The Keepers: Declan (26 page)

Declan’s curse sliced through the silence of the underground storage building that had housed Mason for the past few months.

“There’s nothing here,” he grumbled, turning around in the centre of the room. The air was stifling and the low roof crowded him, making it hard to focus. He’d lit two fire torches, the orange glow dispelling some of the gloom. Overgrown and hidden, this had been the perfect hiding place for Mason’s body. It made sense that Hazel would open the portal close to Mason. Once she’d harvested Kate’s blood, no time would be wasted in using it to break his curse.

Only trouble was, there was no sign of it.

“Maybe if you hadn’t killed Max, we wouldn’t be running around in the dark,” Archer grumbled, knocking on the stone wall in front of him, searching for anything hollow.

“Don’t start with me, Archer,” Declan snapped. “I doubt the witch crap he started whispering in my ear was blessing me with fame and good fortune. If he were still alive, I’d kill him all over again.”

Damn right. They’d taken his woman, threatened everything his sister and parents had died protecting. Hell, they’d
all
been in danger at one point or another fighting this crazy war.

And it was all bullshit.

He ran his hands through his hair, his movements shaky from the adrenaline and anger that was chewing at every ounce of patience he had left.

He spun around, clenching his fists, and searched out Sienna. “What are we missing, witchy?”

She lifted her gaze to meet his, green eyes worried. “I thought it’d be here, Declan. Unless she closed the portal when she left.”

“There’s no evidence they were ever here.”

Ethan walked into the room, his face a sheen of sweat. The heat in the room was unbearable, the urgency even worse. “If she was planning to return for Mason, why did she go to New Orleans?”

“She lives there, probably has magical roots there,” Declan replied.

And could be sacrificing Kate as they speak.

Shit!

“Declan, wait,” Sienna said, rushing toward him. She reached for his hand, her eyes widening when she felt the tremble in his touch. “I have an idea. You’ve marked her. That gives you a connection with her that no one else has.”

“It’d be peachy if that meant something right now, Sienna.”

But a flicker of hope had taken root in her eyes, her breathing had quickened, and she took his other hand, lacing their fingers. “Close your eyes.”

“What are you doing?” he asked but was quick to comply. If anyone could help them, it’d be Sienna and he trusted her with his life.

Her whispered words sent a jolt of energy through him and his eyes flew open. Hers were closed, her expression calm, and he knew there’d be no reaching her now.

Hope stirred again and he inhaled quietly, trying to calm the rage of emotions inside.

The flames in the room reared to life with gusto, her whispered chant filling the room with energy.

Over and over she repeated the same spell.

With a final glance at his brothers, he closed his eyes and gave himself over.

The blurry vision struck him out of nowhere and he inhaled sharply, confused by the distorted images that seemed to fade just as he tried to make sense of them.

A gravesite. Skeletons. Darkness.

What the hell?

And then he felt her, every ounce of her fear, her shallow breathing, and the rush of adrenaline.

Kate
.

She was running. God  …  Escaping?

Everything went blurry, as if he’d been engulfed by dust.

He gripped Sienna’s hands tightly.

And then suddenly, it was gone.

His eyes flew open as Sienna struggled to maintain the spell, her eyebrows a tight frown. She’d felt the break in connection as abruptly as he had.

“What happened?” he snapped, drawing her closer. “I felt her, dammit, it was as if I was there. Where did she go?”

Sienna had started to tremble.

“Put me back! Do it again!”

“I can’t. I’m surprised the spell even worked. Your connection with her is more powerful than I thought.”

Damn right.

“So do it again.”

She shook her head. “That’s all there is.”

He gaped at her, hating to know what that meant. Turning around he released a growl of frustration, his fury fuelling the flames that burned around them, igniting several more.

Fire ripped through the tunnels, extracting a shout of warning from Archer as he dove for Sienna. The room ignited in a rush of air and roaring flames that chased away everything else.

“Declan!” Archer bellowed, the snap of his name jarring his senses.

Declan reeled in the flow of fury and stared at them, fists clenching, shoulders heaving.

A murmur from Ethan broke the silence. “
Declan
.”

He glanced at his brother. Ethan stood in the doorway, his back to them as he gawked at something in the tunnel.

“The portal … all we needed was more light.” Ethan looked over his shoulder to meet Declan’s gaze.

And grinned.

****

Kate and Jenna slipped quietly into a small tomb etched with two upside-down trees. The door closed, scraping against the cement floor.

“What are we doing here?” Kate asked, blinking in the darkness, quelling the wave of nausea triggered by the stench of the tomb.

“With luck, about to go home.”

Kate gaped at Jenna and felt the flicker of hope. “Why am I suddenly seeing Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz?”

Even though it was dark, Kate knew Jenna had smiled.

“We may lack the pretty red shoes, but our ride home is fancier. And I picked up your torch.” She fumbled for the torch, flipped the switch and shone it against the wall.

