I caught my breath. ‘Is that why she took off? He refused to let her marry you?’
Chris’s smile was bitter. ‘Do you really think he’d say no to Cade’s son?’
‘You’re not his son. Just because your soul is in the original Chris Bradbury’s body doesn’t make you family.’
He snorted. ‘Tell that to Cade. As far as he is concerned, I am his son in every way that matters. And Michael is his man all the way.’
I shook my head. ‘It sounds so wrong to hear you call him that, as if you were friends. He tried to kill us. In fact, that was his and Cade’s plan. To kill both of us.’
He grimaced. ‘Tyler, this isn’t the time to be having this conversation. Right now we need to focus on who is killing Killian’s men, and finding Rebecca before she becomes the next victim.’
I wasn’t ready to let it go but had to when the call to reap hit, the chill emanating from the hollow below my throat making me shiver.
‘Someone is dying,’ I said, hoping his last words would not prove prophetic as I moved over to a chair and sat down.
As I slipped out of my physical body and unfurled my silver astral wings I caught sight of panic on Killian’s face. For his sake, I hoped it wasn’t his daughter’s soul I was being called to reap.
I had no reassurance to offer him or Chris as I left the compound, the call taking me back towards Easton. I reached the edge of town, relieved when I was not called to the house where I’d found the dead Tr’lirian. Instead, the call took me to the winding rabbit warren of streets around Easton’s Botanical Gardens.
My pace slowed so I knew I was nearing my client. As I prepared myself to reap, a car rocketed around the corner and roared towards me. I instinctively flew higher, even though the car would pass right through my astral form. I caught a glimpse of the driver, his eyes wide with fear, before the car slammed into a lamppost, the force of the collision echoing in the air around me.
A familiar dark shape swirled out of the mangled wreck and swiftly vanished.
A shudder rippled through my astral form.
A dark reaper had been in the car with the man prior to the crash. I had no urge to reap his soul, so either the driver was still alive or the other reaper must have taken it. I couldn’t see how anyone could have survived a crash at that speed, but the call to reap was pulling me further down the road.
I continued on to my client. The broken body of an elderly gentleman was sprawled in the middle of a pedestrian crossing, a mangled walking frame several feet away. It appeared he had been run down by the car. Death had surely been instantaneous. Tears streamed down my cheeks and crystalized as they fell, smashing once they hit the ground.
I hovered over the old man, averting my eyes from his shattered body as I called forth his soul. Its brilliant light intensified when I touched it and sent it on to rebirth. I took a moment to steel myself before flying back to check on the man who had killed him.
The driver was slumped over the steering wheel, blood leaking from numerous gashes in his flesh. His eyes were open, blank, and it only took a second to determine a hole gaped where his soul should be. The dark reaper had taken it.
I shook my head, struggling to understand what had taken place. The Grim Reaper had taken all the dark reapers with him to the Underworld after I cleared him of Almorthanos’s taint. For one to be here, reaping, it had to be on his orders. But at least I hadn’t been called to reap the soul of Rebecca Killian. I let that thought buoy up my spirits as I flew back to the compound to reconnect with my physical body.
Sam, Chris and Killian were standing around the chair on which my body reclined, matching expressions of concern on their faces as they waited for me to tell them whose soul I had reaped.
I fought the disconnect I always experienced when I returned to my body and opened my eyes.
‘It wasn’t her,’ I said the moment my vocal cords were capable of producing a sound. The words were croaky but the relief in three sets of eyes showed they understood.
I pushed myself upright, giving Sam a grateful smile when he assisted me, happy to lean on him until my legs felt steady enough to support me unaided. Their relief faded when I told them what I had witnessed.
‘A dark reaper? How can that be?’
I shrugged my shoulders; sure the apprehension in my eyes matched what I saw in Chris’s. He more than any of them understood what the appearance of a dark reaper could mean. If the Grim Reaper had sent the dark reaper to Easton to reap souls, did that mean his malevolent alter ego, Jonathon Grimm, had resurfaced and was after the nether created when people died violent deaths? Would we soon be fighting to stop him trying to take corporeal form on the physical plane?
