Defy the Void Read online

  Defy the Void

  Keepers of the Crypt, Book 4

  Isadora Brown

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  3. Keaton

  Chapter 4

  5. Keaton

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Newsletter Information

  Did You Like Defy to the Void?

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  This couldn’t be happening. In front of me was one of my best friends. I had known her the second Davidson brought me to the academy after my parents died and my brother was taken by shades. He made sure he introduced me to her, instructed her to welcome me, show me around, make me feel like this was my home. We argued constantly, but we loved each other. She was the sister I never had.

  And now, she was my enemy.

  I didn’t choose this. I had no way of knowing one choice could result in this.

  Maybe I was more foolish than I ever could have anticipated.

  Daphne held the Keaton’s blade in her hand the way she might hold a pencil or the wheel of a car – with such familiarity, it was striking.

  “Why do you have that blade?” I asked, lifting my hands up. I knew Daphne meant to end things, though I wasn’t sure what that meant. Did she want to send Keaton back to the crypt? Or did she plan to kill him completely? And what about me? “You never answered why Davidson gave it to you.”

  Daphne ticked her jaw but made no move to answer.

  “It might have been you,” Davidson said from behind me, “if you hadn’t been so focused on your brother. But you could never accept us. We’re your family. Maybe not by blood, but by everything else. And that wasn’t good enough for you.”

  I turned to look at him. Keaton placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. To anyone else, it might have looked overtly controlling, but I knew what it was: reassurance. A promise. A reminder not to do anything stupid.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Don’t you know anything?” Daphne retorted. “Why are you here, at the academy? To become a Keeper. What do Keepers do? They keep the shades inside the crypts, and they defend the crypts from those who are trying to free them.”

  “What does that have anything to do with the dagger?” I asked.

  “She was assigned to Keaton's crypt,” he said. “The day after Samhain. As such, she received the dagger because of who Keaton is. This dagger will send Keaton not to the crypt, not to the Void, but it will cause his soul to fragment into seven pieces, and each piece will be separated across the world so piecing them back together would be impossible.”

  “You were there at the crypt with me that night,” I said, turning my attention back to Daphne. “Why didn’t you say –“

  “I didn’t trust you,” she said. The words were curt and cruel. Even though I deserved them, they still hurt more than I expected. “And I still don’t.”

  “So, what, you’re going to stab him with the dagger and split his soul?” I asked. “What happens to me? We’re bound together.”

  “Enough of this,” Keaton snarled. “You wanna try something with that dagger, Red? Fucking do it. You won’t get a swipe in before I break your wrist and take back what’s mine.”

  Daphne’s eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on the hilt of the dagger.

  “We don’t know what happens to you,” Davidson told me softly.

  “But you’re willing to risk it?” I demanded.

  “You didn’t give us much of a choice,” Davidson said. He ran his fingers through his tawny hair and began to move. Keaton tensed, his fingers gripping my shoulder, but Davidson didn’t even look at him. He continued to pace, his footsteps echoing against the tile of the damaged academy building. “If you remember, the last time you saw us, you told us that you called Keaton to come and help us. You said his name three times even though you know such a thing is forbidden. And then you spoke about binding yourself to him in order to find information on your brother. You chose not to trust us. If you give me time, maybe I can find a way to undo this marriage you find yourself in –“

  “No.”

  Davidson flinched. Keaton had leaned forward, ready to respond, until the word came out of my mouth. I hadn’t realized I said it until everyone’s eyes were on me.

  “What?” Davidson asked.

  “I already told you, my answer is no.” I made sure to lock eyes with Davidson as I told him this before shifting my gaze back to Daphne so she would know how serious I was as well.

  The night had grown cold, and the hair on my arms stood at attention. I wish I had thought to bring a jacket, something that would shelter me from the cold, November night, but I hadn’t been thinking. I was doing that a lot lately, and I knew I needed to fix that. As much as I love my brother, I couldn’t keep making rash decisions.

  “I chose to marry Keaton,” I said.

  “Yeah, but you don’t have to stay married to him!” Davidson threw his arms out and moved towards me. Keaton pushed me behind him.

  “Unless you want to.” Daphne’s voice was cool and calm. There was no question in her voice. She knew the answer. “That’s it, isn’t it? You want to be with him. What, you spread your legs one time for the heathen and suddenly you think you’re in love with him?”

  “Watch it,” Keaton snapped.

  “You’re pathetic,” she continued, looking at me. “I thought you knew better. You experienced so much before getting to the Academy, and yet, you’re the most naïve person I’ve ever met. You think Keaton loves you? You think he’ll get you information on Richard? Richard is dead. Get that through your thick skull. He’s dead and –“

  I hit her before I even knew I had charged her. She grunted, falling to the floor. I landed on top of her. I had no idea what I was planning to do. I had taken plenty of combat courses and I knew how to defend myself. I wasn’t the type to start fights. But I couldn’t stand to hear anything coming out of Daphne’s now. If I had to shut her up by pushing her on her ass, I would do it.

