My Soul to Save
Page 28
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WHOA. Nash leaned closer for a better view, as my heart leaped into my throat. And if I werent busy being horrified by Addisons featureless eye, I might have been surprised by his fearless curiosity. The demon did that to your eye?
Addison nodded. Both of them. She held out her hand so we could see the small, curved, plastic disk cradled in her palm. It was too big to be a regular contact lens, and she must have seen my confusion. Demon technology. Dekker provides them, to make us look normal.
My pulse still racing uneasily, I leaned over for a better look and noticed that the lens was detailed with the specifics of a human eye. Addisons eerie pale blue iris was right there in her palm, surrounding a pinpoint black pupil.
The pupils even dilate and constrict, depending on the amount of light in the room. She smiled bitterly and blinked with a creepy, mismatched set of eyes. Dontcha just love foreign technology?
I had no answer for that, and hoped she was being ironic. I wasnt particularly fond of technology that allowed elements of the Netherworld to hide in our world. But I did have questions. Why did he do that? Wouldnt it be in the hellions best interest to avoid making you stand out?
He had no choice. Tod scowled. Its a side effect of the process. You know how they say the eyes are the windows to the soul? he asked, and I swallowed thickly before nodding. I didnt like where this was headed. Evidently they mean that literally. Once the soul is gone, theres nothing to see through the windows.
Nash whistled softly. That has to be the weirdest thing Ive ever seen. And that meant a lot coming from a bean sidhe.
You want me to put the contact back in, dont you? Addison cocked her head and gave him a small, eerie smile.
Thatd be great, thanks. Nash nodded decisively.
Addy stood and crossed into the attached bathroom. She was back in under a minute, and her eye looked normal. Only it also still looked weird, probably because I now knew what the contacts hid.
So, when she gets her soul back, her eyes will go back to normal? Nash aimed his question at his brother, rather than Addison, and I realized he was avoiding looking at her. Her eyes freaked me out, too, but I couldnt help being amused that Nash was more comfortable dealing with a grim reapera living dead boy who killed people and harvested human soulsthan with an otherwise normal human girl whod lost hers.
They should.
Okay, wait a minute. Ive seen several dead people not a statement I could have imagined saying a few months earlier and none of them looked like that, even after the reaper took their souls.
Tod nodded, Addys hand held between both of his. When your heart and brain stop working, your eyes stop working. They reflect the state the soul was in when the person died. Its kind of like whena clock battery runs down. The hour and minute hands dont disappear, but they dont keep ticking, either. They freeze on the last minute they measured.
Okay, that makes sense. In a really weird way. But I didnt plan to dwell on it. I was ready to give Addison her privacy and go work on her problem somewhere her empty soul-windows didnt stare at me from behind their eerie human facades. But first we needed the information wed actually come for. Addison, did you notice anything about the hellion that might help us identify him? A crooked nose or a dimpled chin? Bad teeth?
But even as I asked, I realized her answer probably wouldnt help, even if she had noticed something. I didnt know much about hellions, but I did know they could assume more than one form, so any description she gave us might not fit the hellion a moment after shed met him.
She shook her head slowly. No. Other than the eyes, he looked normal. Brown hair. Average height. Normal clothes. And I didnt see any birthmarks or anything.
And you sure you didnt hear the hellions name? Nash asked.
If I had, I dont think I could have forgotten it.
What about your contract? I asked, struck by a sudden bolt of brilliance. He signed, too, didnt he? Did you see what he wrote?
She shook her head miserably. They must have done that after I left. The spot for his name was still blank when I signed.
My hand tightened around Nashs; my frustration was getting harder to control. Okay, then, think carefully. Did he say anything to you? Or to the woman who took you to him? No need to tell her the woman was a reaper. I wasnt sure how much she knew about Tod, or the Netherworld in general.
Um Addy closed her eyes in concentration, but opened them after only a few seconds. No. He never spoke. I never even heard his voice.
What about the woman? Nashs foot bounced on the carpet, and his knee bumped the coffee table over and over. He was obviously as eager to go as I was. Did she say anything to either of you?
No. Addy didnt hesitate that time. No one spoke while we were inthat place. Her nose wrinkled in disgust, or maybe in fear.
What about when you got back? I laid my hand on Nashs knee to make it stop bouncing. Did she say anything when you got back to Dekkers office?
Yes! Addys weird, fake eyes widened, and I noticed absently that the pupils did dilate with varying levels of light. That would have been cool, if it werent so strange. When we got back, Dekker was still there. On her way out of the room, the woman kind of trailed her hand up his arm and over his shoulder, smiling at him like he was edible. She said, Your avarice is secure for another year. Then she just walked out the door.
