Before I Wake
Page 76
I exhaled, my thoughts racing. Fine. We tell everyoneincluding Levi and Madelinewhat Thane told us, but we make it sound like we pounded the information out of him, and we dont mention my promise to get his soul back from Avari. I dont think we can keep Sabine from finding out, for obvious reasons
I can keep a secret! Nash shouted from the living room.
We all know how good you are at keeping secrets, Tod said, and I elbowed him. What, he can take shots at me, but I cant return fire?
Exactly, I said.
Why?
Because you won the war, and hes still nursing his wounds, my father said softly, glancing pointedly at Tods hand, which was wrapped around my own.
There was no war, Tod insisted, and I knew from the intimate resonance of his voice that Nash wouldnt have been able to hear it even if hed been standing right next to us. We didnt fight over Kaylee. She made a choice. And no one feels worse about how that happened than she and I do.
Oh, I dont know about that my father whispered, glancing down the hall toward the living room to drive home his point.
You know, just because I cant hear you doesnt mean I dont know youre talking about me, Nash snapped.
I swallowed another upsurge of guilt. Then I pulled us back on track. So, youre not going to tell Madeline about our deal with Thane? I said, where everyone could hear me.
My dad only hesitated a moment, then shook his head. No, but I reserve the right to change my mind, at my own discretion.
I nodded. That was the best we were going to get.
Sabines bringing Sophie over, Nash said when we rejoined him in the living room. And Emmas bringing Luca straight from school. Theyd cut the school day short because of Brants deatha hauntingly surreal dj vu for a student body that had already lost several members since the start of the school yearbut Lucad had to stay to talk to the police and school officials. My moms dropping by before her shift starts at eleven.
I expect to hear from Madeline any minute, and Im about to text Alec, I said.
My father sighed, resigned, already heading for the home phone. Another full house. Ill order a giant sub.
* * *
Okay, heres what we know, I said, leaning against the half wall separating the kitchen from the living room, where six of my closest friendsplus Sophiewatched me, listening, and for just a second, the surrealism threatened to overwhelm me. What qualified me for the position Id somehow assumed? Nash, Sabine, and Tod were all better fighters. My father had way more lifeexperience. So why were they all looking to me? What if their trust was misplaced?
What if I got us all killed?
I glanced at Tod, suddenly unsure of myself, and he smiled and nodded for me to continue. There was no doubt in his eyes. None at all. He had more confidence in me than Id ever had in myself.
Um, Avari will be back, and he may not be alone. We dont know how many other hellions currently have the ability to cross over, but we know that when they show up, theyll look likewell, like the person whose soul theyre wearing. And since you cant fight an enemy you cant see, Im thinking the best way to start is by familiarizing ourselves with what the enemy might look like.
What does that even mean? Sophie asked. Her face was still swollen and her eyes red from crying.
The hellion you saw this afternoon is named Avari. Avari looked like Meredith Cole because he was wearing her soul, kind of like a costume. So what were going to do is make a list of soulspotential costumesAvari and his demon buddies could be wearing.
Behind me, cellophane crackled in the kitchen as my dad unwrapped a massive sub sandwich and set a stack of paper plates on the island. Hed set several six-packs of soda into a chest of ice. But Id caught him eyeing the whiskey hed confiscated from Nash.
Hed had a rough month, too.
And how do we do that? Em asked. Wander through the cemetery playing knock-knock, whos there on the headstones?
She was upset. Maybe as upset as Sophie was. Shed known Brant as long as I had, and she knew firsthand what kind of damage a single hellion could do, even without crossing into the human plane. The thought of several of them turned loose in our world was almost too much for her to think about.
I could totally sympathize. Her life would have been so much safer if shed never met me.
I thought wed start with the obituaries instead, I said at last. That seems less disrespectful of the dead. Levi sent over this list . I glanced at Tod, and he held up a stack of printed pages Madeline had brought when shed come to pick up the dagger. It contains everyone in the local area who died on schedule in the past month. Were going to compare this list with the local obituaries covering the same time period. What were looking for are people who died but are not on Levis list.
Why? Sophie asked, but Sabine beat me to the answer.