The thought of going through the horror of six months ago all over again was daunting, but I would not let it stop me from doing what must be done.
‘The men Killian had business dealings with,’ said Sam, a pensive twist to this mouth, ‘could the dark reaper you saw be responsible for their deaths? Or do you think the Grim Reaper has sent more of them to Easton?’
I shrugged, struggling to come up with an explanation that didn’t involve the possibility of all-out war with the leader of the Underworld. ‘We don’t know for sure the dark reaper was sent here by the Grim Reaper, or that there are more of them running around the astral plane. This reaper could have been left here when the rest were taken back to the Underworld.’
‘Then why have you only found two bodies with their souls missing before today?’ Chris asked.
‘That’s two in Easton. Maybe reapers in other places have encountered the same thing. This only happened four days ago. Maybe the dark reaper fled Easton after the battle and has only just returned. This might not have anything to do with the Grim Reaper at all.’ At least I hoped it didn’t.
‘What is clear is someone has it in for Killian’s friends,’ said Sam. ‘It can’t be a coincidence two of his business associates were found murdered four days before one of his Tr’lirians is tortured and left for dead.’
‘What about the driver of the car Tyler just witnessed crashing?’ Chris rubbed his chin. ‘If, as you suspect, someone is targeting Killian’s people, could he also be connected in some way?’
‘Only one way to find out,’ said Sam. He moved away and took out his mobile phone. A short time later he was deep in conversation with whoever had been called in to take charge at the accident scene. He hung up the phone and looked over at Killian.
‘The name Vincent Troughton mean anything to you?’
Killian stiffened, providing the answer even before he said, ‘He is…was the local representative for the real estate firm, as well as being half Tr’lirian.’
‘So it’s official. This dark reaper is going after your Tr’lirians or people who work for you,’ I said.
Kilian swung around to face me, a fierce glare on his face. ‘You need to go to the Underworld. Talk to your boss. Find out where my daughter is, and why his dark reapers are targeting my people.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You heard me.’
‘I am not going anywhere near the Underworld. Send one of them,’ I said, pointing to where his winged lieutenants stood waiting for orders.
‘I can’t. Ever since we retrieved your body the Underworld has been closed to us.’ He peered down at me. ‘My men risked their lives so your soul had a chance to return to your own body. You owe us this.’
‘Like hell she does,’ said Chris, storming over to confront Killian. ‘The cost of retrieving her body has already been paid for.’
‘Not in full, it hasn’t.’
I frowned. ‘What are you talking about? What cost?’ I looked from one of them to the other. ‘Will one of you please tell me what’s going on?’
‘It’s nothing. It was a private matter between Killian and me. You don’t need to concern yourself with it,’ said Chris.
‘I wish people would stop trying to tell me what does and doesn’t concern me. You’re talking about my li
fe here.’ My eyes widened, remembering a number of whispered conversations between Chris and Killian after my soul had accidentally been trapped in my cousin’s dead body, bringing it back to life.
I’d been unable to reconcile myself to living in Emily’s body, and had been determined to die once and for all after Almorthanos was defeated. But then Killian had retrieved my own body and I’d been able to transfer my soul back to it. Emily had not been so lucky, her soul already on its journey towards rebirth. I’d always believed Killian had acted as he had as thanks for my help in the battle.
I looked at Chris. ‘Are you telling me you paid them to retrieve my body from the Underworld?’ I shook my head, unable to comprehend how mercenary this all was.
‘So, tell me, how much was my life worth? How much did you charge him?’ I glared at Killian.
‘I can assure you, no monetary compensation changed hands. Our transaction was of a more personal nature.’
‘What the hell does that mean?’ I thought back, trying to think what else had changed when I’d been given my life back. There was only one thing I could think of.
