breath, whipping around. Astrid stood in the now open doorway, eyebrow raised, a sneer marring her otherwise perfect face. “What do you want?”

  It was so strange to see Quinn’s whiskey brown eyes looking back at her with so much hostility. Astrid may have inherited the magic but Quinn got the personality.

  “Astrid, how nice to see you again,” she lied, tight smile in place.

  Stella appeared over the other girl’s shoulder. There were three others in the room. The triplets, Ember thought. She’d learned from Neoma their names were actually Lola, Keegan and Kieran. She’d also learned that while the girl wasn’t related to either of them, the two boys were cousins. Not as horrifying as dating your brothers but still strange in Ember’s eyes. Lola sat on the desk, one boy perched on either side of her like bookends.

  She pulled a face as she watched Ember, “What’s she doing here?”

  Ember was already in a bad mood. She didn’t plan to cater to Astrid or her bitchy friends, “And here I thought trolls only guarded bridges? Is there a riddle I have to answer to pass?”

  Stella seethed but Astrid rolled her eyes not rising to the bait, “You sound like your idiot cousin.”

  Stella’s eyes lit up then, “Yes, how is your cousin? Has he come to terms with his impending untimely demise?”

  Astrid cut her eyes at the girl, shocked, “Stella!”

  “What?” the girl asked, blinking wide innocent eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry? Is that insensitive?” she pouted.

  The two boys snickered behind her but Lola said nothing, just watching her. Ember clutched her backpack, “What are you talking about?”

  “You didn’t think he was just going to walk away from this, did you?”

  Ember looked back and forth between the two of them. She had no idea what she meant, “Kai? What do you mean?”

  Stella cackled and walked behind her forcing her to turn her back on Astrid. Stella was clearly the bigger threat, “Oh my God. Are you really this stupid? No wonder your magic is so out of control.”

  When Ember said nothing, Stella sighed, “When your cousin saved you he upset the balance. You were supposed to die. You were fated to die.” The other girl spit the words at her like bullets, “Now your cousin has sacrificed his life for yours, though I can’t imagine it was his plan at the time. That cousin of yours is all heart and no brains.” She smiled smugly, “Looks like it runs in the family.”

  Ember felt sick. Her hands shook, her magic stirring as fear gripped her, “Sacrificed his life?” She swallowed hard to keep her lunch down, “What?”

  It made no sense. If Kai had sacrificed himself for her, somebody would have said something. She would have known. Her eyes widened. Tristin’s hostility suddenly made perfect sense. Tristin blamed her for Kai. No wonder she hated her.

  Stella wasn’t paying her any attention really, now pandering to the room like the villain in a movie, “Everybody knows what he did. Everybody. The Grove is coming for him any day now and when they do?” She sighed wistfully, “It will be the reaper who’s collected. If he’s lucky.”

  Ember fought to keep her shaking hands still. She wouldn’t give this bitch the satisfaction. Stella advanced on Ember, eyes narrowed and glinting, a nasty smile on her face, forcing Ember backwards into the classroom.

  “How do you think your little pack will hold up without him? Hmm? What about poor Tristin? They say when you lose a sibling, you’re never the same. I bet it’s even worse for twins.”

  Ember swallowed hard, her throat tight. She put her hand to her collar, trying to catch her breath, “I bet Rhys will be devastated.” Stella ran a fingernail down her own cheek and Ember swore she could feel the sharp sting on her own face. It took everything not to reach up and feel for herself if there was a welt, “But tell your cousin not to worry, I’ll take excellent care of him. I know just what he likes.”

  Ember couldn’t breathe. She was choking, airway constricting with every word. Her magic flared to the surface causing a ripple through the room. The triplets sat, spine straight, eyes snapping towards the door. She didn’t have to be supernatural to sense their unease. She just didn’t know if they were afraid for her or worried about getting busted using magic.

  “Stella, stop,” Astrid shoved the other girl hard. Stella’s eyes darted to Astrid, only relaxing when she saw Astrid’s panicked face. “Anyway,” Stella continued casually, as if they discussed the weather, “the Grove is coming and they will deal with all of you.”

  Stella waved
a hand and suddenly Ember could breathe again. She sucked air into her lungs, barely containing the energy boiling under the surface, “Where’s my Uncle?” she ground out.

  Stella shrugged with a smirk, “Don’t know.”

