With All My Soul
Page 9

Styx was half-Netherhound. She was fiercely loyal and could snap a human long bone in a single bite.
You were stabbed in the leg by a psychotic hellion wearing Sabines foster mothers face. In the kitchen again, I pulled his plate out of the microwave and grabbed a fork from the dish drainer. What part of that is fine?
The part where I lived. My dad sighed, and for a moment his eyes swirled with survivors guilt. Some werent so lucky.
I heard that! Em called from the bedroom, where she was obsessing over which of my hopelessly plain T-shirts to wear on her first day of school as Emily Cavanaugh.
Youre a survivor, Em! I called back. More of a survivor than I was, anyway. At least her heart still beat on its own. Even if it wasnt her original heart.
I shooed Styx off the couch with one hand while I handed my dads plate to him with the other.
Hows she doing? My dad pulled back the plastic film covering his dinner as I set the remote control next to him.
Its going to take a while to adjust, but shell get there. I shrugged. She still has all of us. Which was more than most new kids had on the first day. So? The reception? Hows Ms. Marshall? And Ems sisters?
My father sighed. He no longer looked hungry. Theyre hurting, Kay. It kills me that we cant tell them the truth.
Wed thought about it. A lot. After all, we could certainly prove our crazy story. But telling them that Emma was still alive in someone elses body would mean telling them about bean sidhes, and reapers, and death dates, and about the Netherworld, and that there were hellions over there just waiting to devour our souls and torture us for all of eternity.
Most humans didnt handle that kind of disclosure well.
It probably doesnt help that they had to wait nearly two weeks to bury her.
The police had refused to release Emmas body until after a full autopsy. They hadnt bought our claim that shed broken her neck in a freak fall from the swing set at the lake, where my birthday party had been crashed by hellions.
We didnt tell them about the hellions.
Of course, part of the reason our story was so hard for them to accept was that her boyfriend, Jayson, had died that same day. As had Sabines foster mother. That was too many deaths related to one high school clique to pass as coincidence.
But in the end, theyd had to release all the bodies for burial when they could find no signs of foul play. Because there was no foul play, on our part, anyway.
The hellions were not available for questioning.
Im just glad its over. My dad picked up his fork and poked at a clump of rehydrated mashed potatoes.
Yeah. Except for the part about us getting rid of the three hellionsoccupying the Netherworld version of my high school. My dad wasnt ready to hear about that just yet. At least not until his leg had healed.
Hey, Tod said, and I looked up to find him standing in the middle of the living room, holding a plain manila envelope.
Is that...? My dad gestured to the envelope, and Tod nodded.
Em! I called when he sat on the couch on my other side and handed me the package.
My bedroom door creaked open, and Emma trudged in from the hall as I dumped the contents of the envelope on the coffee table. She looked more nervous than curious when she saw what Tod had brought.
I picked up a small laminated card from the middle of the pile of papers and held it out to her. Emily Cavanaugh, you are now officially licensed to drive. Even though Lydias body was only fifteen years old. It hadnt seemed fair to make Em wait another year and take drivers ed all over again. Shed already lost so muchincluding her car.
Where did you get them done? Em sank into the armchair, staring at her new license.
I wondered what she was thinking. Was she hating her new face again? I couldnt help wishing shed known Lydia before becoming her. Lydia was so kind and selfless. She was so beautiful on the inside that her outside hadnt mattered.
And its not like shed had any obvious flaws. She was just...normal.
Obviously normal was hard to get used to, after a lifetime of gorgeous.
I got yours the same place I got mine. Tod had needed paperwork to get hired as a pizza delivery boy, just like Em needed it to start school. But Im sworn to secrecy on that front.
Like it matters. Emma slid her new license into her back pocket, then leaned forward to study her new birth certificate. This is bizarre. Im not sure Ive even seen my real one. She frowned and picked up another small paper card. New social security number. I guess I should memorize this....
Thanks for getting these, Tod, my dad said, lifting a forkful of meat loaf toward his mouth.
No problem.
When my dad turned on the TV and Em sank farther into the chair to study her new social security number, Tod gave his head a subtle nod toward the hall.
Hey, Dad, were gonna go... I hesitated, trying to come up with a quick, reasonable excuse to be alone with Tod, but my father only rolled his eyes.
Just leave the door open.
I gave him a grateful smile and picked up my glass of water on the way into the hall.
In the middle of my bedroom floor, between the beds, I turned and put one hand over Tods chest to feel his heartbeat. It was therefaint but very real. The gesture, checking for his heartbeat, had become both habit and a silent communication between us. A reassurance.