Id barely finished that thought when a familiar voice called my name from the broad, white corridor behind us. I froze in midstep, but Nash only stopped when he noticed I had.
I thought you might want something warm for your throat. Sounds like you really wore it out today.
I turned to find Tod holding a steaming paper cup, his other hand wrapped around an empty IV stand.
Nash tensed at my side. Whats wrong? he asked. But he was looking at me rather than at Tod.
I glanced at the reaper with my brows raised. Tod shrugged and grinned. He cant see me. Or hear me unless I want him to. Then he turned to Nash, and I understood that whatever he said next, Nash would hear. And until he apologizes, you and I will carry on all of our conversations without him.
Nash went stiff, following my gaze to what he apparently saw as an empty hallway. Damn it, Tod, he whispered angrily. Leave her alone.
Tod grinned, like wed shared a private joke. Im not even touching her.
Nash ground his teeth together, but I rolled my eyes and spoke up before he could say something wed all regret. This is ridiculous. Nash, be nice. Tod, show yourself. Or Im leaving you both here.
Nash remained silent but did manage to unclench his jaws. And I knew the moment Tod appeared to him, because his focus narrowed on the reapers face. What are you doing here?
I work here. Tod let go of the IV stand and ambled forward, holding the steaming cup out for me. I took it without thinkingmy throat did hurt, and something hot would feel good going down. I sipped from a tiny slit in the lid and was surprised to taste sweet, rich hot chocolate, with just a bit of cinnamon.
I gave him a grateful smile. I love cocoa.
Tod shrugged and slid his hands into the pockets of his baggy jeans, but a momentary flash in his eyes gave away his satisfaction. I wasnt sure youd like coffee, but I figured chocolate was a sure thing.
A soft gnashing sound met my ears as Nash tried to grind his teeth into stubs, and his hand tightened around mine. Lets go, Kaylee.
I nodded, then shrugged apologetically at Tod. Yeah, I should get home.
To see your dad? The reaper grinned slyly, and whatever points hed gained with the hot chocolate he lost instantly for invading my privacy.
You were spying on me?
A door opened on the right side of the hallway and an orderly emerged, pushing an elderly man in a wheelchair. They both glanced our way briefly before continuing down the hall in the opposite direction. But just in case, Tod lowered his voice and stepped closer. Not spying. Listening. Im stuck here twelve hours a day, and its ridiculous for me to pretend I dont hear stuff.
What did you hear? I demanded.
Tod looked from me to Nash, then glanced at the nurses station at the end of the hall, at the juncture of two other corridors. Then he nodded toward a closed, unnumbered door on the left and motioned for me and Nash to join him.
I went, and Nash followed me reluctantly. Tod made an after you gesture at the door, but when I tried to open it, the knob wouldnt turn. Its locked.
Oops. Tod disappeared, and a moment later the door opened from the inside. The reaper stood in a small, dark storage closet lined with shelves stacked with medication, syringes, and assorted medical supplies.
I hesitated, afraid someone might walk in and catch us. A reaper could blink himself out of trouble, but bean sidhes could not. But then light footsteps squeaked toward us from one of the other hallways, and Nash suddenly shoved me inside and closed the door behind us.
There was a second of darkness, then something clicked and light bathed us from a bare bulb overhead. Nash had found the switch. Okay, spit it out, he snapped. I do not want to explain to Kaylees father why we were caught in a locked hospital storage room full of controlled substances.
Fair enough. Tod leaned with one shoulder against a shelf along the back wall, giving me and Nash as much room as possiblewhich was about a square foot apiece. I was waiting on a guy with a knife wound to the chest. Should have been short and simple, but I stepped out to take a call from my boss, and by the time I got back inside, the doc had brought him back three times. You know, with those shock paddle things?
So you let him live? Nash sounded nearly as surprised as I was.
Umno. Tod frowned, blond curls gleaming in the un-filtered light. He was on my list. Anyway, when I finished with the stab victim, I came out to the lobby for a cup of coffee and heard you talking. He was looking at me now, and completely ignoring Nash. So I followed you into your friends room. Shes hot.
Stay away fromher, I finished lamely, remembering at the last minute that it wasnt wise to give out my friends names to the agents of death. Not that the reaper couldnt find it on his own anyway. And not that Death didnt already have Emmas name on file, after that afternoon.
Tod rolled his eyes. What kind of reaper do you think I am? And anyway, what fun would killing her be?
Leave her alone, Nash snapped. Lets go. He turned and grabbed the handle, then threw the door open fast enough that if anyone from the nurses station had been looking, wed have been caught for sure. Surprised, I hurried after him and barely heard the storage closet close behind me. We were nearly to the double doors when Tod spoke again.
