Reaper of Wings (The Artifact Reaper Saga Book 2) Read online

  Reaper of Wings

  The Artifact Reaper Saga

  Jen L. Grey

  Reaper of Wings Copyright © 2018 Jen L. Grey

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Edited by Real Indie Author Services

  Cover Design by Covers by Christian

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  About the Author

  Also by Jen L. Grey

  1

  My hand shakes as I sign my name on the sheet of paper. I’m not sure if I’m ready for this, but Charlie swears this is what’s best for me. I need to get some independence from my self-centered parents and focus on me … or at least that’s what he keeps saying. Granted, this studio apartment is far from grand, but at least I can call it my own.

  “Do you have any questions or need anything?” The lady taps her fingers on the table and lets out a huge sigh.

  Even if I did need anything, I wouldn’t ask her. She’s been glancing at the clock every few minutes the entire time I’ve been here. At this point, I’m ready to get unpacking. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

  “Great,” she opens a drawer and picks through some keys. After scouring several, she pulls out one with the label 6A. “Here you go.” She hands it to me. “Just remember to have your rent paid by the first of month.”

  It’s the fifth time she’s told me that, but I bite my tongue. “Will do. Thanks.” I clasp the key in my hand and walk out the door.

  It’s crazy how my life has turned upside down the past few weeks. Not too long ago, I was just another reaper trainee sent on their first solo mission who screwed things up. Now I would almost bet money the council assigned me a target who looks like my deceased best friend on purpose. I think they needed me to screw up, so they could make me find these artifacts that can control the elements of all the realms.

  Another reaper wound up vanquishing my target and I brought her back to life right after. I didn’t think the council would find out, but they did. So, they threatened me, and I had to find the Earth Crystal. However, when I got it and brought it back, I couldn’t give it to the council. They shouldn’t have control over it, so I trusted Charlie, even though he still blames me for Beth’s death.

  Somehow, they knew I was lying—I still can’t figure that one out—and threw me in the dungeon. I was down there for days until Charlie busted me out. We went to get the Earth Crystal before the council found it, but when we got to Charlie’s hiding spot, it was already gone. We have no clue who took it. When I try to locate it, all I can see is the next of the four artifacts, which is the tube of Angel’s Breath.

  The council had issued a warrant for my arrest the night I escaped. It was rough for a little while and I had to stay in the next town over so no one could turn me in. Any reaper would have. In fact, just a few days ago, Charlie called me and told me they had canceled the warrant. I’m still a little shocked over it, but he said that the word is that they are focusing the level of urgency elsewhere.

  What does that even mean?

  When I came back to town, I couldn’t go home. I replay in my mind the last time I saw my parents. It was when I was locked in the dungeon at the mansion. I had already been stuck down there for days and they visited just to let me know how disappointed they were in me. I asked them to stay, but they ignored me and continued to leave me down there when I hadn’t eaten for days. They kicked me when I was down, and I haven’t exactly been eager to see them since. That’s when Charlie drove the point home. I needed to find a way to bring in money and get into my own place. It was time and heck, in less than a week I’ll be twenty anyways.

  That’s when my uncanny ability to find things came in handy. I’m making a living helping others. I’ve helped an older lady find a misplaced wedding picture of her and her husband, found a stolen laptop, and even helped a family find a missing dog. My name is getting around and usually it doesn’t take an awfully long time to complete the job.

  So here I am, walking up to my very own apartment. Granted it is in the same complex as Charlie, but it’s the only one I can afford right now. The apartments here are kept up, but still a little worn looking. They have siding and are a beige color of paint, like most rental places. I hop up the sidewalk of building six and walk up the three flights of stairs to find Charlie leaning against the wall of my apartment with my overnight bag at his feet. It still surprises me we can now talk without bickering for short periods of time. “Hey, you didn’t have to bring my stuff over.”

  “Just thought I could help out.” He shrugs. “You ready to open the door to your own place?”

  My heart skips a beat. “Yeah, I think I am.” I put the key in the lock and turn it to the left. I turn the knob and push the door open. The giant room has off white walls and simple floor designations for all the separate living spaces; linoleum for the kitchen, a rinky-dink full size bed left by a previous tenant, a cable hanging from a wall for a tv, and a single door for the bathroom. It’s not much, but, for once, it’s all mine.

  “Do you like it?” his tone is tense. “I know it’s not like your parents.”

  Thank God for that. My parents’ house never felt like home. It always felt like part of the façade I had to keep up. This place is rough around the edges, but … real. “I know. Isn’t it great?” I turn to him and smile. “And I’m glad that renter left the bed. I don’t know what I’d do without it. After some deep Lysoling and some Febreze, it’ll be good as new.”

