Reaper Reborn

by Kel Carpenter

  “What’s going on?” Shepard asked, his eyes going wide at the hundreds of people pushing their way onto our property.

  Esme, in news that surprised no one, looked eager.

  “Esme . . . what did you do?” I asked.

  A massive boom drowned out anything she might have said, sounding five times as loud with my enhanced hearing.

  I’m pretty sure I shouted, my hands flying to my ringing ears as I caught the explosion of dirt and stone flying through the air, along with countless limbs.

  Those not affected by Esme’s mine paused, exchanging looks before regrouping and rushing forward again. Two more mines went off before they finally remained in place, content to shout their abuse at me from the driveway.

  It felt like I was seeing double as the ghosts of those who hadn’t survived Esme’s boobytraps started to appear and hover around the fringes of the mob. Their voices were just as loud and irate as their living counterparts.

  “Can everyone please just shut up!” I shouted, for all the good it did.

  These people wanted blood, specifically my blood. As far as they were concerned, I was at fault for everything wrong in their lives. Hardly fair, considering I hadn’t been around long enough to have caused the undercurrents of bigotry and resentment that were the source of their discontent, but every group of disenfranchised people needed a scapegoat, and the people of Farrow’s Square had settled on me. It was the one thing it seemed they could all agree on.

  Dom and Tamsin stepped forward, using their arms to bring the fuming crowd’s shouts down to a dull roar.

  I had to admit I was glad to see they’d both made it here unharmed.

  “Salem, is that you?” Dom asked.

  I crossed my arms and exchanged an incredulous look with Graves. “How does he expect me to answer that? If I wasn’t me, it’s not like I would admit it.” I rolled my eyes. “You need to ask smarter questions, Fuckface.”

  Dom’s lips curled down in a frown, and he sighed. “It’s Kaine, alright.”

  I could still hear people calling for my execution, insisting that I was to blame, but for the moment, the Council seemed to be ignoring them.

  “Care to explain yourself?” Nocturna asked, moving to stand on Dom’s left side.

  “Does it matter what I have to say?” I asked, my exhaustion robbing me of any patience I might have had.

  “Salem—” Graves started..

  “No, seriously. Does it matter? Because as far as I can tell, no matter how many times I’ve proved myself, you are all so quick to believe the worst about me.”

  A few of the faces I recognized near the front of the mob frowned and shifted uncomfortably.

  “Can you blame us? When someone who looked exactly like you practically incited a riot?”

  “Yeah, I can actually. Considering all I have been doing has been trying to prevent that exact thing from happening. I keep bringing people back to life—why would I suddenly pull a one-eighty?”

  “What do you mean, bringing people back?” Nocturna looked from me to Dom. “What does she mean?”

  “Salem isn’t a reaper,” Dom announced. “She’s something more.”

  Murmurs started to swell behind him as the mob passed the news back.

  “That isn’t possible,” Rembrandt said. “It would make her some kind of unknown supernatural.”

  “Not a supernatural,” I corrected. “A goddess.”

  For a second, you could have heard a pin drop before laughter and snorts of derision filled the air.

  “Yeah, right,” a supe I didn’t recognize said.

  I narrowed my eyes. Completely over this bullshit. All I wanted was a nap. And a dozen cupcakes. And to be naked with Graves. I think I fucking earned it.

  But no.

  These fuckers needed proof.

  Fine.

  Closing my eyes, I focused on all the spots I’d seen the ghosts, and then focused on those souls. When I opened my eyes again, all of them were alive.

  I couldn’t quite contain my smirk at the sudden silence that little stunt had caused.

  “What? Not quite enough proof for you? How about this?”

  I started calling on those that I knew died during Thana’s reign of terror. Summoning the ghosts that still lingered in this realm. I was fortunate that the vast majority of them weren’t ready to go just yet.

  They rematerialized in their ghostly forms, waiting silently for what I would do.

