Grim Haven (Devilborn Book 1) (25 page)

By the time Cooper and I came outside, the sun had resumed shining as it ought.

The darkness has lifted. Again.

My wards had held up better than I’d hoped, against a coven as powerful as the Bristol Garden Club. It seemed that only Marjory and Falcon had managed to breach them, and get inside.

Although a few of her coven still lingered in the parking lot (much to the dismay of Lance and Agatha), Marjory was gone.

As was Cillian Wick—if he’d ever been there at all. Nobody seemed to remember whether they’d seen a man meeting his description or not.

The town was a safe haven, a place feeders could not enter.

Asher Glass was still there, and he was not a happy man. In fact, he threw what could only be called a tantrum, and threatened me with all sorts of trouble, legal and otherwise. But eventually he took his leave, along with the rest of them.

We’d fended off another attack. And done a better job of it this time, I trusted. I looked over the faces of the guests, the staff. Some of their expressions were still confused or disturbed. But nobody looked even vaguely nauseous.

The sanctuary will hold.

Cooper and I took Falcon Wick’s body to the woods that night, and dumped it as unceremoniously as we had his sister’s, in the overgrown foundation of a crumbling old ruin. I personally took care of the blood stains in my carpet—I hadn’t spent my teenage years as a hotel maid for nothing—so none of the rest of the staff would find out.

That was cosmetic, of course. I knew there would be forensic evidence in my room, if anyone chose to look for it. But Cooper assured me that Falcon would never be reported missing, that Asher would never have an excuse to investigate his disappearance. I tried not to be afraid.

The next day, Cooper got in touch with his father, who was delighted to find that his son was alive, but less so about the plans Cooper had made without permission. The elder Blackwood decided to call a clan-wide meeting, to discuss Cooper’s proposal that the seeds be kept in sanctuary.

But not in person, of course. The Blackwoods were far too cautious for that. Instead they would spend days sending coded messages back and forth over dating sites, billiards forums, video gamer blogs, and other random corners of the internet.

While we waited on their decision, we took the West Seed to the iron vault. And there it stayed, protected.

Cooper cooked dinner for Lance and Agatha that same night. By the second course, they were begging him to become the head chef at Haven—they’d nearly settled on the name he’d suggested—when the time came.

He accepted. Tentatively, at least. We had no way of knowing what the clan’s verdict would be. But I was determined to stay optimistic. Each passing day showed that the sanctuary spell was a success, and that the sapwood seed was safe.

Asher Glass, bless his heart, did his best to make good on his threats. In the days after the attack, we had several unscheduled visits from building and health inspectors. Our construction permits were double and triple checked, in hopes we were in violation of something.

But there was no mention of a murder having been committed on the premises. And there was nothing Asher could really do to harm either me or the hotel.

The sanctuary is holding.

Five days after we did the ritual, Cooper and I gathered in the private room at the Cask & Barrel with the Boyles, the Murdochs, and the Thaggards, to celebrate my twenty-fifth birthday. Only a couple of months before, I wouldn’t have imagined having any friends at all to mark such an occasion with, let alone enough to make a dinner. Now I had not only a boyfriend, but family there.

I was still getting used to the idea of having a cousin. Phineas said I’d better let it sink in, before I tried to handle the rest of the extended family.

“My mother will be off-puttingly enthusiastic,” he warned me.

“His mother is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet,” Lydia said, swatting her husband’s shoulder. “And
damn
, Lance, I didn’t think you could beat those chips, but this shrimp is amazing.”

“Just you wait,” Lance said. “Next year, we’ll be doing this at Haven instead, and that food will be beyond spectacular.”

“I’m assuming you’ll give me the night off for that,” said Cooper.

“Send me an email and I’ll try to get it on the calendar,” Lance said, and I couldn’t quite tell if he was joking or not.

“Love the name Haven, by the way,” said Caleb, prompting a cocky smile from Cooper.

“Me too,” said Lydia. “Bristol was born to be a haven. I’m glad to see it serving a worthier cause, now.”

“Oh, I can think of a few people who would dispute that,” Wendy said with a laugh. “Asher Glass looks awfully pissed off when he comes in for his morning coffee these days.”

“I guess that means we’re in the clear.” I didn’t even like saying that out loud, for fear of jinxing it, but Cooper nodded.

“I told you he wouldn’t be able to do anything about Falcon,” he said. “Officially, the Wicks don’t exist. Nor the Blackwoods, for that matter. You might as well file a missing person’s report on a ghost.”