  “Shut up,” I told her.

  She quickly got on her elbows but couldn’t move because I was straddling her waist. I didn’t want to hurt her. She was still my friend. Despite the cruel words, despite the insinuations, I still cared about her, probably more than I should.

  “Do you honestly think you can beat me in a fight?” she asked. “Just because you’ve participated in classes and read lots of books doesn’t actually mean that you know what you’re doing.” She hit my face and I fell back.

  I wasn’t expecting that, and I should have.

  “Babes –“

  I leapt forward and rocked into Daphne again. This time, I gave up trying to control myself. I hit her in the face once, twice.

  She managed to catch my cheek with her nails. Her other hand lost its fingers in my hair and yanked at the roots.

  I cried out, as I felt some of my hair being ripped from my scalp.

  Daphne used my momentum against me, continuing to tug my hair back until I fell on the tile. She quickly crawled on top of me and thrust the dagger, bringing the blade to my neck.

  “You do anything else and I will snap your neck,” Keaton uttered.

  “You talk a lot, but I haven’t seen you do anything,” Daphne retorted, keeping herself positioned over me.

  From my position on the floor, I couldn’t see Davidson. I wondered what he was thinking in that moment, if he regretted saving me that night so long ago.

  Pop.

  A shriek.

  Keaton appeared directly behind Daphne and lifted her off of me the same way Daphne had gotten control of me – yanking her hair. The dif
ference was, he was much stronger than she could ever hope to be. But Daphne’s back was to Keaton. He couldn’t see she still had the dagger in her hand.

  I didn’t even think. I leapt forward and caught Daphne's wrist. The dagger sunk in the inside of my forearm, causing me to yelp. My flesh sizzled. Smoke tickled my nose.

  Keaton’s other hand reached around Daphne and grabbed Daphne’s throat. He gave it a slow squeeze.

  “Drop the blade, and we’ll see if I let you live,” he breathed into her ear.

  My eyes filled with water. The blade still protruded from my skin, but with Daphne’s grip on the blade, I wouldn’t move. Which meant I could only get out a cry when I saw Davidson look over Keaton.

  “Keaton, Keaton, Keaton!”

  He vanished in an instant, leaving me alone with Daphne and Davidson.

  I whimpered, finally letting myself look down at my arm. Daphne slowly pulled the dagger out of me, and blood spurted forward.

  “What do we do with her?” Daphne asked.

  Davidson grunted. He wouldn’t even look at me. “She saved Keaton.” It was only then did I see he had silver cuffs in his hands. How he planned to actually get Keaton in them again, I didn’t know. “Treat her like we would anyone else. Put her in the prison.”

  Keaton

  Fuck!

  The second Keaton popped into his home in the Void, he lost it. The couch was shredded in piles of fluff and scraps of shitty leather.

  Why the fuck would she do that? Was she trying to protect her friends – after that redheaded bitch held a dagger – my goddamn dagger – to Kara’s neck? After she stabbed Kara?

  Why would she send him back? It didn’t make any sense. He was helping her. He was preventing the bitch from doing anything –

  Davidson.

  How could he have not seen it?

  He had been so consumed with protecting his wife, he had completely forgotten about the bastard. He had left his back exposed. He had –

  Keaton clenched his teeth together so hard, he was sure he popped some kind of blood vessel.

  Not that it mattered.

  What mattered was getting his wife back, and he couldn’t do that without a plan. Luckily, the two were Bonded. They consummated their marriage, which meant he could travel freely from one realm to the next without someone calling his name three times. Unless, of course, it was Kara herself.

  All he needed to do –

  But the second he popped back into the academy, everyone was gone. The shadows grew long and ominous under the night sky that filtered in. From where he stood, he couldn’t make out a moon unless it was hidden behind the trees that surrounded this place. He tilted his head back and sucked in a breath with his nostrils, trying to catch Kara’s scent, anything, that might lead him to her.

  “I was wondering when you’d come back.”

  Keaton whipped around. He hated how off his game he was, and he knew it had to do with his wife. Never had he acted so fucking rashly before. He was smarter than this.

  Something to consider later.

  “You need her.”

  “I’ve already married her,” Keaton said, fiddling with a wristwatch that hadn’t worked in half a century. “Already fucked her too. I don’t need her anymore.”

  Davidson smirked, clearly not believing Keaton. “Then why come back?”

  Keaton gritted his teeth, flaring his nostrils. The last thing he needed was Davidson exploiting what was becoming known as a fucking weakness.

  Keaton didn’t do weaknesses. And yet, Kara was his wife. His. He had an obligation to protect her. She was his, and that meant he would protect her because of that.

  And he made her a promise.

