In my peripheral vision, I saw Sam step up beside me. Seconds later Chris appeared on my other side. It felt good to know they were both there, supporting me, but I didn’t like the idea of them putting themselves in the firing line.
Cade bristled, wings shifting as he tightened his grip on his sword. ‘Do not push me, Davilian. You will not like the consequences.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘You don’t scare me.’
It wasn’t false bravado. The leader of Clan Godden wasn’t half as intimidating as the Grim Reaper, and I’d managed to face him down and survive.
Confident in my ability to manipulate aether, I considered myself more than a match for eight Tr’lirians. I could create an aether barrier that none of them could penetrate. For a time, at least. Things might get tricky if they decided to wait me out.
Cade stepped forward, shoulders tensing. I reacted instinctively, throwing up my aether wall a second before he tried to skewer me with his sword. The sword point hit the barrier and bounced back, the force of the blow rocking him backwards.
Expression livid, Cade shook off the steadying hand provided by one of his men. ‘You will come to regret crossing me.’
I shrugged. ‘Possibly, but right now it looks like I’m in charge here. You want to have another go at skewering me, go ahead. You’ll get the same result. So I suggest you turn around and walk out the door, because no one here is going with you.’
My defiance appeared to rob Cade of words, leaving it to his right-hand man to come up with the next move. Killian put a restraining hand on Cade’s arm as he faced me.
‘Perhaps our approach to date has been somewhat lacking, but I can assure you this,’ he waved a hand at the barrier between us, ‘will not affect the outcome. The wedding will take place and our two families joined.’
He looked over my shoulder to where Rebecca had remained at the table with Rhonda and Connor. ‘It is your duty as a daughter of Clan Godden to submit to the will of your clan leader. You should be honoured he wishes you to marry his son.’
‘Honoured?’ Rebecca shot to her feet. ‘To be told who I’m supposed to marry. To be given no choice, whether I like the guy or not.’
‘Whether you like each other is immaterial. You will both do as you are told, for the good of Clan Godden,’ said Cade, his voice almost a roar. ‘Furthermore, I forbid you to have further contact with these Davilian scum. It is galling to see you prefer their company to that of your own kind.’
I winced, surprised when Rebecca didn’t retaliate with a tirade of abuse sure to sizzle Cade and Killian’s ears. Her expression said she was thinking about it, but Rhonda had a hand on her arm and was whispering in her ear. Whatever she said took the fire out of Rebecca’s stance. She huffed out a sigh and looked over at Killian.
‘I realise you think you know what is best for me, and for Clan Godden, but you need to accept that I have my own opinions and plans. I wasn’t raised in the midst of all this Tr’lirian stuff. You sprang it on me a few days ago, and haven’t given me any time to process it. All you’ve given me is demands and expected me to fall in with your plans. If you want me to be a part of your life, to be your daughter, you need to give me time to absorb everything you’ve dumped on me.’
She brushed her hair back from her face, shaking her head slightly. ‘I’m not saying time is going to make me agree to marry Chris Bradbury. I’m just asking you to let us get to know each other, outside of your compound, without any expectations or prejudice against who we want to be friends with.’
She took a deep breath before continuing. ‘You and your boss need to back off, give us space. When we’re ready to discuss our futures, we’ll come to you. Deal?’
I shut my mouth, sure it had been hanging open for the entirety of her speech. It took my brain a while to connect this more compliant Rebecca to the one who had earlier offered to return to the compound to spy for us. Perhaps this was her way of leaving the option open, by pretending she was willing to consider an arranged marriage rather than rejecting it out of hand. Whether that was the case or not, I was sure I wasn’t the only person in the room stunned by what she’d just said. I turned around to see what Cade and Killian’s reactions to her offer were.
Predictably, they acted as if she had never spoken.
Cade stepped to one side and ushered the six Tr’lirians at his back forward. Swords raised, they came at me, trying to force their way through my barrier. It pulled and stretched with the wildness of their swings but I was able to hold them off, even doing a little pushing of my own to force them back towards the front door. A wave of dizziness hit me and I fought to keep my face impassive and my back straight, not wanting them to realise manipulating aether took a toll on my energy levels.
