“Brown eyes!”
Rath’s voice heralded my rescue. Before I could take another breath, he’d pulled the ravenous corpse away from me and used his own scythe to behead her. He kicked her twitching body off the path, and the body slid into a bank of leaves.
“How did you know to find me?”
“Your raven.” He cupped my face, studied me carefully. “You okay?”
I nodded.
“Good.” He leaned forward and gave me a hard kiss. “Let’s finish this.”
I’ve never been in battle. I’ve never killed unless you count removing a
ka
from a legally made zombie (and I didn’t). Zombies weren’t alive, not really, but desecrating their corpses was another form of killing, of death.
By the time Rath and I joined Jon, there were few enemies left. We dispatched them until only the three of us were left standing—amid scattered limbs and headless corpses.
“Who the hell did this?” asked Rath. “These poor bastards didn’t even have
kas
attached.”
I was exhausted. Every muscle ached, and sweat soaked my shirt and running shorts. Gore spattered my arms and legs. I looked down at my sneakers and realized they had been ruined with zombie ick.
“My aunt warned me right before this happened,” I said. “And this is Barbie’s Zombie, Jon Lemons. He warned me, too.”
“I’ve never seen a zombie like him before,” said Rath.
“He talks.” I explained everything that happened.
Rath grimaced. “We need to go. Whoever controlled the zombies is probably still around.”
“What do we do about all this?” I waved my hands at the dead zombies.
“Nothing,” said Rath.
“How about an anonymous report through the peer-to-peer program?” I asked.
“Yeah. That’s good.”
Rath took me by the shoulders. “Get to the school, to your room. I’m going to check around here, see if I can find anything.”
“I should go with you.”
“No, Mol. You’re the target. You’re safe at Nekyia. I’ll touch base with you later, okay?” He tapped the end of my nose. He kept his scythe close as he turned and walked off the path, into the darkening woods. My heart jumped in my throat.
“Be careful!” I called out.
But Rath had already disappeared.
“Jon,” I said.
“Uuuuuh.”
“Oh, sorry. Jon Lemons. We need to go.”
The zombie followed me, and soon, I saw the outer gray stone wall that surrounded the school. On the back side of the ornate castle was a landscaped outdoor area that students used to study and hang out. The last meal of the day was served at 6 p.m., so I knew the courtyard would be full of kids waiting for the dinner bell to ring.
The gate to the courtyard entrance was left open until our 10 p.m. curfew. All I had to do was make it through, and I would be safe.
My raven cawed a warning, and I realized I couldn’t go barreling through the gate holding my scythe. I skidded to a stop, and looked up.
“
Time to return,” I said.
The raven’s spread wings cast me in darkness as it swirled down, grasping the scythe before making itself smaller and smaller.
Finally, the bird returned to the silver ring.
I ached from head to toe, and my heart pounded so hard, the thumping sounds clogged my ears.
At a nearby bench, a couple kissing were startled apart. They stared at me and the zombie as I limped past them. I smiled and gave them a little wave.
I noticed the wide-eyed stares of the kids hanging out in the courtyard. Conversations ceased as Jon Lemons and I trudged by, but no one said anything.
I didn’t relax until I got to my room.
I shut and locked the door, and Jon Lemons stationed himself in front of it.
I wanted to collapse onto my bed, but I was filthy, so I dropped to the floor, rolled onto my back, and shut my eyes.
It took a while for me to calm down. My heart eventually found a steady rhythm, and my breathing regulated.
“Miss?”
I screamed. My eyes flew open and I scrambled off the floor as if it were on fire. All my calm evaporated and I slapped a hand against my chest as if to keep my heart from leaping out of my ribcage.
Henry gazed at me with his usual stoic expression. “Forgive me, miss. I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you all right?”
“Henry, you scared the crap outta me.”
“How unfortunate. Do you require a change of underwear?”
I stared at Henry, but his expression never wavered. I grinned. “Did you just make a joke?” I lifted my fist. “Way to go, Henry.”
Henry stared at my fist. One gray eyebrow lifted.
I patted my fist. “Come on, give me a fist bump.”
Henry stepped forward. He curled his fingers and lifted his arm. Then he gave me the slowest fist bump in the history of fist bumps. Still, I laughed. “You really do rock, Henry.”
“So do you, miss.” The corners of Henry’s mouth tilted up very slightly. I assumed that was his version of a smile. “I see we have a guest.”
“You remember Jon Lemons, right? He saved me, Henry. We got attacked by zombies … Rath’s trying to find out who sent them.”
