The Raven Series 2

by J. L. Weil

  If I thought I was due a breather, I was wrong. All around us the battle blazed on between reapers and hallows, and as I observed, I didn’t see any hope. This needed to end before someone who wasn’t already dead, died. There was only one thing left to do. The very thing Zane and I fought so hard not to do.

  Merge our souls.

  “Zane!” I called.

  He was otherwise engaged. Wrapping his shadow from head to toe around a ghost, he sucked the essence of whatever was tethering the spirit to this realm, before meeting my gaze. A brow went up, and I saw the knowledge reflect in his cold blue eyes, but it didn’t mean he was easily convinced.

  If we did this, it would change everything.

  I ground my teeth. “We have no choice. There are too many of them.” I swore they were multiplying like gremlins exposed to water. One went down and three more popped up, hissing and flickering erratically.

  There was a flash of resistance in his eyes, but we both knew this was do or die. Zane would do whatever it took to keep me alive, even this.

  I reached out and Zane took my hand. Unbidden, my power flared when his fingers interwove with mine. I closed my eyes, lightness and darkness pulsating in the air. I could feel Zane, his strength, his anticipation. He wasn’t the only one who wanted this.

  I shivered and opened my eyes.

  White lightning fused with dark shadows; our core powers flared and swirled around us. A vortex of the most gorgeous colors I’d ever seen. The white light fractured off his darkness, casting a rainbow of faerie light. For a moment, everything stopped, stunned. It wasn’t everyday two souls joined in perfect harmony. Even the elders were mesmerized.

  My stomach squirmed oddly, both in excitement and fear.

  Now what, princess? I heard Zane’s voice, drawling and deep.

  What happens when darkness and light collide? Shit gets real. We take down the house. Not literally, I added. You know what I mean.

  Another bolt of light zipped over my head.

  Power gathered inside, uncontained and wild. It shimmered in the air. A mist formed above our heads as lightning crackled and thunder rumbled, shaking the floor. Shards of wood and plaster rained from the ceiling, but in the eye of the storm, Zane and I were untouched by the turbulence we created.

  His grip tightened against mine as if he was afraid I would get swept away by the turmoil. I didn’t know what came over me. It was as if I became another person when Zane’s soul meshed with mine. I was hyper aware of our duel power. Unlike the last time we merged, when he’d given me his power, this time we were equally balanced, our magic coalescing.

  Zane’s hand was cool in mine, his shadows a perfect balance to my light. A fierce wind howled through the room. Strands of my hair whipped around my face, and energy crackled between us. I zeroed in on each hallow, chaining one after the other in a strand of our combined power.

  A series of lightning frizzed throughout the cathedral, one by one targeting the hallows. Upon impact they exploded. Their lingering essence of life rippled in the air, zooming straight at me. My head fell back as power hummed inside me like currents of electricity.

  You’re really sort of amazing, Zane’s dark voice said in my head.

  You’re not so bad yourself.

  Damn straight, he crooned.

  I sucked in a sharp breath, glancing around the massive room. So much death and destruction—

  His eyes changed first, from amused to terrified. “Piper!” Zane roared.

  I heard him hysterically shout as I saw a bright red light pulsating straight for me. Time slowed to a crawl, and Zane reacted so fast, but for once in his life, he wasn’t fast enough. I would never forget the terror that leaped into his eyes, pure helplessness.

  Zander wrenched forward, and what happened next, happened quickly. Seconds at most. I could only watch.

  The blast hit Zander in the chest.

  Liquid radiance detonated over his body, spidering through the network of his veins. His mouth opened in a silent cry and his knees buckled. He fell forward, crumbling to the ground.

  Chapter 28

  Everything suddenly felt surreal.

  Somewhere a curdling scream was cut short. Zane buried my face against his chest, and I realized the tortured cry had been mine.

  I broke free of Zane’s grasp. He didn’t bother to stop me. His own shock rendered him immobile. “No, no, no!” I shouted. The denial rose up in me as I scrambled to where Zander’s body lay and dropped to my knees. He didn’t move. Not a muscle. His lungs weren’t rising and falling. I cradled him in my lap, and my hand went to his neck, searching against all hope for a pulse.