I forced a grin to my lips and aimed it at Cade, wanting him to think I was still confident in my ability to hold him at bay. ‘In case you hadn’t noticed, barging in here and throwing your weight around isn’t working. If you don’t want Chris and Rebecca hating you for the rest of your miserable immortal life, you need to back off and let them make their own minds up.’
His answering grin sent shivers down my spine.
‘You will rot in Demania, girl, when I’m finished with you.’
I didn’t have a chance to come up with a retort. A shout from behind had me swinging around, to find the source of Cade’s bravado. Six more winged Tr’lirians had landed on the balcony, still in the astral plane, taking physical form once they’d passed through the sliding glass doors. Three of them made straight for Rebecca while the others sought out Chris. The ones targeting Rebecca roughly shoved Connor and Rhonda aside in their haste to get to her.
I readied a blast of aether, but held it back as Chris launched himself at the Tr’lirians, dodging the three who were intent on nabbing him, to grab hold of Rebecca. He pulled her towards me, an intent expression on his face, with Connor and Rhonda on his heels.
With them in the midst of the Tr’lirians I couldn’t risk blasting anyone. I stretched my barrier as far as I could. Shakes racked my body but I gritted my teeth against the weakness invading my limbs. I had to make the barrier large enough to encircle all of us, could not let up for a second. My breath came in pained gasps as I put my all into maintaining as strong a barrier as I could, for as long as I could.
Two Tr’lirians were caught inside the circle with us. I fought the urge to help Sam, Chris and Connor subdue them, risking the integrity of the barrier if I moved. The Tr’lirians who had entered the suite with Cade continued to slash away at the aether with their swords, causing ripples through it that echoed the shudders in my limbs.
At a barked command from Cade they sheathed their swords and started throwing furniture. I instinctively flinched each time a chair was flung at my head, fighting to maintain control. Beads of sweat dripped down my face as I sought to keep them out. At the same time, I struggled to manipulate the rear of the circle so Sam and the others could toss out the two Tr’lirians caught on the inside.
With so much happening, the drain it was making on my energy levels, something had to give. I called for the others to get closer, waiting until they were huddled around me before reducing the size of the barrier. Sam wrapped his arms around my waist, while Rhonda and Connor crowded in at my back. Chris, with his arm around Rebecca’s shoulder, squeezed in on my free side.
Once I was sure the structural integrity of my barrier was intact, I faced Cade once more, forcing myself to ignore the chairs being tossed at us and the urge to collapse to the floor in a puddle of sweat and exhaustion.
‘Give it up, Cade. I’m not going to let you take them.’ My voice was strong, despite everything, giving me hope I could endure and save my family and friends.
Fury filled his eyes as he glared back at me until Killian stepped in front of him, blocking my view. Killian looked to my left, at Chris and Rebecca. ‘You are just delaying the inevitable. You must submit to clan law, or die. Those are your only choices.’
I held up a han
d to forestall any comment from either Chris or Rebecca, realising that risking them in an attempt to spy on the compound from the inside was no longer an option. ‘You need to leave, before it’s your life on the line.’
The rest of them were immortal, but Killian’s soul would respond to my call. I didn’t want to kill anyone, but he had to know I would not stand by and let him hurt those I cared about. I closed my eyes and stretched my senses beyond the aether barrier, searching for his soul. I wasn’t going to call it. I just wanted to let him know I didn’t need to touch him to take it.
Killian’s soul responded immediately, and I heard him gasp as I gave it a tug. I slowly released my hold on his soul, sure my warning had been received loud and clear, waiting to see what he and Cade would do next. As I concentrated, the draw of more souls called to me. This didn’t concern me at first, sure these were the souls of those I was protecting. Yet, the draw of these souls felt different, sluggish, as if they were only just becoming aware of my purpose, my strength.
And there were too many of them. As I concentrated, I felt the strands of thirteen different souls.