I stared at Chris. ‘That was when you started referring to Cade as your father. Is that what it cost? Becoming part of the family?’ I clutched the back of the chair in front of me to steady myself.
‘Oh my God. That’s why you’re marrying Rebecca.’
6
Chris gave me a self-deprecating smile. ‘That was the plan. Unfortunately my future bride wasn’t keen on the idea of an arranged marriage, even if it was to me.’
I shook my head as I scowled at Killian. ‘You people are insane.’
I rounded on Chris. ‘And you, what the hell were you thinking to agree to this in the first place? An arranged marriage? Seriously?’
His brows narrowed, deep blue eyes filled with emotion. ‘You were determined to sacrifice yourself, to give Emily’s parents closure and a chance to say goodbye to their daughter. What else was I supposed to do? Sit back and let you die, again?’
‘Yes. That was exactly what you were supposed to do. Not sell yourself to Cade.’
He shook his head, mouth firming, chin raised. ‘No. That was never going to happen. I loved you, Tyler. I would have done anything to save you, protect you. This was a small price to pay to give you your life back.’
I opened my mouth, ready to scream about how crazy this all was, but he cut me off.
‘This was my choice. And I’d do it again.’
Sam put his arm around my shoulder and turned me to face him. ‘And I’d let him do it. You’re alive and in your own body. How that happened is not relevant. We have more important things to worry about.’
‘I couldn’t agree more, Detective Lockwood,’ said Killian. ‘Tyler might not like how her resurrection was achieved, but it would never have happened without my help. Now I need her help to find my daughter.’
He strode forward to stand right in front of me, deep blue gaze digging into mine. ‘Rebecca is innocent and you are the only one who can find out what happened to her. Don’t make her pay for what you see as my sins. Don’t do to her what others have done to you. I have overlooked your unfortunate heritage, done what I can to protect you, and stayed Cade’s hand when he ordered your death. Save my daughter and I will consider the debt paid in full.’
‘Tyler, no. You don’t have to do this,’ said Sam. I could see in his eyes that he knew how much the thought of returning to the Underworld terrified me.
I shook my head. ‘It doesn’t matter anyway. I have barely any Tr’lirian blood. I can’t just slip into the astral plane anytime I want. I have to wait for the call to reap, and even then I have no idea if I’d be able to cross over.’
‘Have you even tried?’ Killian asked. ‘As I understand it, ever since you gained your astral wings you have not been constrained to return to your body immediately after reaping a soul. What’s to say that is not the only change to have occurred? You are unusually gifted when it comes to manipulating aether. I’m sure if you put your mind, and spirit, to it you would be able to access the astral plane without the need to reap.’
I stared at Killian, aware he was seeking to manipulate me but unable to dismiss his suggestion out of hand. He was right. I had no idea what I was capable of. I hadn’t realised I could destroy souls with a blast of aether or use it to create an impenetrable barrier until I’d been attacked and forced to defend myself.
Not only that, but after my soul had been returned to my body I’d soon realised I could hear the songs broadcast by the souls of all those around me if I concentrated. Who knew what else I could do if the situation warranted it. But even if I did manage to take astral form without the need to reap a soul, that didn’t mean I was willing to fly to the Underworld and confront the Grim Reaper.
‘Let’s take a step back and think about this,’ said Sam. ‘I know you’re worried about your daughter, but putting Tyler in danger isn’t going to help her. You don’t even know if the Grim Reaper has got anything to do with Rebecca’s disappearance. If he is behind it, the last thing we should be doing is letting Tyler get anywhere near him.’
‘Of course he’s behind it. He controls the reapers. None of them would be reaping the souls of my people without his say so,’ said Killian.
‘He doesn’t control me,’ I said, shoulders back.
‘No, but he does owe you. You freed him from Almorthanos’s taint. If you seek to gain entrance to the Underworld, I’m sure he will let you pass through the nether barrier. If not, you can always blast it with aether. You’ve already proven which is stronger.’
