Page 33 of Wicked Ties
I snuck across the rooftop, crouching behind a ledge, keeping out of sight. The Keres were roaming the streets of Jersey City. It was crowded with wall-to-wall apartment buildings and duplexes. The streets were lined with cars on both sides, making it nearly impossible to drive in both directions. Yet the cars somehow managed to navigate the narrow streets by driving only inches apart from each other. But for me and the others, it was easy to leap from rooftop to rooftop to follow them as they stalked their next victim.
Tilly moved like a cat, silent and nimble by my side, with Odin with us. Kylian and Grayson were just a few buildings ahead of the Keres while Becket and Astrid were right across the street with Logan. I couldn’t figure out what exactly they were doing with Tilly’s spirit and why they wanted it so badly, but it belonged to my girl, and she would have it, even if it killed me. They turned left down a narrow street and stopped just in front of an old boarded-up house. A chain link fence surrounded the whole property, and signs for a construction company hung on the fence. Heavy equipment was parked all around the house, like at any moment the crew would show up and bulldoze the place.
With a tiny flutter of their wings, they were over the fence. The leader marched up the broken down front steps while the other two split up and moved to the sides of the house. Without a word and on cue, the lead one kicked in the front door at the same time the other two broke through the plywood over the windows. Three demons shot from the back door and ran into the streets. They disappeared into the thin shadows between the apartment buildings and were gone.
“Bottom feeders.” Odin snarled. “They feed off the nearly dead. You’ll see what you need in there. After this, nuggies for Odin.”
“Not now.” I waved him off.
He hissed at me. “Nuggies for Odin.”
I pressed my finger to my lips. “Shhh. Fine, I’ll get you nuggies.”
“I’m not sharing.” He demanded.
Because I’m known for sharing. I rolled my eyes.
Tilly peered over the edge of the building and then glanced over her shoulder at me.
“Need a ride?”
Like you wouldn’t believe.
“Yea.”
She waited for me to move to her side and wrapped her arm around my hips. She was small tucked into the side of my body but so strong. When we were wrapped up with each other, she leapt from the rooftop with me in tow beside her. My stomach went up in my throat and the wind passed by me. Her feet hit the ground a moment before mine did. It was enough time for me not to break my legs and her to take the impact that didn’t bother her. Odin landed on my shoulder then jumped to the ground.
Astrid’s invisible portrait shimmered beside us, and they walked through. I motioned for them to go around the other side of the house while we went in the opposite direction. Grayson and Kylian were already creeping around back. I walked up beside one of the broken-down windows and peeked through the opening. Inside, the house had already been gutted, and all that was left were broken floors and walls that couldn’t be considered walls there were so many holes in them.
There in the middle of this dump that should’ve been bulldozed a while ago was a body, a man gaunt with death, his eyes open and unseeing. A dark blue knitted cap covered his head and a puddle of dark blood pooled beneath him. He was dead. I could tell from here. The blood no longer spread, he didn’t twitch, he didn’t blink his eyes. He was gone. Yet the Keres all hovered around his remains. Why? Their legend said they feed off battlefields and what’s left over. So why were they here now? With this lone death?
The leader pulled a jar from her bag and my eyes locked on it. It was so familiar somehow. Then it happened, the lead Keres shoved her claw down into the man’s chest and pulled out a larger glowing white orb. It was bigger than the one they kept from Tilly. This must’ve been his whole soul. She shoved it into the bottle and capped it. When she placed it back into her bag, they all rose to their full height and turned from the body without so much as a backward look.
“What the hell is going on?” Tilly whispered to me. “This makes no sense.”
The Keres all headed toward the back of the house, and I hoped Grayson and Kylian were out of the way before those three got there.
“So, we follow that creepy lot?” Grayson raced to my side with Kylian in tow.
Kylian leaned up against the house with one hand while he pressed the other to his lips. “I’m good.” He gagged and sucked in a deep breath.
Grayson chuckled. “Can’t take a bit of vampire running?”
“You dragged me.” He heaved again.
“Necessary, mate.” Grayson clapped him on the shoulder.
“You’re an asshole.” Kylian narrowed his eyes at him.
“Yeah, but you like me, really.” He pointed in the direction of the Keres. “So, we follow?”
Just then Beckett, Astrid, and Logan appeared through a portal. Astrid’s eyes widened. “Did you see that? They just took his soul. But why? I don’t get it.”
Beckett nodded. “They’re supposed to be vultures, not collectors of souls. What the hell is happening?”
None of this added up. None of it made sense. What where they doing with the souls? Why did they keep Tilly’s? And why the hell was that jar so familiar. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
I took a step in their direction when a darkness fell over the sky. It wasn’t night yet. The sun was just setting and there was still supposed to be light . . . but not anymore. Blackness closed in around us, swirling and moving like a tornado.
