Grim Crush (Grimly Ever After) (16 page)

Chapter 23

Over the next week, Shilah was busy working on an important senior project for school and getting ready for the prom, which was the following weekend. I mostly had to come see him at night, though I did follow him sometimes when he went to public places, like to the mall to rent a tuxedo. I even got to ‘hang out’ with him and the cousin he was taking to the prom, Clarissa. She was a pretty Native American girl with short black hair. Thank goodness she was just related to my boyfriend.

I held Shilah’s hand while he walked around the mall with Clarissa. I tried not to swing his arm much so he wouldn’t look crazy to the humans walking past, but sometimes I couldn’t help teasing him. For example, when I caught him looking at a girl wearing tight shorts and heels, I poked him in his side. He cringed.

“Is something wrong, Shilah?” Clarissa asked, sitting across from him in the food court, where they’d just eaten lunch.

“No, I just got a cramp,” Shilah lied, while I snickered. He bumped my leg with his knee under the table.

“Oh. Well, I’m going to run to the bathroom real quick. Be right back.” Clarissa got up with her tray of trash from the hotdogs she’d eaten, throwing it away as she headed toward the restrooms.

Shilah made sure she was out of sight before narrowing his eyes at me. “I’m not letting you come with me to public places anymore if you keep making me look stupid.”

I grinned. “Sorry, I can’t help it. This is too fun. And if you don’t want me bothering you, maybe you shouldn’t ogle at other girls.”

He squirmed. “I was looking at that girl’s hair. I hardly ever see people with pink hair.”

“Yeah, right.” I rolled my eyes.

He clasped my hand, leaning toward me. “Well, I can’t really look at
you
much because you’re not here in the eyes of everyone else.”

I glanced around. Nobody was in the near proximity or about to walk past us. “No one’s looking now.” I leaned forward and began kissing him. I wished he could put his arms around me too, but he had to be careful in case someone looked this way.

It must’ve been hard for him that I wasn’t human, but he never complained. Sometimes I
wanted
him to want a human girlfriend because I felt like I was depriving him of normalcy. But I loved him too much to stay away. And I’d already tried that once.

After a minute, I pulled away from Shilah to see if Clarissa was coming back yet, and I spotted someone else behind him. She disappeared as soon as I caught her looking.

“Oh no,” I whispered.

Shilah twisted around to see where I was staring. “What?”

“I just saw one of my superiors watching us. It was Aquil.”

He faced me again. “The one you hate?”

“Yeah.” I sighed.

“I thought you said you got your superiors off your back?”

“I thought I did. But I knew one of them might still check up on me. Especially
her
.”

“Should you be worried?”

“Not really. The only thing she can do is keep me from getting my teleportation back.”
Or so I hope
. I shrugged. “I guess I’m making huge sacrifices for you now.”

Shilah squeezed my hand, looking sorrowful. “I’m sorry, Xia. Maybe…if you stayed away from me for a while…”

I shook my head. “No way. It would hurt too much. I’d have to stay away for weeks.” I scooted my chair closer to his and put my arms around his waist, lying my head on his shoulder. I could be without my teleportation freedom if it meant I got to be here, with him. It would just take some getting used to, and I’d miss being able to teleport whenever I wanted.

When Clarissa came back to the table, I pulled away from Shilah and sat silently while he chatted with his cousin. He continued holding my hand under the table, which comforted me.

But I kept glancing over at the spot where Aquil had been standing. I had a bad feeling that I couldn’t shake. That witch of a reaper was always making me miserable, so who knew what she had up her sleeves this time.

* * *

One moment life could be fine and dandy, and the next, it could be turned completely upside down.

Now, since I don’t
have
a life, I have this problem even worse than the living.

I just
knew
something was wrong the moment Ziri appeared that Wednesday evening. Shilah and I were by the stream near Chad’s Cliff, and I had been demonstrating how every time water touched me, it dried up in less than half a second.

Ziri showed up a foot to my right, and her face was scrunched up like she was sick to her stomach–except reapers couldn’t get sick.

Shilah jumped at her appearance, but I wasn’t surprised because Ziri had done this twice before in the last week, claiming she was bored.

“Hi, Ziri,” I greeted from where I sat with my feet in the stream, having yet seen the expression on her face. “You want to join us? The water feels great in this hot weather.”

“Xia…I need you to come with me.” The grim-in-training’s voice shook when she spoke.

I looked up at her, and immediately grew concerned. “What is it? Did you do something?”

Ziri shook her head. “Jayza needs to talk to you.”

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “Then why isn’t she here?”

“She can’t tell you here.” She threw a glance Shilah’s way. “She wants you to meet her on the building rooftop where we always hang out.”

Well, this didn’t make sense. “I can’t teleport, you know. It’s going to take me a while to get there.”

“I have permission from Nuwan to teleport you there. Come on.” Ziri held out her hand.

