The Artifact Reaper Saga Box Set

by Jen L. Grey

  “Ugh.” I open my eyes and grit my teeth.

  “No luck?” Charlie’s forehead is wrinkled and he’s running his finger along his coffee cup brim.

  “Dammit. It’s like it’s completely protected or warded against me.” How is that possible?

  He glances down at his clock and cringes. “I hate to do this, but I have to get down to the tutoring center.”

  Now I’m making him late for work. “No, it’s fine. I have to go help a lawyer find a client to serve papers to anyways.” I try to smile but I’m sure it falls short. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Yeah, be safe, okay?” He stands up and touches my shoulder when he walks by.

  “Of course.” At least I always try to be. Life has a funny way of making that difficult. “You, too.”

  His footsteps recede and soon I hear the door open and then close.

  I pick up my drink and take another large sip. I better get going. This particular lawyer is an older one and he doesn’t like to wait.

  At least the woman he was serving papers to was too shocked at being found she didn’t cause a scene. The lawyer had been trying to serve his client’s wife divorce papers for the past week. He had found out she was having an affair, but she vanished. Of course, that's why I was called. I was able to track her down to a remote house right on the outskirts of town with her lover and the lawyer got to hand deliver the documents.

  For once, he didn’t ask any questions and went with the flow. He handed me several one hundred-dollar bills which I’m not going to complain about. I need the money. As expected, the money hadn’t come through from the council. They are going to wait until I get the Angel’s Breath.

  I turn on the road which will take me back to the apartment when my phone rings. I answer it without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”

  “Good afternoon, Christina.” Margaret’s voice startles me. “I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

  Yeah, right. “Nope, you didn’t.” Two can play this game.

  “Oh, good.” She takes a small breath. “I hate to inconvenience you, but we need you to come to the mansion right away. Can you be here in the next thirty minutes?”

  This is one reason why I can’t stand them. They expect everyone to be at their beck and call. I’m already on their shit list, so of course I can’t say no. I grit my teeth but force out a pleasant tone. “Of course. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

  “Great,” She chuckles. “I knew I could count on you.” Then she hangs up.

  Count on me my ass. Maybe one day I can shove something up it instead. I turn on the next road changing my course to the god-awful place.

  All too soon, I’m turning into the driveway of the brownstone mansion. No matter how hard I fight it, I always wind up back here. I pull around the circular driveway and stop in front of the front door. I turn off the car and take some deep breaths to calm myself. I can’t let them get the best of me. They are only trying to since they have full control over the situation. I get out of the car and find a butler waiting for me with the front door open.

  He stomps his foot. “Will you please hurry?”

  Wow, someone here doesn’t have patience. “Yeah, sorry.”

  Not even acknowledging my apology, he turns and leads me down the long hall and into the same sitting room as the other day. The green wallpaper shines bright in the noon sunlight that hits it just so.

  The door from the other side of the room opens before the butler even has a chance to the leave. Margaret walks in with a long face. “I’m sorry I had to call you in on such short notice, but we have an issue.”

  My skins crawls. This can’t end well for me. “What’s the problem?”

  “There has been a complication.” She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose.

  Shit. I don’t want to know but I have a feeling I’m going to find out. However, I stay silent. Maybe if I don’t ask, I can stay blissfully unaware?

  She lets out a breath and raises her head. “There is a man who retired that held a very important ledger that kept record of some very important transactions. We had his son steal it from him. He was supposed to bring it to us today and pledge his loyalty to us, but it somehow was removed while he was away.” She walks toward me, her eyes burning into mine. “I need you to find it and bring it to me.”

  Oh, no. That’s the ledger I stole back for my client. Of course, my day job would wind up interfering with this one. I’m going to have to be more careful on what jobs I take. “Okay, I’m on it.”

  A smirk crosses her face. “Good. I knew I could count on you.”

  Goosebumps pop up all over my body. I hate they have this effect on me, but there is something evil hidden inside them. “I’ll be back soon.”

  I can feel her eyes on me as I turn and head out the door. I’ve got to get out of here fast.

  Desperate to get out, I beeline out of the house avoiding eye contact with the butler at the front. I get in the car and have it started before my butt hits the seat. I’ve got to get to this guy’s house and get this over with. I can’t believe I’m the one who created this disaster.

  Needing to get this issue resolved, I drive faster than normal to the client’s house. Soon I’m pulling up at his house and jump out of the car. Not in the mood to deal with pleasantries, I check to see if the door is locked and grin when the knob turns. At least one thing is going for me. I take a step forward and slam into something hard which causes me to stumble back.

  What the hell? There isn’t anything there blocking my path. That doesn’t make sense. I reach out and my fingertips touch some boundary that can’t be seen. Holy crap. I’m blocked from this house. This can’t be happening.

  The door is now wide open, so I knock on the frame. “Paul. Sir. I need to talk to you.” I pause for a second and don’t hear anything, so I knock even louder. Dang it. He has to be here. He wouldn’t just leave his door unlocked, would he?

  Footsteps echo down the hall from inside the house.

