My Soul to Save
Page 19
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No one actually knows who makes out the list. No one I know, anyway. She sipped from her cup before continuing. Maybe the Fates traded in their thread and scissors for a pen and paper. Maybe the list comes from some automated printer in a secure room none of us will ever see. Maybe it comes straight from God. But there has to be a reason we dont know the specifics, and frankly, Im pretty blissful about that particular nugget of ignorance.
Me, too. I wasnt exactly eager to see whoever plotted my lifeline; Id kind of drawn the short straw on that one. Though, it was very likely Id live longer than I would have as a regular human.
All we really know is that upsetting the balance between life and death is not an option. Somebody has to die for every entry on the list. Fortunately, theres a little wiggle room for special circumstances. Harmony hesitated, then met my eyes before continuing. Which is how your mom was able to trade her death date for yours.
I cleared my throat and swallowed my last bite, trying to swallow my guilt along with it. I was supposed to die when I was three, but my mother took my place. I hadnt known the truth about her death until I discovered my bean sidhe heritage and my family was finally forced to tell me everything. Despite their insistence that what happened to my mom was not my fault, the fact was that if it werent for me, shed still be alive.
Guilt was inevitable. Right?
Considering the sacrifice your mom made for you, I find it hard to understand how Edenor anyone else for that mattercould possibly see her own soul as acceptable currency. As payment for something else.
I shrugged and dropped my wadded-up napkin on my empty plate. I dont think she understood what she was getting into. Humans dont know about any of this.
Theyre supposed to know, before they sign the contract. Hellion law requires full disclosure. But who knows if the poor fool actually read her contract before signing. What a waste. Harmony shook her head in disappointment and pushed the rest of her brownie toward me. So much potential, squandered. For what, do you know?
I shook my head, staring at her plate. Id lost my appetite.
My best guess would be that Eden sold her soul for fame and fortune, but I didnt know for sure. All I knew for certain was that she was probably regretting that decision now, and that if we couldnt get Addisons soul back in four days, she would suffer the same fate.
I would not let that happen.
6
SO, WHATS WITH THE FAKE name at the hotel? Shes avoiding the press? I tried to distract myself as I typed hellion into the search bar at the top of my laptop screen, then tapped the enter key. Links filled the screen faster than I could read the entries, and my vision started to blur with exhaustion. I hadnt sleptvery well the night before, thanks to nightmares of dead girls being tortured in the Netherworld, and had poured the last of my energy into my bean sidhe lesson that afternoon.
I guess. Nash leaned back on my bed and I watched him in the mirror, my heart tripping faster when he put his hands behind his head and cords of muscle stood out beneath his short sleeves. Sometimes it still felt weird to be going out with a jock, but Nash Hudson wasnt your average football player. His bean sidhe bloodline, dead father, not-so-dead reaper brother, and familiarity with a world that would land most humans in a straitjacket meant that on the inside, Nash didnt fit in at school any more than I did.
He just hid it better.
And there were definite advantages to having a boyfriend asaesthetically gifted as Nash. The downside was that I had trouble concentrating on anything else while he was around.
Focus, Kaylee I took a deep breath and forced my thoughts back on track. Isnt the whole fake name thing a little clichd?
He shrugged without dropping his arms. So long as it works.
On-screen, the page had finished loading, and I skimmed the results. The first was about some kind of turbo engine for Mustangs, and the second was a link to a comic book Wiki. The rest of the links ran along those same lines. So much for Internet research.
Tell me again why were doing this? Nashs normally hypnotic voice was pinched thin and sharp with reluctance. And maybe a little annoyance.
Because Addison needs help and I believe in karma. I glanced in the mirror again to find Nash watching me in amusement now.
I meant dinner.
Oh. I pushed my chair away from the desk and almost tipped over when one of the back wheels caught on the ratty carpet. Standing, I tugged my tee into place, then sank cross-legged onto the bed facing Nash. Because my dads trying really hard to make this whole single-parent thing work, and Uncle Brendons the only one he has to talk to.
After my mom died, my father sent me to live with my aunt and uncle, to help hide me from the reaper-with-a-vendetta whod traded my mothers life for mine. But we both knew my resemblance to her was at least as strong a motivator for my dads absence from my life. Every time he looked at me, he saw her, and his heart broke a little more.
But after what Aunt Val had done, hed come back, assuming it would be easier to protect me himself, now that I was in on the big secret of my species. And I was pretty sure he felt guilty for being gone so long. So, my dad had given up a good job in Ireland for crappy factory work in Texas, and together we were trying not to screw up the whole father-daughter thing too badly. So what if that meant a tiny rental house, no extra money, and weekly dinners with my uncle and mean-girl cousin?
