My jab found its mark and my father flinched again. "I'm tired, Kaylee, and I don't have the energy for this." He set my phone on an end table and rubbed his face with both hands. "Give me your keys and go to bed. Please."
And what was I supposed to say to Addy and Regan? Sorry, I can't save your immortal souls, because I'm grounded?
I dropped my keys on the kitchen counter, then plodded down the hall to my room, sorting through possible ways around this new complication. How were we supposed to find the hellion without a car? Walk all over the Metroplex?
With my bedroom door open, I sank cross-legged onto my bed and listened as my father locked up, then plodded down the hall to his own room. Fifteen minutes later, his snores echoed in the hall and a bolt of irritation lanced me. Our first real fight hadn't interrupted his sleep in the least.
Still irritated, I crossed the hall to use the bathroom and brush my teeth, then changed into a halter top and baggy pajama pants before collapsing onto my bed again. I had chemistry homework to do, and I was too mad to sleep, but I'd left my books in my car and couldn't get to them without my keys.
"You okay?" Tod asked from the wing chair by my headboard, and I almost jumped off the bed in surprise. "Sorry." He grabbed my arm to steady me.
I was tempted to yell at him, but resisted because for once his intrusion might actually come in handy. And because I didn't want to wake my dad up. "How much of that did you hear?" I waved one arm in the direction of the living room to indicate my fight with my dad.
"Just the last bit. Nash asked me to check on you." He waggled both eyebrows and donned a mischievous grin. "Don't worry, I turned around when you changed."
I couldn't help a laugh. Tod might flirt with me to bug Nash, but he obviously really cared about Addy, beyond whatever crush they'd shared in school. "I'm glad to hear you've retained at least a little moral fortitude since your unfortunate demise."
"I reserve it for special occasions. And people I like."
I threw my pillow at him.
"So is this all because you're late?"
"That, and because I wouldn't tell him where I'd been. I'm grounded for a week."
Tod frowned. "But you're still coming after school tomorrow, right?"
I cocked my head at him, eyes narrowed in mock confusion. "What part of 'grounded' don't you understand?"
"The part where it gets in the way of my plans." But I knew from the serious cast of his scowl that it wasn't really his plans he was worried about. It was Addy's soul.
Since we hadn't gotten there in time to stop Regan from selling out or even to identify the hellion who bought her soul, we were back to plan A: hoping someone at the Demon's Breath disposal facility would be willing to help us. But we had to get there first, which would be difficult without a car.
At least now we had something to bargain with, once we found the hellion. Fortunately, Tod could hold Bana's soul much longer than a reaper could hold on to a lungful of Demon's Breath. Not that I was exactly eager to enact that particular part of the plan…
"Look, it's your fault I'm grounded," I whisper-hissed at Tod. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't dragged me into this in the first place. What do you want me to do?"
"Sneak out." He shrugged, as if that should have been a no-brainer. But that was easy for him to say. He was dead. What else could they do to him, take away his birthday? "If you get caught, I'll make it up to you. I swear. Please, Kaylee. We can't do this without you."
"Yes you can!" I switched to a whisper again, in case my father woke up and heard the single most incriminating words I'd ever spoken. "You have Bana's soul. You can make the deal on your own."
His face fell, and he stared at the pillow in his lap for a moment before meeting my gaze again, frustration flaring like flames behind his eyes. "No I can't. I'm still a rookie reaper, Kaylee. I can only carry a limited amount of cargo to the Netherworld at a time, and I've already got Bana's soul to deal with. Even if I can take Addy, too, I need you to bring Regan. And Nash. I have a feeling we're going to need him."
I felt my eyes go wide, and my reflection in the mirror looked as terrified as I felt. "Can I do that?"
"Can't you?" Confusion flitted across his features. "Isn't that what my mom's supposed to be teaching you?"
"I don't know! She hasn't shown me a syllabus. Can she ferry people?"
"Yeah." He nodded firmly. "And you have to get her to teach you how. We can't do this without you, Kaylee."
