9. Chapter 9
Chapter nine
T he plan had been set in motion.
Finn didn’t know what Noah had said to convince the god, but Erebus had agreed—albeit reluctantly—to grant them sanctuary at his isolated cottage. In the village, their friends would spread the rumor that he and Noah had crossed the river to live out their happily ever afterlife in mated bliss.
Now, they just had to wait.
With no way to send messages through the wards, they wouldn’t know when or if Karleigh took the bait. Noah reasoned that she wouldn’t linger in the village once she heard the news, and Finn tended to agree.
If their ruse worked, it would happen quickly.
Just to be safe, however, they had agreed to give it three days. If Karleigh hadn’t crossed by then, she likely wasn’t going to, and they’d have to figure out a different way to deal with her.
Erebus lived in a place known at the Borderlands, which was exactly what it sounded like. An area of land that bordered the village on three sides. Few knew it even existed, and almost no one had ever stepped foot there outside of its permanent residents.
Home to a host of gods and other primordial beings, it was a wild, uncultivated land, filled with jagged mountains, rushing streams, and thick, tangled forests. And at its very edge, just before the famed gates, flowed the River Lethe.
Which had given Finn an idea.
Rather than rely on a witch whose magic could be unpredictable in the Underworld, a single drop of water from the Lethe could erase the memories of a mortal’s past life. He hoped their subterfuge worked, but it didn’t hurt to have a backup plan, just in case.
“Are you sure about this?” Noah asked for the third time since they had set off for the river that morning.
“You’re the one who wanted to erase her memories.”
“Of us .” He wrung his hands together and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “I don’t know. It seems kind of wrong to erase all of her memories.”
In any other situation, Finn might have agreed, but Karleigh had proven she wouldn’t stop until she got what she wanted, and she didn’t care who got hurt in the process.
“We’ll only use it if we don’t have another choice,” he promised. “Although…”
Noah sighed. “Just say it.”
“I wonder if it might not be a blessing. Like a blank slate so she can start over.”
“That’s…huh. I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but you might be right.”
“Haven’t you learned yet, sugar? I’m always right.”
Noah snorted out a laugh that disrupted a couple of birds in a nearby tree. “And so humble.”
Seemingly mollified, at least for the time being, he fell quiet, his footsteps a little lighter as they continued along the winding path through the forest.
While it couldn’t compare to the blue skies of Texas or the wildflower fields of his ranch, Finn couldn’t deny that it felt good to be out in nature again.
Even if he couldn’t identify the birds that watched them from the spindly branches, he appreciated their songs.
And while he hadn’t seen a single cloud since they had arrived, the breeze always smelled of coming rain.
He missed grass. He missed the way the leaves set fire to the hillside in the autumn. He missed sunsets. The way the moonlight danced over the surface of the pond. The howl of coyotes in the distance.
He missed his horses and his dogs. They would be taken care of, sure, but no one would love them the way he did.
Hell, he even missed Buck, the orneriest damn goat on the whole damn planet.
“That’s a lot of missing,” Noah said through their bond, his voice quiet inside Finn’s head.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to leak all that onto you.”
“No reason to be sorry. You know you can talk to me whenever you’re feeling homesick.” Sliding into step with him, he took Finn’s hand and linked their fingers together. “You can even tell me about that ornery goat of yours.”
“What about you?” he said, speaking aloud. “You never talk about home.”
Noah shrugged. “There’s not really much to say. I know not much time has passed topside, but to me, it almost feels like that was someone else’s life. Does that make sense?”
“Not really.” Unlike his mate, he wasn’t yet so far removed from his past. “Ask me again in a couple hundred years.”
“Deal.”
Ahead, the forest began to thin, the trees smaller and spaced farther apart, and flashes of a silvery blue sky peeked through the canopies. The wildlife quieted, and the sound of rushing water grew louder.
“Oh, wow,” Noah breathed when they exited the tree line.
A vast field of Kelly-green grass dotted with white daisies stretched out in front of them, and snowcapped mountains towered in the distance. At the bottom of a gentle slope, a narrow river cut across the landscape, its waters alight with a soft, golden glow.
“Seconded.” He didn’t know what he had expected, but this certainly hadn’t been it. “Did you bring the bottle?”
“Yep.” Digging into his pocket, Noah retrieved a bell-shaped glass bottle with a corked stopper. “Got it.”
They followed the path down the hill, slowing as they approached the sandy banks. Taking the bottle, Finn popped the cork and crouched beside the river, his hand hovering a few inches over the sparkling waters.
