Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians Book 1)

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  He turned around to check out what was going on around him. The tiny bar had one pool table, which was currently occupied by two old men who looked like they were about eighty years old. There was an extremely tiny space clear of tables or anything else. He assumed that was supposed to be a dance floor. An ancient juke box sat in the corner, all lit up and waiting for people to pick their music. And just beyond the dance floor, was a little platform for when the bar hosted live music.

  Over by the restroom, which was unisex, a blonde in a pair of tight jeans was bent over with her foot propped up on a chair. She appeared to be adjusting the strap on her high heel. Jack took in the view with pleasure, as did several other men in the establishment.

  Bingo.

  As she straightened, she moved the wave of straight blonde hair over her shoulders. It hung down her back, just shy of touching the waistline of her jeans. Seeming to sense that he was staring at her, she suddenly turned and met his eyes. Only, his eyes couldn’t help but move south.

  Holy shit, she had a fucking rack on her that any man would have killed to bury his face in. Her upper half was adorned in a tiny, black camisole tank, and she must have been wearing a push up bra because the top of her breasts were prominently exposed for his enjoyment.

  The blonde snatched up her purse off the chair that her foot had vacated and began her fuck me strut in his direction.

  Jack continued to lean against the bar. He polished off the last of his beer in one long drink while he watched her make her way over to him. He turned without taking his eyes off her and set the empty on the bar.

  “Want another one, Casanova?” Reese’s voice came from behind him.

  “Hit me,” he called over the music, just as the blonde arrived in front of him.

  “So, if you’re going to look at me like I’m already naked, you should at least buy me a drink,” she told him, with no introduction at all.

  “Well, that shirt doesn’t exactly scream out that you’re saving yourself for marriage”

  She smirked. “Well, what does it say to you, then?”

  He pretended to think a little bit. “It says that you are a woman who wants to be touched. That you are a woman who is comfortable with her own body ... and that body craves a man’s hands.”

  She took a step closer to him and touched a fingertip to his leather jacket. “That, is exactly what this shirt says.”

  “Here’s your beer, Jack.”

  He turned away from blondie just long enough to wrap his fingers around his beer glass and catch Reese’s eye. She shook her head at him and he cocked his head back at her in confusion. Reese shook her head again and then glanced over his shoulders at the blonde. “Slut,” she mouthed to him.

  The fact that Reese was trying to warn him about a slutty chick was pretty comical since he was usually the slutty one. Well, he still was.

  “Good,” he mouthed back to her.

  “Ugh.” Reese waved him off and wiped the bar with a white towel. “Go get herpes if you want. I really don’t give a crap, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “No worries, Mom. I’ve got this.” He turned away from Reese and back to the girl. “I’m Jack. Who might you be?” he asked her.

  She opened her purse and pulled out a cigarette. “Sadie. My name’s Sadie.”

  Jack nodded. “What would you like to drink, Sadie?”

  She laughed. “Well, ironically, I would love a Jack and coke.”

  “You hear that Reese.”

  “Already on it,” he heard her somewhat disgusted voice say from behind him. “Here you go.”

  Jack turned and took the plastic cup from her and handed it to Sadie. “So, should we go out back and have a smoke?” He gestured to her cigarette. Reese had set up a fenced in smoking area right outside the back door since it was illegal to smoke in any establishments in California. She was smart, knowing that if people couldn’t smoke while they drank that they would just stay home and drink there.

  Sadie took a big gulp from her cup and grinned. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

  Suddenly the door burst open and man in a gray trench coat staggered in. He had dark red hair and brown, blood shot eyes. He also carried a light silvery mist of an aura around him. The aura of a Keeper.

  “Shit,” Reese muttered from behind him.

  “What is it?” Jack asked. He honestly wanted to know what she was worried about, but he was also worried about the fact that not only could he see the Keeper’s aura and know who he is, but that Keeper would see his red misty aura and know that he was a Reaper. Not a good situation at all, especially since this Keeper appeared to be snockered already. Usually, in public it was a given rule between the Keepers and the Reapers to leave each other alone, but it was best to just avoid the confrontations all together.

