Death Becomes Me (Call Me Grim Book 2) (12 page)

“Be careful.” I whisper in a breath between kisses.

“I will,” he replies, then he pulls away. “If anything goes wrong, you run. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Promise me, Libbi.” He grips my shoulders. “Don’t be stupid. Just run.”

“I promise. I’ll run.” I don’t know if that’s the truth or a lie. I can’t imagine leaving him.

“All right, break it up, lovebirds.” Ruth sidles up next to us, hands on her hips. “This is a busy place. You better get going before one of the other Reapers shows up with a soul and we have an even bigger problem on our hands.”

I pull my eyes from Aaron’s and glance around the circle of white rocks. A chill passes through me. Nope. Definitely don’t want to get caught here. Not when we’re so close.

“All right. Let’s go.”

13

The air inside the yard stirs, despite being surrounded by tall buildings on all sides. It lifts the corners of Aaron’s hair as he steps over the threshold of Ruth’s territory and into the circle surrounding the Gateway.

No one makes a sound. I don’t even hear my heart pounding in my ears, though it feels like it might explode out of my chest. It’s so quiet I can almost hear the grass as it’s crushed under Aaron’s tennis shoes. He moves along the inside perimeter of the circle, as far from the Gateway as he can get without entering another Reaper’s territory, and stops in between the two stones Ruth pointed out to us: the entrance to Millie’s territory.

“Here goes nothing,” he says to the emptiness in front of him. Even though he’s facing away from us, in the still silence I hear him as clearly as if he’d spoken in my ear. His shoulders lift with a deep breath, and then he steps between the two stones.

“It might take a few minutes for her to get here,” Ruth calls across the circle to him. “But just wait. She’ll come.”

Five minutes pass, then ten. Another five minutes come and go and my muscles tighten with impatience.

“Where the heck is she?” I break the silence in the courtyard. I can’t take any more of this waiting.

“Don’t worry. Millie will come. She won’t be able to resist the pull of his soul any more than I could.”

Something squeaks and the sound reverberates off the walls of the buildings around us. The echo bounces back and forth like one of those super balls Max always bugs Mom to buy for him at the grocery store. I pull my eyes from Aaron’s back to find the source of the squeak.

We’re not alone.

On the opposite end of the yard, right in front of Aaron, is an old swing set. One of the empty swings stirs and suddenly the air solidifies and a teenaged girl appears, as if someone flipped a switch on the back of her head from invisible to visible. The toes of her tennis shoes drag in the dirt as she twists the chains of the swing she’s sitting on. Even without her super-nova-bright soul, I know she’s a Reaper. A fringe of corn silk bangs obscure one eye but the other is locked squarely on us. Silver light glints off the ring on her right thumb.

“Millie.” Ruth smiles and lifts a hand in greeting.

“Ruth.” The girl hesitates a moment before she stands and her hands drop to her sides. Actually, I should say ‘arms.’ She only has one hand. Her left arm stops just above the wrist. The chains of the swing rattle and sway behind her. “I’ve been sitting here for the last five minutes and I still don’t understand what’s going on here.”

Ruth takes a few steps closer to the outer edge of her side of the circle, but she doesn’t cross over. “I, I mean,
we
have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?” Millie swipes her silky hair out of her eyes with her intact hand. “You know me. Always willing to help an old friend.” I can’t tell if she’s being sarcastic or not. She scowls at me and Aaron, then looks back to Ruth. “What do you want?”

“Umm … This might be hard for me to explain.” Ruth twists the thumb of her left hand like she’s wringing out a washcloth. “But hear me out. Okay?”

“Wait a minute.” Millie rushes Aaron. He jumps back, out of her territory and into the common ground inside the circle. “His soul … it’s almost like ….” Her eyes narrow as she peers at him. “He should be dead. But he’s not.” Her gaze darts across the circle to me. “And she’s as bright as a Reaper. Where’s her Scythe? And why is she in your territory?” Millie’s feet scratch lines in the dirt as she staggers back. “Oh, Ruthie. Don’t tell me these are the criminals Abaddon warned us about.”

Ruth’s only answer is to scratch the back of her head and sigh.

“They are.” Millie leans back and her eyes grow to the size of dinner plates. “Well, if you found them, you have to bring them to Abaddon. You don’t need me for that.”

