Shadow and Bones (Dullahan Book 1)

by Ryvr Jones

  “But you do love him.”

  “As a friend. As he loves me, even if the asshole won’t admit it.” Sadness flared inside him. “And it’s hard enough to be his friend, knowing all he has been through, the pain and danger he endures constantly, and not being able to do anything about it. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for Tamerah.” He shuddered.

  “Excruciating, I guess.” Nell hugged her knees. “I’ve known you guys for all of a day and I feel for him. But they seem so happy when they’re together.” Her face turned wistful. “As if none of the crap matters. As if the world wasn’t about to go to hell.”

  I can relate to that. Caeron gave her a sad smile. “When I was with him, the world ceased to exist. We were consumed by each other. It was nice to forget for a while the pile of crap we call life.”

  “It sounds like you’ve been alone since then.” She looked curiously at him. “Why?”

  “Who’d want a poor gravedigger who occasionally turns into a living, moving skeleton?” He shrugged and faked a sad face. “I’ve even put some ads on Craigslist, but nobody was interested.”

  “Be serious!” Nell slapped his arm, laughing. “Who wouldn’t want a gorgeous, smart, charming man like you?”

  “You.” He pinned her with his gaze.

  She waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t count. First, because I don’t want anyone. Before, I was too busy training and studying. Now I’m too busy learning about the supernatural world and this Fire Heir thing—about which you haven’t told me anything yet, by the way. And second, because you don’t want me either.” She looked intently at his face. “You like only boys. You’re not bisexual like Rhys.”

  Fucking perceptive seer. Not that he was in the closet or ashamed of himself, but her sensitive powers made him really uncomfortable. “You’re correct. And I’d really appreciate if you’d allow me some privacy inside my head, thanks.”

  “I don’t go sifting through people’s heads, dumbass.” She pursed her lips, clearly offended. “I catch what people broadcast. Being gay is a part of you, and you’re not trying to hide it. To me, it’s like the color of your eyes. I can see it when I look at you because it’s there, in plain sight.”

  “And you don’t ever snoop around?” He looked sideways at her with one eye closed, and she blushed. Busted.

  “Well,” she huffed, “I could lie to you, but to be honest, I did a little digging when I was a teenager.”

  Caeron didn’t need special powers to hazard a guess. “Boyfriends?”

  “Two of them.” She lifted a hand. “Not at the same time. I wanted to know if they really liked me. One of them did, the other didn’t. He only wanted to add me to his bragging list.” She grimaced. “To this day, I still don’t know if it wouldn’t have been better to remain unaware of it. After that, I swore I’d never have a boyfriend again.”

  “And? Did you?” He couldn’t believe a vital, beautiful woman like Nell would be alone for long.

  “Nope. As I’ve said, I was busy anyway.” Her red curls bounced around her face as she lifted her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. “I focused on my studies and training. And casual sex.” She winked.

  “Ah, a pragmatic girl. I could say the same about myself, except I have mostly foregone casual sex.” Caeron rubbed his neck. He couldn’t keep anyone around for long, because he needed to hide his identity and his true nature. It was too hard to find someone that appealed to him and had compatible tastes in bed, just to start everything again next time he needed sex. “Too much trouble for little gain.”

  “I’d say you’ve been fucking the wrong people, but what do I know? It has been a while for me, too.” She rested her head over her knees. “Don’t you feel lonely?”

  “Sometimes.” All the time.

  All the fucking time.

  Chapter Twenty

  The next day, Nell did some online grocery shopping. It had been more than twenty-four hours since she had a decent meal. Supernatural people didn’t need food, and Caeron only had alcohol in his house.

  The night before she’d taken a shower, devoured the two granola bars she’d had on her backpack, and collapsed on the bed Caeron had given to her. Today she felt better, but she was hungry as fuck.

  Tarmanagh was small, but luckily there was a supermarket that offered delivery. She was still rattled by the attack on the library, and didn’t want to leave the house.

  And it’s not like Caeron and the bony one would let me go, anyway.

  When somebody knocked on the front door, Caeron and Rhys immediately stood up, ready to fight.

