Silver Reaper (Reaper Series Book 3)

by Shelley Russell Nolan

  It was fifteen minutes to midnight when we pulled up at the hockey hall and exited the car. There was no sign of Talaom as we scouted around, careful to remain together in case this was a trap. With nothing jumping out at me as a threat, I led the way into the hall, footsteps echoing in the large empty space, purposefully not looking at the spot where Talaom had shot me. I couldn’t help thinking about it though, or how I’d returned here in astral form to find Emily dying and Cade’s plan to stop Almorthanos once and for all in tatters.

  Despite everything that had gone wrong that night we had emerged the victors, and I let that buoy up my confidence as I waited for Talaom to arrive.

  ‘You were told to come alone.’

  I turned slowly, not wanting him to think I was jumpy or afraid, even though I’d inwardly shuddered at the sound of his voice. This was the first time I’d been in physical form in his presence since he’d killed me. Despite his new body, I recognised his soul and the dark stain upon it from his time as a dark reaper. But I forced down my unease at being around the second person to murder me. I had to take charge of this meeting.

  ‘You don’t get to make the rules, not anymore.’

  ‘While we’re on the subject of rules,’ said Sam, stepping forward, gun in hand, ‘You don’t take one step further until I can assure myself you are unarmed.’

  Talaom immediately stopped walking towards us, hands raised in the air in front of him. ‘Detective, there’s no need for guns. I came in good faith. I’m no threat to you, or Tyler.’

  ‘Yeah, well, you let me be the judge of that. Bradbury. Frisk him.’

  With Sam covering him, Chris strode forward and patted Talaom down.

  ‘He’s clean.’ Chris wasted no time returning to stand between Rebecca and me.

  I lifted my chin and glared at Talaom. ‘So, talk.’

  ‘Would you mind getting your boyfriend to lower his weapon first? Kind of hard to concentrate with him waving a gun in my face.’

  ‘Not going to happen.’ I hadn’t needed to check with Sam before replying. ‘I don’t like you and I sure as hell don’t trust you. If you’ve got something to say to me this is the time to do it. Otherwise we are out of here.’

  He shifted his feet, broad shoulders rolling backwards. ‘I need your help.’

  ‘What makes you think I would do anything to help you?’

  ‘Because they are your people too. Regardless of what happened six months ago, you are part of Clan Davila. You probably don’t think you owe them anything, after what Almorthanos did to you. What I did to you. But not all of them were involved in the battle or any of that other stuff. They’re innocent. Cade and Killian are punishing them just the same.’

  I narrowed my eyes ‘Do you know where they’re being held?’

  ‘No, and I’ve looked everywhere I can think of.’ Frustration filled his words and he ran a hand through his hair. ‘Ever since I woke up and found myself in my neph…’ His voice broke and he sucked in several deep breaths before continuing.

  ‘When I came back to life in this...body…I went into hiding. I was so out of it, I’m not even sure how I got away. By the time I returned to the compound to see what had happened to the rest of our clan they were gone, spirited away by Killian’s people. I spent the next five months tracking down every lead, every hint I could find in my search for them and came up with nothing. That’s when I resorted to more drastic measures.’

  ‘Kidnapping, torturing and killing Killian’s real estate men,’ I said, realising where his tale was heading, curious about the reluctance I heard in his voice when he mentioned his new body.

  He grimaced. ‘I was desperate, getting nowhere, losing hope I would ever find them. Not that I got much out of them. All they could tell me was that Killian was buying up land in all the states, as well as every property on the market in and around Easton. None of it got me any closer to finding our people.’

  ‘Your people. Not mine.’

  ‘No matter how many times you deny it, it doesn’t change the fact you would not exist without Clan Davila. It is your heritage, and will be your legacy to your own children should you choose to have any.’

  Instead of arguing about it, I went on the attack. ‘Whose body did you steal?’

  He blanched, taking a step back before straightening up and blanking his expression. ‘That’s not relevant.’

  ‘It is to me. You want me to help you, I need to know how you ended up in that body.’

