Keeper Under Fire (Graveyard Guardians Book 3)

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  Without a word, Aiden spun to the side and a flash of steel glinted in the moonlight as his knife plunged into the neck of the Reaper in the ugly Army jacket. Blood spurted from the wound when Aiden ruthlessly yanked the blade back.

  The Reaper turned toward him, eyes wide, and released a gurgling sound that could only mean death was close. Then, he fell to his knees at Aiden’s feet. The other Reapers had turned to him with expressions of shock and then understanding washing over their faces.

  One of them charged Aiden, his fist making contact with Aiden’s cheekbone. As much as Liv wanted to watch Aiden kick his ass, she had her own issues to take care of, the battle had begun.

  Finding her target, she sprinted forward holding her blade downward so that she could swing it in an arc and hit the intended area easily. The Reapers charged them as well, so she found herself in confrontation sooner rather than later.

  The soul eater also carried a knife. It rested easily in his left hand, leaving his right hand free to reach out and try to grab at Liv. She danced sideways two paces and kicked out to try and trip him, but he didn’t budge.

  “Dammit,” she cursed and ducked to avoid the Reapers large fist as it swung through the air. While crouched, she propelled herself forward and into the Reapers midsection. He stumbled backward and she fell down on top of him, rolled and then found her footing in a low to the ground squat.

  She held her knife out defensively, ready to strike at anything that came near her. Her opponent jumped to his feet and she shot to standing. Before he could make the first move, she rushed him again, slashing her knife across his chest. The blade had sliced right through the fabric and opened a long line of flesh.

  “Bitch,” he hissed, grasping at his wound as blood spilled down over what was left of his shirt.

  Liv gripped her weapon tight, holding it in front of her while the Reaper looked down at where she’d cut him and then up again. When he met her eyes, she saw pure anger and hatred flashing hot within the irises. “Your dead,” he growled and surged toward her.

  Taken off guard, Liv instinctively brought her arms up to cover her face. Before she could react any further, he plowed into her and knocked her backward. Her back hit the earth and air forced out of her lungs.

  She lay there on the ground, the wind knocked out of her and then swiftly rolled to the side when she saw the Reaper coming for her again. Her knife had been jolted from her hand and landed several feet away. Turning onto all fours, in attempt to get to her feet, she cried out and toppled over again when she was ruthlessly kicked in the stomach.

  And then, before she could recover, the Reaper grabbed her and turned her over, straddling her and pinning her to the ground with his knees. “Let go of me!” She squirmed and struggled against his iron grip.

  “Shut u..” his words cut off abruptly and a weird sound like a groan cross with a gurgle came out instead. His grip loosened and his large frame came crashing heavily down on top of her.

  Aiden peeked around the Reapers body, his eyes meeting Liv’s for a few seconds before he wordlessly pulled the corpse off of her. Liv scrambled to her feet, eyeing the bloody knife Aiden held tightly in his hand. “Thanks,” she mumbled, hurrying to where her own knife lay in the dirt a few feet away.

  “I’d say anytime, but I prefer you owing me one.” Aiden told her with a glint of humor in his eye. Before Liv could respond, he hurried off to help one of her brothers. She shook it off and jumped back into the battle herself.

  They fought, helping each other when they could and whittling down the Reapers until they were finally evenly matched. Liv had never wanted so badly to stop and rest, but rest meant death.

  From what she could see, her sisters and brothers were feeling the same way, but … so were the Reapers. Everyone was getting worn down, but none of them were going to quit, that was for sure.

  Lucy fell to her knees, panting breathlessly. “Luce!” Hannah cried out. Jack spun, leaving his Reaper and dashed to the side of his woman. The Reaper Lucy had been fighting lunged for Jack who rose to the occasion and reached right past the Reapers knife, grabbing him by the throat and squeezing.

  “What the fuck is that?” someone shouted.

  Liv glanced away from the Reaper she was fighting and realized that a wall of shimmering blue mist was rising up around them on all sides.

