Grimm: A Novel In The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 3) (48 page)

As if sensing my question, he spoke. “I am not at liberty to discuss Fate with those not directly affected by it.” He answered softly. “The spell couldn’t be broken until you chose to speak directly to her. Which you finally did today.”

“Let me down, Nate. I’m fine now. Just a little shaky.” I did, watching her like a hawk as I set her down on a bench one of the gardeners had repaired and moved closer to the tree. She sat down taking a deep breath, and rolling her neck. Then she withdrew a handful of amulets from her person, extending them towards Death. The metal was unfamiliar to me. The obsidian gem of each amulet hung suspended in the shape of a double crescent, surrounded by a ring of tiny rubies. I was reminded of the familiar power pulsing in time with my own Maker magic. But I ignored that for now, curious as to what was about to go down. Death stepped closer. “As agreed, Horseman.” She said solemnly.

He held out a hand, took the amulets, but didn’t do anything with them. They dangled by the chains from his fist. “Pick three.” He murmured.

She blinked at him with a frown, but didn’t argue, choosing three at random. He nodded, pocketed the rest, and then clapped his hands together. A green glow suddenly erupted from between his fingers, and the smell of burning metal filled my nostrils. His eyes were closed, and as the magic pulsed, I saw beneath his skin to see a fearsome skeleton in robes, with wings made of bone, and eyes made of fire staring down at his ten-inch long skeletal fingers. The power abruptly ceased and he stood before me as a human again, except now a single chain and amulet hung from his fist, thicker, wider, but still seemingly delicate.

Feminine.

He groaned with pleasure, muscles flexing underneath his coat. “Ah, I missed that.” He murmured.

“Missed what?” I asked, frowning.

“My power. I lent it to Indie when I swiped your amulet at the bar.” He winked. I stared back, shaking my head. How many freaking pickpockets was I friends with? I had assumed I lost it during the fight at Raego’s house.

“So when you offered to give her a ride, denying Ashley, it was all part of a…
plan
?” I asked incredulously.

He nodded. “I knew Ashley would go through trials and tribulations, but that she would ultimately survive, and
thrive
in the years to come. Indie, however… she was destined to die. All I could do was make it to happen at the right time. In the right way. Give you what you needed to bring her back. We worked together in secret after
Achilles Heel
. With her permission, I…
gave
her to the Grimms.” He admitted softly.

My world rocked.

Indie had knowingly sacrificed herself to save me? To give me the chance to in turn save
her
?

Death used the silence to offer her the chain.

“Is this necessary? It’s not really my style.” She asked. He nodded once. She sighed and reached out for the chain. The moment her fingers touched the metal, a dozen bolts of black lightning slammed down in unison in a perfect circle around the tree. My skin instantly pebbled with gooseflesh, and my ears rang at the sudden lack of sound. That didn’t make any sense. Something as large as the tree should have attracted every single one of those bolts. But instead, they had struck the ground in what I would guess was a perfect circle around Indie. She looked physically unfazed, but mentally startled.

Death was grinning as he spoke. “It is the bargain for your life. Indiana Rippley, the mortal, died. A Freak was born. Balance.” He held his fingers out like a scale. His next words struck me like a hot knife to the heart. “You must not take this off. Ever. You are now the last Grimm. In this world at least. I’m sure the others are still out there in their void, waiting for a chance to come back. As long as you hold this amulet you are powerful. Just like they were. Not invincible, but not helpless anymore. Use this power wisely, like you did with my gift.” His eyes grew distant, and my mind raced. Indie was a
Grimm
? Death finally continued, as if having debated the words. “You chose Jacob’s own amulet, which makes you the de facto leader of the Grimms should they ever come back.”

“
WHAT
?!” We both roared in unison.

Death smiled. But didn’t elaborate. Grimm began to approach, plodding on delicate feet, ice and snow melting beneath the miniature craters of fire left by his hooves. He dropped his horn to Indie’s chest and nickered, flashing his tail and flaring out his peacock-like mane. She placed a hand on the barbed horn, careful not to cut herself, and the beast calmed even further. She smiled.

I didn’t.

“You risked your own power to keep Indie alive?” I asked, but he was already turning away.

He halted a dozen paces away, and turned to face me, eyes smiling as he answered softly. “It’s what friends do. What Brothers do…”

Without warning, I
Shadow Walked
directly in front of him, satisfied at the sudden look of alarm on his face.

I tackled him to the ground.

And kissed him right on the mouth, crying and laughing uncontrollably. I punched him in the arm and jumped to my feet.

