Chapter 37 #2
The warm summer night envelops me, and I revel in the fresh air after leaving the musty warehouse behind. The stars dance in the sky—like ancient celestial diamonds—and fluffy gray clouds drift by, dulling the moon’s glow.
Crew’s hand travels from mine to around my waist, and I yelp as he shoots into the sky, carrying me as if I’m weightless.
The ground below shrinks by the second as I take a moment to catch my breath.
My stomach finds its proper position again, and I wrap my arms around his neck—pressing our bodies together.
The wind whips my hair around, and I curl into his hold as he carries me toward the apartment. I pull my head back and stare into his eyes.
“You are going to end this, blood slinger.” His voice floats into my ears over the wind. “And you are going to live a long life of happiness and complete freedom.”
I squeeze my arms around his neck. “And so are you.”
The apartment comes into view as we soar over the small city. The buildings pass by as the outskirts of town shift the scenery from a small-town feel to a desolate field.
Crew wraps his arms around me tighter as he lowers to the ground, landing solidly on his feet. He keeps holding me as the apartment door opens above us, revealing Damien stepping out with a sly grin on his face.
“Hey, you two.” He waves us toward the door. “How did it go?”
Crew mumbles under his breath as he releases me from his grip. Before he responds, he steps in front of me, shielding my body from Damien’s view.
“Do you want to tell him what Sam did?” he asks. “I’m not telling him anything unless you want to.”
I shake my head. “He knows we are bonded. Do you trust him, Crew?”
“With my life.”
I nod. “Then we can show him what happened.”
A smile spreads across his face, illuminating my soul as he turns to face his friend. We head up the rickety metal stairs into the small apartment. The living room is a mess—the bedroom is worse—and the space is in desperate need of cleaning.
Damien kicks a towel across the floor. “You destroyed this place,” he says. “Locke is going to kick your ass if he sees this.”
Crew laughs. “We will get it cleaned, Mom. Don’t worry.”
Damien watches us both intently as we move deeper into the apartment. Crew plops down onto the loveseat, tilting his head back against the cushion. His hair falls messily around him as he throws both arms up and crosses them behind his head.
I keep the channel completely open between Crew and me, making the bond sing with praise as I lean against the bedroom doorframe behind Crew. Damien’s eyes widen, sensing what’s between us, and Crew leans forward.
“Everything went horribly,” Crew says, propping his elbows on his knees. “Except one thing.”
“Holy shit,” Damien says.
I keep my mouth shut, crossing my arms as the realization sinks in. Damien glances between the two of us, and I feel a shiver of calm wash down the bond like a vibration.
“Sam sealed you two together,” Damien says. “It’s impossible to ignore.”
“He did,” Crew says.
“You two obviously look like yourselves, but when I look at you, it seems as if you’re the same person.”
“That tends to happen,” Crew says, nonchalantly.
Damien runs his hands through his hair. “How the hell are you going to hide this from Carver and Lowell? Are you two insane?”
As he finishes the sentence, Crew and I dull the bond between us, but only on the outside, while Damien’s eyes grow wilder.
“We can hide it,” I say, stepping forward. “Whenever we want. It’s like a protection barrier.”
“But we wanted you to know,” Crew says. “Please don’t disclose this to anyone else.”
Damien smiles. “Awe, you guys.”
Crew rubs his temples. “Now that that’s cleared. Things didn’t go well with the Voids. I’m going to tell you, but I need you to remain calm.”
“Alright,” Damien says, weirdly.
Crew stands, unable to say the words while sitting, “Mara can kill an Elder now that we are bonded. We don’t know how yet, but she can drain their souls.”
“Holy shit,” Damien repeats, and glances at me.
“Lowell and Shaw Durante killed her father because they thought he wasn’t bonded. They thought he was human.” He pauses for a moment, and Damien listens intently. “And they wanted Mara to join the Order.”
“However, he was bonded to Mara’s mother when he died, and…he replaced the Grim Reaper before he crossed over.”
Damien’s mouth falls open.
“We are going to kill the Elders, including Sam, then we are leaving, Damien. We are going to leave Halcyon City and start a new life somewhere else—a life of freedom. One free of death. The Elders are corrupt—all of them driven mad from their time on this earth—and none of them are fit to run any Order. They need to die.”
Damien starts to pace, his hands covering his eyes before moving to his temples, then dropping to his sides. He rolls his head around, deep in thought, and I can’t blame him. He is handling it much better than I imagined.
“Fucking fuck!” he shouts. “Are you kidding me right now?”
Never mind.
“Your bonded partner’s dad is the Grim Reaper, Crew. She is a soul sucker. And you’ve decided to betray and kill the most powerful beings on this earth. Got it. This is all sounding so great.”
“Way to stay cool, Damien,” I mumble to myself. “Super chill of you.”
He jerks his gaze to mine. “Soul sucker.”
“Watch it,” Crew says, walking toward him. “We are going to do this, and we need your help.”
Damien moves to the window, opens it, and takes a deep breath of the night air.
“I regret being your friend,” he says.
“Stop being so dramatic, you baby,” I say.
Damien glares at me and asks sarcastically. “You going to suck my soul or something?”
I wink, flashing a smile. “Maybe.”
“Ohhhhh,” he purrs. “Go on.”
Crew groans, falling back against the couch.
Damien steps forward. “How can I help?”
“Well,” Crew starts, “we need you to find out everything you can about bonds and anything that ties to them. Apparently, we can access more power now that we are sealed. After that, I need all the information you can find about the Grim Reaper. I bet somewhere in the Jade Order there is information. If not, we will need to get it from the other Orders.”
“Motherfucker,” he whispers.
Crew furrows his brow. “What?”
Damien turns to face us once more, and his face has paled. “I know where we could get that information. Straight from a source that’s experienced it.”
“Alright?” Crew says. “What’s the issue?”
“How are we going to convince him to speak to us without drawing attention to the questions?”
“Who?” I ask.
“Theodore Ren,” Damien replies. “He was sealed to Emalyn. He would know.”
Shit.
“I can get him to speak to me,” I say. “We will need to work fast, though.”
“Why?” Damien says.
“Because Sam is going to kill him next.”
Damien throws his hands in the air, “This just keeps getting better and better. I knew you two were trouble. I thought Locke stressed me out.”
Crew laughs, “Just keeping you on your toes, buddy.”
“Well, screw that,” he replies. “I guess it’s my turn to drop a bomb.”
An unsettling feeling pools in my stomach, and I know Crew feels it too. Damien doesn’t speak for a moment, taking the time to process everything we just dropped on him. He is a practical person, so news like this would likely send him into a spiral.
“You two are wanted back at the Jade Order,” he says.
“Well, I figured that.” Crew says, walking toward me behind the loveseat. “We’re going in a day or so.”
“No,” Damien says. “Now.”
My stomach rolls.
“Lowell and Carver are waiting for you to arrive, and Lowell has someone with him.”
I’m going to vomit.
“Who?” Crew asks, his fists clenched.
Damien takes a long breath. “Shaw Durante.”