My Soul to Take
Page 51
Im not clueless. My temper spiked, and I stretched to drop my iPod on my nightstand before I accidentally crimped the cord.
You are if you think you have any business even contemplating the exchange rate. You have no idea how dangerous messing in reaper business can be!
Ignorance is dangerous, Uncle Brendon. Dont you get it? Standing, I grabbed a clean pair of jeans and shook them out harshly, pleased when the material snapped against itself, sharply accenting my anger. Eventually, if the premonitions kept up, I would have been unable to hold back my song. Id have wound up delaying some random reapers schedule and really pissing him offnot to mention whatever other invisible creepies are out therewith no idea what I was doing. See? The longer you all keep me bumbling around in the dark, the greater the chance that Ill stumble into something I dont understand. Nash knows that. He explained the possibilities and the consequences. Hes arming me with knowledge because he understands that the best offense is knowing how to avoid trouble.
From what I heard, it sounds more like youre out looking for trouble.
Not trouble. The truth. I dropped the folded jeans on the end of the bed. Theres been precious little of that around here, and even now that I know what I am, you and Aunt Val are still keeping secrets.
He exhaled heavily and sat on the edge of my dresser, scruffing one hand through unkempt hair. Were not keeping secrets from you. Were giving your dad a chance to act like a real father.
Ha! I stomped around the bed to put it between us, then snatched a long-sleeved tee from the pile. Hes had sixteen years. What makes you think hell start now?
Give him a chance, Kaylee. He might surprise you.
Not likely. I folded the shirt in several short, sharp motions, then tossed it on top of the jeans, where one arm flopped free to dangle over the side. If Nash knew what my dad had to say, hed tell me.
Uncle Brendon leaned forward and flipped the sleeve back on top of my shirt. Nash should never have taken you to see a reaper, Kaylee. Bean sidhes have no natural defenses against most of the other things out there. Thats why we live here, with the humans. The key to longevity lies in staying out of sight. In only meeting a reaper once in your lifeat the very end.
Thats ridiculous! I tossed another folded shirt onto the stack and tugged a pair of pajama pants from the pile. A reaper cant touch you unless your name shows up on his list, and when that happens, theres nothing you can do to stop it. Avoiding reapers is pointless. Especially when they can help you. In theory. But wasnt my theory about the dead girls based on thesuspicion that at least one reaper had strayed from his purpose?
What truth is this reaper helping you look for? Uncle Brendon sank back into the desk chair with a defeated-sounding sigh. He rubbed his temple as if his head ached, but I was not taking the blame for that. If every adult in my life hadnt been lying to me for thirteen years, none of this would have happened.
Hes sneaking a peek at the master list for the past three days, to find out if the dead girls were on it.
Hes what? Uncle Brendon went totally, frighteningly still, and the only movement in the room was the tic developing on the outer edge of his left eyelid.
Dont worry. Hes not taking it. Hes just going to look at it.
Kaylee, thats not the point. What hes doing is dangerous, for all three of you. Reapers take their lists very seriously. People arent supposed to know when theyre going to die. Thats why you cant warn them. Once you get a premonition, you cant speak, right?
Yeah. I plucked at some fuzz on the flannel pants, distinctly uncomfortable with the direction the discussion was now headed, and the guilt it brought on. I tried to warn Meredith, but I knew if I opened my mouth, Id only be able to scream.
Uncle Brendon nodded somberly. Theres a good reason for that. Grief consumes people. Imminent death obsesses people. Its bad enough for a person to know hes dying of terminal cancer, or something like that. But to know the exact moment? To have the date and time stamped on your brain, looming closer to you as life slips away? That would drive people crazy.
I gaped at him, pants clenched tightly in both hands. You think I dont know that?
Of course you do. He ran one hand through thick brown hair, exhaling through his mouth in frustration. You know it much better than I ever could, and it got you hospitalized.
No, you and Aunt Val got me hospitalized. I couldnt let that one slide.
Ultimately, yes. Uncle Brendon conceded the point with a single crisp nod. But only because we couldnt help you on our own. We couldnt even calm you down. You screamed for more than an hour, long after the premonition passed, though I was probably the only one who could tell when that happened.
I turned and pulled open the top drawer of my dresser, then dropped the pjs inside. How could you tell?
Male bean sidhes hear a females wail as it truly sounds. After a while, yours changed from the soul song to regular screaming. You were terrifiedhystericaland we were afraid youd hurt yourself. We didnt know what else to do.
