“This is no one’s fault. No one but the Dark Ones that came here.” She looked around the room, meeting each set of eyes. “Do you hear me? This is not any of your faults. My mother went doing what she loved.” She looked at the body covered on the bed and her lip trembled softly. “She would never have wanted us to find blame in ourselves.”
A knock on the door made everyone in the room jump—which was a surprising occurrence. Ree felt the power just out of sight and immediately went to open the door. Just past the arched doorframe stood Brigid, Hecate, Athena, Aphrodite, and several other gods and goddesses Ree didn’t recognize. Brigid stepped into the room, and nodded to Kay. Instead of her normal jeans and sweater, she was wearing a long green dress, with a dark blue cloak that trailed on the ground. The dark red hair around her face had been pulled back in braids that swung gently when she knelt next to the bed. She bowed her head and placed a hand on Ellie’s limp form. Hecate went straight to Kay and pulled her into a motherly hug. Her weathered hands stroked Kay’s hair, and she placed a soft kiss on the woman’s cheek. She stepped back to look at Melanie, her eyes full of tears.
“Because Kay is the remaining human on the island, and from my line, I will speak for the gods tonight, as I say that we are terribly sorry for your loss. We cannot bring back the dead, but I can promise to take good care of the woman you called mother.” Hecate turned to look at Ree with compassionate eyes. “We would celebrate their lives with you tonight.”
Ree nodded her head. Hecate walked to the bed and gently lifted Ellie. Turning carefully, she walked out the door and headed for the front door. As they walked, other gods joined them, each carrying a limp form in their arms. The hairs on Ree’s arms rose, the power making her senses tingle. To see these immortal creatures carrying the dead, was one of the most surreal moments of her life.
There along the beach stood eight pyres. Hecate gently laid Ellie’s form on the first pyre and unwrapped the sheet. Once she had Ellie free, she kissed her forehead once. Each of the gods and goddesses did the same thing. Pam’s battered form was hard to look at, but Ree refused to turn her eyes. Paden pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Hecate motioned for Melanie and Kay to say goodbye to Ellie.
Kay stepped up and whispered quietly to her mother. She adjusted Ellie’s shirt and kissed her on the cheek. She stood up and turned to look at the gods and goddesses. “Make it worth it. Make all of this worth the cost.”
Melanie stepped up to stand in her mother’s place. She leaned down and gently kissed Ellie before brushing some of the hair away from her face. She didn’t say anything, just walked back to stand next to her mother and Weylin. The gods and goddesses formed a half circle, enclosing the group so that they were closest to the pyres.
Hecate’s voice rose in a haunting tune that made Ree’s heart clench. As the goddess sang of love and death, Brigid went to each pyre and, with the touch of her hand, lit the wood. The flames grew until they heated the tears running down Ree’s cheeks. She tried to think good things for the dead, to focus on the bright moments she had shared with Ellie, but her mind tripped over the image of the older woman’s dead body and stuttered when she thought of Pam and her suffering. She hadn’t known Pam long, but she had been a kind woman. Someone who had felt real and normal in the middle of a crazy sea.
When Hecate finished her song, she turned to look at Ree. “Go and do what you need to. We shall stay with the pyres until they are gone. No one shall set foot on this island who is not welcome.”
Ree nodded her head and looked at her friends. They all wore the same expression. It wasn’t the fire that had once filled them at the thought of hunting. Instead it was cold and serious.
Chapter Eighteen
As she turned to leave, Ree caught Athena’s hard stare. The goddess’s face was partially blocked by the hood of her white cloak, but her intent was obvious. Ree jerked her chin up and left without a second thought. The goddess obviously wanted the same thing Ree did—to make the ones who did this pay.
Ree didn’t stop walking until she got into the armory near the practice room. She shrugged out of her jacket and grabbed sheaths that went along her back. Once she had her swords in place, she loaded herself down with throwing knives and daggers. She wasn’t sure she would need them for what she had planned, but she wasn’t going to be caught without them, either.
The only sound in the room was that of clinking metal and the whisper of leather as everyone “suited up”. Ree pulled her hair over her shoulder and quickly worked it into a braid. Her eyes traveled over her friends, taking in their expressions and intense feelings. She knew they were ready to go kill, to take out as many Dark Ones as possible, but she wanted to make sure their heads were in the right place. She waited until everyone was done, waiting around the room with deadly expressions.
