The Revolt (The Reapers: Book Two) (7 page)

“Ghoul,” he said, with a smile that suggested
he’d like to get to know me better. Tucker slapped him on the back
of the head and Ghoul glared at him. “Like you said, people dying
kind of bad. It’s always people who get involved with the family,
rarely actual family members. ‘Cept for Bruce’s mom. She and her
boyfriend were killed together in a car accident.”

I shivered and rubbed my arms. “And you’re
sure the deaths were caused by the curse?”

“I’m not sure of anything. What I’m telling
you is the gossip I got from reapers who’ve been hanging around
town for the past hundred years or so. There aren’t many of ‘em,
but they love to talk. You can’t be sure of anything until you talk
to the witch who’s casting the curse.”

“You know who she is?”

Tucker sputtered. “No he doesn’t and, even if
he does, he’s not telling you. The last thing we need is for you to
piss off a witch on top of everything else.”

I ignored him like he was an overprotective
parent, and met Ghoul’s gaze. “Do you know who she is?”

Ghoul smiled and didn’t even look in Tucker’s
direction. “I’ve got no idea. Witches don’t live longer than
regular people, so the witch who placed the curse would have to be
long dead. As far as I or anyone else knows, a witch’s curse dies
with the witch. So either the family has shit bad luck or the curse
stuck somehow after the witch died.”

“Are there any witches in town?”

Tucker kept his mouth shut and Ghoul did look
at him that time. He shook his head slowly. “’Course there are, but
I don’t know them and I don’t want to. You want to find the witches
you’ll have to do it yourself.”

“’Course I will,” I said, mimicking his tone.
I glared at Tucker and went back inside.

The rhythmic thud of the bag being worked
seeped up from the garage along with some god-awful jam-band music.
The garage was where Cat had set up our punching bag and weights. I
thought about going down and getting in a workout with Jed, but
then I’d have to change the music, which would probably require me
telling him why his music choice could only possibly be hindering
his workout. Even though the idea of explaining my theory of how
high-octane, heavy metal music stimulates blood flow and increases
energy levels was tempting, I was too tired for that conversation
and too sore to train.

I went back to my room, changed into sweats
and collapsed on the bed. As hard as I’d fought leaving, I’d
accepted it was time to move on and, now that we were back, I felt
stuck and out of place. I was glad to have another opportunity to
help Angelica, but I no longer felt I really belonged in that condo
or that town. I found myself chewing on my hair, trying to figure
out my next step. Disgusted, I spit the hair out and clasped my
hands over my stomach.

With my connections, there had to be some way
I could help Angelica. I grabbed a notebook and pen from my desk
and started jotting down ideas. I needed to learn more about
Bruce’s family, and the first place to look was the internet. If I
had the name of the first person in the family cursed, maybe I
could find out what he or she did to make someone mad enough to
curse them. I should probably start with Bruce and find out what he
knew, but I wasn’t eager to talk to him after sending Angelica away
in tears. I’d see what I could discover on my own first. Next, I
needed to find out who the witches were, and if they had any
connection to Bruce’s family. They were just people, right? I
tapped my pen on the pad and stared at the wall, trying to think of
what I could offer in exchange for information. Money? I had $800
to my name. A chance to talk to one of their dead? Maybe. I kept
tapping my pen and staring at the wall, but could think of nothing
else. Not that any of my plans mattered if I had to leave
Briarton.

I sat up, lay back down, got up and paced for
a while, and, finally, picked up my cell phone. I could spend the
whole day on the internet and never find out as much about the
curse as I could from Bruce. I had to stop being a coward.

“Kelsey?” Angelica answered on the first
ring.

“How’d everything go at the store?”

She sighed like she’d been holding her
breath. “Fine. Julia’s thrilled, of course, and kept asking if I
was sure you would be coming back. She’s an ambitious little
princess.”

“Yeah, but she’ll do a good job. How are you
doing?”

“I’m pretty sure my best friend hates me and
that’s making me kind of miserable, actually.”

