Immortal Grave (28 page)

When the boats made it to the island, Ree took Tristan’s body and carried him to the pyres that had been set up in their absence. Not all of the Guardians had been as lucky as Ree’s friends and there were two bodies to be laid to rest next to Tristan’s. The humans that were on the island had gathered a respectful distance away, but were there to show their support.

As the flames ate the bodies of the Guardians and devoured what remained of her brother, Ree did her best to let go of all the pain she felt. After a while, the others drifted away, but Ree refused to move until the flames had completely died away. Someone brought her a blanket and Paden wrapped it around her shoulders before pulling her into his lap.

Neither of them said anything until the last flame had gone out. The sun had risen hours ago, but Ree stayed in the exact same position as she watched her brother leave the world for real. Paden hadn’t complained once about the damp ground or the cold air. He sat there quietly, his love for Ree the only real warmth she could feel that morning. Finally, he shifted so he could see her face. Very gently he kissed her lips and touched his forehead to hers.

“I want to go somewhere warm.” Ree’s words were quiet, but she smiled softly at Paden.

“Where do you have in mind?” Paden kissed the tip of her nose, his relief for her washing over her.

“I don’t care. Somewhere with a lot of sun and a beautiful beach.” Ree picked up small rock and rolled it between her fingers.

“You just want to see me in those little trunks.” Paden narrowed his eyes at Ree and she laughed. It warmed her from the pit of her stomach and flowed out to get lost in the sound of the crashing water.

Paden stood up and pulled her to her feet. “C’mon. There are a lot of people who want to talk to you.”

“Oh?” Ree let him pull her toward the house where she could hear people laughing. She wasn’t sure that she was ready to talk to anyone but Paden.

“I think there’s cake.” Paden smiled when she picked up her pace.

“Well, I can’t let good cake go to waste, can I?” Ree squeezed his fingers.

“Not you, little one.”

“I wonder where I can order some of those little shorts. Do you prefer a certain color or do you just want green to match your eyes?” She laughed when Paden made a grab for her and threw on the speed. His growl turned into a chuckle as they entered the house and were immersed in hugs from their friends and the people who knew just what they had gone through.

Ree looked back at Paden as Kay pulled her to the kitchen for cake and held out her hand. Lacing his fingers with hers, Paden stayed with Ree, just like she knew he always would. 

Chapter Thirty-One

Ree pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair. Her friends were the only ones left in the kitchen. Everyone else had gone to bed, or disappeared to spend time with their families and friends. Paden and Weylin were arguing over the last piece of cake, which Bryce took without notice. Juliette and Melanie were watching them with amused eyes.

The humans had all been settled into the little houses in the center of the island, and the extra Guardians had been offered passage back to their own homes. Most of them had stayed though, to help clean up the mess that Savannah had been left in. There were still Dark Ones running around and darklings that needed to be healed. It would take a lot of work and time to rid the Earth of the alien disease.

Taking a deep breath, Ree closed her eyes and enjoyed the bickering that meant things were a little more normal. The chair next to her scraped against the floor and Roland sat down. She opened her eyes and smiled when he handed her a spoon and pointed at the carton of ice cream he had gotten out of the fridge.

“This was Sophie’s favorite.” Ree scooped a big spoonful out.

“Yep. There are four more containers in the freezer.” Roland laughed. "I’m going to miss her. She was my family.”

Ree reached over and squeezed his hand quickly. “We’re your family too.”

He smiled at her and touched his spoon to her nose. “You poor people.”

“Where the hell did the cake go?” Weylin stood up and looked around the room. “What the hell?”

“Sorry man, the cake looked so good and it was getting cold while you argued.” Bryce put the last forkful in his mouth and closed his eyes. “So good.”

Weylin dropped his fork on his plate and fell into his chair, utterly defeated. Ree shoved the ice cream in his direction and smiled. Sighing he took a big bite and shrugged.“It will do.”

“So, what’s the plan now?” Melanie asked.

“What do you mean?” Ree leaned forward and looked at her friend.

“I mean, do we go back to school? We missed weeks.”

“I don’t know.” Ree frowned. “I really didn’t think about much past the final battle.”

