A Hollow Cry (After Life Book 1)

by Bee Douglas

  “Does this look okay?” My jaw is clamped down tightly, my hands in fists. She honestly has the nerve to ask that. Her face falls as she looks at me. “It doesn’t, does it?”

  I am out of my seat and standing in front of her so quickly that she lets out a shocked gasp. Taking the risk, I reach out and run my fingertips along her silhouette. With the lack of bra, I can see the way her nipples pebble under my touch. My girl, ever responsive. “The only way you’re taking this dress off will be when it falls to floor right before I fuck you. Understand?”

  She nods, cheeks heated. That damn bottom lip slips under her bite, unraveling my restraint. I capture her mouth with my own. A sexy little noise slips out as I pull her close, letting her feel just what seeing her in that dress is doing to me.

  “Go sing so I can take you home,” I whisper in her ear, my voice thick with lust. She places a gentle kiss on my cheek before disappearing out the door to the stage.

  I take a few minutes to try and calm the fever she’s sparked. By the time I make it out to the crowd, Nora’s already on stage. Her voice a haunting, beautiful sound.

  After all this time, I’ve been able to catch onto the way she sings, taking the song into herself. Her eyes are always closed in the moments that she gets completely lost in the music. But tonight? Tonight is different. She has to focus on the souls of those sitting near the stage and toy with her hold on them. Yet another trick the witch asks of her. I want to know what’s been keeping the Banshee hidden. That way I can tell the witch to finally fuck off with all these experiments she’s been expecting. Everything she’s tried, Nora eventually succeeds in. There have been a few things that take her a bit longer to catch onto, while others she’s able to dive right into. This isn’t something we can exactly force, no matter how crunched we are for time.

  As much as the Accursed get under my skin, having an ally in Willow is something I am learning to be grateful for. As suspicions grow, the braver the Changelings have been getting. They can’t do anything, not without proof and valid reasoning. That doesn’t stop word and rumors from spreading like wildfire. Willow stopping by the other night had confirmed many of my fears. There have been informants running around the Playground. The holy guardians have been stooping low enough to take hold of the help from mortals. I want to be able to twist that as an insult, but I can’t. It’s not a matter of their lack of power. It’s smart - deviant. I never would have suspected them to use the easily tempted humans as spies. I’ve been wrapped up in proving the disloyalty of Reapers and demons that I didn’t think twice about them.

  “She’s doing well,” Royce comments. He and Yvette join me in a corner booth.

  The witch lets out a harumph. “But it’s still not good enough.”

  “She’s doing the best she can.” My temper snaps. No matter what she does or says, my patience is always thin when it comes to her.

  Leaning across the table, she levels her gaze with my own. Despite her youthful appearance, Yvette is hard. She has her own darkness stirring inside. “She’s weak.”

  If we didn’t need her as much as we do, I would’ve ended her by now. I would’ve taken her throat in my hands and watched as the last moments of life fled from her fucking eyes.

  “Did you see the weather’s supposed to be dropping a bit this weekend?” I can’t help but chuckle. Only Royce.

  “Well, there you are.” The sickenly sweet voice of Vivian sends a chill down my spine. She sits down beside me, slipping her arm through mine. “I haven’t heard from you in a couple days.”

  I pull away and lean back into the seat. “That’s because I haven’t called.” Royce doesn’t bother hiding his snicker, which only earns him a glare. She leans her body into mine. “Is there something you need?”

  “You always have what I need.” The way her hand slides across my thigh feels more like a serpent’s slither than a sensual touch. I grab her wrist, pushing it away. “What the fuck is your problem?”

  “I think you’re his problem,” Yvette’s bored tone answers her.

  “Sweetie, if I was his problem, he wouldn’t have called me just days ago.”

  “And yet, you aren’t the one that’s been keeping him satisfied.” The witch has a quick tongue, I’ll give her that.

  Vivian pins me with her stare. It would be an intimidating look to any prepubescent girl. But to me? It’s annoying. “Is that so?”

