Grim Expectations (Aisling Grimlock Book 5)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “They’re working,” Dad replied, furrowing his brow as he studied Serena. “Who is your friend?”

  “And where does she shop?” Jerry asked. “She clearly needs help. It’s good you saved her from a life on the streets. There’s still time to instill good fashion sense in her … although I think if you waited much longer she would’ve ended up with something akin to your taste. No one wants that, Bug.”

  Serena balked. “I’m not homeless,” she said, her green eyes flashing. “I had to run without grabbing good clothes. I have better clothes.”

  Jerry didn’t look convinced. “Let’s hope so.”

  “I don’t understand what’s going on,” Dad said. “Who is this?”

  “Her name is Serena Grimley,” I replied, steeling myself for pandemonium. “She says her entire family was wiped out by wraiths.”

  It was as if all of the oxygen had been sucked from the room. Dad hopped to his feet and scurried around the desk, grabbing Serena’s wrist so he could turn her body toward him. He looked her up and down, taking a moment to really study her, and then blew out a sigh. “You’re the youngest, aren’t you?”

  Serena nodded, her lower lip quivering. “Now I’m the only one.”

  “You poor thing,” Jerry cooed, pulling her in for a hug as my father rolled his eyes. “I take back everything I said about your clothes. You’re lucky to be alive. I spent some time with wraiths a few weeks ago and it was terrifying.”

  “I guess that explains how she knew to take out that wraith in the greenhouse,” Cillian mused, flashing a sympathetic smile for Serena’s benefit and earning a flirty grin for his efforts. Her family was gone but that didn’t mean a crush was off the table. Great.

  “You need to sit down,” Dad said, leading Serena to one of the couches at the other end of the room and settling next to her. “You look just like your mother. You have her hair and eyes.”

  “And these two look just like you,” Serena said, gesturing toward Cillian and me. “He’s prettier than she is, though.”

  I scorched her with a dark look. “Who saved you from the security guard? Who fed you? Who patched you up? I am much prettier than he is.”

  “Not really,” Serena said.

  Cillian smirked as he tugged on a strand of my hair and moved to the couch across from Serena and Dad. “It’s okay, Aisling,” he said. “You’ve already bagged your man. There’s no reason to fret.”

  I was going to fret him into a corner and make him cry if he wasn’t careful. “Ha, ha. She slept in my bushes last night. I thought I saw something out there but … I couldn’t be sure.”

  “You poor thing,” Dad said, reaching for the afghan resting on the back of the couch and spreading it on Serena’s lap. “You must be cold and hungry.”

  “I just said I fed her.”

  Dad ignored me. “We’ll get you a shower and some new clothes. I think Aisling still has things in her closet from when she was a teenager. She can’t even fit in them now so you can take whatever you want.”

  “Hey!” What is happening? When did it become Insult Aisling Day? “I’ll have you know that I wear the same size jeans as when I was seventeen. I do wear a bigger bra, though, so I guess you’re right on that one.”

  “No one needs to hear about your bra, Aisling,” Dad snapped, making a face. “Good grief. What is wrong with you?”

  Given the fact that he was attacking me, that was beyond rich. I decided to ignore the question. I was pretty sure it was rhetorical anyway. “I would’ve invited her in if I knew she was outside. I didn’t go out to check on the movement, though. I thought it could’ve been a wraith … or a skunk or something.”

  “Why didn’t you knock on Aisling’s door?” Cillian asked. “You obviously sensed you could trust her.”

  “I thought about it,” Serena hedged. “She was with a guy, though, and they were all over each other in front of the window. I didn’t want to interrupt their naked time.”

  My cheeks burned as Dad glared at me.

  “That’s lovely,” Dad muttered. “That is just … I’ve never been prouder.”

  “Hey, we didn’t get naked in front of the sliding glass doors,” I argued. “We did that in the bedroom. How did this conversation get switched around to focus on me?”

