Chapter Fourteen
Grym
Ifound myself in the car with Cael, who arrived after the cop left.
I wanted to punch him, but I restrained myself.
The only thing keeping me from it was knowing he was just as uncomfortable and unhappy as I was.
They say misery loves company, and that was no truer than spending all night in Elliot’s driveway, watching his house.
The others were in four cars behind us, watching the house as well. Everyone of them blamed me for Elliot’s reaction.
I sighed, not for the first time.
It was my fault. I shouldn’t have sent Cael. I also could have been a little gentler in my explanations. Elliot didn’t have to know everything all at once.
“Go in there and see if he’ll give us coffee.” Cael was such an ass sometimes. It was six o’clock in the morning. Elliot might not even be awake yet.
I wasn’t rocking the boat over Cael’s caffeine addiction. I didn’t drink the stuff, but I could go for some tea.
“The curtain moved about ten minutes ago. He’s up. Go in there.”
I didn’t see the curtain move, but I didn’t doubt Cael. “Show a little decorum.”
“By sitting in the man’s driveway like a fucking stalker? That’s your idea of decorum?”
It wasn’t. It was weird, but how else could they keep Elliot safe without invading his house?
The rural setting, with fields on either side of Elliot’s property and a forest in his backyard, with no close neighbors except for Mr. McKinney across the street, was the perfect place to be when the end of the world as we knew it was about to take place.
The change might not be terrible, but we were at the beginning of the end, and that meant terrible things would happen.
I needed to let Elliot know what to expect, but I didn’t know whether knocking on the door and asking if we could talk was the right approach.
Morgana came up to the car carrying a tray with two coffee cups. She had probably gone to the nearest gas station. Gas stations always sold coffee.
She handed each of us a cup without a word. When I saw the tea bag tag sticking out from under the cup lid, I smiled. “Thanks, Morgana.”
“This is a good place to hole up when the shitshow starts.” She scanned across the street to the neighbor’s house.
“It’s fairly secluded, with open fields.
Besides the forest behind Elliot’s house, of course.
But we’d see anyone coming at us as long as we ward against the demons.
We’ll need to find a skilled witch.” She gestured toward Mr. McKinney’s house.
“He’s set to be ferried. Minutes away from it.
Best tell Elliot yourself so he’s prepared. I’m sure he’ll take it hard.”
“I’ll take the old man. You comfort your beloved,” Cael offered.
“I thought you wanted Elliot dead.” I wasn’t just going to let that go. I was okay spending an eternity in Cael’s car if it meant keeping Elliot safe from people who thought like Cael.
“I’m not a savage, man.” Cael scowled.
Morgana frowned. “We’re all here to make sure nothing happens to him. If it does, we won’t meet our beloveds either. Elliot is the key.”
Cael sighed. “His comment was meant for me.”
Morgana’s expression was like stone. “I know. I’m talking to you, too. You’re either a protector of our beloveds or the enemy. Best not let the past rule you, Cael.”
I wasn’t sure what Morgana meant by that last statement, but it made Cael curse under his breath. Otherwise, he said nothing, even after Morgana had left.
The curtain shifted. I pictured Elliot scowling at us.
A full five minutes later, the front door opened, and Elliot padded out barefoot onto the front porch. He wore a T-shirt with cartoon dogs on it and green pajama pants and no coat even though it was cold outside.
He also held a plate of pancakes stacked so high I was sure they’d topple. He pointed to the pancakes, then waved his hand at us before going inside the house again.
Everyone piled out of the cars and headed for the house, except for us.
Ordell stopped by our car and grinned at us. “He made us breakfast.”
I was a little surprised by that, too, but I was hopeful he was coming around.
“Do you think that means he’ll let us stay?” Ordell asked.
“I hope so.”
“I don’t want to sleep in my car again. Neo snores.” At least they slept.
Ordell started toward the house.
I watched him until he disappeared inside.
“You’re against the beloveds because you haven’t found yours yet.
If you had, you’d understand how precious they are.
I feel complete for the first time because of Elliot.
That’s how you’ll feel, too, when you meet yours.
” Nothing I said could keep Cael from leaving.
I’d seen it in his eyes the moment Morgana gave him the ultimatum.
His jaw tightened. “I’ll help Mr. McKinney into the afterlife, and then I have somewhere to be. You can keep my car.”
Grymley sighed, then opened the door. “If you even try to hurt my beloved, I will end you, Cael.”
Cael didn’t respond to the threat. When I closed the car door, Cael got out, too, and threw me the keys. He headed down the drive, walking rather than teleporting to the neighbor’s house.
Would it be the last time I saw him? I was afraid of the answer and of what it meant if I ever saw him again. I might have just lost a friend.
The rest of the reapers headed into the house. I’d always resisted a deeper connection with them, clinging to professionalism, but that all went out the window when I saw Elliot unconscious in the ER. I needed my brothers more than ever now—all of them.