The Raven Series 2 (16 page)

Estelle let out an exaggerated breath. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Assuming it had actually worked, it would be only a matter of time before reapers should descend, answer my call. “You didn’t give me much choice.”

Evidently, it was too much to think she’d retreat. I’d cornered her.
Checkmate, bitch
. In a matter of minutes, the street would be overrun with Death’s most lethal weapons.

I knew not all stood by my side. Hell, most of them didn’t even know I was the White Raven, but that was all about to change. I was going to show my true colors and deal with the consequences later…if I could keep myself alive that long.

Estelle had other plans.

My gaze flickered to see Zane absorb the soul of one of the hallows. He had another one tied up and restrained with shadow bonds. How he’d done that was a mystery to me. But the third ghost was barreling straight for me.

“Piper!” Zane’s voice snapped me out of my terrified daze.

The ghost bulldozed into me, just dying to do some damage. My head slammed into the back of the brick wall. Starbursts radiated my vision as sharp pain exploded at the crown of my head. He came in for round two, and I managed to lurched to the side, narrowly avoiding having my brains splattered all over the building.

And then something snapped inside me.

Light welled, encompassing every cell in my body. There was a heady rush of power building from the center of my chest, flowing to the tips of my fingers. I knew that feeling, what it meant, and I was powerless to stop it. His soul was mine.

The strangest thing happened. Time seemed to turn sluggish, yet I could see everything crystal clear. Suddenly, it clicked. Time hadn’t stopped. I was moving at inhuman speeds, seeing the world around me in a different measurement—a sensory heightened awareness.

Arching back, I slammed both my hands onto his chest. I wanted to hurt him. Badly. A pulse of light shot down my arm, ramming into the hallow. His mouth formed an O, a silent scream on his lips, as he was thrown back several feet in the air. The hallow splintered into fragments of smoky light like a broken mirror. This was who I was. It hit me then. What I could do, what I was capable of. No longer was I frightened of the power inside me. It sanctioned me.

Spinning around, I concentrated on who I was and the energy inside me. The wind around me kicked up, swirling in dangerous patterns. Above, the dark sky moved with restless, ominous clouds. The games and taunting were over.

I wet my dry lips, ready to kick Estelle’s skinny ass.

A high-pitched cry pierced the night.
Parker.

With wild eyes, I glanced behind me, and my worst fears came true. Estelle had Parker in her traitor’s clutches, a blade pressed to his heart. Eyes wide and frantic, a panic seared my flesh. The bright white light surrounding me flickered. “Let him go,” I pleaded. I would beg on my knees if that was what it took for Estelle to release him unharmed.

Her eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of triumph. “And lose my advantage? Please. I think not.”

I could probably take her out. One quick blast of my light, but what if she moved or I missed and hit Parker? I didn’t want to take the risk. “It’s against the rules, Estelle. We don’t interfere with death.” My voice was shaking.

She dug the blade deeper against Parker’s chest so it went through his stupid manga T-shirt. “Who said I was interfering? How do you know I don’t have orders to take his life? Maybe it’s his time.”

I knew she was trying to screw with my head, implying that Roarke had ordered a hit on Parker. Why would he do that? It became obvious this wasn’t going to end well—for her. “Fine. Have it your way. You hurt a hair on his chest and I’m gonna drop you like third period French.”

Reapers were fast, determined, smart, and deadly. I needed to remind myself I was all of the above. Maybe I wasn’t cunning and skilled in dark arts like Zane, but I wasn’t helpless either.

Wind rushed over my face, blowing back my hair. Zane’s eyes met mine as I beseeched. If we linked up, aligning our souls, Estelle didn’t stand a chance. He knew what I was asking. With a slight tip of his head, simultaneously we moved.

Our hearts picked up together, and my soul surged as his darkness collided with my light, but before our souls fully synced, Estelle flicked her wrist.

And my world went black.

“No!” I screamed.

But it was too late.

Her blade punctured Parker’s flesh, and I watched helplessly as his eyes went wide with bafflement. Then the pain registered, fracturing the light in his eyes. She discarded him to the side like he was nothing more than trash. My best friend landed in a heap a few feet away from me, twitching for a few seconds and then going still.

“Parker!” My blood chilled, hardening to ice, while his soaked the ground.