“We’re going out tonight to take out as many Dark Ones as possible. That means that if we see Tristan and I have the opportunity, I’m going after him. But we need to be focused on our task first and foremost. We need to take all of his back-up, his help from him. Don’t go looking for trouble.” Ree pulled her jacket back on and zipped it up carefully.
“What if trouble finds us?” Weylin’s knuckles creaked around the pommel of the collapsible sword he was holding.
“Then make them regret it.” Ree turned and led the way to the boat at the dock. She slowed once they got near the water and looked for Melanie. She turned to her friend. “Melanie, I think you should stay with your mom.”
“I’m fine, Ree. Don’t try to keep me away from this.” Melanie started to walk past her, but Ree grabbed her arm. She looked at Melanie and absorbed her emotions for a minute. She fought with her instincts but finally nodded her head. Maybe this would help Melanie, to keep busy and have an immediate goal.
As they hopped onto the boat, Ree felt the tugging presence of a god nearby. She looked over her shoulder to see Athena and Brigid standing next to each other near the trees. They were both looking out at the water, so Ree followed suit. As she watched, a slight shimmer seemed to appear in front of the boat before fading away. She looked back at the goddesses and nodded in understanding. They were consciously shielding the island now. Nothing would get through at this point.
“I guess you made an impression.” Paden whispered. He was looking at Ree with gleaming eyes.
“What did you do?” Roland asked. He glanced briefly at Ree before turning back to the console.
“We had words.” Ree sat down on the bench next to Melanie. She didn’t touch her friend, worried Melanie’s careful façade would fall apart.
“Must’ve been some words.” Bryce muttered from the other side of the boat. Ree just shrugged and thought about what they were going to do when they hit the mainland.
Roland took them to a shipping company and carefully motored the boat into a slot between two large freighters. Once everyone was ready, they headed downtown. They had to walk through an unsavory area to get to the historic district, but Ree wasn’t worried. If someone didn’t sense the danger that followed her friends like a dense smoke, they could deal with it quickly. As they came to a crosswalk, the two men standing there quickly left. Each of the humans eyed Roland and Paden with suspicion as they quickly walked down the block.
“We hit the furthest safe house from here and work our way back to the boat.” Ree started off on a jog, heading for the side of a building that had a broken fire escape. She jumped and grabbed the highest rung, before quickly scaling the rattling metal to the roof. Roland seized the lead, taking them to the house that had portals in it the night before. They all crouched on the top of a building across the street and decided on the best plan of action.
“Fire?” Weylin licked his lips and narrowed his gaze at the dilapidated house.
“Could spread,” Bryce said. “Is there anyone in the surrounding houses?”
“No.” Ree bit her lip and knew she had to make a decision. “I can blow up the house, but we should save that for an emergency for now. It saps me, even with the new healing stuff.” She sat back on her heels and looked over at Paden. “It will be dawn soon. We hit once they’re in the house. No one to help them from the sunlight.”
“Should we split up? Hit two houses at once?” Melanie was staring at the house, her mouth pressed into a line so tight her lips were white.
“You’re right. That way if the others get news of it, they won’t be able to portal out before we get two houses down.” Ree nodded her head.
“I’m staying with you.” Melanie looked at Ree with determined eyes. “I want to watch these jerks burn.”
Ree appraised her friend for a long minute before nodding her head. She turned to look at the rest of the group. Paden starred at her intently, and she knew he was worried she would send him with Weylin and the others. There was no doubt in her mind it would only cause a fight, and that was the last thing they needed.
“Who brought explosives?”
“That would be me. I’m demo.” Weylin reached into the bag he had looped over one shoulder. Drawing out two small devices, he held them up for everyone to see. “Stick it to the wall and press the button in the center. You’ve got twenty seconds to get the hell out of the way.”
“Roland, can you, Bryce, and Juliette handle the other house?” Ree looked at Roland steadily. She was worried about the conflicting emotions that rolled off of him any time he looked at her or Melanie. Frustration, confusion, and pain tore at him, and it made Ree beyond nervous to see Roland—the rock—so mixed up. He bowed his head in understanding and moved toward the next rooftop. Ree turned her gaze to Juliette. “I want you with them because you can use your gift if everything goes wrong.” Juliette nodded her head and silently followed Roland and Bryce.