Me, too. I wasnt exactly eager to see whoever plotted my lifeline; Id kind of drawn the short straw on that one. Though, it was very likely Id live longer than I would have as a regular human.
All we really know is that upsetting the balance between life and death is not an option. Somebody has to die for every entry on the list. Fortunately, theres a little wiggle room for special circumstances. Harmony hesitated, then met my eyes before continuing. Which is how your mom was able to trade her death date for yours.
I cleared my throat and swallowed my last bite, trying to swallow my guilt along with it. I was supposed to die when I was three, but my mother took my place. I hadnt known the truth about her death until I discovered my bean sidhe heritage and my family was finally forced to tell me everything. Despite their insistence that what happened to my mom was not my fault, the fact was that if it werent for me, shed still be alive.
Guilt was inevitable. Right?
Considering the sacrifice your mom made for you, I find it hard to understand how Edenor anyone else for that mattercould possibly see her own soul as acceptable currency. As payment for something else.
I shrugged and dropped my wadded-up napkin on my empty plate. I dont think she understood what she was getting into. Humans dont know about any of this.
Theyre supposed to know, before they sign the contract. Hellion law requires full disclosure. But who knows if the poor fool actually read her contract before signing. What a waste. Harmony shook her head in disappointment and pushed the rest of her brownie toward me. So much potential, squandered. For what, do you know?
I shook my head, staring at her plate. Id lost my appetite.
My best guess would be that Eden sold her soul for fame and fortune, but I didnt know for sure. All I knew for certain was that she was probably regretting that decision now, and that if we couldnt get Addisons soul back in four days, she would suffer the same fate.
I would not let that happen.
6
SO, WHATS WITH THE FAKE name at the hotel? Shes avoiding the press? I tried to distract myself as I typed hellion into the search bar at the top of my laptop screen, then tapped the enter key. Links filled the screen faster than I could read the entries, and my vision started to blur with exhaustion. I hadnt sleptvery well the night before, thanks to nightmares of dead girls being tortured in the Netherworld, and had poured the last of my energy into my bean sidhe lesson that afternoon.
I guess. Nash leaned back on my bed and I watched him in the mirror, my heart tripping faster when he put his hands behind his head and cords of muscle stood out beneath his short sleeves. Sometimes it still felt weird to be going out with a jock, but Nash Hudson wasnt your average football player. His bean sidhe bloodline, dead father, not-so-dead reaper brother, and familiarity with a world that would land most humans in a straitjacket meant that on the inside, Nash didnt fit in at school any more than I did.
He just hid it better.
And there were definite advantages to having a boyfriend asaesthetically gifted as Nash. The downside was that I had trouble concentrating on anything else while he was around.
Focus, Kaylee I took a deep breath and forced my thoughts back on track. Isnt the whole fake name thing a little clichd?
He shrugged without dropping his arms. So long as it works.
On-screen, the page had finished loading, and I skimmed the results. The first was about some kind of turbo engine for Mustangs, and the second was a link to a comic book Wiki. The rest of the links ran along those same lines. So much for Internet research.
Tell me again why were doing this? Nashs normally hypnotic voice was pinched thin and sharp with reluctance. And maybe a little annoyance.
Because Addison needs help and I believe in karma. I glanced in the mirror again to find Nash watching me in amusement now.
I meant dinner.
Oh. I pushed my chair away from the desk and almost tipped over when one of the back wheels caught on the ratty carpet. Standing, I tugged my tee into place, then sank cross-legged onto the bed facing Nash. Because my dads trying really hard to make this whole single-parent thing work, and Uncle Brendons the only one he has to talk to.
After my mom died, my father sent me to live with my aunt and uncle, to help hide me from the reaper-with-a-vendetta whod traded my mothers life for mine. But we both knew my resemblance to her was at least as strong a motivator for my dads absence from my life. Every time he looked at me, he saw her, and his heart broke a little more.
But after what Aunt Val had done, hed come back, assuming it would be easier to protect me himself, now that I was in on the big secret of my species. And I was pretty sure he felt guilty for being gone so long. So, my dad had given up a good job in Ireland for crappy factory work in Texas, and together we were trying not to screw up the whole father-daughter thing too badly. So what if that meant a tiny rental house, no extra money, and weekly dinners with my uncle and mean-girl cousin?
