by Jayde Scott
"She drank a reaper's blood," Ginny said.
"Dad thought it was Aidan." I remembered Dad mentioning it and the consequent argument when he wouldn't believe me it couldn't be Aidan because he no longer needed blood to survive. Instead of investigating, I had forgotten all about it. Now Rebecca could probably travel through the various dimensions of Hell. That certainly wasn't good news. "She must be here somewhere. But where?" My phone had malfunctioned again. Instead of taking us straight to Dallas and Rebecca, it seemed as though we were in the middle of nowhere.
"Maybe over there." Ginny pointed to a bush. I inched closer until I could see the opening hidden behind it.
"It's a cave. You stay here and inform the others." Without waiting for Ginny's reply, I flipped my phone open to illuminate the opening, cowered down and squeezed through.
The space was big enough to crawl but not to walk upright.
Dallas was a big guy, I wondered how Rebecca got him in here unless she had done something to him—
Pushing forward harder, I forced the thought to the back of my mind. I had never been one to picture the worst-case scenario, so I wouldn't start now. Besides, if something happened to Dallas, wouldn't the bond we shared warn me?
The sickening odour of blood and bones hung heavy in the air.
Several times, I almost bowled over to vomit so I focused on the pain in my back and where the uneven terrain grazed my palms and arms.
A few minutes of taking shallow breaths through the mouth and I finally reached an opening. With a sudden burst of energy I squeezed out into a clearing.
The sky was sprinkled with countless stars casting a soft glow on the nearby trees. Something pulled me forward. I sniffed the air, taking in the scent of morning dew gathering on the dry grass. And then the tiniest hint of Dallas's aftershave hit my nostrils and my heart started to hammer in my chest. I took off through the trees and bushes until I could make out the slim silhouettes of cottages. The first one I reached looked surprisingly familiar with its newly redecorated porch and the pretty curtains covering the windows. Even though I still lacked half the puzzle, my brain started to put the pieces together. Rebecca had dragged Dallas here to get back at Amber and Aidan. An angry yell rippled through my throat as I pulled out my phone and yanked the door open. The air crackled around me, freezing everyone inside into place. I had no idea how long it would work for, but I hoped it was long enough to come up with a plan.
Inside, several lamps were lit, giving the cottage a homely touch. I hurried through the tiny hall into the living room where I found Aidan standing in front of Amber protectively. Her gaze was fixed on the hideous creature cowering next to Dallas's unmoving shape in the opposite corner. Something wasn't right about the scene.
Why wouldn't Aidan just charge Rebecca? Surely, two vampires were stronger than one? But maybe not since she had drunk the reaper's blood. If I wanted to get Dallas out of here in one piece, I had to stop analysing and just get on with my rescue mission. Gagging from the stench of burned flesh wafting from Rebecca, I peeled off her claws from Dallas's neck and tried to pull him away, groaning. The guy weighed way more than I expected. We barely reached the door to the hall when the air crackled again and the unmoving vampires stirred.
"Cass?" Dallas said. He didn't even sound surprised to see me.
Maybe he had felt my presence as much as I had felt his.
My breath caught in my throat. I took in his smile, forgetting the other immortals as I got lost in his golden gaze. "Yes?"
"I always figured I'd carry my bride over the threshold, not the other way round." A flicker of amusement crossed his brows.
I grinned, wishing I could just plunge into his arms and plant a kiss on his delectable lips. "Sorry, you lost me at 'bride'."
He stood and planted himself in front of me as though to protect me. I noticed Rebecca behind us only when she kicked me, sending me flying against the wall. She must've teleported. Rubbing my aching head, I pulled out my phone again.
"If you so much as move a finger, I'll snap his neck," Rebecca hissed, digging her deadly nails into Dallas's throat where the aorta beat frantically beneath his fragile skin.
"She means it," Amber said.
My fingertips hovered on the keyboard, but I knew better than to ignore the magnitude of Rebecca's threat. She had killed before, she sure wouldn't hesitate now.
"A family reunion, how lovely." Rebecca laughed. I cringed at the guttural sound.
"Let him go, Rebecca. He hasn't done anything so don't take our unfinished business out on them," Aidan said.
Rebecca turned her head sharply, regarding him through eyes that seemed to smoulder with maliciousness. "Who said my unfinished business involved you? Do you really think I'd go to all the trouble for a man?"
Yet another spat between Aidan and one of his exes. I rolled my eyes. Seriously, it was getting annoying. Time to change the subject before they started throwing dishes at each other. "How did you get into Hell, Rebecca?"
"She didn't need to because she was here all along. You just didn't know," Amber whispered.