“That’s not quite what I had planned.” Ruth steps in front of me. “Listen, Millie, they’re not what he said they are. They’re not criminals.” Less than an hour ago, Ruth had the blade of her Scythe pressed to my throat, ready to do what Millie just suggested, and now she’s defending me. Funny how quickly things change.

“Is that so?” Millie says slowly.

“I saw for myself. I traveled with Libbi to their territory.” Ruth hooks her thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to me. “They didn’t abandon their post and condemn the souls in their territory to tearing themselves to pieces. They found someone to take their place.” Ruth steps aside and she grabs my wrist, pulling me forward. “Libbi was his apprentice.” She gestures to Aaron. “And now they’re a couple. The only reason they broke the rules and left their territory is because they want to stay together, Millie.”

That’s not the only reason we left Carroll Falls but I don’t correct her. In the church, she told me to keep my mouth shut if we met anyone, and I intend to do exactly that.

“Please, help them,” Ruth continues. “They did nothing wrong. I thought you’d understand.”

Something shifts in Millie’s eyes and her skeptical expression softens, but the scowl gets impossibly deeper. “You know I can’t do that, Ruth. I’m already chin-deep in more crap than I can handle over here.”

“So am I.” Ruth shouts. She takes a breath and I can almost hear her counting to ten in her head. “Look, I can’t turn them in. And I can’t keep them here.” Ruth jabs a finger at the puckered keloid running the length of her face. “There are plenty more of these that you can’t see. Just take them to Nicholas. That’s all you have to do. Then they’ll be out of your hair and mine. Okay?”

“But what if he finds out?” Millie’s voice lowers to a whisper. “He said he’d seal my lips if I step out of line again.”

“No one knows they’re here except you and me. If he figures it out, I promise not to rat on you. I’ll take all the blame.” She shifts her weight and slips her hands into her pockets. “And I’ll forgive you for what happened to Sam.”

“Really?” She bites her bottom lip.

“Yes,” Ruth says, arms crossed and eyes fixed on Millie.

Millie’s slim fingers comb nervously through her hair. Suddenly she drops her hand and her blue eyes snap to me and then to Aaron.

“So, you want my help?” Millie says finally.

I shrug. Aaron nods. Ruth places her hand in the small of my back and shoves me forward.

“All right.” She pivots on her heel and sweeps her arm up, inviting us to come with her. “Let’s go, then.”

Aaron looks to me, tilts his head slightly, and lifts a shoulder. With that miniscule gesture he asks me what I think. I shrug and glance at Ruth.

“Come on. I don’t have all day.” Millie huffs.

“Go,” Ruth says, nudging my lower back again.

I stumble forward two steps and stop. I’m still not totally sold on whether I can trust Ruth yet, much less this Millie person.

“It’s okay. Millie’s safe.” Ruth smiles and for the first time since I met her, there’s genuine warmth in her chocolate-brown eyes. “Really, Libbi, you have to leave. Being so close to the Gateway is dangerous for all of us. Anyone could show up.” She pushes me again. “Go.”

“Okay, okay. Jeez, I’m going.”

I run the perimeter of the circle to avoid the Gateway, like Aaron did, and meet him in front of the two white stones that mark the opening of Millie’s territory. Aaron’s hand slips around mine, like he couldn’t wait to be close enough to touch me again. My heart does a cartwheel inside my chest when I realize I feel the same way.

“You’re sure this is a good idea?” I say just loud enough he can hear me.

“Nope. But it’s our best shot,” he whispers back. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

              I swallow down the planet-sized lump in my throat and take a deep breath. Aaron gives my hand one final squeeze, and we step between the two stones and into Millie’s territory.

Millie’s icy fingers clamp around my wrist. She yanks me forward and my toes catch in the grass. If not for Aaron’s firm grasp on my other hand, I’d be face down in the dirt right now.

“Are you okay?” Aaron asks as we barrel through a wrought iron gate and onto the busy sidewalk of another Chicago street.

“I’m fine,” I say just before Millie interrupts.

“Hurry up.” Millie pulls harder and I somehow manage not to trip again. “The only reason I’m doing this is because I owe Ruth. But, so help me, if you get me caught, I will do my very best to make sure you both regret it. So, let’s move.”

