Graveyard Shift (23 page)

He bent over, picked the compact up off the pav
ement, and handed it back to me. “I can help you just as much as you’re going to help me.”

“What do
you want?” I whispered, squeezing the compact to keep my hands from shaking.

“Go to work, like usual, and next time you come across a useable soul, put one of these trackers on it. When my term is up, I
will
leave here with my son. The disc in your hand tracks the souls and charts their current locations and life spans. It will be up to you to bring Grim a replacement again, I’m sure. Next time, your search should be much easier. See, I told you I could help you too.” Horus sighed and shook more dew drops off his sleeves. If the fog got any thicker, they would have to shut down the harbor for Halloween. Grim would have a fit.

“Why didn’t you just talk to Grim about this?” I shoved the disk in my pocket, next to the bag of coin that was feeling more and more like a bad idea.

Horus cleared his throat. “You know as well as I do that Grim would have me exiled from Limbo if he found out I knew his secret. Look how long it’s taken him to replace Khadija. No, this is something you must do on your own. Don’t even tell Josie.” He gave me a stern frown. “And I won’t tell her any of your secrets either.”

I frowned right back at him. Dew dripped from my eyelashes, but I refused to look away. He might have been a god, but this staring contest was mine. “And if Grim figures it out?”

“Well, we just won’t let that happen, now will we?” He stepped out of the alley and took wide, fierce steps down the street until the fog engulfed him and I was alone again.

He hadn’t said I killed Wosyet, just that he knew she was at the hosp
ital. And he hadn’t said what I was, just that he knew there was something different about me. Maybe he knew what he was talking about, but then, maybe he didn’t.

I dug the compact out of my pocket and opened it again. I was risking my ass either way. What was the di
fference? But at least with the bracelets, it would be easier to find a replacement if Horus did make good on his threat to take Winston at the end of his term.

Decisions, decisions.

Chapter
29

“Work out your own salvation.

Do not depend on others.”

-Buddha

Flora, the Roman goddess of blossoming flowers, owned one of three flower shops in Limbo City. Flora’s Power Flowers. I thought it sounded too aerobics class to be tasteful, but you wouldn’t catch me saying that to her face. Goddesses had some pretty skewed ideas about revenge.

It took me an hour of digging through shelves full of cheesy figurines and music boxes before finally finding a stuffed animal remotely close to Winston’s saber-toothed tiger. Flora’s part-time clerk, Buttercup, giggled as she rang me up.

“That’s so cute, getting your boyfriend a stuffed animal.” She paused and pressed a finger to her pastel cheek. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a reaper do that before.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s a chew toy for my dogs.”

“Dogs?” She giggled again. “Shouldn’t you be getting more than one then?”

“No, I’ll come back for another one next week.” I took the paper gift bag from her and smiled at her puckered brow before ducking out of the dewy shop.

The fog had eased up, letting morning sink in with a bright clarity. It wasn’t even seven o’clock yet, but I wanted a chance to talk to Grim before his office exploded with phone calls and angry council members.

“Hey, Ellen. Is Grim in his office?” I folded my arms over the high counter of the front desk.

“Is he expecting you?” She gave me a strained smile. Ellen seemed on edge when I was around lately. I didn’t blame her. I’d bring her an apology gift when I got back from my vacation.

“Probably not. I’ll wait if you want to announce me.” I stepped back from her desk so she could intercom Grim.

The bulletin board outside the conference room had been cleared of all the ferry attack articles, and a new hea
dlining story had been tacked in the center. I cocked an eyebrow as I made out a tiny picture of myself and Josie at Coreen’s memorial service, with Seth sitting behind us. The featured article picture was a close up of Coreen’s statue, titled: Fellow Reaper Loses Life to Save Eternity. Figures she would hog all the credit, even beyond the proverbial grave.

“Go on in, sweetie.” Ellen gave me one of her pu
ppet smiles and dug a candy bar out of her purse.

I brought the gift bag into Grim’s office. He sat b
ehind his desk, reading over documents and periodically jotting down his signature with a feminine flourish.

“What now, Ms. Harvey?” he groaned and glanced up from his paperwork to scowl at my outfit as I sat down. I had left my robe at home, and wore a pair of knee-less jeans and a black sweater. Hey, I was on vacation.

“I’m taking a few days off. I wanted to let you know in person. Also, I was wondering if you might consider switching Kevin’s apprenticeship to Josie. She’s a generation above me and ten times more qualified to give Kevin the proper training he deserves. Besides, they work well together.”

Grim dropped his pen and laced his fingers together to form a cradle for his jaw to rest in. “You would just love that, wouldn’t you? Then you could get out of that class I have you signed up for.”

“I’m suggesting this for Kevin’s sake,” I half-lied.

