Dark Alpha's Embrace (12 page)

Kyran couldn’t believe his ears. “Does no one value family anymore?”

“Few ever did. You’re an exception.”

Kyran didn’t want to believe that. Surely there were others out there who believed family should be cherished, loved, and forgiven. “Did you happen to learn who it was who dallied with River’s family?”

“I’d need to get closer to them, and they don’t trust easily. Only family members are used as guards around the property. Outsiders aren’t allowed into the main house either.”

“We need that information. Stopping my family from hunting River’s can be done, but the Nighttails will find someone else to do the hunting unless they’re stopped.”

Fintan ran a hand through his long white hair. “Perhaps we first need to learn why River and her family have been hunted. Not the stories River’s been told, but the truth.”

“From the source,” Kyran finished with a nod. “That means paying a visit to the Nighttails.”

“The sooner it’s done, the better.”

“I’ll be going in Kyran’s stead,” Cael said.

Kyran and Fintan turned to find him standing in the tunnel.

“Why?” Fintan asked. “We’re the two Dark. We should be going together.”

Cael walked toward them. “That’s true. However, Death has requested Kyran remain close to River.”

Not for an instant did Kyran believe that Death had given approval for him and River. In fact, he felt just the opposite.

“I’m gathering by your expression that something has developed between you and the half-Fae?” Cael asked.

Kyran wasn’t going to hide any of it. Baylon tried that, and it hadn’t done any good. “It has.”

“That’s what I suspected when she gave me this order. Don’t read anything into it.”

“I won’t.”

Cael gave a nod. “Good. Now bring me up to date on what’s been going on.”

“River has translated one book with Jordyn recording it,” Kyran explained. “Also, Baylon, Talin, and I took notes.”

“She’s working fast, but not fast enough. We’re going to have to use magic and time to our advantage. There’s something else,” Cael prodded.

Kyran gave a half shrug. “Baylon mentioned that Jordyn was going to scan the books into the computer. They all think it’s a good decision in case the books are stolen.”

“Why do you have reservations?” Fintan asked him.

Kyran shifted his feet wider. “It’s more of a feeling than anything. These books are important. Yes, there’s a chance they could be stolen, just as we took them. If we have those scans, will we pay as much attention to the books themselves?”

“Probably not,” Cael answered. “You have a valid argument.”

Fintan snorted loudly. “River won’t ever let those books out of her sight again. Those are her family legacy.”

“And yet they don’t truly belong to her,” Cael stated.

Kyran looked from one to the other. “If we can stop her family from being hunted, she wouldn’t need the books.”

“She might want to keep them because of the past,” Fintan said.

Kyran looked to Cael. “I know where we can put the books.”

“With Death,” Cael said as he nodded. “That’s a good idea. No one will ever be able to get to them.”

Fintan made a face. “Not to put a damper on things, but Bran knows how to get to Death’s realm.”

“Not anymore,” Cael said.

Kyran waited for Cael to explain, but there was only silence. He and Fintan exchanged looks.

“Fintan, what about you?” Cael asked.

In quick order Fintan and Kyran filled Cael in on what Maiti Nighttail told them and Fintan’s observation of the Nighttails.

“You did good helping her,” Cael told Kyran. “Stay with River and guard her. I don’t suspect it’ll take Bran long to realize we have her. From there, he’ll begin to wonder why, and then he’ll set out to take her.”

Kyran clenched his hands. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Exactly. We need River to translate all thirty books, and quickly. The rest of you will remain here guarding the women and the books while Fintan and I pay the Nighttail family a visit,” Cael ordered.

Kyran watched the two of them walk away. He hadn’t wanted to leave River, not after he’d watched Bran kill Jordyn. If not for Death, Baylon would be drowning in misery. Kyran never wanted to experience River taken from him in any form.

He turned and retraced his steps to the library. River looked up from reading when she heard him. Her eyes crinkled in the corners in greeting, but she didn’t stop.

