“Then I won’t let them get their hands on me.” I was grim as I focused on Aisling. She wasn’t tearful or afraid. She was disgusted by her dusty surroundings, and anger seemed to be the emotion best reflected on her pretty face. I was amazed by that, and a bit reverent. “I have to stay. This is my job. The gate has to be protected. You need to get out of here. Your family will be here soon. Even if you just get in your vehicle and hide in the backseat with the doors locked, that should be enough. Be quiet and careful and you’ll be okay.”
The look Aisling shot me was withering. “Oh, this is such crap,” she snapped. “I’ve fought wraiths before. I can help.”
“You can barely walk,” Oliver shot back. “Your reflexes are dulled. You’ll hold us back.”
I wanted to smack him for his thoughtless remark, but the way Aisling’s eyes fired, I knew she had plans to do that herself.
“You have a baby to think about,” I added, adopting a gentle tone. “You have to think of her. You’re her mother, which means you put her safety above all else. You can’t let her down the very first time you’re challenged to protect her.”
“Oh, well, that was just low,” Aisling drawled, disgust positively dripping from her tongue. “I am going to wrap those words in toilet paper and set them on fire on your front porch the first chance I get.”
“At least you’ll get a chance,” Oliver persisted. “You have to go. You’ve done nothing but fight for two years. We’ll take it from here.”
Aisling obviously wasn’t thrilled with the order. “I’ll be back to take my mantle. Don’t get too comfortable in my shoes.”
“We’ll do our best.”
I kept my eyes on Aisling until she disappeared into the darkness. I picked up a few stray thoughts as she used her phone to follow the wall and disappear around a corner. They were filled with murderous intent, and I had no doubt she would make us pay if the opportunity arose. I couldn’t think about her now, though, despite the worry cascading through me. There were other things on our plate.
“So, how do we do this?” I focused on Oliver. “Oh, and what are you?”
Oliver refused to meet my gaze, instead turning his full attention to the door and striding back toward the gate room. “What do you mean?”
“You’re at least sixty years old, from what I gather. Probably older. That means you’re not human. Reapers age the same way as humans, so you’re not a reaper either. What are you?”
“Does it matter?”
“I’d like to know since we’re heading into battle together.”
Oliver sighed and shook his head. “I’m a vampire.”
The admission knocked me for a loop. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, don’t give me that look. You’re a worldly woman, Izzy. You’re magical. I’ve seen you at work and I’m guessing you’re going to be even more impressive tonight. You know other creatures exist.”
“Yeah, but ... vampires aren’t trendy. They’re old. I thought you would be something trendy ... like another merrow or something.”
“Merrow folk aren’t trendy. They’re old. Vampires never go out of style. Why do you think those Twilight books were so popular?”
“Because every teenager wants to believe she’s special enough for a vampire to fall in love with and then serve as her personal bodyguard.”
“Fair enough.” Oliver rolled to a stop in the middle of the room and glanced around. “We need something to use as weapons.”
“There are daggers in the closet.” I pointed for emphasis. “I found a box when I was locked in there during that other wraith attack.”
“Good. We’re going to need them. Let’s arm up. It’s going to be a long night.”
OLIVER WASN’T IN THE mood to talk, so we selected weapons in silence. Once finished, we positioned ourselves on the landing in front of the gate ... and waited.
“Do you think they’ll try to cross the threshold?” I asked, my palms sweaty as I waited for a hint of movement on the other side of the door. “That’s why they’re coming here, right? I mean ... I can’t think of a single other reason for them to cross.”
“I can’t either,” Oliver admitted. “That makes the most sense. We can’t let them achieve their goal. If one enhanced wraith is trouble, five could be the end of us all.”
“The Grimlocks are coming.” The idea made me feel better, even though my voice shook. “They’ll be here as soon as they can manage it. The fact that they know Aisling is here should hurry them.”
“It’s storming out ... and hard. That’s going to make crossing the bridge difficult.”
“They’ll come.” I was sure of it. “That’s what they do.”
“We can’t rely on them. We need to fight.”
“Are you suggesting that I’m some weak female who needs a man to run to her rescue?”
“No, but you are doing a great deal of talking about five men running to our rescue.”
“They’ll even the odds.” I refused to apologize for my pragmatism. “They’ll even the odds and we’ll be able to hold the wraiths off. That’s the most important thing, no matter who does the killing and protecting.”
“I don’t disagree. It’s just ... .” Oliver broke off, tilting his head as he lifted his nose. To me, it appeared he was scenting the air, which I found unbelievably distracting.
“What are you doing?”
“The wraiths aren’t alone.” He gripped his dagger tighter as he focused on the door. “There’s at least one human with them.”
The news took me by surprise. “A human? What human would be stupid enough to join forces with a cadre of wraiths?”
“I think he’s talking about me,” a voice drawled from the doorway, causing me to snap my head in that direction.
“Edgar Mason?” I was officially dumbfounded. “What are you doing here?”
“Creating a new world order.”
I had no idea what that meant. “But ... why?”
“Because it’s important. Allowing reapers to make all of the decisions when it comes to the start and end of the afterlife seems folly to me. I refuse to allow that to happen for one second longer.”