“Well, it’s over now.” Paden bumped her shoulder with his. “And there’s no telling when we’ll have to answer one of their favors.”

“Maybe we can just take online classes? I’m not sure I could go back to school and look at everyone. Besides, the news station said the school had been closed for repairs.” Ree frowned around the room. “Plus, last I talked to Mom and Dad they said that they’re not sure when they’re coming back. They’ve been in upstate New York and Mom loves it.”

“So what? They want to move?” Juliette leaned forward and frowned.

“No, but our house is destroyed. They want to wait until it’s fixed before they come home. I don’t really blame them. It doesn’t feel like home anymore.” Ree shrugged “And, I don’t know, but I think that knowing Tristan is really gone makes it even harder on them. They had just seen him again.” She hadn’t told them that he had been turned back to human in the end. She couldn’t bring herself to tell them that she had killed her own brother. Tears gathered in her eyes and she shoved another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. Tristan had made his choices and she had done her best to live with the consequences.

“What about a vacation?” Paden looked at Ree, obviously wanting to draw her thoughts back to something happier. It worked. His eyes glowed with something that made her want to drag him back to their room.

“I’ve heard that Bora Bora is pretty nice.” Juliette smiled.

Epilogue

“You have got to be kidding me.” Paden’s voice drifted out of the bathroom in the small hut they were sharing next to the beach. “Ree! I’m not wearing these!”

Ree bit her lips to keep from laughing out loud. She tucked his swim trunks under the bed and tried to swallow her laughter. “What are you talking about?”

Paden stepped out of their bathroom, his towel hanging low on his hips. Obviously fighting a smile, he held up the tiny, green swim trunks Ree had switched out with his normal pair.

“What? They match your eyes.” Ree’s mouth twitched.

“I’m not wearing these, Ree. I would never hear the end of it.” Paden stretched them between his hands. “Roland would die from laughter. And Melanie and Jules! They would feel unsatisfied for the rest of their lives! Imagine knowing this much hotness was right next to them, but they could never have it?”

The laughter burst from Ree and she covered her mouth with both hands. Paden flung the shorts across the room, slingshot style. She ducked and let them hit the wall over her head. Paden was across the room in a second, pressing Ree down onto the bed. He kissed her until she thought her heart was going to explode.

When he finally leaned back, he nipped at her nose and smiled down at her. “I love this.”

“What?” Ree smiled up at Paden, enjoying the happiness that radiated from him and warmed her soul.

“Being with you, right now.Seeing you happy and relaxed.” Using the fingers on his left hand, he pushed Ree’s bangs out of her eyes.

“I’m happy too.” Ree wiggled under him, finding a more comfortable position.

“Good. Now tell me where my trunks are. They’re going to be waiting for us.” Paden narrowed his eyes sternly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ree grinned broadly.

“They’re under the bed, aren’t they?” Paden moved to look under the bed, but Ree grabbed his shoulders and yanked him back.

“Let them wait a little while. We have forever to go snorkeling.” Ree pulled his head down to hers and kissed him soundly.

“Hard to argue with that kind of logic.” Paden mumbled.

An hour late, Paden and Ree finally showed up on the beach where the others were waiting next to a small boat. Weylin was lying on his back in the surf. The water was making his growing hair lap around his head like octopus arms. He pushed his sunglasses down on his nose and glared at Paden.

“Not cool, dude.”

“We’re not that late.” Paden kicked some water at him and dropped their snorkeling gear into the boat.

“If you had been late because you had run into evil, blood sucking monsters it would be understandable.” Weylin sat up and glared at Ree and Paden. “But, noooooo. You were doing the pogo stick dance and there is no brain-bleach to be found anywhere on the island.”

Ree blushed, but couldn’t help the sputtering laugh that came out of her mouth. Paden shook his head and sat down on the edge of the small boat. Bryce walked over and high-fived Weylin before pulling him to his feet.

“It’s too late to go snorkeling now. We’ll have to go tomorrow.”  Bryce went back to Juliette and picked her up over his shoulder. She squealed and smacked at him, but everyone knew she wasn’t serious. Jules could have made him put her down if she wanted.

“Where are Melanie and Roland?” Ree helped Paden pull the boat closer to their little stand of houses.