  His eyes were open, staring endlessly at the vaulted ceiling. “Zander,” I sobbed, giving him a little shake, unable to let go. My brain refused to accept he was gone. There was nothing of his patience or responsibility in his features. He might not have been the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but I cared about him all the same. Somehow he’d been able to weasel his way into my heart, and the thought of losing him was unbearable.

  Beyond the tears and the emptiness that filled me, I stroked the hair from his face. “Wake up. Please don’t do this to me.”

  His body was limp and unresponsive. Horror bathed Zane’s expression, and I felt an exuberant stab in the heart that robbed me of air. He’d just lost his older brother, someone who he’d looked up too, who he’d protected, who he’d given up everything for. I ached for him.

  Gathering Zander up in my arms, I was oblivious to the shadows leaning over me. “You can’t die. Do you hear me?” I whispered. “I won’t allow it.”

  Yet, it didn’t matter how hard I pounded on his chest, or how loud I screamed at him; he wasn’t going to respond. He wasn’t going to wake up.

  Zander was dead.

  He had saved my life.

  There was no question; I had to do the same. I had to save Zander.

  I’d been given the power to restore a soul, but I hadn’t been the one who’d taken it. Did that mean I wouldn’t be able to bring him back, give him life again? He was a reaper, one of mine now that I was officially the White Raven. I had to believe there was a way. Lifting my head, I glanced across the room. Death stood still. He didn’t move a muscle, his eyes trained on his heir’s breathless body.

  The room was as still as a morgue. There was only one thing left to do. Sniffling, I laid him carefully on the ground. Just as I was about to place my hands over his chest, Zoe ran into the room with Parker at her heels. Anxious energy built up inside me. Zander might not have died by my hands, but his death was my fault.

  Zoe hiccupped and tears began to stream down her face like a waterfall, mixing with streaks of blood. Parker slumped against the wall, taking in the horrific scene before him. I wiped my eyes, and Zoe sat on the other side of Zander, holding his pale hand in hers.

  So much death. How much more was I to endure? This was my life as a reaper, and I needed to accept it, but I didn’t think the sight of death would ever get easier for me. My soul felt torn in half—between the living and the dead.

  “I’m going to make it better,” I croaked, putting my hand over his heart.

  She looked me straight in the eye. Big, fat tears welled and clogged her voice. “Do it. If anyone can, it’s you.”

  No pressure.

  Stretching out my arms, I summoned the source of power inside me, and light arced from my fingers. It wove down my arms, igniting my veins in a glow that slowly flowed from me into Zander. Like Zane, he was darkness, not shadows, but more like space. I needed to overpower the blackness with my light, until it was completely snuffed out.

  A never-ending expanse of white swathed the room, turning night into day for a few brief seconds.

  I blinked. Through the beam of light a figure took shape. It wasn’t Rose. It wasn’t my mom. It was Zander. The first thing I noticed was the darkness that made him a crow was gone. “Zander?” I murmured.

  He was bathed in light. “Wow. Neither of
us saw this coming. Plot twist.”

  I trembled. “No. You’re not dead. I’m going to piece your soul back together like a freaking puzzle.”

  He rasped out a broken laugh. “You can’t bring me back, Piper. I’m giving you my soul. I want you to take my power, and I want you to find a way to be with Zane. Whatever it takes. You were always meant to be his. It’s up to you to make it happen.”

  I blinked away the tears. “Zander, no. Not like this. I can’t bear to lose another person.”

  “You won’t lose me, not with the power residing in you.” His voice, though soft, was steely with conviction.

  “If that is supposed to make me feel better, you failed.”

  His face relaxed, and a faint smile curled his lips. “I tried. It’s all we can do.”

  I wrinkled my nose at him. “If that is your sad attempt at telling me it’s going to be okay, I’m not buying it. The odds are stacked against me. One banshee.”

  “It only takes one person to make a difference,” he said, floating forward.

