Page 31 of The Jaguar's Flower

As he reached into the bed of the truck, he lifted her frail body into his arms. The smell of death that tainted her floral scent hurt him. He held her close as he glanced at the reaper. Part of him wondered if it was enough for her to stay alive. Would that also redeem him from his brother’s death? He buried his nose against her blue hair and nodded toward the reaper. “Let’s go.”

Whisper swung his scythe at the pair in the blink of an eye. The action determined whether he read the soul right. He felt it the moment his scythe connected with her essence. It transported them into a plane in between.

Fog rolled along the barren ground while lightning streaked along the sky. Boulders surrounded them. They heard the cry of ravens in the distance. “Do not pass the rocks, or your soul will be lost,” he spoke the warning as he moved into a crouch.

This was not his expectation for the day. An evil lurked unlike any other beyond the rocks. The ravens flocked to it as it was the creator of such malicious creatures. If Hades were to discover what Whisper did at that moment, his soul would be damned. However, he preferred that over the wrath of the primordials. A soul had not been returned to this place in centuries. He refused to risk his own damnation to this evil.

“If she attempts to leave the circle, you must fight it. Find a way for her to survive. Otherwise, the repercussions will be greater than you could ever imagine.” Whisper continued to crouch as he kept his scythe held high.

Ravens flocked around Mac and Violet, almost as if they tried to penetrate the barrier. The logical part of his mind knew the insanity of his actions in remaining here. There was no explanation for him to hold on to her and hope for her to stay alive. Yet, every time he tried to rationalize his behavior, he felt warmth as he clutched her.

Whatever the connection lay between them, he refused to let her go. For once in his life, he felt acceptance and warmth. It broke through almost all his barriers as he held her against him and buried his face in her hair. He knew the warmth he felt was from her. He whispered in her ear for her to stay. The whispers turned into pleas as he tried to keep her from being lost forever.

A chill grazed along his back and arms. His eyes shot open as he caught a wall of ravens circling above them. “Don’t leave,” he demanded. That warmth wrapped around him again as he sank to his knees. “Stay with me. Stay, my blue flower.”

All of her life, Violet felt out of place. She was an outcast who never fit in, no matter how hard she tried. The only time that she felt loved had been while her parents were alive and only from them. Yet, in this darkness, she felt a sense of warmth and belonging that she never knew, even through the pain. She clung to that warmth and the urge to protect it at all costs. The pain seemed to increase with every second that passed.

When the fog swirled around her, a calm washed over her. She felt torn between the calm that offered acceptance and the pain of the warmth. Was warmth worth the pain? Pain already filled much of her life. The decision seemed so simple until she heardhisvoice.Machiavelli. The urge to wrap around him and protect him from what he endured grew stronger. The need to see him gave her the strength to fight against the fog.

Whisper rose when the ravens swooped and fought the barrier that protected them. They recognized one of their own and the turmoil within that soul. As much as they served and guarded their creator, they also felt the need to protect their own. With their behavior, he feared it would not be long before their creator appeared.

The shifter may lose his raven if she did not wake soon. “Call her and get her to open her eyes.” They were trapped in this plane without her. Whisper may have brought them there, but they could not leave without the help of a primordial or one of their creations.

“Wake up for me,” Mac called to her as he caressed her face. Her skin felt smooth compared to his rough palm. How could someone so fragile call to him? Her life hung by a thread because of him, and it made no sense. The idea someone could comfort a monster seemed unfathomable. Yet, she kept him warm, so he begged her. “Please, come back!”

Chapter twenty-one

Inthedarkness,theprimordial observed his surroundings with curiosity. The screeching phantom ravens swarmed around the couple. He noticed the reaper as a playful thought brushed by his mind. When he appeared closer to the action, he noticed the soul of the blue-haired woman wrapped around the shifter. She protected him.

The primordial appeared before the reaper. His focus remained on the couple. It became apparent where the soul belonged. When he faced the reaper, his lip curled in amusement. He heard the shifter behind him when the blue-haired woman stirred. “Does your master know you’re here?”

Whisper gripped his scythe tighter, though he knew it would be no defense against the primordial. “No, since her soul does not belong in the Underworld.” One way or another, the wrath of one far more powerful than himself was about to fall on his head.

“The raven is one of yours, but she clung to the shifter. Would you have preferred me to leave her soul on the human plane and the destruction it would have caused?” He knew the other primordials would appear or worse would occur if he ignored the soul.

Sarus, the Creation primordial, watched the young raven stir in the shifter’s arms. He caught the shifter’s eyes. The bond was unmistakable.Mates.“You did the right thing to bring her here.” The primordial nodded at the reaper. “Do you have any idea how this happened?”

Whisper spared a glance at the couple before his attention focused on the primordial. “No, my business was to gather another soul when I sensed her.” His cowl nodded toward the couple. “He refused to leave her while her soul clings to him. I could not separate them without.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Others.”

“They are mates,” Sarus spoke so only the reaper heard him. When he stepped forward, the phantom ravens drew closer together to keep him from the couple. “They know she’s mine, but the matebond.” He frowned. “She’s protecting him, even as she clings to life.”

Mac eyed the reaper and the unknown man. The man towered over the couple, even at a distance. When the unknown man stepped forward, Mac growled at the dark, blonde-haired stranger.

The jaguar bared his fangs in a warning. “Who are you?” Violet stirred in his arms, but the soldier in him kept her against his chest. Her soft whimper only caused him to become more protective.

“What limitations do you have, reaper?” Sarus eyed the shifter. The primordial ignored his question as he turned to the reaper. “If my daughter has any chance of returning, we must take drastic measures. The shifter will not like it.”

Whisper gripped his scythe as he felt the darkness grow. “I deal in death so I can take the shifter’s soul. However, she will not remain.” His eyes glowed beneath his cowl. “I cannot return to my place without your assistance. The longer I stay, the more I feel the pull to claim their souls. We both know what happens if I attempt such a feat.”

The darkness lurked around them. “No.” The primordial knew if the reaper attempted to claim their souls, he would kill him. Or the darkness would take the souls. “Rip through the phantom ravens. Then you can leave.”

“You will not touch her,” Mac growled. “I don’t give a damn who you two are, but she is mine. I will not let any of you get near her.”

Sarus chuckled. “I admire your bravery, but if you continue to prevent me from saving my daughter, I will kill you. The reaper will hold your soul, and I will reincarnate you into something less appealing.” When he took another step forward, the ravens flew against him. Their feathers and beaks cut the primordial’s skin before he stepped back. “Reaper, cut down the ravens.”

With her eyes still closed, Violet’s fingers tightened against Mac’s chest. She felt drawn to the ravens as if they called to her but the voice. He pulled her almost as much as she felt the need to remain with Mac to protect him. “Mac,” she rasped.

Whisper raised his scythe high in the air as he stalked toward the swarm of ravens. “If you want to keep your woman, go to the primordial. The darkness will swallow you both if you don’t.” His scythe crashed into the ground as he ripped through the first round of ravens. “Go, they call the darkness.”

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