Keeper of Destinies Read online

  CHAPTER TWO

  GREG

  The Seer’s last words rang in his ears and a line from the prophecy flashed before his eyes. ‘The seventh child from one of the seven original Keeper lines, born on the seventh day of the month, would bring forth an end to the warring between the Keepers and the Reapers.’

  They had known his sister was the Chosen One, that she was the one to fulfill the prophecy, but it had never clicked into place … until now. The baby was the one who would end it, since Jack and Lucy were bringing forth the child into the world.

  His eyes fell on his sister as she glanced down and her hand moved across her slightly swollen belly. “My … my baby. But, how?”

  Emily shook her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “What I do know is that somehow, your child, the only being in existence to be born with the blood of both a Keeper and a Reaper, is the key to all of this. We must do everything possible to keep you and the child safe.

  Finally, Lucy moved into the room and returned to her chair, practically falling into it. “I knew I was the one referred to in the prophecy, but I never thought my baby would be a part of this.”

  “It makes sense.” Dan nodded, agreeing with himself and whatever his thought process was. “Bringing forth, that is the key phrase.”

  Greg glanced at his sister and Jack again, noticing that the Reaper had his fists clenched at his sides. Lucy turned, raised her hand and set it on his arm. “It’s fine, nothing will happen to our child,” he heard her whisper in a low tone. “I’d never let that happen.”

  “None of us would,” Greg told them, directing the comment to both Lucy and Jack. “Family first, always.”

  A chorus of ‘that’s rights’ and ‘hell yeahs’ echoed throughout the room and then Jack turned to Emily, his hands still held in fists at his sides. “I don’t care if I have to die. If my sacrifice saves my Lucy and my child, I’m all in.”

  Emily averted her gaze, as if she were trying not to look directly at Jack. He got the feeling she was intimidated by the Reapers. It probably had something to do with how the Empress had kidnapped her. He didn’t blame her if that was the reason.

  He didn’t have any place to cast judgement either. Up until recently, he’d hated all Reapers. Then Jack came crashing into their lives and connected with his sister. Then Aiden showed up and did the same thing with his other sister.

  There was a time he never would have dreamed that he would be associating with Reapers, now he had two of them who were basically a part of the family and he would give his life for them … just as he knew they would for him.

  “We need to go sooner than later,” Aiden spoke up. “If we wait too long, the Reaper spies she sends in will know what we are up to. It’s better just to go.”

  Greg shook his head. “We need to plan.”

  “What’s there to plan? Let’s get on a plane and go.”

  Dan leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “We can’t take weapons on a plane and we’re going to need to be armed.”

  He had a point, but Greg wasn’t able to say so before Aiden turned to face Dan. “What’s your suggestion, then?”

  “Motorhome. Let’s get an RV and travel there. We can all take turns driving and then we will be able to bring our weapons. It will take longer, but if we go straight through it won’t be too bad.”

  “And where in the world are we going to get an RV? Steph flipped her dark red hair over her shoulder and stared at their brother with wide eyes. “We’re all broke!”

  That statement left everyone at the table silent. It was true, the entire lot of them could barely afford to eat, much less purchase or rent a motorhome. Even Hannah, who had been the only one of them with a really nice paying job, was out of work since she’d manipulated the autopsy of a Reaper she killed.

  “I can get us an RV,” Dan said, waving off Steph’s comment. “Don’t worry.”

  Greg narrowed his eyes and stared down his brother. “Dude, how do you end up with all this money? It’s totally sketchy that you always come up with a shit ton of bail money or something like an RV when we are in desperate need. I’m going to ask again … are you into drug dealing or something?”

  “Seriously. I’ve already told you that I’m not into anything illegal or dangerous. I have … investments.”

  Greg didn’t miss the way Reese’s head swiveled toward Dan. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but then she must have changed her mind because she said nothing. This told him that Dan was definitely hiding something.

  “All you need to know is that I can get a motorhome,” Dan finished as he lifted his fork, loaded with mashed potatoes, to his lips.

  “Fine.” Greg rolled his eyes and then pointed at his brother. “Whatever you are doing, we will eventually find out. We’re onto you man.”

  Dan spread his arms wide and with a mouth full of mashed potatoes said, “Bring it on.”

  “Oh, I will,” Greg assured him.

  This wasn’t how he envisioned Thanksgiving at all. He had been hoping they could have at least one happy day where they weren’t fighting Reapers or worrying about what was going to happen to them. “Okay, I guess we are planning a trip then. For now, let’s enjoy our meal and the fact that we are all together.”

  Everyone agreed and began to eat and converse. James was asking Emily questions and keeping her involved in conversation. On one hand, Greg was glad that his brother was making Emily feel comfortable, but on the other, he felt a small twinge of something that he couldn’t pinpoint. The only thing he was sure of was that he wished he was the one chatting in hushed tones with the Seer.

  After the meal was over, everyone helped clear the table, pack away the leftovers and clean up the kitchen. It definitely went fast with everyone helping. As they worked, he kept an eye on Emily. It appeared that James was keeping her more than occupied, chatting her ear off the entire time. Emily would occasionally smile, laugh lightly or respond to him, but it still seemed like she was keeping her distance.