  Ember flexed her fingers, dropping the tenuous control she’d managed with Mace at her side. She flinched as her magic surged forward, power sparking from her fingertips. A shiver ran through her as she stopped trying to hold back. She was done with girls like Stella. If the whole pack was going down for saving her, did control really matter anyway? She took a deep breath, calling it forth with intention, attempting to control her breathing like Mace showed her. She didn’t care anymore.

  Pictures rattled on the wall, and chalk jumped from its tray on the board. She held her hands out, sparks building until it formed a pulsing ball of light in her palm. She couldn’t help but look at the others, confirming they could see it too. She tried to sound casual as she said, “This looks dangerous. You might want to run.”

  The five of them gawked at her and then each other. Stella snatched up a bag and shoved it at Astrid, before grabbing a flowery backpack. She flung it over one shoulder, never taking her eyes off Ember. “You’re crazy. Just like the rest of your little orphan crew. Let’s go.”

  The triplets followed, giving her a wide berth as they passed.

  Ember stood alone, energy thrumming through her with no filter, staring at this strange ball of light she’d created from nothing. She felt giddy, euphoric. This was so much better than trying to control it. There was no pain. There was just this rush. It just needed an outlet. Just like in the cemetery when she remembered her mother. Her power just wanted to be free.

  The door creaked on its hinges and she looked up to see her Uncle.

  “Ember?” He moved towards her slowly, hands up, “What’s going on?”

  43

  MACE

  Mace held his breath with every step he took. He couldn’t remember the last time a simple walk proved this harrowing. Each footstep brought a measure of hesitation, wary of the searing agony to follow should the witch not carry out his promise.

  He relaxed in increments as the distance between Ember and himself grew and his skin remained intact. The witch hadn’t lied. He was capable of blocking Ember’s magic, at least temporarily. Mace couldn’t help but smile a little; if the witches could block her magic temporarily, perhaps there was a way to do it permanently. Things were definitely looking up.

  He spotted the boy leaning against a tree, fidgeting with his cell phone. Mace shook his head. The human was perpetually restless. He looked up, eyes widening at Mace’s arrival. He pushed himself away from the tree, looking around. He was also a bit paranoid, it seemed. There was little chance of anybody finding them conspiring out here.

  Mace met him halfway, noting the dog’s still open grave. They hadn’t bothered to fill it in due to Mace’s assurances that the dog wouldn’t survive the night. Clearly, he’d been wrong. Luckily, none of them seemed to be connecting the dots. That worked in his favor.

  “So you managed to sneak away without the banshee or the reaper. I’m impressed. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you alone, actually.”

  The human rolled his eyes, “They do have names.”

  “Mm, I’m aware, but there’s really no point in learning them.”

  He perked up, “Really? Does that mean you’ll be leaving us soon?”

  He shook his head, “No, it means, you lot likely won’t survive long enough to make learning your names a priority.”

  Mace grunted as two hands hit his chest hard, then he was falling. He hit the bottom of the grave, wincing at the sharp pain twisting along his spine. He had to admit, the hole looked much deeper when looking up from the bottom.

  Seems the human wasn’t a complete pushover. Quinn looked down at him from the edge of the grave. Soft dirt showered in on him. He shielded his eyes, blinking up at him, “I’m going to assume that was an accident. That way I don’t have to kill you.”

  “You know what they say about assuming things,” the kid laughed, “besides, hard to kill me from the bottom of that really deep hole.”

  More dirt showered in on him, “What are you going to do? Bury me? I’ll dig my way out and then I’ll drain you very, very slowly and with pain.”

  Quinn regarded him with much less fear than Mace was used to. He found it off putting. His reputation was really all he had. After five minutes he finally asked, “I don’t suppose you are going to help me out of here?” He kept his tone casual.

  “No, you’re kind of a dick. I think our talk will go better with you down there.”

  “Oh, come on, mate. I didn’t think you were the type to hold a grudge.”

  Quinn crossed his arms, giving him a long appraising look and a smug smile, “Yeah, well, you just threatened my fragile human life so I just feel safer with you down there.”

  Mace sighed, brushing the dirt off his shirt. It was his favorite, “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”

  The hole was just over seven feet or so, but clearing it from the bottom was enough to make Quinn’s smug expression disappear. He placed a palm on the kid’s chest, giving him just enough time to realize what was happening before shoving him backwards. He landed with far less grace and a muttered, “Ow.”

