Not cool. Not cool at all.
Why on earth had he said hed do it? Surely not just for my name? I wasnt that interesting, and my name couldnt be too hard to find on his own. He already knew where I went to school.
But we had to do it. I met Uncle Brendons eyes, speaking the truth as soon as I recognized it. We had to know if those girls were on the list. I dont think they were supposed to die, and we wont know for sure without a peek at the list.
However, my resolve wavered even as I spoke. It was the same old moral dilemma. Did I have the right to decide whether one life was worth risking another? A girl I might not even know, for a guy Id only met once? An already dead guy, whod surely known the risk when he agreed to it.
Suddenly nothing made sense. I knew in my heart that these girls werent supposed to be dying, but trying to save the next one would expose me to creatures I couldnt even begin to imagine in a world I couldnt see, and put several other lives in danger. Including my own.
My shoulders fell and I stared at my uncle in almost paralyzing confusion. So what am I supposed to do? I hated how young and clueless I sounded, but he was right. I really had no idea what was going on, and all the good intentions in the world wouldnt mean a thing if I didnt know what to do with them.
I dont think theres anything you can do, Kaylee. Uncle Brendon looked just as frustrated as I felt. But we dont know theres anything actually wrong yet, and until we know for sure, youre just borrowing trouble.
I tried really hard to keep an open mind. Not to jump to conclusions. After all, I wasnt exactly rolling in evidence. All I had was a bad feeling and some soul-searing guilt. And even if I turned out to be right, my options were few and far between. Not to mention far fetched. Id just found out I was a bean sidhe and had yet to try out a single one of my purported skills. There was no guarantee I could do anything to save the next girls life, even if it was wrongly endangered.
Maybe I should just stay out of reaper business. After all, it didnt really involve me.
Yet.
But what if it did soon? One girl from my school had already died, and there was no guarantee that wouldnt happen again. And it could happen to anyone. It could be me, or any one of my friends.
Maybe I should just stay out of reaper business. After all, it didnt really involve me.
Yet.
But what if it did soon? One girl from my school had already died, and there was no guarantee that wouldnt happen again. And it could happen to anyone. It could be me, or any one of my friends.
But what if I am right? If these girls are dying before their time, I cant just stand by and let it happen again if I can possibly stop it. But I cant save anyone on my own, and pulling someone else into it will just put more people in danger. Like Id risked Tod. And Nash.
Well then, I think you have your answer. Even if youre willing to risk yourselfand for the record, I will not let you do that so long as youre in my careyou have no right to risk anyone else.
I abandoned the laundry for my pillow, plucking anxiously at a feather sticking out through the pillowcase. So I should just let an innocent girl die before her time?
Uncle Brendon exhaled heavily. No. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and took a long, deep breath. Ill tell you what. When you hear back from this reaper, if it turns out that these girls werent on the list, Ill look into it. With your father. On one condition. You swear to stay out of it.
But
No buts. Do we have a deal? I opened my mouth to answer, but he interrupted. And before you answer, think about Nash, and Tod, and whoever else you might be putting in danger if you try to handle this yourself.
I sighed. He knew he had me with that last bit. Fine. Ill let you know what Tod finds out as soon as I know something.
Thank you. I know none of this is easy for you. He stood and shoved his hands into his pockets as I dropped my socks into the open drawer behind me.
Yeah, well, whats a little mental illness and pathological screaming among family?
My uncle laughed, leaning against the door frame. It could be worse. You could be an oracle.
There are oracles?
Not many anymore, and most of those are truly certifiable. If you think predicting one death at a time is hard on your sanity, try knowing whats going to happen to everyone you meet, and being unable to turn the visions off.
I could only shudder at the thought. How could there be so much out there that Id never known about? How could I not realize that half of my own family wasnt even human? Shouldnt the swirly eyes have clued me in?
How come I never saw your eyes swirl before tonight?
Uncle Brendon gave me a wistful smile. Because Im very old and have learned how to control my emotions, for the most part. Though that gets harder to do around you every day. I think thats part of why your dad stays away. When he looks at you, he sees your mother, and he cant hide his reaction. And if you saw his eyes, youd have questions he wasnt ready to answer.
Well, not-answering was no longer an option. So how old are you? For real.
