“Wow, much better. I can see straight again.” I rubbed the back of my head. I had a huge lump. Thank God, now it hurt only when I touched it. I wasn’t planning to touch it again.
“You made quite an impression. You can imagine how surprised I was to receive a call from the Grim after all this time.”
“Are the souls OK?” I didn’t want them to suffer more because of me.
“Funny. You asked about the dead and not the living.” She was smiling—the smile a mother gives an infant when the infant is learning to crawl.
“The dead weren’t trying to kill me like the living.” That was the honest truth.
“So I heard. Somehow, they were very protective of you. She gouged the witch’s eyes out after the witch hit you.”
“Oh God, that’s horrible. What’s going to happen to her?” OK, I was glad to be alive, but that was extreme. Mental note: never piss off a ghost.
“Isis, she’s dead already. No more punishment is needed. Besides, she did it to save your life. I would have preferred other methods.”
“Did she kill her?” I was praying she hadn’t. Even for a dead woman, that would be a lot to carry.
“No. Her friends took her before I arrived. Some of their puppets did die. After I delivered the residents of the Grim home, I dropped them off as well. You had a busy night.” She didn’t sound mad, just very matter-of-fact.
“Death, I can explain.”
“You can?” There was humor in her voice.
I had to think about that for a second. “Actually, no. No, I can’t. We’re at war. I guess those are casualties.” I sounded cruel but also matter-of-fact.
“I think you’ve been hanging around Constantine too long.” She was smiling.
“You are so right. I sound just like him.”
“Not just. You’re still not as arrogant as he is. But he’s right. This needs to stop tomorrow. I hate looking bad, Isis.” The smile was gone, and Death was cold and calculating. I. was sure the temperature of my room had dropped. “You have company waiting outside. It’s not polite to keep people waiting. I’ll let you change.” Death got up and headed toward the door.
“Death, thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“It was in their best interests not to kill you. Be careful in purgatory; they won’t hold back.” She fixed her suit one more time when she reached my bedroom door. “You’re not doing so badly for your first week. Try not to get killed, now.” She winked and was out the door.
I rolled out of bed and prayed that Death was the one who had dressed me. It would be really embarrassing for either of the boys to be involved in that process. I walked to the bathroom, and for the first time since meeting those witches, I didn’t look like hell. I wanted to do a happy dance for myself. Instead I quickly used the facilities and got dressed. Company could mean only one person, and that meant I was in trouble.
By the time I reached the kitchen entrance, I could hear the boys talking to Eric. Whatever it was they were discussing had them all agitated. I went straight for the fridge and grabbed the milk. I was thirsty, and for some reason, milk sounded amazing.
“Isis, you are up?” Bartholomew was Captain Obvious today.
“I was told we had company, so here I am.”
All three of them looked confused.
Constantine was the first one to ask. “Who told you?”
“Death. Who else?” I poured the milk and started drinking, not waiting for their reply.
“From anybody else, that answer would guarantee a trip to the loony bin.” Eric was at least honest.
“She said goodbye hours ago. We thought she was gone.” Bartholomew looked really sad.
“Maybe she came back to make sure I didn’t have a concussion. It would probably be bad for recruitment to lose two interns in less than six months.”
“That’s never stopped her before.” Constantine had a way of crushing my dreams.
I glared at him. “I hope we’re not practicing today. I don’t think my head can take it.” I took a seat at the kitchen table and watched the boys. I wasn’t moving closer to them, so they all migrated to me.
“What happened at the Grim?” Eric almost yelled at me. Bartholomew and Constantine took their usual chairs, and that left the last one for Eric. He paced behind the chair for a bit before sitting down.
“I got hit with a two-by-four, according to Death.” I knew I wasn’t making this easy for him. I didn’t care. If he was going to be a cop, then I had no choice but to be difficult. It was irrational, but I had a concussion. Who could blame me?
“Ouch. We had no idea. We heard the bang, and then you were out. The screams after your fall were horrifying.” Bartholomew made an awful face. He looked like a kid who had eaten something sour.
“Death said our dear tour-guide ghost gouged the eyes out of the witch who hit me.” I was already past the traumatized stage, so my mind was numb.
“Well, that explains the bloodcurdling screams and curses.” Constantine was not fazed. I was assuming that after five thousand years, blood and guts were nothing to him.
“That also explains the eyeballs in the hallway.” Eric was looking pale. He had found the aftermath of that; no wonder he was edgy. “Isis, did you hit those men with an ax?”
“Nope, no ax for me. I had a machete and an M16.” I wondered where my gear was. I looked around the room, hoping to spot it.
“That’s not funny.” Eric stood up, angry.
“It’s in the armory,” Bartholomew whispered from across the table. He knew exactly what I was looking for. I winked at him and mouthed back Thank you.
“I wasn’t being funny. The dead burned guy did that part.”
“What burned guy? We didn’t find any burned guy.” It seemed that
