30. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

Raevyn

I was surprised that Hades had let us loose topside again, considering the past couple of days had been a walking disaster for all of us. I guess souls still needed to be collected because GRIM HQ was still being investigated and we were the only ones capable of handling that. I hoped Roux was alright. She had been nice to me, and I think that her taking me to the pier might have got her into a bit of trouble. I made a mental note to check in with her later. I also, kind of selfishly, wanted a friend outside of the guys and I felt like she would be a good one to have. Trouble, but definitely the good.

And I was one hundred percent on board with giving my power another chance to blossom. Maybe the soul we were after today would give me that chance. Apparently, it was going to be a lot more challenging than the last one. I just hoped I could make it through this one without passing out or causing anymore chaos.

"So, tell me about the soul we're collecting today," I asked Nox as he joined in step next to me.

"Ooh, this time we are going after an advorsus." He rubbed his hands together, his eyes flashing with glee.

"I take it you find these ones fun?" I asked, now a little wary of what we were hunting if it inspired that kind of excitement in him. I was starting to learn that if Nox was excited, there was usually violence involved.

"Oh, yes. They're usually swirling storms of rage and hate. Souls that refuse to move on and become twisted things." Nox linked his arm with mine and started dragging me behind him. "They inhabit a body to hide but eventually the body starts to show signs of the advorsus' presence."

"What kind of signs?" Hawk asked as we walked past him. He still didn't seem to like wearing clothes, choosing to wear his coat with the ripped sleeves and no shirt underneath. I totally checked him out as I walked past, and I noticed I wasn't the only one looking. Casimir seemed to be scowling intently at the intricate patterns on Hawk's torso.

"Skin that's kind of dead looking," Nox said, pulling my attention from Casimir.

"Dead looking?" I asked.

"Yeah, kind of pale and like they're a walking corpse." Nox scrunched up his nose. "And they smell bad."

I froze. "How bad?"

"Like rotting fish in the sun bad," Nox said.

"Ew, that's grim." I was definitely not looking forward to meeting this soul. "Do we have to find it?"

"We do," Casimir said as he strode by. "If we don't, the soul will fester, and humans will start to notice. It's bad enough the supes have made comments about it."

I checked my utility belt for the animarca vial and noticed it was missing. "How do we catch an advorsus? I notice the vial is gone."

"Well, we have to coax an advorsus out the body before we catch it," Rook said, his hand holding Korbin's. "Then, once the soul is free, we have to capture it in a circle scorched into the ground."

"Scorched? Into the ground?"

"Yep," Nox said, his smile wide and feral. "I'll do that bit. We don't need the vial because this one will be captured with pure magic. "

Korbin patted my arm to grab my attention. "The vial is for souls who are complete and intact. An advorsus has disintegrated and we need something more to capture the individual parts."

"Kind of like a wide net?" I asked as we approached a wide alley. It was dark beyond the entrance, the shadows thick and dense. The temperature dropped and I immediately felt the presence of something. I could tell it had lingered beyond its limits. I didn't know if that was my necromancer skill or tied to the power that was potentially linked to Cronus. Whatever it was, I could feel it. Like something alien brushing against my skin.

"Exactly." Korbin faced the alley, his eyes closed and one hand held in front of him.

"He's trying to get a lock on the advorsus," Rook whispered by my ear.

"Is it here?" I peered into the darkness, but other than the cool breeze against my skin, I couldn't sense anything.

"Close your eyes," Casimir said. "Then focus on what you can feel."

I did as he said and took a deep breath to try and centre myself. I could feel the guys around me, their magic pulsing in different ways as I accounted for each of them. Then I turned my attention to the dark alley beyond them. There was death here. It lingered, a dark caress against my skin. Cold and damp, I could feel it fermenting something in the alley. A rat maybe. I was going to skip over that quickly and head deeper into the alley. I followed my magic which seemed completely attuned to the death it could sense. There was something here, something dark, something twisted. Like it had lingered beyond the limits of its existence.

"There. Right hand side about halfway down the alley," I said as I stepped forwards. A hand gripped my elbow, halting my steps.

"Slowly," Korbin warned. "We don't know how aggressive this one is."