  “That’s a very good point,” Dad said. “You’re still grounded.”

  “You can’t ground me. I don’t even live here.”

  “Fine. I’ll take away your paycheck.”

  Wow. That was hitting me where it hurt. “I hate this family sometimes,” I grumbled, flopping on the couch next to Cillian. “I’m the hero here. Did nobody notice that? I bailed her out at the mall yesterday and she took off. I’m the one who fed her and fixed up that knee.”

  “I’ll get someone else to look at it and make sure it’s really okay,” Dad said, not caring in the least that his words were like a punch in the gut. “Before that, though, we need to know what happened.”

  Serena pressed her lips together and nodded. She looked as if she was trying to collect herself before launching into her tale. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. That didn’t mean I was happy with Dad and Cillian’s attitudes, though.

  “I don’t know where to start,” Serena hedged.

  “Start at the beginning,” Dad prodded.

  “Okay … um … I was supposed to be in bed because I was grounded for taking the car out without asking, but I snuck out my bedroom window instead,” Serena began, darting a worried look in Dad’s direction. He’d raised five teenagers of his own. This was hardly surprising behavior to him and he remained calm. “I was meeting a boy from school on the corner. We weren’t doing anything bad.”

  I snorted. “No one cares about that,” I said. “I stole my father’s car so many times I lost count. I did something bad each and every time.”

  “And that’s why you’re not allowed to drive any of my vehicles,” Dad shot back. “Go on, Serena.”

  “When I got back to the house, I could tell something was off,” Serena said, clutching her hands in her lap. “The front door was open and all of the lights were on. At first I thought it was because they figured out I was gone. I thought my father was going to blow up and ground me forever.

  “I decided to crawl through my window again instead of going through the front door,” she continued. “There’s this tree on the side of the house so I climbed up it and hopped on the drainage pipe that’s by my window. I’ve practiced so many times I don’t even get scared now.”

  She looked almost proud of her accomplishment. The expression turned dark quickly, though.

  “I was at my window and about to push it open,” Serena said. “I heard noises in my bedroom, so I stopped. I could hear … hissing.”

  My stomach rolled at the description. I’d heard the sound so many times now it rarely fazed me. She was a teenager, though. That was her home. It had to be a terrifying experience. “Did you see how many wraiths were in there?”

  “No. I was too afraid to look. I gripped the pipe and just kind of … froze. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

  “What about your family?” Dad prodded gently. “Your mother and father were inside, I’m sure. You have two brothers, too, right?”

  Serena nodded as tears flooded her eyes. “I didn’t hear anything from them. No screams. No yells. Nothing. I thought maybe they took my family as hostages or something but then … well … I saw their bodies being carried out the front door. They were all dead.”

  “I know that was traumatic for you, but how do you know that?” Dad asked, his expression unreadable.

  “None of them were moving and my dad’s eyes were open,” Serena replied. “He wasn’t seeing anything, though. They’re dead. I know it.”

  “Okay.” Dad awkwardly patted her arm and shifted his gaze to Cillian. I couldn’t decide if he really believed they were dead or was merely placating Serena so she wouldn’t flip out. “I guess that explains why we haven’t been able to get th
em on the phone or by other means. The office has been emailing them nonstop and no one answers.”

  “That doesn’t explain why no one went over there to check on them,” I pointed out.

  “We sent people but the house was locked up,” Dad said. “We can’t break into a house. That’s against the law.”

  I wanted to remind him that we broke into the homes of newly-departed souls all of the time, but now didn’t seem a good moment to argue given Serena’s shaking shoulders and the tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “What did you do?” Cillian asked, leaning forward. He had a gentle nature and Serena responded to it every time he spoke. “Did you go in the house after they left?”

  “I was too afraid,” Serena admitted. “I clung to that pipe forever. I wanted to go inside, but I couldn’t get the idea out of my head that they were waiting for me in there because they wanted to do the same thing to me.

