My Soul to Save
Page 64
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And thorns, I added bitterly.
Tod looked like he wanted to say something else, but whatever he was thinking was lost when Nash spoke up.
Youre gonna need something for that ankle. Nash glanced at it again, until I pulled my cuff down and set my foot on the floor. But I have no idea whether or not human-world medicine will work on Netherworld toxin. He paused and flicked the right blinker on again, when he spied our exit. So what else do we need at Walgreens?
Balloons. I smiled at Nashs perplexed expression, enjoying understanding more than he did for once.
Tod stuck his head between the front seats, looking just as confused as his brother. Were taking Addy balloons? Should we stop for a cake and a present, too?
My smile widened. The balloons arent for Addison. Theyre for the fiend. Addys just going toblow one up for us.
For a moment, Tods eyes narrowed even further. Then his expression smoothed as comprehension settled in, and one half of his mouth quirked up.
Clever Nash nodded at me in obvious respect. I like it.
Lets just hope it works.
At Walgreens, Tod found a bag of multicolored latex party balloons while Nash and I hunted down a tube of antibiotic cream. When we met at the cash register, the reaper also snagged three bars of chocolate. I paidI knew my paper currency would come in handy!then we rushed to Addisons house, beyond grateful for the light, middle-of-the-night traffic, because we had to be back at the stadium in half an hour.
We parked next to a shiny Lexus in Addisons driveway, and she must have heard the engine, because she pulled the front door open as we climbed the steps, then ushered us into the empty living room.
Addy closed the door behind us and stood in the entry with her hands deep in the pockets of a pair of snug, faded jeans. She was still fully dressed. She hadnt even tried to go to sleep. Not that I could blame her.
Wheres your mom? Tod asked from the middle of the room. No one sat.
Shes passed out in her room. Addys ironic smile said that for once, she was grateful for her mothers issues.
What about Regan? I rubbed my left shoe against my right ankle, barely resisting the urge to bend over and scratch because that would have exposed my Netherworldly injury and led to questions we didnt have time to answer. And because I was pretty sure scratching would make more clear liquid run from my puncture wounds, rather than easing the fierce, burning itch that had settled in.
Shes sleeping off a couple of Moms painkillers. Addison glanced at me, then down at her unpainted toenails. I had to give them to her. She was freaking out, and I justwanted her go to sleep and shut up. I tried to warn her, but she didnt listen. She never listens.
My heart ached for Addy, and her splintered relationship with her sister. They reminded me of me and Sophie, and that thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, as if Id swallowed one of Addys mothers pills.
Its fine. Tod clearly didnt care what happened to Regan. He had eyesand concernonly for Addison. Were a step away from finding the hellion, but first we need you to blow up one of these.
Maybe two or three of them, I interjected, tossing Tod the bag of party balloons. Im not sure what dose the fiend is looking for, or what the concentration isinside her. So it might take more than one.
Tod ripped open the bag while Addison glanced from one of us to the other like wed lost our minds.
Its in your breath, I explained, while Tod pulled a cherry-red balloon from the bag and stretched it to make it easier to inflate. The Demons Breath. It rests in your core. And in your lungs, and I think that every time you exhale, you breathe a little bit of it into the air.
Id gotten the idea from the fiends, whod wanted to know if we exhaled Demons Breath. We didnt, of course. But Addy might.
I wasnt sure how it worked. If she lost a little bit of the force keeping her alive with each exhale, or if the Demons Breath replaced itself as each little bit was lost. But I was virtually certainbased on the fiends odd dialoguethat Addy carried within herself the very currency we needed.
She took the balloon from Tod and stared at it for a second as if it might grow teeth and bite her. Then Addy put the latex to her mouth as we watched from a loosely formed semicircle on the beige carpet.
Wait. I shrugged, my arms still crossed over my chest. It seemed to me when Eden died that Demons Breath is heavier than air, so its probably at the bottom of your lungs. Youll have to empty them to exhale what we really need. So blow out as much as you can on each breath, okay?
Addison nodded hesitantly, then put the red balloon to her lips again as Tod pulled a yellow one from the bag. She began to blow, and the balloon grew slowly, becoming more translucent with each millimeter it gained in circumference. She blew without inhaling, forcing more air from her lungs than Id have thought possible, until her face was nearly as flushed as the balloon.
Singers must have very good lungs.
When she could exhale no more, the balloon was half-filled. She pinched it closed between her thumb and forefinger, and I took it from her to tie off the opening. When I let it go, the balloon sank quickly, as if it were tethered to some small weight.