“They went to go get snacks, because you guys were taking so long.” Weylin grabbed his towel from one of the white lounge chairs. He plopped down into his seat and glared at the water. “There was a really hot chick on the other boat. I was hoping she would lose her snorkel and I could offer her mine.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Ree groaned. Paden laughed and grabbed the soccer ball that was next to the chairs.

“C’mon. Maybe I can teach you how to look cool before she comes back.” Paden kicked the ball at Weylin’s chair.

“You wouldn’t know cool if it bit you on the ass.” Weylin stood up and dribbled the ball down the beach away from Paden.

A dark-haired blur sped past Weylin and took the ball. The sun glinted off of Roland’s bronzed skin, his mouth wide in a happy, carefree grin. “Did I hear you say you wanted me to bite you on the butt? That’s sick man.”

The boys started hollering, laughing, and posturing. Ree just shook her head and enjoyed the sight. When Melanie sat down in Weylin’s empty chair, she turned to smile at her friend. Melanie pulled out a soda from the picnic basket she had been carrying and handed it to Ree.

“Now, this is the life. A beautiful beach, our favorite soda, and a show with hot guys. Doesn’t get much better than this.” Melanie winked at Ree. They clinked cans in a toast, and Ree felt her smile grow.

***

“They have left.” Athena looked at Brigid over her glass of scotch.

“For now.” Tossing her red hair over her shoulder, Brigid sat down next to the Greek goddess. “They believe we cheated.”

“Bah. They’re just angry that we won.” Hecate sipped from her silver chalice, her bright eyes twinkling. “But you’re right. They’ll be back.”

Narrowing her eyes, Athena glared at the fire crackling in the hearth. “We’ll be ready for them.”

“More importantly, so will our heroes.” Hecate waved a hand at the flames and formed the small of images of Ree and her friends. For a few minutes they watched as the group splashed in the warm waters at the beach.

“It’s nice to see them relaxed.” Brigid’s expression softened.

“They deserved it.” Hecate smiled at the small figures. “Ree has rid us of two traitors and in the process gained even more power.”

“That she did.” Brigid smiled as Ree and Paden ran hand in hand.

“Don’t forget our other plans.” Athena flicked her own fingers at the fire. The friendly scene by the beach was replaced by the image of a young woman. She resembled the Alastriana, except for the short dark hair. “I believe she will be quite useful.”

“Quite useful, indeed.” Hecate lifted her glass in salute.

A Preview from

Flukes

By

Nichole Chase

Meena has a secret guarded closely by her family—a secret as dangerous as the sea, and buried just as deep. When court-appointed community service workers are assigned to Flukes, the family-owned animal sanctuary, everyone is on high alert. It doesn’t help that Meena finds herself attracted to sexy-as-sin Blake Weathering, one of the new workers. If he wasn’t so distracting, she might be able to land Flukes a much-needed cruise line contract.

Blake Weathering, the first in his family to attend public school, has developed a tough image. Unfortunately it lands him in trouble. Now banned from his high school graduation ceremony, getting his diploma is dependent upon a community service gig cleaning up fish crap. No diploma, no trust fund fortune—and no way to escape his overbearing father. The last thing he needs is the distraction of a mysterious girl with teal eyes who pulls at his heart strings.

When Blake discovers Meena’s secret, they are both thrown into a desperate search for information about her past. Two worlds pull them in opposite directions, and they will have to fight to hold on to all that really matters.

Prologue

The brisk wind ruffled his hair as he pointed his boat down the coast. Marion sat at the front, large sunglasses concealing most of her face. Even from where he was, he could see the tiny lines along her mouth. They were the only indication of her grief. His heart clenched and he had to swallow around the lump in his throat. Nothing had seemed to help her with the emotional pain and she had been drifting further and further away. Between the miscarriage and the destruction from the hurricane, things looked really bleak for their small family.

The refuge center they had taken over last year was in terrible debt, and after this storm, there might not be enough left to bother saving. They would be lucky if they were able to pull together enough money to even move out of the center. Shaking his head, he let his eyes travel along the shoreline, noting the debris that had washed ashore. His keen gaze looked for beached animals and grounded birds. He couldn’t afford to take in any more animals, but there was no way he could let them suffer.