Thats Levis theory. Tod picked up a roll of sterile gauze and tossed it into the air, then caught it. He said the last time this happened, they were being collected as payment to a hellion.
My hand clutched the shelf and a protruding screw cut my finger, but I barely noticed because of the dark dread swirling in me like a dense fog. A hellion?
Nash exhaled heavily. Humans would call them demons, but thats not exactly right, because they have no association with any religion. They feed on pain and chaos. But they cant leave the Netherworld.
Okay My pulse raced, and I flashed back to the gray creatures Id seen during Emmas soul song. Were those hellions? Payment for what?
The reaper shrugged. Could be anything. Sometimes deals are struck. Under the table, of course. Levill take care of it, as soon as he finds the reaper responsible. He caught the gauze one more time and shrugged, having evidently given us everything he knew. Which was much more than Id expected. Sowhat about this reaper you saw?
Tell Levi hes looking for a woman. I shifted closer to Nash and accidentally bumped a shelf. Several boxes of medical tubing fell over, spilling their contents like clear plastic worms.
A woman? Tods eyes widened, and I nodded.
Tall and thin, with wavy brown hair, Nash said. Sound like someone you know?
Tod shook his head. But Levi knows every reaper in the state. Hell take care of it. He hesitated, as if unsure whether or not to say the next part. But he thinks youre going to get your own souls poached before he can get everything back under control.
Is that what you think? I wasnt sure why his opinion mattered to me, but it did.
Tod shrugged, fingering his makeshift ball. Id say thats a very real possibility. Especially if you keep wiggling your fingers in front of the tigers mouth.
We had no choice. I bent to restack the boxes Id spilled. The tiger was about to eat my best friend.
Youre something else, Kaylee Cavanaugh, Tod whispered, and I knew from Nashs blank, angry expression that he hadnt heard that part either, though hed clearly seen the reapers lips move. It could have been you, instead of that cheerleader. It might be, next time. Or it might be him. His gaze flicked to Nash and back, and his irreverent expression darkened.
Let Levi handle it, he said. If you wont do it for me, or even for yourself, do it for Nash. Please.
Tod looked truly scared, and I didnt know what to make of fear coming from a grim reaper. So I nodded. Were out of it. I already promised my uncle. I reached back for Nashs hand as Tod nodded. Then he disappeared, still holding the gauze, and I was alone with Nash in the cramped closet.
CHAPTER 18
What did he say? Nash shifted in his seat, staring out the passengers side window at the passing streetlights. We were almost to my house, and those were the first words hed spoken since wed pulled out of the hospital parking garage.
Is there anything else I should know about reapers? I couldnt keep annoyance out of my voice; I was tired of being left in the dark. Can they read my thoughts or see through my clothes? Which would actually explain a lot Or make me stand on my head and squawk like a chicken?
Nash sighed and finally turned to face me. Reapers are like a supernatural jack-of-all-trades. They can appear wherever they want and can choose who sees and hears them. If they want to be seen or heard at all. They have other minor abilities, but nothing else as infuriating as the whole selective-hearing thing. He wrapped one hand around the armrest, his knuckles white with tension. So what did he say?
I hesitated to answer; if Tod had wanted Nash to hear, hed have broadcast on all frequencies. Then again, he didnt make me promise. He asked me not to get you killed. Hes trying to protect you.
I glanced away from the road in time to see Nash roll his eyes. No, hes trying to protect you, and he knows youll be more cautious for my sake than for your own.
How do you know thats what hes doing?
Because thats what I would have done.
An adrenaline-soaked warmth spread through my chest, even though I knew Nash was wrong. Tod was looking out for him, at least in part.
Squinting into the late-afternoon sun, I turned into my neighborhood. Two lefts later, my aunts car came into sight, parked in the driveway next to the empty spot mine usually occupied. My uncle had taken the day off, expecting my father to arrive around midmorning. And surely Sophie had already made it back from the memorial. The gangs all here.
Nash followed me into the living room, where my uncle sat in the floral-print armchair, angled so that he could see both the televisiontuned to the local newsand the front window. He stood when we came in, stuffing his hands into his pockets, his anxious gaze searching my expression immediately for any sign of trouble.
Sophie told us what happened. Are you okay?
Fine. I collapsed onto one end of the couch and pulled Nash down with me.
Uncle Brendons gaze captured mine and held it. Valisnt feeling well today. I just put her back in bed.
