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Chapter 74
The flight from LaGuardia to Jackson, Wyoming, was a long one, almost six hours. Ru couldn’t believe how much more complicated it seemed to even get to the plane than it had when she was younger, though she likely wasn’t paying much attention when she was ten since she was in awe of the thought of getting on a plane at all. She’d felt so lucky her mother’s uncle had insisted on flying them all out for the funeral, Ru couldn’t believe she was actually awake—not dreaming—and included. Not that her mother could’ve explained to her distant family why she’d left a ten-year-old at home unattended.
Ru had supposed she’d sit with the girls or Cutter on the flight, but she found herself nestled into a seat next to the window with Rider on the other side of an empty seat between them. He needed the aisle because of his long legs, or so he’d explained it. Ru could believe that, but she was pretty tal
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Reaper's Hollow Chapter 75
“They’re definitely gone,” Raven said, her voice cutting through Nat’s thoughts like a heated blade through a block of ice. “Where they’ve gone, we can’t say for sure, but we expect it’s likely to their village.”“I would think that would be easy enough to establish.” He had his back to her, so rolling his eyes would lose its effect. That didn’t stop him from doing it anyway. “Check the airlines, Raven.”“Right. Anything else?”Rather than turn and address her, he dismissed her with a wave of his hand and listened for her footsteps to echo down the hall.It had been weeks since his failed attempt to take Rune in the woods, and since then he’d had nothing but time: time to reflect, time to regroup, time to regret. He’d been so close, and yet he still wasn’t sure exactly what it was that bet
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Ru had only slept in a hotel a handful of nights in her entire life, and as she’d entered her room in Jackson, Wyoming, she’d remembered that the last time she’d been in such a place, she’d started a small fire with the cheap hairdryer in the bathroom. Her mother had been furious, claiming she could’ve burned down the entire building and killed hundreds of people. Ru had let her hair air dry for the next four or five years.The bed was a little hard for her taste, but Ru was pretty sure that wasn’t the only reason she had struggled to sleep. Her mind was still racing when her alarm went off, and she felt like she’d only gotten an hour or so of sleep. She hoped the people of Los Angeles didn’t judge a Keeper by her cover because she’d likely show up with bags under her eyes.She showered and got ready for the day, packing the few items she’d needed back into her suitcase as Pipe
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 77
The ride to Los Angeles from Jackson would take about four hours and would take her through scenic views Ru had only imagined or seen in textbooks. The landscape around her was so different than Upstate New York. They wound through peaks and valleys, plateaus and mountains, climbing in elevation, making their way further and further from civilization. The trees here even looked different, although Ru realized the twisted trunks of the forest etched in her mind were not reality compared to the typical varieties that grew in most areas of New England. Still, the wide-open spaces, the clear blue sky, and the fresh, crisp air captured her attention for most of the drive, calming her spirit at least as well as Cutter’s mind tricks.She sat in the middle row next to Ivy. Lyric was in the back next to the luggage, and the men were in the front, Rider insisting on driving. For the most part, the rest of them were quiet as well, and she assumed they were le
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 78
The house was white and small, even by Los Angeles standards. It sat back off of the road quite a ways, and several tall trees dotted the ample yard. It even looked like there might be an orchard in the back. Ru stood in the driveway for quite some time, her feet rooted in place despite the chilly November breeze. Cutter hung back by the car, giving her time.Ru imagined what it might’ve been like skipping up this driveway as a little girl, possibly bringing her grandmother a bouquet of fresh flowers, maybe staying long enough to bake cookies or learn to sew. She could envision herself as a small child in a long, flowing dress, bows in her hair, lovingly placed there by her mother, who told her to have fun and be back before dinner. Of course, those things had never happened. And now, she would walk into the home of this stranger and try to figure out how they were alike… and how they were different.She turned her head sli
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Nana made her way to the first doorway, which wasn’t too far away. She took a moment to collect herself before she pushed it open. The door creaked, as if it wasn’t used to being called upon to reverse its stance, but it let go of the jamb and revealed a tiny bedroom still decorated as if a teenage girl would be returning to her early ‘90s abode in a few minutes.Ru stepped in and took it all in. It was as if Sera had just hung the Johnny Depp poster by the bed this morning. A book was open on the nightstand, and upon closer inspection, Ru saw that it was a Sweet Valley High book. There were several others in the series on the shelf across the room, next to the worn white dresser with little yellow flowers topped by a handful of stuffed animals. Though not all of the books were as innocent as the one her mother had been reading; some of them were the books about magic her grandmother had mentioned before when the team had been investiga
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“You know, she was born in the middle of a thunderstorm.” Ru looked up to find her grandmother staring out at nothing through the thin white curtains that hung in front of the only window across the room from them. “I took one look at that little mite’s back and knew she was going to be a spitfire. She came out that way, scratching at the world like she was going to tear a new opening in the veil. So, having the markings of fiery wings on her back was no surprise to me.”Ru was confused; this didn’t sound anything like the happy little cherub her grandmother had described before, and she wasn’t sure of the connection between the markings and the name.“I was mighty surprised when she was such a carefree little one, never a trouble, never a problem. I thought I might’ve named her wrong. Then, when trouble struck, it hit all at once. And I knew Seraphina was the perfect name for her. I
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Ru went straight upstairs as soon as they returned to Cutter’s parents’ house, and he couldn’t blame her. She hadn’t said a word the entire ride home, and he couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have so much of her past dumped in her lap all of a sudden when she’d been searching for even a whisper of a memory for most of her life. While he wished she hadn’t taken the picture of Larkin, it did open his eyes just a bit to the possibility that he had yet to completely convince Ru that her Keeper side was more important than her father’s family.Thoughts of where to go with that problem were interrupted by laughter coming from the kitchen, and Cutter realized his mother’s voice wasn’t the only one he heard. He quickly rushed into the back room, delighted to see his sister Cinder innocently tossing handfuls of flour at his mother. Windy was not one to go down without a fight, and Cinder’s hair was even whiter th
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“What is this?”“We found it in Sera’s room,” he explained as his sister pulled the phone out of his hand and closer to her face. “As soon as I saw it, I knew I recognized it, but I didn’t know why. It must be because of the runes engraved at the top.”“This is a Celtic cross,” Cinder explained. “You should be able to decipher the writing now that you know the origin.”Without losing any time, Cutter sent a picture of the cross and Cinder’s sketch to Lyric, along with a message indicating where he thought she should look. “Thanks, Sis,” he said, hitting send. “I think you may’ve done more in the last few minutes to decipher this riddle than we have in weeks.”“Nah,” Cinder replied, waving him off and sliding back on the sofa away from her sketch. “You would’ve figured it out. Eventually.”“The only problem
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