  “Run off and find yourself another play thing,” I chide. “I got what I needed out of you.”

  She lets out an overdramatic sound of insult, followed by her hand colliding with my cheek. It holds no comparison to the wrath Nora had once unleashed on me. Anger rises from the pit of my stomach, but I push it back. The lack of reaction only pisses her off more. Needless to say, she takes her leave quickly after that.

  Feeling the heavyweight of being watched, I look up and find Nora staring back at me. Even from where I sit, I can see the territorial heat that darkens her eyes. I’d be even more damned than I already am if I said that didn’t turn me on.

  “Get a room,” Yvette mumbles.

  As the music of a new song begins, Nora keeps my gaze as she sings. Her painted lips moving delicately around each word. “I plan on it.”

  ...

  My little Banshee barely makes it off the stage before I pull her tightly to me, drinking in her kiss. She paws at the base of my neck, trying to pull me closer - her need mirroring my own. The obnoxious vibration of my phone pulls me out of her spell.

  “Get changed,” I order between kisses.

  Pulling away, Nora swallows hard and gives a slight nod of her head. I let her slip down the hall to her dressing room, watching as her hips sway with every step she takes.

  “What?” I snap, bringing the phone to my ear.

  The sound of muffled static answers until Royce’s low voice flows through. “A Changeling is here.”

  “Don’t toy with me right now.”

  “I’m not,” he volleys. “It’s that fucker. The one with the long hair.”

  Pointing out that most of the holy ass kissers have long hair dares to slip from my mouth, but I bite back. “Lennox?” I hear more static, which only motivates me to reach Nora’s dressing room faster. She lets out a shriek, using the shirt in her hands to cover her bare upper half. Any other moment I would’ve taken the time and savored her skin, but not when she is in immediate danger. “Royce, where is he?”

  “He was out front,” he barely speaks above a whisper. “I don’t see him anymore though. I’m trying to get Yvette out of here without drawing his attention.”

  Ending the call, I grab at Nora as she slides the shirt over her head. My whole hand wraps around her petite wrist. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait!” She pulls, fighting against my urgency. “My stuff-”

  “Fuck your stuff!” Nora flinches. I didn’t mean for that to come out as harsh as it did, but, fuck, this girl always has to be so stubborn. I look her in the eye, doing my best to level my tone. “We need to go. Now.”

  Nodding, she swallows and says, “Okay.”

  I keep her close behind and rush back down the hall. Bypassing the stage entrance, I shove open the fire escape door. The air is crisp. The light of passing cars casts odd shadows down the alley. All-in-all though, the coast is clear.

  “Come on.” Nora squeezes my hand, keeping quiet.

  Just in reach of the end of the alley, a force plummets into my lower stomach, causing me to double over.

  “Kane, what-”

  “Let her go, Reaper.” That voice.

  A moment later, Lennox materializes. Nora nearly jumps out of her skin. I straighten up, ignoring the radiating pain, keeping her directly behind me.

  The cocky grin the Changeling wears slips from his face. “I said let her go.”

  Lennox. He’s always such a fucking prick.

  “You act like I take orders from you,” I spit.

  “When it comes to maintaining the wellbeing of mortal souls,” his voi
ce ever pompous, “you do take orders from me.”

  My laughter only makes Nora’s grip tighten around my arm. “Does she look like she’s hurt?”

  Lennox’s slow perusal over her makes me what to reach out and rid him of his ghostly eyes.

  “To cling as tightly as she does to a person as damned as you are, who’s to say what mental extortion you’ve used on her.”

  “He did-” I reach behind me, squeezing Nora’s thigh. As much as I love how feisty she can be, right now, she needs to remain quiet. Lennox’s eyes narrow in on the gesture.

  You’d think his ego would weigh him down, but the Changeling is extremely fast. His movements just as swift. Reaching out, he grabs for Nora, but he only gives me access to take hold of his arm. I twist it behind him, using my foot to push him away.