  Quinn lay on his back, wheezing as he tried to force air back into his lungs. Mace waited, impatiently. Finally, he heard him say, “See, I told you you’re a dick. I was right.”

  Mace chuckled but leaned in offering his hand. Quinn stared at it for a long minute before he sighed, getting to his feet and staring upwards probably trying to accurately calculate the best route to exiting the situation. He sighed, obviously realizing he didn’t have many options. Mace pulled him easily from the pit.

  “How did you do that?”

  “What? Get out?” Mace raised a brow, “I’m sluagh. I can fly, remember?”

  “I do now,” he mumbled.

  After a minute, he said, “If you think Tristin and Kai are already done for, why are we driving to Georgia to meet this guy? Do you really think he has information that could help Kai? How do I know this isn’t just a ploy to get me alone so you can kill me?”

  Mace looked around the empty cemetery, “Seriously? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. Perhaps, I should be talking to the banshee. You just shoved me into a hole and yet you still breathe air. If I wanted you dead, you’d still be down there.”

  The human paled a bit but continued, “I’m just saying it seems awfully convenient we’ve been looking for a reaper and suddenly one becomes available the same night you go to town.”

  “I suppose it depends on your definition of convenient. I find Cael’s appearance this close to Florida rather inconvenient. We have…history. In fact, my being there may be reason enough for him not to talk to us.”

  “Then I’ll talk to him alone.”

  Mace laughed at that. There was no way in hell he was letting Cael anywhere near him alone. “Absolutely not. That’s not an option.”

  Quinn frowned, “Why?”

  “Have you ever met another reaper other than Kai?”

  Quinn shook his head. “Kai hasn’t even met another reaper.”

  “Well, Cael grew up in the in-between.”

  His brow furrowed, “The in-between? You mean between worlds? Can you do that?”

  “Can I? No. Once the Grove took over, those who could flee to the in-between, did. Even their power doesn’t stretch that far. But, Cael grew up surrounded by traditional reapers. He wasn’t raised to concern himself with the feelings of the living.”

  “He’s not another soulless demon, is he?”

  “I’m not a demon,” Mace told him, “but no, he is in possession of his soul. Now his heart? That I’m not too sure of.”

  “So why would he be willing to help us at all?”

/>   “Truthfully, I don’t know that he will. He may tell you to go to hell. Hard to say really. I’m just warning you, he won’t be as kindhearted as your reaper.”

  “After the ride home, Kai isn’t feeling particularly kindhearted.”

  Mace snorted, “What did the wolf do now?”

  “What?”

  “There is only one thing that puts your friend in a bad mood and that’s the wolf. What happened?”

  Quinn flushed, “That’s personal.”

  “We don’t have time for privacy, what happened?”

  “Kai ran us off the road. Rhys and Kai got into a fight, somebody kissed somebody-” Quinn flushed at this information, “and now Rhys is acting like it never happened and Kai is acting like he wants to kill somebody.”

  “Lovely,” Mace could work with that, a plan already forming in his mind, “this could work in our favor.”

  “He’s not going to let me go anywhere with you alone,” Quinn told him.

  Mace shrugged, “You’re not going alone; he’s coming with us.”

  Quinn snorted, “How do you think that’s going to work?”

  It was brilliant actually, he and Quinn could talk to Cael, Kai could keep Tate out of his hair for a while and, with any luck, neither would notice his dealings with Shelby. “You leave that to me. Just be ready to go when we are and no matter what I say, you make sure to be your tenacious self. He has to believe I don’t want you there.”

  Quinn took a deep breath but nodded, “I’ll be ready.”

  “Brilliant, I’ll see you back at the house.”

  44

  KAI

  Kai sat in one of the two rocking chairs on the wide front porch. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out there. It was still daylight so it couldn’t have been more than an hour or so. He hadn’t seen anybody return from school but they usually came in through the kitchen so, really, anybody could be home. He didn’t care anyway. He just wanted to be alone.

  He wanted to take his time seething, to let it really sink in how stupid he was. He’d poured his heart out to Rhys; professed his undying love like some sappy romance novel and he’d just…ugh, he’d just given him the most amazing kiss of his short freaking life. Then he walked away. He just stalked off and went back to pretending it never happened. Kai clenched his jaw until he felt the muscle pop.