Read Online Grimm Tidings: Grimm's Circle, Book 6 by Shiloh Walker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Shiloh Walker
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dumped the cloth bags of food on the table.
“She’s not here,” Will said, casting a look around the house.
“I noticed.” Jacob smirked. “I leave to buy food and I come back to find her gone. I should chain the woman in the basement.”
“Hmm. I’d rather not hear about whatever unusual proclivities you have.” Will sauntered forward and started poking through the bags. “I keep hearing about this thing you have for chains, but I’d rather remain in the dark.”
Jacob shouldered him away from the bags and pulled out the scant supply of groceries he’d picked up. Neither Jacob nor Celine tended to eat much, perhaps a meal every other day unless they’d been injured, but they were going to have to do a heavy hit soon—that nest he’d found would leave them both bloodied, he suspected. It was more of a colony than a nest, and it was going to take some doing to clear it out.
A hard, fast hit, he figured. In all likelihood, one of them would end up hurt. It was entirely likely both of them would end up hurt. If not worse. They needed to eat well before they headed out, and they needed to eat once they returned if they wanted to be in top form.
“You’re doing what needs to be done with Celine.”
“Apparently not.” Jacob pulled out eggs, cheese, bacon and tomatoes, stacked them on the table. Then he glanced at Will. “She’s gone back home again. I know it.”
“She’ll have to. She has to say good-bye. There’s a difference, you know, between letting go and… clinging. You’ve seen what happens when you cling.”
Something old and painful twisted inside Jacob.
Then…
“You need to enjoy your life.” Jacob lowered himself once more to sit across from Ben. “You never know how much you have left to do that.”
In the harsh, thin lines of his friend’s face, Jacob could see the echo of the man he’d been. But there was little laughter left in him. There had been… once . Laughter, even if Ben had been something of a stingy, greedy bastard.
They’d both been. Two of a kind, Jacob and Ben. Ever since they’d met at nineteen. They’d been the best of friends. Until Jacob’s death, and even that hadn’t completely separated them.
“Let’s not start with this again,” Ben said, his voice dark and dreary. “Did you come to visit or to nag? If it’s to nag, then just leave. I’m tired, Jacob.”
Nag… Jacob bit back a smile. He came because he worried for Ben. The old man had such precious little time left. Months at best. Probably less.
“Have you ever thought about trying to find her?”
Ben frowned. “Find who?”
“Victoria.”
Dark brows lowered over Ben’s eyes and he looked away. “Oh, that. No. Nor do I wish to. Let it go.”
“You never did,” Jacob said gently.
And because he couldn’t continue to watch his oldest, his only friend suffer so, he rested a hand on Ben’s arm and gave in to the call of the strange power that had been emerging over the past months. He’d only given in to it when around those mortals who were close to succumbing to the demon’s call. It let him peer into the present, let him travel back into the past—where he could show them things. He’d only used it with guidance. But he could do this alone this time. For Ben.
If he felt this calling around Ben, though, perhaps there were things Ben needed to face as well, his ghosts he had to deal with…
Ben stiffened.
And time fell away.
Hours later, Will found him.
Jacob held the dead body of his friend in his arms.
The trip through the vortexes of time hadn’t killed Ben. It was a hard journey, but Ben had survived it.
No, the man’s life had ended at his own hand after they’d returned…and he’d staggered away, grabbing a silver knife from his desk and plunging it into his own chest.
Jacob had stripped away the walls Ben had kept around him, revealing a closely guarded secret. One that Jacob had never even guessed at.
“I killed him,” Jacob said
“She’s not here,” Will said, casting a look around the house.
“I noticed.” Jacob smirked. “I leave to buy food and I come back to find her gone. I should chain the woman in the basement.”
“Hmm. I’d rather not hear about whatever unusual proclivities you have.” Will sauntered forward and started poking through the bags. “I keep hearing about this thing you have for chains, but I’d rather remain in the dark.”
Jacob shouldered him away from the bags and pulled out the scant supply of groceries he’d picked up. Neither Jacob nor Celine tended to eat much, perhaps a meal every other day unless they’d been injured, but they were going to have to do a heavy hit soon—that nest he’d found would leave them both bloodied, he suspected. It was more of a colony than a nest, and it was going to take some doing to clear it out.
A hard, fast hit, he figured. In all likelihood, one of them would end up hurt. It was entirely likely both of them would end up hurt. If not worse. They needed to eat well before they headed out, and they needed to eat once they returned if they wanted to be in top form.
“You’re doing what needs to be done with Celine.”
“Apparently not.” Jacob pulled out eggs, cheese, bacon and tomatoes, stacked them on the table. Then he glanced at Will. “She’s gone back home again. I know it.”
“She’ll have to. She has to say good-bye. There’s a difference, you know, between letting go and… clinging. You’ve seen what happens when you cling.”
Something old and painful twisted inside Jacob.
Then…
“You need to enjoy your life.” Jacob lowered himself once more to sit across from Ben. “You never know how much you have left to do that.”
In the harsh, thin lines of his friend’s face, Jacob could see the echo of the man he’d been. But there was little laughter left in him. There had been… once . Laughter, even if Ben had been something of a stingy, greedy bastard.
They’d both been. Two of a kind, Jacob and Ben. Ever since they’d met at nineteen. They’d been the best of friends. Until Jacob’s death, and even that hadn’t completely separated them.
“Let’s not start with this again,” Ben said, his voice dark and dreary. “Did you come to visit or to nag? If it’s to nag, then just leave. I’m tired, Jacob.”
Nag… Jacob bit back a smile. He came because he worried for Ben. The old man had such precious little time left. Months at best. Probably less.
“Have you ever thought about trying to find her?”
Ben frowned. “Find who?”
“Victoria.”
Dark brows lowered over Ben’s eyes and he looked away. “Oh, that. No. Nor do I wish to. Let it go.”
“You never did,” Jacob said gently.
And because he couldn’t continue to watch his oldest, his only friend suffer so, he rested a hand on Ben’s arm and gave in to the call of the strange power that had been emerging over the past months. He’d only given in to it when around those mortals who were close to succumbing to the demon’s call. It let him peer into the present, let him travel back into the past—where he could show them things. He’d only used it with guidance. But he could do this alone this time. For Ben.
If he felt this calling around Ben, though, perhaps there were things Ben needed to face as well, his ghosts he had to deal with…
Ben stiffened.
And time fell away.
Hours later, Will found him.
Jacob held the dead body of his friend in his arms.
The trip through the vortexes of time hadn’t killed Ben. It was a hard journey, but Ben had survived it.
No, the man’s life had ended at his own hand after they’d returned…and he’d staggered away, grabbing a silver knife from his desk and plunging it into his own chest.
Jacob had stripped away the walls Ben had kept around him, revealing a closely guarded secret. One that Jacob had never even guessed at.
“I killed him,” Jacob said
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