Immortal Grave (21 page)

“What about the civilians? The cops and military?” A tall man with a deep voice asked. He stood next to Magda, his arm brushing against hers.

“The police are blaming it on gangs. There is no military involvement yet, but this could blow up into a terrible mess any minute.” Ree looked over her shoulder at Paden. He nodded his head in encouragement. “I’m not asking for you to fight my battle. I’m not asking for you to clear out the city. We just need help rounding up the people that are in most danger and getting them to safety. To the island.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.” Met frowned. “I was kind of hoping to kick some ass while I was here.”

“For now, we just need to get organized and start bringing the humans over.” Roland looked at Met, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“Well, tell us what we need to do, then.” Met walked toward the house and made her way into the living room. She winked at Weylin, who was openly staring at the woman. Ree caught his eye and pointed to her head. Very carefully she mouthed the words, brain-bleach. He smiled widely and sauntered into the house after Met. Melanie followed, shaking her head. Ree stood by the door, greeting everyone that entered the house. When Niall neared her, Roland stepped behind Ree, mirroring Paden’s protective stance. The young man peered at Ree through the hair that lay on his forehead as if weighing her. His inspection moved to Paden before slipping to Roland.

“So, you have a Guardian and Roland already working with you.” His voice was dripping with condescension.

“Yes.” Ree nodded her head.

“And the other two who were standing up here? You seem to know them.” His eyes slid over Roland and lingered on Paden.

“They are my Guardians as well.” Ree wondered what Niall was getting at. She could feel that he was working to keep his emotions to himself, and he was doing a good job.

“You have three Guardians.” Niall narrowed his eyes at Ree. She could feel something bubbling under the surface, but she wasn’t sure what he was hiding.

“Five. She has five Guardians.” Paden’s voice was calm, but the warning under the surface was obvious to everyone.

“What makes you so special?” Niall’s face twisted in a sneer.

“Because she is the last Alastriana.The last to fight for Earth.” Paden moved even closer to Ree. “Because she is special.”

“They’re all special, aren’t they?” Niall moved without a sound. Spinning in spot, he brought out a dagger and swiped at Ree. She moved backward to avoid his strike, her hand raising automatically and glowing with power. Paden and Roland acted in unison in a move that must’ve been choreographed. Niall was lying on the ground in a matter of seconds, his blade lying on the other side of the clearing, his face amused. He looked up into Paden’s eyes and began to chuckle.

“You should find someone else, godling. Loving an Alastriana will leave you broken-hearted. If she makes it through the battle you will have to watch her waste away.” Niall’s voice cracked and his grip on his emotions slipped for just long enough for Ree to understand.

“Sophie Diakos made a death gift to Ree.” Paden hissed down at the Guardian on the ground. “The only thing I have to worry about is a Dark One stealing her away. Or an idiot making me kill him.”

Putting a hand on Paden’s shoulder she held her hand out to Niall to help him up. “I’m sorry for your loss, Niall.”

The Guardian looked up at Ree, his eyes lost in memory as he stared at her hand. “I’m glad to know your Guardian will not have to watch you fade away.”

 Roland looked down at the godling and frowned. “How long has it been, Niall?”

“Sixteen years, eleven months, and twelve days.” Niall’s eyes finally fixed on Ree’s. He accepted her hand before bowing over her hand. “My apologies, Alastriana.”

“You do not get off with an apology.” Paden moved between Niall and Ree, his body pushing a barrier between the two. “If you attack Ree again, I will kill you.”

Niall nodded his head in understanding. “Yes, I figured as much.” Without another look, he walked into the house and claimed a corner for his own. Ree walked into the house and smiled in relief when she saw Bryce and Juliette walking through the masses. Juliette looked around the room, her eyes taking in everyone’s faces. Bryce, however, ignored everyone as he walked up to Ree.

“The Dark Ones have run to their caves for the night, but the darklings are looting. It seems to be limited to the historic district, which makes me think the Dark Ones are holed up somewhere nearby. It’s going to be difficult to get past all of the cops that have been called in to help.” Bryce frowned. “I’m pretty sure that was their plan.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“We can give them the information and let them get the humans out of Dodge.” Roland’s voice was louder than necessary and Ree frowned. She looked once again at the text message her mother had sent and felt a pang of pain. She’d received it just a little while ago, and it had made her heart hurt. She missed them more than she thought she would. They were safe, that was the most important thing at the moment.