  “Holy …” she couldn’t finish because the mist suddenly began to separate into sections and then the sections slowly solidified until the wall of mist had formed into a ring of glowing souls that completely surrounded them.

  “Oh my… the souls!” It was James who cried out, but everyone, both Reapers and Keepers, had stopped to see what was going on.

  Liv felt her muscles tense. This wasn’t right, they had told the souls to stay away while the Reapers were here. They weren’t safe as long as these soul sucking bastards were around.

  The glowing, misty blue circle of souls gradually moved inward, causing the ring to grow smaller and smaller as they traveled closer. Liv looked around, realizing that the souls were creating a barrier, essentially caging them within.

  “Get out of here!” Greg yelled. “What are you doing?”

  The Reapers were surprised by the arrival of the souls. Most souls either didn’t realize they were there, or they got away as quickly as they could. But, even the surprise and distraction didn’t stop the Reapers from their attack.

  “They can’t do anything. Proceed with the orders from the Empress.” One of the Reapers called out. The others followed instructions, and the fight resumed.

  Liv blocked a punch and swiped with her knife, rejuvenated by the small break in combat. The souls were more of a distraction for her and the other Keepers than they were for the Reapers, she kept glancing over to see what they were doing. They had stopped moving inward and were now floating sideways, moving faster and faster with each turn. Without looking directly at them, it was almost similar to what a ride at a theme park looked like when it spun round.

  The Reapers were doing their best not to be distracted. “What the hell are they doing?” the Reaper Liv was fighting grumbled. Liv didn’t answer. She waited until he glanced to the side and then swept her leg out, knocking him to the ground. He tried to jump up quickly, but Liv was faster, falling on top of his torso with her knee and plunging her knife into his chest.

  Before Liv had time to think, to realize that she had just killed her first Reaper … her first person, a voice blasted through the night. It was a voice that had put her in her place more times than she could count.

  “Step away from my children!” Liv heard her father’s voice boom through the night. Her head swung in the direction that the voice had come from, as did every other head, including the Reapers. “Step away from them, this is your final warning.”

  “Your final warning or what, you dead old man?” one of the Reapers shouted.

  “Dad,” Lucy cried out. “Go back. Get the souls and go!”

  Liv was still crouched over the dead Reaper and watched her father. She couldn’t help thinking that she should take this opportunity to attack one of the Reapers while they were distracted.

  “Your only chance has passed,” her father declared and thrust his fist into the air. “Attack!”

  With that, the circle of souls began to move in fast forward, so fast that they appeared one entity, one thick wall of glowing blue light.

  And then, suddenly, several souls burst forth from the glowing circle of souls and surged forth until they each found a Reaper and assaulted them. Some punched, some kicked, some pushed. Liv was shocked to see that they could actually make contact. Not all, but some were able to hurt their targets. The ones who were unsuccessful, their hands or feet passed right through the body of their chosen Reaper. For those, while it didn’t hurt them, it sure as hell scared shit out of them.

  “Fight!” her father yelled, waving his arm in a circle and jumping into the battle himself. “No one tries to kill my kids and gets away with it.” />
  Another burst of energy filled the air as both factions went back to work on each other. This time, it was one Reaper against a Keeper and a soul. The souls who weren’t fighting kept circling at super speed so there was literally no way out unless you passed through them.

  Liv wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but finally she was able to sink her blade into the flesh of the Reaper she was fighting. The man cried out in pain, clutching his shoulder where she had driven her knife down to the hilt and scrambled backward. “I’m done,” he shouted to the others. “I can’t fight anymore.”

  She looked to the soul who was her partner, a teenage boy with a band tee shirt and jeans. He had curly brown hair that wasn’t too long, but was almost ready for a trim. The boy grinned. His body began to shimmer, but he continued to hold form.

  Liv bent at the waist, put her hands on her legs and took advantage of the moment of rest while she watched the Reaper she’d been fighting turn away from her and run. The bastard still held his palm over the wound at his shoulder as the souls parted and let him through the cage.

