Light the Shadows (A Grimm Novel) (27 page)

Anna sat with her hands in her lap, her eyes downcast. She looked like she’d been scolded fairly harshly, as tears swam in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Micah. He knew the moment we arrived.”

On the other side of the desk sat the man who’d appeared in Micah’s bedroom. Though he looked young, his skin was pale and paper thin. The tiniest blue veins could be seen, and there were dark circles beneath his bright blue eyes. The old derby hat sat on the edge of the desk along with volumes of what looked like journals. More journals lay on the floor beside the desk and on the shelf-lined walls.

Azrael sat with his hands folded beneath his chin. He stared at Micah a moment then nodded toward the chair beside Anna. “Sit, please.”

Micah and Thomas exchanged a quick glance, but she did as she was asked. If they were going to ask for his help, it was best to be amicable.

“Azrael, sir, please just hear us out.” Micah felt as though she was sitting in front of the proverbial father figure who had just caught her sneaking out of the house. When he failed to say anything, she said, “We need your help. Sully is…”

Finally, Azrael held up a hand to shush her. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. She had to lean forward just to hear his words. “I am well aware of the situation. Regardless, it doesn’t give the living permission to come over to this side of the veil anytime they wish.”

Micah’s mouth opened to spout several reasons why he should help, but he hushed her again. This time he turned his gaze toward Thomas. “And you? You were given two chances to go beyond, but you turned them down? Why?”

“If it means I might be able to save a decent man who has been my friend for over a century, I’d gladly do it again. Sullivan is like a brother to me.” Thomas said in answer. He gripped the back of Micah’s chair so hard that it creaked beneath his fingers.

“I will not interfere,” Azrael said. He reached over to place the derby on his head. The movement caused dust to swirl in front of him. He gazed at Micah as he adjusted the brim. “You are on your own, child. Each time I leave this office, for whatever purpose, things go awry. Names do not get written into the book of the dead
, and it throws off the balance of how things work. I simply cannot leave.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Micah asked.

Azrael picked up an old quill pen and began to scribble a name onto the book’s open page. “Both.”

“Please,” Micah scooted to the edge of her seat. Tears swam in her eyes then tumbled down her cheeks. “You are Death. You must have great power to rule over the living and dead. Can’t you just swoop in, take care of business
, then come back?”

“I’m sorry.” Azrael placed his hand over hers. “It does pain me to see you so upset, but there is nothing I can do.”

“Bullshit!” Micah jerked her hand away. Had Thomas not gripped the chair’s back, it would have tipped when she stood.

Azrael moved around the end of the desk, his mouth turned down in an unbecoming frown.

Thomas slunk out of the way then shared a confused glance with Anna.

Micah glared at the young man in the old suit, daring him to do or say something. The blade slid into her hand like a welcome old friend. “I’m asking one last time, Azrael. Please, help us get Sully out of there.” She was close to tears again, but she’d be damned if she’d give up on him even if the odds were stacked against them.

Azrael laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I am sorry, granddaughter, but I will not intervene.”

Micah whipped the blade up. Azrael’s eyes widened as it arced downward. The blade’s tip bit into the dry wood of the desk. “Fine. I’ll do it myself. I had no idea Death was such a coward.”

She turned on her heel and stalked toward the door. Behind her, she overheard Azrael shoo the others. “Go on, get out of my office. Do what you can to help her.”

Chapter Twenty

“Where are they holding him?” Micah asked as she dropped into her Mini Cooper.

“Micah…” Anna’s voice carried a warning. “This isn’t a good idea. We can’t just go in half-cocked. Even Death refused to help us. What does that say about our odds?”

“Shut up, Anna.” Micah met the ghost’s gaze in the rearview. “If you don’t want to be a part of this, disappear. Otherwise, keep your opinions to yourself.”

“Do we at least have a plan?” Anna’s hazel eyes were wide with fear and worry.