“You were attacked? And you did not call me?” Henry sounded … well, hurt.
“You’ve risked yourself too much for me. I can’t keep asking you to do that.”
“I am your ghoul. And I am your friend. I must insist you call me whenever you need me—no matter the perceived risk.”
I blinked. “Okay, Henry. I will.”
He sniffed delicately. “Perhaps a shower is in order?”
“Yeah. Definitely. And maybe you can make sure Jon Lemons gets cleaned up and back to Barbie?”
“I will take care of the zombie. What about dinner, miss?”
I’d learned to trust Henry about food. “Whatever you think is best,” I said.
“Very well.” Henry continued to stare at me, and I realized he was exuding a sense of urgency. Well, as urgent as Henry could appear.
“Is there something else?”
I asked.
“Have you made much progress in finding the book?”
At first, I thought he was talking about
Keep Thy Soul
. But Henry never really bothered me about homework. Then I remembered. “You mean
Anubis and The Seventh Warrior
?” I shrugged. “I told you, it’s been missing since like forever. Someone took it from the library and never gave it back.”
“I believe it is still on the campus.”
How would Henry know that? And why was he so insistent that I find the book? I trusted Henry. He seemed to think that I could find answers in
Anubis and The Seventh Warrior
. “Okay. I’ll put it on top of my to-do list. Is there anywhere in particular you think I should look?”
“This school has many mysteries,” said Henry. “Even the walls contain secrets.”
I knew Henry was unable to give me direct information. So, I would try to decipher what he was really trying to say, and work harder to find the book.
You know, on top of training for the
Kebechet challenge, writing a book report, worrying about Rath, and trying to avoid whoever was trying to kill me.
AFTER MY SHOWER and a nice dinner, I crawled into my bed. I’ve been thinking about my Aunt Lelia. She had warned me about “she.” So, was that the woman I’d seen in the temple? Was Mr. Jacobs in on it with her? I didn’t know. I was having doubts about my own accusations against Mr. Jacobs. I couldn’t ignore the fact he gotten help for me, instead of dragging me off somewhere to finish the job.
Trying to figure out motives—and pin down who had out for me
—was frying my brain.
Maybe it was time to think more
about this mysterious book that Henry wanted me to find. Maybe I couldn’t tell my friends what was going on with the Nekros Society, being the daughter of Anubis, and that I had serious reaper skills, but I could ask for their help. With all of us searching for information about my aunt’s death and tracking down
Anubis and The Seventh Warrior
, I had a better shot at success.
I retrieved my phone from the nightstand.
Molly:
Need help. Can’t find 411 on Aunt Lelia’s death. Need 2 find book: Anubis and The 7
th
Warrior.
Barbie:
Research queen here. On it.
Trina:
Daddy loves rare books. Will check with his contacts.
Daniel:
Allergic to libraries. Uncle is cop. Will ask him about aunt.
Autumn:
Sending ghosts on treasure hunt for 411 and book. BTW, what do u think about pink zombies serving cake?
Molly:
Ugh! Poor zombies.
Barbie:
NO.
Trina:
Love!
Daniel:
I cannot accept any kind of dessert from a pink zombie.
Autumn:
C’mon y’all! It’s a food-based dye. It’ll wash right off.
Molly:
Still voting no.
Barbie:
HELL NO.
Trina:
Love + infinity!
Daniel:
Exiting debate. Going to bed.
The rest of us signed off, too. I put my phone on its charger, and turned off my lamp. I snuggled in my bed covers, readjusted my pillow to a more comfortable position, and closed my eyes.
Despite my exhaustion, I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about what it happened in the woods.
Who would send zombies after me? If Jon Lemons and Rath hadn’t shown up—I might well be dead.
I shivered.
I shifted my thoughts to my Aunt Lelia. She was in real trouble. I wanted to help her so much. I worried about her warning, too. Who was she warning me about? The only person, or rather god, I could think of as a she was Anput. But I was almost certain it hadn’t been Anput in the temple. Still, I didn’t know. And that was the scariest part of all. Did I need to be concerned about Anput betraying her bloodline again?
Or was this “she” a new enemy?
Molly’s Reaper Diary
Family is Everything
E
VEN WHEN THE whole world is counting on you to save it from an angry god, you gotta be there for your family. I know it’s tough. That whole 1 billion people versus the twelve that love you. Still, is the world worth saving if you don’t have anyone that trusts you?
