I gazed out the window, watching the sun sink behind the water’s edge. No matter where you were on the island, the sounds of waves could be heard, along with the cawing of crows, sparrows, and hawks. It was the elusive white raven that was a sight to behold. Rare. Beautiful. And mysterious.
I didn’t ask Crash where we were going. Instead, I sat back in the seat, took a moment to close my eyes, and let my mind wander. As it normally did when I wasn’t stressing over saving the world, I thought of Zane. The strain of the extra work was starting to wear on everyone.
“Mind if I smoke?” Crash asked, interrupting my worry-fest.
I folded my hands in my lap. “Since when do you ask?”
“Very true.” He pulled a box out of the cup holder and lit up a cigarette.
“You should quit, you know.”
“Cancer?” He took a drag and blew out a ring of smoke. “Don’t worry. Reaper benefit.”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s disgusting. Girls don’t want to suck face with an ashtray.”
Crash grinned in the rearview mirror as he checked traffic behind us. “Does this mean you’re rethinking my offer?”
I gave him a funny look.
“To sleep with me,” he said, filling in the blanks.
My knee-jerk reaction was to hit him. So I did, on the side of the arm.
He winced, flicking his half smoked cigarette out the window. “You don’t hit like a girl.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll remember that the next time you think to open your mouth and say something that has anything to do with sex.”
He opened his mouth, and then closed it.
I couldn’t help but smile. In a jerky way, Crash was fun. Zane wouldn’t agree, and remorse wormed its way in me for having a second of small, senseless fun. “Where are we going?” I sighed.
“Keef’s Reef.”
“Never heard of it.”
He grinned. “That’s the point, lu—” His voice cut off, clearly thinking twice about calling me another endearment that would have earned him an added bruise.
Keef’s Reef was a dive, and that was putting it nicely. I don’t know why I expected anything less from Crash. The two-story building was weathered, and definitely not a place I would have ever ventured to on my own. There were missing pieces of blue cedar shake on the rundown house turned bar. The parking lot was gravel, and there was a sand pit in the back with a volleyball net on the verge of falling over. Motorcycles lined the front of the building, forming an L-shape along the side.
“You brought me to a bar.”
“Yep. You won’t find a single reaper here, besides us.”
“Maybe, but our chances of being mugged or assaulted are probable,” I mumbled. I knew joints like this. The crowd was rough, and it was no place for an eighteen-year-old girl. I was beginning to regret my decision to trust Crash.
His lips moved into a barely there grin. “You’re a banshee with more strength in your pinky than these guys have in their entire bodies. Don’t ever forget it.”
His words resonated inside me. As much as I thought I had moved on and accepted who I was, a piece of me was still holding onto my old life. The fears and worries of being human were no longer of my concern. Tell that to my brain.
I wiped my palms on my jeans, taking an almost steady breath. “This better be worth my while,” I said, staring at Keef’s Reef.
Dim tracking lighting lined the edge of the ceiling and over the multiple pool tables. Cigar smoke as thick as the early morning fog clouded the low ceiling. The room reeked of dirty men and booze, a combination that made my stomach turn over. Nestled on the outside walls were rows of bar stools, most unoccupied.
I followed closely behind Crash as he weaved between the pool tables toward the rear corner. If the patrons thought it odd that we by chance stumbled into their establishment, they didn’t show it. My guess was that Crash was a frequent visitor.
With a tilt of his head, he motioned at an empty table. I boosted myself up into the barstool and crossed my legs. The accommodations might not be a five-star restaurant, but the service was quick. A waitress shimmed over to our table. She had saggy boobs, a shirt too tight and short, and red heels that made my feet hurt by just looking at them. Jackie, her crooked nametag revealed, winked at Crash. He gave her a halfcocked smirk and ordered us each a Long Island Ice Tea.
“I’ll just have coffee, black, no cream or sugar,” I corrected. I needed a stiff drink, but not one that would make my brain fuzzy.
Jackie lifted a brow. “How about I bring both. Just in case.”
As she turned toward the bar, I rolled my eyes.
Crash tipped his head sideways as if to study me from a different angle. “I pegged you for a party girl.”
“That was in the past,” I replied firmly. “I’m not that girl anymore. I hope your plan wasn’t to get me drunk.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said around a smile.
Keeping my expression impassive, I cut to the chase. “What have you learned?” I asked firmly.
He dropped a bombshell. “I think I know how to reestablish the barrier.”
I was afraid to hope. This was Crash, after all. We hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms, always yo-yoing between flirting and fighting. “If this is one of your games, I’m not interested in playing.”
Any smirk left on his face slid away. “As hard as it is to believe, I can be serious when it counts.”
I gave him a droll look.
He dragged a thoughtful hand across his jawline. “Fine, but unless you have another plan up your sleeve…?”
He knew I didn’t, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here drinking bad coffee. “I’m listening, but it better be worth my while.”