  Once the work was done, the entire lot of them gathered in the living room with drinks. Dan, who had quit drinking, held a steaming mug of coffee instead of his usual hard alcohol. He was proud of his brother for finally coming to his senses. He, along with the rest of the family, had been worried about him and his alcoholism. But if he didn’t want to help himself, none of them could have done anything.

  It was Reese who finally knocked some sense into him … and it wasn’t when she was chasing him out of the bar with her baseball bat either. His brother had fallen madly in love with the brunette bartender whom they had all known their entire lives.

  Now, Dan was finally off the booze and the entire family had Reese to thank for that.

  He, on the other hand, sometimes wished he was an alcoholic. He wished that he could slip into a vice and let all his problems float away. There were times that all the fighting and killing and worry was just too much. He was the oldest of the Estmond children and with both of his parents gone now, it made him feel as if taking care of all six of his brothers and sisters was his responsibility.

  The reality of it was that they all took care of each other, but that didn’t take away that feeling that he needed to be the one to do it. That was a huge weight to carry and sometimes he just wanted to drop that weight and rest.

  But, he never did. Unlike Dan, who had sunk into his depression and washed away the worry with alcohol, he rose up and fought harder with every blow. It was exhausting, but in the end, he knew they would win because of it.

  “Greg, where’d you go, man?” He heard his brother’s voice and pulled himself out of the haze of his thoughts to find James waving a hand in front of his face.

  “Oh, sorry. I guess I might be tired. I spaced off there for a minute.”

  James crinkled his brow. “Yeah, I guess. Well, you aren’t the only one. Emily wants to get some sleep and I don’t know where you want me to put her up.” He gestur
ed at the Seer, who stood near the stairs with her suitcase in hand.

  “Oh, um … I guess she can have my room and I’ll bunk with you.”

  His brother’s face fell. “Great. You snore worse than anyone I’ve ever met. Looks like I won’t be getting any sleep.”

  Emily shook her head. “No, I don’t want to put anyone out.”

  Greg waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry. He’s joking. I don’t snore and you aren’t putting anyone out at all. Just let me go up and change the sheets and straighten up a little bit. I wasn’t expecting anyone.”

  She nodded and Greg moved past her, jogging up the stairs. If he had known he was going to have a girl sleeping in his room, with or without him, he would have definitely straightened up more. One of their spare rooms was full of more crap than they knew what to do with. Their dad’s room was off limits. None of them wanted to take the room and, on that same note, none of them wanted to change anything in it. So, the room stayed as it was. He definitely wasn’t going to let a stranger go in there if his own family couldn’t bring themselves to deal with it.

  Once he made it to his room, he threw open the door and let out a curse when he saw that it was worse than he had thought it was. When the hell had he become such a slob. There were piles of clothes everywhere, books scattered over the desk and nightstand, his guitar was propped against the bed where he had last left it, and several pieces of notebook paper with lyrics were spread over the comforter.

  “Shit.” He rushed forward to move his guitar and gather the paper before ripping the blankets and sheets off the queen sized bed. It took him about twenty minutes to change the bedding and pick up the clutter enough that the room wouldn’t be offensive.

  He was shoving the last pile of clothes into a hamper by his desk when James and Emily appeared in the doorway. “What the hell is taking you so long?” James leaned into the room, taking a look around.

  Greg straightened. “I had to change the sheets, that takes a few minutes.”

  “Whatever.” James rolled his eyes and gestured into the room. “You should be comfortable in here. There is a bathroom across the hall if you need it, just make sure to knock because we all share around here.”

  “Thank you.” Emily offered James a smile and then proceeded further into the room. “And thank you for offering your room to me. I never intended to intrude.”

  “It’s no problem at all. We’re glad you’re here,” he added.

  After that there was an awkward silence where the three of them stood there, no one saying anything. Finally, Emily shifted her eyes back and forth, signaling that she was ready for them to leave.

  Greg snapped into action, hurrying out of the room and grabbing James by the shoulder as he exited the room. “Good night, sleep well.” He called over his shoulder and shut the door behind him.

  “Let go.” James shrugged out of his grip. “What the hell man?”

  Greg just shrugged, deciding not to answer.

  “You’re acting like a weirdo.” His brother eyed him over and then glanced back at the shut door behind them. “Oh shit.” He slapped his palm against his thigh. “I get it now.”

  “Shut up,” Greg hissed, not wanting Emily to overhear anything.

  “What?” James grinned. “You don’t want her to hear me say that you want to…”

  Greg launched forward and shoved James against the wall. “I said shut it, man!”

  “Or what?” James laughed beneath his hold.

  “Or I can say just as loudly how you’d like to do the same thing. Don’t think none of us noticed.”

  James narrowed his eyes. “I don’t care, I’ll tell her myself.”

  Greg rolled his eyes and released his brother. “You’re an asshole.”

  “Awww, but I’m your asshole and you love me.”