I smiled as I took a sip of wine. “Let’s hope not. I don’t need him haunting my nice new hiking trails.”

“Well, you two are awfully casual about having taken a life,” Agatha said, with a sniff of disapproval that would have put Marjory Smith to shame.

“Agatha, he came to kill us,” I said.

Her face fell. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just still… a little shaken up by everything, is all.”

Lance put his arm around his wife and made a sound that wasn’t quite a chuckle. “That makes two of us. Half my hair’s gone gray since the Garden Club’s little performance.”

“How can you tell?” I asked. “You shave your head.”

“Just a feeling I have.”

“What did they do, exactly, that was so awful?” Caleb asked. “In the parking lot, I mean. I think we have an okay picture of what happened upstairs.”

“Nothing, really,” said Agatha. “At least, they didn’t hurt anyone. But it felt so…”

Lance sighed and squeezed her more tightly. “Yeah. It sure did.”

Wendy smiled at him. “So I guess you’re believers now.”

“I guess so,” Lance agreed. “Maybe you’d better tell us what to expect.”

“Nothing,” I assured him. “They can’t harm the hotel now. Things will go on like normal.”

“As normal as Bristol gets, anyway,” Caleb added.

I leaned forward and squeezed Lance’s arm. “I promise you, things will be fine when your kids come. This is a sanctuary now. It’s the safest place you’ll ever find.”

“But you might expect a few more Blackwood guests, down the line,” said Cooper.

He gave Lance and Agatha the basics on what he was guarding from the Wicks, and why. He said it was only fair, if the sapwood seeds were going to be under the protection of the Mount Phearson, for the Boyles to know what they were getting into.

They took it better than I expected, actually. I guessed they really had become believers.

But we all agreed that the present company was as far as the story would go. There was no need to be open about our plans to house the seeds, even if they were guarded by magic—and a bit of my soul.

I didn’t seem to miss that bit. I wasn’t in any pain anymore. And I didn’t feel as though I’d lost anything. In fact, my spirit felt bigger than ever. Maybe making the sacrifice for a good cause, to protect people, had actually expanded my soul, somehow.

Or maybe it was just because I was in such a good mood all the time. No matter how many vitality vampires and witches want you dead, good sex will do that.

Later that night, I came into the living room after changing, to find Cooper hunched over my laptop. I pushed my way onto his lap, facing him so I could kiss his forehead.

“You’re blocking my view,” he said with a smile. “Although there’s an argument to be made that you’re improving it.”

“You can’t possibly get things done any slower with me in your way. I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to make decisions with less speed than you Blackwoods do.”

He put his arms around me and kissed my neck. “You’re right. Except the decision’s made.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope.”

“Well, the fact that you’re trying to avoid the subject by putting your hands up my shirt suggests it’s not good news.”

“I’d put my hands up your shirt either way.”

But I leaned back and shooed his hands away. “Cooper, tell me.”

He sighed. “It’s not good news.”

“They don’t want the seeds here.”

“They don’t even want the West Seed here.”

I stilled, my stomach turning in dread. “They ordered you to leave?”

And if they did, would he obey that order?

I knew Cooper believed in this plan. If the seeds—the three that were still under Blackwood control, anyway—were safe in the vault, the Blackwoods would finally be free to stop running, come together, and take the battle to the Wicks. It was what Cooper had always wanted.

But he also believed in his duty. If they told him he couldn’t stay…

“They ordered me to come in immediately,” Cooper said. “So they can relieve me of my burden and assign another carrier to the West Seed.”

I stared at him. “They
what
?”

It was the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge for a soldier. He’d dedicated his life to this mission, risked everything for it every single day, and they’d just called him a failure.

“That is completely unfair!” I said. “You’ve kept it safe. You’ve done so much more than that.”

He shrugged, his expression flat and guarded. “They don’t see it that way.”

“So that’s it, then,” I said. “We don’t have much choice, do we?”

“No. I don’t see any other option.”

I nodded, and braced myself for his inevitable departure.

But Cooper pulled me closer and kissed me soundly, before he said, “I’m not going in. I’m not bringing them the West Seed. And I’ll get the other seeds too, if I can.”

I blinked at him. “You’re… what?”

And then he gave me that Cooper Blackwood smile.

“As of this moment, I’ve gone rogue.”

Thank you for reading
Grim Haven
. I hope you enjoyed it!

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Devilborn
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If you’d like to know more about Lydia and her friends, you can find her story in
The Adventures of Lydia Trinket
, starting with
Ghost in the Canteen
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