Micah sighed then eased up on the accelerator. “No
, and if I think too hard about it, I’ll probably talk myself out of doing it. I know it’s stupid, but I can’t leave him there. I just can’t.”

Everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence.

After a few moments, Anna jerked upright in the backseat. “Oh my God, Micah! You left the dagger in Azrael’s office.”

Micah tried to call it to her hand, but it did not appear. “I’ll just have to go in with hands blazing.” Her joke fell flat
, and no one laughed.

“We have to have some kind of plan,” Anna said.

“I’m gonna blast that little…” Micah stole a glance at Thomas, and her cheeks heated. Natalie used to be his little girl, so some poise was required.

Thomas didn’t meet her gaze. Instead, he said, “Turn here then go to Forest Lawn.”

Anna touched Micah’s shoulder, sending chilly shrapnel through her arm. She said, “He called you granddaughter. Do you think that’s true?”

“I don’t know,” Micah answered. They had bigger things to worry about than her lineage. “And I don’t care.”

Anna smirked. “Maybe he’ll get some familial urges and come to our rescue.”

“Jeez, Anna. You sound so confident that we can do this.” Micah rolled her eyes
. As far as she was concerned, Azrael could take that stupid hat and cram it where the sun doesn’t shine.

“Park outside the gates. We don’t want to alert anyone to our presence just yet.” Thomas peered out the window at the dark cemetery. Tombstones formed silhouettes against the dim sky. The weathered mausoleum sat crumbling, waiting. To anyone else, it might look like a demure cemetery, but Micah knew what lurked beyond those walls.

Micah killed the engine then gripped the steering wheel. This was it, go time. “Whatever happens, just know that I appreciate your help. If I fall behind, leave me. Just get Sully out of there.”

Anna looked like she might cry. Thomas nodded grimly. Both he and Anna drifted out of the car without opening the doors.

Micah got out then closed the door as quietly as she could. “Thomas, get inside and check on Sully. See if you can get him out. Anna, you keep watch outside. We wouldn’t want more shadows or the groundskeeper to surprise us.”

Anna gripped Micah’s shoulder, sending tingles racing down her arm. “Be careful.”

“What about you?” Thomas asked.

She surveyed the stone structure then whispered, “I’m going to kick the door down
, then try to take out as many of them as I can with the element of surprise. As soon as you see an escape, get Sully out of there.”

“This is suicide,” Anna
said. “You don’t have the Grimm’s blade. What if your inner light stops working like before?”

“I’ll deal with it when and if that time comes.” Micah squared her shoulders and dragged in a deep breath. “Stay out of the light, Thomas. I can’t afford to lose you. When this is all over and you still want to leave, I’ll help you.”

To Anna she said, “I don’t know what the light will do to you, so try to stay out of the way. Let’s go.”

Thomas streaked past the crumbling tombstones then disappeared around the corner of the mausoleum. Anna positioned herself on the other side of the door so she could see most of the cemetery and the road leading up to it. She whispered, “Good luck.”

It took two bone jarring kicks before the newly fixed door splintered. Pain radiated up the length of Micah’s leg, but she ignored it. Knocking the broken, jagged remains away, they clattered against the floor, announcing her presence.

The interior of the musty mausoleum was dank and dark, but she could see shadowy figures flitting around the room. One broke away from the horde and came right at her.
Shit, I didn’t even think to bring a flashlight.

Yelping in surprise, Micah lifted a hand up to blast the shadow with light. The angry spirit screamed as it evaporated into nothingness only inches from her nose. The others disappeared like smoke into the corners of the room. In that brief flash of light, Micah spotted Thomas crouched at the end of the building. Sully was stretched across the floor, crimson pooled all around him. The scythe, his own weapon,
was buried deep inside his chest.

Micah waited a fraction of a heartbeat before she rushed to him. She crashed onto her knees beside her beloved
Reaper. Tears choked her as emotion tightened her chest. “Sully? Baby, it’s me.”