I blinked, putting two and two together. That's what Aidan had been looking for during his 'strolls' when I came visiting Amber and he wasn't around. During the Shadow ceremony, when Amber retrieved the book of the Shadows from the Otherworld, she had in fact travelled to Distros where Rebecca had been hiding. "Apart from the Shadows, she has another companion," I whispered to myself.
"You broke the case wide open, Sherlock Holmes," Aidan muttered.
"Is that why you agreed to come to Hell?" He nodded. My gaze travelled to Dallas, taking in the guilty expression on his face. The guy had blamed me for keeping secrets and yet he seemed to have plenty of his own. "Did you know?"
He shook his head as much as Rebecca's iron grip would let him.
"Not everything."
"We told him the person we were looking for was here and that you weren't who you said you were. That's all," Aidan said.
My mistrust from before returned. The Shadows got the book and Rebecca found what she came for: an opportunity for revenge on the one who killed her hundreds of years ago. She could just attack him or suck Dallas dry to get back at Aidan by hurting his mate's brother. That she should just wait in the doorway, her feet tapping on the carpet impatiently, didn't make any sense. So, what was she actually waiting for?
"What do you want, Rebecca?" I asked when no one else did.
Soft footsteps moved outside the window and the entrance door opened. "Hello? Is someone here?" a girl's voice called.
Rebecca's gaze met mine as she whispered, "Your answer's just arrived."
I opened my mouth to warn Theo to get away from here as fast as possible, but it came too late. Theo stopped in the hallway, confusion crossing her pale face. I could hear the hundreds of questions racing through her mind as she sorted through them in the hope to make sense of the display before her eyes.
"Come on in." Rebecca pointed at the living room. Theo shot me a questioning look. When I nodded, she did as Rebecca said. "I believe you have something I need." I regarded her with mistrust. What could she possibly need from the girl?
Theo's long, flowing dress brushed my bare arm as she walked past me. She barely stepped over the threshold when Rebecca dropped Dallas and grabbed Theo's neck. Only too late did I realise what she was about to do.
It happened within seconds. Rebecca's fangs bore into Theo's skin, tearing through muscles and tendons, red blood soaking the girl's white dress. I lunged forward the same moment as the others did, but Rebecca was faster. Still holding on to Theo, her nails tore through Dallas's neck. Amber's scream filled the air. Like in slow motion, Dallas's surprised gaze met mine and then realisation kicked in. I caught his fall, my hands bathing in his blood as I pressed my palm against the gnashing wound spreading from his neck down to his torso.
Something dark, like black fog, gathered around us. His mouth opened into a smile and more blood gathered at the corners of his lips
.
Her name's Sofia. Rebecca's thoughts penetrated my mind. I wasn't sure whether she had spoken to me or whether it was just a statement as she flicked through Theo's memories. She tossed Theo's unmoving body aside and disappeared before my eyes.
"Cass, I really love you," Dallas whispered.
A curtain of tears clouded my vision as I pressed my mouth against his, whispering, "I love you too." My fingers glided over my phone to punch in the commands that would save my mate. He drew in ragged heaps of air, the blood spilling out of his mouth making a gurgling sound. The air crackled with electricity, but his wounds didn't heal. No technology could stop fate.
"Don't leave me," I whispered through silent sobs and tears streaming down my face.
"Never," he said softly. My heart ripped inside my chest. His body began to shake. I tried to pull him into a sitting position to make breathing easier as my hands patted his wounds as though to stop the blood flow. His skin turned a few degrees colder under my touch.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Aidan struggling to hold Amber back, but she kept screaming, begging and cussing to let her go. I knew Aidan wouldn't let her turn her brother into a vampire, and I couldn't blame him when turning a human meant a sure death sentence from the Lore council. He wouldn't risk losing his mate just as much as I'd do anything in my power to save mine.
"You're going to be okay," I chanted over and over again as I brushed his hair out of his face, desperation washing over me. I peered at Aidan, imploring him to let Amber help Dallas even though I knew he wouldn't. "Please." He shook his head slightly in response, his jaw set, his hard gaze avoiding me.
Dallas's eyes rolled back. I pressed his palm against my mouth to hold back my sobs. It wasn't supposed to end like this, and yet somewhere, deep within my heart, I knew it would. As the bond between us drew me closer to him, I could feel something happening to my body. My top tore at the back where a cold and hard sensation moved beneath my skin. My jaw quivered with pain, my gaze turned sharper.