Now I was
really
worried. What was so urgent that Ziri had sought permission from Nuwan? And why not one of our actual superiors?

I removed my feet from the cool water and stood, making flats appear on my already-dried feet. I looked at Shilah. “I should go; this must be important. I’ll be back later.”

“Okay,” Shilah replied, looking from me to Ziri with a questioning gaze.

As Ziri took my arm and led me a little ways away from Shilah, she whispered, “You might not want to come back later after hearing this.”

I turned to give her an inquiring look, but before I could ask anything, we had suddenly appeared on the building rooftop in the city. Jayza stood ahead with her back to us, gazing over the parapet, her brown hair flapping in the breeze.

“Jayza? What is this about?” I asked.

When Jayza turned to me, her eyes were red, and her face was tear-streaked. This alarmed me because I’d never seen my best friend cry; she was an expert at keeping her emotions in check.

Panic seized my heart. “Jayza, what’s wrong?” I strode up to her, placing my hands on her arms.

Fresh tears brimming her eyes, she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Xia.”

“About what?”

Ziri came and placed a hand on Jayza’s shoulder. “Do you want me to tell her?”

Jayza shook her head. “No, I should be the one to say it.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

“You guys are freaking me out,” I said, my panic level through the roof. “And as a reaper, I don’t freak out easily.”

“Xia…” Jayza’s voice cracked, and she began again. “I just received an assignment for a soul I have to reap in three days…”

“O-kay…we’re alerted about new reaps a few days early sometimes.”

“But it’s…someone you know…”

I stopped breathing, and Jayza continued.

“The soul I have to reap…is Shilah’s.”

Chapter 24

My heart literally seemed to stop beating for a few seconds. I managed to gasp out the words, “
My
Shilah?” even though I knew it was extremely unlikely there was another person in the area by that name.

Jayza nodded anyway, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“
No
.” I took in several short, jerky breaths, my chest constricting. She might as well have said Shilah was already dead. When a reaper is assigned to collect someone’s soul, it
has
to happen. It means Death, the Angel of Death, has claimed that person.

I staggered backwards and clutched my midsection, doubling over as tears blurring my vision.
This can’t be happening. It cannot be happening…

Ziri was by my side at once, grasping my arm to support me because I was sure my knees were about to give out. “Xia…I don’t know what to say…”

“
Why
?” I demanded, my voice husky. It was the first question that came to mind, even though it couldn’t be answered. “He’s so…
young
.”

Jayza shrugged. “I don’t know.” She sniffled.

I swallowed and blinked away the tears, standing up straight to face my friend. “How. How will it happen? Where will it happen?”

“It must be happening in my area on the other side of Tucson. On Saturday night. That’s all I know so far. I don’t even know what’s going to happen to him. You know how info doesn’t become clearer till…the time of death starts approaching.”

“Oh my gosh.” I slapped a hand over my mouth.
Time of death
. Shilah’s death was imminent. The guy I loved was going to die.

Or so the Angel of Death thinks. But if I had anything to do about it, I was going to overcome him. I’d do everything in my power to stop Death. If it was possible, if anyone could, it would be a grim reaper.

It surprised me how confident my thoughts were. I was willing to break Rule One, the ultimate rule that said don’t interfere with someone’s death. I was willing to risk the balance of life and death, and throwing the world into chaos. No wonder I’d been warned not to get emotionally involved by my superiors…

“Wait a minute,” I said, as I suddenly remembered something. “I think I know who’s behind this.”

Jayza’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “What are you talking–”

“Go to The In-Between. Find Aquil. Tell her to Summon me.” My voice had a low, hard edge to it.

“I’ll do it,” Ziri answered swiftly, like she was afraid I’d rip her head off if she didn’t. She teleported.

Jayza studied me. “Xia, if it was up to me, I wouldn’t…I don’t want to…I have no choice…I care about him too…”

I walked past her and stopped at the parapet, gazing down at the streets below. “Shilah’s not going to die, Jayza.”

“But…you can’t–”

A Summons entered my mind. I immediately answered the call, teleporting to our base. Jayza came with me.

I ended up in front of Aquil. She stood beside the table formation where the reapers of my section usually met, her ghostly white hair framing her thin face.

“Xia,” Aquil acknowledged. “I have much to do, so I can’t talk long–”

“I saw you watching me the other day,” I growled with so much ire that Aquil’s mouth snapped shut as if I had commanded her to do so. “And now the human I…love…is supposed to die. Did you have anything to do with this?”

Ziri and Jayza looked stunned that I was accusing Aquil. Their heads snapped in the direction of our superior.

Aquil’s lips formed a hard line before she replied, “You and I both know there’s only one being who can regulate death.”

“You did
something
,” I spat. “I know it.”

“I may have reported your rule violations to the Angel of Death. Just like me, he is concerned your actions may have dire consequences. He said he was taking care of it.”

I shook my head, whispering, “What have you
done
?”