Grim sighed and shook his head. “I’ve already made my decision, Lana. You’re going back to the academy. It’ll be good for you.” The phone on his desk rang, interrupting the lecture. Grim sighed and snatched up the phone.

“What’s that? Are you sure?” His face twisted into an unsettling mass of lines, pulling the corners of his lips down into a loathing frown. “Notify the rest of the council. I’m holding a conference in one hour.”

He slammed the phone down, and then ripped it off his desk and heaved it at my head. I ducked and pulled my knees up to my chest, curling into the stiff guest chair. The plastic box smashed into the far wall and squealed its last ring before crushing into a dozen pieces on the floor.

“You just had to kill her, didn’t you?” he hissed, keeping his voice low, since Ellen had obviously heard the commotion. “Seth’s gone,” he growled.

“Well, at least the council will be convinced he was involved now.” I pushed my legs back down and tried to look less like a cowering dog.

“I already knew he was involved,” Grim whispered angrily. “And now we’ve lost our chance to contain him. At least he doesn’t have an island to hide on now.”

“So Winston agreed to work for you then?” I tried to steer the convers
ation in a less violent direction.

“Winston?” Grim gave me a menacing glare. “You’re on a first name basis with my new soul?”

“Well, we had an interesting encounter. I doubt he’ll be forgetting me.” I pulled the gift bag into my lap.

Grim smirked and scooped up a stack of files off his desk before standing. “He forgot you five minutes after you arrived. Lady Meng fixed up a nice batch of tea for him and Khadija.” He laughed as my shoulders slumped. “Why else do you think I allowed Meng on the council? And in place of a Hindu representative? Everything I do is for good re
ason, Lana. You’ll do well to remember that.”

Winston being gone was bad enough, but Grim wi
ping away Khadija’s memory crushed me in a way I’d never been crushed before. I felt like a three-year-old that had just been told someone intentionally ran over the Easter Bunny. It was my turn to have a tantrum. I dug my fingers into the paper gift bag and flung the stuffed animal at Grim. He caught it and chuckled again, giving me an amused sigh, the kind a grandfather would give a pouting child.

“Have a nice vacation. I think you’ve earned it.”

I stood and ripped the gift bag into pieces with a frustrated growl before storming out of his office.

Ellen gave me another fake smile as I stepped into the elevator and punched the button for the main floor. When the doors slid shut I pressed my forehead against the cool metal and sighed.

Maalik had used a coin to reach Khadija through the elevator. But if Grim had stripped away Winston’s lives, there was no telling what his current name was, and no way for me to find him. It was probably best that I didn’t. Seth might have disappeared, but he still had plenty of spies. And if I could find Winston, so could they.

I tucked a curl behind my ear and composed myself before the elevator doors pinged open on the ground floor.

Maalik waited in the lobby, wearing one of his formal robes. His curls were sleek and oiled.

“Lana?” He blinked a few times, confused to see me at Grim’s office so early. “Grim called a conference. Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” He reached for me, and then stopped to glance around the lobby before stepping into the elevator and pushing a random button.

“Sorry I didn’t come by last night. I had to escort Khadija on to Fidaws Pardis. And then Muhammad asked me to stay the night. I can’t refuse the prophet.” He gave me a sheepish smile and wrapped his arms around me. I didn’t return the hug. Not being seen in public with me was probably a good idea, but it didn’t hurt my feelings any less than him not showing up the night before to check on me.

My lip was busted and a real rainbow of a bruise ci
rcled my right eye, nothing that couldn’t heal in a few days’ time. But still, what’s a girl to think when her boyfriend’s a no-show after an ass-kicking like that?

“What’s wrong?” He pulled away, running his hands up my shoulders, and gave me a puzzled frown.

“Seth’s gone.” He was still too new. My pride was none of his business yet. I shrugged and pressed the button for the ground floor again. Maalik gave me a hurt look as I stepped around him and into the lobby.

“I’m going to Hell Friday,” I said, turning around to face him. Paranoia crawled across his face. I sighed and rested a hand on my hip. “I need a vacation, and Amy’s I
nferno Chateau is having its grand opening. I don’t suppose you would want to come with me, would you?”

“Of course I would,” he whispered and chewed at his bottom lip. “I’ll do my best to be there, but with Seth gone....” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Let me deal with Grim first.” He reached for me again, forge
tting the bystanders, and pulled me into his arms. I exhaled against his chest and all but purred when his wings brushed up my back.

“I’ll come by this afternoon, I promise. Besides, it’s Thursday. Don’t you owe me dinner?” He smiled down at me and pressed his lips to mine in a warm kiss.

“I do,” I breathed, pulling away from him with shaking knees. The sneaky bastard. I couldn’t be letting him off the hook with nothing more than a kiss all the time, but maybe just this once.

