by J. L. Weil
We might have stayed spellbound if Ivy hadn’t stepped between us, breaking our gaze. Death stood at her side, strong, dependable, and authoritative. Ivy’s sable hair fell straight and sleek down her back. She placed a kiss on each of my cheeks before framing my face with her slender hands. “If there is anything I can do for you, Piper, don’t hesitate to ask. You’re family.”
I gave a short nod, a lump of emotion clogging my throat.
After that I made sure to look anywhere but in the direction where Zane stood. I recognized a few faces among the small group. Zach and Zoe were there. Zach caught my eye, giving me a wink. He looked as he always did, like he was up to no good.
The funeral procedures for the White Raven were supposed to be extravagant. In a sense, she had been their queen, and her ceremony should have been fit for royalty with an abundance of flowers, live music, and a precession a mile long, not this simple, small gathering done in secret.
I glanced down at the inside of my wrist, and there lay the proof of who I was. Glowing softly in white, a raven with his wings spread in flight.
Our small group gathered in a semicircle around Raven Hallow cemetery. TJ squirmed in the seat beside me, and I understood. Too many eyes. Too many memories. Too many old feelings drudged up.
I surveyed my surroundings, thinking about my life, anything but death. Off to either side of the extensive grounds were two giant statues of an ancient king and queen, reaper monarchs no doubt. The stone statues loomed vigilantly, like they were protecting the dead. It was a comforting thought.
My eyes lingered on the statues for a long time before I turned back to Roarke, who was finishing his final words. The sun had started sinking down over the horizon, but the day’s heat still hung in the air. It was a short and sweet tribute and gave both TJ and me a chance to say our good-byes. I stood, legs shaky, clutching a long stem white rose between my fingers.
I approached her casket, donned in jewels and an inscription, words I didn’t understand. I ran a finger over the smooth surface, unsure of myself. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” I whispered, feeling foolish for talking to her casket, but I knew she was here. Her body might not longer breath life, but her spirit lived, and knowing Rose, she was probably listening. Or I hoped. “But I’m willing to learn now, I think.” I nibbled on my lip for a moment. “I’m just sorry we didn’t get more time, Grandma.” I dropped the single rose on top of her resting place, my chest heaving as I fought to control the mess of emotions overwhelming me.
I took a step back.
You can imagine my shock when the statues behind me blew up, crumbs of stone flying through the air. My chest halted, filling with shock.
And then, all hell broke loose.
Chapter 2
Great balls of fire!
I couldn’t believe my eyes. The statues literally blew up. Flames and smoke billowed, unfolding into the air. The explosion shook the ground, and I steadied myself on Rose’s casket. For a moment, all I could do was stare, too stunned to move. It was like having a front row seat at an action film, except the heat from the flames was very real, crackling and climbing.
Then the banshee in me took over.
“Zane!” I screamed without thinking. His name tore from my lips, knowing danger was soon to follow.
He reached me in two long strides. “You okay?”
I nodded. “TJ?” I asked, concern escalating in my voice.
His eyes moved over my head, and he gave a simple nod. “Zander got him. He’ll be taken care of.”
“Hallows?” I asked, assuming the statues hadn’t spontaneously combusted.
He ripped his tie off, tossing it to the ground. “We need to leave. Now.” His fingers laced firmly through mine, but as he spun us around, a flash of white caught my eye.
I jerked against him. Cresting over a hill in the distance was a mob of flickering spirits, their whitish forms moved sporadically and far faster than I could run.
“Shit,” Zane muttered. “Time for plan B.”
I didn’t even know there had been a plan A. Frantic, I searched for TJ, needing to assure myself he was safe. Zander was ushering him into one of the running town cars. TJ’s eyes found mine in the pandemonium. “Piper!” he called. The car door was ajar, one of his feet in.
Good Lord. Now he unexpectedly decided to worry about me. “I’m fine,” I yelled. “I’ll be right behind you. Now get in the car.”