  It might not get them anywhere. The whole thing with her brother might turn into fucking nothing. But he gave her his word, and he would follow through.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  “I already have what I want,” Davidson said. “I have her, and I intend to keep her. You will never get her again, you hear me? I’m never going to let you get anywhere near her. You got out. But let me tell you – if you come back, I will capture you, and this time, damn the Prince, I will kill you. There it is. That’s my warning.”

  “Where is she?” Keaton asked through crooked teeth.

  “You’ll never know.” And then, he reached into his coat, pulled out Keaton’s dagger, and aimed it straight at Keaton’s heart.

  Chapter Two

  I fucked up.

  I could admit that now. As I sat around the dark, dank cell in the basement of the Academy, I knew I had no one to blame but myself. All of my actions leading up to the night I first met Keaton was on me. Everything – from getting my friends into trouble, to flip-flopping about what I wanted from him, to calling him to help us.

  I thought I knew everything. It turned out, I didn’t know anything, and I was only beginning to realize that.

  What I needed to do now was to actually do something about it. I couldn’t jump into something without carefully considering my options. I wasn’t going to let myself get wrapped up in my emotions and base important decisions on what I felt versus what was right. My only concern was trying to figure out what was right. What if what I thought was right turned out to be wrong? Who determined what was right and what wasn’t?

  I shook my head. Now was not the time for philosophical debates. I needed to focus on escape.

  I stood up, ignoring the strain in my backside from sitting on such a hard surface, and made my way to the bars. Gingerly, I wrapped my fingers around them, tugging them once, twice. The bars didn’t budge.

  I frowned.

  Graham also mentioned just how rusty and completely inept the academy’s detention facility was. Sure, it looked old and the bars had some rust on it, but it didn’t look as though I’d be able to break out of here any time soon.

  I was stuck here.

  Wait.

  I could call Keaton to me.

  I would be able to say his name three times and he’d come right here!

  I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that before. A smile slipped out onto my face and I opened my mouth, ready to do just that, when a cold voice stopped me.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  Daphne.

  How did I not notice someone was down here? I glanced to my left and then to my right. I couldn’t see anyone. Then again, the place was dim. The electricity down here really sucked – unless it sucked specifically for that purpose. Shadows lined the walls and the floor. It was hard to make out what was real and what was just imagery. Maybe, if I was patient and clever enough, I could trick her into revealing herself.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said with as much indifference as I could muster.

  Daphne scoffed. I could imagine her flipping her red hair over her shoulder and glancing at her nails. “You’ve always been a shit liar, you know,” she said. “You were going to call him to help you get out of here.” She said it like it was a fact, and even though she was right, it still bothered me that she was being so arrogant about it.

  Was I really that transparent?

  Apparently.

  “What do you want from me, Daphne?” I asked, suddenly exhausted. I rested my forehead against the bars and looked at the ground since I couldn’t figure out where she was.

  “I want to know why.”

  Footsteps, soft and subtle, made their way towards me until she emerged from the hallway and sauntered up to my cell. There was a determined glint in her eyes easily discernible even in the darkness. How had I not noticed how confident she was? When she reached my cell, she positioned herself an inch or two away from where I stood. She had always been taller than me, but it wasn’t until this moment that I realized that even a few inches was enough to make a difference when it came to intimidation.

  “I get that Richard is important to you,” she said. “And I get that finding him is important to you. But why would you betray Davidso
n, the academy? Why would you betray me by binding yourself not only to a heathen but to him? You know how dangerous he is. You know what he can and will do to you. Why would you do that to us when you know he’s not going to find anything on Richard? Whatever he promised you is a lie.”

  “No,” I said softly, looking her in the eye. “It’s not.”

  “Is this the part where you tell me I don’t know him like you do?” She arched a skeptical brow. “Please tell me you’re not that stupid.”

  “Please tell me you’re not that naive,” I pushed back.

  A moment passed. Her eyes narrowed, scanning my face for an answer to a question I didn’t know the answer to. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

  I loosened my shoulders as a slight amount of relief coursed through my body. Good. She took the bait. Now it was time to plant the seeds.

  “You can’t possibly believe everything they tell you, Daphne,” I said. “Not you.”

  “Why would I have any reason to doubt the Keepers?” she asked. “I’m an orphan too, just like you.”

  “No.” I shook my head once, an edge to my voice. “Not like me.”

  She glared. “You think there’s a difference? At the end of the day, our families are gone. We’re here now. We have no one.”

  “There’s a world of a difference,” I said, tightening my grip on the bars. “My family didn’t choose to leave me. Yours did.” The words were like flying daggers, and each one struck their target.

  Daphne flinched back, and guilt replaced the relief. Despite the fact that it was true, I could have worded it better.

  “What difference does that make?” she asked.

  I hesitated now. Did I answer honestly and risk her wrath? Or did I say nothing at all.

  But no.

  Daphne was my friend. At least, she used to be. I might not be the most tactful person, but I could be honest with her.