  He’s on his feet once more, making it seem as if I hadn’t done anything. Fuck his angelic speed. He produces a pale, glowing crystal, holding the sharpened end in a fighting stance. The scars along my body burn in its presence; some created by that very blade. Reaching down, I grab at the stone strapped to my ankle and pull it out. A menacing look flashes over his eyes. The last time I had to resort to using this, it was against an inexperienced Changeling. Lennox had been there to witness the aftermath. A sneer pulls at his face as he stared at the dagger-like stone.

  Lennox makes the first move, rushing at me with his teeth bared. I meet his advance, moving as far from Nora as I can. Head down, I barrel toward him.

  The impact of his body slamming against a brick wall causes the crystal to fall from his grip. He sends a knee into my side several times in retaliation.

  “Stop it!”

  I barely hear Nora’s sweet voice through the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Lennox takes advantage of the slight distraction by fisting his hands in my shirt and head butting me.

  Loud ringing chimes in my ear. Before I can get a handle on what had happened, my body is being launched into a dumpster, my skull breaking the fall.

  There are two Changelings headed for me.

  No. Just one.

  Lennox’s split form melds back into one the closer he gets. This allows me to grab hold of the fist arrowing at me. I grab it, pulling him down.

  At this point, I’m seeing red. Any thoughts roaming my conscience are gone - adrenaline taking over. I lose count of how many times my fists connects with his face. White mixing with a darker shade of red.

  The searing pain of his crystal slicing through my skin forces all my movements to seize; my shoulder feeling as if it caught fire. He pulls out his weapon just to slam it into my side. I cry out, unable to bear the pain. He uses the moment to push me over, scrambling out of my reach.

  I feel Nora’s scream before I hear it. A horrifying sound hurtles down the alley. Out of the narrowed slits of my eyes, I can see the Changeling’s body being launched several feet away.

  A cloud of black hazes over my vision. Pain radiates throughout my body. I grab at the blade still in my side. A benitoite crystal, one of the only things in the mortal world that can end a Reaper and that fucker jammed it in deep.

  Hands are on me.

  Beautiful red hair veils down.

  Nora.

  My fingers graze her cheek.

  A smear of blood across the angelic face.

  Her eyes frantic.

  A wave of pain.

  Pressure.

  A cry out.

  Then burning.

  Her hands pat my face. “Kane,” she says, “I need you to stand up. We need to go.”

  Her cheeks are wet.

  Tears.

  I hate when she cries.

  “Kane!” She shakes my body. “Please!”

  “Nora.”

  Darkness.

  25

  Nora

  Tears won’t stop falling. No many how many times I wipe at them, more and more just keep forming, overflowing, and then pouring down my face.

  Kane groans in pain.

  “Shhh,” I hush him, squeezing his hand a bit harder, letting him know I’m here. I run my fingers through his hair, doing my best to calm their shake. “How much longer?”

  Singh is doing the best he can. He’s always a careful driver. He obeys the speed limits and slows at the yellow light, not taking them as a dare to speed up. This is probably the most erratic I’ve ever seen him drive. “Four blocks.”

  I nod. A wave of hope rushes through me, causing more tears to form.

  The shadow of Royce’s body is waiting outside for our arrival. It’s yet another reason I’m grateful for their driver. He called him as soon as he we got Kane’s body in the backseat. Before Singh even puts the car in park, Royce has the door open.

  “Careful!” My voice is a frantic mess.

  Royce eases him out of the car, causing more groans to come from Kane. I slip his arm over the back of my shoulder, helping to get him inside. Kane’s dead weight is terribly heavy. All those muscles turn to pure lead. I keep my hand pressed against the worst of the two wounds, steadying the dagger. No matter how easy we are, the stone shoved in his side just keeps bleeding.

  When the elevator doors open to the apartment, Willow and Yvette are already there. They had pushed all the living room furniture to the edges. A sheet is lain out on the floor with a bunch of medical supplies.

  “Lay him down,” Yvette instructs.

  Kane’s face is tense with pain. A sheen of sweat has formed on his skin. This isn’t Kane. He’s always strong and overpowering. Seeing him like this scares the shit out of me.