I gave a snort. ‘What a fantastic idea. An all-out assault on the Underworld. That is sure to have him eager to spill his secrets.’
‘My daughter’s life is at stake, and you’re making jokes and refusing to do anything to save her.’ His brows arched, giving his handsome face a devilish cast.
I lifted my chin and glared at him. ‘Enough with the emotional blackmail. If I go to the Underworld it will not be because of your daughter.’
Sam took my hand. ‘Tyler, no. You don’t have to do this.’
I let go of my anger, managing a rueful smile as I faced him. ‘Yes, I do. You’re right. We don’t know if Rebecca is even in danger. It could be a simple case of a woman pissed at her dad for trying to marry her off to a complete stranger. What we do know is that a dark reaper is operating in Easton. I’m not happy about it, but we need to know now if this is the start of something.’
Terrified or not, while I’d listened to Killian rave on about my responsibilities I’d realised he was right. Not that I owed it to him or his daughter, but to the people of Easton. Their souls were in my keeping and if there was even a chance of Jonathon Grimm making a reappearance it would be my duty to make sure that never happened.
‘Of course, saying I’ll go is a lot different than getting there. First I have to figure out how to take astral form without needing to reap. Otherwise I’ll have to wait for the next person to die and go then.’
Working out how to take astral form with all of them watching on would not be a fun experience and I had no wish to make it any harder on myself. ‘I need somewhere quiet to see if I can figure this out.’
‘Of course. I’ll take you to one of the guest rooms,’ said Killian.
I winced. It had been in one of the guestrooms where Almorthanos had tried to bend me to his will. ‘No, thanks. I’m going home. I’ll call you as soon as I have anything. In the meantime, you need to start working on a list of who might have it in for you, other than the Grim Reaper and all of the Tr’lirians who fought for Almorthanos.’
He gave a terse nod. ‘Very well. You may leave. But I expect a full report in two hours.’
I choked out an incredulous laugh. ‘I don’t work for you. I’m not one of your soldiers. I’ll be in touch when I have something. If you don’t like that, feel free to find someone else to contact the Grim Reaper for you.’
I didn’t give him a chance to respo
nd, spinning around and heading for the door. With each step I stared down the brawny Tr’lirian standing in the middle of the doorway. Unlike his winged brethren, he wore a loose fitting top, probably to hide the scars left behind after the loss of his wings. He did have a sword though, sheathed on his back, making him a dangerous adversary.
But I was not going to let that deter me.
Sam matched his steps to mine and with the two of us bearing down on him the Tr’lirian moved aside. Whether that was because of an unseen command from Killian or he sensed my determination to walk right through him if necessary I didn’t really care. I wanted to set the ground rules for any future dealings with Killian.
I hadn’t come to him as a supplicant or subordinate. I wasn’t looking to him for protection or guidance. I was the reaper for Easton and I would not let him get in the way of me doing my job. And for me a huge part of my self-designed job description was to protect souls, dead or alive.
I pushed open the large double doors and marched down the long hall to the front door. Sam didn’t say a word as we stepped out into late afternoon sunshine and headed to where his car was parked beside mine. Not that the silence wasn’t filled with plenty of unanswered questions.
Still, I was grateful for the short reprieve I would gain during the drive home in separate cars. That would give me a chance to come up with a better reason for not going to him when I’d first discovered the body of Killian’s man.
But try as I might, all I could think about as I navigated my way through peak hour traffic was what it would be like to come face to face with the Grim Reaper once more.
Which persona would I find? The one I had freed from Almorthanos’s taint, or the one that devoured the souls of those who died violently in order to increase his power?
7
I would get no answers unless I managed to free my astral body from my physical body.
Lips pursed, I pulled into the driveway and parked beside Sam’s unmarked police car in the double garage attached to our house. The second I got out of my car he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight.
Silver Reaper (Reaper Series Book 3) Page 3