Chapter 66 Faye
Day of the full moon-
I was awoken by the ruckus Ryker and Creed were causing.
I walked in with a blanket wrapped around me and sat close to the wooden fireplace to feel its warmth.
I needed any kind of warmth right now. I was missing my ma’s hugs so badly.
You’d think I’d be astonished by watching these Reapers transition back to their human forms, but I fear I can no longer be surprised.
The world that I once thought I knew had changed in a blink of an eye.
The only thing that could astonish me at this point is a good soul, and a good heart.
Now that is a rare find. Ryker and Creed were brushing themselves off as they fixed their bunched-up wrinkled shirts.
“Of course Penelope is half duskwalker.” Creed rolled his eyes dramatically.
“Not just any duskwalker, a spell binding vampire. Her father is Armand Nightbloom. Royalty in their realm; powerful and wealthy in any realm,” Ryker added as he put his boots on the table and popped a cherry into his mouth.
All this realm talk was making me dizzy, and I knew that eventually I’d need to ask more questions to understand.
But right now my main concern was helping these women and my cousin.
They were all being gathered like livestock for a sacrificial claim for wealth and power. All at the cost of my kind.
“What exactly does that mean?” I asked, already ready to go back to bed and pretend this isn’t my life.
“It means Miss. Penny is a vampire princess who is going to have a very pissed off vampire daddy, if he finds out his little princess has been taken.” Before continuing, Ryker scratched the top of his long, dark locks. “You don’t want to piss off the blood realm. Just saying.”
Creed and all the guys glanced at each other in silence.
I despised that they all knew something I didn’t. “Why do you all look like that? What? Just fucking tell me!” I called out in exasperation.
Creed laughed in the background. “Oh this is rich, my brothers,” he said, while he cleaned his gold pistol, appearing to be entertained.
“Duskwalkers and Reapers have the oldest rivalry, going back to the beginning of the realms,” Jax responded to me carefully.
“What, why?” I asked in pure confusion.
“Their souls can’t be reaped. There’s no soul to take, meaning they can be hurt, but they can’t be killed by us Reapers.
And duskwalkers can not drink from, nor kill Reapers, since we are Death in life form.
That caused an egotistical division among the two realms, which are ruled very differently than this world.
There is a treaty our ancestors signed centuries ago, for peace among the species’ and the realms. Our species were at war for hundreds of years.
Making sure we didn’t cross bloodlines was one of the agreements.
” Jax took another swig from his gauntlet.
I could see the discomfort in his seething shadows.
“What is the other agreement?” I asked while looking at Jax, fearful of the answer. The guys were suspiciously quiet.
“There is a border neither of us cross to hunt.” His words made me fall silent.
“Guess where your Little Miss Vampy Princess is, little bruja?” Creed taunted me, making me more agitated by the minute.
“The duskwalker territory,” I whispered the gut-wrenching truth, a lump forming in the back of my throat.
“You can’t be fucking serious. You’re going to leave her there over a fucking invisible line so she can suffer?
They could be torturing her and gods knows what else!
” I looked over to any of them for sympathy.
Ryker stood up from his chair, seeming conflicted by the reality.
“You fucking pussies!” Rocky exclaimed, while placing her wine down. She stood from her chair, her eyes shifting to black in a blink. “What’s wrong, Reaper, cat’s got your tongue?” she spat while constricting Creed’s airways.
Begging Raquel to stop, I touched her hands. “It’s not worth it, prima,” I implored.
Rocky finally let the pressure off of Creed’s throat, and he instantly snarled at Rocky, his Reaper face appearing irate.
“Fucking witch!” he snarled.
Rocky stared the six-foot-five Reaper down. “I’m not afraid of Death, Death is afraid of me.” She was seething as she spoke between every word.
“Stop this now!” I interjected, getting between them. “The last thing we need right now is division! What we need to do is work together!” I pleaded with the both of them, discovering a glimpse of covert pain in both of their eyes.
“She is right,” Ryker commented in the background, watching the shit-show before us.