Souls that could only belong to Cade and his men.
But that was impossible. Tr’lirians with their wings intact were immortal. Not even the Grim Reaper could reap their souls. He’d said so himself, when he’d been infected by Almorthanos’s taint.
Had he been lying? Was it possible I could actually reap the soul of an immortal?
Before I could test my theory, and see if I could call one of the Tr’lirian’s souls, I felt a pull on the strand connecting me to Killian’s soul. I opened my eyes and watched as he faded away, two of Cade’s men gripping his arms as they stepped into the astral plane before launching themselves up and through the ceiling of the suite.
19
‘Well, that was bracing,’ said Sam, once it was clear Cade and his Tr’lirians were well and truly gone.
‘That’s one way to put it,’ I said, legs shaking as I surveyed the mess in Chris’s open-plan living and dining room, looking for a safe place to sit before I fell down.
Broken chairs and other furnishings were scattered all over the floor. The only clear space was the circle within my aether barricade. I let it fall and sighed in relief as the strain on my body lessened. I wasn’t ready to run a marathon, but the urge to collapse in a puddle on the floor eased as I watched Sam stride over to the front door to slam it closed.
‘Not that a locked door will stop them getting in, but it makes me feel better,’ He said with a wry grin when he turned around to find me watching him.
‘Me too,’ said Rebecca.
I managed a smile for her, too tired to ask why she was still standing within the shelter of Chris’s arms when the threat had seemingly passed. Chris didn’t look inclined to move away from her any time soon as he scanned the mess.
‘Might be time to relocate to a new hideout, before they come back and try again,’ said Connor. ‘I’d offer up my place, but it’s not exactly visitor friendly or big on space. Not exactly a secret either.’
‘It’s clear we can’t stay here anymore, not if we want to avoid any more sneak attacks.’ Sam frowned, rubbing his chin. ‘Don’t suppose you have shares in any of the other hotels in town, Bradbury?’
‘Unfortunately, no. Though I might be able to get us booked into the old penthouse,’ he said, referring to the one he had been staying in when I’d first met him.
The thought of returning to the penthouse, where I had learned the truth about being a reaper and my Tr’lirian heritage, did not appeal.
‘We could go to the old service station, where Talaom was holding Rebecca. I’m sure Cade and Killian wouldn’t think to look for us there,’ I said.
Rebecca shuddered. ‘I’m not sure if I can cope with that. Not yet, anyway. Isn’t there somewhere else we can go?’
‘We’ll figure something out,’ said Chris, pulling her closer towards him. ‘You don’t have to go back there.’
‘I guess it’s the penthouse, then,’ I said, hiding a wince.
Minutes later we trooped down to the carpark and squeezed into Sam’s borrowed BMW. I let Chris have the passenger seat, to accommodate his longer legs, while Connor, Rhonda, Rebecca and I crammed into the back seat. Connor’s offer to let Rebecca sit on his lap was met with a black look from Chris and a quiet refusal from her.
‘If we get pulled over by the cops and they get picky about overloading, think you can talk your way out of a ticket, Lockwood?’
Sam shot Chris a quick grin. ‘You want to drive, Bradbury?’
‘No, it’s all good. You got this.’
‘Yes, I do,’ said Sam as he drove out into late afternoon traffic. Within minutes he pulled into the underground carpark of Chris’s old stomping ground and we piled out of the car. It felt good to stretch after being crammed in between Rhonda and Rebecca, Connor seeming to take up half the backseat all by himself.
As I stretched, I couldn’t contain a yawn.
‘That’s it,’ said Sam. ‘Soon as we get up to the penthouse, it’s rest time for you.’
‘I don’t have time to rest.’ My protest was automatic, the thought of lying down for a few minutes sounding heavenly. ‘What if Cade has some of his goons follow us, and they try to kidnap Chris and Rebecca again. If I’m asleep, I won’t be able to save them.’
‘I’m armed and dangerous,’ he said with a wink. ‘I’ll just shoot them. They might be immortal, but firing a bullet at one of them is guaranteed to make them pause long enough for you to wake up and save the day.’