She read fast and spoke clearly. Even with that, it was going to take her days to get through all thirty books. But it was better than her translating them by hand.

Kyran tapped Talin to get his attention. They made the rounds of the tunnels and caves, adding magic to keep anyone other than Reapers, River, and Death out. Bran had snuck up on them once and heard their plans. Kyran didn’t want that happening ever again.

He wanted River safe in the caves. He wanted all of them safe. They might have to move soon, but until then, this was a place that would offer them all a bit of peace.

They also took Cael’s advice and used magic to lengthen time for a twenty-four-hour period to give River more time to read the books.

“River could go to the Fae realm,” Talin said.

Kyran shook his head, his steps slowing as they returned to the library. “There’s no place there that would offer her safety.”

“Neither does this realm.”

Kyran’s attention was jerked to River as he heard something that reminded him of the Reapers. There was nothing spoken directly about them, and if he hadn’t been a Reaper, he might not even associate it, but he made the connection.

He grabbed the pad of paper he’d been making notes on and saw where he’d scribbled a similar set of words. He began to wonder if the Reapers, like the Netherworld, were mentioned in all the books as well.

Perhaps he should pay better attention to what was being said. It wasn’t just family history and accounts being written about, but important information sprinkled throughout. Too bad the families didn’t make it easy by having a chapter on just such information instead of throughout the massive tome.

“Did you hear that reference to Death’s crew?” Talin whispered.

Baylon walked to them and nodded. “I did. And it isn’t the first time.”

“Aye,” Kyran said and held up the paper. “I heard it both times.”

“Why not just state Reapers?” Talin asked.

Kyran shrugged. “Perhaps they thought it wise not to mention us directly.”

“Each family goes into great detail about everything else,” Baylon said with a frown.

“That’s true. They talk of Fae doorways, where they’re located, where they go to, and which ones that particular family erected,” Kyran said.

Talin raised his brows. “So why not mention the Reapers?”

“Maybe we didn’t have a name?”

Kyran’s frown grew. “These books are ancient. Death was around, but the Reapers hadn’t been formed yet. The families couldn’t mention us because we didn’t have a name.”

“Not true,” River said as she stopped reading.

Kyran’s head swung to her. “What do you mean?”

“Aunt Maureen told me tales of the Reapers.”

Talin’s face twisted. “So did my family.”

River’s smile was patient. “Every story Maureen told me came from these books. Remember when I said not everyone could read them? They learned to memorize the stories and pass them down until another one of us could read them.”

“And the Reapers were mentioned by name?” Baylon asked.

“Yes.”

Kyran shook his head as he tried to line up everything he knew. “That’s not right. It’s not what we’ve been told. There was only one group before us, and they were gathered together well after these families ceased to exist.”

“I’m just telling you what I remember. It’ll be in one of these books, and all of you will know the truth. Death is cited several times already. Whatever the Reapers were, they were greatly feared. Just as the Netherworld was,” River said.

A bad feeling churned in Kyran’s gut. Could this revelation about the Reapers be why Bran wanted the books? He had no need of learning about the Netherworld since he escaped. And though Kyran fully expected each of the thirty books to hold some vital facts or evidence on different things, none of that mattered at the moment.

River returned to her reading while Kyran listened aptly, trying to take it all in—the important and the nonsense. Because what was nonsense now might become important later. The families must’ve known the books would be needed later. Why else would all thirty write them down, each touching on the same subjects multiple times within the volumes?

Kyran first thought the idea of finding the tomes was silly, but once they had them everything would be fine. He now suspected they just opened a huge can of worms.

Chapter Fifteen

River lost track of time as she read one book after another. Her throat began to hurt, and just when she thought she might have to stop and take a break, Kyran was there. He handed her a mug and told her to drink.

She should’ve known it would contain some type of magic. Within a few sips, her throat no longer ached. She continued reading and sipping on the brew. Kyran never let her mug empty. Again and again he refilled it.