  “Relax,” Nell said, walking to the front of the house. “It’s probably the food I ordered. Help me get the boxes inside.”

  “Boxes?” Caeron was right behind her. “Food?”

  Nell looked at him over her shoulder. “Yes, food. You know, the kind of thing you can eat? That humans need to survive?”

  “Ha ha.” He stepped in front of her and opened the door. He looked at the four boxes piled on the ground beside the delivery guy and turned back to her. “Exactly how many humans are we going to feed?”

  “Shut up.” Nell paid and tipped the guy while Caeron wrestled the boxes inside. “Take them to the kitchen.”

  “I’ll have you know,” he huffed, carrying two boxes, “that Tamerah is our Sergeant, so stop bossing me around.”

  “Whatever. Keep moving.” She took one box and followed him. They put them on the counter, and Caeron went back for the last one.

  His kitchen was nice, spacious and luminous. Enormous windows faced the backyard and let the sun in. There was a big cooking island complete with bar stools, a lot of counter space and everything she needed—a fridge, a freezer, a stove and even a coffee maker.

  “If you don’t eat,” she asked when he came back, “why do you have such a nice kitchen?”

  Caeron shrugged. “I like nice things. And it helps to keep the appearances.”

  “Right. People don’t think it’s odd that the gravedigger has money to maintain a house like this?”

  “I don’t know, and frankly, my dear, I don’t give a crap.”

  She had to laugh at his impression of Rhett Butler from Gone With The Wind. “Okay, but how do you maintain this house and everything you have here? I don’t believe they pay you a lot to take care of the cemetery.”

  “Live long enough, and you’ll have enough money for anything.” He winked and eyed the food she was taking out of the boxes to the island top. “Seriously, how many people are you going to feed?”

  Nell stopped what she was doing and grabbed the island’s edge with both hands, taking a deep breath. Here we go.

  “Look. I don’t live in Tarmanagh. I knew I had to come, though, and that I’d be staying for a while. I sold all my things, gave my apartment up, and booked a room at the bed & breakfast. I’ve been living there for the last three months.”

  Caeron gaped. “You knew something was going on three months ago?”

  “Foresight, remember? I didn’t have the details, but yes. I knew it. And it gave me enough time to get to know some people in town, get access to the public library and the town archive.” It was her turn to wink. “Anyway. After the attack, I’d rather not be on my own.” She lowered her eyes. “I’d like to stay here, if you’ll let me. Just for a while.”

  “A while, huh?” Caeron asked, and she looked at his face. He was serious, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “I promise I won’t bother you,” she rushed to add. “I won’t go poking at your secrets, I’ll respect your privacy. You can trust me.” Please. I don’t want to be alone.

  “I know I can,” he said. “I’ve seen your soul. Okay.”

  “Okay?” A huge grin split her face. “Does that mean I can stay?”

  “Yes, you can stay. I can’t toss you to the rotten souls, can I?” He smiled.

  Nell ran around the cooking island and lunged for him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him in a grateful hug. “Thank you,
thank you!” He hugged her back, and she gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  He laughed. “You’re welcome, little human. Keep your promise, clean up after yourself, and I’ll be happy to have you here.”

  “I will.” She let go of him and planted her hands on her hips. “Just one thing. Why do you call me ‘little human’? I’m almost as tall as you!”

  “It’s a sign of affection, Nell.” Caeron ruffled her hair, grinning. “Tamerah is our little demon, and you’re my little human.”

  “Okay, I’ll take it.” Nell stepped back, laughing, before he made an even bigger mess with her hair. “I knew we were going to get along, my dear bonehead. Help me with the food. I need to know where you like to store everything.”

  Caeron shrugged. “As long as it’s organized and clean, do whatever you want.”

  “Perfect. Now, sit.” Happiness washed over her as she finished taking the food out of the boxes. “I’m going to make some sandwiches, and you’re going to tell me about this Lineage business.”