  “It’s Daniel Estmond. He’s drunk again. Today was his dad’s funeral, but it’s been a hard time for him ever since his girlfriend was murdered.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah. It’s shitty. I’m just tired of seeing him coming in here and ruining his life.”

  Jack reached out and took hold of Sadie’s shoulder. “You know what? Why don’t we get out of here instead?”

  Sadie giggled and swayed a little bit. “Ok.”

  Jack kept his eyes on Daniel, hoping that the guy would be too distracted to see him. Yeah. Not so lucky. Daniel’s eyes shifted around the bar, most likely looking for Reese, and that is when he spotted Jack.

  Suddenly the Keeper was charging toward him and shouting. “I will fucking kill you.”

  Jack had seriously expected the Keeper to just pass him by and he would leave the bar and everything would be fine. But, this dude fucking jumped him. The next thing he knew Daniel’s fist was connecting with his cheekbone.

  “Shit!” he heard Reese shout from behind him at the same time as Sadie squealed and jumped out of the way.

  “Damn it!” Jack cursed. Instinctively, he reared back and returned fire on Daniel. He didn’t even realize that he had hit him until he felt his knuckles connect with the Keeper’s jaw. Daniel staggered backward, recovered his footing and then lunged again, but Reese jumped over the bar, baseball bat in hand and shoved it into Daniel’s chest. “Fucking stop it, Daniel, you’re drunk again.” She looked up at Jack. “Time for you to go, man. I’ve got to take care of this.”

  Jack nodded. “I don’t even know this guy.” He wanted her to know that, even though she probably didn’t give a flying fuck.

  “I know. Just go now please.”

  He turned to Sadie. “You coming?”

  For a moment, she looked like she might back out, but then she nodded. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

  Yeah, she was going to be coming, all right.

  God, why was he such an asshole.

  “Let’s go.” He reached out for her to take his hand and they both hurried out of the bar.

  The warm summer air carried a slight breeze, which hit him right in the face as he opened the door of the bar and ushered Sadie out onto the sidewalk. The streets weren’t as busy as when he’d come in, but there were still a few people milling about on the sidewalks.

  “I’m parked around back.” He grabbed Sadie’s hand and led her around the building to the dirt parking lot. “This is me.” He gestured to his big black truck.

  “Nice ride,” she commented as he disengaged the locks.

  “Well, hop in,” he told her.

  Jack didn’t want to take her back to his place and have a replay of that morning all over again. Asking them to leave was always an awkward business that he would rather not have to deal with. So, once they were settled in the truck, he backed out of the dirt lot and headed a few blocks down and then made a left. He was headed for the old stone bridge that he had found on his earlier exploration of Summer Hollow.

  Before he had even pulled out of the parking lot, Sadie had scooted over into the center of the bench seat and pressed herself up against him. “I hope you’re ready for a real fun ride
, cowboy,” she whispered into his ear. He felt her lips graze his lobe and then move a bit lower to his neck.

  Why was it that these slutty chicks always said pretty much the same thing? Was there some sort of hand book with a script, like ‘Sex Lines for Dummies’?

  Before he could respond he felt her hand on his thigh, moving up slowly until she was cupping his cock.

  Holy shit.

  As he pulled over into one of the two spots beside the bridge, his dick was pressing hard against his jeans and was more than ready for her. He slammed the truck into park and turned to the side, taking Sadie down onto the bench seat of his Ford.

  His mouth found hers at the same time as his fingers moved the camisole top down and his thumb grazed her nipple. She moaned and arched her back. He took the signal and pushed his hips forward, grinding himself fully clothed against her.