  Without even a wave of my hands or blink of an eye, they turned corporeal, coming back to life in the flesh. One at a time, they popped back into existence, and soon, the area before me started to swell with the dead I’d brought back. I probably should have checked with Esme to make sure there were no more hidden mines, but it seemed she left the area closest to the house unarmed.

  Sarah raced toward a sobbing Tamsin, wrapping her in her arms, before turning to me and mouthing, “Thank you.”

  Much better.

  Thank you. That’s what they should have been saying every time I brought someone’s ass back. Instead I got an angry mob and sleep deprivation.

  “Fucking twatwaffles,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Want me to blow them up?” my aunt offered, coming up beside me. She turned around and pulled something that looked like a cross between a rifle and a cannon. At my gaping, Esme smiled. “Richard bought me a grenade launcher to show his appreciation.” She winked, and Shep made a gagging sound. I was with him on that.

  “I think we’re good here,” Shep told her.

  Most of the crowd of supernaturals seemed to have recovered their shock at not being dead anymore, or at having their loved ones back. And for once, it didn’t look like anyone wanted to kill me.

  That was an upside, but the night was still young.

  “So?” I called out over the barrier of dirt and rock and crumbled-up chunks of driveway that separated us. “Are we even, or do I need to put more of you back in the spirit realm just so you’ll leave me the fuck alone? Because I’m exhausted, and really need some food, and then sleep.”

  And orgasms.

  I left that one out since Esme was standing there and she was weird enough that she’d actually want to talk about it instead of being grossed out like she should be.

  “If we weren’t, would it really matter?” Nocturna asked, sending me the same question back I’d asked her. “You just brought the dead back without much effort at all. I get the feeling that whatever we do won’t really affect you.”

  “Oh, it’ll affect me,” I said. “But I can’t die, so more than anything, it’ll just piss me off.”

  Graves ran his hand over his face, muttering something about me and knowing when to keep my mouth shut.

  “Well then, Salem Kaine, it seems we’re at an impasse,” Nocturna said, projecting her voice over the thirty yards that separated us. “I, for one, don’t wish to see any of my people dead.”

  “Nor I,” Rembrandt added.

  “The witches will abstain,” the warlock representative added.

  “As will the dwarves,” the female dwarf added.

  Tamsin pulled away from her mom long enough to say, “I never wanted you dead to begin with. Then again, I’ve known all along it isn’t possible.”

  The tears of happiness on her cheeks were drying. There were words still left to say between us, but those were things for later. When everyone else was gone, and I was no longer swaying on my feet.

  The only two left to comment were Dom and the she-wolf Serena.

  The Fuckface stepped right up to the edge of the barrier.

  I tensed.

  “You fucked up, Kaine. But you also fixed it. I know a thing or two about that . . .” He trailed off, and I gathered this was as close to an apology as I was going to get from him. “For what it’s worth, I never doubted you.” He winked. “Not this time.”

  “I know,” I said back. “I was at the Council meeting earlier. Looks like I voted for the right reaper to
turn things around.”

  He grinned.

  “What about Gerard?” Serena said.

  I barely suppressed my groan. This bitch would not let this go.

  “What about him?” I asked.

  She gestured to the people milling around. “You brought everyone else back, and yet I don’t see his face among the ranks of those given a second chance.”

  “I never wanted Gerard to die, and I’d never agreed with the Council’s rationale behind why he deserved execution in the first place, but unlike the rest of—” I barely caught myself before I slipped and mentioned Thana’s name, “the casualties, Gerard had been judged and sentenced by the supernatural community’s chosen leaders. It didn’t feel like my place to make the call.”

  Serena frowned, but she was the only one—at least as far as I could see. There were a lot of fucking people.

  The rest of the Council, however, was looking at me with begrudging respect. It was rare that I didn’t just do whatever the fuck I wanted, but in this particular instance, leaving the people of Farrow’s Square to deal with the consequences of their decision felt like the right choice.