  “Finally, my hands were so numb I couldn’t hold on any longer so I slid down the pipe and hit the ground,” she continued. “I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t have any other family in the area so I ran to the park and spent the night there.”

  “Weren’t you cold?” Dad asked, horrified.

  “There’s an area under that footbridge on the far side of the park where homeless people build fires,” Serena said. “They let me warm up there, although a few of them were … scary.”

  “Did anyone touch you?” I could tell my father was on the verge of losing it. The idea of someone taking advantage of a vulnerable child was almost too much for him.

  “They left me alone,” Serena said. “When it got light out, I moved back toward the house and I was going to go inside and call the police – I honestly didn’t know what else to do – but I saw movement by the front window. I managed to get close enough to see inside, and that’s when I saw them. They left two wraiths behind.”

  “I guess it was smart you ran instead of staying at the house,” Cillian said. “That was very brave.”

  “It doesn’t feel brave,” Serena countered. “The wraiths saw me by the window so I ran. I didn’t go back to the park because I was afraid they would eat all of the people who helped me the night before. I managed to lose them down a few alleys, and then I spent the next few days just kind of … bumming around.”

  “Why didn’t you call the head office?” Dad asked. “We could’ve helped you. Everyone there would’ve jumped at the chance to help you.”

  “I didn’t know the number,” Serena replied. “I left my phone in my bedroom that night. I didn’t have anything when I ran. I don’t even have photos of my parents.” Serena’s expression crumpled as she dropped her face in her hands and openly sobbed.

  Dad slipped an arm around her shoulders and turned to me. “What do you think?”

  “I think this was obviously a coordinated attack.”

  “Not that,” Dad said, making a face. “Who do you think the wraiths are working for?”

  Why was he asking me? “I have no idea,” I replied. “I am curious about how Serena knew that one was going to be in the greenhouse the other day, though.”

  “Yeah, how did you know that?” Cillian prodded.

  “I took to following them,” Serena replied, using her sleeve to wipe her nose and earning a disgusted look from Jerry. “I saw one by a garbage bin behind the recycling center one day and I followed him to an abandoned building. This was in Grosse Pointe Farms. I hid in the bushes and watched.

  “Whenever one left alone, I followed it,” she continued. “I tried asking the first one questions about my family – I guess I still had hope some of them were alive, but I don’t really believe that now – and it just hissed and jumped at me. I managed to kill it with a knife I stole from one of the homeless people under the bridge.

  “I know that was wrong,” she said. “I needed to protect myself, though. I’m not sorry. Once I killed it, I felt better. I’m sure you think that’s sick, but that’s all I could focus on. I wanted to avenge my family. I took to following one wraith a day … and that’s how I ran into Aisling.”

  “Did you recognize me?” I asked.

  “I knew who you were after a few minutes of hearing you talk to the wraith,” Serena replied. “You’re kind of famous in certain circles. My father said you were flaky … but he probably just misunderstood the stories everyone was spreading about you.”

  “No, she’s flaky,” Dad said, patting the top of Serena’s head. “I don’t want you to worry about anything, sweetie. We’re going to figure this out and keep you safe. You can stay here until we know exactly what’s happening.”

  “What about after that?” Serena looked lost. “What will happen to me then?”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Dad said. “I’m sure you have worried family members out there. For now, I’m going to send you upstairs with Jerry. He can show you to one of the guestrooms and help you find towels for a shower. He can also grab some of Aisling’s old clothes for you.”

  “Sure,” Jerry said, flashing a helpful smile. “Then I’ll fix your hair and makeup. We’ll have fun.”

  Dad rolled his eyes before focusing on Cillian and me. “As for you two … .”

  I already knew what he was going to say. “We’re going to the Grimley house to look around,” I finished. “Are we looking for anything in particular?”

  “Anything you can find,” Dad said, forcing a smile even as his eyes darkened. “Be careful. This officially just got serious.”

