She stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of red wine out of the cabinet where she kept her liquor. She filled her biggest wine glass almost to the brim and then lifted the bottle and took a long pull directly from that.
The wine would help, but it sure as hell wouldn’t make what just happened go away and right now, that was all she wanted. If only she could turn back time and do all of that over again, she would have never followed Dan into the cemetery.
She pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table, setting both the wine glass and bottle in front of her. Burying her face in her hands, she tried to think about every word that Dan had said to her.
If they weren’t telling the truth, why would they be walking around the cemetery? They lived in the cemetery, for crying out loud, and their father’s parents had lived there before them. Maybe they truly, truly believed the lie that they had been living. Maybe it had been told to them so many times that they actually believed they were protectors of souls.
They were always a weird bunch, but she never would have thought that an entire family, maybe even their parents and grandparents, would actually be crazy. This was straight out of some horror movie or something.
And David, he was a cop and he was with Hannah, did he know about all of this? If he knew about it, was he just okay with his girlfriend being a killer … or worse, was he a killer, too?
“Oh, good lord.” She lifted her glass and drank half the contents.
These Reapers they had mentioned, they were supposed to feed on the souls. Seriously, seeing ghosts was one thing, but trying to convince her that there were people out there who ate souls to survive, that was completely ridiculous.
A knock sounded at her door. She looked toward the door but didn’t move to answer it.
“Reese,” Dan called from the other side and pounded on the wood again. “Reese, please open the door.”
“Go to hell!” she hollered at him instead of staying with her initial thought to ignore him.
“Open the door,” he said, calmer this time.
“Nope.”
“Okay, I’m coming in anyway then.”
She stood, her chair sliding out as she did. “You go right ahead and try that and you will find out what happens.” She hurried over to her purse and opened it. Reaching in, she found her pepper spray.
He was picking the lock, she could hear him doing it. She positioned herself several feet in front of the door, held her can up, arms extended and poised to use it on him when he entered the house.
Dan finally freed the door from its lock and pushed it open.
“This is your last chance,” Reese warned him. “I don’t want to have to use this on you, so just turn around and leave.”
“Go ahead.” Dan took a step toward her. “I can take it.”
“Stop there.”
Another step and then he lunged toward her, quickly grabbing the pepper spray and twisting so that she was forced to release it. “If that was anyone but me, I would hope that you would have enough in you to actually fire it before they got that close.” He set the can on the table by the door.
“I don’t want you here.” Against her will, her voice wavered.
“I know,” he whispered. “I know, but I need to be here to help you understand.”
And then, she looked up into his eyes and saw genuine truth there. She felt her own eyes well up and tears began to slip from the corners, running down her cheeks. Dan moved toward her, reaching out to wipe the wetness off of her cheek. She wanted to flinch away, to run, to fight. Instead, she did nothing but stand there.
“Why are you crying?” he asked in a whisper.
She sniffed. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
“It’s okay, I promise.” He reached out with his other hand and then brought her toward him, embracing her tightly against his chest.
Reese didn’t resist, she actually felt better once his arms were around her and she could hear the beating of his heart beneath his tee shirt. “I just … I thought I knew you.”
“You do,” he assured her. “This doesn’t change as much as you think it does.”
“How can it not? You are killers … murderers.”
“Listen, Reese.” He pulled her away just enough so that he could look into her eyes. “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I’ve never killed anyone, but up until a few months ago, we rarely saw a Reaper in this town. We have only killed if we are defending our own lives. Hannah was attacked and killed a Reaper who most certainly would have murdered her first. We were attacked several times by large groups of Reapers with guns and knives. Aiden’s elderly friend was kidnapped, Lucy was kidnapped … do you see what I mean? We have to defend ourselves or we will die.”
“I don’t know.” Reese sobbed. “I can’t handle this right now. I feel like everything I’ve ever known about you has been fabricated.”
He shook his head, his big brown eyes filled with intensity as he stared down at her. “I hated lying to you. Before, it was no big deal, but since those Reapers were in the bar that night, I knew that eventually you would find out about us. I didn’t want it to be like this, though.”
“And David, is he a … Keeper?”
Dan shook his head. “No, David can occasionally see the spirits, though. We only told him what we are recently. It was like you’re situation. Different, but sort of the same. The biggest reason we told him was because Hannah wants to make a life with him, and she didn’t want to go any further with that if she had to base their life on a lie. She had to tell him for them to stay together.”
“And he just … believed you?”
Dan smiled ruefully. “Yes and no. We took him into the graveyard to tell him and he was open enough to it that he was able to see and hear the souls, particularly my father, who is stuck in the cemetery until god knows when. But, that was all it took for him to believe, now he is one of the team.”
Even though she enjoyed the comfort of Dan’s arms around her, she pulled away and crossed the room to the dining table. Lifting her glass, she downed a large sip of wine and then turned back to Dan. “Now, what about Jack and Aiden?”
She hadn’t been sure she would want to know any more of this. She was still far from believing anything he had to tell her, but the more information she got, the more she could attempt to understand, at least.
