His beautiful eyes were wide behind his glasses when I pulled back.
“It’s a date,” I whispered. Then I spun on my heel and raced out of there before I could give him any more of my heart.
Every step up to the roof seemed more painful than the last. I stopped frequently to lean against the wall and heave, to sob, to hyperventilate, to wrestle with my fear. I had to keep reminding myself that this was the only way and it was all up to me. I thought about Uncle Victor, with his head wrapped up like a mummy’s. I thought about the Smiths and how much they’d suffered. I thought about Death and what I suspected she’d been secretly longing for all this time. I thought about Anthony and his boys.
When I stood at the door to my glass birdhouse, my body was trembling and my heart was a lump of iron weighing me down. But I’d made it this far; I couldn’t back out now. I unlocked the doors and stepped in without bothering to close them behind me. I marched up to my bench, the one by the pond right in the middle of all the greenery. I smiled weakly up at my birds. They twittered their happy songs at me, fluttering around in their excitement.
“This is where I say goodbye, friends.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the note. I left it sitting on the bench where it would be easy to find. I lowered the bucket next and dredged the little knife out from the seeds.
Pressing the sharp tip against my inner arm, my heart spasming in my chest, my mouth so dry I could hardly swallow, I said, “Goodbye, little brother.” Then I sliced deeply into my own flesh.
October 4th, 2019
I met the most incredible girl. Well, I met the most incredible twins in existence but the girl: Jasmine. She is a miracle. How to describe her?
I suppose the twins are inherently linked and one can’t be explained without the other. Born on the threshold of Death, the parents begged for their lives. Death answered by allowing the boy, Charles, to see as Death takes souls to the Hereafter and by allowing Jasmine to live through the passing of those around her.
Jasmine travels with Death on a regular basis. Her brother wouldn’t say in detail. I don’t think he trusts us quite yet. We’re too shocking for him to comprehend. He doesn’t accept as family of Death, just as they are. I must admit, if we had stumbled upon these twins just a century ago, we would have run far away. But we have spent years searching for Death and are more than ready to accept family. We’re all family, including Izz and Segil, Fadele and Nij even if they are untrustworthy. These children, however, are innocent. They didn’t choose this life, yet they bear it with grace. They even use these curses for the greater good, helping their guardian solve murders and bringing justice to those who do harm.
Courageous. Inspiring. Admirable.
What I would give to be like these honorable children.
I understand they are in pain. I understand their great need to be free of this curse. I understand their fear of us. I too am afraid. I too seek to be free.
And I think Jasmine is the key to ending all our suffering. I don’t want to scare them, but I don’t think they know just how fortunate Jasmine is to be in such close proximity to Death. If only Charles would let us build a relationship with her. I understand his position, naturally. I don’t know what to do to prove to him I want the same thing he wants: Freedom from Death’s curse.
Chapter 41
Charles
We followed the Velazquezes to a storage facility about an hour away from their suburban home. This was where they said they’d meet the Salamander. This was where it would end.
If our team hadn’t split up into several different cars, we might’ve lost our quarry in the sea of individual storage containers sprinkled over the grid. All units stayed a healthy distance away so as not to attract attention but I was in the plumber’s van at the very end of the procession. I wasn’t taking any chances. I wouldn’t ruin this by accidentally tipping the Velazquezes off that someone with a similar curse was nearby. Vanessa didn’t know why I was being so careful; she just shrugged it away and stuck by me.
Our snipers set up on the tops of nearby storage units. It must’ve been difficult to get clear sightlines through the maze of giant blocks, but I knew they’d find a way. Vanessa had chosen them because they were the best. It took us nearly an hour to be completely set up; I heard everyone report in through the headset.
“How many are we looking at?” Vanessa asked.
“Our two suspects, looks like five guards, and one more guy who came in from the back,” one of our snipers replied.
“Audio feed live,” an officer reported next.
“Angela? Are you ready to translate?” Vanessa asked, tapping on one of her laptops. There were three set up in here. One was a kaleidoscope of squares, showing us the live feeds of the body cams of every member of our team. The other showed us every vantage point the storage facility’s security cameras covered. And the last one was being used to listen in on the Velazquezes’ current conversation.
“Ready,” Mrs. Smith said through the cell phone I held between me and my uncle’s partner.
“All right, Agrawal,” Vanessa said, speaking into her headset now. “Move in with the mic amplifier.”
The officer stationed nearest to the storage unit the Velazquezes had entered stepped closer. I recognized Mr. Velazquez’s voice when it started coming through the laptop’s speakers but the language was different than the one he’d used