You are if you think you have any business even contemplating the exchange rate. You have no idea how dangerous messing in reaper business can be!
Ignorance is dangerous, Uncle Brendon. Dont you get it? Standing, I grabbed a clean pair of jeans and shook them out harshly, pleased when the material snapped against itself, sharply accenting my anger. Eventually, if the premonitions kept up, I would have been unable to hold back my song. Id have wound up delaying some random reapers schedule and really pissing him offnot to mention whatever other invisible creepies are out therewith no idea what I was doing. See? The longer you all keep me bumbling around in the dark, the greater the chance that Ill stumble into something I dont understand. Nash knows that. He explained the possibilities and the consequences. Hes arming me with knowledge because he understands that the best offense is knowing how to avoid trouble.
From what I heard, it sounds more like youre out looking for trouble.
Not trouble. The truth. I dropped the folded jeans on the end of the bed. Theres been precious little of that around here, and even now that I know what I am, you and Aunt Val are still keeping secrets.
He exhaled heavily and sat on the edge of my dresser, scruffing one hand through unkempt hair. Were not keeping secrets from you. Were giving your dad a chance to act like a real father.
Ha! I stomped around the bed to put it between us, then snatched a long-sleeved tee from the pile. Hes had sixteen years. What makes you think hell start now?
Give him a chance, Kaylee. He might surprise you.
Not likely. I folded the shirt in several short, sharp motions, then tossed it on top of the jeans, where one arm flopped free to dangle over the side. If Nash knew what my dad had to say, hed tell me.
Uncle Brendon leaned forward and flipped the sleeve back on top of my shirt. Nash should never have taken you to see a reaper, Kaylee. Bean sidhes have no natural defenses against most of the other things out there. Thats why we live here, with the humans. The key to longevity lies in staying out of sight. In only meeting a reaper once in your lifeat the very end.
Thats ridiculous! I tossed another folded shirt onto the stack and tugged a pair of pajama pants from the pile. A reaper cant touch you unless your name shows up on his list, and when that happens, theres nothing you can do to stop it. Avoiding reapers is pointless. Especially when they can help you. In theory. But wasnt my theory about the dead girls based on thesuspicion that at least one reaper had strayed from his purpose?
What truth is this reaper helping you look for? Uncle Brendon sank back into the desk chair with a defeated-sounding sigh. He rubbed his temple as if his head ached, but I was not taking the blame for that. If every adult in my life hadnt been lying to me for thirteen years, none of this would have happened.
Hes sneaking a peek at the master list for the past three days, to find out if the dead girls were on it.
Hes what? Uncle Brendon went totally, frighteningly still, and the only movement in the room was the tic developing on the outer edge of his left eyelid.
Dont worry. Hes not taking it. Hes just going to look at it.
Kaylee, thats not the point. What hes doing is dangerous, for all three of you. Reapers take their lists very seriously. People arent supposed to know when theyre going to die. Thats why you cant warn them. Once you get a premonition, you cant speak, right?
Yeah. I plucked at some fuzz on the flannel pants, distinctly uncomfortable with the direction the discussion was now headed, and the guilt it brought on. I tried to warn Meredith, but I knew if I opened my mouth, Id only be able to scream.
Uncle Brendon nodded somberly. Theres a good reason for that. Grief consumes people. Imminent death obsesses people. Its bad enough for a person to know hes dying of terminal cancer, or something like that. But to know the exact moment? To have the date and time stamped on your brain, looming closer to you as life slips away? That would drive people crazy.
I gaped at him, pants clenched tightly in both hands. You think I dont know that?
Of course you do. He ran one hand through thick brown hair, exhaling through his mouth in frustration. You know it much better than I ever could, and it got you hospitalized.
No, you and Aunt Val got me hospitalized. I couldnt let that one slide.
Ultimately, yes. Uncle Brendon conceded the point with a single crisp nod. But only because we couldnt help you on our own. We couldnt even calm you down. You screamed for more than an hour, long after the premonition passed, though I was probably the only one who could tell when that happened.
I turned and pulled open the top drawer of my dresser, then dropped the pjs inside. How could you tell?
Male bean sidhes hear a females wail as it truly sounds. After a while, yours changed from the soul song to regular screaming. You were terrifiedhystericaland we were afraid youd hurt yourself. We didnt know what else to do.