On a gentle movement of air, the swirl of lights sprang to life in the darkness, a steady glow of blue and white flickers. The portal.

“Oh my God,” Kate breathed, reaching for the torch and drawing closer. “Hazel left it open?”

“She planned to go straight back to Rapid Falls once she’d harvested your blood.” Jenna’s face broke out into a grin. Wild and triumphant. “Guess she wasn’t counting on resistance, was she?”

But Kate couldn’t smile. All she could think of was how close she’d come to being Hazel’s sacrificial pawn.

They would’ve killed her, drained her magic, and moved on.

Her shudder was overruled by a flash of fear when the door to the tomb was flung open.

A cloaked skeleton stood in the darkness of the doorway, outlined in moonlight. His shout of warning sent chills chasing down her spine.

A fierce objection erupted within Kate. Releasing a growl, she reached for Jenna’s hand and hurtled toward the portal.

****

It wasn’t the sudden light that flared through the tunnel of the underground storage rooms that triggered the chaos.

It was the bellowing of anger, desperate and violent, as two cloaked warriors erupted from the portal, closely followed by three more.

Skeletal masks and black cloaks.

All Declan’s defensive instincts soared. His vision!

Shoving Sienna out of the way, the Keepers turned toward the portal and charged, the fight a whirl of brutal blows.

With a howl of rage, Declan grabbed the closest warrior and threw him across the room before bolting after him. In a blur of movement, he had his arms around the warrior’s neck.

“
Declan
!”

The feminine cry that erupted from the cloak bolted through him in horror.

“It’s me!” Kate cried, ripping off her mask, breathless, her body a quiver of adrenaline against his. “It’s me,” she repeated softly, relief flashing through her eyes.

Oh God.

His arms came up around her, hard and fierce, air slamming out of him as a relief he’d never known before chased through him.

But Kate was rigid, pulling away, pointing across the room as his brothers fought the remaining warriors.

“Jenna!”

A blonde woman had shed her mask and stood beside his brothers, attacking their enemies with a power and skill as vicious as they were impressive.

A woman he recognised.

Another two warriors erupted from the portal and his brothers lunged for them.

“Declan!” Sienna screamed from across the room. “The portal is like a door and they’ll keep coming.”

Declan struggled to his feet, bringing Kate with him. “How do we close it?”

“We can’t! Only Hazel can do that.” She motioned to him and he joined her. Taking his hand, she faced the portal, ignoring the fighting warriors. “But we can sure as hell force
her
to.”

Flames sprang across the room, ignited by Sienna’s energy. They crept along the low roof, flaring brightly as they chased toward the portal.

Declan felt their connection immediately, the rage of his energy blasting through him, strengthened by their combined force.

Holding hands, they faced the portal and released a surge of fury.

The blaze chased through the portal, triggering a chorus of screams as it singed everything along the way.

Together, they kept the flow of energy steady, focused on channelling more power, more fire.

Ethan turned and joined them, sending a blast of air to fan the flames.

Finally, Kate took her place beside Sienna, reaching out for the dark fibres of magic that had woven the portal. Sensing Hazel’s energy, she baulked, but steeled herself, reaching for Sienna’s hand. And just like that, on a rush of air, the portal closed. The remaining fire blasted around the room and sizzled before vanishing completely, plunging them into darkness.

An eerie silence enveloped them.

There was a shift of movement, followed by a flicker of light that relieved the blackness.

Kate stood in the middle of the room, her face a shimmer of white light. Her eyes were wide, her body trembling, and clutched within her hand was the torch Declan had given her.

He glanced around, relieved to see that his brothers were there. And Jenna. Surrounded by the lifeless bodies of their enemies, they were panting, bloody, charged with adrenaline.

But safe.

Declan turned to Sienna, their joint energy rush fading away. Their gazes locked, an exchange of emotion passing between them, words unnecessary.

Releasing Sienna’s hand, he sidestepped her with a low growl and wrapped his arms around Kate in a hug so fierce that he felt the air slam from her lungs in response.

He didn’t care. She was alive. Breathing. Home.

Thank God.

“I thought I’d lost you. God, Kate  … ” he murmured, pressing his face into her neck. “Are you okay?” He pulled back to examine the cut on her cheek. It was bleeding and swollen. Her eyes were wild and her body trembled, the sight igniting a fresh wave of anger.

“I’m fine,” she whispered breathlessly, her frown easing as a smile broke free. God, she was beautiful. “But I’m
so
glad to see you.”

Exhaling loudly, he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her temple, tucking her head beneath his chin, and looked at his brothers. Their relief was immense, but he felt their worry. They all knew their victory would be short-lived – they’d won this battle, but not the war.

Tugging off Kate’s hood, he pressed his face into her hair, and inhaled.