“I am not leaving Penny there to be tortured and sacrificed!” Raquel stated, making her stance true and heard. “I don’t care if I have to go alone!” Her demands were loud and clear.
“I am with you.” I stood before my cousin and grabbed her hand. “Flesh of my flesh,” I said to her, as we looked to each other in reassurance.
“Oh, baby girl, you are so cute to think I’d let you fight this battle alone,” Jax spoke up, sounding amused.
“So then you’re with us?” Rocky asked, crossing her arms.
Jax got lost in his thoughts and uncertainty before directing the answer to me. “I’m wherever you are until the very end, my love.”
I embraced him and could feel his shadows wrapping around my waist.
“Are you insane? This would cause war against the realms. Have you forgotten what our punishment would be, brother, or has this spell binder hexed you? Denying you of any fucking common sense!” Creed snapped at Jax, revolted.
I jumped in front of Jax and cast my finger upon him. “Watch your mouth, Reaper, or I will sew it shut for you.” My eyes flashed white as marble and stitches began binding his mouth shut.
Jax and Ryker started laughing while Rocky looked at him with a look of comedic relief. Creed tried to open his bound mouth while his shadows panicked. “Careful, Reaper, or your shadows are next!” I spat, my promise making his shadows slither in fear behind him.
I started unbinding him as he coughed in mercy, trying to catch his breath.
“Holy fuck, Faye, when did you become so bad-ass and why did I kind of like it?” Creed choked between every word.
“Chill.” Jax tapped his chest.
“I’m impressed,” Ryker hollered in the background.
“Alright, little witch, you’ve earned my respect.
Not just anyone can intimidate my shadows.
Let’s fucking do this. But as soon as we get the vampy princess out it’s back to the treaty, no exceptions.
We need to make this quiet. We don’t want to piss off daddy Nightbloom, he’s a demonic soul. One I don’t even care to admire.”
To solidify our deal, I pricked our fingers to cast an agreement with a blood pact.
“Flesh of my flesh,” we both chanted, his shadows and my magic binding our pact.
Ryker stood quietly in the background.
“So, are you in or not, Reaper boy?” Rocky asked, taunting him.
“I’ve been listening to you morons argue all night. Let’s stop wasting time and get our princess,” he grumbled in response. Our princess?
The Reapers started gathering their pistols and daggers and packed up their ammo and shells.
“Oh, brother, let the boys pack up their toys,” Rocky retorted, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
“We don’t need these, little vicious. It just makes things more fun.” Creed winked at Rocky, knowingly annoying her.
“Ew.” She walked off in pure disgust. “I’ll be out here waiting with my weapons.” She waved her hands dramatically.
“Chill, spirit fingers,” Creed responded, spinning his dagger into his boot.
“Jax, what happens if you get caught hunting in duskwalker territory?” I questioned, swallowing my thick saliva.
“It would end the treaty between our realms that’s been upheld for hundreds of years. And it would cause a bloody war lasting for centuries, like the last.”
Jax noticed the fear glaze over my eyes and strode over to me.
“Hey.” He kissed me softly. “One battle at a time, my little witch.”
He was right, one battle at a time. I kissed his tender lips, his beard and mustache tickling my nose, the scent of him was giving me comfort.
I wished we could be cuddled up like every other couple, watching scary movies and eating popcorn.
I knew that life was now a distant memory.
Here we were, about to embark on a dangerous journey to save my cousin, and start a war among demons, no big deal.
“You riding with us, ladies?” Creed asked while putting on his bike helmet and sitting on his Harley.
“No, I have other transportation.” I saddled up Stevie as he bucked, already knowing what was in store.
“Oh, hell yeah.” Rocky saddled up next to me on Holiday.
The Grimwood brothers’ bikes roared and their shadows came to life. They slithered around and above their bikes, fierce and protective. The most scary, beautifully devastating sight I had ever seen. Hell on wheels. The Grims laughed in wicked unison, knowing the hunt for a soul was near.