Indecision crossed his boyish face, and I thought I was going to have to be a jerk, but then his gaze shifted to Zane beside me. Whatever he saw must have given him security, because he folded the rest of his body into the car without another word.
Thank God.
Except as the car speed away, chaos broke out as everyone scrambled, trying to get away. It was a disaster. There were maybe ten of us and…too many of them. Things were bound to get out of control quickly, and panic and terror took flight inside me.
Just what the culprits undoubtedly were hoping for.
The fighter in Zane kicked in, and the veins around his perilous eyes darkened, spreading down over his angled cheekbones.
“What’s plan B?” I squeaked.
“We fight, princess. And send as many of these assholes as we can to the other side.”
I gave him a dry look. Zane knew taking souls wasn’t something I especially enjoyed or was good at. I didn’t strive to be a badass like him. I just didn’t want to die. Pretty simple. Or so one would think.
Three hallows leaped into our path. Zane surged forward, putting himself in the line of fire. He was all over two of the spirits, as fast and as lethal as I remembered. Merging in and out of the shadows, only to reappear and punch one of the ghosts on the side of his jaw. The hallows kept moving. Pain didn’t seem to be a problem for the dead. But Zane was superior.
He crashed into the other, smaller spirit, and with one furious motion, Zane wrapped his arms around the ghost and heaved him to the ground. Frigid power spilled through the air as Zane clamped his hand onto the hallow’s chest, and I knew what was about to follow. I watched enthralled as a willowy darkness took over, sucking the spirit’s soul until the last drop was gone. Next came the blinding light.
I turned my head, shielding my eyes.
One down, a gazillion more to go.
It all happened so fast.
Clenching my fists, I took a few steps back, ready to defend myself. A girl a few years younger than me stalked toward me. She had a lean, strong build, and her whole body braced as if she was ready to tackle me. Good grief.
It was hard to tell what color her hair might have been when she was alive, a dark auburn maybe. I thought I caught hints of coppery tones in the light of the setting sun. And there was something familiar about her. I studied her face before she attempted to scratch my eyeballs out.
“Amber?” I guessed, remembering her from school. She had been in TJ’s grade.
Her gaze narrowed, clearly not liking that I recognized her. “Not anymore.” She fixed me with a glare of disdain, eyes unflinching as she continued to come at me. “So, you’re the White Raven.” Apparently, she didn’t seem to approve of what she’d found.
“Yeah, I get that reaction a lot,” I said with sarcasm.
My eyes darted around, looking to see an escape or if anyone was going to save me. No such luck. Zane was duking it out with two other hallows. Those who stayed were engaged with other angry spirits lingering in this realm. We might have been outnumbered, but they picked the wrong funeral to crash. Not a smart move. These particular Crows were the strongest reapers I knew, with powers to send these hostile hallows to the other side.
So I was on my own.
Amber’s leg snaked out just enough to hit me in the knee, and my leg buckled, sending me to the ground. Stumbling slightly, I started to stand, but the little bitch grabbed my hair and yanked back. I yelped, twisting out of her hold and pretty sure she took a chunk of my hair with her.
“What’s your deal?” I barked, grindi
ng my teeth to push back the tears of pain. Pulling someone’s hair was playing nasty.
She angled her head in a way a human’s wasn’t supposed to move. It creeped me out. “You mussst die,” she hissed in a croaky voice.
So I’ve been told. I was about to roll my eyes, but the hooker tackled me, throwing all her weight into the move and hitting me like a brick wall. It rattled my brain cells, and in the meantime, her hand wrapped around the back of my neck and gave a casual twist. My fingers instinctually flew to her arms, but I wasn’t able to maintain my grip, and the next thing I knew, the girl had me in a chokehold.
Damn. I wasn’t fairing too well.
No surprise really, I wasn’t trained in butt kicking.