WHOA. Nash leaned closer for a better view, as my heart leaped into my throat. And if I werent busy being horrified by Addisons featureless eye, I might have been surprised by his fearless curiosity. The demon did that to your eye?
Addison nodded. Both of them. She held out her hand so we could see the small, curved, plastic disk cradled in her palm. It was too big to be a regular contact lens, and she must have seen my confusion. Demon technology. Dekker provides them, to make us look normal.
My pulse still racing uneasily, I leaned over for a better look and noticed that the lens was detailed with the specifics of a human eye. Addisons eerie pale blue iris was right there in her palm, surrounding a pinpoint black pupil.
The pupils even dilate and constrict, depending on the amount of light in the room. She smiled bitterly and blinked with a creepy, mismatched set of eyes. Dontcha just love foreign technology?
I had no answer for that, and hoped she was being ironic. I wasnt particularly fond of technology that allowed elements of the Netherworld to hide in our world. But I did have questions. Why did he do that? Wouldnt it be in the hellions best interest to avoid making you stand out?
He had no choice. Tod scowled. Its a side effect of the process. You know how they say the eyes are the windows to the soul? he asked, and I swallowed thickly before nodding. I didnt like where this was headed. Evidently they mean that literally. Once the soul is gone, theres nothing to see through the windows.
Nash whistled softly. That has to be the weirdest thing Ive ever seen. And that meant a lot coming from a bean sidhe.
You want me to put the contact back in, dont you? Addison cocked her head and gave him a small, eerie smile.
Thatd be great, thanks. Nash nodded decisively.
Addy stood and crossed into the attached bathroom. She was back in under a minute, and her eye looked normal. Only it also still looked weird, probably because I now knew what the contacts hid.
So, when she gets her soul back, her eyes will go back to normal? Nash aimed his question at his brother, rather than Addison, and I realized he was avoiding looking at her. Her eyes freaked me out, too, but I couldnt help being amused that Nash was more comfortable dealing with a grim reapera living dead boy who killed people and harvested human soulsthan with an otherwise normal human girl whod lost hers.
They should.
Okay, wait a minute. Ive seen several dead people not a statement I could have imagined saying a few months earlier and none of them looked like that, even after the reaper took their souls.
Tod nodded, Addys hand held between both of his. When your heart and brain stop working, your eyes stop working. They reflect the state the soul was in when the person died. Its kind of like whena clock battery runs down. The hour and minute hands dont disappear, but they dont keep ticking, either. They freeze on the last minute they measured.
Okay, that makes sense. In a really weird way. But I didnt plan to dwell on it. I was ready to give Addison her privacy and go work on her problem somewhere her empty soul-windows didnt stare at me from behind their eerie human facades. But first we needed the information wed actually come for. Addison, did you notice anything about the hellion that might help us identify him? A crooked nose or a dimpled chin? Bad teeth?
But even as I asked, I realized her answer probably wouldnt help, even if she had noticed something. I didnt know much about hellions, but I did know they could assume more than one form, so any description she gave us might not fit the hellion a moment after shed met him.
She shook her head slowly. No. Other than the eyes, he looked normal. Brown hair. Average height. Normal clothes. And I didnt see any birthmarks or anything.
And you sure you didnt hear the hellions name? Nash asked.
If I had, I dont think I could have forgotten it.
What about your contract? I asked, struck by a sudden bolt of brilliance. He signed, too, didnt he? Did you see what he wrote?
She shook her head miserably. They must have done that after I left. The spot for his name was still blank when I signed.
My hand tightened around Nashs; my frustration was getting harder to control. Okay, then, think carefully. Did he say anything to you? Or to the woman who took you to him? No need to tell her the woman was a reaper. I wasnt sure how much she knew about Tod, or the Netherworld in general.
Um Addy closed her eyes in concentration, but opened them after only a few seconds. No. He never spoke. I never even heard his voice.
What about the woman? Nashs foot bounced on the carpet, and his knee bumped the coffee table over and over. He was obviously as eager to go as I was. Did she say anything to either of you?
No. Addy didnt hesitate that time. No one spoke while we were inthat place. Her nose wrinkled in disgust, or maybe in fear.
What about when you got back? I laid my hand on Nashs knee to make it stop bouncing. Did she say anything when you got back to Dekkers office?
Yes! Addys weird, fake eyes widened, and I noticed absently that the pupils did dilate with varying levels of light. That would have been cool, if it werent so strange. When we got back, Dekker was still there. On her way out of the room, the woman kind of trailed her hand up his arm and over his shoulder, smiling at him like he was edible. She said, Your avarice is secure for another year. Then she just walked out the door.
