by D. G. Swank
“Liar!” she screamed, rushing toward Abel, but I cut her off, standing between the two of them.
“He doesn’t want you, Helen. He never did. Just like your lover didn’t want you. He let his wife kill your daughter.”
I heard Ellie gasp, but my insults were working. Helen’s humiliation and pain twisted the hate in her heart, making it mushroom with rage and a need for revenge.
The wall thinned more.
She pulled her arm back to stab me in the chest, but I shoved Ivy into her stomach.
“Is that what you did to Jack?” I asked in a snarl, and the monster in me reared up. I pulled the dagger out and shoved it in again. “Did you get as much pleasure stabbing him as I’m getting from stabbing you?”
She staggered back, and to my surprise, blood seeped through her dress.
The darkness in me delighted in her pain and torment, and the thin sliver in me that cared started to fade.
“No one loves you, Helen. No one. Not even your daughter.”
She screamed, releasing her rage, and the trees around us shook. She was strong, so much stronger than I’d realized, and my soul leapt at the thought of possessing all that power. With that power, I could kill Okeus. I could kill Ahone. I could take on the new god who’d orchestrated this and so much more.
I could rule all the creatures both supernatural and human. I could become the most powerful being in the universe—and it started with sending this ghost to hell.
The darkness in me grew, and I felt the final layer between our realms fade to nothing, leaving behind only a thin barrier. And in that moment, I realized it wasn’t Helen’s hatred I’d been waiting for—it was my own.
Lifting Ivy to shoulder height, I made a slit in the air, cutting the last layer between the worlds. The agony of thousands of souls poured out through the hole, along with an overwhelming feeling of despair and hopelessness. Ice crystals seeped from the rip, spreading outward.
In my peripheral vision, I was vaguely aware that Ellie and Collin were jumping out of the way.
“Helen,” I called out in a dark and empty voice. “It is time for you to pay.”
“Margaret,” Helen sighed, her anger fading as she faced the portal.
Standing in the center was a small girl with blonde ringlets and a lacy white dress. Worms crawled from her empty eye sockets and her grin was lopsided and so very wrong, but then her face changed, as though a mask had appeared—her bright blue eyes, flushed cheeks on ivory skin, and a pink Cupid’s bow mouth. She reached out her hand. “Momma.”
Helen walked toward her, euphoria on her face, and the monster in me protested. This was punishment! She was supposed to beg me for mercy!
“Piper,” Abel whispered in my ear, his hand on my shoulder. “Do not give into this.”
“She must pay,” I growled, my voice not sounding like my own.
His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me close. “Let her go, Waboose. She has suffered for a century. Let her have her daughter.”
The monster in me roared and I sent out a wave of power to push him away, but he took it all in and held me gently. “Piper.”
Helen walked through the portal and it instantly closed behind her.
“My love,” he whispered with so much tenderness the monster in me cracked and my knees buckled, but he simply held me close.
“Abel,” I whispered in horror. “Help me. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
“I will, but we still have two minutes in your bargain. We have time to escape.”
And in that moment of gentleness, my hand began to burn, a pain different from the burn that I currently felt from being so close to demons. I shoved St. Michael into its sheath, the pain too intense to hold the weapon. The burn was in the upper left corner of my hand, and I knew exactly what it meant.
“Abel!” I shouted in panic, pushing my magic toward the mark in a desperate attempt to stop it from appearing.
He turned to me with wide eyes. What he saw must have told him everything, because he immediately glanced down at my palm. The outline of a crescent moon began to appear, and the monster inside me roared to life, hungry for blood. Hungry for Abel’s life. Hungry for his power.
“No!” I cried out, taking several steps away from him to give me distance. I turned to face him, panic making me stumble.
“What’s happening?” Okeus demanded. He sounded out of sorts. Almost apprehensive.
Abel dropped his sword onto the ground with a clatter and held out his hands in surrender. Tears filled his eyes. I could see fear there too, but not for himself—he was worried for me. “Don’t fight it, Kewasa. This is our fate.”
“No!” I shouted, more to the monster inside me than to him.
I pushed all my energy and power toward my hand, fighting the mark, and the monster in me roared in protest. Still gripping Ivy in my right hand, I dropped to my knees.
Abel dropped down with me, cupping my face with his hand, searching my eyes.
“Run,” I forced out through gritted teeth. Tears of frustration streamed down my cheeks. And in that moment, I knew this was the cost of sending Helen to her fate. I’d blackened my soul and ignored my humanity to do it, releasing the mark under my skin.
The demons had stopped attacking, watching the spectacle with curiosity.
“It has come to pass,” I heard a familiar voice say. The mysterious voice in my head that had been guiding me. Two ravens circled overhead.
Manipulating me.
“Who the fuck are you?” I screamed, leaning over my bent legs as I tried to rein the monster in.
“Is this your doing?” Okeus snapped.