Cindy Morningstar stepped around us and into the elevator. She wore a black dress suit, trimmed with a red collar and cuffs. Two of the fallen, yakking away on cell phones, followed her.

Cindy cleared her throat and smiled at us. “Job well-done, Ms. Harvey. I look forward to dining with you this weekend.”
              “Thank you, Council Lady.” I blushed and ran a hand through my curls.

Cindy turned to Maalik. “Going up?”

“Yes,” he answered, giving me another of his sweetly confused smiles. “I’ll see you later, Lana.”

Maalik crowded into the elevator with the demon princess and her crew, folding his wings back tightly to keep from unintentionally giving one of them a mouthful of feat
hers.

I waited for the doors to close and turned around to find Horus scurrying into the lobby, trying to straighten his tie with a briefcase twisted in one ha
nd.

“Good morning, Lana.” He pressed the up button and stepped into an empty elevator without another word. Did everyone decide I was bad news today or what?

At least Josie would talk to me, even though I couldn’t tell her about anything that was bothering me. But maybe we could just go shopping instead.

Chapter 30

“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep,

so life well used brings happy death.”

-Leonardo da Vinci

Josie and Jenni’s apartment wasn’t much bigger than mine, but their exquisite taste and minimalist décor really opened the place up, making it appear three times larger.

A vase holding a single white lily sat in the middle of their clutter-free dining table made of real oak and not some crummy imitation like mine. The living room was home to a full set of matching, olive green furniture. It gave the city dwelling a naturist appeal and went well with the sand colored walls. A stone fountain, resting on top of the ente
rtainment center, transported me back to Meng Po’s garden pond with its bubbly music.

So the place didn’t have the lived-in feeling of my apartment, but every time I visited Josie, I left feeling like I had just come from a spa, minus the pedicure, of course. It was r
efreshing.

“Hey!” Jenni strolled into the kitchen in a silk bath robe. She sounded happy to see me. Normally I got a brief nod before she disappeared into her room to study. Studying is what she did best and most often, right after working and taking extra classes. In three hundred years, I had never seen her out on a date or drinking with friends. In my opi
nion, her life sucked. But she seemed rather proud of her accomplishments, and she was practically Josie’s idol.

“I’ve got those notes ready for you. I’ll go get them.” She padded off down the hall, just as Josie emerged from her bedroom, yawning as she tugged on a tee shirt.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

“Good morning to you too,” I gru
mbled. “Would a cup of coffee be too much to ask for?” I sat down at the table and rested my chin over my folded arms with a sigh.

“I guess not.” Josie glanced down the hall, and gave me a nervous smile. “Just let me, uh, brush my teeth first?”

“Whatever.”

She raced down the hall and slammed her bedroom door shut behind her. The panicked whispers that followed let me know she had a visitor. At first, I thought maybe Apollo. But she was being too secretive. Josie knew I a
pproved of the god, even if dating him did break protocol. And it was obviously not Horus. That jerk was tied up in a council conference.

A minute later, Josie stepped back into the kitchen and fired up her high-tech coffeemaker. Her cheeks burned with little red splotches of guilt as she hummed and circled the counter with a dish towel to wipe down the table.

“Kevin stay the night?” I asked.

Josie gave a little gasp of horror, and threw her hand to her chest, trying to look offended.

“I don’t care. You know that,” I sighed and dangled an arm off the back of my chair. “I just wish Grim would have assigned him to you instead of me.”

Josie dropped her theatrics and gave me half a smile before pulling out a chair. “Yeah, but mentors and appre
ntices aren’t allowed to have anything more than a professional relationship.”

“Hey, don’t think just because you’re sleeping with him you won’t be helping me train him.”

“I know,” Josie laughed and glanced down the hall again. “I think Kevin’s more worried about it than I am.” She giggled and lowered her voice to a girly whisper. “He’s hiding in my shower right now, so why don’t you go check on your hounds for a few minutes so I can send him home.”

“Sure.”

Jenni stepped up next to her and set a bundle of overflowing folders and notebooks on the table, giving them a worried but proud pat, like she was leaving a beloved poodle in the hands of an inept dog-sitter.

“Well, that’s everything you should need next seme
ster. Use it well, and keep it in order,” she demanded, giving me a stern eye.

“Will do.” I picked up the pile and cradled it in my arms. Jenni smiled at Josie and gave me one of her familiar nods as I left the apartment.

I almost tripped over Saul when I stepped through my front door. He was sprawled out on the kitchen floor, huffing bored sighs into the food dish nestled between his paws.

“Hey there, pilgrim.” I reached down and ruffled his ears. His tail thumped once and Coreen let out a we
lcoming yap as I set Jenni’s notes on the kitchen table.

My old couch was pressed up against the wall next to my bed. When Coreen tried to bite Kevin while we were moving it, I knew it had to stay. Saul had even compromised and let me have the bed to myself, since the couch was closer now.