  With a glance at the boy, Liv straightened. “Help me with the others?” The boy nodded and the both hurried into the fray.

  One by one, the Reapers gave up until there were only five, once they realized their numbers had dwindled and their chances of survival were slim, they also decided to run. Jack caught one of them by the collar and yanked before he could get away.

  Along with the other Keepers, Liv was breathless and panting, but gripped her knife tightly, ready for anything. It was no guarantee that the Reapers wouldn’t come back.

  “Listen, asshole,” Jack growled. “If you come back here, I promise that you won’t leave ever again. Tell the others, because I am Jackson Walker. I am the son of the Empress and I get my mean streak from her.”

  Jack held the Reaper at arm’s length, the collar of the guy’s shirt twisted in Jack’s fist. “This is my home now,” he hissed at the Reaper. “And I will defend it with everything I have in me.”

  Aiden stepped up beside his friend and stared down at the Reaper Jack held prisoner. “And I’m with him now.” He ticked his head in Jacks direction. “I’d listen to him if I were you.”

  The Reaper nodded. “I’ll tell the others. I swear.”

  “You fucking better.” Jack ran the tip of his blade down the Reaper’s cheek and the guy cried out as the silver burned into his flesh. “Now go!” He released him with a shove. The Reaper landed on his ass and skidded about a foot, then he scrambled to his feet and ran off.

  The souls had already dismantled the circle and most were floating around in a mist again. The boy still held form beside Liv and she turned to him and grinned, wishing that he was flesh and blood so she could hug him. “We did it!” She said to him and he nodded enthusiastically.

  “Dad.” Greg strode toward Gregory Sr. “What were you thinking. We told you to stay away.”

  Greg Sr. shimmered and he crossed his arms over his chest. “If you think I was about to let that happen without doing anything, then you don’t know me at all, son.”

  “Dad!” Greg shouted. “All of these souls were at risk.”

  “No, they weren’t. I helped them learn how to form and how to fight. They wanted to help. Do you know how hard it is for them to sit here and watch the people who guard them day in and day out get attacked? This was their time to finally help you, instead of the other way around. Now stop questioning me boy. I may be dead, but I’m still the parent in this situation.”

  Greg sighed and threw his hands in the air. “Fine.”

  Aiden stared into the darkness of the woods in the distance. “They won’t stay away. I think we need to plan for them to return with more numbers.”

  Liv closed her eyes for a moment, the reality of the night sinking in. She had killed someone. Yes, he was a Reaper and he would have killed her had she not gotten to him first, but that didn’t take away the guilt and pain that was beginning to settle into her thoughts.

  That was going to have to wait until this was over, though. She pushed back the thoughts and opened her eyes. “Well, I guess we are going to have to strike first this time. I am done waiting around to be attacked.”

  Aiden still gripped his knife tightly. He hadn’t expected the Reapers to run, they weren’t trained to retreat. The Reaper Army was trained to follow orders, even if it meant you might die in the process.

  He stared across the property to the wood line, searching for the red auras. He didn’t want to turn away, just in case they decided to come back. He didn’t know if they were really giving up or if it was some tactic to throw them off, pretending to retreat and then attacking again when the group was vulnerable.

  The movement of the souls caught his attention and he finally tore his gaze away from the woods. Most of the souls had reverted back into a mist and were floating around them. Some were still solid, like the Estmond father and the kid next to Liv.

  Hunger slammed into him full force and his chest tightened with the urge to feed. He couldn’t help it. He had been fighting, using up all his energy and in his weakened state it was the natural instinct of a Reaper. A soul, even just part of one, would restore his energy and focus.

  He pushed the feeling aside. It wasn’t easy, but if he was going to fight with the Keepers, they had to trust him and that meant not sucking up all the souls in their graveyard, especially the ones who helped them win.

  After a deep breath, he tuned in on Liv, who had responded to his comment about the Reapers coming back. She’d suggested that they attack first.