  He remained silent, staring at me, dark eyes shadowed.

  I turned to Sam. ‘We’re out of here.’ He nodded, holstering his gun and also turning his back on Talaom.

  ‘No. Wait.’

  I turned back to face Talaom. He didn’t speak for a long moment. Finally, he heaved out a deep sigh and said, ‘This is my nephew’s body.’

  ‘You killed your nephew just so you could live again?’ Horrified, I took a step back.

  He put up his hand, palms facing out. ‘No. That’s not what happened. I would never hurt Blane. It was an accident, I did not mean for this to happen.’ Tears shimmered in his eyes, his words echoing the pain and confusion I’d felt when I’d discovered I’d taken over Emily’s body.

  I thrust the rush of empathy threatening to overwhelm me aside, voice harsh as I said, ‘Tell me.’

  ‘I didn’t want him to come, wanted him to return to Angellin to be with his mother, my sister. But he went behind my back and approached Malia.’ His lips twisted into a grimace. ‘I didn’t find out he was still down here until just before we launched our attack on Godden’s people. I ordered him to remain on the outskirts of the compound, with a handful of others who were to remain in reserve, in case things went wrong.’

  He rubbed his eyes with both hands, before letting his arms fall to his sides. ‘When I saw what you were doing to the Grim Reaper, cleansing him, I realised we’d lost. I left the battlefield and went to find Blane, to send him away.’

  His large body shuddered, horror and guilt meshed in his tortured gaze, and for a moment I thought his legs were going to buckle. But he steadied himself and met my eyes once more. ‘I was too late. A group of Godden’s men had found them before they entered the compound. Their wings had been torn from their backs. The other five were already dead. I don’t know how Blane had managed to hold on so long. When he saw me, he reached out a hand and asked me to tell his mother he was sorry. I didn’t think. Wasn’t capable of thinking. I took his hand. The next thing I know I was being ripped apart. I thought it was you, attacking me, and I spun around to defend myself, and that’s when I realised I was in Blane’s body. That I had stolen his life.’

  His legs did buckle then. He fell to his knees, shoulders heaving, head bowed as he gave in to his sorrow. I stifled the urge to comfort him, to wrap my arms around him and tell him it was going to be okay. I would have been lying if I did. He’d taken over the body of someone he cared about. It didn’t matter that it was an accident. It had happened, and only time would tell if he would be able to live with what he had done. While I had no comfort to offer him, I could do nothing about the tears streaming down my cheeks.

  I stepped closer. ‘What makes you think I can help you find the Davilians?’

  Talaom stiffened, head lifting. He stared at me, showing no shame as he wiped away his tears. ‘You’re Godden’s pet reaper.’ He got to his feet, frowning. ‘You’re a prized member of his inner council. You must know where they are.’

  I grimaced. ‘You’re not the only one who believes I can never leave my Davilian heritage behind. Cade despises me.’

  ‘How can that be? You’re here with his son, and the daughter of his right-hand man.’

  ‘Not by his choice or Killian’s. They hate me just as much as they hate you.’

  Talaom’s shoulders slumped and he turned away. ‘I’m never going to find them.’

  I frowned, not liking his defeatist attitude. ‘I didn’t say that. We’ve been looking for them too. Maybe if we share information we
can figure out where Cade has stashed them.’

  Talaom twisted back around, surprise on his face. ‘You’ve been looking for them? Even though you don’t consider them to be your people?’

  ‘Just because I don’t consider myself a member of Clan Davila doesn’t mean I don’t care about what happens to them. You’re right, many of them are innocent. They have been punished enough. I want to make sure Cade and Killian don’t make them suffer even worse than they already have.’

  I paused, thinking back to the night I’d discovered he was the living reaper. ‘Last time I saw you, you said something about me being on the wrong side. That I would come to regret siding with Clan Godden. You were about to tell me something when I was pulled back to my body. What were you going to say?’