A breath later she was on me like ugly on butt. I responded quickly, leaping up and kicking her in the belly. It was surprisingly firmer than I expected, and the skank recovered like she didn’t feel pain. She grabbed me by the hair, a complete bitch move, and jerked my body back against her. I gave a muffle cry and felt her hands at my throat.

If she rendered me unconscious, my soul was as good as toast.

Panic surged in me again. It seemed to be the emotion of the night. You think I would be used to getting the snot beat out of me. I wasn’t. Unlike robo Estelle, it still hurt. A lot.

If I could just break out of her death grasp…

I lifted my arms, now encased in a bright light, in the air. I spread them wide and let loose a jolt of power so strong the impact almost knocked me on my ass. It raced like a torpedo down my fingertips, hitting Estelle in the chest. “I told you not to mess with me.”

She fell to the ground, and I pounced. I did what had to be done. My hand shot out, covering the center of her chest as my knee dug into her stomach to keep her from getting any funny ideas. This ended here. Sow. Reap. Estelle’s harvest was over.

I never wanted to kill someone. Never. Until now.

I siphoned the essence of life from her body. As soon as I felt every last drop of her soul resonating inside me, I fell backward on my butt, laying my elbows on my knees and my hands on my temples. A brightness filled me from the inside out, but the elation was as short-lived as I remembered.

Parker!
“Oh God,” I muttered, scrambling across the ground, oblivious to the gravel cutting into my hands and knees. “Parker!” I screamed, the sound curdling in my throat.

Chapter 17

I didn’t want to believe that was blood I was seeing. Parker’s blood. It oozed down the side of his temple, trickling from his lips. The front of his shirt was soaked in the sticky red stuff. I felt the color drain from my face. Zane was beside me as I trembled, my hand stroking Parker’s sandy hair. His face was so pale, lips a deathly shade of blue. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.

“Zane?” My voice shook as I begged for his help, blood and tears streaking down my face.

“He’s gone,” he said as gently as he could.

“No,” I croaked out, horrified at what he was saying. My chest was rising and falling, but it felt like I’d stopped breathing.

He pulled me into his arms, but I resisted, fighting until my arms went lax. “We don’t interfere with death. You know the rules,” he said, sounding remorseful. His fingers moved into my hair.

“Bullshit,” I cried. Tears burned the back of my throat, making my voice hoarse and raw. I could barely breathe. My gaze flicked up. “I don’t care about the stupid rules. This is Parker. I can’t lose him.”

His finger moved along my bottom lip, catching the tears with the pad of his thumb. “There’s nothing
I
can do, princess.” It hurt him to say it, because it would hurt me.

Sobs clogged my throat, rendering me speechless. Just like that, I was supposed to give up. What was the point of being a reaper? All doom and gloom.
Screw the rules
. I wasn’t letting him die. I wasn’t giving up.

Moving out of Zane’s embrace, his words played over and over in my head as I stared down at my hands covered in Parker’s blood. No matter how much pressure I applied at the wound, the blood kept flowing.
There’s nothing Zane can do. There’s nothing Zane can do.
My mind ran over the words on repeat. It was too sickening to think I’d never hear Parker’s laugh again, never see him wear another one of his ridiculous manga shirts, never see him smile or be able to tell him how much I needed him in my life.

And then, it clicked. I knew what Zane was trying to convey. It was up to
me
to save Parker.

My eyes snapped to Zane’s. Was I misinterpreting what he was saying but not saying? Was it really possible for me to save Parker? He lifted his brows in a you-can-do-this expression.

If there was even the teensiest chance, I had to try. Only one problem…I had no idea what I was doing, no idea where to start, no clue if I had it in me.
Deep breath.
Through the fog of dismay and trepidation, a bit of reality seeped in, and a voice sounded in my head. Not Zane’s. Not mine.
Oh God, I’ve gone crazy.

“You’re not crazy,”
the voice responded.
“But if you don’t listen to me, Parker is going to die. For real.

“Rose?” I murmured, my eyes shifting left and right.

“Piper?” Zane whispered in concern. Talking to my dead grandma might be cause for alarm, if I was anyone else.

Who else would it be?
the voice said.

Of course it’s you
, I said in my head, assuming she could hear me.