  “You want to go to the mansion again?” he asked. This Keeper continued to surprise him each time he saw her.

  She wiped her knife on her jeans, cleaning off the Reaper blood, and then returned it to the sheath at her hip. “I’m not going to wait for them to come here, so yeah, if that is where they are going to be.”

  Greg cleared his throat. “I agree. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.”

  Jack nodded. “They won’t give up until they have completed the mission.”

  “And that mission is to kill us all,” Lucy added.

  An internal battle suddenly began. He knew that he had made his choice. He was no longer a part of the Reaper Army. He was no longer a part of the Reaper society at all. But now, he was helping the Keepers fight his own kind and that was not easy. He glanced around at the bodies lying in the dirt, bodies of people who were once his fellow soldiers, people he helped kill.

  Quickly, he averted his eyes and caught Jack staring at him. A brief nod from his best friend and he knew that Jack had been through the turmoil that he was experiencing. Perhaps he still felt guilty at times like this.

  “I … I have to go in,” Liv muttered. She turned to go back into the house, but stopped short when she almost tripped over the body of the Reaper she killed. “Oh…” She stared down at the corpse.

  “We’ll take care of it,” Dan told her. “Go inside.”

  Lucy ran her hand over Jack’s arm and lifted herself onto her toes so that she could whisper in Jack’s ear. When she was finished, she hurried toward Liv. “Wait, I’ll come with you.”

  Liv didn’t respond, but waited for Lucy to catch up with her, and then, with a final appreciative glance at the teenaged soul standing beside her, both girls headed toward the house.

  “Okay kids,” Greg Sr. clapped his transparent hands together. “You all get these bodies taken care of. I’ll get the souls back to the cemetery.”

  “Thanks Dad … for all the help,” Steph told her father.

  Aiden watched the old man give his daughter a loving smile and tell her. “Anytime honey. As long as I’m on this earth, dead or alive, I’ll be here to help you.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too, baby girl.” And then their father was off, calling to the others to follow him. Like the pied piper of souls, Gregory Estmond led the way, followed by a ribbon of shimmering, blue. A few of them chose to stay
solidified and floated beside him as he made his way into the graveyard.

  “You guys ready?” The younger … and alive, Greg asked as he bent to grab the legs of one of the dead Reapers. “Let’s get this over with so we can get some rest.”

  “Agreed.” James grabbed the same Reaper’s arms and they lifted him up. “I’m freaking exhausted.”

  Dan rolled his eyes and bent over to pick up the legs of another. “Don’t get too excited for resting. We are going to be digging all night with this many bodies.”

  Aiden helped, but barely spoke as they hauled the bodies over to a section on the far side of the graveyard. Indeed, as Dan had said they would be, they were up until the sun rose, digging the graves, setting the bodies inside and covering them back up.

  Liv and Lucy had come back out to help when they were about half finished. They brought beer, coffee and more shovels. Aiden wasn’t sure why Liv was suddenly acting weird, but he was pretty sure it had to do with killing.

  When the last bit of earth was shoveled onto the mound of one of the graves, they were finally finished. All of them were covered with the moist dirt in which they had been digging, and they were hot and sweaty … and tired.

  “I am so done with this shit.” James tossed his shovel down. “I’m exhausted.”

  “We all are,” Steph told him. “We already knew that not every part of this job was going to be glamourous.”

  “None of it is glamourous,” Dan said, his voice flat, and then turned and strode off toward the house with his shovel over his shoulder.

  Back at the farmhouse, Aiden leaned on the counter while the Keepers … and Jack discussed an attack on the mansion in Napa.

  “We can’t all go.” Hannah opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “They were ordered to kill us and burn our house down, it’s not safe to leave the house. I think someone should stay here.”

  A few of the Keepers nodded but others shook their heads. “No,” Greg responded. “We don’t separate.”

  “But what about the house?” Hannah closed the fridge and turned to her brother. “I’m not leaving it vulnerable.”