"Okay," I replied and followed his steps into the darkness. This felt more trepidatious than the last soul, like there was a more ominous vibe to it than Nissa. She'd still been alive but this soul we were hunting had moved on from their original body. I took a moment to wonder what a soul would want from staying beyond their allotted time in life. I knew I'd been given a chance to have a life after my sacrifice, not that I had actually really lived whilst I'd been mortal, but this life I'd been given now, it was a gift. I had men that were connected to me in powerful ways, I'd seen the Underworld, Hell, I might have even made a fucking friend. I'd never had a chance at that whilst I'd been alive. Perhaps that's all an advorsus was searching for. A meaning that they hadn't found whilst they'd been alive.

I followed Korbin and Rook into the alley. Hawk, Nox and Casimir followed behind me, bringing up the rear. As we walked deeper into the shadows the smell hit my nose and I gagged. Gods, that was fucking awful, and Nox had pretty much nailed it with his fish description. It was like festering, rotting flesh and fuck, it was vile.

"There he is," Casimir said, pointing towards the shape hulking behind a large dumpster.

"I'll draw the circle," Nox said and stepped into the centre of the alley. It was quite impressive watching him concentrate and work on the intricate drawing. He stuck his tongue out between his lips focusing on the delicate lines that he drew on the ground which made him look pretty cute. He etched them into the concrete with magic, and I could hear the sizzling sparks as he drew the symbols.

Once he'd finished, the circle stood about two metres wide, with shapes and lines all around the outskirts. It was beautifully drawn, and I was impressed at the artistry involved in creating it.

"I know you're there," the advorsus rasped, his voice wet and cracked. "I won't cross over. I won't."

Another wave of putrid rotting flesh hit me, and I almost threw up in my mouth. "That's revolting."

"I'd like to say you get used to it," Nox said with a grin, "but I'd be lying."

"Come out and face judgement," Casimir said and something in his tone had my core clenching. It was fierce and brooked no argument and I wondered whether he'd use that tone with me. I definitely wanted him to.

There was a sound of something scraping along the floor; a shuffle of limbs and then, stepping into a shaft of moonlight, came something that once looked like a man. He was hunched over and dragging a foot behind him. My mind instantly conjured up the word ‘zombie' as an apt description.

"Is the man he's possessed dead?" I asked Korbin who had slid into the space next to me.

"Not yet, but he will be," he replied sombrely. "His body is probably riddled with decay; sepsis will have set in and there will be little we can do to save him."

The advorsus stepped closer and I got hit with the biggest wave of regret and guilt. It hit me right in the chest and I gasped at the sheer force of it.

"What is it?" Korbin asked, steadying me with a hand under my elbow.

"I don't know." I clutched my chest. "So much suffering. So much… sorrow."

"You're attuned to him," Rook offered. "You can sense his emotions."

I gasped again as another wave of it hit me. "How?"

"It'll be the necromancer in you," Korbin said. "A necromancer communes with the dead and I believe this is your magic trying to understand the soul. Don't be afraid, Raevyn. We're here and we will protect you."

Okay. I could do this. I stepped forwards and let the advorsus' emotions wash over me. I tried not to fight it, but it was like letting a cold shard of ice take residence in my heart. It spread through my body until a cold puff of air left my mouth.

"Creepy," I heard Nox whisper as the guys watched from behind me. "But definitely cool."

"Keep going, Raevyn. You can do it," Rook said. I loved that they were cheering me on, even if it was mildly terrifying that I had no clue what I was doing, it made me feel that nothing bad could happen.

"It's instinctual, Raevyn," the voice from my dreams said. "Just don't think about it."

"Okay," I muttered. I could do this.

"Stay back," the advorsus hissed. The man's eyes were bloodshot and his lips were chapped. There were spots were the skin had necrotised and I knew, as soon as the advorsus left the man's body, the host would die.

I stood still and held my hands out, trying to show I wasn't going to move closer. "What's your name?"

"What does that matter?" he croaked. "There's no one left to say it."

"I'm here. I'd like to say it." Another wave of his guilt pulsed in my chest.

He blinked a few times, his head cocked to one side. "Why?"

"Because I just want to help. We all deserve that, don't we?"