  “Where did you get that? Off the back of a Hallmark card?” I replied sharply.

  With a gleaming grin on his lips, he mused, “Doesn’t make it less true. I believe you can do it. That matters.” It did matter, but it would make more of an impact if he were alive and alongside me when the shit storm hit. “Do you feel the shift?” he asked, his gaze sweeping over the room, seeing or feeling something I wasn’t yet attuned with. “The universe is no longer in balance,” he muttered, before his violet irises collided back to mine. “And it is up to you to restore the order between the living and the dead.”

  I frowned. “The universe is pretty screwed up if it’s depending on me.”

  The center of his eyes began to glow. “You’re wrong. You are exactly the person for the job. You care, Piper, sometimes too much. Things are going to get worse, much worse. The veil has been broken. Whatever happened tonight, it was major. And no one is safe.”

  A new layer of panic set in. “What do I do? How am I supposed to fix it?”

  He shook his head, lines of worry creasing the corners of his sad eyes. “I don’t know.”

  Not the answer I was looking for. “We’re doomed,” I grumbled.

  A ghostly whisper fluttered over my cheek. “Do you seriously think Zane is going to accept that? He is not going to let anything happen to you, and you’re going to figure out a way to save us all. I don’t know what’s coming, but it’s not good.”

  Zane. My whole body shuddered. “How am I going to tell them you’re dead?”

  His cloudy eyes sobered. “This is part of the deal. They know not even reapers live forever.”

  “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck some serious donkey balls.” I rubbed my hands over my eyes. I was so tired. “Will I ever see you again?”

  “You won’t get rid of me so easily. Who else is going to inform you about the dealings from the other side? Your gifts are unlocking rapidly now.”

  “Don’t make me say good-bye to you,” I whispered, wishing we had more time.

  “This isn’t good-bye, Piper.” His form began to shimmer, distorting his face, and I knew I was losing my grip on this plane.

  I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood and buried my face in his neck. “See you later,” I mouthed.

  Tears ran from my eyelids as I lifted my lashes. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, unable to look anyone in the face. “He’s gone. His soul is broken. I-I can’t—”

  The pain was a sweet shot of kerosene. It overwhelmed me to the point where I was sure I was going to black out. A floodgate of emotions slammed into me. Not only mine. I couldn’t decipher whose was whose, but it didn’t matter, the feelings were all the same. Pain. Regret. Sadness. Disbelief. The list went on. And on.

  I rocked back so my butt was lying on my legs and pressed my hands to my head. The divine hovered over me, a network of veins transparent on his skin, eyes opaque with a tinge of baby blue. He had the scary appearance of an oracle, and his gaze was wandering in the air. “The seal has been broken, and the dead will walk among us. They will come for you, for us all, the beings who possess their souls, and they will stop at nothing to gain what was taken from them.” His stare finally met mine with a void that gave me chills. “The longer you do nothing, the more the corruption spreads,” he hissed, and the ground began to tremble.

  It was a warning. This was only the beginning, but I could think of nothing beyond the pain and suffering. Zander. My father. Both in one day. In reality, I’d lost my father the same day I’d lost my mother. The hurt was immense, but I knew I would live. I was a survivor.

  Zane swept me up into his arms. A cool mist covered my body from head to toe. I pressed my head into his shoulder, my arms clinging to his neck. It was going to take a crowbar to pry me off him. “I’m sorry,” I sobbed.

  His body shuddered.

  Chapter 29

  I was alone in my room for the first time tonight, and I was left with a cup of tea, my guilt, and my failures. The world was out of balance, and Zander was dead. I let myself think what that meant. It was impossible to believe he was gone. I held onto the knowledge that I would see him again, even if it were as a spirit, because without that grasp of hope, I would break down.

  My eyes glistened. If I could go back in time, if I could change the past, I would. Zander’s death was hard to swallow. I felt as if I’d let an entire race down, and it blew.