  “Please … please.” He heard her begging for him and that was all the signal he needed. He lifted his weight off of her, letting her unbutton her jeans and wiggle out of them. While she did that he reached over and unlatched the glove box, letting it fall open. Reaching in, he fumbled around until he came into contact with one of the condoms he had thrown in there. Then he worked on his own jeans, only bothering to undo his belt, unzip and let them fall to his knees.

  “Wow.”

  He looked down at her and saw that she was staring at his erection with wide eyes. “I can’t fucking wait to have you in me.”

  It wasn’t the first time he’d heard a woman in awe of his size, but it still sent him over the edge. He had the rubber on in a flash, pulled her silky red panties to the side and pushed himself all the way inside of her.

  “Oh. My. God,” she screamed out upon first entry. He gave her a second to adjust to the intrusion of him inside her and then he began pumping his hips. He grabbed her legs and pulled them up so that he could get even deeper. His hips slammed against her again and again until she called out that she was close to climax.

  He leaned over her as he felt her hot core clenching around him. His lips took hers and for the second time that day, he pulled a soul from a woman’s body. She rocked against him, moaning into his mouth as her soul slid from her body into his.

  Suddenly, his own orgasm hit hard as his body absorbed the energy. He arched his back and released her mouth, letting out a slight moan of pleasure.

  When it was over, he pulled out of her and turned away so that he could take care of the condom. Turning back toward her, he yanked his pants up. She lay there across the seat with her legs spread wide open and her bare sex glistening. He wanted to roll his eyes because it appeared that she didn’t plan on moving any time soon.

  “That … was amazing,” she said between breaths.

  He had to wonder why the fuck she was out of breath. He was the one who did all the work. All she had to do was lay there.

  He smiled and reached out to help her sit up. “It was amazing. Fucking awesome.” He leaned over gave her a kiss and then set her pants on her lap. “Here’s your pants, honey.”

  She looked slightly confused, as if any man would be crazy not to have her sitting half naked in his truck. “Oh, ah, thank you.”

  “You going home or back to the bar?” He turned the key in the ignition and fired up the engine.

  Now she was really getting the clue that she had just been used. Guess she was normally the user, not the other way around. “Um, home, I guess.” Her voice was barely above a whisper and a solemn expression crossed her face as she gave Jack directions to her house.

  Jack lit a smoke and handed it to her then lit one for himself. After taking a long drag, he pulled out onto the bridge and crossed over it. Oddly enough, Sadie lived up Cemetery Road so he had to drive by the graveyard on the way to her house.

  He peered out his window as they passed by and he saw nothing but the soft glow of the street lamps that had been placed by the benches on some of the trails through the plots. There were no glowing blue souls to chase after, at the moment.

  A few miles later, he found himself pulling into a short dirt driveway and coming to a stop in front of a double wide trailer house.

  Sadie flicked her ash out the window and then tossed the entire cigarette out into her driveway. “Do you want to come in for a while?” Her voice was hopeful.

  No way in hell.

  Jack shook his head and smiled charmingly at her. “Nah, I’ve got to get home and get some sleep.” He noticed how her face fell and added. “I’ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Lots of work.”

  She seemed happier with a response that sounded valid. “Oh, all right. Well, let me give you my number just in case you want to get ahold of me later.” She opened her purse and took out a little piece of paper and a pen, scribbled her digits onto the paper and shoved it into his hand.” With one last look at him she opened the door and hopped down into her driveway. “Thanks for the ride.” She clutched her purse, wobbled over the gravelly driveway and into her house.

  Jack backed out of the driveway as soon as he saw that Sadie was safely inside her house. On his way out of the driveway he opened up the glove box again and added Sadie’s number to the rest of the little bits of paper and business cards he kept in there.

  He drove down Cemetery Road in the thick darkness, but as he approached the graveyard, he clearly saw misty blue shimmers cutting through the night. Not too far from the blue, he spotted the silver auras of the Keepers. There were at least three of them out there in the graveyard with the souls.

