table setting, he would, just to caress the line of her cheek.
Sensing she didn’t want to say anything more about the subject, he said, “Why don’t we start eating? Wouldn’t want the food to get cold.” He started on his braised pork chops and mashed potatoes.
Niko dissected the merits of his toast.
“I don’t want you to tell me what you are,” Arianne said.
“I beg your pardon?” Niko looked up from his food so fast, his vision doubled for a second.
“You heard me.”
The smirk on her face had him scratching his head mentally. He grabbed his drink before he settled deeper into his chair. “This morning, you wanted to know what I was. What changed your mind?”
“I like research. I like finding things out for myself.” She rolled pasta with deft twists of her fingers.
For a moment, Niko could focus only on that, somewhat turned on.
“Research was how I found out I am a Medium of sorts. Although, I can’t and don’t want to talk to the dead. I want to find out what you are on my own terms. It’s too easy if you tell me.”
Pleasure unfurled inside him like a seed breaking the soil’s surface. “I like where this is going.”
She brought the tightly wound pasta to her mouth and chewed.
“You have to give me a few more clues so I know where to start.” She finished her grape soda.
“Want another?”
“Water. Please.” She ignored the sparkling liquid that rose to about an inch below the brim of a crystal goblet. “I already know you can will a different dimension, plane, whatever you want to call the In Between, into existence. And…”
“And what? You can’t leave me hanging, Arianne.”
“And your health has to do with those souls you kept in your basement.”
Niko grimaced. “Not my finest hour, I must admit.”
“All I know is, you were disappearing before my eyes when I dropped you in the basement—sorry about that, by the way.”
“No apologies necessary. You helped me when others would have run away.”
“You coming to school all rosy-cheeked and oozing with health can only mean you did something with those souls. Did you…” She swallowed. “
Peals of laughter burst out of Niko. If he’d been drinking, he’d have spewed water all over Arianne. It took him a couple of minutes to compose himself again. “I didn’t know laughter felt so good. Oh, sorry.” He raised a placating hand, having noticed Arianne’s wonderful scowl. The girl couldn’t be ugly even if she tried. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you.”
Her expression softened. “So, did you eat those souls?”
“Gods, no!”
Bringing a hand to her chest, Arianne sank backward until her chair creaked. Niko thought she’d tip over and fall into the lake.
“I just siphoned some residual energy from them,” he continued.
She motioned for him to keep going.
“We have energy inside, humans and—” he thumbed his jaw “—
“The basement.”
“Yes.”
“What else can you tell me about what you are?”
Niko considered her question. “I can’t get hurt.” He took a knife and sliced his hand open.
Arianne yelped, but seeing no wound and no blood, she breathed out. “Don’t scare me like that. A little warning when you’re about to cut yourself is usually appreciated.”
“I also don’t get sick.”
“Except yesterday.” Her brows furrowed.
“That won’t happen again. I was careless. I should have known better.”
“Okay, you’re impervious to physical injury—”
“Only by the hands of my kind can I get hurt,” he amended.
“…and sickness,” she continued as if he hadn’t interrupted her. “How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
“Oh, come on!” She sat up. “You can’t tell me you’re just seventeen when you can’t get sick or hurt.”
“Just because I’m impervious doesn’t mean I don’t age.”
“You die?” Awe formed on her face like the rising sun.
“In a manner of speaking.” Niko tented his fingers over his chest. “We get old. But at the end of our life, we are reborn. Our master believes it’s a way for us to blend into society better.”
“You’re saying there’s more of you?”
“Did I?”
“You switched from ‘I’ to ‘we’ a couple of sentences ago. And you mentioned a master.”
“I did?” He tsked. “That particular piece of information wasn’t supposed to slip out. Oops.”
She threw her napkin at him.
Chapter 11
DEATH LOUNGED ON HIS GREAT BONE CHAIR, his chin resting on a fist. He watched the Reapers of California and Texas arrange themselves on two equally grand chairs across from his desk. He’d taken a break from work to meet with two of the most powerful members of RUSA. The skull chandelier hanging from the ceiling over them brightened at a lazy gesture from his almost delicate hand. A part of him didn’t want to resume working. If he could continue chatting the day away, he would.
“Welcome, dearest children,” he said.
“Master,” Thomas and Travis said in unison.
“It’s always good to see the both of you. Work can get dull without these pleasant visits.”
Travis slouched into his chair and stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles.
Tomas slapped the other Reaper’s shoulder. “Show some respect, Travis.”
Death raised a hand, stalling Travis’s efforts. “Leave him be, Tomas. Travis is welcome to relax. We may have business to attend to, but this is not at all a formal meeting. Please, follow Travis in his demeanor. You could use a break.”
To his credit, Tomas continued to sit up with shoulders squared. “Thank you, Master. But I prefer to show respect.” He flicked an irritated glance at Travis as he said the last word.
Travis shrugged. “No skin off my back. I removed the hat, didn’t I? Number One,” he drawled.
“And stop calling me that!”
A smile blossomed on Death’s glorious composure. Seeing Tomas ruffled tickled him. The usually stern and serious Reaper had a softer side, one that only manifested during moments like Travis baiting him.
“I regret that I’ve placed you both in this position.” Death’s sigh could bend mighty oaks. “Our younger Reapers don’t seem to have the same common sense as their older siblings. One is too power hungry for her own good and the other allowed himself to get so weak that he practically drained souls down to nothing. What am I to
