Time passed quickly as they traveled and finally Jack announced, “Almost there.” Soon after, they were turning into the long drive that led to the Reaper compound. Both sides of the paved road were lined with vineyards and the morning sunlight brimming over the horizon provided a reddish orange sheen to illuminate the fields of grapes.
“Are you guys ready?” Jack asked as he pulled up to the keypad. “If she changed the code we are going to have to park out here and walk in.” But, upon punching in the numbers, the gate swung open. Smiling triumphantly, Jack drove through and soon after, came to a stop in front of the massive compound owned by the Empress.
The reddish orange hue from the sunrise lay over the estate like a blanket. They all sat for a moment, inspecting the front of the building and the surrounding grounds. “It looks quiet from here.” Jack whispered, as if someone inside might overhear him.
“That’s because everyone is still sleeping, idiot.” Dan shook his head and pushed open his door. “Let’s get this over with.”
Liv was in agreement with that. She just wanted to get this part of it done so they could go home and actually relax for more than a few hours. The group piled out of Jack’s truck and stood in front of the steps to the compound.
Aiden moved to the front of the group to stand with Jack and looked at his friend. “Are you ready?”
Jack nodded, and withdrew his knife from the sheath at his hip. “I’m ready.”
They decided to go through the front door since they weren’t going for stealth, and they had just rolled right in the main gate. Anyone who was monitoring the entrance would have already noticed that they were there.
Liv subconsciously ran her fingertips over the blades at her hips. The knives were there, the guns were there, and knowing the weapons were close provided some comfort. She knew how to fight to protect herself, but she honestly hoped that they didn’t have to.
As much as they all tried to tell themselves that they hoped this raid on the compound would lead to nothing, she had a nagging feeling that they were all walking directly into a fight. The demeanor of the others told her that they felt the same way.
Jack and Aiden took the lead, since they were more familiar with the place than anyone else. Yeah, they had all been there when they had rescued Lucy, but that had been such a rush, Liv knew she would never be able to remember her way around.
They had decided not to split up, but to stay in one group to keep their numbers strong. If they were attacked, they wanted to be sure that they could outnumber whoever they were fighting.
Jack punched in the key code that would open the front door and then slowly turned the knob. Luckily, there was no issue and one side of the French doors silently swung open. He stepped inside, hand on the butt of his gun, ready to draw if anything happened. As quietly as possible, Liv followed along with the rest of the group as they entered the mansion behind him.
The second she entered the foyer, memories of the fighting washed over her. This was the place where she had engaged in the first real battle of her life. Sure, as a Keeper they all had the occasional scuffle with a Reaper here and there, but that fight … it was big and brutal.
Realizing that she was letting her mind wander, she shoved those thoughts aside and forced herself to get her head in the game. Thinking about that stuff wasn’t going to do her any good at the moment.
Jack and Aiden quietly led the way through each room of the main floor. The place was eerily silent. The kind of quiet that almost seemed to roar in your ears. Their careful footsteps were the only sound that she could hear.
Each room was empty and still, as if no one had been there for quite some time. Eventually, they approached a hallway tucked behind the kitchen. “Alma’s room is this way,” Aiden whispered, his voice barely audible. They checked each room along the way. Jack would open each door, followed by Aiden and Greg entering the room to make sure it was clear. So far, they had found no one.
Finally, Aiden halted before one of the doors and gestured that it was Alma’s room. That meant they needed to be careful, Alma was the only person they actually expected to find in the mansion.
Jack slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. No lights were on within, but the room was illuminated by the morning sun streaming through sheer curtains that hung from a single window. The single bed in the center of the room was empty and the blankets and sheets were left in a rumpled pile in the center of the mattress.
“She’s not here.” Greg whispered, moving to leave.
Aiden shook his head. “This isn’t right. She would have told me if she was leaving. Also,” He pointed at the bed. “I don’t know her habits that well, but Alma sure as hell doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who would leave her bed like that on purpose.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Aiden shrugged. “But, she is meticulous about the rest of the house, I don’t see her not even pulling the covers up a little bit. That, looks like a struggle happened here.” He quickly strode over to the night stand and examined the top of it. Finding nothing, he moved to the drawer, opening it to look inside.
“Shit.”
Liv pushed past Ethan, Dan and James. “What is it?” she asked.
“Her cell phone. She wouldn’t leave it, not after I warned her about the dangers of staying here.”
Aiden looked heartbroken at the sight of that cell phone. Liv had to push away the urge to lay a comforting arm over his shoulders. “This means that…”
“That someone took her,” he growled.
“Aiden.”
“They better fucking hope that not one hair on her head is harmed or I will annihilate them all. Son of a bitch. Kidnapping an innocent old woman … how in the hell does that help them at all.” He slipped the phone into his pocket as he straightened to standing again.
Even though his question was obviously rhetorical, Dan answered him. “Maybe they knew you called her. If any of the Reapers … or the Empress knew that you were in contact with each other, they might have figured that she was at least a little important to you.”