  He straightened up, a sneer on his lips. ‘Thought you would have figured that out by now. Cade and Almorthanos ultimately had the same goal, to be God. Now he’s rid himself of his ancient enemy, Cade’s eyes will be focused on the physical plane. A plane filled with mortals just crying out for something, someone, to believe in.’ He shrugged. ‘It won’t be long before humans will all be worshipping Cade.’

  I stared at Talaom, shaking my head. ‘That will never happen. He doesn’t have the numbers to take over the world.’ But he might have enough to take over Easton, if he hadn’t already. Was that what Killian’s real estate men were doing? Buying Cade a town ready to be converted to the worship of a false god?

  A pained cry sounded behind me and I spun around.

  I gasped, scrambling to call on aether as hundreds of winged Tr’lirians appeared inside the hockey hall. The cry had come from Rebecca, who was being wrestled into submission by two of the Tr’lirians. Chris was fighting off another two, while two more held Sam at bay. They’d appeared so quickly, without any warning, and immediately separated us. It would be useless to create a barricade until I could get everyone free and close to me.

  I sent a concentrated blast of aether at one of the Tr’lirians holding Rebecca, pushing him away from her. As the aether touched him I felt the draw of his soul. But I had no time to wonder about that. The other one had wrapped his arms around Rebecca and lifted in the air with powerful strokes of his wings, body shimmering as he prepared to take her into the astral plane.

  I had to stop him.

  Pain ripped through my body as something latched onto my soul. I dropped to my knees, hands on my chest as I fought against the pull. I held on to my soul, just, needing all my strength to stop it being ripped out of my body. The pull abruptly ceased and I toppled sideways, head banging into the concrete floor. I rolled onto my back, dazed and disorientated, head aching. Eyes stinging, I looked up at Talaom.

  He leaned over me, despair on his face. ‘I’m sorry, Tyler,’ he said as he swung his fist at my head.

  21

  I opened my eyes, wincing at the pain the movement caused in my right temple.

  What the hell happened? Why was I lying on a cold, hard surface?

  I struggled into a sitting position, groaning and shutting my eyes as a fresh wave of pain roared through my head. Nausea bubbled in my stomach and I swallowed it down as I once again opened my eyes.

  ‘Sam.’ I forgot my pain, forgot everything as I got to my feet and ran to where he was spread out on his back on the floor of the hockey hall. He was motionless, silent. Tears sprang to my eyes when I saw the livid bruise on his right temple. A match for the one sure to be blossoming on my head.

  I knelt next to him, careful not to touch him, as I looked to see if he was breathing.

  His chest rose in a steady rhythm, and now the initial panic had subsided I could feel his soul, hear its song, strong and vibrant. There was no pull for me to reap it. Confident he was going to be okay, that I wouldn’t inadvertently kill him by touching him, I stroked his cheek.

  ‘Sam? Can you hear me? I need you to open your eyes.’

  He moaned, eyelashes fluttering, as he sought to respond to my request. I kept talking to him, tears running down my cheeks to fall on his shirt as I coaxed him back to consciousness.

  I choked back a sob when he finally opened his eyes and looked at me, a crooked smile curving his lips. ‘Hey, beautiful, don’t cry,’ he said as he lifted one hand and wiped away my tears. ‘It’s all good. I’m good.’

  ‘Yeah, you’re good,’ I said, smiling in relief as I helped him to sit up. He leaned into my touch as I looked around the hall. We were the only occupants.

  ‘Talaom betrayed us,’ I said, thinking back to the last glimpse I had of him. ‘But I don’t think he was happy about it.’

  ‘He’s not going to be happy once I catch up with him, either.’ Sam’s hand brushed aside my fringe and gently probed the tender spot on my temple. ‘I saw him hit you.’ His arms shook. ‘You went so still, I thought he’d killed you, again, taken your soul.’ Voice rough, it broke on the last word.

  I hugged him as tight as I could, to reassure him I was okay. ‘I don’t think he was trying to kill me. It was more about neutralising a threat. Cade knows full well what I can do with aether. He had Talaom make sure I was unable to stop his men taking Rebecca and Chris.’

  ‘What I don’t get is why Talaom would do anything for him. He hates Cade.’