“Jack and Aiden are Reapers.”
Well, now that was unexpected. “But aren’t Reapers bad?”
Dan nodded. “Usually. Keepers and Reapers are born enemies, so there is something in the chemical makeup of our bodies that causes a burn when one … species, I guess we could all them, touches the other. Now, Jack and Lucy are different. None of us know why, but they don’t have the burn when they touch. It’s just not there.”
“So, they fell in love because there isn’t a burn between them?”
“No, they fell in love because they had no choice. The moment they saw each other, there was no question. Jack would protect her with his life. He has done that and will continue to do so. It’s almost like they imprinted on each other or something.” He paused. “Not that imprinting is a thing with Keepers or Reapers, it’s just an example.”
Trying hard to take this all in and give him the benefit of the doubt, Reese let out a long, low breath. “Okay. Aiden and Liv?”
Dan shook his head. “You’re guess is as good as mine. I don’t really care for the guy, but he’s proved himself to us and Liv truly cares about him. They have the burn, so I really don’t know … don’t want to know how they get around that.”
Reese thought for a moment and then crinkled her brow. “Neither do I.”
“It’s all a long story. There is a hierarchy of Reapers and Jack’s mom is the Empress. Jack has renounced all claim to his Reaper heritage and has become one of us. Aiden was basically kicked out for helping us, so he’s on our side now, too.”
“My god,” Reese whispered. “This is a fucking fantasy story.”
<
br /> Dan shook his head. “No it’s not. A fantasy would have some good shit, like magic wands and fairies that grant wishes or something that would give us an upper hand.”
Reese jumped when a knock echoed through the house. Who in the world could be here at this hour?
“I’ll get it.” Dan held his hand out for her to stay seated. She nodded and let him, taking the opportunity to refill her wine glass.
When he opened the door, Lucy was on the other side. She was wearing pink yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt. Her dark red hair was tied up into a messy bun with a few strands hanging down. In her arms, clutched against her chest, she held a large, leather bound book.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DAN
Dan was as surprised as Reese to see Lucy standing on the other side of the door. He could tell that she had woke and hurried right over. He hoped that Reese could see that his family truly cared about her.
“Hey Luce, what are you doing here?”
Lucy shifted her eyes downward, toward the book. “I heard what happened, and I wanted to help.”
“Come on in.” Reese beckoned her inside. “I’d offer you wine, but you’re drinking for two, so …”
Lucy flashed Dan a concerned look and entered the apartment. “I don’t need anything. Thank you, though.” She crossed the room to the dining table where Reese was currently refilling the wine glass again.
Dan closed the door and joined them. Lucy set the large tome down on the table and pointed to the name on the front. “See this. This is a record of the Estmond family Keepers. Some of it is in other languages, but some entries are in English.” She pushed the book toward Reese, “Go ahead and take a look if you want.”
Reese appeared interested, examined the cover of the book with its emblem and the Estmond name. She flipped it open and stared down at the aging pages before her. Lucy leaned over and helped her turn to the entry that their great-grandmother had written. “This entry is from our great-grandmother and describes the prophecy.”
Silently, Reese read the handwritten words that had been penned by their ancestor. Dan leaned back in his chair and watched Reese’s facial expressions as read. She remained serious and flat, so he was unable to decipher how she was feeling as she worked her way to the end.
Finally, she finished and tore her eyes away from the pages. “Okay, this helps, but …”
“Do you believe in ghosts?” Lucy asked before Reese could get any further.
Reese nodded. “Well yes, but apparently not like you guys do. I have never seen anything or have any reason to believe they exist.”
“Then how do you know they do?”
“I just do,” Reese told his sister. “Like, how one believes in God, I just know that they are there.”
Lucy nodded, understanding what Reese was saying. “Okay, so you know they are there. How hard is it to believe that someone can actually see them? We were born this way, Reese. We didn’t ask to be born into a legacy that has an enemy. We didn’t ask to have to give up friendships, possible love lives, careers and so much more … we were given this birthright and it isn’t something we can just ignore.”
Reese looked from Lucy to Dan and then back to his sister. “I can see how all that would be difficult, in your situation.”
Dan pulled out his flask and opened it. “It’s been more than difficult in some ways.”
Reese met his gaze and something clicked into place. “Anna?” she asked.
A quick nip from his flask was the only answer Dan could manage at the moment. Lucy reached across the table and yanked it from his grip. “Dan, you need to tell her.”
“Hey!” He tried to grab it back from her but she leaned back and held it out of reach. “No, this is important. Tell your story, brother.”
He didn’t want to talk about it. Talking about it brought back fresh memories of the ones that had faded over time. After letting out a long sigh, Dan focused on Reese, who met his stare and held it. “Anna was a Keeper as well. She didn’t live here at first. I met her by chance at a mall in Santa Rosa. I knew she was a Keeper, because we can tell another when we see one. Anyway, I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. I know, that’s for fairy tales and usually total bullshit, but I loved her … so much.