  Oh, really? What was his first clue?

  13

  Thirteen

  Cillian parked in front of the Grimley house and leaned forward to peer at the vacant home. We talked about parking on the street and hiking behind the gate, but in the end we decided that would look suspicious if someone stopped us. Since I planned to grab some of Serena’s things, we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves.

  We exited the vehicle and trudged up the steps together. I reached into the sheath I keep beneath my hoodie and withdrew the silver dagger I carried with me almost every day. Cillian already had a knife in his hand and he shot me a look before reaching for the door handle. It was locked.

  “I guess I should’ve expected this,” Cillian muttered, glancing around. The house was set back from the street. Only people passing directly by would be able to see what we were doing – and only for a second or so because the opening to the courtyard was small. “Watch my back while I pick this lock.”

  My brothers were masters when it came to breaking into places. I blame my father. He got annoyed when his expensive liquor started going missing when we were teenagers so he locked it in different rooms. Each time my brothers picked the lock and pilfered his stock. Each time he pitched a fit and bought a more expensive lock. This went on for years until he finally gave up.

  It’s a nice skill to have. I can do it, too, but I’m nowhere near as adept as Redmond and Cillian. They took to it like pros.

  Cillian messed with the lock for less than a minute and then we heard the mechanism inside tumble. He climbed back to his feet and gripped his knife before casting me a sidelong look. “If something is in here … .”

  “I’m prepared to run,” I finished. “I’m not a martyr.”

  “No, but you’re unbelievably brave sometimes,” Cillian pointed out. “Unfortunately, that makes you stupid.”

  “You say such sweet things to me.”

  Cillian grinned as he pushed open the door, taking a bold step inside before stopping his forward momentum in the foyer. I stuck close to his flank, tilting my head to the side as I listened for the telltale sounds of something stirring in the bowels of the house.

  I heard nothing.

  “What do you think?” Cillian asked after a few beats. “Can you sense anything?”

  For some reason my brothers had started looking at me as if I was some great prognosticator. It was beyond annoying. “I sense that you’re being a moron.”

  “I guess that’s a no, huh?” C
illian forced a nervous smile. “Okay, we’re going through this house together. No splitting up. Do you understand me?”

  I wasn’t new … or nearly as stupid as he seemed to think. “I’ve got it, Cillian,” I said. “I have no interest in wandering away. I’m just as frightened as you are.”

  Cillian puffed out his chest. “I’m not frightened. I’m … manly.”

  “You’re a putz just like everyone else when you want to be,” I shot back.

  We left the door open as we moved to the great room on the left side of the foyer. It was a huge monstrosity of a space, spanning two floors with a cathedral ceiling and an ornate mural that made me think of the Sistine Chapel. It was completely pretentious for a suburban Detroit home.

  “That’s kind of cool,” Cillian said, eyeing the ceiling. “It’s reapers throughout the centuries.”

  “I think it’s creepy,” I said, lowering my gaze to the rest of the room. There had clearly been a struggle in this part of the house. The coffee table was overturned and pillows and knickknacks were strewn about the floor. A big pink bowl – similar to the one Mom liked so much in Macy’s – was shattered against the ceramic tile. “Do you think they’re all dead?”

  Cillian shrugged. “I would like to say no because I fear for Serena once she really gives in and believes the inevitable, but I can’t think of one reason for the wraiths to keep any of them alive,” he replied. “We know what they do to reapers, Ais. They drain us to sustain themselves. We’re more … fortifying … than normal souls. That’s why they want us.”

  “Yeah, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” I said, walking over to the mantel above the fireplace and reaching for a large family photograph. I pulled it down, my heart twisting when I saw the smiling faces. Serena stood between her parents, a brother flanking the older generation at the far edges. Everyone had blond hair and green eyes. I’d met her brothers before at reaper events. Technically I’d probably met Serena, too, but since she was so much younger I never talked to her. “They look happy.”