“My father was at the club, holding one of his typical long, boring meetings. He was yammering on about the injustice of his position and how he is tired of other reapers regarding him as less than the shit on their shoes, his standard complaints. No one respects him. He isn’t given enough credit. He deserves to be more than a low man on the totem pole. Blah, blah, blah. Normally by this time, I’ve completely checked out of the lecture.”
“Is there a point to this long, drawn-out story?” I interrupted.
Jackie had returned with our drinks. Crash downed half the glass before continuing. “I heard him speak about a relic.”
My ears perked up. Finally, we were getting somewhere. I leaned forward on the table, not touching my so-called tea, but going straight for the good stuff.
His voice lowered into confidential levels. “He believes the banshees have kept this relic hidden for centuries. Before now, there had never been a need for such power, no reason to seek it out. It has been secret for so long, many don’t give any value to the story, that it even exists, but my father is leaving nothing to chance. If it does exist, it is in the manor.”
“And he wants you to find it,” I added. I was afraid I knew just how Heath planned to ensure his son access.
Crash nodded. “If we marry, it would give me the perfect opportunity to search the estate.”
Son of a gun. I ignored the queasiness tap dancing in my belly at the mention of Crash and I tying the knot. “What does he plan to do with this relic if he finds it?” I didn’t bother mentioning there was no way in seven hells I was marrying him. The council was going to have to kidnap me, drug me, and cuff me to the altar.
“I don’t know. Nothing maybe. I think the goal is to make sure you can’t get your hands on it. It’s important enough for him to go to great lengths to guarantee it doesn’t fall into your hands.”
“If this is true and it does exist, what will he do if he finds out you helped me?” The impulse to protect poured through me.
“Ahh. That’s sweet. You’re worried about me.”
I sat back in my chair. “I did not say that.”
“You don’t need to. I’ve always been the family screw-up. It was Estelle who was my father’s protégé. He told me at least once a day how he wished Estelle had been his firstborn, and it was her who could be his successor.”
“I’m sorry.” The words left my mouth before I thought about what I was saying. I had a bad habit of apologizing even when I had nothing to be sorry for.
“I told you not to feel sorry for me. I don’t want your pity.” Crash tipped back the remaining half of his drink. “To make matters worse, he is right now pushing the council to insist we marry before the end of the month.”
I gaped. “That’s in…two days. He can’t possibly be serious.”
He dropped bomb after bomb. “Father doesn’t believe in procrastination. Once an idea takes root, he expects immediate action. He’s petitioning the council to forego the traditional engagement period due to the grim situation the world now finds itself.”
What bullshit. We wouldn’t be in this grave predicament if it weren’t for Heath. “Do you think the council will agree to what he’s suggesting?”
His somber eyes said it all. “I do.”
My heart dropped as the ground slipped out from underneath. I planted my hands on the table to keep from falling out of the seat. Everything was moving too fast, spinning out of my control. As soon as I thought I had a handle on being a banshee, things went south. I was going to pass out. “No,” I breathed, forcing my lungs to work. “We can’t let that happen.”
His eyes engaged concern, and he laid a hand over mine. “You okay?”
Okay? Okay? I don’t think I was ever going to be okay again. I let a manic laugh. “I haven’t been okay in a long time.”
“Welcome to the real world, princess.”
My gaze went to his hand resting over mine. His touch was light, but sturdy. Crash didn’t have the physical strength Zane did, but he wasn’t someone I’d regard as weak. He was more calculating in his moves.
“You going to drink that?” he asked.
I shook my head and pushed the untouched Long Island across the table.
He took the straw and dunked it up and down, mixing the drink. Ice clanged against the glass. “I keep expecting the Death Scythe to come barreling through the doors and threaten to end my existence for merely being in the same breathing space as you.”
“You and I both.” I uncrossed my legs, letting them dangle and peeked a glance at the door. “So now that we know about this relic, what do we do?”
“Well, I figure we have two options. We buy us some time. You and I get married, and I continue to let my father think he has an inside man as we hunt for the relic.”
I made an ugly face.
Crash gave me an eerie stare. “Or you have two days to find it before the Kraken descends on us, forcing us both into a commitment neither of us wants to make.”
Either way we had to find the relic before Heath got his hands on it. I shuddered to think what he might be capable of with such ancient power. We had no idea if it was even capable of restoring the veil, but I was leaving nothing to chance. I picked through the tangled thoughts in my head, trying to piece together what I wanted to say. “I chose option C.”
Crash leaned back. “And what may that be?”
My jaw twitched. “I haven’t figured it out yet. Hell, I haven’t figured out if I even believe you, but when I do decipher this mess, you’ll know.”
He tapped on the black band covering his wrist. “The clock is ticking.”
“Thanks captain obvious.” The back of my neck tingled, growing with each passing breath. I opened my mouth to let Crash know we were no longer alone, when a dark shadow towered over the table.
Here comes the fireworks.