I sighed, and the bleak weight of responsibility settled almost physically over me. I had no choice. But my dad was going to kill me when he found out, and the collateral damage would likely include both Nash and Tod. And Harmony, when he discovered her unwitting assistance. But hopefully that wouldn't be until after we'd returned Addy's and Regan's souls to their rightful bodies.
"Fine. But you owe me. Starting now."
"Absolutely." Relief half relaxed his features, and the reaper leaned forward in my chair. "Whatever you want."
"Can you get my phone out of my dad's room without waking him up?"
"No problem." He was gone before I could warn him to be careful.
Several seconds later, as I sat frozen on my bed, irrationally afraid to move in case the squealing springs woke my father, Tod popped back into my room, cradling my slim red phone in one palm.
He shot me a crooked grin, blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "Did you know your dad sleeps in boxers?"
"Ew. Thanks for the visual." I grabbed my phone and scrolled through the menu to check my missed calls. Five from my dad and four from Emma. We must have hit a dead zone on the highway, and I hadn't checked my messages.
I selected the last voice mail Emma had left and held the phone to my ear, one hand on my hip as I glanced at Tod. "I need my books from my car, then I'll need you to put this back wherever my dad left it."
Tod gave me a mock bow. "Anything else? Can I fan you with a big palm leaf? Feed you grapes while you write your homework in my blood?"
"Shh!" I hissed, waving him off as Emma's voice spoke to me from my phone. "You said you owed me!"
He frowned and popped out of my room in time for me to hear most of the missed message. "…tried to cover for you, but he called the theater first, and they told him you weren't working. You better call him and do some damage control, Kaylee. I'll see you tomorrow…."
The phone beeped in my ear as her message ended. She'd tried to warn me.
Tod popped back into my room holding my chemistry text and a notebook as I pressed a button to call Emma back. She answered on the third ring, and I gestured for him to set my stuff on my desk.
"Kay? It's twelve-thirty in the morning," Emma mumbled. It sounded like she had her face buried in the phone. "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, Em, but it's kind of an emergency. Can Nash and I get a ride to school tomorrow?"
"'Course." She sounded a little more alert, and springs squealed as she sat up in bed. "What happened to your car?"
"My dad took my keys and my phone for a week."
"Ouch. I'll be there at seven-thirty." Which meant seven-forty-five, in Emma-land. We'd be late to school, but that was better than riding the bus with the freshmen.
"Thanks. You're awesome."
"I know," she slurred, already half asleep again. "Bye." The phone clicked in my ear and Emma was gone. I spared a moment to hope she remembered us in the morning. Then I sank onto my bed, suddenly very sleepy, now that the immediate problem was resolved.
"Tell Nash to be here at seven-thirty if he wants a ride." I'd driven him to school most mornings since we started going out. I glanced at the textbook on my desk, briefly considering my homework. But I was too tired to mess with that. I'd do it at lunch. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?"
"We go downtown and find the disposal facility, then start asking questions until we hear what we need to know," Tod said, slouching in my chair again.
"Simple. I like it." I sat on my pillow and slid my legs beneath my cover
s. "When?"
"After school?"
"Nope. My dad'll call, and if I'm not here to answer, he'll…I don't know. Call the cops or something."
Tod scowled, an odd look on his cherubic features. "You're not looking at the big picture, Kaylee. Addy's soul is at stake. I've traded two hospital shifts in a row and will probably have to do it again tomorrow. The least you can do is drop off your dad's radar for a couple of hours after school."
"Okay, first of all, we're not out of time just yet. Tomorrow's Wednesday, and Addy's not supposed to die until Thursday. And we can't do this until I learn how to turn myself into a Netherworld ferry." Which meant I'd have to convince my father to let me go for my how-to-be-a-bean-sidhe lesson after school, in spite of the grounding.
Then I'd have to talk Harmony into teaching me what I needed to know, without telling her why I needed to know it.
"Besides, we need a car. You can blink into Dallas whenever you want, but Nash and I can't. And I'm not taking the bus in the middle of the night."