  Something unreadable crosses his face. “I’m glad you like it, but I’m still worried.” He runs a hand through his short blond hair, his hazel eyes stormy. “What if the council changes their mind? I know they have other priorities now, but what if that changes?”

  Those are my exact fears. When I didn’t turn over the Earth Crystal to the Elders, they got upset and threw me in the dungeon. I was stuck down there for several days and only escaped because of Charlie. So, it’s hard to believe all of a sudden, they don’t care about me anymore. It doesn’t add up, but what else am I supposed to do? Hide away forever? “The only way to put this behind us is to find the crystal.”

  “I have no clue where to start,” he sighs and paces the room. “The council doesn’t have it and we don’t have it. So
, who the hell does?”

  That’s a very good question. I only knew about me searching for it. The council didn’t mention anyone else needing it. Yeah, Damien wanted a small piece, but he didn’t get that since it vanished. So, who the hell is this mysterious third party? “I have no clue. I wish I did. It would make my life a whole lot easier.” It’s frustrating because I can’t even get a read on it. Every time I try to seek it out, the only thing that pops up is the Angel’s Breath artifact. “It’s weird because when the crystal was blocked, I could see it, just not around it to get its location. Now I can’t even get a read. All I see is the Angel’s Breath.”

  He pulls his car keys out of his pocket and heads toward the door. “Come on. No need to beat our heads against the wall over the crystal. Let’s head to your parents and get your things.”

  My spit turns salty in my mouth and my stomach churns. It’s inevitable. All my things are there, but I just don’t know if I’m ready. At the end of the day, I can’t afford a whole new wardrobe, so I’m going to have to put on my big girl pants. Maybe I’ll be lucky, and they won’t be home. “Yeah, let’s go. I can’t avoid it forever.” Not wanting to drag this conversation out any longer, I turn and walk out the front door, leaving it open for him to follow.

  It takes just a few seconds before he’s stepping outside and standing beside me.

  I shut the door and lock it. “All right, let’s do this.” I can fake this.

  “Stop being weird.” His forehead wrinkles and he shakes his head. He heads to the left of my apartment and I follow him. We walk down the stairs to the bottom level and past three other doors, before we get to his. His car is parked in front of his door, in his reserved spot; 6E.

  We slide into his older, gray Honda Civic. He starts the car and soon we are on our way to my parents’ house.

  After a minute, I close my eyes and picture the brown crystal with the magic pulsing inside of it. I keep the image in my head making it as clear as possible. I haven’t had to locate something like this for the last eight years, but I’m desperate.

  Once I feel the image is spot on, I try locating it. However, instead of finding it like I expect, the picture fades from my mind. Holy shit, this isn’t working. What the hell is wrong with me? My power is working fine it’s just the one thing. I don’t understand it.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Charlie’s tone is concerned, and his hand touches my shoulder.

  In reality I’m far from it, but I’m not going to admit that. “Just trying to locate the crystal.”

  His body tenses up. “We’ll figure it out. Whoever has it won’t stay quiet for long.”

  Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. “Why don’t we stop by the embankment again? We haven’t been back there since that night and it’s daylight. Maybe we missed something.”

  He purses his lips. “You’ve got a point. Let’s go.” He turns at the next light and heads toward his parent’s house.

  Within a few minutes, we pass by his parent’s house and he parks his car a block over. We get out and walk behind his neighbor’s house to get to the path Beth and I used to travel every day. We hit the woods and just as I remember from the last time, the path is more overgrown since it’s not used as often. However, the outline of the trail is still visible. Soon we reach the place where the trees level out and the river runs through it. The embankment is to our left and the old tree we used to leave stuff for each other at is to the right. It’s a huge tree with a hole towards the bottom.

  Not wasting a second, Charlie grabs his cell out of his pocket and turns on the flashlight. He bends down and flashes it in the hole, looking.

  “You know it’s not in there, right?” Does he think we overlooked it that night in the tree? We both checked it and it’s not something we both could have missed. When I suggested we come back here, I meant looking closer to the river.

  “I know that,” he groans, “but what if there was a clue left behind or a letter. Something we could have missed in the dark when we were searching for the crystal.” He continues his search in the tree and around it.

  That’s a valid point. Whoever had been threatening me did like to leave letters. I’m still assuming it’s the council, but at this point, who freaking knows. I walk around the area scanning for anything that seems out of place.