I filled their food dishes and checked the clock to see if I had given Josie enough time, before pulling on a jacket and stuffing a few coins in my pocket. I had quite the stash accumulating in a hat box. The thought of depositing Horus’s so-called thank you money made me nauseous. But that wasn’t going to stop me from spending it for all the grief he was causing me.

“Tell me that’s not what you’re wearing to sign up for classes,” Josie groaned when I stepped back into her apartment. She gave my holy jeans a pained look.

“Sign up for classes?” I slouched down at the table and grabbed the mug of coffee she had set out for me.

“Don’t play stupid. We just talked about this yesterday.” She took a sip from her mug and finished buttoning up her silver blouse. I could still make out the fresh iron creases in her black pencil skirt. Josie dressed to impress for anything that had anything to do with work. If Grim ever held a generation reunion at a barn, you could count on Josie showing up in high heels and pearls.

“Do we have to sign up today?” I whined. “I just wanted to go shopping.”

“We can shop afterwards. And yes, we have to sign up today. The deadline for next semester is Saturday, when we’ll be vacationing in Hell. So this is our last chance.” She raised her eyebrows, waiting for my next excuse.

“When did Gabriel tell you about the Hell vacation?”

“Yesterday, after you left Meng’s,” she confessed, giving me a sneaky grin.

“You’re not going to have a problem with Amy, are you?”

“Gabriel’s a big boy. He can date whoever he wants.” She pressed her lips together and sighed. “I just worry about him sometimes.”

“Yeah, me too.” I yawned and gazed out the wi
ndow. The fog was creeping back in, but it was lighter and more transparent than the last batch. Zimble was using Halloween to perfect his rusty skills. An old god, trying to relearn all the tricks he’d forgot.

“What class am I going to end up taking with you?” I looked back at Josie, too exhausted to argue.

“Well.” She smiled and folded her hands. “There’s this really great wandering souls course I’ve been wanting to check out. The instructor this semester is Grace Adaline, the only active first generation reaper left. Wouldn’t it be amazing to learn from a colleague of Saul’s?”

“Amazing isn’t the word I would use. You are tal
king about school, aren’t you? Where you sit in a hard chair for hours upon hours while some know-it-all tries to cram your head with an overload of information, half of which you’ll never even use on the job?”

“And half of which may save your snotty little ass someday.” She sighed and swallowed down the rest of her co
ffee before glancing at her watch. “The academy should be open by now. Let’s get going.”

The Reaper Academy loomed over Council Street on the far side of town, just down from Grim’s office. It glared down at me from a gentle hill that marked the end of civilization and the beginning of a small crest of wilderness that ran along Limbo’s western coast. Six stories of purely prison-styled architecture did not deserve a backdrop of cheerful evergreens. If only the irony stopped there.

White tents spotted the front lawn, hung with bubble-lettered signs displa
ying course names and their instructors. Josie grabbed my hand and dragged me through the maze of tables, politely greeting fellow reapers along the way.

We stopped in front of a tent advertising the wande
ring souls course. Grace Adaline reached out to shake my hand as Josie scribbled our names down on the growing list of students.

“Welcome back to the academy,” Grace beamed. “An apprentice of Saul’s is always a pleasure in class. And congratulations on your recent success with Grim’s new sp
ecialty unit.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I sighed. Sp
ecialty unit, ha. More like, last minute or we all die unit.

Josie picked up a class syllabus, then snatched a se
cond one and thrust it at me. “Isn’t this exciting?”

“I can’t even find the words.” I stared down at the list of essays we had to write for the semester. The fund
amentals of traumatized soul transportation was at the top of the list. I glowered at Josie. “Did you really just sign me up for this?” I smacked the page with the back of my hand and raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, Lana. It’ll be fun, and I can proofread your work for you,” she pleaded.

“I was thinking more along the lines of copying your work.”

“Lana,” Josie hissed and glanced over her shoulder. “Are you trying to get us kicked out before the class even begins?”

“It had crossed my mind.” I smiled at her aggravated scowl and stuffed the syllabus in my jacket pocket. “Can we go shopping now?”

“Sure.”

“I thought I might see you here.” Craig Hogan approached our tent and grinned with one of his perfect I’m-a-stud smiles. I folded my arms and glared at Josie as he plucked up a pen and printed his name below mine. Terrific.

“Sorry, Craig, but we have some shopping to do.” Josie’s hand shot out and grabbed my clenched fist, pulling me back towards the street before I had a chance to scratch my name off the tainted list.

“Yeah, let’s take a class together. It’ll be fun,” I squeaked mockingly at her, throwing my free hand up for dramatic measure. Tonight was calling for a long, therapeutic session with John Wayne.