"Middle of the night?" He leaned forward in my chair, brows dipped low in concern. "Isn't that cutting it kind of close?"
"We don't really have any choice, Tod." I scooted down on the bed until the covers gathered at my waist. "The only time my dad won't check up on me is when he's asleep, which means we can't leave until tomorrow night. That gives you almost a day to explain everything to Addy and Regan, and to find us a car." Because his mom worked the night shift at the hospital and would need hers. "Do not steal one. The last thing we need is to get arrested on the way to the Netherworld."
I could already see the headline: Mentally Fragile Teen Arrested in Stolen Car; Says She Was Looking for a Demon.
Sophie wouldn't have to work hard to convince everyone I was nuts after that.
"That's not enough time, Kaylee." Tod looked as grim as I'd ever seen him.
"It'll have to be." I wasn't sure how best to comfort a reaper. "By Thursday morning, Addy will be in full possession of her soul."
It wasn't much of a promise, but since I couldn't guarantee her life, her soul was all I could offer him.
"Now, could you please put my phone back where you found it? And turn the light off on your way out." With that, I lay back and pulled the covers over my shoulder. I needed sleep.
Tomorrow promised to be the weirdest Wednesday in history.
CHAPTER 13
"I really should just leave you here. You deserve to ride the bus, for keeping so many secrets." Emma slammed her locker closed as the last bell rang, but her bright brown eyes gave her away. She wasn't really mad. She was fishing for hints about the super-secret bean sidhe mission she imagined we were on.
I settled my backpack higher on my shoulder and tugged my snug tee down over the waistband of my jeans. "Trust me, you're not missing anything." If she knew the truth, her curiosity would no doubt give way to terror. Which was why I couldn't tell her.
But Emma would give us another ride, anyway, to make up for making us all nearly half an hour late to first period. I should have known she wouldn't remember a middle-of-the-night, sleep-foggy promise. She'd actually made it all the way to the school parking lot five minutes ahead of the tardy bell before remembering me and Nash. I would have texted her, but my dad left for work with my phone, and I didn't have her number memorized. Nor did Nash have it programmed.
We all three got unexcused tardies, which made a matched set with my unexcused absence from history the day before. Add to that the half-finished chemistry homework I'd spilled nacho-cheese sauce on during lunch, and I was starting to think I couldn't handle both school and bean sidhe business. Not to mention work.
"Hey, Emma," a male voice called from down the hall. We looked up to see Doug Fuller strutting with a huddle of football players in matching school jackets, Nash among them. "You got plans tonight?"
The cluster closed around us in a tall wall of broad green-and-white-clad shoulders, blocking most of the hall from view and effectively trapping us, though Emma didn't seem to notice the sudden suffocating lack of personal space. I stepped back and my bag hit the lockers. There was nowhere else to go unless I was willing to break through the offensive line and expose my confinement issues. Which would be like waving a red flag in front of a whole herd of bulls.
Nash must have seen the swirl of panic in my eyes, because he was suddenly at my side. I let my backpack slide to the floor, and he wrapped both arms around me from behind. His breath brushed my ear in a private, whispered greeting, and I relaxed into him as if the other ass-letes weren't even there.
They'd accepted me into their company easily enough—though I'd only hovered on the fringes before, thanks to Emma's various adventures in dating—because Nash and I were practically attached at the hip.
Or at the crotch, as the other guys no doubt assumed. After all, why else would he hang out with Emma's curve-less, penniless best friend, even if I did have a not-hideous face?
A very good question…
Nash had no more money than I did. Maybe even less. But he was wealthy in another currency: athleticism. He'd helped lead the football team to the regional play-offs—they were the heavy favorites for Friday night's game—and would do it again when baseball season arrived in the spring. That prowess, along with a face and body—not to mention a voice—few girls could say no to, kept him firmly anchored in the bright, shining kingdom of Social Acceptance, a world surely stranger and more frightening than anything I could stumble across in the Netherworld.