  ‘But he loves his people, and Cade is the one holding them. I’m willing to bet Cade promised to tell him where they are, or take him to them, if he double-crossed us. And it’s not like Talaom and I were allies.’ Still, he had looked conflicted, and apologised before knocking me out. ‘I’d probably do the same, if Cade was holding you and everyone else I cared about hostage.’

  ‘No, you wouldn’t. You’d find some other way to free us that didn’t involve betraying a potential ally, which is why I’m still going to kick Talaom’s arse when we find him.’

  ‘First we need to rescue Chris and Rebecca.’

  ‘My head is killing me.’

  ‘Mine too,’ I said as I struggled to my feet. ‘I have some painkillers in my bag. We can take care of our heads while on our way to the compound.’

  I marched outside, Sam beside me, head pounding with each step. But I didn’t slow my pace. With each passing second, my anger was building. I’d known Cade and Killian wouldn’t give up, were determined to make Chris and Rebecca bend to their will. But if they thought I was going to let them get away with it they were very wrong. Chris had only agreed to an arranged marriage with Rebecca to give me the chance to return to my own body. He and Sam might say it was his choice to make but that didn’t stop me feeling responsible.

  I clenched my fists, jaw tensing. ‘I am not going to let Cade bully Chris and Rebecca into getting married. It’s not right.’

  ‘He’s not going to hand them over to you just because you ask nicely,’ said Sam.

  ‘I wasn’t planning on asking.’

  Sam unlocked the car and as soon as we were seated I grabbed the painkillers out of my handbag and we both swallowed a couple of them dry.

  Sam gave me a grin as he started the engine. ‘Can’t wait to see the look on Killian’s face when you pull his compound down around his ears.’

  While that was exactly what I felt like doing, razing the compound to the ground, I would have to hold off my wrecking ball instincts until after we’d freed our friends.

  It didn’t feel weird at all to consider Rebecca and Chris as friends.

  Chris had been there at the start, when my world started to unravel, and having him back in my life felt natural. After not seeing him for so long, it was a relief to find out there was none of the awkwardness usually associated with running into someone who’d been potential boyfriend material.

  As for Rebecca, even though I’d only known her such a short time, I admired her resilience and courage. She’d been thrown in the deep end when she’d learned about her Tr’lirian heritage and everything that went with it, and yet she was still determined to help. She could have taken the first plane to Sydney and forgotten all about us, but she stuck around, putting her righ
t in the firing line. I would make sure she didn’t regret choosing to help us.

  The drive out to the compound seemed to take forever, and I tapped my fingers on the passenger door’s armrest all the way, willing the car to go faster, a hard knot of anxiety forming in my belly. What if I couldn’t free them? Or find the Davilians?

  Talaom may have been aiding the enemy, but his fear for his clan had been real, and I had a feeling everything he’d told me had been true. His pain at having taken over his nephew’s body had been all too familiar. That wasn’t to say I was in the mood to forgive and forget what he’d done, but I could understand why. I wasn’t after revenge. I just wanted an end to all the fighting. For everyone; human, Tr’lirian or a mixture of both, to be able to live their lives according to their own desires and not be forced to bow down to a dictator.

  Talaom had said Cade was looking to set himself up as God. Almorthanos had had the same grandiose plan, and I’d stopped that from coming to fruition. I would stop Cade.

  If I could.

  I’d had to side with Clan Godden to be able to defeat Almorthanos. How was I supposed to defeat Cade on my own? I would have to pitch my ability to manipulate aether against an entire clan of Tr’lirians hell-bent on carrying out their leader’s every order.

  Rhonda had estimated Clan Godden had around five thousand people, many of them still in Angellin, wings and immortality intact. Five thousand people Cade could call on. Some of them were bound to get hurt, especially those who no longer had their wings. Could I take their souls, knowing they were only following orders? And the ones with wings, could I strip them of their immortality just so I could then kill them?

  I grimaced, no closer to getting answers for any of the questions circling around in my brain when we finally pulled up in front of the gates of Killian’s compound.

  ‘You ready for this?’ Sam asked.