When her eyes became itchy and her voice harsh, they took a ten-minute break where River did nothing but sit there with her eyes closed, listening to the others go over all she’d read aloud.

With each word read, the stories came flooding back as Aunt Maureen had told them. There was very little changed from the telling to the book. It was human nature to embellish a story, but her family had done the opposite. Somehow, they kept the original stories through the generations from the last one who could read the books.

“How do you feel?”

River turned her head to the sound of Kyran’s voice. She nodded but kept her eyes shut.

“Good. Keep drinking. It’ll help your voice as well.”

He sounded calm, but River knew it was a front. There were thirty huge books to be read, and only four of them had been translated. If she managed five a day, it would take her nearly a week to complete.

They didn’t have that kind of time. Every day that passed was another day that more and more half-Fae were killed by Bran and his men.

River hated the human part of her that needed rest. She could work well past a mortal, but she couldn’t keep up with a Fae. If only the Fae part of her was stronger, then she wouldn’t need to rest.

“You’re doing great,” Kyran said, as if sensing her thoughts.

She appreciated his words, but that didn’t stop the worry that surrounded her. River opened her eyes and leaned forward to grab the next book. She opened the cover and took a deep breath before she began reading.

It wasn’t until she finished the fifth book that River realized something was amiss. She was still tired, but there was something different in the air that she couldn’t explain.

River finished the last of the hot drink. When Kyran went to mix more, she found Talin staring at her from his spot near the wall. He sat on a stool and leaned back against the stone wall while he propped his feet on the table holding the books.

“Can you get through all of these?” he asked.

River stood and walked around to get the blood flowing in her body. “Of course.”

“Tonight?”

“I read fast, but not that fast.”

He gave her a flat look. “We’re Fae, River. We’ve used magic to pause time.”

“Excuse me?” Was that even possible?

Baylon mumbled Talin’s name. “What he means is that here, in the caves, time is paused so we can get this done.”

River frowned, her mind jumbling at the thought. “If time has stopped for us, won’t it keep going for everyone else?”

“Yes,” Jordyn said. “Pausing is the wrong word. Think of it as stretching. We’ve taken this day and stretched it. When dawn comes on the following day, we’ll be back in alignment with everyone else.”

No wonder River always hated science. It didn’t make sense to her, but the rest of them accepted it as truth. Who was she to argue the point when she didn’t even understand it?

She spotted Eoghan pass by the library entrance without looking inside. It was like he didn’t care what they were doing, then again it was hard to read the Reaper since he didn’t speak.

River piled the books in the order she’d read them, then she went to the next. The sequence had been ingrained in her mind from the very beginning. She hadn’t understood why it was so important, and even now she wondered why Maureen had cautioned her to read them in succession.

Already there was much she hadn’t remembered from the stories she read. How much more had she forgotten? Maureen told her it was all important, that she must retain it all, but River hadn’t.

Because she’d been able to read the books, she hadn’t retained the stories as her ancestors had. There could be a critical piece of knowledge that could help Kyran if she’d done as Maureen instructed.

She refused to think about it, because it wouldn’t help any of them now. All she could do was get through each of the books as fast as she could.

River picked up the next book and returned to her chair. She gave Jordyn a nod to start recording, then River began to read. She hadn’t gotten through the first page when Kyran returned with another mug of his special brew. She didn’t know what was in it, and it didn’t matter. It made her feel good so she could finish what she’d begun.

The idea of being able to help the Reapers gave her a purpose—something she needed. She hadn’t realized she wanted it until it was there, but there was no denying it now.

At one time River thought gathering the books stolen from Maureen—or merely keeping away from the Fae—was her purpose. But the truth stood before her.

She had a chance to help the Reapers make a difference in her world as well as theirs. She wasn’t going to let it pass by.

*   *   *

By the time the sun rose the following day, Kyran was antsy for River to finish the last of the thirty books. It was only the use of magic—and lots of it—that allowed her to get through all of them in one day.

And it had taken its toll on her.