For now, she was his victory and that’s all that mattered.

Two days later

Rapid Falls

The annual harvest festival was in full swing, the streets crawling with locals and tourists.

The Blue Moon had peaked, its peaceful beauty belying its former threat. The centre of town had been transformed into a magical street decorated with fairy lights and Chinese lanterns. Groups of people huddled around drums of fire, offering warmth against the cold air. The stores were open, restaurants packed to capacity, and food vendors decked the sidewalks, tasty aromas spicing the air.

The garden in the centre of town was decked with tables and chairs. A stage hosted a four-man band, whose music drifted through the festival, lending a nostalgic feel to the atmosphere.

Kate sat on a bench, watching the movement of people, trying to reconcile the light hearted fun with the violence in the cemetery two nights before.

A cemetery that had been ruined thanks to the wrath of one very angry witch.

The destruction had been headlined by the press as a natural disaster.

And it probably wouldn’t be the last.

Kate bit back the sting that came with the memory of a woman she’d once called a friend. She shuddered, but put it to the back of her mind when Lora approached. A woolly hat masked her white hair and she was bundled in a thick coat with grey fur cuffs. She looked elegant, her eyes dancing with childish delight as she eyed the men setting up for the fireworks display.

“You’re looking a little glum, Katie.” Clutching two paper cups, Lora sat beside her, the aroma of coffee an instant welcome.

Kate’s smile was genuine as she pushed away all thoughts of Hazel. She was at her first Rapid Falls festival and she intended to relish it. She reached for the coffee.

“Exciting, isn’t it?” Lora asked, nodding at the crowd of people settling around them.

“It’s wonderful.”

“Wait until the fireworks start. It was your mother’s favourite part when she was younger. That, and the candy floss,” Lora added, smiling as three giggling girls passed by, wearing matching snow boots and nibbling on pink candy floss.

“She always did like her sugar,” Kate said, savouring a memory of her own.

Sienna and Jenna arrived, followed by the Bennett brothers, loaded with pizza and beer.

Lora eyed the neatly-stacked boxes in Archer’s arms and laughed. “You planning to feed an army?”

Sienna gave a snort. “These guys
are
the army! Have you seen how much food they consume?”

Jenna took a seat beside Kate, tugging a beanie over her head. Blonde streaks of hair stuck out from beneath the wool and her blue eyes glistened from the lights of nearby lamp posts. Dressed in a jacket with a furry hood, jeans and knee length boots, she looked so feminine but Kate now knew her capabilities.

Her Keeper
. Sent by The Circle, a bunch of dead witches who were looking out for her.

Fancy that.

Keeping her identity hidden, Jenna had spent almost two years lurking amongst the darker forces, biding her time, gathering information. She hadn’t been willing to discuss the details of her time with Harper’s warriors, but if her tight expression was anything to go by every time it came up, Kate figured it had been difficult. With Hazel on the loose, they would need Jenna’s help more than ever.

But that was tomorrow’s worry.

“Remind me again why you do this every year?” Jenna said, blowing into her gloved hands before rubbing them together.

“We’re celebrating the end of our harvest. It’s tradition,” Declan answered, unloading the beer. He moved around the table, scooting up behind Kate, one leg on either side of the bench. He put his arms around her, his warmth instant and welcome, and she sidled up to him with a smile.

Jenna glanced around. “Everyone looks so happy.”

“We know how to throw a party.”

“And hopefully everyone’s forgotten what you and Sarah got up to the last time you were in town,” Ethan added, handing her a beer.

Jenna’s gaze connected with Ethan’s and something passed between them that Kate couldn’t quite decipher. Ethan’s eyes clouded and he turned away.

“What happened?” Kate asked, but Sienna’s reply was snatched away by the sound of exploding fireworks as the sky erupted into a spray of colours.

A murmur of excitement and claps spread across the crowd and everyone watched the fireworks display in awe.

Kate shifted her gaze to the six people seated around her, absorbing everything about them, her heart swelling with emotion.

She had a family, friends, a Keeper who’d vowed to protect her.

Declan
.

A man she loved with every part of her being.

She tilted her head to look up at him, surprised to find him staring at her.

“Everything okay?” he asked, his words a gentle murmur against her ear.

She nodded, smiling. “Everything’s wonderful. I love it.”

“And I love you,” he whispered, a rare smile taking her breath away. Dipping his head, he kissed her.

An explosion of fireworks startled her and she jumped, laughing as the sky flared with colour. He kissed her again, his mouth gentle but firm, lingering with promises of later.

The butterflies in her belly took flight and she grinned. Moving so she could watch the fireworks, she leaned against him, revelling in the feel of his arms.

The End

Don’t miss the first book in this exciting new trilogy from Rae Rivers,

The Keepers: Archer

And want to know how it all began?

Get the FREE prequel to the trilogy now!

The Keepers: Sienna