  “Well,” Caeron said, sitting on a stool and putting his elbows on the island’s top, “Rhys is the expert on all things Lineage. He was…” He shook his head. “He was there when the Lineages still existed. What I know is hearsay and fragments of information I’ve found scattered in books and ancient manuscripts.”

  “Still, it’s more than I know.” Nell started slathering butter on slices of bread. “I’m the last of a long line of women. Our gifts are passed from mother to daughter. A long time ago, there were a lot of others like us. Then,” she looked at him without lifting her head, “bad shit happened. Knowledge was lost. The end.”

  “I know you’re not mocking me.”

  “Never.” She piled a humongous portion of ham on each slice. “C’mon, bonehead, tell me.” She turned pleading eyes to him. Her puppy eyes never failed.

  “Okay. There was a time before time—”

  “Oh, this is going to be good. Fancy words and everything!”

  Caeron glared. “Do you want me to tell you your story, or not?”

  Nell swallowed a chuckle. “Sorry. Go on.”

  “As I was saying, there was a time before time, when the Gods were closer to humans.” He lifted a hand to shut her up. “Yes, honest-to-God Gods. We don’t know much about them, but they do exist.”

  “You do realize that as a historian, not asking questions is almost physically impossible for me, right? Especially about things like real Gods?” Nell asked, slicing tomatoes. Real Gods. In all her life, even knowing there were more things under the sun and all that, it had never occurred to her that Gods were real.

  Caeron ignored her. “Terahmaht —the Otherworld—was the home of the Bridges, a species created to allow the Gods to have direct contact with the humans. Some of them created only one Bridge, others created several. They’re exactly that—bridges between the Gods and humanity. Each Bridge can sense what their creator wants, and has a measure of their powers.”

  “Okay. So?” She started to add the tomatoes to the sandwiches. She had a million questions to ask, but for now she’d be content with some basic information.

  “Now, comes the fun part.” He leaned towards her, whispering in a conspiratorial tone, “Some of the Bridges found the humans attractive. Very attractive.” He winked.

  “I should’ve known,” Nell huffed. “Let me guess, the original sin?” Sex, always sex. Always a delight and a pain in the ass.

  Caeron laughed out loud. “I guess you could say that. The Bridges mixed with humans—they fell in love, or so the legend goes—and the Sacred Lineages were born. Humans who inherited some powers from their supernatural mothers and fathers.”

  “That’s what I am? A diluted version of these Bridges?” She lowered her brows in a frown. It didn’t sound as great as her mother had made her believe. Then again, I almost died at the library, so…definitely not great.

  “I’d say you are an enhanced version of a human.”

  Nell snorted. “My enhancements didn’t help for shit when we were attacked.” She finished the sandwiches—four humongous piles of whole wheat bread, ham, tomatoes and lettuce—and put them in two plates before pushing one to Caeron. “Eat.”

  She brought two beers to the island and sat in front of him. He was eying the food as if it would bite him.

  “Go ahead,” she said and opened her beer. It was only morning, but with everything that was going on, she wanted a beer with her sandwich and she was going to have it. “You drink booze, don’t you? And you can taste food. So, eat. It’s good for the soul.”

  “Good for the soul,” he repeated, shaking his head slowly. “You’re going to make me eat, even though I don’t need it, because it’s good for the soul?”

  “Yes. And because I don’t want to eat alone.” She took a bite of her sandwich and almost wept with happiness. “And these are delicious, too. Have a taste.”

  Caeron took a sandwich with both hands, still looking at it with suspicion, and took a reluctant bite. He started to chew and his eyes widened.

  Nell rose her bottle in a toast, smiling. “I know, right? Fresh ingredients, blah blah blah, a lot of butter and some mustard. Heaven.”

  He nodded, his mouth too full for words. After he scarfed down half a sandwich, he took a swig of his beer and said, “You’re right. My soul is definitely happy.” He grinned. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll make sure your soul stays happy, as long as I’m staying here.” She took another bite. She’d happily cook six meals a day, if it meant she didn’t had to go back to the bed & breakfast. To being alone.

  “I think I’ll keep you forever, then.” He took another bite, chewed, swallowed. “These are fucking good.”