I was having trouble wrapping my head around the notion that Mason, the world’s biggest tool, was somehow the lead figure behind a wraith revolt. “I’m seriously lost. Do you understand what’s going on here, Oliver?”
“Not even a little.” Oliver wrinkled his nose as he regarded Mason. “I don’t think he’s the one in charge.”
“Of course I’m in charge,” Mason scoffed. “This was all my idea. I’m the leader.”
“Someone might have led you to believe that, but you’re hardly the leader.” Oliver flicked his eyes to the door as another shadow appeared. “Here comes the leader right now, and I’m really sorry I didn’t figure this out sooner, Izzy. I should have. In hindsight, I definitely should have.”
If it was possible, I became even more lost. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s talking about me,” Renee said dryly as she strolled into the room, red leather pants gleaming under the limited light. “I’m in charge. I bet you weren’t expecting that, were you?”
I was officially clueless.
Twenty-Eight
“I don’t understand.”
I looked to Oliver for help, but he was more angry than confused.
“Oliver understands, don’t you, dear?” Renee sneered as she brushed past Mason and took a position in front of him, clearly showing her dominance. “You get it.”
“Would you like to share with the class, Oliver?”
“She’s a lamia,” Oliver explained. “Basically a walking serpent. According to legend, lamia fed on children. They had serpentine traits — including tails — and could reanimate the dead to serve as soldier fodder during battles. They’re rare now, almost extinct.”
I’d never heard the term before. “They feed on children?”
“Only in olden times,” Renee said, making a tsking sound that oddly
sounded more like a hiss. Of course, now that Oliver mentioned serpents that could’ve been my imagination. “I’m not all that discerning when it comes to food now.”
My mind was busy as I tried to wrap my head around the change of events. “So ... you eat people?”
“Not very often. I’m old. There are other ways to sustain myself.”
“How?”
“Think about how the wraiths survive,” Oliver prodded as he gripped his dagger tighter. “I often wondered if that’s how she was sustaining herself. I watched when I figured out what she was, which wasn’t until after I’d been around her for some time. But I didn’t hear any reports of Detroit cannibalism, so I thought maybe she was snacking on other things.”
“What? Like she was suddenly a vegetarian?” My temper lashed out. “You should have told me.”
“You weren’t ready to hear it,” he snapped. “I’d planned to tell you when things settled — about her and me — but things have yet to settle. Now I see there was no chance of that happening as long as she was here.”
“Oh, don’t take that tone with me.” Renee wagged a warning finger as she shifted closer to one of the wraiths. It seemed eager, agitated. I couldn’t decide if it was excited about the prospect of crossing the threshold or feeding on us. Neither was appealing. “I never hurt you, Oliver. I never felt the inclination to do so. Had you stayed out of things tonight, it never would’ve happened. This is on you.”
“I should’ve known when you called in sick.” Oliver’s fury was palpable. “You’re a lamia. You don’t get sick. I simply thought you were tired, maybe a bit overwhelmed from everything that’s been going on. You played your part well, and for a long time. I have to hand it to you. You’re right, that is on me. I should’ve realized what you had planned. All the signs were there.”
“What signs?” I asked, frustration threatening to overtake me. “What signs?”
“The body,” Oliver replied without hesitation. “The same body showed up on the island twice. He didn’t die twice. His form was simply used a second time to throw us off.”
“I admit that was my hope, but you didn’t spend nearly as much time focusing on the body as I’d expected,” Renee supplied. “I thought it would force you to look in another direction, perhaps toward a resurrectionist. I didn’t realize the Grimlocks already dealt with a resurrectionist ... and recently. They weren’t distracted by the body in the least.”
“You spent a lot of time talking about the Grimlocks,” I noted, racking my brain. “You pretended to be giddy about their looks, and harbored a few crushes. That was all an act.”
“Not all,” she clarified. “They’re attractive men. They’re also troublesome. I knew when they showed up that things would turn ugly.
“Initially, I thought that the wraith might be able to cross over without anyone noticing,” she continued. “There was always the chance you would be too overwhelmed with first-day jitters to pay attention to the gate. That was stupid on my part. I didn’t know about your ties to the gate until Oliver informed me ... and that was after the fact.”
I felt sick to my stomach ... and furious. It wasn’t as if I’d bonded with the woman. I didn’t bond easily, and once I met the Grimlocks my attention was easily diverted. That didn’t change the fact that I felt betrayed. It was sharp, like the dagger I gripped as I readied myself for a battle I was sure would come.
“The Grimlocks fouled things up for you. I’m glad for it.”
“Of course you are.” Renee’s tone was dismissive as she sighed. “You fouled things up for me, too. I didn’t realize you were the one who created the initial gate breach twenty years ago. If I had, things would’ve gone much differently. I would’ve tried to get you on my side before moving.
“I thought that because you were new to the job it would be easy to kill or baffle you,” she continued. “I didn’t know that you were the conduit that made traversing the gate possible. That was conveniently left out of the details regarding your parents’ deaths.
