this time it had been an unspoken rule that they never spoke of Nick's feelings toward Mary. But maybe Johnnie-O was right to bring it up.
'I fought her before, and I won,' Nick reminded him.
'Yes, but this time, she'll be ready.'
Nick closed his eyes, and searched for something in himself more sturdy than chocolate. 'So will I.'
The note from Mary had come shortly after noon, but it was more than an hour before Nick called for Zin. He wanted some solitude, some silence so he could find a sense of resolve, but the Mississippi wind whistled over the train, making it difficult to feel anything but uneasy.
His good intentions had become like the chocolate devouring him-sweet and rich, but also muddy and debilitating. He had become too much of a good thing. Now he sat with a full bucket of coins that could free countless Afterlights, but how many had he freed since he began to build his army? None. He began to wonder how much different he was from Mary after all.
'So, is this it, then?' Zin asked, as she stepped up into the parlor car. 'Do we got our date with the devil today?'
'Sit down,' Nick told her.
'I prefer not to, sir,' she said. 'Ain't no chair clean enough in this train car.'
And she was right, so he didn't force her. 'Mary has called for a meeting. We'll take a team with us, but once we get there, you and I will go in alone,' he told her. 'Bring paper-I'll tell her you're there to write up a treaty.'
'Johnnie-O's been teachin' me readin' but we haven't got to writin' yet.'
'That doesn't matter-because when I give the word, you're going to drop everything, and cram Mary like there's no tomorrow.'
Nick had played it out dozens of different ways until he saw the whole thing clearly in his mind. He would be there with Mary, engaged in a polite, but guarded conversation of diplomacy. He would string her along until he felt the moment was right, then he would make his move.
I have a gift for you, he would tell her. The finest gift in the universe, and it's all for you. He would step forward, and he would kiss her. A final kiss. Then Zin would grab her, and begin to push, until Mary was thrust through to the other side, into the living world, just as Zin had done to Kudzu. Mary would be alive, with nothing but the clothes on her back, and the sweet taste of chocolate on her lips.
I will not only save Everlost from you, but I will save you from yourself. I will give you the precious gift of life, Mary. Because I love you.
'What if I can't do it, sir?' said Zin. 'Crammin' Kudzu was near impossible, and a person's bigger than a dog.'
He put his good hand on her shoulder. 'Your whole afterlife has been leading to this,' he told her. 'I have every faith in you, Zin.'
CHAPTER 34 Poolside Rendezvous
Several of Nick's scouts had gone down Danny Rozelli's street, and one even walked right through the boy, but they were looking for a teenage Afterlight girl, not a live seven-year-old boy. A needle in a haystack didn't come close.
Within Danny Rozelli were two sets of thoughts, two minds, two histories, and with each day it was getting harder and harder for Danny and Allie to recall whose memories were whose. Now they both fell asleep at the same moment, awoke at the same moment, and when they dreamed, they dreamed as one.
It was late August, and the school year had just started. Life was slipping into a regular routine. Allie tried to imagine growing up, and growing old as a lifelong tenant in someone else's body. Would there come a time when she could accept life as the other half of Danny Rozelli? In these two weeks they had learned each other's rhythms and patterns like Siamese twins, and were quickly adapting to a life for two in a single body.
And what of her own body? It was lying somewhere in any one of a dozen hospitals-and that was just if she was in Memphis. She tried calling a few, but never got very far.
'Honey, why don't you put your mama on the phone?' the receptionists would invariably say. It was hard to get respect as a seven-year-old.
– -This is not who I wanted to be- Allie thought.
– -Me neither-Danny thought right back at her, but both of their protests were getting weaker every day. They were becoming resigned to a shared existence.
Then the pool cleaners came.
They came the same day that Mary arrived in Memphis and sent her letter to Nick, but Allie had no way of knowing that, or anything else that went on in Everlost. As long as she was stuck in a living body, all she could see was the living world.
Late that afternoon, Allie and Danny were out in the yard playing handball against a side wall. It was one of the benefits of their particular condition; there was always someone to play with. Allie would hit the ball, then pull back, letting Danny take his turn. They had become skilled at switching back and forth at will. Neither fought for control anymore. It was like riding a tandem bike.
Allie scored a point.
'Aw! No fair!' Danny said.
– -Quiet-Allie thought to him-your mother will hear you talking to yourself- But when they looked up, it wasn't his mother standing there, instead it was a man holding a blue pole with a net on the end, and a second man a few feet behind him.
– -It's okay- Danny told Allie- It's just the pool guys- The head pool guy was a middle-aged man with a frayed baseball cap and beard stubble. His assistant was a punk with skull tattoos and a limp mohawk on the verge of surrender.
'Hi, Curtis! Hi, Chainsaw,' said Danny, brightly. 'Pool's real dirty. S'got lots of leaves and bugs today.'
'Guess we'll have to see about that,' said Curtis, but neither man moved. Chainsaw glanced at the house, where Danny's mom could be heard talking on the phone, completely engrossed in her conversation.
'C'mon, I'll show you,' Danny said. He led them to the pool, and pointed at one of the drains. 'See-it's all clogged.'
But the pool guys weren't here for a service call today.
'I wish to talk to Allie now,' Curtis said.
Danny recoiled out of shock, pulling far back inside himself like a kid finding strangers at the front door. Allie pushed forward to fill the void. She could feel Danny's heartbeat instantly begin to race. He wanted to run-he wanted to tear into the house, but Allie didn't let him. Maybe she should have, but she didn't let him go.
'Who is this?' she asked.
Curtis smiled, and Allie instantly knew. It was hard to see him behind the beer belly and beard stubble, but she knew.
'Milos?'
'So you are in there!' He looked down at her with a furrowed unibrow.'I thought you went home. Is this… home for you?'
'What do you think? Does it look like I'm back in my own body?' And she couldn't help but add, 'This might not have happened if you would have told me that skinjackers' bodies are all still alive!'
– -Who is that, Allie? That's not Curtis! I don't like this!- – -Just let me handle this, Danny- Allie looked over at Chainsaw, noticing the way he shifted from one foot to the other, looking around like ninjas might leap out and attack him at any moment. 'And that's Squirrel, I presume.'
'C'mon, c'mon,' Squirrel said. 'We found her, now let's just get out of here.'
'How did you even find me?'
'A friend of ours. He was able to sniff you out.' Milos took a good look her, and shook Curtis's head.'So much you did not know about skinjacking. If you had just stayed with us…'
'Fine! Tell me 'I told you so' all you want-but if you know a way out of this, tell me!'
'Shhh.' Milos glanced to the house, where Danny's mother threw occasional glances out of the window. 'Do
