Home > Only the Buried (Death Gate Grim Reapers #6)(4)

Only the Buried (Death Gate Grim Reapers #6)(4)
Author: Amanda M. Lee

“I don’t know what to think of it,” Zoe admitted. “It was crazy there for a bit but ... it worked out. We even taught the circus mage to heal.”

“Kade?” I thought back to my interaction with the circus. It seemed weird that Zoe had crossed paths with them only months later, but the paranormal world wasn’t nearly as big as some people liked to believe. “I’m glad you helped him.”

“And now he’ll help them,” Zoe said. “I’m a little disappointed that things are still a mess down there, but it is what it is.”

“It is,” I agreed. “We don’t have word on Renley either.” I said it almost as an afterthought. The former head of the Reaper Council, who had aligned himself with the revenants looking to return to this plane, had been locked on the other side of the gate when we destroyed it ... and the only other accessible gate that we’d been able to find. “He’s either still over there or laying low on this side if he managed to cross back over.”

“I’ll bet he’s made his way back to our side,” Zoe mused. “There’s no way that we found all the gates they were using. There must be more than the two. Being exposed the way he was, though, means he’s in big trouble with his own people.”

“I don’t think everyone who is still active in the reaper ranks is on our side,” I said. “I’m sure there are more than a few moles left behind. It’s not as easy as we’d like to ferret them out, though Cormack is trying to set something up so I can go in and read the higher members.”

In addition to being a high-ranking member of the Reaper Council, Cormack Grimlock was my boyfriend Braden’s father. He’d become something of a surrogate father to me since I’d returned to Detroit – though Braden didn’t like when I mentioned that because he said it meant we were siblings in his mind, and he freaked out at the prospect. Still, I was genuinely fond of the reaper patriarch and didn’t envy him his current job.

“Do you think you can do that without getting caught?” Zoe queried.

“I have no idea. We’re kind of playing it by ear right now.”

“Well, good luck with that.” Zoe leaned back in her chair and looked over both shoulders before focusing on us again. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Sami — she’s dramatic enough about things as it is — but we’ve been hearing talk about gates up here. I don’t know if it’s real or people are just talking because they like to talk, but we’ll be checking things on our end and keeping you guys in the loop.”

I flashed a smile. “Thanks for that. I don’t know where this is going, but it’s definitely not over.”

“Definitely not,” Zoe agreed. “Is anything else going on there?”

“Oh, well ... we have a furry convention at the casino. I think that’s about it.”

For a moment, I wished I’d had a camera to catch Zoe’s expression. She looked completely dumbfounded. Excitement replaced her initial quizzical look almost immediately. “Wait ... are you talking about those people who dress up in furry costumes and then meet at hotels to get freaky with one another?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Apparently this is a lifestyle thing. I was a little surprised they were allowed to hold the conference at the casino, but Brett is in charge and he’s allowing it. He says that kink shaming is bad.”

“I don’t disagree,” Zoe said. “I love getting naked and eating ice cream with my husband in the hot tub while he barks and bays at the moon, but that whole costume thing is a little weird.”

I hesitated and then shrugged. I’d grown up in the French Quarter and seen my share of freaky things. The furry convention ranked low on my list. “I don’t really care what they do as long as they’re not predatory. It’s not my business.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you don’t want to see a furry unicorn and panda bear do something biblical. I mean ... it’s like a train wreck. You can’t look away. Where exactly is that horn going to end up?”

I shook my head. “Again, as long as they don’t hurt one another I don’t care what they do.”

“Oh, you and your non-judgmental crap suck,” Zoe snapped. “Give me somebody who will understand this is weird. Where’s Oliver?”

I flicked a glance to my vampire godfather. “Do you think it’s weird?”

“I also am not a proponent of kink shaming,” Oliver replied.

“Ha!” I pumped my fist in triumph, exalting at Zoe’s annoyed expression. “See? Kink shaming is wrong.”

“Whatever.” Zoe was having none of it. “Where is my husband when I need him? He turns into a wolf and licks my face, but even he would find this weird. I can’t believe he’s missing this.”

My eyes went to the phone on the wall as it began to ring. It was an emergency number, and since I’d landed on Belle Isle I couldn’t remember it ever ringing. “You’ll have to get over it.”

Oliver answered the phone. He looked as confused as I felt. I watched him, curious, and then frowned when he hung up the phone and focused on me. “That was Brett,” he said, referring to his boyfriend. “Apparently there’s something weird going on at the yacht club. He thinks it involves the furries.”

“Ha, ha!” Now it was Zoe’s turn to pump her fist. “I told you they were freaks. Keep me updated. I want to know every weird thing these people do while they’re there.”

I wrinkled my nose as I stood. “Why do you care?”

“I write books for a living and I’m looking for something entertaining for a side story. And I just know there’s going to be a story in there wild enough to terrify every kid at that bonfire. You’ve got to give me the dirt.”

I tossed a haphazard wave at the screen. “No promises.”

“Don’t make me hunt you down!”

“I’ll do my best. This could be nothing.”

Zoe snorted. “They’re adults who get their jollies running around in furry suits. There’s no way this is nothing.”

Unfortunately, I had to agree with her.

 

 

Two

 

 

Despite my earlier bravado, I was worried about what I might find at the yacht club. Zoe was determined to get me to speak ill of the group, but I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t care … as long as they didn’t cause trouble. I had my own brand of trouble to deal with and didn’t need any extra.

To each their own. Sure, dressing up in a furry costume and getting it on held little appeal for me. I didn’t judge others who chose that way to get their kicks, though.

I left Oliver and Paris in the office. Oliver was keen to help, but he was a vampire. The sun was still up and he would burst into flames if he dared walk outside. It wasn’t Paris’s responsibility to deal with the issue, which left me to handle things.

I took my golf cart, speeding over the roads until I reached the yacht club. I parked in front and walked to the waterside of the property, searching for the source of the disturbance. I found two workers arguing on the dock.

“You need to go,” one of them said.

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