“They don’t know the area.” Melanie pointed out.

“Actually, I’ve been to Savannah before.” Met looked up from the map on the desk. “It’s pretty easy to find your way around once you know the key streets. If the cops find us, we can play the tourist card.”

“We can’t go, Melanie.” Ree looked at her friend. It pained her to say that. She wanted to make sure all of those people were safe, just as much as her friend did.

“Look, the longer we argue about this, the more daylight we waste.” Met leaned forward on the desk, her eyes trained on Melanie’s. “I will take care of your people, Guardian. The Dark Ones have broken the agreement by going after the lines. It is our responsibility to protect those that cannot do it for themselves.”

The Guardians that had squeezed into the office all grunted their agreement. Niall sat on the edge of the fireplace, flipping a blade over his knuckles.

“Melanie?” His accent-heavy voice seemed to catch everyone’s attention. “This isn’t our first rodeo.” He smiled at Melanie, his face transforming into something much more attractive. “We will be fine. Besides, your Alastriana has spoken. Her plan is solid or Athena would not have sent us to help.”

Melanie stared at Niall for a minute. “Fine. Put the addresses into the GPS on your phones. It may not get you there as quickly as we would be able to, but you’ll get there eventually.”

“How do you plan on us convincing the humans we are safe? Your television is telling everyone to not answer the door.” Magda was perched on the edge of Ree’s desk opposite of Met.

“I’m open to suggestions.” Ree looked at the Guardian. “Because, short of having them grow fangs of their own, I don’t know how to convince them.”

“I have an idea.” Roland said quietly. “We can knock out the less cooperative ones.”

“You want to hit them?” Weylin asked from behind Met.

“We can dose them with a sleeping agent.” Roland shrugged. “We have it in stock in case one of you had not taken well to the change.”

Ree closed her eyes for a minute and resisted the urge to rub her temples. She was pretty sure she was the only one they had been worried about freaking out. “Okay. Break up into teams. No less than two people in a team.” Her eyes shifted toward Niall, who didn’t look up but smiled. She wasn’t willing to have him go on a suicide binge while she was on watch.

Roland stood and quickly slipped out of the room. Everyone started talking amongst themselves, deciding who would work together. Ree got up from the desk and headed for the kitchen, Paden following closely behind. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten. People moved out of her way respectfully, and it made her want to cringe. They nodded in her direction or watched her warily, and Ree fought the urge to shiver. She was grateful her friends hadn’t treated her like that.

Kay was in the kitchen, busy making sandwiches for everyone. She offered a small, tired smile to Ree and Paden. “You look hungry.”

“Starved.” Ree took the plate Kay handed her and smiled. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She sat at the long island and dug into the food.

“You too, Paden.” Kay handed him a plate.

“Thanks, Kay.” He gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her temple.

“No problem. I was going to cook something, but don’t know where anything is in this kitchen.” Kay looked over the counters and shrugged. “I guess I’ll figure it out.”

“You don’t need to cook for us.” Ree finished off her sandwich and eyed the one sitting on the cutting board. Kay smiled, scooped it up, and deposited it on Ree’s plate. “Thanks.”

“I don’t mind and, to be honest, sitting around doing nothing was killing me.” Kay wiped her hands on a dish towel and leaned against the edge of the sink. “So, you guys are going to back to the city?”

“Not yet. The new Guardians are going to pick up the people in danger.” Ree looked out the window, her thoughts back on the people that needed to be brought to the island. “I guess I should go make sure those houses are all in good shape before they get here.”

“You need to sleep, Ree.” Paden grabbed her hand and squeezed. “You might be immortal now, but no one can go without sleep forever. It’s been two days since you rested for more than an hour.”

“I can do it.” Kay set the rag down and looked at Ree. “Shouldn’t be much to it.”

“No, Ms. Kay. You’ve done more than you need to.” Ree shook her head.

“Paden, take her to bed.” Kay made a shooing motion.  She smiled at their interlaced fingers. “To sleep, you two. Don’t make me call your parents.”