  “Have you changed your mind?” I asked, the challenge clear in my voice.

  The Council members looked at each other, considering my question. Behind them, the supernaturals held their breaths.

  “I think . . .” Dom started, blowing out a breath, “that if nothing else, the events of the last few days have proven that the way we’ve done things may no longer be the best fit for Farrow’s Square. Perhaps it is time we reevaluate.”

  Tamsin grinned. “I second that suggestion.”

  “The kind of change you speak of, it isn’t easy,” the dwarf representative said.

  “No, but we’ve seen what failure looks like now,” Dom pointed out, gesturing at the destruction around them. “I think it is time for us to find a new way. Perhaps that change can start with giving Gerard a second chance. It does not correct what he did, but . . . many were given second chances today. Perhaps he deserves one was well.”

  “Am I hallucinating?” I asked Graves.

  “No,” he laughed. “This is really happening.”

  “Way to go, Dom,” I said.

  Nocturna looked less certain. “You are not the sole member of the Council,” she said.

  “For a change this big, maybe it’s not the Council’s decision to make. You’re a fan of votes. Let’s put it to the people,” Tamsin said, spinning around to face the mass of supernaturals. “All in favor?”

  I was the first to raise my hand, not that anyone was paying attention to me. The rest of the crowd was a little more hesitant. The wolves, obviously, were quick to agree, but then surprisingly more and more hands lifted in the air. Not all of them, but a clear majority.

  Color me impressed. Maybe these assholes could learn from their mistakes after all.

  “The people have spoken,” Dom said, looking at Nocturna.

  Her lips were pressed together, but she nodded. “So they have.”

  “Kaine! Do your thing.”

  We were going to have a talk about him bossing me around now that I was officially not under the reaper banner, but I’d let it go for now. Anything to get me closer to my bed . . . and my cupcakes.

  I took a deep breath, mentally summoning Gerard. By the time I released my breath, Gerard was standing in front of me, looking stunned.

  “What’s going on?”

  I gave him a smile. “They’re giving you another chance. Don’t fuck it up.”

  He swallowed, and then nodded before turning and shuffling over to embrace Serena.

  “So, are we done here now?” I asked, the question aimed at Dom, but for everyone.

  He nodded. “For now.”

  “Cool, get the fuck off my prop—wait, Esme”—I turned toward my aunt—“is it safe to go the way they came?”

  She held a little device up. “I disarmed the rest of the mines. It’s safe.”

  “Excellent.” I looked back at Dom. “Kindly fuck off. I’m going to bed.”

  Without waiting for a response, or to see who followed me, I turned and went inside.

  24

  Happily Fucking Ever After

  “That the last of it?” Graves called.

  I poked my head out of the newly fixed front door. “Yup, that’s the last of it.”

  The trunk slammed shut. In the back, all of our things were packed in tight. Well, all the things we needed. Graves and I were taking an extended road trip, along with my brother.

  Where to?

  The sunny coast of California.

  It’s where Shep’s human boyfriend, Colin, ended up.

  So, here I was being the most amazing sister and helping my newly undead brother get his happily ever after. Seemed only right since I got mine.

  “I’m going to miss you,” Tam said. Her thin brown arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

  I hugged her back fiercely. “It’s only a few months . . . probably.”

  Truth was that this trip was an excuse for me to get out of town. While over a month had passed since Thana’s departure and things had calmed down a lot, there was still a lot to do. And frankly, I was tired of being called in to referee shit between supernaturals getting out of hand.

  Graves finished his finals early and managed to pull Cs despite the amount of time he’d missed this last semester. You know what they say, though. Cs get degrees, and coming from two very wealthy families, we were going to be just fine.

  Away from here.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Tamsin sighed. “I feel like I only just got you back.” She pouted.

  Graves chuckled. “We’ll be back. Somehow I doubt Esme will let them both stay away too long this time.”