I almost smiled. It had been a long time
since she’d called me her best friend. “I don’t hate you. I’m
worried about you. Did Bruce tell you anything else about this
curse?”

She paused. “Hold on.” I heard the click
clack of her shoes on the hardwood floor and a door closing. “Sorry
about that. Yeah, he told me the story, but it’s pretty vague. Some
ancestor of his pissed off somebody who worked for the family. I
guess the servant was stealing from them and they fired her. She
told them she’d cursed them and, not long after, people started
dying.”

“Does he know where or when this happened?” I
asked. “Does he have any names? If we knew who this started with,
we might be able to trace the family line and find out who’s
continuing it, now.”

“He didn’t mention it, but I’ll ask. He
thinks it’s all ridiculous.”

I took a deep breath. “So when you came here
this morning, who did you want me to talk to?”

Silence reigned for several long moments.
“I’m really sorry about that. I know I shouldn’t have asked.”

“I’m not saying it’s okay or anything, I just
want to know who and why.”

“Right. Well, I thought if you could talk to
his great-great-great grandmother from two-hundred years ago, maybe
you could get the whole story.”

I was suddenly glad I’d called her, rather
than going to talk to her in person, so she didn’t have to see me
roll my eyes and shake my head. “Assuming she knew the whole story,
and we could even find her. Briarton was established in the 1890s,
and the curse is 200 years old so the family wasn’t cursed here in
town, and there’s a good possibility she didn’t even die here.” The
only reason I knew when the town was founded was because there was
a marker next to the gondola at the ski slope, and I had to stare
at it when I waited in line to go up the mountain.

“Oh, okay, I mean I knew it was a long shot,
but… I guess it was a stupid thing to do all the way around.”

The sound of defeat and sadness in her voice
dampened any anger I had left. “No, it wasn’t…” I couldn’t quite
bring myself to say it wasn’t a stupid idea, because it was, but I
understood why she did it. “You’re scared and you want to help your
boyfriend. I understand that, but trying to talk to someone who’s
been dead for almost 200 years isn’t going to work.”

“I’m scared, and I broke the one promise I
ever made you. Do you think you can still be my friend?”

My hard little heart almost split right in
two at that. She sounded so young and… I don’t know what… like she
still believed that the world was basically a safe and a good
place. “Yes, of course I’m still your friend. I just don’t see how
I can help you with this since I’m leaving.” There was no point in
telling her about my list. It would just get her hopes up, and I
probably wouldn’t be around to follow through.

“No, no, I know you can’t. Thanks, anyway.
Have a safe flight.”

“Listen,” I said. “I’m not sure the story
matters as much as finding the person who’s actually cursing the
family today. If the curse is real, there’s got to be someone alive
and well carrying it out. If you can find out who it is, maybe you
can convince them to stop. We didn’t make our flight, so I’ll
probably be in town for a little while longer, if you need me.” I
didn’t love the idea of sending her to talk to witches, but Len and
Tucker said witches hated the corporations, not regular people. It
was all I could do for her.

“How can I find them?”

“I don’t know, but you were into all that
occult stuff when we lived together. Maybe some of your friends
know some real witches.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll try that.”

I hung up and sank back down onto the bed
feeling like the kind of person who tortures cute puppies for fun.
She was so sweet and good-hearted, and I was sending her to talk to
dangerous people.

“There’s nothing you can do for her,” Tucker
said.

I jumped and spun around to face him. “Do you
enjoy scaring the shit out of me?”

He grinned. “I’m not trying to scare you, I’m
trying to train you. Even in a warded house you should be on
alert.”

“Right,” I said, dragging the word out nice
and slow. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

He lay back on my bed and rested his head on
his hands, arms akimbo. “I like you better than that guy out
there.”

I lay down next to him and he put his hand
over mine. After what happened yesterday, I paused a moment to see
if we’d really touch, but nothing happened. It was just the usual
weird image of a barely visible hand over my own. I tried not to
feel disappointed. I’d always been a toucher myself and I hadn’t
had anyone to touch for a while. Cat was a little too prickly for
that. “I’m not a complete idiot. I know my limitations, but I might
be the only one who
can
help Angelica.”