"No, Dallas! Don't you dare die on me!" Amber's angry words were barely audible through the sudden buzzing in my head, the unnerving murmurs I had tried to ignore before, only a thousand times louder now. The earth began to shake beneath me. I could feel the dark abyss at my feet, telling me my time had come. But I wasn't ready. Not now, not when our love was still hopeful. It wasn't time to give up yet. I shook my head, fighting the changes in my body: the nails growing into sharp claws, the wings tearing their way out of my skin. My whole body felt like I was being burned with fire and cooled with ice-cold water at the same time, the pain unbearable and yet so much more bearable than the aching in my heart.
Dallas's eyes closed and with a last breath, he gave into my embrace, his still warm body a mere shadow of the living being he had been only a few minutes ago. A painful scream pierced the air. It took me a while to realise that it was mine.
Chapter 30 – Accommodating changes
Dad said I had been in and out of my dark abyss for days, but I couldn't remember a single lucid moment. All I remembered was the cold seeping through my clothes and the constant shivering no matter how much I tried to shift my position on the hard floor with the dark tower around me rising into the night.
Eventually, I opened my eyes, expecting skin as dry as tyres and flapping wings. The wings were there, but my body felt as smooth as before, albeit a bit battered and bruised. Dad reached for me. I pushed him away so he wouldn't touch me. No one should. I was an abomination now. A demon gatekeeper. A reaper, waiting for death until that's all I'd ever know.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you needed me, kiddo," Dad said.
"Your mother saw the TV show and she wanted to see me in Heaven."
He didn't mention he'd been away all night, probably hooking up or something. Urgh. I'd rather not picture that so I pushed the disgusting thought to the back of my mind. I could hear the excitement and guilt in his voice. Excitement at the prospect that his plans to woo Mum might work after all. And guilt because he hadn't been here to stop the events that would've happened anyway because they were part of my fate. I patted his hand to signal it was okay, then pulled my fingers away quickly, burying them beneath the torn sheets to hide the sharp, deadly claws that were my nails now. A reconciliation between Mum and Dad was what I wanted all along and yet my happiness for them couldn't quite melt the thick sheet of ice enveloping my heart.
"Dallas?" I barely dared to speak the words. He was dead, so what was the point in torturing myself with his memory? And yet I had to hear it to find closure because in my heart, our bond still burned bright.
Dad shook his head, a deep frown replacing the hesitant smile from before. "In the physical realm he'd be considered dead."
"And here?" I bit my lip to stop it from quivering.
"It's only a matter of time until—" Dad's voice broke off. He didn't need to finish what he had to say because I knew it.
I nodded. "So I'll be a reaper and bound to Hell forever now."
Staring at the torn sheets around me—my sharp claws' doing—I avoided his gaze. I didn't want to see the pain in his eyes. With my own pain shredding my heart, it might just be too much to bear.
"As long as his soul continues to search for his physical body, you won't completely transform." Dad's finger moved beneath my chin, forcing my gaze up to face him. His eyes searched mine, and for a moment hope flickered in them. "Through your life force, I can keep Dallas's soul alive for a while. But you'll have to find the girl soon."
"The girl?"
"Theo's sister, Sofia." Dad leaned forward and cupped my face.
"There's something I never told you about Distros." I bobbed my head so he continued, "We don't frequent it because it's the plane where we keep paranormal beings, and we don't get involved. When Amber travelled to the Otherworld to retrieve the book of the Shadows, she entered Distros and raised Rebecca." I blinked, confused.
"That's why the reapers arrived so quickly to take Amber back to the threshold of the living."
"The threshold of the living aka the East Gate in Distros," Dad said. "But that's not important. What matters here is Theo. She's a direct ancestor of a very powerful woman, but it's her sister, Sofia, that's inherited all the power. You need to find her to help Dallas's soul return into his body."
"You mean she can raise the dead?" My eyes widened at Dad's grave nod. No angel could grant life, but a girl could? "What is she?"
"That's for you to find out, kiddo." Dad rose from his position and pulled the curtains aside, bathing the room in glaring brightness.
My body felt stiff and worn as I followed after him. My eyes squinted against the midday sun casting a shimmering hue over the erupting volcanoes in the distances. "You knew this would happen."
"Sometimes it helps to have a seer in the family. You may think your aunt Selena's a nutcase, but deep inside she cares for your wellbeing." He turned to face me. "Thrain's waiting outside to help you find Sofia. Get packing, Cass. I've been missing the kid."
And by kid I knew he meant Dallas. I rose on my toes and planted a kiss on Dad's smooth cheek. A smile spread across my lips and my heart started to race. With a new purpose came new hope.
Sofia.
I would find her, no matter what.
The End
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