  The comment sobered her. She had no idea what her life was going to be from now on. They were on some kind of hiatus at the moment, but she knew the shit was going to hit the fan. Soon.

  “What else can you tell me about the Lineages?”

  Caeron pursed his lips, thinking. “Since the Heirs—that’s what the members of the Sacred Lineages were called—got some supernatural powers on the side, the Gods decided to get some free labor in return. The Lineages were entrusted with knowledge about magic and the responsibility of taking care of humanity.”

  The last piece of her sandwich went down Nell’s throat like crushed glass. She choked, coughed, took a big gulp of beer. “What?”

  “Your kind was supposed to be the keeper of humankind’s destiny. To guide and protect humans, to fight evil and darkness. The most powerful Heirs were called the Destiny’s Regents—”

  “No.” Nell stood up, panic freezing her blood. “That’s enough, thank you.”

  “Are you okay?” Caeron got to his feet, confusion and concern warring on his face. “You’re pale. Maybe you should sit down.”

  “Just give me a minute.” Nell closed her eyes. His words thundered in her ears. Keeper of humankind’s destiny. Guide and protect. Fight evil and darkness.

  She’d seen what evil and darkness looked like, and she was most definitely not ready to fight it. Any of it. As for guide and protect, she didn’t know squat about anything. She was alive by sheer luck, since she hadn’t know the fucking Rules and fucking Enforcers even existed.

  “I can’t,” she croaked. “I can’t do any of this, Caeron. I can’t even keep my own life safe, I…I can’t.”

  “Hey, hey,” he crooned, giving her a hug. “Take a breath. We’ll figure it out, one step at a time, okay?” He grabbed her chin gently, lifting it so she was looking into his face. “Don’t panic. Keep your shit together the best you can, and we’ll worry about the rest later.”

  Nell took a deep breath. No panic. “Okay. I’m going to…” Keep it together, Nell. “I’m going to stuff my face full of ice cream, that’s what I’m going to do. And I’ll clean up later, all right?”

  Caeron smiled and let go of her. “That’s my little human.”

  Nell stuck her tongue at him. “Bonehead.” She fi
shed three single-serve ice cream cups from the freezer. “Take a sandwich and a beer to the bony one. And tell him I ordered him to eat, no ifs or buts.”

  Grabbing the sandwiches and another beer, Caeron agreed. “It would be good to keep his soul happy, no doubt about it.”

  “If we can avoid the end of the world with sandwiches and beer, I’m all for it,” Nell said. If only it were so simple.

  Sitting on a rug by the library’s fireplace, Tamerah stretched her arms over her head, feeling a weird, pleasant tiredness. Spending the night in Rhys’s arms had been…happiness. This must be what happiness feels like.

  The absolute surrender to one another. More than his body, Rhys had given her his entire being, everything he was, dark soul and battle scars and the beast that lived inside him.

  Tamerah had reveled in his fierce possession in a way she hadn’t known was possible. Her own soul had surrendered to him, to his command and his pleasure. To the love that burned inside her since she’d met him, even when she didn’t remember it.

  Rhys was watching over her from across the room, his eyes never leaving her for long. From time to time, when she lifted her head and looked into his eyes, a lopsided smile curved his lips.

  He seemed happy, content. So far from the gut wrenching misery she’d witnessed in the Abyss. Tamerah would never, never let the darkness take him back.

  I will keep him safe. He’s mine.

  “Some serious thoughts you must have going there, to have that much fire burning in your eyes,” Nell said, plopping down on the floor beside Tamerah. She gave her a little freezing cup and a spoon, grinning. “Here. Have a little piece of paradise.”

  Seersha was propped up on her pile of cushions, looking at the fire. She hadn’t said much since the day before, except to assure Tamerah she was healing and didn’t need anything.

  “I have caramel ice cream.” Nell leaned towards Seersha and thrust a cup and a spoon in her direction. “I know you don’t trust me, but trust me, this is going to make you feel better.”

  Seersha finally looked at her, her face a mask of indifference. “What do you care?”