Liv nodded. That made sense. “So, they took her simply to stick it to Aiden, because he cares about her.”
“Fuck.” Aiden’s face hardened as he stormed silently through the bedroom door and back out into the hall.
The rest of the group followed after him. “Look man,” Jack stepped up beside his seething friend. “We’ll find her if she’s here.”
“What if she’s not here, what then?” Aiden spat back. “I can’t even believe this bothers me so much.”
Beside Aiden once again, Liv lifted her hand to his bicep. “It’s okay that this bothers you. It’s okay to care about people.”
“I don’t even know her.”
“That’s okay.” She assured him. “Sometimes you don’t have to know someone very long, or at all, to have a connection with them.” She paused, realizing what she had said could be easily applied to their situation as well.
He stood completely still for a moment and then finally, he lifted his other hand and covered her smaller one that rested on his arm. “Thank you.” His response was short, but they didn’t have time for a lot of sentiment right now. He lowered his hand and she removed hers and then turned back to the others.
Everyone was staring at them with curious eyes. Except Dan, whose eyes were narrowed into a murderous stare. “See … I fucking told you guys.”
James threw up his hands. “I don’t give a shit, Dan. Liv can be with whoever she wants. So what, he’s a Reaper, so is Jack!” Her brother’s voice was a low whisper, but still conveyed his irritation. “Give it up, man. You have to stop worrying about this shit all the time.”
Dan rolled his eyes. “When a Reaper kills someone you love then see how you fucking feel, asshole.”
James was smart enough to let the comment slide. “Let’s move on,” he mumbled.
“Yeah, we still have a lot of ground to co
ver.” Jack agreed, but he was looking at Liv when he said it. He let his gaze meet hers, their eyes locked for a slight moment and then he nodded. Liv nodded back at him, understanding that Jack was just now realizing what was going on.
Liv slid one of her blades from its sheath and after wiping sweat from the palm of her hand, she gripped the handle so that it was pointed downward. Then, she followed the rest of the group down the hall, keeping her ears open for any sound that was not from one of them.
If she wasn’t determined before, she was now. Regardless of if Aiden knew Alma or not, if she was an innocent, they had to try and help her. Keeping her family safe was drive enough, now she had that little bit extra she needed to keep going.
They covered the main floor and found nothing, then, they went through the same motions on the second floor and again, found nothing.
“Looks like it’s empty.” James murmured up as they trooped back down the stairs.
Jack glanced back at her brother. “Not necessarily. There is still a basement that is about as big as this house and several outbuildings. We have to check those too before we write it off as clear.” He turned to Aiden as he hit the landing on the first floor. “If no one is here, we will make a new plan to try and find Alma.”
Liv had no idea what kind of plan that would be, but she knew it would involve one or more of them going to Florida to deal with Jack’s mother. Maybe that was what they needed to do anyway, gather more Keepers and take down the Reaper royalty in their own home. That would show them how it felt to have someone try and kill you on our own turf.
She tucked that thought away for later use. That was the last thing she wanted to do, but at least it was an option.
Greg, looking flustered at not finding anything, turned to Jack. “Where is the basement? Let’s check there first and then we can do the outbuildings.”
Jack led them to a door on the side of the house where the kitchen was located and pointed. “That’s the entrance.”
“Oh, hell no,” James declared. “I’m not going into a basement. What if someone traps us down there?”
“There are two exits from the basement aside from this one. We should be fine,” Jack assured him.
“I don’t know man, I still don’t like it.”
“Stay here then,” Aiden told him. “I’m going, who’s with me?” With that, he yanked open the door and began to carefully descend the wooden staircase that creaked and bounced like it was made a hundred years ago.
Liv followed directly behind Aiden. Jack was behind her. “You guys better wait till we get all the way down,” Jack told them. “These stairs don’t look like they will hold all of us. I don’t know what it is with basements and old fucking stairs. Geez.”
They had flipped on the light at the top before they had started down, so Liv could already see the huge racks that stood from floor to ceiling. From where she stood, it looked like the racks held wine bottles, but she wouldn’t know for sure until she was all the way down.
Aiden hit the cement landing and turned toward her. She nodded to him that she was okay when she stepped off the last step. Jack was right behind her. When he was all the way off of the stair-case, he turned. Keeping as voice as low as he could, but at a volume that the others could hear him, he called up. “We’re down.”
The others began their descent and Liv turned back to the room, her knife held up defensively, ready to strike should anything happen. She strode over to one of the racks and inspected it. Yup, it was wine. Lots and lots of wine.
“Which way?” she heard Ethan ask and she hurried back to the group.
Jack beckoned for them to follow him, but Liv heard something like a scratching noise. She halted and held up her hand. “Did you guys hear that?” she whispered, glancing first at her brother Greg and then to Aiden. Both of them shook their heads. Ethan, Jack and Dan all indicated that they hadn’t either.
She heard something. She was sure she had.