Emma had a free pass into that world, issued solely upon the basis of her flawless face and generous curves. She flitted among the chosen ones at will, lingering whenever a strong chin or bulging arm caught her eye. But it never lasted long. She bored easily—especially of guys with wandering hands—and would soon come back bearing tales of bumbling inadequacy unenhanced by enthusiasm.
Outside of school, it was easy to forget that Nash belonged to that world, too, and that he had a lot in common with his friends, minus the bumbling inadequacy part. But I'd rather walk the Netherworld alone, with my soul safety-pinned to my sleeve, than spend a few hours alone with any one of his teammates. Somehow, that seemed safer.
"Yeah, I have plans." Emma stood on her toes and pressed herself into Doug's chest so that her breasts flattened against his letter jacket, her nose inches from his chin. His hand slithered around her waist to spread at the base of her spine, fingers inching lower. "I have very interesting plans…."
His friends snickered and Emma stretched higher, letting her lips brush his jaw near his ear as his hand slid lower, gripping the upper curve of her backside. "Too bad they don't include you."
With that, she dropped onto her heels again and smiled up at him, one hand propped on the dramatic flair of her hip.
I laughed. I couldn't help it. Emma's game was a bit like taunting an angry gorilla through a flimsy window screen, but what can I say? She was fun to watch.
"You'll change your mind." Doug grinned and winked, walking backward away from us to keep Emma in his sight. He was a much better sport than I'd given him credit for.
"Not likely." Emma turned to her locker and threaded the padlock through the holes in the latch, then snapped it shut as Nash waved off several summonses from his friends, so he could hang out with me. And his mother. "Come on, pedestrians, where am I dropping you? Your place or his?"
"His," I answered so quickly Emma's brows shot up in amusement.
"Trouble at home?" She shrugged her backpack onto one shoulder as I grabbed mine from the floor, and we followed her down the hall in the opposite direction of the offensive line.
"No more than usual, but I have a lesson this afternoon." I left it vague because she knew what I was talking about.
Nash climbed into the back of Emma's metallic blue Sunfire and I took shotgun. Her car was far from new—it was a hand-me-down from one of her older sisters—yet it made mine look like an antique in comparison. However, the major advantage to Emma's vehicle over mine
was that she was actually in possession of her keys.
I buckled as she pulled out of the lot onto a side street, barely glancing in her rearview mirror before changing lanes right in front of the first stoplight. "Give me a hint." Em glanced sideways at me, when she really should have had her eyes on the road. "Just a little one. Is someone else going to die? Is it another cheerleader?"
I laughed at her lighthearted inquisition.
"Maybe you should tell her," Tod's voice said out of nowhere, and I jumped so hard the seat belt cut into my neck.
"Stop doing that!" Nash shouted, and I turned to see Tod on the bench seat next to him, one finger pressed to his lips in an exaggerated «shh» signal, while his other hand pointed at Emma.
"Sorry!" she snapped, assuming Nash was talking to her. She swerved into the right-hand lane without bothering to flick on her turn signal, and the driver of the car behind us honked, gesturing angrily. "It's not like I'm actually wishing for more dead cheerleaders. I'm just saying, if someone has to go…"
Tod snorted. "I like her!"
Nash elbowed him in the side, and Emma raised both brows at him in the rearview mirror. She'd seen the gesture, but couldn't see the reaper now holding his ribs, nor did she hear his oof of pain. "Sorry." Nash finally met her gaze. "I wasn't talking to you."
Her mouth opened, but I cut off a question I was sure we wouldn't be able to answer. "Em, go." I pointed out the windshield, where the cars in front of us had already driven through the intersection when the light turned green. The man behind us honked again, and Emma stomped on the gas. We lurched forward, and she forgot about Nash's odd behavior. At least for the moment.
"Does this have anything to do with Eden dropping dead onstage?"
I couldn't think of an answer fast enough, and Em's lighthearted smile died when she realized she'd actually hit the bull's-eye.
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