Page 67 of Grave Devil
“You are a lucky man who can choose such things. What I would give to hold her one more time…” His gaze fills with mixed emotions, his eyes watery.
“What did she call you?” I ask. It is something that I’ve often pondered. Names give meaning. It makes things more tangible. I need him to be real and not just an apparition.
At this he smiles. It’s faint, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly, but I can see that it warms him. “She called meFate. Because she knew better than to tempt me.” He closes his eyes, his grin stretching in remembrance. “Because we were always meant to be.”
A well of sadness springs up inside me. My mother was an unhappy woman, cold and distant to most. But she loved me fiercely. And it seems she did him as well. What a shame that they cannot be together. “I’m sorry for your loss,” I murmur.
“As I am for yours, my son.”
“Can you stay here with me?” I never understood how much I’ve longed for this until now. When it’s right in front of me and on the brink of never existing again.
He shakes his head. “I’ve dreamed of it. But I cannot. It’s enough that you’ve asked. That I will cherish.”
I choke back a sob, suddenly feeling like a child again. “Why can’t you?”
“Because it is unnatural for me to be here, son. I should never have been.”
“And me? Aren’t I unnatural too, then?” Every emotion I’ve ever suppressed is welling up like a volcano inside me, daring to erupt at any moment. I fear the slightest word or brush of wind could send me over the edge.
“You are perfect. Half human, half nightmare. You have a foot in both worlds. But you were born here. You belong to thisworld. Not mine. Just as I don’t belong here. Now, you and your friends need to close that veil and send us all back. Not all nightmare men are as kind as I am.”
“That’s what Nox said… What if I don’t want you to go?” The thought of losing my father before I’ve even had a chance to get to know him fills me with dread.
He pulls me in close, half hugging me to his side. “You’re a strong young man, Draven. You don’t need me. I will watch over you through the raven. You can gaze into his eyes and know that you’re looking into mine. But I must go. Things that are far darker than me are trying to get out of that wretched tree. You must stop them.”
I loosen my tie and unbutton the top of my shirt. Despite the cold and the rain, I’m burning up. “How do we close the veil?”
He turns to me and cups my face in his clawed hands. “It must end how it began. Centuries ago, this town was founded by seven families. With the raven’s blade, they pledged an oath to the Wishing Tree. They formed Nocturnus, an order that worshipped ravens in exchange for great power. And for protection. But the devil is a trickster. For every oath comes a curse.”
“Like Bishop women being forbidden to enter the After. And the daughters of Ever Graves cursed with nightmare men…” The devil gives, and he takes. But the cost is always much higher than the reward.
My nightmare father smiles. “Yes. Exactly. Even your woman, Mia, is now cursed because of the bargain she made for Nox. The veil must be closed and no more oaths pledged. Ever Graves will always be blanketed in darkness but if your people continue to make deals with the devil, this town will be nothing but a black hole.”
I sigh. “Except that we have to make one more. One final deal before we cut the devil off for good.”
He nods in understanding. “For the Skelker… I’d advise you to let him go, but I know you won’t. So I’ll just say that you must be quick about it. Then gather the women.It must be the women, for they wield the most divine energy. One from each founding family, Graves, Blackwell, Thorn, Bishop, Crane, Harker, and Wickford.”
The Skelker. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that one. On one hand, he’s my best friend’s little brother. I’m happy and relieved that he’s not dead as we once thought. For decades, we’ve watched Bones and his family suffer that loss.
But on the other hand, he’s staked a claim on my Mia. A claim that none of us approved or agreed to. He’s barreled in from the Wishing Tree with his bloodlust and thirst for vengeance, blaming Mia for the mistakes of her entire bloodline. And yet he’s fallen for her the same as we have. And she has fallen for him.
I must accept that. Even as it threatens my resolve. I can’t control her any more than she can control me. That’s what drew us to each other. From the first night that I drove into her iron gates in a lust-fueled rage, I knew we were going to be dangerous together. There was so much passion and provocation that we could barely handle it. Even now, I want to strangle her sometimes…
“Your love for her is fierce,” my father observes.
I nod and light another cigarette. “More than I thought I could ever love another.”
He tilts his head to the side and sniffs the air. “Another nightmare is waiting in the shadows to speak with you. I sense it’s important. I will go now and let you sort it all out.” He turns to walk away.
“Wait, um…Father… Will you wait for me back at Blackwell Manor?Please.” I have so much more I want to say, and I don’twant him disappearing into the darkness again. We only have so much time left to spend together.
He cups my cheek in his palm. “Of course, my son. I’ll always wait for you. Either in this life or the next.”
And with that, he’s gone before my eyes will allow me to process him where he once stood. I let out a quivering breath. Fuck. I can’t explain it, but there is a lightness in my feet and in the center of my belly. Is it because of the connection, or is it relief? I feel less weighted by the sludge that typically worms around in my soul.
“He’s right. I came to find you to tell you the same. And to bring you this.” Nox hands me a bucket glass filled to the rim with gin. “Neat, just how you like it.” His tail slithers between my legs and curls around my upper thigh.
The scent of juniper fills my nostrils as I take a big sip, comforted by the liquor and the beast at my side. “Thanks. I needed this.”