Dont you want to know about the phone call? He only whispered, but somehow his voice carried as if hed spoken from an inch away.
I stopped, pulling Nash to a sudden halt. He glanced at me in confusion, then in mounting irritation, and I realized with a jolt of shock that once again he hadnt heard Todand that I shouldnt have either. The reaper was at least twenty feet away, still in front of the closet.
The call from your boss? I whispered experimentally, to see if Tod could hear me.
The reaper nodded, smiling smugly.
What did he say? Nash growled softly, angrily.
Come on. After a quick look to make sure none of the nurses were watching, I nearly dragged him down the hall and back into the closet behind Tod. Why should we care about your communication issues with your boss? I asked aloud, to catch Nash up on the discussion.
Because he has a theory about the off-list reaping. Tods grin grew as he leaned against the left-hand shelf, and a small dimple appeared in his right cheek, highlighted by the stark light from overhead. How could I not have noticed that before?
What theory? Nash asked. Apparently he could hear Tod again.
Everything costs something. You should know that by now.
Fine. I huffed in frustration and ignored Nash when his hand tightened around mine. Tell us what you know, and well tell you what we know.
Tod laughed and pulled a plastic bedpan from the shelf, peering into it as if he expected a magicians rabbit to hop out. Youre bluffing. You dont know anything about this.
We saw the reaper when Emma died, I said, and his smile faded instantly. He dropped the bedpan back onto the shelf and I knew I had his attention. Start talking.
You better be telling the truth. Tods gaze shifted between me and Nash repeatedly.
I told you, Kaylee doesnt lie, Nash said, and I couldnt help noticing he didnt include himself in that statement.
Tod hesitated for a moment, as if considering. Then he nodded. My boss is this really old reaper named Levi. Hes been around for a while. Like, a hundred fifty years. He crossed his arms over his chest, getting comfortable against the back wall of shelves. Levi said something like this happened when he first became a reaper. Everything was a lot less organized back then, and by the time they figured out someone was taking people not on the listthey wrote the whole thing by hand back then, can you imagine? theyd already lost six souls from his region.
Youre serious? Nash wrapped one arm around my waist, and I let him pull me close. Or are you just making all this up to impress Kaylee?
Tod shot him a dark scowl, but I thought it was a totally valid question. Every word of this came straight from Levi. If you dont believe me, you can ask him yourself.
Nash stiffened, and muttered something about that not being necessary.
So why were they dying? I asked, drawing us back on subject.
The reapers eyes settled on me again, and he lowered his voice conspiratorially, blue eyes gleaming. Their souls were being poached.
Poached? I twisted to glance at Nash with one brow raised, but he only shrugged, his mouth set in a hard line. Why would anyone steal souls?
Good question. Tod fingered a box of disposable thermometer covers. His grin widened, and I was reminded of the way movie-goers sometimes cheer during murder scenes, secure in the knowledge that theyre seeing fake blood and movie magic. Theres not much use for detached souls in this world. The reaper left his last word hanging, and a sick feeling twisted deep in my stomach.
But there is in the Netherworld? I finished for him, and Tod nodded, evidently impressed that my newbie roots were no longer showing.
Souls are a rarity on the deeper plane. Something between a delicacy and a luxury. Theyre in very high demand, and every now and then a shipment goes missing in transit.
A shipment of souls? A bolt of dread shot through me at the very thought. In transit from where? To where?
Nash answered, looking simultaneously pleased to know the answer and annoyed at having to provide it. From here to where theyrerecycled.
Reincarnated?
Yeah. Tod stood straighter and bumped his head on an upper shelf, then rubbed it as he spoke. But sometimes a shipment doesnt make it, so those souls arent passed on. Theyre replaced with new ones, which is one of the reasons youll run into a brand-new soul sometimes.
I made a mental note to ask later how one might identify a new soul. So these poached souls are going to the Netherworld? I asked, trying to simply stay afloat in the current of new information. You mean Meredith, and Julie, and the others were killed so some monster in another realm could make a midnight snack out of their souls? I gripped a shoulder-height shelf for balance as my head spun. I couldnt quite wrap my mind around what Id just said.
I made a mental note to ask later how one might identify a new soul. So these poached souls are going to the Netherworld? I asked, trying to simply stay afloat in the current of new information. You mean Meredith, and Julie, and the others were killed so some monster in another realm could make a midnight snack out of their souls? I gripped a shoulder-height shelf for balance as my head spun. I couldnt quite wrap my mind around what Id just said.