“And you’re sure it’s okay to touch it?”
“Rebes said it’s fine as long as we don’t drink it.”
With a nod of determination, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and hoped for the best as he plunged his hand into the water.
Nothing happened. He didn’t suddenly forget his name, his past, or how much he loved Noah. His hand got a little wet, and beyond that, it was pretty anticlimactic.
Once he’d filled the bottle, he replaced the stopper and handed it to his mate. “That was easy enough.”
“Yeah, but how do we get her to drink it?” Pinching it by the neck, he held the bottle up to eye level with a cute frown. “It’s glowing. She’s obsessed, not stupid.”
For that, he didn’t have an answer. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Hopefully, she’ll already be gone by the time we get back.”
“I wouldn’t count on that.”
Finn jerked his head up, a growl vibrating in the back of his throat. “Who the hell are you?”
At the same time, Noah said, “Bane?”
Confused, Finn looked back and forth between his mate and the stranger. “You know him?”
“He’s a Reaper.” His attention turned back to the hulking figure in the mortician suit. “What are you doing here?”
The Reaper dipped his head toward the bottle clutched in Noah’s hand. “Same as you.” Then he strolled toward the river with an easy gait, pausing to clap Finn on the shoulder as he passed. “At ease, cowboy.”
Finn’s lip curled, and another low growl rolled up from his chest.
The asshole just smirked.
“What do you mean about Karleigh? What’s going on?”
“I told you to keep an eye on that one.” Kneeling beside the river, he produced a small red vial from thin air and tipped it toward the water. “Vampire Barbie is having a whole ass meltdown in the village.”
Finn tensed, instantly on alert. “She’s still there?”
“Yep. I mean, points for creativity, but you didn’t actually think she’d fall for it, did you?” Corking the vial, he tossed it into the air where it disappeared into a flash of green light, then pushed to his feet. “I mean, it’s pretty bad when her own sire had to take her out.”
“Her sire killed her?” Noah asked, his voice low and thready. “Why?”
“Because she’s unstable,” Bane answered flatly. “It was probably the kindest thing he could have done for her.”
Sadly, Finn kind of agreed. “What is she doing now?”
Bane swung his attention to him. “There’s a standoff at the pier.”
“A standoff?” Noah yelped. “Why?”
Bane shrugged. “She’s threatening to throw someone in the river if they don’t give Finn to her.”
“Finn, we have to go.”
He could hear the fear in his mate’s voice, could see it in his eyes. “You.”
Bane arched an eyebrow at him. “I have a name.”
“I don’t care.” He’d rather chew off his own arm than ask the asshole for help, but he didn’t have any other choice. “Can you take us there?”
“You insult me, then ask for a favor? Interesting tactic.”
Impatience bubbled over, and he could feel his control slipping. “Will you fucking take us or not?”
The Reaper grinned, apparently having the time of his life. “I like you.”
He could give two shits what the guy thought of him. “If you’re not—”
His vision dimmed, the air leeched from his lungs, and his stomach fell into his butt. As quickly as it had started, the sensation faded, leaving him shaking off the disorientation on the inky banks of the River Acheron.
“Noah?”
“I’m here.” A sharp gasp followed the confirmation, a sound filled with both pain and fear. “Keegan!”
A small crowd had gathered at the end of the pier, spectators to the scene unfolding in front of them. Several of them had their heads bent in hushed conversation, while others looked on disapprovingly.
No one tried to help, though.
Orrin and Rune stood at the front of the group, posture tense as they tried to reason with the female.
At the other end of the dock, toes pressed right to the edge of the faded boards, Karleigh stared back at them, her eyes wide and crazed. She waved her left hand around in animated gestures as she shrieked her demands, which mostly consisted of someone bringing Finn to her.
In her right hand, she held a fistful of Keegan’s black tee as she dangled him out over the water.
Cursing under his breath, Finn hurried after his mate, pushing his way to the front of the crowd until they came to stand with their friends. Rune, naturally, was losing his fucking mind. A volley of snarls and growls poured from his lips, his chest heaving with barely contained rage.
Orrin, on the other hand, just looked…sad.
“Do something!” Noah demanded, tugging on the sleeve of the prince’s robes.
“What would you have me do?” Orrin responded, his voice thin and brittle.
“You have magic, don’t you? Just poof him over here!”
The elf shook his head. “If the timing is off, even by a heartbeat, he’ll fall into the river.”