  The darkness was anything but camouflage for a Keeper, a Reaper, or even the souls. Briefly the thought crossed his mind to just go in there and take care of all of them and be done with this godforsaken town, but then reality kicked in. There were far too many Keepers here for him to attempt anything tonight. He was pretty damn strong, but going up against three or more well-trained Keepers wasn’t ever a good idea.

  Fatigue suddenly hit hard. He slammed his foot into the accelerator and heard the engine roar as he sped off into the night.

  Lucy and Ethan followed Greg Jr. up the narrow stairwell leading into the attic. Greg stopped at the second to last stair and reached for the door knob. “Eeeek!” he squealed like a girl and swiped both his hands blindly in front of him.

  Lucy and Ethan burst into laughter as Greg lurched backward, almost teetering off of the stair he was standing on. Ethan reached out and pushed on Greg’s back to keep him from tumbling off the stair and taking both of them with him.

  “Fucking spider webs!” Greg mumbled under his breath after he had regained his balance. “Didn’t you and Dad ever clean up here, Lucy?”

  Lucy shook her head. “No, Greg, the two of us cleaned this whole house and after Dad got sick it was just me, so pardon me if I didn’t get to the attic.”

  “Well these webs are everywhere.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes even though her brother couldn’t see her. “So sorry, I’ll just have the cleaning lady get right to that. She is scheduled to come when I win the fucking lottery. Now shut up and open the door.”

  After girlishly waving away more spider webs, Greg managed to get the door open and they all filed into the dusty, dark attic. Greg found the light switch to the right side of the room and flipped it on. A single, dim bulb illuminated the large room and the three of them all sighed in unison. “Well, it looks like the search for Grandma’s trunk is the name of the game,” Ethan whispered.

  Lucy looked around at the crap that was piled everywhere and wondered where in the hell they accumulated all of it. Trunks galore were stacked all over the place, boxes and filing cabinets were pushed into every nook and cranny, there was furniture covered with sheets, and even a freaking piano had been shoved into one corner.

  She wandered through the maze of antiques and memorabilia, running a fingertip through the years of dust that had settled on top of everything. “Well,” she said turning to the guys, “this could take forever. There is so much stuff up here.”

  Ethan loo
ked around the room with an expression on his face that was a cross between awe and frustration. “Yeah, this could take a while.”

  She shrugged and wiped her finger on her dress before wandering over to a stack of ancient looking trunks. “I guess we better get moving then, help me unstack these.”

  Greg and Ethan each grabbed hold of a handle of the top trunk, lifted it down and then did the same with the middle one. Dust, which had lain undisturbed for so long, billowed up around them in a large cloud. Once the trunks were down, each of them opened one and began to inspect the contents.

  Finding nothing in the those, the three of them searched the attic, finding several more trunks before Lucy finally spotted one over in the corner that, while appearing the same as all the other trunks, had an emblem on the front that wasn’t on the others.

  Lucy abandoned the open trunk before her, drawn in the direction of the trunk in the corner. The leather was a dark, stained brown. Wide straps spanned the circumference of the giant chest, holding it together with antique buckles. The emblem on the front was a two inch circle, made of bronze and engraved with the letter J.

  Her grandmother’s name was Josephine.

  She knelt down onto her knees in front of the trunk and ran her fingertip across the bronze emblem. This had to be the one.

  Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Greg and Ethan were busy sifting through the masses of junk lying around in the attic. She turned back to the trunk and blew out a long breath, sending the thick layer of dust up into a tiny storm as it flew up and away from the trunk. Slowly, she unlatched the buckles holding the trunk together.

  Before opening the lid, she paused and reflected for a moment. This old chest could possibly hold the proof that she was some kind of prophecy. Her life, from this point on was probably going to change. She didn’t know how, but she was sure that there was no way it could remain the same.

  She lifted the lid of the trunk.

  The hinges creaked with age and lack of use as she slowly lifted the top and looked inside. The first thing she saw was a very, very old crossbow lying on top of a white silk cloth. The cloth covered the rest of the contents in the trunk, keeping it from sight until someone got around to removing it.