“Oliver knew more than I realized, too,” she said. “I was aware that he was here, with them, when you were a child. He could’ve warned me about what you were capable of, but he chose to keep it to himself. I thought he trusted me. That was also a mistake on my part.”
I felt as if I was mired in quicksand. “What?” I flicked my eyes to Oliver, floored. “You knew my parents?”
“I did.”
“Were you going to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“When you were ready.”
His answer caused my temper to fire on all cylinders. “I’ve been ready for twenty years.”
“No, you haven’t.” Oliver refused to back down. “You’re not even ready now. We don’t have time for this conversation. Renee is here to shove four more wraiths through the gate, if you haven’t figured that out for yourself. She’s building an army.”
“But ... why?”
Renee shrugged, seemingly unbothered. “Why not? You heard Oliver. My kind is almost extinct. If the paranormal world has its way, we’ll be completely extinct before another century ticks over. I won’t allow that to happen.
“I might not have seen the beginning of time — even I’m not that old — but I refuse to have my time ended by some arbitrary decision that lamia are dangerous,” she continued. “There was a time when we could’ve ruled the world. Now we’re forgotten. I’m going to change that, for me and the few who remain.”
“By creating an army of wraiths?” Even though the pieces were starting to fit together I couldn’t grasp all of it. “Do you think you can control them?”
“I already control them. Wraiths are mindless beings, even when given super strength like this one.” She poked the tallest wraith’s shoulder and grinned. “They can’t think for themselves. They need someone to do it for them. That’s where I come in.”
“And you think you can just order them around, make them do your bidding, and take over the world?” I’d heard better ideas on a Batman cartoon. “Are you the Joker now?”
“You don’t have to be condescending,” Renee shot back. “I understand that you don’t agree with my methods. That’s your right. We live in a free society, after all. That doesn’t mean I’ll put up with your mocking.”
“You’re going to kill us regardless. I might as well mock you.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way.” Renee’s tone turned innocent, smooth, as if she was about to offer me a pony. “You’re powerful — perhaps more powerful than you realize — and you’re an asset. We could work together. You could be my second in command.”
“Hold up.” Mason raised his hand and stepped in front of Renee, an obvious ploy to take control of the situation. “I’m in charge here. You’re my second in command.”
Renee shot him a withering look. “Who told you that?”
“Common sense,” Mason puffed out his chest, which seemed to be his usual stance, and fixed Renee with what could only be described as a haughty look. “You approached me with your plan, if I recall. You needed my help because I was the one with access to old magic books that talked about crossing over. You couldn’t have done this without me, which means I’m in charge.”
“Oh, please!” Renee rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable. While I did need the books, that doesn’t mean I needed you. I could’ve found what I was looking for through other means. I chose you because manipulation of a human ego machine is easy. All I had to do was tell you how great you were and you fell for everything I said.”
“That’s because I am great.”
“You’re a tedious little lump with limited intelligence and a pomposity that makes everyone around you uncomfortable,” she countered, her voice remaining calm, as if scolding a small child. “I kept you around because you make an excellent scapegoat. I mean ... who better to blame than the man who confiscated a roomful of hidden books and squirreled them away so others couldn’t see them? That’s so suspiciou
s ... and people will easily believe that you’re to blame for all of this.”
“Not for the body,” Oliver challenged. “Mason is a reaper. He can ferry the souls of the dead, but not raise their souls.”
“As you so kindly pointed out, they’re not focused on the body. They’ve paid almost no attention to it. I didn’t kill him, by the way. That was my friend.” She gestured toward the enhanced wraith, offering the creature a fond smile. “He didn’t realize he wouldn’t have to feed as much after his transformation. But he’s learning. That’s why he’s been helping me move extra souls through to the other side. He understands things better than he ever did because his brain has been enhanced, too.”
And that’s when the final piece slipped into place. “You’ve been killing people, increasing the soul count on the sly, because you want extra souls in the waiting room ... or whatever it’s called. The place right on the other side of the gate. They’re close, ready to be accessed, and you brought your friends to take advantage of that today.”
“Smart girl.” Renee beamed. “Souls feed wraiths, but we’re creating a species that is greater than wraiths. They need a charged essence. Souls don’t get that essence until they pass to the other side.”
“You see, this was all a theory we developed the past year,” Mason volunteered, his lips curving into a smug approximation of a “we know more than you do” smile. “Renee and I ran into each other at a conference, got to talking, and we realized we both had the same desire: to live forever.”
“You should simply watch Fame and live forever that way,” I suggested.
“I prefer our way.” Mason’s smile disappeared. “If the wraiths can absorb the essence and return to what they once were, only stronger, then we’ll be able to do the same. If Renee is stronger, she’ll ensure the lamia line doesn’t die out. If I’m stronger, well, the world will simply be able to enjoy my superior intelligence for a longer stretch of time. Who doesn’t want that?”
“I can think of a few billion people,” I said dryly as I glared at him. “What is wrong with you? I don’t agree with Renee, but I can see why she’s acting the way she is. She’s selfish and going to fail, but her reasoning probably feels sound in her freaky corner of the world.
Only The Lonely (A Death Gate Grim Reapers Thriller Book 1) Page 26