But I did have an internal need to survive, and my battle instincts took over. Arms flailing, I fought like a hellcat, scratching and clawing at her face to no avail. The air in my lungs was quickly dissipating, especially since I was near a full-blown panic attack. I gasped, and it was my last. If I didn’t break free soon, I was going to pass out. Or worse…
But I told myself not to think about “the worse,” only how I was going to get my next breath of air. My eyes bulged, and my body tingled. Tiny silver stars danced behind my vision and my ears began to roar like the sea. Even as I bucked, I could feel my energy depleting. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out, only a silent plea for help. The tingles grew in tenfold, and I was sure the white light was next, the one you saw right before you died. But the white light never came. Instead, a few seconds later, a dark and furious face emerged, and Amber’s manic look vanished, replaced with weariness.
I couldn’t blame her.
Zane was about to annihilate her.
He tangled his fingers around her pale throat and lifted her in the air. I gulped one greedy breath after another, sinking to the ground, the weight of my body too much for my legs. My esophagus burned as fresh oxygen filtered through my lungs.
Zane hadn’t been given the nickname Death Scythe by being stupid. “Do you know who I am?” he rumbled, coming from a deep part in his chest.
“Ssshould I?” she mocked.
Someone had a death wish.
His brows snapped together. “It doesn’t make a difference, because you’re going to know who I am.”
Her feet dangled in the air. “Let’s get acquainted.”
For just a moment, I took the opportunity to appreciate the fierce elegance of his profile, the perfection of his body, the iciness of his eyes, and the darkness that seemed to follow him everywhere.
His lips curled with pure male confidence. “I’m the reaper who is going to absorb your soul.” With a hiss, he brought her down, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, she curled back a fist and hit Zane with enough force to make him grunt. Sharp claws raked down his shirt, ripping through material and flesh.
He spit blood on the ground. “Piper, take her soul,” he roared, keeping a firm grip on Amber’s throat even as she continue to cause him pain.
I froze.
The idea of what he was asking sent me into a state of frenzy. I knew I was supposed to be this all-powerful banshee, but that wasn’t the case. I mean, yes I had power, lots of power, yet I had no idea how to use it. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to use it. This was my world now, but at the same time it wasn’t. I was still adjusting. The concept of taking a soul wasn’t pleasant. I’d seen too much death in my almost eighteen years. I killed a girl just a few weeks ago, and I wasn’t jumping at the chance to reap a soul. Too soon.
I shook my head, clamping my teeth together. “I can’t,” I whimpered.
An emotion flickered in Zane’s piercing eyes, but only for a flash, and it was quickly snuffed by his darkness. My stomach sunk, feeling as if I’d let him down somehow, and I probably had. I’d let down an entire race.
Zane’s fist sliced through the air, judo chopping Amber on the forehead, and she fell limply to the ground. A dark, murky shade appeared in front of Zane, sliding down his arm and spreading to Amber’s slender neck. When he spoke, his voice was an insidious murmur among my own thoughts. You can’t run from this, Piper. It’s your destiny.
A strange chill spread over me, tendrils of darkness, thick and cold, wrapped around me. I felt it call to me, whispering a hundred promises. A crackle of light started and grew until it burned my eyelids.
I was on my feet now, barely breathing, and I could feel the power of absorbing her soul through Zane. It was exhilarating and terrifying, causing every cell in my body to come alive. I curved my fingers against the material of my dress. This link Zane and I had was the most intense thing I’d ever felt.
Shoving a hand through his midnight hair, he turned to reveal his eyes glowing with a scalding blue fire.
I shivered.
I’d met my fair share of dangerous predators lately, but nothing like Zane.
“You’re glowing,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“Huh.” I glanced down, and sure as shit, my skin was lit in a network of veins like a constellation. “Just perfect,” I grumbled.
He held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
I didn’t hesitate, slipping my hand in his. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Regardless of the fight still raging on around us, we managed to make it to the other black car without being attacked, but the driver was long gone. Zane got behind the wheel, his long legs no match for the cramped seating of the town car, and cranked the engine. His foot hit the gas, leaving a trail of dust and gravel clouding behind us. Time stretched in the warmth of the car as he steered us toward the exit, occasionally hitting a bump in the road I hoped wasn’t a body part.