“There must always be balance, brother,” Ahone said. “But this is not me. Surely you’ve recognized his handiwork.”
Okeus gasped. “Odin?”
Who was Odin? The Norse god? Frankly, I was too busy fighting the rising force inside me to care.
“Run,” I grunted as Abel gathered me in his arms. “Run, goddammit. I need you to live.”
He sat on the pavement, straddling me across his lap. “Don’t fight it, Waboose,” he said with a broken voice. “You’re only making it worse.”
“Abel, run,” I pleaded. I was starting to lose ground. The curve of the moon had already etched into my skin.
“I love you, Piper. Not because of your power or your titles, but because you’ve made me feel again. You’ve made me feel human. I will love you until the end of eternity. Now fulfill your destiny.”
I started to sob as my right hand lifted as though it was controlled by something else. The dagger pointed toward his chest. “Please don’t let me do this, Abel. Please.”
His voice lowered so only I could hear him. “After you do this, you have to run. Run and hide.” His voice turned stern. “Do you understand me?” When I didn’t answer, his hand sank into my hair. Holding my face inches from his, he repeated, “Do you understand?”
The dagger was pressed against his chest now, and still I fought the monster in me with everything I had. “Abel . . .”
Relief filled his eyes. “I sought you out for this reason, Piper. This is what I wanted. Remember that.”
“Even now?”
“No,” he admitted with a soft smile. “I wish I could have forever with you.”
The monster in me roared with impatience and forced the blade partially into his chest before I managed to stop it.
“Stop her!” Okeus shouted, finally understanding. Several demons tried to rush me, but some invisible force kept them out.
“She is still within her five minutes,” Ahone practically sang with happiness.
“Stop fighting it, Piper,” Abel said softly. “Just give in.” Then he kissed me, his lips gentle on mine, a sharp contrast to the violence in my soul begging for release.
I squeezed the dagger handle with all my might, trying to pull back, but the power surged, shoving the blade deeper.
His body stiffened. I tried to pull the dagger out of his
chest, but my hand refused.
Okeus’s anger exploded, but the invisible force field held everything away.
“Abel.” I’d been so sure I could save him, that there had to be a way to stop the mark. I’d never let myself believe this would actually happen. Never realized I’d held the power to keep it a bay all along. Even now, as his blood pumped from his body and he started to slump backward, I waited for my miracle.
He stared up at me and smiled, but the monster in me wasn’t satisfied. It wanted his soul.
“No!” Crying uncontrollably, I twisted my hand, and his eyes widened as he released a gasp of pain.
“I’m sorry,” I sobbed.
He lifted his hand and covered mine as the light faded from his eyes.
My hand was magically freed. I stared at him in shock. This was one shock too many, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I told myself to catch him before he crossed over. If I couldn’t save his life, I could at least save him from hell. But the moment he died, the barrier that had been protecting us dropped and the demons swarmed us.
Okeus was losing his mind, ordering my capture and torture.
I got to my feet and spun around wildly, trying to find Abel’s spirit, but all I saw were hundreds of demons and they all wanted me. Ellie and Collin were caught in the madness.
My grief and agony combined with my power, building to a boiling point. A shock wave exploded from me, and the demons’ bodies fell where they stood.
“Abel!” I screamed, stepping over the demons as I searched for his spirit, my hand still drenched in his life’s blood. He had to be here. He had to cross over.
Only then, as I stumbled around the parking lot, did I realize what I’d done. Somehow I’d murdered hundreds of demons. I knew I should try to comprehend the fact that I’d channeled this much power, but all I could focus on was Abel.
He was gone.
I’d failed him. I’d failed me.
“Abel,” I said half-heartedly, knowing that I would have found him by now if his spirit were present.
“The demigod is no longer on this plane,” I heard a small voice say, and I knew before looking it belonged to Tsagasi.
My heart caught in my throat as I turned to face him. “Is he in hell?”
“You knew he was destined to go there.”
So I’d been wrong about that too.
I glanced around, realizing I’d missed something else. Okeus and Ahone were gone. “I suppose it’s too much to hope I killed Okeus when I killed those other demons.”
“No, you didn’t kill him, but you sent him running. He’s frightened and confused by your power. He’s regrouping to figure out how to handle you.” He paused. “He will be back for you.”
“And I’ll be waiting.” Ahone was equally culpable in Abel’s death. He would pay with his life too.
I ran a hand over my head, feeling more broken and alone than I’d ever felt. I glanced to the side and saw the wadded-up paper Collin had tossed away. Leaning over, I picked it up and opened it, realizing it was Tommy’s picture. Collin had had it all along, and now I knew why it had made him so driven. In the middle of the drawing, David was lying on the ground in a puddle of red blood while Ellie leaned over him. Collin stood to the side with his sword and spear while Abel and I stood to the side, facing Okeus.