Because those are the people who werent supposed to die. And if they werent supposed to die, their souls werent turned into the proper authority by your friendly neighborhood reaper. Which means their souls are MIA. You see where Im going with this?
I can keep a secret! Nash shouted from the living room.
We all know how good you are at keeping secrets, Tod said, and I elbowed him. What, he can take shots at me, but I cant return fire?
Exactly, I said.
Why?
Because you won the war, and hes still nursing his wounds, my father said softly, glancing pointedly at Tods hand, which was wrapped around my own.
There was no war, Tod insisted, and I knew from the intimate resonance of his voice that Nash wouldnt have been able to hear it even if hed been standing right next to us. We didnt fight over Kaylee. She made a choice. And no one feels worse about how that happened than she and I do.
Oh, I dont know about that my father whispered, glancing down the hall toward the living room to drive home his point.
You know, just because I cant hear you doesnt mean I dont know youre talking about me, Nash snapped.
I swallowed another upsurge of guilt. Then I pulled us back on track. So, youre not going to tell Madeline about our deal with Thane? I said, where everyone could hear me.
My dad only hesitated a moment, then shook his head. No, but I reserve the right to change my mind, at my own discretion.
I nodded. That was the best we were going to get.
Sabines bringing Sophie over, Nash said when we rejoined him in the living room. And Emmas bringing Luca straight from school. Theyd cut the school day short because of Brants deatha hauntingly surreal dj vu for a student body that had already lost several members since the start of the school yearbut Lucad had to stay to talk to the police and school officials. My moms dropping by before her shift starts at eleven.
I expect to hear from Madeline any minute, and Im about to text Alec, I said.
My father sighed, resigned, already heading for the home phone. Another full house. Ill order a giant sub.
* * *
Okay, heres what we know, I said, leaning against the half wall separating the kitchen from the living room, where six of my closest friendsplus Sophiewatched me, listening, and for just a second, the surrealism threatened to overwhelm me. What qualified me for the position Id somehow assumed? Nash, Sabine, and Tod were all better fighters. My father had way more lifeexperience. So why were they all looking to me? What if their trust was misplaced?
What if I got us all killed?
I glanced at Tod, suddenly unsure of myself, and he smiled and nodded for me to continue. There was no doubt in his eyes. None at all. He had more confidence in me than Id ever had in myself.
Um, Avari will be back, and he may not be alone. We dont know how many other hellions currently have the ability to cross over, but we know that when they show up, theyll look likewell, like the person whose soul theyre wearing. And since you cant fight an enemy you cant see, Im thinking the best way to start is by familiarizing ourselves with what the enemy might look like.
What does that even mean? Sophie asked. Her face was still swollen and her eyes red from crying.
The hellion you saw this afternoon is named Avari. Avari looked like Meredith Cole because he was wearing her soul, kind of like a costume. So what were going to do is make a list of soulspotential costumesAvari and his demon buddies could be wearing.
Behind me, cellophane crackled in the kitchen as my dad unwrapped a massive sub sandwich and set a stack of paper plates on the island. Hed set several six-packs of soda into a chest of ice. But Id caught him eyeing the whiskey hed confiscated from Nash.
Hed had a rough month, too.
And how do we do that? Em asked. Wander through the cemetery playing knock-knock, whos there on the headstones?
She was upset. Maybe as upset as Sophie was. Shed known Brant as long as I had, and she knew firsthand what kind of damage a single hellion could do, even without crossing into the human plane. The thought of several of them turned loose in our world was almost too much for her to think about.
I could totally sympathize. Her life would have been so much safer if shed never met me.
I thought wed start with the obituaries instead, I said at last. That seems less disrespectful of the dead. Levi sent over this list . I glanced at Tod, and he held up a stack of printed pages Madeline had brought when shed come to pick up the dagger. It contains everyone in the local area who died on schedule in the past month. Were going to compare this list with the local obituaries covering the same time period. What were looking for are people who died but are not on Levis list.
Why? Sophie asked, but Sabine beat me to the answer.
Because those are the people who werent supposed to die. And if they werent supposed to die, their souls werent turned into the proper authority by your friendly neighborhood reaper. Which means their souls are MIA. You see where Im going with this?
