Reaper's Hollow: The Complete Series

Chapter 13-3

Nat stood before a wide window, staring out at a rocky mountain range illuminated by a red and orange sky. In the distance, two dragons chased each other through the air, bursts of fire punctuating their attempts to char each other beyond recognition. Occasionally, one of the lumbering beasts would collide with the mountainside, sending a boulder or two tumbling into the valley below. While the red dragon seemed to have the upper hand at the moment, its elongated neck and sharp, black talons formidable, the smaller, more agile black dragon was able to thwart his foe by darting around behind him. Nat was secretly cheering for the black dragon as he could identify with its underdog position, but he also wouldn’t have cared if they both turned each other into piles of ash.

None of it was real, of course. He could visualize whatever he liked out of this window since, in this realm, he could control matter much more easily than in the human world. Sometimes, he imagined great big, lumbering dinosaurs. Other times, it was a vampire invasion or a zombie apocalypse. Tonight, he felt particularly destructive, so he had selected flaming monsters.

He took another sip of his wine and continued to contemplate his discussion with Ms. Ronobes. She seemed to have an idea who she was now, though he hadn’t had a chance to probe her thoughts deeply enough to establish precisely how. Clearly, Cutter had something to do with it. The fact that he was able to arrive so quickly made him think Mr. Michaels was spending more time at Ru’s house than he should’ve been. This was a problem Nat would have to solve quickly if he was to convince the hybrid that his side was the only reputable choice.

Noise behind him interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to find Raven entering the room, breathless, as if she’d been running. He knew she’d gone out earlier to retrieve a mark but had no idea what would cause her to return in such a state unless she’d been caught. “Raven? What’s happened?” he asked, setting his goblet on the windowsill and spinning to face her.

She doubled over, her hands on her thighs, trying to catch her breath. “Rider,” she managed. “Almost. Got me.” She finally drew up to her full height, though her hand went to her side, her breathing still labored.

“He didn’t see where you went, did he?” Nat asked, afraid she might’ve revealed their location. This particular portal had been guarded from the Keepers for centuries; surely, she hadn’t managed to ruin all of that, had she?

“No,” she reassured him, shaking her head, her hair flying about like the bird she identified with. “I had to leap a few times, but I eventually lost him. It was close.”

Nat crossed his arms and leaned back against the window, not sure he trusted her. In the past, her carelessness had almost cost him another hiding spot, one almost as sacred as this one. “You’re certain? Where were you when he lost your trail?”

Raven’s green eyes flickered for a moment, an indication to Nat that she was about to attempt to deceive him, though why she would do so was beyond him. Surely, she knew it couldn’t be done. “In the woods. But far away from here.”

“Damn it!” Nat spat, thrusting his fist back against the wall. “You should’ve never come here knowing he was still following! You could’ve jeopardized everything!”

“I didn’t,” she reassured him. “He was nowhere near the tree when I made my final leap. He was still back in the fog. He didn’t even recognize where he was.”

“You cannot be certain of that, Raven! You were careless. Now, he may very well know the location of the tree, which means he could show up at any time with an army of Keepers.”

“He won’t,” she replied, though her voice wavered a bit, another indication of her unsureness. “He didn’t see where I went. I’m positive.”

“You know the importance of guarding this location above all else.” He took a step toward her, his fists clenching and unclenching with a rage that began to pulse through his whole body. “If it were to be discovered….”

“It won’t be. It was just Rider. He’s an arrogant fool. He won’t figure it out.”

“He’s Cutter’s cousin!” Nat reminded her. “If he has gained enough clues in the mind of the strongest Keeper alive to reconstruct these woods, there is a good possibility all will be lost!” With his final words, he grabbed her by the shoulders and began to shake. Raven cried out in pain.

“I’m sorry, Thanatos. I promise, I’ll be more cautious next time!” Her words were punctuated with grimaces and shrieks of pain as his grip tightened. “Please!”

Nat pushed her across the room, and Raven careened into a chair as she crumpled to the ground. She groaned, rubbing her upper arms and then her head as she attempted to regain her footing. “Leave, now!” he shouted. She managed to pull herself up, heading for the door. “And do not leave this realm again without my express permission!”

“Yes, sir,” she said, finally giving him the respect he deserved. Raven disappeared out the door, and Nat turned, focusing his gaze back out the window where a storm of fire and brimstone rained down on the same mountainside where the dragons had fought only minutes before.

Two piles of ash lay at the foot of the mountains. Neither of them had made it out alive. Nat raised a fist to his face and bit into his finger hard enough to cause a thin stream of blood to begin to drip down, splashing against the windowsill. If he wasn’t able to secure the Keeper, and he ended up giving up the location of this portal to the enemy, his father would have his head—literally. Raven’s indiscretion could have cost them dearly, which made him want to pluck every feathery hair from her head and then crush every bone in her idiotic, pathetic body. Nat could envision everything slipping out of his hands, which caused the rage inside of him to boil up, and as he watched, the landscape before him burst into flames, so did his soul.

“Rune Ronobes, I will make you mine. One way or another. I’m coming for you.”