I pick up my pace and Aaron miraculously keeps up, though he’s breathing hard and fast again. Something tells me Millie won’t be as understanding as Ruth about Aaron’s non-reaper limitations. I peek back at him. He wipes the sweat from his pasty brow, and gives me an I-got-this smile, and somehow I know it’s going to be okay. It has to be. Haven’t we been through enough?

“Where are you taking us?” I ask.

“To Nicholas,” Millie answers.

“Who’s Nicholas?”

“Another Reaper.”

“Is he the one we’re looking for? The guy who can help us? The guy who escaped?”

“Yes, Nicholas can help you. But no, he’s not that guy. Nicholas is just another Reaper whose territory backs up against mine.” Her head droops and her pace slows, but it’s such a small change I doubt Aaron notices. I don’t think she’s going to say anything more, until she straightens and something I really don’t want to hear slips from her mouth. “The guy who escaped was named Sam. He’s dead.”

“Oh.” I try to hold back the disappointment and sudden panic clawing with fiery fingers up my throat. “What happened to him?”

“Ask Nicholas. I don’t have time to answer your questions.” She gives me a chilly glare. “I need you out of my territory, like, yesterday.” And just like that, she shuts me out. I try to pry more information out of her, but it’s no use. I might as well be talking to a rock with the ability to roll its eyes, give icy stares and heavy sighs.

Millie wasn’t kidding when she said she wanted us out of her territory as soon as possible. She’s considerate enough of Aaron not to fly, but that doesn’t stop her from moving so fast through the city streets and alleyways I’m afraid the bottoms of my tennis shoes might catch fire.

By the time we reach the outside border of her territory, Aaron looks half dead. He doubles over, rests his hands on his knees, and huffs and puffs like the Big Bad Wolf practicing to take down the last little pig’s brick house.

“This is it,” she says, seemingly unperturbed by Aaron’s respiratory distress. Why would she worry about him? It’s not like he can die. I have to kill him.

“End of the line.” She gestures with her handless arm to the border of her territory, but I don’t need her to point it out. There’s no Gateway here, but I can still feel the electricity of the place. “Just step over the border. Aaron’s soul will draw Nicholas here. Tell him who you are and what’s going on. He’ll help you.” Her silky hair floats over her shoulder as she turns away. “Good luck,” she calls as she lifts her arm in a wave and then takes off, back the way we came, back toward the city, and the Gateway, and Ruth.

“I guess that’s it, then.” I follow Millie’s disappearing form with my eyes.

“It would appear so.” Aaron wipes the sweat from his face with the sleeve of his t-shirt. He still looks like he’s about to pass out but I suppose that’s better than looking like he’s about to die.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah. Probably should get going, though.” He limps past me but stops three feet from the boarder of Millie’s territory and glances back at me with a question in his eyes. “I can’t feel it, Libbi. Have I crossed over?”

“No.” I close the distance between us and hook my elbow around his. “Let me help.”

He may have had to enter Millie’s territory alone, but not this time. We cross over the barrier together and again we wait, this time for a Reaper named Nicholas.

14

The barrier separating the two territories cuts across a quiet suburban street lined with small, well-kept homes. A black and white cat looks down at us (or at least at Aaron) from the porch of the closest house, as if our mere presence is an affront to her dignity.

Nicholas isn’t nearly as cautious as Millie. Only a few minutes pass before he shows up. And also unlike Millie, he doesn’t hide his presence. He strolls up the center of the road with his thumbs hooked in his belt loops like he owns the neighborhood. I guess, in a way, he does.

“I should have known you’d show up here,” he says when he’s close enough. “Who sent you? Millie or Ruth?”

I glance at Aaron.

“Both,” he says after a moment’s hesitation.

“Ah.” Nicholas’s jovial laugh and warm eyes soothe my frayed nerves. “Those two are in cahoots again, I see.”

Too many questions crowd my mind. I grasp the first one that forms a coherent sentence and throw it out there. “How did you know we’d come here?”

“Why wouldn’t you? I assume you’ve heard of Sam. He made a bit of a name for himself in the last few years.” Nicholas shrugs. “Rumor mill, and all. And if you’re here and you’ve heard of Sam, you must have found Ruth or Millie. Only those two would know to direct you to me.”

