The Reaver Chronicles: Rayne (Book 6)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The merge had been running flawlessly for months now. Things were good, really good. I had just finished a training session, which was now a blended session between Wolves and Reavers, when I felt Raziel's gold dust infiltrating my senses through his mind link.

“Rowen has requested we meet with him immediately. He says it's urgent. Are you free by chance, darling?” Raziel asked. “I just finished training. I am free for a moment. I’ll be right there.” I said, materializing to Raziel’s location. He was in front of Rowen’s house in Rome, and he had a worried look on his face.

“Is everything ok?” I asked him, linking my arm in his. “I’m not sure, but thank you for coming.” He said, and we headed to Rowen’s front door. He answered the door promptly, letting us inside where we headed to his sitting room.

Raphael was already there with Topaz sitting on his lap. He smiled at me with blood red eyes. I noted the glint of silver still shining through, and shot him a small smile back. Even though he and I had our fair share of drama, he was my favorite brother of Raziel’s still.

I looked up as Ambrosia headed down the stairs to join us, and I was still mesmerized by the bioluminescent dust that seemed to follow her. Pandora in all of her glory. I thought. It felt like we were all just here, even though it had been at least 6 months since we actually were. I could feel the tension in the room, but no one had said a word.

Rowen looked distraught and I had wondered if this had to do with The Keepers. I had seen this look on his face before, and it never amounted to anything good.

I noticed that Ramses wasn't here, so I guess we were waiting for him? That is, until Rowen stood and began speaking… All without his favorite brother. That struck me as odd, until I heard what he had to say.

“Ramses and Jade are missing.” Rowen started. I gasped out loud by accident, cupping my hand over my mouth to hush myself. I could feel Raziel shift next to me. I saw Raphael sit up to the edge of his chair making Topaz sit next to him rather than on his lap.

“Explain.” Raziel said smoothly. But I knew a missing brother was no small feat. “Two months after we split this amulet I reached out to Ramses to see if he wanted to meet up. I had a lot on my plate and had been pretty absent since all the craziness. When I tried to mind link him, I couldn’t reach him.” Rowen said.

Immediately, I think all of us tried to mind link Ramses. I was unable to get through. Just by looking around I confirmed that no one else was able to get through either. The strangest thing was I could still feel him, feel his presence and life force lingering… But it was like it was just out of reach. Like he was just on the other side of the fence, out of grasp. This told me that he was still alive, but he was somehow cut off from us. Cut off from the magic that ran through his veins. The magic connecting us all.

“How is that possible though?” Wynter asked. “I have no idea, this is really strange.” I replied to my Wolf. “See, you guys can't reach him either, can you? But you can feel him? Right?” Rowen said. “How though?” Raphael asked. “I have no idea.” Rowen replied.

“Naturally I went to his house to find him, and I was unsuccessful… But I did find this.” Rowen said, and he pulled out a letter in Ramses’ handwriting to read to us all.

“Rowen. I didn’t want you to worry about me and Jade, we are alright. I just can’t be here right now. The loss of Katrina is weighing too heavily on my mind. Everywhere I go… Everything I do… I’m reminded of her. Jade and I are taking a leave of absence for a bit. A hiatus, if you will. Please do not worry about us, we are fine. If I knew where we were going, I could tell you. But honestly, I have no idea where this will take us. So, until we meet again, I love you little brother.” Rowen read.

I felt the emotions coursing through Raziel, mostly a calm hellfire that I knew was on the verge of breaking loose. “It makes no sense though, because if he just went on vacation he would have been able to be mind linked. Plus, I waited an extra 4 months to see if they would return before panicking… And so far, nothing. It’s been 6 months total and I can’t find out anything at all about where they might be. My stress levels are high after this long. What are your guys' thoughts?” Rowen asked, looking at Raphael and Raziel.

“Are you sure the letter was written by him? Not by someone else?” Raphael asked. Rowen nodded. “I’m positive. This is his handwriting, and the lettering is perfect. He wasn’t in distress, he wasn’t being coerced. This I'm sure of.” Rowen replied.

“I assume you searched his home for any signs of wrongdoing or forced entry?” Raziel asked. “Of course I did, and I came up empty handed. His home was exactly as he had left it, nothing out of place. It doesn’t even look like they took anything with them. If they did it was miniscule. Nothing that would even be noticed.” He replied.

“And the maids? I trust they were all properly questioned?” Raphael asked. “Oh yes, they have all been questioned and have been receiving their paychecks in full still. They are still living and working in his home. This makes me think that he planned to return sometime, but maybe something happened?” Rowen replied.

I could hear the panic in his voice when he thought about his brother possibly being in danger. I was distracted when I watched Azrael start to descend down the stairs. He was looking directly at Ambrosia, but she was engrossed in the conversation and didn’t even realize.

Suddenly, as if she felt his presence, she looked up at him, locking eyes. I watched their interaction. It looked as if they were speaking without talking, but I knew he wasn’t able to mind link, and neither was she. It must be a Pandorian thing. I thought. Ambrosia then stood.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, it would seem there is a situation in Pandora’s Box. Azrael and myself are needed. Please, if anyone has any idea how we can be of assistance in finding Ramses, let me know. We are more than happy to utilize any resources we have to find him.” She said.

Rowen kissed her softly, and nodded to her, as she placed her hand in Azrael’s. I watched as she used her other hand to call forward her Box, and then used it to make them both disappear.

That’s when I had the idea. “Hey Rowen?” I said. He looked straight at me with blood red eyes, tinged with rose gold. “Remember when Ambrosia was Human, and she was inside of Pandora’s Box but we didn't know? Do you remember how you said you could feel her life force, since she was your pet and you were connected. So you knew she was alive, but she just wasn’t reachable?” I asked. He nodded slowly, but I could see the wheels starting to turn in his mind. “Are you saying Ramses is inside Pandora’s Box?” Rowen replied.

“No. If he was then I know Ambrosia would have already found that out. Plus, If he were smart, he wouldn’t have taken a Human over there. Especially knowing that Ambrosia almost died from her first trip… I would assume Jade wouldn’t have made it. Ramses has lost too much to put another at risk like that. However, would it be naive of me to assume that there may be other realms like Pandora’s Box out there?” I asked.

Rowen’s eyes widened as he looked at me. I felt like he was remembering something. “After Katrina died, Ramses took me to the place where it happened. He called them the Sea Caves. We spent a while down there… I think we honestly both needed it… For closure. I felt strange there, in those caves. I chalked it off to the magic of it being the final resting place for the Keepers, as well as housing Pandora’s Box for all those years.” He said, pausing to meet my eyes.

“I mean, of course this place has magic flowing through it. But when I was in my grief stricken state I swear I saw something, a shimmer maybe, by one of the rocks that was deep inside the cavern structure. I didn’t investigate it. Nor did I ask about it… I just ignored it, thinking I was seeing things. But it was beautiful. It was almost like a fold in the fabric of space and time. Something similar to a glint or a sparkle, as if it held the key to a place where two worlds meet… You don’t think he would have tried to go through it, do you?” Rowen asked. I shrugged.

“I honestly didn’t know that the Sea Caves existed, but a place that has that much magic flowing through it, enough to harbor Pandora's Box for all those years? It has to have magic… It has to have more than what we see. Right?” I said.

I was feeling apprehensive. I had no clue what I was saying or if it was even true. It just seemed to be the only thing that really made any sense.

“We need to explore the Sea Caves.” Raziel said suddenly, standing from his seat.

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