She stroked fingers through his sweat
-dampened hair. There was no sign of life. He didn’t flinch or give any indication that he’d felt her touch.

“Behind you!” Thomas shouted.

Micah twisted to face her attacker. A large, muscular man with crooked yellow teeth stood right behind her. Before she could react, he gripped her by the shoulders and threw her away from Sully’s body.

Micah struck the concrete floor, landing on her shoulder. She yelped then rolled away from the man’s size twelve work boots as they kicked at her. His foot came down right where her head had been only seconds ago.

Anna screamed outside. Her voice blurred with those of the numerous shadows that were pouring into the mausoleum. She fought her way inside, but was unable to reach Micah when a shadow moved directly through her. Anna’s form became wispy for a moment and flickered.

The big man’s thick fingers tangled in Micah’s hair. Yanking her upward,
he pushed his face close to hers. “You made a big mistake coming here, girl.”

He caught both
her wrists in his free hand and pinioned them over her head. The light inside her shimmered, but had nowhere to go. She was helpless against this big brute.

Movement to her right caught her attention. Natalie had just appeared next to Thomas
, and she didn’t look happy. Her features were pinched into an intense frown. She stood with hands on her hips just behind him. “What are you doing, Father?”

Micah tried to shout a warning, but the words were strangled in her throat. At the same time, she brought her knee up into the man’s rotund belly. Air gushed from his lungs
, and his hold on her loosened.

She jerked away from him and tumbled to the floor. Scrambling up, she was met by Anna
, who tried to help. All she accomplished was making Micah’s arms tingle.

“Out of the way!” she cried then thrust her open hands in Natalie’s direction. Anna had just enough time to dart out of the way as a radiant glow exploded from Micah’s palms.

Screams from those in Micah’s direct line of fire filled her ears. She had little time to contemplate how this made her feel because the big shadow was coming at her again.

Natalie was too far away to be affected. Instead, she screamed, “Get her, Dennis!”

Dennis, the big brute, slammed into Micah, knocking her onto the grime-covered floor. The breath that puffed past her lips kicked up a whirlwind of dust. She clawed at the floor, desperate to get away from him.

Thomas turned to his daughter, tears in his eyes. “Please, Nat. Don’t do this.”

Natalie backhanded him with inhuman strength, and he fell backward onto his butt. The girl stalked toward him, an ugly snarl twisting her features. “I came to you for help a long time ago, and you ignored my pleas. You turned me into what I am,
Dad
.”

“I’m so sorry. It was a mistake,” Thomas whispered then reached for her. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

She batted his hand away. “But it does. You wanted me to stay forever. I’ve figured out how to do it.”

Each breath Micah sucked in was a chore. Still pinned by Dennis’s heavy boot, she struggled to crawl from beneath him.

Natalie’s hand wrapped around the scythe’s handle, and a slow smile spread across her face. In one quick movement, she jerked it up and out of Sully’s chest. The girl moved with a sense of purpose as she stalked closer to Micah.

Knowing time was quickly running out, Micah clamped her hands around the thick ankle anchoring her to the floor. Focusing on the light within, she felt a surge of power shudder through her. Dennis was lit in a brilliant glow that seemed to surround him. Micah squinted against the blinding light.

“No!” Natalie screeched then dashed forward.

The big man threw his head back to scream, but all that came out was the all-encompassing light. It burst from his eye sockets and his open mouth before he disintegrated into nothing.

Micah scrambled to her feet. She’d lost sight of Natalie, but hardly had time to search for the girl as other shadows clambered to meet her. Some shambled toward her, their hands outstretched and their eyes pleading for mercy. Others still sought to carry out Natalie’s orders. These were the ones she’d deal with first.

Light shot from her open hands, making the shadows closest to her nothing but a memory. Still, no matter how many she blasted, more kept coming. The small building was nearly full of dark, swirling shapes as more crept in through the walls. Natalie’s maniacal laughter could be heard, but Micah couldn’t locate the child.