The soft breeze flutters his black t-shirt and lifts stray strands of his hair out of his shoulder-length ponytail. He smooths them back and the Scythe on his thumb catches the sunlight.

I let my eyes trail over the rest of his body. He seems intact. No facial scars or missing limbs that I can see. Unless he’s hiding a labyrinth of scars under his shirt, like Aaron, he looks unscathed.

“You obviously know who we are.” Aaron steps forward. “But we have no idea who you are. Millie and Ruth said you could help us, but that’s about all they said about you.”

“Ah, forgive my lack of manners. I’m Nicholas.” He throws one arm wide and bows like an aristocrat from the seventeenth century. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Charmed, I’m sure.” I curtsy. It’s sarcastic, I know, but sometimes I can’t help it.

Nicholas tilts his head up and graces me with a beaming grin before he straightens. He may have sensed the hint of sarcasm but he seems to appreciate the sentiment nonetheless.

“Yeah, nice to meet you.” Aaron’s words are clipped as he gestures to himself and then to me. “I’m Aaron, and this is Libbi.”

“So, can you help us?” I say as Aaron finishes our introductions.

“Maybe.” Nicholas touches the knuckle of his first finger to his chin and frowns. “What is it you require?”

“Answers,” Aaron says. “Just answer a few of our questions and we’ll leave.”

“Hmm …” The furrow between Nicholas’s eyes deepens. “What are the questions?”

“First,” I say, pulling his hazel eyes back to me. “Do you know how that Reaper, Sam, kept from getting caught for all of those years?”

“Actually, I do.” A small smile replaces Nicholas’s scowl. “Didn’t Ruth and Millie tell you?”

“No.” I glance to the porch where that cat still sits gawking at us. “They were more focused on getting us the hell out of their territories.”

“Ah. Understandable.” Nicholas turns, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Neither of them is in the position to accept guests right now, I’m afraid. You’re lucky they didn’t turn you over to Abaddon straight away.”

“Ruth almost did.” Aaron’s arm curls around my lower back. He places his hand on my hip and pulls me closer. “But she had a change of heart.”

“Did she, now?” Nicholas lifts his eyebrows and crosses his arms over his chest. “What caused that?”

Aaron gives a slight shrug. “I guess she decided we’re not as awful as she thought we were.”

Nicholas tilts his head, encouraging Aaron to go on. And he does. He gives Nicholas an abbreviated rundown of our situation and how we ended up in his territory. After Aaron finishes, Nicholas uncrosses his arms and breathes in deep. He lets the air back out slowly before saying, “And now you want my help?”

“We just want answers, Nicholas,” I say, pleading with my eyes.

“Yes, yes. Answers.” Nicholas turns away. “You want to know how Sam escaped Abaddon for so long.” He strolls toward the house with the cat on the porch, crouches down and makes a clicking noise with his tongue. The plump feline stands, stretches her forelegs, then her back legs, and prances down the steps toward him. “Good kitty,” he says as he combs his fingers through her coat. She arches her back in pleasure.

“Animals can see Reapers?” I whisper out of the corner of my mouth to Aaron.

“Didn’t I mention that?”

“No.”

“If that’s all you need ….” Nicholas speaks just above a whisper as he scratches behind the cat’s ear. “Here’s your answer: Ruth, Millie, and I hid Sam. We passed him back and forth between our territories for years. Whenever Abaddon was close, we shuffled him around. That’s the big secret, my friends.  Teamwork.” He looks up and I think I see tears glimmer in the corners of his eyes. “Unfortunately, our team failed.”

“How?” My voice matches his hushed tone. “What happened?”

“Love.” He gives the cat one last scratch on the top of her head and stands. “Love is what happened.”

“Love?” Aaron says what I was thinking. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a long story.” Nicholas claps his hands together a few times and tufts of fur drift to the ground. “Let’s go somewhere a little more comfortable. Shall we?”

Aaron meets my eyes and arches his eyebrows, silently asking me what I think.

I lift my shoulders in a shrug. What else are we going to do?

Nicholas turns and starts back the way he came. Aaron and I follow.