Page 18 of Death Warden
“I don’t know,” he said.
“You don’t…What do you mean, youdon’t know?” I glanced his way again.
His eyes flashed in anger. “Exactly that. I just…was. Have been, will probably always be.” His tone was laced with weary acceptance.
I didn’t know how he’d come to be a possession for my family, or why, but I knew one thing: no one deserved to be owned.
“You know what, Fin, I’m gonna help you find out what happened to you and figure out a way to free you from your obligation. And I promise you I will never force you to do anything.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Adi.”
“Fine, I promise totryand find shit out, but I swear to you I won’t use that obligations shit on you.”
He was silent for several beats. “Looks like we’re here.”
We zoomed past theWelcome to Frostgatesign and the world shimmered and changed into a moonlit winter wonderland.
“Bloody hell, it’s winter here?”
“Ah, yes, that part I forgot. How fun,” he said dryly.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen snow. It lay like a stunning white blanket either side of the patchy, frosty road. I decelerated, unsure if my tires were up to navigating these roads.
“Shouldn’t I feel a prickle of magic or something?”
“You’d only feel something if you weren’t welcome, Adi. You have an invite. You belong here. From what I know, the main base for the Grave Spirits is in Frostgate.”
Grave Spirits was the MC that ran our territory, which was one of six divisions of the MC Syndicate. The GS had houses all over the territory, in every town and every city, but I hadn’t come across one yet, and I was fine with that.
I popped the address Tobias had given me into the GPS and followed the directions off the main road and onto rural winding tracks.
“Where does the guy live? In the middle of nowhere? I feel like we’re in a horror movie. Any minute now the engine will die and an axe murderer will come stomping out of the woods.”
“You need to see someone about your obsession with axe murderers,” Fin drawled. “You’ve written four books about them.”
“They’re fucking scary. Especially when they don’t talk. Or when they wear fucked-up makeup or a mask.”
We drove for several more minutes.
“Frostgate is forestland to the west and east and coastal to the northwest. We’ll hit the town soon,” Fin said.
The world was dark and ominous either side of us now. “Yep, perfect backdrop for a murder spree, or a demonic attack.”
A loud pop shook the car followed by a series of thunks. The car rocked.
“What the fuck?”
“I think we blew a tire,” Fin said. “This is your fault. Manifesting is a thing, you know.”
I pulled over. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I cut the engine and climbed out. Sure enough, the back driver’s side tire was blown. Luckily I knew how to change a tire. Only problem was, we had no spare. “Dammit, Tobias!”
“I told you we should have rented a car,” Fin said.
“And I’m telling you that if you don’t shut up, I’ll throttle you.”
I climbed back into the car and slammed the door closed. I was tired, annoyed, slightly hungry, and now I was also cold. The urge to cryI wanna go hometightened my chest.
“We’ll have to walk,” Fin said. “It can’t be much further.”