“Let’s move.” Jack gestured for them to follow. The group formed a single file line behind the Reaper, following him deeper into the cool, dimly lit space beneath the mansion. Both Jack and Aiden’s auras were brighter in the basement, and for the first time in her life, that red glow was comforting to her.
Maybe the noise was just a rat or something. This place was empty most of the time, right? So, there were bound to be critters of some kind finding their way in from time to time.
They were about to emerge from within the racks when the line halted and she bumped into Aiden’s back. “What?”
Aiden had already drawn his second weapon.
“We’ve got company.” Jack told them, his voice loud enough for them all to hear. “So, this is what you have been degraded to, hiding in the basement.”
“We weren’t hiding, you dumb ass. We were waiting for you.” A strange voice boomed.
Oh shit. She heard blades come out and guns being slid from their holsters. She looked behind her, both of her brothers and Ethan were facing the opposite way and then she saw the bright glow of Reaper red come into view.
Dammit, they were surrounded, trapped in the confining space of the wine racks. She held her knife at the ready even though she was in the middle and couldn’t really do anything.
“I’m gonna shoot this bastard.” Dan was on the other end of their line. “Not even joking. We shoot and we get the hell out of these fucking racks.”
“Maybe booze will be the death of you, brother.” Greg snorted.
Liv shook her head. “Inappropriate,” she scolded, then with more authority. “I agree. Shoot them.”
One gun fired, and then the shot from the other side echoed it. Her ears felt like they were going to explode as the shots echoed through enclosed space.
Jack ran out, followed closely by Aiden and Liv. Everyone else was right behind them. The group emerged and suddenly they were faced with eight Reapers, all glowing red and armed, some with guns, some with knives.
Quickly, Liv spun and found that Reapers were also in the wine racks. This wasn’t looking good for them at all. Just as she was considering swapping her knife for a gun, the shots started. She flicked her eyes back and forth, deciding the best course of action.
She was deaf from relentless shots cracking one right after the other. She was sure people were dying, and likely one or more would be someone she loved. She backed out from the gun fire, not to run, but to go for the Reapers behind them.
The nearest one stood at the entrance to one of the wine racks and happened to be looking toward where the gun fight was happening. Swallowing back every ounce of fear, she steadied her shaking knife hand and then charged him.
He didn’t see her coming and reflex caused him to drop his weapon when her blade buried itself in his side. She kicked it away, so he couldn’t go for it and yanked her knife out of his body. His mouth hung open as if he were going to call out but couldn’t. His eyes were wide with shock and maybe even fear.
Finish it, Liv. You have to finish it. She knew that she had to, that if she didn’t he might recover and live to hunt her family another day. Raising her knife above her head, she aimed for the heart. The Reaper was practically paralyzed, she didn’t know if it was from the silver or from the pain and fear, but he didn’t move to stop her.
The second she was going to bring her blade down, he lurched backward before she could strike. Suddenly, a dark red stain appeared on the Reapers white tee shirt. The blood bloomed outward, growing larger before her eyes.
Turning, Liv squinted and saw Aiden standing slightly behind her brothers, lowering his gun. Their eyes met and he nodded, then spun back around, raising his weapon to fight for her family again.
Before she could return her attention to the Reaper, something grabbed her arm and she lost her footing. Unable to catch her balance, she realized she was falling and clutched the handle of her knife even tighter so she didn’t lose it.
The Reaper had taken hold of her as he was going down, but they didn’t meet
the floor, her body crashed into his and they both careened into one of the wine racks. He was dead by the time her body made contact with his, but as she pushed away she felt the wine rack tip, rocking slightly before it gave way and then the entire thing went over.
It was a domino effect nightmare as that rack hit the next one and the action repeated with the others. Where once the cracks of gun shots filled her ears, now all she could hear was the crashing of bottles as they fell to the ground and broke. The glass hit the floor and bounced back up in a spray of glittering shards. The cement floor became a flood of red as the wine puddled and ran outward, as if searching for a place to run.
She reeled backward, her arm raising instinctively to protect her eyes. She consciously knew that the gunshots had stopped, but she didn’t know what that meant.
“Fuck, grab him,” she distantly heard someone yell. She didn’t know who. Her ears were completely messed up from all the gunfire.
“Shit. That fucking hurts. Dammit. Fucking dammit.”
That was her brother James. Oh, my god, he’s been shot. She stumbled and turned, intending to hurry over to find him, but her legs gave way, probably due to equilibrium from her ears being all fucked up. She fell, her knees slamming hard into the cement floor. Pain like she had never felt fired throughout her entire body and she crumpled.
And then, someone took hold of her arm and hauled her up. She glanced up to see who had helped her and found Ethan standing beside her. His arm went around her to help her catch her footing. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I think so. James?”
“I think it’s his leg.”
“Reapers?”
“All but one are gone.”
She took a moment to survey the room. Reapers were everywhere, lying dead or severely injured on the floor. The river of wine wove its way around the bodies, pooling in some places.
Keeper Under Fire (Graveyard Guardians Book 3) Page 15