Had Collin agreed to fight to try to save David or to rid himself of his rival? The grief I saw on his face now and the agony in his eyes as he watched Ellie sob over David’s body convinced me he’d done it to save David for Ellie.
Only I’d failed them all. Even the swirling black circle in the background, an image that drew my immediate attention, confirmed it.
I stared at Abel’s lifeless body. I’d failed him, but the drawing made me realize I had another option.
This wasn’t over. Not yet. “I can still save him.”
Tsagasi stared at me as though I’d lost my mind. “The demigod is dead, and Okeus will torture you for killing him. You need to focus on what you can control, not what you can’t.”
My stubbornness kicked into overdrive. “I still plan to kill Okeus. But now I plan to kill Ahone too.”
He remained silent.
“I told Abel I’d save him from hell, Tsagasi.” My voice broke, but my back was rigid with determination.
“Kewasa,” he said. “I’m sure you meant well, but you—”
“No,” I said, dropping the drawing to the ground. “I may not have been able to stop the mark and prevent myself from murdering him, but I will not fail in that.”
“It’s too late.” The sympathy in his voice surprised me.
“Is it?” I asked, marching toward the curse keepers’ car.
Ellie was on the ground, lying over David’s bloodied body, his lifeless eyes turned up to her as though he was watching over her, even in death. And then I realized Abel wasn’t the only one in hell. We’d never freed David and Jack’s souls. They were there too.
“Ellie,” I said with a hardness that took us both by surprise.
She looked at me with her tearstained face, her expression an equal mixture of awe and fear.
Collin stood to the side, fighting his own tears, but my harshness made him hold up his sword in warning.
I reached for her, pushing down the monster in me. I’d find a way to harness it. Never again would I give it free rein.
“Ellie,” I said more gently, extending my hand closer. “David’s not here. Let’s go.” She let me help her to her feet and I cupped her cheek, looking deep into her eyes. “We will get him back.”
Fresh tears filled her eyes.
“Are you ready?” I asked, my voice cracking. “Will you come with me?”
She nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
“Where are you going?” Collin called after us as we strode to the car, both of us filled with new purpose.
I turned back to face him, the beast in me fighting against its yoke, eager for the next fight. “We’re going to get them back. We’re going to hell.”
Mark your calendar for September 17, 2019 to read the end of the Curse Keepers saga.
Of Death and Ruin
Piper Lancaster #4
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Also by D.G. Swank
CURSE KEEPERS WORLD
(Urban fantasy)
Curse Keepers Trilogy
The Curse Keepers
The Curse Breakers
The Curse Defiers
Curse Keepers Collection (box set)
Piper Lancaster Series
Of Ash and Spirit
Of Fire and Storm
Of Blood and Monsters
Of Death and Ruin
The Chosen Series
(Adult urban fantasy)
Chosen
Hunted
Sacrifice
Redemption
Book of Sindal
(Paranormal romance)
Coming May 2019
Descended from Shadows
Reign of Mist
Crown of Blood
On the Otherside Series
(Young adult sci fi romance)
Here
There
Also by Denise Grover Swank
Rose And Neely Kate reading order:
Family Jewels
Trailer Trash
For the Birds
Hell in a Handbasket
In High Cotton
Up Shute Creek
Come Rain or Shine
Dirty Money
* * *
Rose Gardner Investigations
Family Jewels
For the Birds
Hell in a Handbasket
Up Shute Creek
Come Rain or Shine
* * *
Neely Kate Mystery
Trailer Trash
In High Cotton
Dirty Money
* * *
Magnolia Steele Mystery
Center Stage
Act Two
Call Back
Curtain Call
* * *
Darling Investigations
(Humorous mystery romance)
Deadly Summer
Blazing Summer
* * *
Rose Gardner Mysteries
Novellas are bonus material
TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES
TWENTY-NINE AND A HALF REASONS
THIRTY AND A HALF EXCUSES
FALLING TO PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-ONE AND A HALF REGRETS
THIRTY-TWO AND A HALF COMPLICATIONS
PICKING UP THE PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-THREE AND A HALF SHENANIGANS
ROSE AND HELENA SAVE CHRISTMAS (novella)
RIPPLE OF SECRETS (novella)
THIRTY-FOUR AND A HALF PREDICAMENTS
THIRTY-FIVE AND A HALF CONSPIRACIES
THIRTY-SIX AND A HALF MOTIVES
SINS OF THE FATHER (novella)
The Wedding Pact
(Humorous contemporary romance)
THE SUBSTITUTE
THE PLAYER
THE GAMBLER
THE VALENTINE (short story)
* * *
Bachelor Brotherhood
Spinoff of The Wedding Pact series
ONLY YOU
UNTIL YOU
ALWAYS YOU
* * *
Young adult contemporary romance
ONE PARIS SUMMER
Off the Subject Series
(New adult contemporary romance)
AFTER MATH
REDESIGNED
BUSINESS AS USUAL
About the Author
Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.