“We dated and then she moved here. I don’t want to talk about all of that, but in the end, it was being a Keeper that got her killed.”
Dan paused, his eyes stung and his leg wouldn’t quit tapping the floor. “In Summer Hollow, we have never had a lot of Reapers to deal with. It’s an ‘on occasion’ thing. The cities have a full time job in their graveyards. Ours we patrol, but it’s usually for nothing. In the past, when we see a Reaper, its unspoken law that we do our best not to kill. Silver weakens them, so we use blades, but killing has always been avoided if possible.
“The Reapers don’t go by these rules. However, they do try and keep a low profile, which means we stay off the grid of regular people and don’t kill because it is not only wrong, but too much work to cover up. So, both sides pretty much obeyed these unspoken laws.
“But, some didn’t.
“Anna had her own little house. I bought mine shortly after we got engaged and she was actually in the process of moving in when she … when … when it happened. I don’t know why, I will absolutely never know. Maybe there was bad blood from something that had happened before she met me. Maybe her family had some issues with these Reapers, or maybe it was chance and they followed her back to her house.
“She didn’t answer my text messages. She didn’t answer my calls. I started to get worried because we were supposed to have dinner in the city that night. So, I went over to her apartment and let myself in.
“She …” Dan choked and paused, tearing his eyes away from Reese and turning to face the wall. “She was gone. Broken and bloody on the floor. Stabbed seven times.”
He turned back to face them, unwanted tears streaming down his cheeks. “Seven times!”
Reese’s hand flew to her lips, covering her shocked expression. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.”
Lucy reached over and tried to grip his hand. Dan didn’t want comfort, though. He wanted to run, to hide, and to drink the images of her away from his memory. “She was murdered. I don’t know why and I never will. My grandparents were killed by Reapers as well, in a gas station, and it was played off as a robbery gone wrong.”
“Dan,” Reese began softly. “I had no idea. When we heard about Anna, all that was reported was that she was killed trying to fight someone who broke into the apartment.”
“I know what they reported,” he told her. “Basically, it was correct. There was no way you could have known the secret part of it.”
“So you see,” Lucy explained. “We live a dangerous life and now, the entire Reaper society is gunning for us because of this prophecy. I am the Chosen One, which means they want me most, but they are after the entire family … and apparently anyone who seems close to us.”
“Good lord.” Reese buried her face in her hands. “This is so much more than I ever imagined when I wanted you guys to tell me what was going on. I get it, why you would lie or refuse to tell me.”
Dan wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. His face felt hot and he knew that he was flushed. This was straight up embarrassing, he’d never broken down in front of anyone except his parents and his siblings.
Lucy closed the book and then stood, bringing the book with her. “Well, I hope this helps. I just wanted you to know that we aren’t liars and we aren’t murderers. Living, being who we are, it’s harder than hell, and we have sacrificed more than most to protect those who have passed on from losing their souls forever. Once a Reaper gets a soul, it’s gone. Done.”
“Thank you.” Reese stood, joining Lucy. “I’m glad you came.”
“I have to go back home now. Call if you need anything.” She glanced at Dan. “Either of you.”
“We will.” Reese assured her. She walked Lucy to the door and let he
r out, then closed and bolted the door behind her.
By the time Lucy had gone, Dan had gotten his shit together and stopped bawling. “Okay, you can be pissed all you want. I know it’s been a long night, but I’m not going anywhere until I feel like you are safe again.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
She nodded. “I said okay. Now get some sleep. I’m going to bed for a couple hours.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
REESE
She still didn’t know what to think. However, one thing she did know was that thinking an entire family was crazy was just … well, it was crazy.
Exhausted was too mild a word for how she felt at the moment, physically and emotionally. Although she was this tired, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Everything that had been revealed to her earlier spun circles in her head and would not allow her to rest.
It had been horrifying to hear how Dan found Anna. Regardless of who did the killing, no one should have to see their loved one like that. Reese knew that it had been a break-in and that Anna had been stabbed, but really there was nothing more than that in the papers or on T.V. Seeing him as he described it hurt her heart. She had understood his pain before, but hearing him and watching him tell it had really driven it home.
What in the world was she going to do? She had no clue if she believed Dan and the rest of them or not. But, at the same time, her lie detector had not gone off and, as she had repeatedly screamed at Dan, she was a bartender, she could tell when people were lying.
Also, they obviously cared about her or they wouldn’t be going through this much trouble to make sure that she was protected. Perhaps it was time that she let go of the mistrust and gave them the benefit of the doubt.
Her eyes lids began to feel heavy as fatigue took over. The glowing rays of morning light had just begun to stream in from the window in her room when she finally, blessedly, fell asleep.
Later that morning her eyes popped open and she sat up with a start. It had to be late … she needed to get her ass out of bed. A glance at the clock told her it was indeed late, but not as late as she thought. It was nearly noon and she had to open the bar in a couple hours. “Shit.” She tossed the covers aside and stumbled sleepily across her room.
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