I smiled, shaking my head. ‘I love you.’
He pulled me into his arms, kissing me on the top of my head. ‘Because you love me, you’re going to have a rest. I might even be persuaded to join you.’
I lifted my head and pretended to frown. ‘You join me and I’m not sure how much resting will be going on. Is that going to be a problem for you?’
‘Nope. No problem at all.’ He leaned down and captured my lips in a kiss that made my body forget all about how tired it was. Now all it wanted to do was get as close as humanly possible to his.
The sound of slow clapping recalled my attention to our surroundings and audience.
I took my time moving away from Sam, the stolen moment reminding me why I’d fallen in love with him in the first place. Steadfast, honest and always ready to back me up without getting all macho, he was the one constant in my life. No matter what happened, I knew he would be there supporting me, whatever decision I made. And I would do the same for him, which is why I didn’t protest when he ushered me to the guestroom I’d previously stayed in moments after we set foot in the penthouse.
I stretched out on the bed, on my side, facing Sam, and while a huge part of me wanted to continue what we’d started in the carpark I knew this was not the time. If I was going to steer all of us through the coming days, I needed to stay sharp. I couldn’t do that if I was fighting to keep my eyes open.
Secure in the knowledge Sam was watching over me, I closed my eyes, a faint smile curving my lips as I imagined him shooting any intruders who dared to interrupt my nap. That wouldn’t work if the interruption was a call to reap a soul, but any sleep was better than none.
Not that it felt like I’d slept at all when Sam gently shook me several hours later.
I blinked sleepily at him. ‘What time is it?’
‘Just after eleven. Thought you might need some time to refresh before we headed out to meet Talaom.’ His eyes glittered despite his even tone. ‘I’m looking forward to getting up close and personal with the bastard who killed you right in front of me. We’re going to have some words, he and I.’
The last vestige of sleepiness vanished. I narrowed my eyes. ‘Words? Is that all you’re planning or should I be checking you for concealed weapons before the meeting?’
‘There’ll be no concealing going on. I want him to see me and know the only reason he’s still alive and breathing is because this meeting is important
to you. His status as one of the living depends entirely on your goodwill and continued health and safety. He so much as twitches wrong, I will end him. I’m not taking any chance on losing you again.’
I put a hand on his cheek, his bristles rough against my palm. ‘While I’d much rather never being face to face with Talaom again, threatening to kill him might make dealing with him even more difficult. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when I’d have happily put a bullet in him myself, as payback for what he did to me. But it wouldn’t solve anything. He was doing what he thought was right, on his master’s orders. I had agreed to be killed, and I did get brought back to life eventually.’
‘I didn’t agree to anything, so I’ll reserve the right to carve out whatever payback I feel necessary, after we see what he has to say.’
‘Fair enough,’ I said as I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He pulled me against his body and deepened the kiss, making me forget about Talaom, Cade, everything other than the feel of his body pressed against mine and the glorious taste of him.
A long moment later we broke apart, breathing heavily as we got off the bed and rearranged our clothes. I didn’t want to leave the room. I wanted to dive back onto the bed and spend the next lifetime loving and being loved by this man, but that would have to wait. When my breathing steadied I headed for the door, smoothing out the tangles in my hair.
It was time to face the man who had killed me in cold blood.
20
I climbed into the passenger seat of Sam’s BMW. Rhonda and Connor had elected to remain at the penthouse, leaving plenty of room for Chris and Rebecca to spread out in the backseat. Not that there appeared to be much distance between them since the attempted kidnapping. The only good thing to have come out of the situation, Chris’s willingness to protect Rebecca had seemingly soothed the antagonism between them.
Not entirely happy to have our group split up, I couldn’t deny Rhonda had a point when she’d said Talaom would not be happy to see the woman who had betrayed their clan for her son. Hopefully the meeting wouldn’t take long and we’d all be back together soon enough.
Silver Reaper (Reaper Series Book 3) Page 11