  Thank goodness. I lay my head on the frame for a second. I almost thought he either wasn’t here or was going to ignore me.

  A dark-skinned man walks out into the foyer. His short black hair is neat, and his dark black eyes are cold. “How may I help you?”

  He’s a freaking witch, not a reaper. That’s how I’m blocked. “I need to come inside for a moment. I’m a friend of Paul’s.”

  “A friend, huh?” His dark eye arches and his head tilts. “I don’t believe that.”

  “Well, I worked for him.” I can’t get a read on this guy and I need to get in. “I left something behind and need to get it.”

  “I’m sorry.” He shrugs and crosses his arms. “But I can’t let you in. I’m sure whatever you left couldn’t be that important.”

  Shit, I can’t admit it is that important. That will only make him that much more curious. “No, but it’s my mother’s.” I bounce on my leg. “I took it without permission.”

  He lifts his chin and looks down at me. “Aren’t you a little too old to be stealing things from your mother?” He takes a step toward me and bends at the waist, so we are eye to eye. “You will not be removing anything from this house. Do I make myself clear?” He lifts a hand up like he might cast a spell. “Or should I extend the barrier further?”

  “No, I got it.” I take a step back and head to the car. I don’t know what’s going on, but it appears I won’t be getting that book back. I better come clean to the elders before they take this out on my parents as well.

  I head back to the mansion and my stomach drops when the brownstone mansion comes into view. This is it. We’re going to see how this goes. I might wind back up in the dungeon before it’s all said and done.

  Fine, it doesn’t matter the consequence. It’s time to face the music. I force myself out of the car and to the door. I raise my hand to knock when it opens.

  “Please follow me.” The butler turns on his heels and begins speed walking down the hall.
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  Well, okay then. They were expecting me. I follow behind and am not surprised when he takes me back to the green wallpapered sitting room I’m now getting accustomed to. However, this time Margaret is already there. It’s almost like she hadn’t left from earlier.

  She’s sitting on the couch with her legs crossed. She lays her hands on her knee. “Well?”

  This is it. The time to come clean. My stomach rolls and my saliva turns salty. If I don’t rush the words out now, I’m not going to. “I couldn’t get the ledger.”

  Stiffening, she straightens her shoulders and sits taller. “Why?”

  “I was blocked.” I glance away and sigh. “I was the one who stole the ledger and gave it back to the man. He was one of my clients.” I force myself to look at her but she’s unreadable. “I didn’t realize I was meddling in council business. I’m sorry.” My heart sputters and I’m afraid it may just stop beating. At least if that happens, maybe I won’t have to deal with any of this any longer. What’s most surprising is her silence is worse than me spilling my guts.

  “Well done.” She nods. “I almost didn’t think you’d pass, but you did.”

  Wait. “Was this a test?” This has to be some kind of joke.

  “It’s true we didn’t want the ledger to get back in Paul’s hands, but we took care of it.” An evil grin spreads across her face. “But the fact you admitted to your involvement makes me very happy.” She stands and bites her lip. “Now that you trusted me with something, I’m going to trust you.”

  I’m not sure if I want to know what she’s going to tell me, but at this point, it’s not like I can leave. So, I stay silent.

  “I’m not so different than you.” She narrows her eyes and looks up. “We both are what you call a finder.”

  Despite my best effort, I’m intrigued. I’ve wondered for so long why I’m different. Maybe I’m going to get some answers, but I don’t want her to know how interested I am.

  Her eyes gleam and she threads her arm through mine as if we are conspirators. “Besides the council, you are the only reaper to know it. But I can find items just like you.” She leans in and lowers her voice. “I can even help you find your way around shields and wards.”

  She can show me a way I could have gotten into the house earlier today? There is no way. There has to be a trick. But what if she’s telling the truth? “What will it take for you to train me?”

  “My dear,” She reaches up and touches my face, “all it will take is your loyalty.”

  Her touch is like death and what she is asking is too much. I don’t trust them. There is something off with them even though I can’t put my finger on it. Why would she hide her abilities from everyone and make my life so hard? “Okay, if you can see around shields and wards, where is the crystal?” This is what they have against my parents. Let me right this for them.

  “You have not earned the right to know where the crystal is yet.” She takes a few steps back and her warmth vanishes. “There is a lot you have left to prove before we get there.” Her phone buzzes and she pulls it out and glances at it. “I have somewhere else I need to be, so I will let you know when you’re needed again.” She turns and walks out.

  So, the whole reason she called me over to the mansion is to perform that little test? Who the hell does she think she is?

  Chapter Eight

  I slam the door as I get into my car. I’m so tired of being jerked around by the council. There has to be something that will give us the leg up, but we just need to figure out what that is. I’m just so tired of them being the ones who pull the strings.

  For some reason, I realize I’m heading towards my parents’ house. That’s the last place I thought I’d seek comfort, but I guess it’s still my childhood home. Within minutes, I’m pulling into the grand neighborhood that now feels a little foreign to me and up to the large white house that has been in the family for centuries.