  A slight breeze picks up and the trickle of the river brings comfort to me. Before our senior year, Beth and I would hang out here often and I would listen to that noise as we studied and just talked about our days. Being here brings back the painful ache of her loss. If I had just put my foot down and told her we weren’t going to follow them to that prison, she’d still be here with us today. She died saving my life. No wonder Charlie hated me for so long. How can he stand to be nice to me now? It’s to take the council down and I need to make sure I don’t think it’s for any other reason. This isn’t going to be a long-term truce and I need to prepare myself for that.

  “Are you okay?” He walks up beside me.

  When did he stop focusing on the tree? “Yeah, just thinking.”

  His hazel eyes soften. “About her?”

  My heart skips a beat. I don’t like talking about her with him for the exact reasons I was just thinking about. He blames me just as much as I blame myself, but I can’t lie to him. He doesn’t deserve that. “Yeah, I miss her so much.” A tear falls from my eye, but I brush it away with my fingers.

  “Me, too.” His tone is a little rough, and he glances out at the river. There is a pause between us before he scratches the back of his neck. “I didn’t find anything. Did you?”

  “Nothing stood out to me.” I wish something did. A lead would be nice. Right now, we have nothing going for us and it’s frustrating.

  He motions back to the neighborhood. “Well then, let’s head back to your parents and get your stuff. We have an apartment to get situated.”

  That’s true but it doesn’t make it any better. “All right, let’s get this over with.”

  We head back to the car in silence and soon we’re headed to my childhood home.

  On the way there, Becca springs to mind. I haven’t been able to get ahold of her now for several days. I pull out my cell phone from my back pocket and pull her name up from my contacts. I hit send and listen to it ring repeatedly. Soon, I’m transferred and informed the mailbox is full. Dammit. I hang up the phone and throw it down in my lap.

  “Did you try Becca again?” He taps the steering wheel with his fingertips.

  “Yeah,” I say with frustration in my voice, “how the hell am I supposed to get the vial of Angel’s Breath when I can’t even get to the realm it’s located in?” I don’t understand it. I felt like we made a connection. She gave me her freaking number for goodness sakes. Why isn’t she answering? “Do you think she’s okay?”

  “The demon is probably keeping her busy.” He glances at me and then back out the window. “I’m sure she’s fine and will call you back soon. And let’s be real. We aren’t ready to go.”

  That’s not true at all. “I was ready to go several days ago.” I’m ready for this all to be over and get back to at least a semi-normal life. “I just want this all over.”

  He brakes as he comes to a stop sign. “That may be true, but we still have to research how to interact with angels. We can’t just go to their realm and treat them like they’re one of us.” He presses the gas and continues to drive.

  As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. It is Angel’s Breath and the realm I see has clouds, so I’m sure they are involved. We do need to understand how to interact with them, so it has a positive outcome. But here on Earth, there aren’t a lot of books on them. “I’m not having luck finding that kind of information.”

  “Okay?” He turns down the street my family lives on. “We still have to get this information somehow, Christina. We can’t just go in and piss off the people we need to help us.”

  I hate it when he gets like this. Yes, he’s right but he’s not that much older than
me. “Yeah, okay. Can we just focus on this unpleasant task first, please?”

  The house comes into view and he turns into the driveway. “That’s probably a smart idea. Come on, I’ll be right beside you.”

  That brings me more comfort than it should, but I force myself not to over analyze it at this point. Right now, he’s on my side and I need it. I’ll deal with the consequences later.

  We walk up to the door and I pause. Do I walk in like I used to or ring the doorbell? As of today, I don’t live here anymore, but I still have a key. I don’t know what the proper protocol is.

  Before I have to make the decision, the front door opens. and both of my parents are standing there. My mom smiles at me. “Hey, honey. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Out of every scenario I have envisioned, this is not one I imagined. I’m not even sure how to respond to this. It’s a far cry from the disappointed look and cold shoulder they gave me the last time. My best guess is because the warrant for my arrest has been called off. “Uh … hi.”

  “Don’t just stand out here like this isn’t your home,” Dad grabs my arm and pulls me inside. “This is just as much your place as ours.” He motions for Charlie to come inside as well. “Please, make yourself at home.”

  Charlie’s eyebrows raise. “Uh, thanks.” He steps inside and looks up the staircase that leads to my bedroom. “Is Christina’s stuff boxed up?”

  “It is,” Mom’s body is tense, but she forces her trademark smile. She runs a hand through her short blonde hair. “I packed up her necessities in the boxes by her door. I figured Frank and I could bring some other stuff by later.”