  Yvette cuts his shirt off of him. Every other wound or bruise has healed, except for where the blade pierced him. Blood stains the sheet all around him, still pouring from around the hilt.

  “Fuck,” Royce mutters, pacing where he stands.

  Willow kneels down, wrapping her hand around the crystal and tugging it out.

  “What the fuck are you doing?!” I cry, dropping down and placing my hand over the wound. “Are you trying to kill him?”

  Blood pools through my fingers. Bile rises in the back of my throat. I grab some gauze bandages and press down with them.

  Willow takes the weapon and tosses it in the sink. The sound of it hitting the metal bottom echoes. “That was doing more harm than good.”

  “We don’t know if it nicked anything vital!”

  “Reapers can’t touch that. It can kill them. The crystal burns through their flesh,” she says.

  I glance up at Royce, who nods. Even so, I bite down on my tongue to keep from saying anything else. A metallic taste fills my mouth.

  “Turn him.”

  Royce comes over and helps Yvette move him onto his side. The wound on his shoulder isn’t bleeding nearly as bad.

  I reach for the bottle of saline and pour it over the area. “It’s not healing.” The gash on his forehead from landing against the dumpster has already healed up. I envy the fast recovery time that Reapers are blessed with.

  “It won’t,” Royce says.

  I try and keep my nerve steady. Pointing to the first aid kit, I tell Willow to grab me something I can use to stitch. Thankfully, she pulls out a suture kit. “I need you to thread the needle,” I tell her. “My hands are shaking too bad.”

  She doesn’t say anything, but immediately gets to work. After a few tries, she hands it over to me, the needle ready. I stare at the wound, looking for the best way to stitch it up, but I can’t. It’s as if all my training has vanished inside my mind.

  “Hurry!”

  Yvette’s order pulls my head from out of my ass. Pinching the skin together, I begin stitching. I place gauze over the area once I’m finished.

  “Roll him back,” I say, handing the needle to Willow once more. I drench his side in saline, which causes Kane to gasp.

  His eyes flutter open. They stare at the ceiling and close just as fast. “Nora.” My name a ghost of a whisper on his lips.

  A sob wracks through my body. I slap my hand over my mouth, trying to calm my n
erves. My cries keep coming though. Royce reaches out and takes my other hand.

  “I-I can’t,” I stutter.

  “It’s okay,” Willow says. “I can take over.”

  Nodding, I step away. My knees are weak. I lean against the closest wall and sink to the floor. Arms wrap around me, only making my body shake more.

  ...

  Over an hour later, we’re able to stop the bleeding. With all the gauze and blood, the living room looks like a murder scene. Thankfully though, that’s not the case. There were no deaths. Kane’s alive. Barely, but that’s not what matters. He’s still here. He’s with me.

  The three of them keep reassuring me that they’ll watch over him while I shower. I don’t want to leave him alone. I fear what might happen if I even step out of the room. But I need to clean myself up; blood covers my clothes and skin. I peel off all the clothes I’m wearing and pile them on the floor of the bathroom. While the water runs, I catch my reflection in the mirror. Blood coats my arms and face. Kane’s blood. The makeup I was wearing leaves trails down my cheeks from all the tears I cried.

  It takes a while for the shower water to run clear. As I practically scrub my skin raw, I cry. Harder than the first night Kane brought me to the apartment. Harder than when I killed that woman. We had been attacked and Kane nearly died. And I choked. I couldn’t finished sewing up his would. If it hadn't been for Willow’s steady hands or the powder concoction Yvette applied to the closed wounds, he would’ve bled out. And it would've been all my fault. Kane told me so many times before that he fears he’ll taint me, or that I’ll be hurt while in his care. That’s not the case though. It’s all because of me that he almost lost his second life. I almost killed him.

  “Nora?” Willow’s voice breaks through the sound of the running water.

  “Yes?” I answer, attempting to hide the hoarse tone of my voice. “I’ll be out in a minute.”