“I don’t think you’re an idiot.”

A knock at my door interrupted whatever
Tucker might have said next. “Yeah?” I called. I knew it was Jed,
and I should have gotten off my lazy butt and opened the door, but
I was comfortable and he was annoying.

“We need to talk. Meet me in the living room
in five,” he said through the door.

“Sure.”

Tucker lifted himself onto one elbow and
looked down at me. “You have a huge heart, Kelsey, no matter how
much you pretend you don’t. Listen to it and you’ll be fine.”

“What is this? A hallmark card? You think my
heart’s going to protect me from reapers?”

He sighed, but a smile danced in his eyes. “I
think the reapers will be able to get to you if you’re weak. You’ve
lost a lot these past months and I know how much it’s hurt you.
Don’t lose yourself, too.”

“And if that involves helping Angelica?”

“I’ll do what I can to help you help her. You
can’t hide for the rest of your life, I understand that. I’m just
asking you to take some time and make sure you’re acting for the
right reasons.”

“I’ll try.” I sat up next to him and kissed
the air where his cheek was. “Thanks. Do you think you can look out
for her, just for a little while?”

He smiled. “Already on it.” And he was
gone.

I stood and dragged myself to the living room
to find out how bad things were.

Jed was pacing, in a sweaty tank top and
sweatpants, looking all buff and shiny after his workout, but he
stopped and sat down on the coffee table when I walked in. I sat on
the couch and faced him.

“Some asshole reaper is running around Varius
killing people. We have to stay here until they get it under
control.”

My heart thudded painfully and I tried to
catch my breath. If the reapers had gotten into Varius, we really
might be at war. “Caleb? Has he turned up?”

He stood and started pacing again. “They
don’t know who it is for sure, but Caleb is still missing and, so
as far as anyone is concerned, he’s in the clear. I agreed, at
first, but as soon as I hung up the phone I started thinking…”

“He might have had something to do with
it.”

He stopped and faced me. “There’s no way he’s
not involved. He didn’t have enough favors owed to him to pull off
your reaping. He promised them something big…”

“Like access to Varius?”

His hands fisted and raised a moment before
he dropped them to his sides and his shoulders sagged. “Like a
war.”

I leaned back against the couch. “You really
think he would help them start a war?”

He sat down on the coffee table, and began
ticking off points on his fingers. “He’s angry at Varius and the
two people who were killed were particular enemies of his. I could
never understand why he would run off to Len and not Harvest One,
but if he was planning a war against the corporations, Len would be
neutral territory of a sort.”

“Any way I can get that designation?”

He ignored me and kept ticking off points.
“Caleb has always felt Varius was too conservative with the
reapings we allowed. He thought Varius should let reapers go after
the rich and powerful, for a cut of the profits.”

I shivered.

“Caleb knew more about Varius than almost
anyone. I always figured he was trying to make up for his lack of
skill by charming everyone into teaching him their jobs, but now I
wonder if he wasn’t preparing to take Varius down.”

I was happy to hear Caleb might have an
obsession other than me, but the anger and sadness in Jed’s eyes
made me want to convince him someone else was responsible. “You
could be wrong…” The words sounded lame even to me and to make up
for them I reached out to hug him. He moved away from me and my
gesture ended up being an awkward pat on his shoulder.

“We’re going to be stuck here for a little
while and there’s not much point in leaving the condo. I understand
you want to help Angelica.” He paused and, when I didn’t argue,
continued. “But our time here would be better served with me
training you.”

I didn’t think helping Angelica would
interfere with my training, but I didn’t argue with him. I couldn’t
argue with him when he looked so lost and sad. I almost missed the
obnoxious Jed I’d gotten used to. “When can we start?” If I
couldn’t leave, I needed to do something.

He must have felt the same way, because he
smiled. “Right now. I want to show you what I can do, and then you
show me what you can do. For the moment, we’re partners and we’re
going to train like it.”