He climbed to his feet, brushing off the snow, and rubbing his mouth as if to wipe away germs, but he was chuckling in amusement. “Be wary, Brother. Whether you accept it or not, you used powers yesterday that could anoint you as a Horseman. What started out as a joke from us to you is now very much a…
possibility
. Not mandatory, but interesting nevertheless.” He glanced over a shoulder as he walked away. “Be wary of the White Room.”

His bark of laughter echoed across the grounds as a vertical ring of green fire exploded into existence, revealing a murky bar on the other side. He stepped through and the fire winked out like a snuffed candle, leaving Indie and I alone.

Charon suddenly appeared on his boat, hovering above the ground. “Freaking overtime.” He growled through his sewn-up lips, the sound equivalent to a dozen rattlesnakes crawling through a pile of ancient bones. My skin instantly pebbled at the sensation of his voice and his presence. He took a heavy swig of a beer as he paddled his boat over the graves we had dug for the victims of the battle. Indie watched, wide-eyed.

“What took you so long, Charon?” I asked curiously.

He turned to me, polished off his beer, and then threw it in the back of his boat as several souls rose from beneath the earth and drifted up to sit beside him. The spirits looked at us with distant eyes, as if not seeing us. Perhaps the delay had pushed them too far beyond the land of the living to remember why they had died. Which was sad to me.

Charon finally answered. “Death lent her his power. Gave me a mini vacation. But you ruined that now.” He grumbled, scowling at us for good measure. Then he began murmuring dirty limericks under his breath as he went about his work collecting souls. He waved one time and drifted off, having carted off all the souls he could carry.

Or just the ones he wanted to carry.

I wasn’t exactly sure what his job requirements were.

I heard him crack open another beer and then he was gone.

I shoved my hands in my pockets for warmth, and for something to do as I turned to see Indie staring at me, face flush with the desire of life after her brief trip to the Land of the Dead. I had been fidgety since Indie’s death, finding myself constantly needing to fiddle with something to calm my racing mind.

My fingertips clutched the cool metal of my mother’s ring and my heart stopped.

Hope is a powerful, dangerous thing.

She had been gone. Now she wasn’t. I had thought our
now
would last forever. Then I had experienced the realization that I would
never
have the chance to hold her again.

But everything had changed, thanks to Death. That sneaky, slimy, beautiful, incredible Horseman. I was grinning like an idiot.

Indie was shaking her head in disbelief, staring off at nothing, fingers caressing the necklace she now wore. “I’m not powerless anymore, Nate.” She said softly, eyes thoughtful. “I can protect myself now. Well, after you teach me how to use it. Do you think you could do that?” I managed to disguise my smile as she lifted her gaze to mine.

“Only one way to find out.” I answered, fingers sweating as they clutched the ring.

I stepped closer, only a few feet away now.

“Good, because I feel funny. We should probably make it a priority. Or find someone who can help. Pandora?”

“Maybe. But for now, I’ll give it a try.” I was only a step away now.

A lot can happen between now and never…

“Indie…?” I asked, practically quivering with nerves.

“Mmm?” She answered, smiling up at me. I spotted Alucard’s umbrella sword leaning against the tree. With all the surprises, its presence didn’t even make me bat an eye. I pointed it out to Indie, using it to distract my approach. “Oh,” she exclaimed, picking it up thoughtfully. “For me?”

I nodded. “Alucard’s parting gift. From your funeral…” Her eyes grew thoughtful, but I didn’t elaborate. We would talk about all that later. I was close enough now.

I more or less fell to both knees, and extended the ring to her. Her eyes widened. “Will you-”

“Yes!” She shrieked, tackling me into the snow and burying her tear-stained face into my shoulder for a second and squeezing me as hard as she could. Her hair fanned out around me like angel wings as she leaned back to stare into my eyes. “Yes…” she repeated softly. I placed the ring on her finger, her eyes watching the motion in rapture.

“It’s no
Infinity Gauntlet
, but I don’t know what happened to that after…”

Instead of answering, she kissed me like it was her last night on earth.

But in fact, it was just the opposite. This was technically her first night on earth.

Indie. My fiancé. Dead. And reborn as a Grimm.
The
Grimm, if Death was right.

Like I said, a lot can happen between
now
and
never
…

I was kind of anxious to see what the world had for us next…

***

Nate Temple will return in 2016…

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The family classic, Grimm's Fairy Tales, is not the collection of bedtime stories Nate Temple thought it was, but actually the keys to a veritable prison housing the most dangerous bloodthirsty hit men of the supernatural community. Nate must find a way to lock up the prison for good before his people become a buffet table for the Brothers Grimm…

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About Shayne

Shayne is a man of mystery and power, whose power is exceeded only by his mystery. In other words, a storyteller.