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Chapter 99
Though the diner had been crowded, there weren’t a lot of vehicles in the parking lot, and looking up at the castle in the distance, Ru could see why. There must’ve been a thousand steps. The castle sat on top of a hill, and there was a stairwell that wound its way around the base. In the sunlight, the bricks gave off a golden glow. With the backdrop of the sea behind it, the scene was breathtaking.
“Guess we’ll be getting in our cardio,” Rider mumbled, pulling the keys out and opening his door.
“This place will literally take your breath away,” Ivy agreed as she climbed from the far back seat of the van and followed her teammates out.
Ru was hardly aware of what everyone else was doing as she stared at the fortress before her. The hum was softer now, but not more distant, just more content, as if it was pleased with her choices. She would’ve continued to sit in the van indefinitely, just staring at the complex, if
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Reaper's Hollow Chapter 100
Hushed voices filled their ears as they reached the bottom. One of them was definitely Stew and the other sounded like a woman. Ru braced herself. What if she was hearing the voice of her mother?Cutter looked up at her. “Can you hear them?” he asked, his voice not even a whisper. She shook her head. “He’s telling her someone is here asking about her, and she’s asking if there’s a place she can hide.”“Thank God for your superhuman hearing,” she replied. “Let’s go.”He looked at her for a moment, as if asking if she was sure, and she nodded. Cutter descended the final stairs, and she followed.The scene wasn’t exactly what she was expecting. The pair was actually standing well across the narrow basement, which slightly resembled a dungeon. Two bare bulbs hung from the ceiling, illuminating tables lined with artifacts. Stew was speaking to a waif of a woman with dark hair, standi
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 101
The worker’s lounge seemed to be much bigger than necessary from Ru’s perspective considering there were only two people manning the castle at a time, but she supposed it was difficult to find a normal sized room in a palace. Either enormous chambers or small spaces previously used by servants were likely the norm.Surprisingly, the walls here were not stone, as Ru had assumed they would be. Someone had hung sheetrock, or another substance to serve the same purpose, and the room was painted a cheery buttercream color. The one window was draped in white curtains, and the round table where she sat across from this strange mother of hers had a matching tablecloth. Across the room, at least twenty feet away, there were the normal small appliances one might expect to see in such a place; a coffee maker, microwave, dorm room-sized refrigerator. A package of Styrofoam cups and some sweetener sat at the ready, but when Maggie had offered her a drink, she’d declined,
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 102
“What did Raphael say when he took him?”She let out a long sigh and took another drink before turning her attention to a spot on the table. Ru could see her pressing herself into the past. She was going against her own will, Ru surmised, and Ru appreciated the effort. Once Maggie began to speak, her voice was faint. “We thought we’d gotten away,” she began. “After you were born… we skipped from town to town for a couple of years and finally settled down in a little apartment on the Upper East Side. We thought, if they were looking, they would’ve found us by then. I hadn’t tried the cloaking spells yet. Your father didn’t want to. He said he didn’t want to give the ‘good guys’—that’s what he called the Keepers and Archs, sort-of sarcastically—he didn’t want to give them any other excuse to hate him. If they thought he was trying to hide us from them, they would be even more
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 103
“I am aware of the portals, honey. Your father mentioned knowing where the one in Reaper’s Hollow was, that’s true. He had used it. While he stopped all contact with the Reapers the moment he found out about you, he had used the portal. But he never told me where it was—or the other two. And I wouldn’t have asked. We had our own mission to fulfill, darling.”Still shocked that Maggie didn’t know where the portals were, Ru attempted to stay focused. She’d have to tell the rest of her team, somehow, that at least that part of their trip had been in vain. “Mom—I mean, Sera… uh, Maggie,” she stammered. Taking a deep breath, she muttered, “Damn,” under her breath and then, embarrassed to have cursed in front of her mother, she apologized. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to call you.”Maggie’s cheeks were tinged with pink and a broad smile spread across her f
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 104
When her mother had said she lived in a hut, Ru wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this. That was a good word for it, however, as the entire dwelling, which was round, couldn’t have been more than twenty feet across in either direction. She had a bed, a chair, a small cooking area, and the restroom was partitioned off with a curtain, so Ru wasn’t sure exactly what was back there but she assumed it was a small shower and a toilet. The kitchen sink wouldn’t have been more than a few steps from the area.It was nicely decorated, and even though Ru had never seen a building with a thatched roof before, on the inside, it was hard to tell, as the ceiling was made of varnished, interwoven wood. There were two small windows by the front door whose floral print curtains consisted mostly of blue hues and complimented the light blue on the walls and bedspread. A dresser sat mostly against the wall by the bed, the curvature of the building creating a
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 105
Ru drew her phone out of her pocket and snapped a few pictures, hoping she got enough of the details that Lyric would be able to use them to do some more research. “Thank you,” she said, reaching over and lightly touching her mom’s arm with one hand as she slid her phone back into her pocket with the other.“Certainly. I hope that it helps you find the portals, Ru.”“I wish we had time to sit and chat,” Ru replied as her mother took her hand between hers. “But I think we should go. I know you feel confident that Nat means you no harm, but I don’t see the reason in bringing him here to find out if we can avoid it.”“I understand,” Maggie replied. “Besides, you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss the tide. If you get stuck on the island, there likely won’t be any place for all of you to sleep.”Laughing, Ru said, “You don’t think we’ll fit
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 106
The view from Ru’s hotel room wasn’t too shabby. While she didn’t have a direct view of anything too important, that she knew of anyway, off in the distance she could see the London Bridge and some tall buildings, which looked breathtaking all lit up at night. She could’ve sat and stared out the window all night if a knock at the door hadn’t interrupted her.She had a feeling it was Cutter before she even went to open it. It had been evident all the way back from Holy Island that he wanted to speak with her, but it had been too much for Ru. She’d laid down in the back seat the best she could with her seatbelt on and fallen asleep pretty quickly after they’d made it across the causeway. When they’d reached the hotel, she had gone to her room, saying she’d order something from room service for dinner. The night before, she’d thought it might be possible her mother could be returning back to this rented room with her. T
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 107
Ru had seen Cutter shocked before, but nothing like this. She thought if his eyebrows raised any higher, they would end up on the back of his head. “How is that possible?”“Whoever thought Larkin had told her was mistaken.”“No, but… she…. We knew that…. Everyone said….”“I know what we thought, Cutter, but she really doesn’t know. She said she’d do some searching, but for now, my mom is not the key to the portals.”“Shit….” The word was whispered so quietly, she almost didn’t make it out.“The good news is, there’s no reason to tell Sky that we even found her.”“I guess so.” Clearly, that was not consolation enough. “I just can’t believe it. Damn. I really thought she’d know.”“I’m sure she didn’t. I think she would’ve told me if she knew and jus
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