Now listen. Each second you waste is precious and will end up draining more of your power.

Enough said. I wasn’t going to question how she was able to communicate with me—maybe later when I could think beyond Parker’s blood.
What do I do?
I asked, desperate for hope.

When you took that traitorous reaper’s life, you inherited all her souls, including Parker’s. You’re going to restore his soul and heal his body.
She stated so matter-of-factly.

I just can’t twitch my nose and make it happen.

The key, Piper, is believing you can do it.
I could hear the exasperation in her tone.
Now lay your hands over the center of his sternum and summon your light. His soul is gone. When you touch him, you will be able to feel the emptiness. Instead of extracting his soul, you are going to fill his body with your light, until your lifesource is pumping in his veins. This is your legacy.

I did as she instructed, placing my palms on his chest and harnessing the power that was a part of me. It came quicker and with less effort than ever before. A network of silvery-white veins grew until I was glowing from head to toe. The air around me shimmered as if it was raining glitter. With a burst of energy, my vision clouded, producing a white filmy light behind my eyes.

Each cell of his soul warmed into his body, giving him life. There were voices and whispers in the background, but I closed my eyes, concentrating on the sublime static releasing from my skin. I held on as long as I could.

As my lashes lifted, my light flickered out, and Zane’s face took shape. His eyes were bewildered, mouth hanging open as he stared at me. Time stopped, along with my heart, waiting for a sign of life, wishing with all my might. Then it happened—the sharp inhale of air filling Parker’s lungs was music to my ears.

Zane was staring at me. “Holy.”

“Shit,” I finished.

His fingers raked through his hair. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

I did it.
I’d brought Parker back from the brink of death, restoring his soul. “I can’t believe it.” I didn’t care how many rules I’d broken, only that Parker was going to be okay…mostly.

“Believe it, princess. You gave Parker his life back. I didn’t think that was possible.”

Surprised by the shock in his voice, I had to ask, “But you had a hunch? Right?” He was the one who had more or less planted the seed in my head.

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t even call it a hunch. More like a really long, long shot.”

“Well, I didn’t do it alone. Rose came to me.”

“I heard you say her name.”

She saved Parker. Looked like I owed Granny big time
.
Guess I was marrying Zander after all. It was what she’d wanted.

I glanced down. Parker’s chest was rising and falling in steady breaths. I placed my hand over his heart, needing to feel it beat. My fingers ran over the torn material where Estelle’s blade had pierced. There would be a scar on his chest at the entry point. The sight stoked a fire of pain, anger, and regret. My fist clenched, but knowing Parker, he would think it was cool—a war wound or adventurous story to tell his grandkids. I sighed. He would be able to have grandkids now.

Parker’s eyelids fluttered open as he regained consciousness. “Why am I covered in blood?” His voice was hoarse.

I laughed, a hysterically manic laugh, and threw my arms around his neck. “You’re okay,” I whimpered. Stupid girlie tears of relief clouded my vision.

He wrapped an arm around me. “Don’t cry, Pipes. I’m sorry I acted like a jerk.”

I pulled back, pressing a finger to his lips. “Shh. Don’t talk.” For the first time since Parker left the club, my body relaxed, and it was then I sensed them.

Something happened inside of me. Like a switch being flipped, I was keenly aware of the reapers surrounding me. Zander, Zoe, Zach, and Aspyn stood at the intersection among others, their eyes taking in the scene before them. I didn’t know how long they’d been standing there, but my guess was long enough to see me perform a miracle.

The cat was out of the bag.

There was a new Raven in town.

I hoped they didn’t except me to give a speech, because I didn’t think I could form a coherent thought after everything that had happened. And by the looks on their faces, they needed more than a hot minute to catch up. Heck, I was going to need at least a year to process. Maybe a decade.

I assumed most of them had put two and two together after seeing an act that could have only been performed by a banshee—specifically the White Raven.

Zander crouched beside me. His dark hair was combed back. “You okay?”

I met his questioning glare. “Yeah. Can you get us out of here?” I was beginning to feel the aftereffects, and I wanted nothing more in the world than to go home. Or faint.

“I was planning on it. That was quite a show you put on.”

My hand lifted to the side of my head as I tried to make the world stop spinning. “Ugh. How bad did I screw things up?”