  There is a large For Sale sign in the yard that looks foreign. I bet if you searched records, you couldn’t find the last time this place had been sold. It was that long ago. A couple comes out of the house. The man is older, dressed in a tailored black suit and the woman is at least twenty years younger than him, dressed in a Versace dress. The realtor is a woman dressed in a sundress pointing to the community tennis court across the street.

  Not wanting to talk to them, I stop at the curb of the house and dial my mom’s number. It goes straight to voicemail. Dammit. Where are they? I glance back up and see the couple getting into a Z3 BMW. Well, I might as well just wait. I’m sure the realtor knows where they moved to.

  As soon as they are out of the driveway, I step out of the car. “Excuse me.”

  The realtor frowns when she sees me. “Uh… yes?”

  “Is anyone else coming?” Oh, yeah. I’m sure she’s not suspicious.

  “I’m sorry, I have no clue what you’re talking about. But I’m in a rush.” She turns to head back into the house.

  “No, wait.” I’m coming off like a crazy person. In my defense, I’m pretty close to being one at this point. “I’m Frank and Janice’s daughter.”

  She pauses and turns around. Her eyes scan me and up down. “Oh… yes. I see it.” Her nose wrinkles. “What can I do for you?”

  This is going great. “Are my parents home?”

  “Oh … no. They’ve moved.” She shakes her head. “Of course, you didn’t know. You’re too busy running around causing chaos, but at least I’ll be getting a huge commission check, so I guess I should thank you.”

  A sudden urge to slap her courses through me. If I did, how much trouble would I get in? I mean … it couldn’t be that big of a deal, right?

  “Here, I have their address somewhere.” She leaves me outside and walks into the kitchen.

  I hurry up and follow her inside.

  She opens her roll away file cabinet. She digs through a few files and pull outs a manila envelope. “Here it is.”

  Well, I better not slap her. I clasp my hand hard to prevent it from striking out against my will. I’ve already caused too much of a scene and leaving without their address would cause even more rumors. So, I’m going to grin and bear it for a minute longer. She’s trying to be helpful, right? “Thank you.”

  “No problem, dear.” She glances at her watch. “Well, my next couple should be here any minute, so do you need anything else?”

  Oh, hell no. I’ve got to get out of here and fast. “Nope, thanks. I’ll be on my way.” I turn around and rush back to the car.

  As soon as I slide in, a car pulls into the driveway. Whew. I missed them by the skin of my teeth. I turn around in the neighborhood, close my eyes, and lock in on my parents using my abilities.

  I pull up to their new place within ten minutes. Instead of more of the historic vibe of our old place, their new living area is more modern. There are no large trees around, but the grass is cut short and trimmed with a nice neighborhood sign that says Ridgecut. There is shrubbery all around it.

  When I drive into the neighborhood, it takes me a second, but I notice that they are all duplexes. Granted they are all nice, two story brick buildings, but broken up for two families to occupy. Each half has their own two car garage.

  My phone guides me to one of the sections in the back and I pull into the driveway. I pull into the section on the right and climb out of the car. I head up to the house and ring the door.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have come. They didn’t tell me they moved after all. Just when I’m about to give up, the front door opens.

  Mom’s eyes widen. “Christina, what are you doing here?”

  Shit, I shouldn’t have come. They don’t want me here. “I … sorry. I tried calling.” Why did I think this was a good idea? “I was just worried. I wanted to check on you.”

  “Worried?” She places a hand on her hip and her blonde hair is wild. Dark circles sag under her eyes. “If you were worried, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.”

  Yeah, this was a bad idea
. I take a few steps back. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll just get going.” I turn around. I can’t believe I came here.

  A hand grabs my arm. “Please, don’t go.”

  I still. This is new, but is this some kind of new trick?

  “Look, I’m stressed.” She steps out of the house and in front of me. “And I snapped, taking it out on you.” She takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

  Did she just apologize to me? Like for real? Is this a dream? I reach over and pinch myself hard. Shit that hurt. So… I’m awake. This is weird.

  “We’ve been unpacking all day,” She rubs both hands down her face, “Don’t even get me started on it. It has not been fun and I’m just tired and over it.”

  I snort. I can’t help it.

  “Ugh, I know.” She taps her foot. “Would you like to come in for a minute?”

  After how our interaction started, I wasn’t expecting this. “Sure.”

  A small smile spreads across her face. “Okay, great. Come on. Your dad’s in the living room.”

  Wait… Did my mom just seem happy to have me agree to come inside? I almost feel as if I’m in another dimension. I follow her inside. The duplex has sea gray walls and the floors are a walnut. It has an open floor plan and my eyes narrow on my dad who’s sitting on the large sectional leather couch that was in the den at home that they’ve placed in front of a white tiled fireplace.

  Dad’s leaning over a box digging through clothes. He shakes his head. “What the hell?” He turns his head our direction and he startles. “Christina, what are you doing here?”

  “Oh… well…” Even if mom wants me here, maybe Dad doesn’t.

  “She came to check on us.” Mom’s forehead creases and she tilts her head.

  His eyebrows lift. “Really?”

  Why are they so surprised? They are my parents. “Yeah, I mean things have been weird with the council and all. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Shit, why did I bring the council up?