Now? I glanced out the front window to see the last rays of afternoon light just then sinking below the rooftops across the street. It wasnt even five-thirty.
This may not be the best time for company, he continued, glancing briefly at Nash.
I want him to meet Dad, I insisted, and my uncle looked like he wanted to argue. But then he nodded in resignation and sank into his chair. What did Sophie tell you? I asked. I was surprised he hadnt called me, but Id checked my phone in the car, and there were no messages or missed calls.
But then again, he was probably pretty busy dealing with my aunt.
Uncle Brendon leaned back in his chair and lifted a sweating can of Coke from the end table. She said Emma fainted, and while everyone was fussing over her, one of the cheerleaders fell over dead. The whole schools in complete shock. Its already been on the news.
I swallowed thickly and glanced at Nash. And naturally, Uncle Brendon caught the look.
Emma died, didnt she? His expression was pained, as if he wasnt sure he really wanted to hear the truth. She died, and you two brought her back.
At his words, horror and a stunned incredulity washed over me in a devastating wavethe culmination of every terrifying thing Id seen and done over the past few days, and I could only nod, holding back tears through sheer will.
Anger rolled across my uncles face like fog before a storm, and he stood, his hand fisted around the can. If it had been full, hed have been wearing most of his soda. I told you to stay out of it. I said your father and I would look into it. You could have died, and as it stands now, you got someone else killed.
Anger rolled across my uncles face like fog before a storm, and he stood, his hand fisted around the can. If it had been full, hed have been wearing most of his soda. I told you to stay out of it. I said your father and I would look into it. You could have died, and as it stands now, you got someone else killed.
I shot to my feet, anger eclipsing my weaker emotions. Thats not fair. None of this was our fault!
Theres nothing fair about this, Uncle Brendon roared, and I knew from his volume alone that Sophie wasnt at home. If you dont believe me, go ask that poor cheerleaders parents.
Nash stood at my side, his stance steady and strong, his gaze unyielding. Mr. Cavanaugh, we had nothing to do with Julies death. In fact, we tried to save her too, but
We all seemed to realize simultaneously that hed said the wrong thing. I squeezed Nashs hand to silence him, but it was too late.
You tried to do it again? Uncle Brendons fury was surpassed only by his fear.
We had to! I was shouting now, and the entire living room swam with the tears filling my eyes. I couldnt let the reaper steal another soul without at least trying to stop it.
A glimpse of sympathy flashed through his anger, but then it was gone, stamped out by fear born of caution. You have to. You cant go sticking your nose into reaper business every time someone you know dies, unless you want to die with them! He turned to Nash then, anger still spinning in his eyes. If youre going to tell her what she can do, you have a responsibility to also tell her what she cant do.
He did, I said before Nash could answer. But Emma wasnt supposed to die.
My uncles eyes narrowed in suspicion. How do you know that?
Nash spoke before I could, probably to keep me from digging my hole any deeper. Tod got a look at the list. The reaper is a rogue, and none of those girls were supposed to die.
See? I demanded, when Nash went silent without revealing the rest of Tods information. We had to save her. She wasnt meant to die yet. Plus, shes my best friend. Tell me you wouldnt have done the same thing.
He wouldnt have. The new voice came from the entry, carried on a soft September breeze, and we all whirled toward it in unison. My dad stood in the doorway, a suitcase in each hand. But I would.
I should have said something. I should have had some kind of greeting for the father I hadnt seen in a year and a half. But my mouth wouldnt open, and the longer I stood there in silence, the better I came to understand the problem. It wasnt that I had nothing to say to him. It was that I had too much to say.
Why did you lie? Where have you been? What makes you think coming back now will make any difference? But I couldnt decide what to say first.
Nash didnt have that problem. Im guessing this is your dad? he whispered, leaning closer so that our shoulders touched.
My father nodded, thick brown waves bobbing with the movement. His hair was longer than I remembered it, and nearly brushed his shoulders. I couldnt help wondering how different I looked to him.
You must be Harmonys boy, my father said, his deep voice rumbling. Brendon said youd probably be here.
Yes, sir, Nash said. Then, to me, he said, He doesnt sound like hes from Ireland.
My father dropped his bags in the entryway. Im not. I just live there. He reached back to pull the front door closed, then scuffed his boots on the mat before stepping into the living room. My dad took a long look at me, from head to toe, and his jaw hardened when his eyes lingered on my right hand, still clasped in Nashs. Then his gaze landed on my face, and a series of emotions passed over his.