He cleared his throat loudly. “You okay?”
I pressed my cheek to the glass. “If I had a dime for every time someone has asked me that, I’d be—”
“Rich?” he supplied. “You already are.”
“Ugh. Thanks for the reminder.” I scooted down into the plush leather.
“You’re literally the only person I know who would scowl at inheriting an island, a massive house, and a small fortune. Not to mention buckets of power.”
What a day. This was going to be the longest damn drive of my life. Zane and I alone, in close quarters nonetheless. He had stayed at the manor the first night after Rose died, but we hadn’t been alone since. It wasn’t helping that my body was hyper aware of him. Thanks to my banshee abilities, my soul responded to his, magnetized by the power he exuded—among other things.
How very inconvenient.
With the immediate danger behind us, assuming we weren’t being trailed by a group of bloodthirsty hallows, the events of the day caught up with me. I was drained. Emotionally and physically. It wasn’t just my body. My heart and soul were exhausted.
And hungry.
I placed a hand to my stomach in fear of it making a loud rumbling noise.
Zane’s fingers flexed on the wheel as he expertly steered the car out of the cemetery. “You never answered my question.”
Demanding as always. My head fell back and I turned in the seat, eyeing him. “Can’t you tell what I’m feeling? Do you really need me to spell it out for you?”
He snorted. “Just because our souls align doesn’t mean I begin to understand you, Piper.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. It came out of nowhere, but I realized there was this guilt inside me, along with a clutter of feelings. Everyone wanted me to be someone I wasn’t sure I wanted to be or could be, and it was making me a complete mess. Snappy one minute and regretful the next.
An array of emotions went through his eyes, turning them from bright blue to a stormy color. “You don’t owe me an apology.”
“I screwed up.” When he didn’t say anything, I added, “Didn’t I?”
“Piper, no one expects you to be Rose.”
I gave him the look.
His lips tipped. “Okay. Let me rephrase. I don’t expect you to be Rose.”
And that was kind of
more important to me. “What am I doing? I choked back there. In front of everyone.”
“You did.”
I swatted him on the arm. “So not helping.”
“No one said it was going to be easy, princess, but nothing worth gaining ever is. It might not feel like it now, but finding out what you are might change your life for the better. I know you see it has a hindrance, and maybe you’re still bitter about the secrets your family kept. Maybe you’re trying to protect yourself from getting hurt. Maybe you’ll be a better banshee than Rose. You won’t know until you open yourself up and give it a shot.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if he was talking about more than just being a banshee. Regardless, I had a lot to think about and hard decisions to make. They couldn’t be put off for much longer. Things were only going to get worse.
The car rolled to a stop in front of Raven Manor. I fumbled with the end of my skirt, not ready to leave. Each time we separated, I didn’t know when I would see him again, if I would see him again. I wanted to lie to myself and say I wouldn’t be devastated, but in all reality, it would shatter something inside of me. We were both deluding ourselves. Things couldn’t continue as they had been going. There was going to be a point where I either accosted him with my mouth or he broke my heart. I didn’t see any other option.
“You should be safe here,” he said, eyes focused straight ahead and jaw locked.
It was impossible to ignore the tension in the air, but he was right about Raven Manor being safe. The perimeter was guarded around the clock by a defense system I definitely didn’t understand. I reached for the door handle, glancing over my shoulder for a last glimpse at Zane.
Chapter 3
The manor was veiled by gloom, so I headed to the back of the house, seeking comfort. I had an agenda. Food and bed. Preferable in that order. I found Gracie, the head housekeeper. She was exactly the distraction I needed, because inside I was still reeling from the unsettling events, my stomach in knots. My brain couldn’t handle anything strenuous.
These last few days had been difficult and surreal. Sometime during the haze of misery and disbelief, the realization I would be staying here longer than just the summer hit. So I began to notice the people who worked for Rose. What their names were, how long they’d been employed, and what they did around the house. It became apparent that the manor was more work than met the eye.