  Zane needed to be with his family tonight. They needed each other as they mourned the loss of one of their own. It didn’t mean I wasn’t missing him, or I didn’t wish I could offer him whatever solace I could. Parker was only a wing away, but I couldn’t bring myself to bother him. He’d been through an ordeal and had looked like he needed sleep almost as much as I did. But as much as I wanted to doze off into a dreamless slumber, I wanted a bath more.

  As I stripped the filthy dress off, I thought of Zane and how his life would change. He was next in line, Death’s successor, but the elders might not accept him. His bloodline wasn’t pure, which didn’t matter squat to me. But more pressing, what was I going to do to restore harmony between the living and the dead? Hopefully the world didn’t fall apart in the next hour.

  Kicking the dress to the corner of the room, I knew our battle had yet to come. The road ahead of us wasn’t going to be easy. If anything, it was going to be damn near impossible, but I had to believe, together, Zane and I could overcome whatever horrible thing was thrown at us. Our soul symmetry made us different, and hopefully it would be our advantage.

  If, by some miracle, I survived this summer, I was going to need to see a shrink for life. The bodies kept piling up around me. Sooner or later, I would have to go back out there and face the rogue reapers and deal with the hallows. For tonight, I wanted the security and shelter of the manor.

  Of course, sooner came more quickly than I’d expected.

  Grabbing my IPod off the counter, I headed toward the bathroom to soak in the tub and cleanse myself of this grimy feeling both inside and out. My muscles sighed in relief as the hot water eased the aches. Heat rose from the surface, steaming the air around my face. It was no surprise I passed out five minutes after my toes sunk into the bubbles. My brain might have been running rampant, but my body was depleted.

  When my eyes fluttered open, the water was cold and all the bubbles were gone. The chill I’d hoped to warm was ever present in my veins. It made the hair on my arms prickle. I looked at my phone. Midnight. Time had slipped away from me, but it was evident I needed the rest. My body was telling me I’d pushed it to the limit. Using the amount of core power needed to try to save Zander had sucked the life out of me.

  I removed the plunger and stood up, slipping into a terry cloth robe that smelled of laundry detergent and faintly of the candle still burning. I wanted to revel in the security of the scent, pretend I was at home in my little, cramped bathroom, cluttered with junk. What I wouldn’t give to be surrounded by my things.

 
With one quick puff, I blew out the candle, grabbed the now cold cup of tea, and drifted into the room. Darkness descended, but I moved through the room with ease. There was something quietly calming about the blackness. It could be the shadows reminded me of Zane, and any reminder of him was a comfort. I paused once I passed over the threshold, the bristle traveling from my arms and down my spine. Frowning, my eyes roamed from the bed to the dresser, past the closet and over the silent form of Crash.

  Crash?

  A burst of alarm sped through me and a scream soared up my throat, but Crash was swift on his feet. He popped beside me, his fingers covering my mouth before I could cry for help. The mug of tea slipped through my fingers like water, smashed on the ground, and shattered. Some sixth sense knew this wasn’t going to end well.

  I didn’t know if I had it in me to go another round when all that was on my mind was sleep.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, princess.” The way his voice rolled over that godforsaken nickname made it sound offensive and belittling. Not at all like Zane’s sexy lit. I tried to tell him to go suck an egg, but his hand only tightened around my mouth.

  “If you give me your word you won’t scream like a banshee”—his lips curved against my ear—“I’ll remove my hand.”

  I wasn’t foolish to believe he only wanted to talk. And testing the struggle of his hold, I knew if I managed to break free, I wouldn’t get far. There was no other choice. Crappity crap crap.

  I nodded my head.

  He picked up a tendril of my hair. “I knew there was a brain behind the golden locks. We’re going to do this slow and easy. No funny business. We do things my way and maybe no one gets hurt.”

  Like he was taunting me, he lifted one finger at a time, all the while keeping his other hand wrapped around me. When at last my mouth was free, I said the first thing that popped into my mind. “The only one who is going to be in pain is you,” I hissed between clenched teeth.

  He chuckled. “Oh, Piper, why the fates chose Zane I’ll never understand. You and I would have been quite a pair. Except now there is a little kink in the idea…you killed my sister.”