Bones and Ashes (25 page)

“What are we doing here?” Raiden asked.

“There’s someone who wishes to see you,” Xan said. 

The cemetery was a maze of tombs and graves. Stone angels looked down, standing guard over their dead charges. One turned its head as they passed. Few could afford to have a stone angel guard their corpse from grave robbers. Ghosts wandered among the graves. Cemeteries were busy places. Some of the mausoleums were used by the occupants as houses, although the Inquisition was trying to stop the dead from living here.

Xan stopped and lifted her hand from his arm. “I’ll stay here. He’s waiting for you further on.”

Raiden carried on alone. Gravel crunched under her boots. Up ahead, a solitary mourner stood by an open grave. The funeral had taken place recently; the grave hadn’t yet been filled in. The coffin was crisscrossed with iron bars stamped with elaborate symbols. No one would ever be able to steal this body from its grave.

Aren stood looking down at the grave, lost in thought. He wore a black armband over his suit and a black neck tie. He looked up and smiled as she walked up. He held out his arms to her and she ran into them. He hugged her tightly, lifting her off her feet.

“I was so worried about you,” he said. “When I heard what happened.” He set her down and pulled away, so he could look at her. “Whatever possessed you to come that night? You should have stayed away.”

Raiden smiled back. “I couldn’t leave you there.”

He slipped his arm around her waist and together they looked down at the coffin.

“You buried my zombie,” Raiden said. It seemed so long ago since she had stopped her carriage and ordered Tobin to pick up his body from the side of the road.

“He saved my life. It was the least I could do.”

“Who laid him to rest?”

“The Marquess. I couldn’t find another necromancer who would agree to do it. They’re too afraid of the Inquisition.” He turned to face her. He looked at her gravely. “I have to say goodbye to you.”

“No!”

“I promised Her Grace we wouldn’t have any more contact. I gave her my word. She agreed to let us say goodbye.”

She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. She didn’t want to let him go. She had saved him, but she had still lost him.

“I have to go. Xan is waiting for you.” He pried her arms from around his neck, but kept hold of her hands. “Don’t ever stop being you. I don’t want you to be like other girls. Stay stubborn and difficult.”

He kissed her forehead. She watched as he walked away. She had lost them all - Peters, Tobin, Marielle and now Aren. She had lost everyone who loved her. Tears ran unchecked down her face. Aren looked back and smiled at her sadly before he disappeared out of sight.

She turned to go back to Xan and nearly ran into Valic. He stood behind her, his hands in his pockets. He wore a top hat and black wool coat. 

“You’re in pain.” He touched her cheek gently and wiped her tears away with his fingertips. It was the briefest touch, but it sent shivers down her spine. “You love him.”

“He’s my cousin.” He frowned. He didn’t seem to understand. It was as if he couldn’t comprehend their relationship. She looked down at the ground, to where her shadow was and where his should have been. “You don’t have a shadow.”

“No,” he said, as if it was of no consequence.

“What do you want from me?”

He pulled out a gold pocket watch from his breast pocket. Instead of numbers, the timepiece had strange numerals and several dials and hands. “It isn’t time yet.”

“Time for what?”

His dark eyes met hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t save you from the fire. I would have, but I’m forbidden to interfere. I’ve pushed the boundaries already.”

“You haven’t answered my question.” She stepped back. “I don’t think you should come near me again.”

“I don’t have a choice. You should speak to your father.”

“My father?” Raiden frowned. “What does he have to do with any of this?”

He looked past her. “Your friend is coming. I have to go.”

She turned around to see Xan heading toward her. When she turned back, Valic was gone.

Xan came up to her and took her hand in his. “It’s over now, Raiden,” he said. “You do not have to fear again.”

Adults were so naïve. Just because he said she was safe, didn’t mean that she was. It wasn’t over. Bernadette would try to find the last piece of the mirror; the vampires and the fairies still wanted the amulet. A war was brewing between the living and the dead and an archdemon was following her. This wasn’t the end.

About the author

Gemma lives in the UK with her dog and various other animals. Bones and Ashes is her first published novel. The second book in the series Masks and Mirrors will be available soon.

The River Maid, a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid set during the Napoleonic Wars, is available now.