  “Don’t worry too much about me.” As if she’d heard him, which let’s be real, she probably did, my aunt came up from the basement wearing a mosquito hat with net mesh that draped over her shoulders. She wore tan trousers and a thick, long-sleeved shirt with her combat boots.

  “Esme,” Shep sighed. “Why are you dressed like a shitty impersonation of Crocodile Dundee?”

  She held up her left hand. In it, a machete with diamonds encrusted in the handle sparkled obnoxiously. Oh no . . .

  “Richard proposed,” she declared. “And I said yes. We’re going on a jungle safari in the Amazon for the next two months now that they lifted the ban on supernaturals leaving Farrow’s Square.”

  “Esme . . .” I said slowly, releasing Tamsin. “When you say you said yes—”

  “We tied the knot this morning at the courthouse,” my aunt said, then she leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “and not the knot you’re thinking of, although we tied that too. Richard is really great with rope—”

  “Nope,” I said loudly, turning and walking out the front door. “Can’t do it. I love ya, Esme. Try not to die down there. It’ll be a hot second before I can find you and bring you back.”

  The sound of my aunt laughing followed me out to the driveway where Graves was already waiting.

  Shep was talking to Esme with a serious look on his face. I’m sure whatever last-minute lecture he was giving her was going in one ear and right out the other. Esme didn’t take advice from anybody. Least of all the two of us.

  Tamsin stood at the door, giving me a little wave and trying to hide the fact that she was sniffling. I blew her a kiss, a little more of the tension easing inside of me. Things weren’t totally back to normal between us, but we were getting there. I think a little time would heal the rest of the wounds.

  I leaned against the Impala, holding my hand out for the car keys without saying a word.

  Graves eyed my hand, and I could feel his eyes drag up my arm as he looked from my palm to my face. I shivered; heat expanded inside of me as I imagined his lips traveling that same path. I wondered if it would always be that way between us. I certainly hoped so, given that forever was a long fucking time.

  “You looking for a high five?” he a
sked, a small smile ghosting his very kissable lips.

  “Nope. Give me my keys, Reaper.”

  “You think you’re driving? With your track record?” he asked, raising a brow.

  “I crashed one time,” I groaned.

  “And you died.”

  I held up a finger. “Which is no longer an issue, ergo . . .”

  He mirrored my pose. “You’re forgetting the part where you can bring back people, not cars. It’s a long way to Cali, and I’m not making it in a rental.”

  I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.

  Shep chose that moment to waltz over and snatched the keys out of Graves’ other hand. “You’re both wrong. In case you’ve forgotten, this is my car. I’ll be driving.”

  My mouth fell open, and I stared at my twin as he eased around both of us and slid into the driver’s seat. Well, shit.

  “Graves gave it to me,” I protested.

  “Because I was dead, which I am not anymore. Ergo, the rights revert back to me.”

  “What kind of bullshit logic is that?” I asked, throwing up my hands and looking to Graves to back me up.

  He was laughing and shook his head. “Nope, I’m staying out of this one. I love you both too much to pick a side.”

  “I’m going to remember that, you traitor,” I told him. Looking at Shep, I said, “You’d think he’d side with the one who gives him blow jobs.”

  “He’s not really my type, but it’s not like—”

  I held up my hands. “Annnnd that’s enough of that. No one wants that mental image, thank you very much.”

  Shepard grinned, and I realized he’d done it on purpose to throw me offtrack.

  “I’m not okay with this. You’re a shit driver.”

  “Says the girl who totaled her car looking for a damn cupcake. Just shut up and get in already. We’re burning daylight.”

  I had to admit, Shep looked pretty cute in the driver’s seat of the Impala, his hair tousled and his black Ray-Bans in place.

  Maybe there was some kind of karma in Shep being the one to drive us out of here since he was the one I came back for in the first place.

  “Fine.” I threw up my hands and stepped around Graves, moving to claim shotgun before he got to it. “But if you crash, I’m going to make you kiss the ground I walk on before bringing your ass back.”