“Okay.” Ree sat down with her back against the wall. “Now we wait.” She closed her eyes and blocked all of the emotions around her. She waited for the cold trickle that signaled approaching Dark Ones.
It wasn’t long before she had a tingle of warning. She opened her eyes to see the purple and light pink of sunrise brightening the sky. Her eyes went to Paden’s first, and he looked at Ree with a calm that made her even more relieved to have him with her. Weylin was running his thumb over the leather wrapped around the handle of his dagger. Ree turned and peeked over the edge of the wall just in time to see the Dark Ones turn the corner. The one in the center was laughing, his hands miming something in front of him. Melanie shifted next to Ree and growled low in her throat.
The female Dark One closest to the building stopped and sniffed the air. She said something quietly to the others and they all looked around. Ree ducked down, pulling Melanie with her. She forced Melanie to look her in the eyes and raised her eyebrows. Ree needed to know if Melanie could handle this, because she was fairly sure Mel couldn’t. Melanie nodded her head and looked at Paden over Ree’s shoulder. Apparently he was telling her to get herself together. Ree hoped she hadn’t been wrong about bringing Melanie.
Ree closed her eyes and listened to see if she could hear anything from the Dark Ones. They were arguing, but apparently the leader thought she’d heard a human. The rising sun made the decision moot. There wasn’t enough time for the Dark Ones to check out the situation, and the big guy from the center wasn’t willing to send the darklings away from the house to investigate. Ree opened her eyes when she heard them enter the house and slam the door.
“They’re in.” Paden barely breathed the words, knowing if they could hear the Dark One’s whispered argument, the Dark Ones could hear them.
“Sun all the way up.” Ree pointed at the shadows along the roof before pointing to the ground in front of them. “Stay.” She looked at Melanie and Weylin and held her finger to her lips. At the rate their attempted arson was progressing, they’d have done more damage throwing flaming dog poo at the front door.
Weylin crouched down next to Melanie and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and nodded her head in some unspoken conversation. They seemed to understand each other’s grief more than anyone else could. Deciding she would let them comfort each other, Ree sat back down on the wall and concentrated on their surroundings.
Once she could see the pink glow of the sun through her eyelids, she opened her eyes and looked at the others. Standing up, she ran for the edge of the building and jumped to the next roof. They all climbed over the railing on the back side and made their way for the house. Paden leaned around the corner and checked out the area before they headed to the empty house next to the Dark Ones’.
Ree noted the darkling loitering in the living room, along with a darkling on the front and back porch. The emotions they exuded made her want to take a long, hot shower. She didn’t know what they were doing in there, but she didn’t want anything to do with it. In fact, she was starting to wonder if any of them were worth saving. Weylin wanted the explosive as close to the center as they could get. Ree could feel the cold, dead spots congregated in the center as far from windows as possible. She knew they were out, literally, so her friends only needed to deal with the darklings.
Ree shrugged out of her jacket and pulled the rubber band out of her ponytail. If she could tempt the darklings away from the house, it would be easier for Weylin to slip in unnoticed.
“Melanie, take your sweater off.” Ree pulled her shirt down so it hung as low as possible and looked at her friend. “We’ll tempt the ones on the front porch away. Weylin, slip inside and set up the explosive. Paden, watch for more trouble.”
Melanie pulled her sweater off, revealing a little tank top. Carefully, she tied the sweater around her hips to conceal the knives she shoved in her pockets. She ran a hand through her hair and nodded at Ree.
“I don’t like this.” Paden stared at Ree and she could feel his lust mixed with his concern. It made her shiver, but she knew this was the best way.
“We’ll be fine.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Let’s go.” She stepped away and grabbed Melanie’s hand, laughing loudly. On their way out of the little alley, Melanie swooped down and grabbed an empty beer can.
“Nah-ah!” Melanie leaned on Ree’s shoulder and grinned up at her friend. It was spooky to see the loopy expression on Mel’s face, combined with the seething emotions underneath.
“He did! He totally did!” Ree laughed again and pretended to trip a little on the broken sidewalk. “Stupid piece of crap.”