  “Just keep this shit to yourself, okay.” He lowered his voice. “I’m allowed to think she’s attractive, so leave me alone.”

  “Dude, she’s more than attractive.”

  Greg once again rolled his eyes. “I’m not arguing that point. Let’s go downstairs.”

  James nodded and followed him down to join the rest of the family. When they hit the landing, his brother elbowed him and whispered, “Are we allowed to call dibs?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Dammit. Because if we were…”

  “No,” Greg cut him off. “If, and I mean if either of us were to … well, she gets to make that decision. It’s not up to us.”

  “You suck.” James slapped his brother’s shoulder in a friendly gesture. “But good luck anyway.” With that, he hurried off to join the game of charades that was taking place in the living room.

  CHAPTER THREE

  EMILY

  She could hear their voices on the other side of the bedroom door, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. She wasn’t blind either, however. She knew they were talking about her. You didn’t have to be a Seer to know that James had been flirting with her. Greg hadn’t been as direct, but she could sense the attraction from him.

  She wondered if he could feel that same attraction coming from her. She also really hoped that he couldn’t. The only reason she was here was to tell them about the vision and help them to try and stop it. Then she could return to her own life.

  She rolled the suitcase over and then set it on the bed. She hadn’t been joking about being tired, it had been a long day and she was definitely ready to get some sleep. It only took her a few minutes and she had changed into a pair of baggy sweatpants and a loose tee shirt. She closed the suitcase and set it on the floor beside the bed.

  Hesitantly, she peeled back the covers that Greg had spread neatly over the bed and then slid underneath. The crisp, clean sheets felt nice against her skin, so she pulled the comforter up to her chin and curled into a ball on her side.

  Sleep immediately took her.

  When Emily woke the next morning, she had to take a moment to orient herself. She was in a strange bed, with the fall morning sunshine streaming through the windows and into the room.

  After remembering where she was and how she got there, she pushed the covers aside and sat up. The day before had been a long day and she was probably still suffering from some jet lag. That was the only explanation for her grogginess. She knew that the day ahead of her was going to be a long one as well, and she had to push back the urge to just pack her stuff and go home. Well, she felt like that on one hand. On the other she knew that she had to see this through to the end.

  She would not have been given the vision if she wasn’t meant to help. The destinies of many were now on her hands.

  She snuck out into the hallway and crossed over to the bathroom, making sure that no one was in there before she entered. Finding it empty, she proceeded to empty her bladder and then quickly brush her teeth. When she was finished, she crossed back over to the bedroom and pulled a pair of jeans and a purple tee shirt out of her suitcase. She changed clothes quickly, worrying that someone would come in while she was changing. There were just too many people roaming around this house.

  Downstairs was calm and quiet, nothing like it had been the night before. But the moment she set foot on the landing, the scent of bacon wafted in from the kitchen and her stomach growled in anticipation. Following the aroma, she made her way through the living room and into the kitchen where she found Jack at the stove, stirring a pan of scrambled eggs and humming. The amount of eggs in the pan looked like enough to feed an army. On the counter beside the stove, a large electric skillet held the sizzling bacon that had drawn her into the kitchen in the first place.

  Jack had noticed her enter, turning away from his cooking duties to offer her a friendly smile and said, “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” She returned the smile, clasping her hands in front of her.

  The Reaper, looking totally out of place manning a stove, waved his plastic spatula toward the coffee pot. “There is pretty much always coffee in there. Help yourself, but
never forget to make a new pot if you use the last of it. If you don’t, there will be hell to pay, and I will totally throw you under the bus.”

  Emily tilted her head and smiled. “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t forget … and thank you,” she added, moving in the direction Jack had indicated.

  “No worries. Mugs are in the cabinet.”

  Emily opened the door of the cupboard he had gestured to and chose a large mug that read, ‘could be coffee … could be booze,’ and filled her cup. She eyeballed the liquid in the pot as she slid the carafe back into place. There was still about half a pot, so she didn’t think she needed to make more yet.

  She carried her mug over to the table, but before she sat down she asked, “Do you need any help?”

  Jack stirred the eggs a bit, shook his head and then turned to her. “Nope. I think I got this covered. I haven’t burned anything yet.”

  Emily let out a small laugh and then sat down at the table to drink her coffee. “Where is everyone?”

  The Reaper tilted his head as if he were thinking. “Let’s see. Lucy is still sleeping, James is upstairs, Greg is out in the graveyard pulling patrol and everyone else went back to their places last night. Don’t worry, this place will be bursting with people within the hour. It’s like fucking Grand Central around here ninety percent of the time.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say.

  Jack flipped off the burner switch for the eggs and then transferred all the bacon over to a plate. “You want some food?”

  “Not quite yet,” she told him. “It’s still a little early for me. But, I definitely will in a little bit.”

  “So, tell me.” Jack topped off his own cup of coffee and then pulled out a chair across from hers. “How do I die?”

  Emily expected this. Why wouldn’t they want to know how it happened. How else would they prevent it, if they didn’t know how it happened?