“I didn’t
do
anything. Death knows what’s going on with his reapers at all times, so I didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know. He was setting this in motion before I even told him.”

My teeth clamped together. Unfortunately, I believed her. The only thing she may have done was cause Death to react sooner. I had no reason to blame her, yet I felt the need to blame
someone
. “I want to talk to him.”

Aquil’s eyes bulged. “To…?”

“You know who. Death.”

She shook her head. “You know he’s way too busy–”

“I, Grim Reaper Xia, invoke my right to speak to the Angel of Death.”

Ziri gasped. Jayza stared at me incredulously.

Aquil’s jaw clenched. She couldn’t refuse a Formal Request Right. It meant that all grim reapers had the right to speak to Death at least once in a lifetime. After this, I could never use that right again.

“I will submit your request,” Aquil said through her teeth. “But with his schedule, it may take a couple days for his response.”

“I understand,” I muttered.

Aquil teleported. I sucked in my breath and let it out in a massive whoosh, releasing my anxiety.

Jayza and Ziri started rambling at the same time:

“Xia, what are you planning to do?”

“I can’t believe you’re going to speak to Death himself!”

I folded my arms over my chest. “I’m
not
letting Shilah die.”

“But…you think Death’s going to spare Shilah just because you ask?” Ziri said. “I mean, there has to be consequences for that. Death can’t just be changed like it’s an ugly pair of shoes.”

“If Death won’t stop it, then I’ll have to do something myself.”

Jayza gasped. “That’s against Rule One! The world might be thrown into chaos! Not to mention you’d probably be sent to Hell…”

“Yeah,” Ziri agreed. “And if the world ends, Shilah’s going to die anyway…he’s just going to take everyone along with him…”

I glared. “The world’s not going to end. Granna told me Death would make sure that didn’t happen. She said if it
could
happen, it would have already. She’s older and wiser than our superiors when it comes to death, and they’re the only ones who told us the world might end.”

“Then…what about you? You’re going to be punished
so
severely.”

“At least Shilah will be alive.” My shoulders slumped. If death could be stopped, it would be next to impossible. When a person’s time of death approaches, it doesn’t matter where that person is. Death always finds a way to get to them.

“You don’t care about yourself at all?” Ziri said in astonishment.

I shook my head. “No. I’d do anything for him.”

The grim-in-training pursed her lips. “Hm. Looks like what some of those movies say is true. People in love really
would
die for that person.”

“I’m not alive, Ziri.”

“But you aren’t damned to Hell. You might be, after this.”

I shrugged. “I’ll be living in hell anyway if I have to watch Shilah’s soul enter Purgatory. I’d never be able to see him again…” I imagined existing in the world without him, and my chest constricted painfully. How empty and agonizing that would be. And to think I’d
known
he was going to die and did nothing to stop it…

Jayza frowned. “I
really
don’t like the thought of Shilah dying, but…you’re going to hate me for saying this…if breaking Rule One means there’s a chance life and death could be thrown off balance…”

I knew what she was trying to say. “I’m
not
letting him die.”

“Xia, what if
thousands
of people start dying?”

I shook my head, tears forming. “That’s not going to happen. The Angel of Death wouldn’t let that happen…”

Ziri looked just as forlorn as my best friend. “I hate to say it too…but Jayza could be right. You’d save one person to put the whole world at risk?”

There was no point trying to convince my friends. They didn’t understand. They didn’t know what love was.

“Oh, gosh,” I cried, thinking about something. The blood drained from my face. “What– how am I going to tell Shilah about this?”

“I don’t think you
should
,” Jayza suggested.

“But…there’s no way I’m going to be able to talk to him like he isn’t about to
die
soon.”

“Then maybe you should wait to see him. At least until after you talk to Death.”

My heart sank. This meant I’d have to avoid Shilah. Again. It seemed like we were doomed to never be together happily ever after.

“I need to be alone,” I murmured, staring at the shimmering ground. My friends didn’t say anything as I teleported back to earth.

* * *

I did stay away from Shilah for the next two days, and even though it was hard, I got a lot of thinking done. I also kept away from my friends as much as I could, though Ziri always asked questions and tried to find out if I was okay during our reaping assignments together. I kept my conversations with her brief so she wouldn’t try to talk me out of anything.

On Friday, the day before Shilah was scheduled to… (I didn’t like to think the word), I was Summoned by Aquil again.

“I’m sorry, Xia,” she told me, “but the Angel of Death has denied your request at this time. You still have the right to request a meeting with him in the future.”

“But I need to talk to him now!” I demanded. “Why won’t he talk to me?”

“He’s just too busy, and he can already guess what you want to ask him. He told me to tell you that fate is already predetermined.”

I looked away from her, willing myself not to cry. Death wasn’t going to spare Shilah. I had been expecting this, but it was still hard to hear.

Even worse was what I’d realized. I could blame Death all I wanted, but there was no avoiding the truth. Shilah had to die because of me. Because I had fallen in love with him.