Tod looked like he wanted to say something else, but whatever he was thinking was lost when Nash spoke up.
Youre gonna need something for that ankle. Nash glanced at it again, until I pulled my cuff down and set my foot on the floor. But I have no idea whether or not human-world medicine will work on Netherworld toxin. He paused and flicked the right blinker on again, when he spied our exit. So what else do we need at Walgreens?
Balloons. I smiled at Nashs perplexed expression, enjoying understanding more than he did for once.
Tod stuck his head between the front seats, looking just as confused as his brother. Were taking Addy balloons? Should we stop for a cake and a present, too?
My smile widened. The balloons arent for Addison. Theyre for the fiend. Addys just going toblow one up for us.
For a moment, Tods eyes narrowed even further. Then his expression smoothed as comprehension settled in, and one half of his mouth quirked up.
Clever Nash nodded at me in obvious respect. I like it.
Lets just hope it works.
At Walgreens, Tod found a bag of multicolored latex party balloons while Nash and I hunted down a tube of antibiotic cream. When we met at the cash register, the reaper also snagged three bars of chocolate. I paidI knew my paper currency would come in handy!then we rushed to Addisons house, beyond grateful for the light, middle-of-the-night traffic, because we had to be back at the stadium in half an hour.
We parked next to a shiny Lexus in Addisons driveway, and she must have heard the engine, because she pulled the front door open as we climbed the steps, then ushered us into the empty living room.
Addy closed the door behind us and stood in the entry with her hands deep in the pockets of a pair of snug, faded jeans. She was still fully dressed. She hadnt even tried to go to sleep. Not that I could blame her.
Wheres your mom? Tod asked from the middle of the room. No one sat.
Shes passed out in her room. Addys ironic smile said that for once, she was grateful for her mothers issues.
What about Regan? I rubbed my left shoe against my right ankle, barely resisting the urge to bend over and scratch because that would have exposed my Netherworldly injury and led to questions we didnt have time to answer. And because I was pretty sure scratching would make more clear liquid run from my puncture wounds, rather than easing the fierce, burning itch that had settled in.
Shes sleeping off a couple of Moms painkillers. Addison glanced at me, then down at her unpainted toenails. I had to give them to her. She was freaking out, and I justwanted her go to sleep and shut up. I tried to warn her, but she didnt listen. She never listens.
My heart ached for Addy, and her splintered relationship with her sister. They reminded me of me and Sophie, and that thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, as if Id swallowed one of Addys mothers pills.
Its fine. Tod clearly didnt care what happened to Regan. He had eyesand concernonly for Addison. Were a step away from finding the hellion, but first we need you to blow up one of these.
Maybe two or three of them, I interjected, tossing Tod the bag of party balloons. Im not sure what dose the fiend is looking for, or what the concentration isinside her. So it might take more than one.
Tod ripped open the bag while Addison glanced from one of us to the other like wed lost our minds.
Its in your breath, I explained, while Tod pulled a cherry-red balloon from the bag and stretched it to make it easier to inflate. The Demons Breath. It rests in your core. And in your lungs, and I think that every time you exhale, you breathe a little bit of it into the air.
Id gotten the idea from the fiends, whod wanted to know if we exhaled Demons Breath. We didnt, of course. But Addy might.
I wasnt sure how it worked. If she lost a little bit of the force keeping her alive with each exhale, or if the Demons Breath replaced itself as each little bit was lost. But I was virtually certainbased on the fiends odd dialoguethat Addy carried within herself the very currency we needed.
She took the balloon from Tod and stared at it for a second as if it might grow teeth and bite her. Then Addy put the latex to her mouth as we watched from a loosely formed semicircle on the beige carpet.
Wait. I shrugged, my arms still crossed over my chest. It seemed to me when Eden died that Demons Breath is heavier than air, so its probably at the bottom of your lungs. Youll have to empty them to exhale what we really need. So blow out as much as you can on each breath, okay?
Addison nodded hesitantly, then put the red balloon to her lips again as Tod pulled a yellow one from the bag. She began to blow, and the balloon grew slowly, becoming more translucent with each millimeter it gained in circumference. She blew without inhaling, forcing more air from her lungs than Id have thought possible, until her face was nearly as flushed as the balloon.
Singers must have very good lungs.
When she could exhale no more, the balloon was half-filled. She pinched it closed between her thumb and forefinger, and I took it from her to tie off the opening. When I let it go, the balloon sank quickly, as if it were tethered to some small weight.