A sympathetic grin teased his lips. “Don’t worry about that now.”

Parker sat up, his eyes examining me in a way that made me fidgety. “Pipes, w-what’s wrong with you?”

Zane and Zander both went still beside me.

The gears in my head wound. Parker dying had changed everything. And in that split second, I realized I could no longer hide what I was. This was the moment I’d dreaded since Parker stepped off the boat. My greatest fear was he would no longer look at me as his best friend. “If you value your life, Parker, you’ll keep your questions until we’re alone.”

His eyes were big, but understanding dawned as he noticed all the attention we had on us. With a slight tip of his head, Zane and I helped Parker to his feet. There was an enlightenment inside me as we walked through the crowd, a pulsating that gathered in my veins, growing with each heartbeat.

I couldn’t explain it, but as I passed each person, I got a sense of who they were, and it went beyond what type of reaper they were. Another puzzle for another day.

Although I knew he wasn’t thrilled, Zane climbed into the back seat with Parker, who looked like he needed a year’s worth of sleep. Zander held out his hand. “Keys please.”

Normally, I was pretty stingy about letting other people drive my Jeep, but I didn’t even argue, dropping the keys into his palm. I slumped into the passenger seat. As soon as I let my muscles relax, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The exhaustion was overwhelming, draining me of energy. I was barely keeping my eyes open, and the gentle hum of the engine was soothing, a mundane sound, but I needed something ordinary to ground me.

“Do you know what you’ve done?” Zander whispered, breaking the comfortable silence.

I dropped my head on the back of my seat. “Which disaster are we talking about?”

His dark eyes tapered. “How many others are there?”

“This is Piper,” Zane mumbled from the back. “The possibilities are endless.”

I scowled, closing my eyes and running my fingers through the tangle of knots in my hair. “So I’ve made a few mistakes. The world hasn’t ended…yet.”

“When word gets out you killed Azrael’s daughter, it will only add fuel to the rebellion,” Zander said.

I winced. “She had a few screws loose. What was I supposed to do? Let her chop me up into little bits and rob me of my soul?”

“No,” he said. “But there will be retaliation.”

“Can’t wait,” I muttered, cocooning my arms around myself.

“Where the hell was your detail?” Zander growled.

“Where were you?” Zane shot back.

My temples throbbed. The questions and bickering were turning my headache into a serious migraine. I was slightly concerned for my safety. Zander was more focused on arguing with Zane than keeping the Jeep between the lines. Or maybe I was seeing double.

“How could you let her do this?” Zander spat out.

I choked on a laugh of outrage.
Let me?
When were they going to understand I didn’t answer to them? Funny thing, they answered to me.

Zane almost flew into the front seat. “She didn’t have a choice, Zander. Her life was in jeopardy,” he rumbled, defending me.

“So many things could have gone wrong. Actually, I don’t know if it could’ve been worse.”

Duh. It could always be worse. I could think of two things off the top of my head. Zane and I could have publically merged our souls. And Parker could have died.

Zane glared. “It can when I come up there and kick your ass.”

“Mature,” Zander replied.

“Stop!” I yelled, throwing my hands in the air. “Can someone wave the white flag, at least for tonight? Placing blame and hashing it out isn’t going to change the outcome. What’s done is done. We all knew I couldn’t hide forever. Already others are suspicious, I guess now they’ll know there’s a new White Raven.”

Zander’s hands rotated the steering wheel. “I hope you’re ready for this.”

“Me too.” I looked over my shoulder at Parker to make sure he was still breathing. I felt like a new mom on her first night home with her infant.

“He’ll have questions, Piper. How do you know he can be trusted? That he will keep your secret?” Zander asked.

“I’ve known Parker almost my whole life. He’d never betray me or intentionally cause me harm.” He loved me. Well, he had. I sounded far more confident than I was feeling. “If anyone can believe in the paranormal, it’s Parker.” He spent more time living in the world of comics and manga. Reapers really weren’t that far of a stretch from guys who wore tights and capes or gunslinger girls with awesome hair.

“I hope you’re right.”

I bit my lip. “Do you really think your father ordered Parker’s death?” I couldn’t fathom why he would do such a thing.

Zander kept his eyes on the road, but I saw his jaw pop. “I promised I’d be straight with you. I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past him.”