He barked a laugh. "Not this guy. Do you know what he did?"

I shook my head. "No, why don't you tell me?"

The advorsus stepped closer and I felt the guys tense behind me. I flicked a look at them over my shoulder and held my hand out, asking them to wait. They didn't look happy about it but they stayed put. It was encouraging that they trusted me to take care of this and it gave me a little boost of self confidence, something I don't think I'd ever really felt.

"He was drunk. He knew he was drunk and he still got behind the wheel," the advorsus spat. Ah, shit. I think I knew where this story was headed. "He killed her. He killed my wife and got nothing more than a slap on the wrist because his parents are some powerful people. How's that fair? How's that right?"

"It's not," I said softly. "But that doesn't mean you can kill him too. Would she want that?"

I felt more regret seeping from him and I knew I had it right.

"I'll make sure his soul gets passed for judgment," I promised. "But this isn't where you're meant to be."

I held out my hand to him and waited. I could see the turmoil in his eyes as he fought against his need for revenge and his desire to move on. I could understand that, I had wanted to make my mother suffer for what she'd done, only to find after her death she was trying to protect me and I was struggling to let go of that hate and rage.

He eyed me warily. "You'll make sure he suffers?"

"I can't guarantee that," I said with a shake of my head. "But I will personally deliver him to the ferryman."

That seemed to satisfy him because he stepped closer and took my hand. I swallowed the retch that clawed up my throat. His hand was wet and mushy and the smell was so bad.

"Timothy," he said. "My name is Timothy."

"Hi Timothy. It's nice to meet you."

He smiled, well at least I thought it was a smile. Seemed to look more like a grimace. "No one has spoken my name in a long time."

"You need to let him go, Timothy. I'll keep you safe until we reach the Underworld." I didn't know how I knew that, but I knew he'd be safe travelling with me.

"Okay. Thank you." He took a deep breath and gave a single nod. "I'm ready."

My power swirled in response to his words and I felt it pull his soul from the host. A swirling ribbon of gold and silver emerged from the body and it was beautiful. I thought it would be a mix of shards and jagged edges but it was like sprinkles of glitter shimmering like stars. I held out my hand and drew the soul towards me. My magic entwined with the soul and wrapped it around my wrist like a bracelet. It solidified against my skin and became a bracelet of silver and gold with his name stamped into the surface.

TIMOTHY JAMES GRANT

"Aww, we didn't get to use my circle," Nox complained with a pout.

"I'm sorry," I replied.

"Don't be," Casimir said. "Capturing an advorsus is usually much more violent when we do it. Nox is just disappointed he won't get to maim anything."

I turned to the body on the ground. "Still might need it for this one."

"Nah," Nox said despondently. "He will just be an angry soul."

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Might put up a fight though?"

"We can only hope," Nox said with a sigh.

I chuckled and left him to capture the soul of the drunk driver with the others. I strolled to the end of the alley and looked up into the sky, trying to fathom the numbers of shimmering stars. I could hear the guys behind me dealing with the drunk driver, there were shouts and grunts as they tried to capture him, and it sounded like Nox got his wish for violence.

Something drew me out here, but I didn't know what. Almost like there as a piece of string tugging me in this direction.

"Careful, Raevyn, " the voice from my dreams whispered. "I don't like this. "

"I'm sorry I don't remember your name."

"Don't worry. It will come back to you when we meet again. "

"Good. Is it me, or is it really quiet out here?" We were back in Midnight and this area should be teaming with activity. Vampires were nocturnal creatures, and I got that it was nearly sunrise, but the older vamps could still walk in the daylight and there were other inhabitants in the area. There should be someone around at least.

"It's too quiet. Something isn't right, Raevyn." He sounded panicked. "Get back to the others. Now!"

But it was too late. A circle of runes appeared beneath my feet, glowing brightly in the moonlight.

Pain ripped through me, like fire searing my skin.

"Raevyn!" the guys shouted. I saw them running towards me, but I knew I was standing on a transport circle, and they weren't going to reach me in time. My coven's sigil was woven into the markings on the ground and, as the pain intensified, I swore I wasn't going to let my grandmother win.

She was going down, and I was going to take the whole coven down with me.