Uncle Brendon chuckled and glanced at the ground, and for a moment I thought he wouldnt answerthat Id broken some kind of bean sidhe code of conduct by asking. But then he met my eyes, still smiling faintly. I wondered how long that one would take you. I turned one hundred twenty-four last spring.
Holy crap! I felt my eyes go wide as his smile deepened. You could have retired sixty years ago. Does Aunt Val know?
Of course. And she teases me mercilessly. The children from my first marriage are older than she is.
You were married before? I couldnt keep shock from my voice.
That longing smile was back. In Ireland, half a century ago. We had to move every couple of decades to keep people from noticing that we didnt seem to age. My first wife died in Illinois twenty-four years ago, and our childrenboth bean sidhes now have grandchildren of their own. Remind me and Ill show you pictures sometime.
I nodded, numb with surprise. Wow. So are those kids any nicer than Sophie? I couldnt help but ask.
Uncle Brendon gave me a halfhearted frown, which smoothed into a sympathetic smile. Frankly, yes. But Sophies still young. Shell grow into her attitude.
Somehow, I had my doubts.
But then something else occurred to me. Ironic, isnt it? I took another step back, assessing him from a better vantage pointand an all-new perspective. Youre three times Aunt Vals age, but you look so much younger.
He winked, one hand on the doorknob as he turned to leave. Well, Kaylee, I can tell you right now that ironic isnt quite how she describes it.
CHAPTER 14
Music rang out from the dark, the heavy, crunchy beat throbbing near my ear. I blinked and pulled the blanket over my shoulder, irritated by the interruption in my sleep, even as I was relieved by the end of my dream. Which was really more of a nightmare.
In my sleep, Id been navigating a dark landscape dotted with peculiar, hazy landmarks. Misshapen, shadowy figures scurried and slithered all around me, always just out of sight when I whirled to face them. Farther out, larger shapes lumbered, and though they never came close enough to focus on, I knew they were following me. In the dream, I was looking for something. Or maybe looking for my way out of something. But I couldnt find it.
In my room, the music played on, and I groaned when I realized it was coming from my phone. Still groggy, I flopped over, tangling my leg in the comforter, and reached toward my nightstand. My right hand grazed the phone, still bouncing around on the varnished surface, and the vibrations tickled my fingertips.
Blinking slowly, I held the phone up and glanced at the display, surprised to realize it cast a soft green glow over half the room. The number was unfamiliar, and no name was available. Probably a wrong number, but I flipped the phone open anyway, because of the time of day displayed on the screen. It was 1:33 a.m. No one calls in the middle of the night unless somethings wrong.
Hello? I croaked, sounding as alert as a bear in January. And almost as friendly.
Kaylee?
So much for a wrong number. Mmm, yeah?
Its Tod.
I sat up so quickly my head spun, and I had to rub my eyes to make the lights on the back of my eyelids stop flashing. Nash gave you my number? That sounded suspicious even with sleep shrouding my brain like mist over a cold lake.
No, I havent called him yet. I wanted to tell you first.
Okaaay Yet even with important information practically hanging from his lips, I couldnt dismiss the hows and whys. Where did you get my number?
Its programmed into Nashs phone.
And how did you get his phone?
He left it on his dresser. Tods voice was smooth and nonchalant, and I could almost picture him shrugging as he spoke.
You went into his room? How did you get in? But then I remembered him disappearing from plain sight in the hospital dining room. Never mind.
Dont worry, he has no idea.
Thats not the point! I groaned and leaned over to tap the base of my touch lamp once. It flared to life on the dimmest setting. You cant just sneak into peoples houses without permission. Thats trespassing. Its an invasion of privacy. Itscreepy.
Tod huffed over the line. I work twelve hours a day. I dont have to eat or sleep. What else am I supposed to do with the other half of my afterlife?
I leaned against the headboard and shoved tangled hair back from my face. I dont know. Go see a movie. Sign up for some classes. But stay out of I sat straighter, glancing at my own surroundings in suspicion as something occurred to me. Have you been in my room?
A soft, genuine laugh rang over the line. If I knew where your room is, wed be talking in person. Unfortunately, Nash doesnt have your address in his phone. Or written down anywhere I could find without waking him up.
Small miracle, I mumbled.
He does have your last name, though. Ms. Cavanaugh.
Crap. With my last name, and his convenient poof like travel method, it wouldnt take him long to find out where I lived.