“Um…” Paden’s cheeks turned a bit pink and Ree almost laughed as he squirmed.

Kay narrowed her eyes at Paden. “I said sleep! Do we need to have a talk? I could draw a chart and go on about condo—“

“No! I mean, no. I’ll just go tuck Ree in and make sure she gets some sleep.” Paden tugged Ree to her feet.

“Good. I may not have super sensitive hearing, but I’m not stupid.” Kay turned her back on them and set their plates in the sink.

Paden practically ran from the kitchen, his cheeks still pink when they got to Ree’s room. He opened the door and ushered her in, not sparing a glance at the Guardians they passed. Ree turned to look at him and couldn’t help the snicker that fell from her lips.

“I’ve never seen you so embarrassed before in my life.” Ree threw herself on the bed and kicked off her tennis shoes.

“Our friends knowing is one thing, but Ms. Kay knows my mom. She knows your mom.” Paden lay down on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. “She knows your dad.” He shuddered, making Ree laugh even more.

“C’mon. It’s not that bad.” Ree dug her finger into his side.

“You didn’t see the glare your dad gave me before he left.” Paden nuzzled her neck.

“Dad gave you a bad look?” Ree’s eyes widened. She would have thought that Paden would be someone her parents would approve of.

“Not bad, just warning.” He sighed. “I’m in deep shit.”

“We’ve got other things to worry about.” Ree rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. “I need to go check that everyone has everything they need.” Sitting up, she ran a hand over her eyes and fought the yawn that came out of nowhere. “We need to plan. I feel like Tristan is going to up the ante.”

Paden pulled her back down on the bed. “Sleep. A few hours, that’s all I’m asking for.”

“There is so much to do…”

“Trust in your friends. Trust the Guardians that are here to help. I doubt Athena would pick anyone she didn’t think was capable.” Paden pulled Ree against his side.

“Niall—“ Ree started.

“Niall is hurting, but he isn’t the only one who lost someone he loved.” Something in Paden’s tone pulled at Ree’s heart. She could feel his empathy for Niall, but it mixed with his anger at Niall having threatened her.

“What would have happened, Pay? If I hadn’t been given the Death Gift?” She whispered the words.

“Sophie talked to me about it in the beginning. I think she was trying to prepare me or something. It was hard to think about and made me so angry.” Paden ran his fingers over her hair. “But, now I don’t have to worry. You’re not going anywhere.”

“You really want to stick with me forever?” Ree looked up at him. “Most marriages only last twenty years at most. Eternity is a long time.” Her cheeks colored at the word “marriage”, shocked she had used it to describe them. He had asked her for forever, but nothing with a title.

“Forever.” Paden moved so they were lying on their sides looking at each other. He traced the palm of her hand with his fingertip before running over her ring finger and stopping. “I want all of you, all of life with you and everything that entails. We may not have regular day jobs or a house with a picket fence, but I’d like to call you my wife one day. See you carrying our child.”

Ree’s heart bucked in her chest, her stomach fluttered with butterflies, and a warm glow suffused her body. “Have you thought about that before now?”

“Maybe not in so many words, before everything went crazy. More like I wouldn’t let myself think about that sort of stuff. But now? With the good and bad things in life in sharp contrast? Yeah. I want to grab the good and fight the bad.” His full lips curved into a breath-stealing smile. He placed his palm on her chest, just over her heart. “I like being able to make your heart race.”

Ree reached out and mirrored the touch on his chest. He covered her hand with his and leaned forward to kiss her. His lips glided over hers before moving up to kiss her head. He pulled back and lay down on the pillow, his hand still covering hers while they looked at each other.

“Sleep tight. Don’t let the Dark Ones bite.”

Ree rolled her eyes but listened to his heartbeat, his soft breathing, and let sleep claim her.

***

“Sleeping with the godling will not protect you.” Ares’s voice was like a knife between her ribs. “Neither will the shield that’s erected around the island. Dreams are a funny thing.”

Ree looked around the white room she was standing in and tried to gain her bearings. The god of war stood behind her, his feet spread wide, a whip in his hand. Immediately she looked around her for a weapon and mentally cursed the white toga she was wearing. It wouldn’t offer her any defense against that whip.