Loyalty is important. You gotta have your family’s back. And your family includes your friends and your relatives. Look, I know sometimes you’re dealing with circumstances you can’t control. But if your family needs you, then it’s go time.
At least, that’s how I feel about it. Being a reaper can really mess with your heart and your head. That’s why you need family. They keep you on track; they keep you solid.
Capiche?
“Reapers know the true meaning of sacrifice.”
~
Secret History of Reapers, Author Unknown
“C
ome for my soul, O you wardens of the sky! If you delay letting my soul see my corpse, you will find the eye of Horus standing up thus against you … the great god will proceed in peace when you allow this soul of mine to ascend vindicated to the gods…”
~From spell 89 in The Book of the Dead
C
hapter 7
THE LAST TWO weeks had taken suckitude to a whole new level.
When I was at school, all I did was study and train. In fact, training with the Nekros Society had kicked into super high gear. Then there were extra sessions with Rath as I prepared for the competition to officially win the title of
Kebechet
.
But at least no one else had tried to kill me.
I’d blown off so many study groups, movie nights, and lunch hours with my friends, that Barbie, Trina, Autumn, and Daniel had stopped inviting me. Autumn had also quit including me on the texts to discuss the final preparations for Trina’s going away party. Or so I assumed since she seemed to send 100 texts on the subject every day, and now I was getting nada.
On the weekends, Henry and I had been shuttled off to the massive house of my grandparents. I couldn’t exactly say spending extra time with Grandma and Grandpa Briarstock was a complete bust, especially after we taught Henry how to play Jenga. He bested my grandmother every single time. Sandra nearly busted a vein trying to outdo my ghoul, and Derek and I did a mostly okay job of hiding our laughter.
Sad, but true—being with my grandparents had been the bright spots of my time lately.
Rath had been pushing me hard during our training sessions. He said he was working on a solution to help my Aunt Lelia, but he didn’t really have much to tell me yet.
He hadn’t found anything—or anyone—in the woods to explain the attacking zombies. He popped up a lot more lately, just to say “hi,” but since Henry had been doing the same thing, I knew the truth: They were checking on me.
It was sweet.
Unfortunately, Rath hadn’t made any more gestures of affection, and honestly, I could’ve used a hug or three. Maybe even a shoulder rub.
Study. Train. Eat. Study. Train
. Repeat twice a day.
Sleep.
Do it all again.
Exciting life, right? Being a reaper is so super awesome. (Hah!)
Sigh.
AFTR MY LAST afternoon class, I went to my dorm room, intent on a having a nap before meeting Rath for an evening session of “kick-Molly’s-butt.” I tossed my bag onto the nearest chair and then fell face-first onto my bed.
I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, giving my worried thoughts full reign. It was frustrating to have all these problems and no solutions. FYI, it hadn’t escaped my attention that Anubis had been quiet for a while now.
I really needed a convo with god-dad.
“Are you there, Anubis?” I whispered. “It’s me, Molly.”
Silence was my answer. Well, he was a god after all. Maybe he was just busy with Underworld stuff. I let a few more moments pass, and then I tried again.
“Hey … uh, Dad?” Wow. I felt kinda weird calling Anubis “Dad.” That privilege had been Al Bartolucci’s for my last sixteen years. Suddenly, I missed my father, my sister, and my grandmother. There were times I felt really alone. Back before this whole
Kebechet
thing, I wanted to be alone because my family was chaotic and always around. Now, I felt homesick.
Surprise! Anubis didn’t answer. I wasn’t going to bother with Anput, either, because she’d been ignoring me
, too.
T
he one thing I could say about my bio-dad is that he’d never let me down. If I needed him, he was always there. And even though I wasn’t his “real” daughter, it hadn’t mattered. In fact, I could call him right now and tell him I wanted to go home, and he would come get me. I thought about that for a while, but I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Maybe I couldn’t choose my fate, but I could choose how I acted about my fate.
I wasn’t giving up.
I crawled to my pillow, lay down, and closed my eyes. After a while, I started to drift into sleep.
My cell phone rang.
My eyes popped open. I grabbed the phone and looked at the display.
Ally
was calling me?
I punched the ANSWER button. “What’s up, sis?”
“Molly,” whispered Ally. “You need to come home.”
For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. After all, I had just had thoughts about bailing from Nekyia.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s about Mom. Just … please, Molly. Meet me at the Zomporium. Like, right before closing, okay?”
I don’t know how my little sister expected me to get to Las Vegas in three hours. It wasn’t like I had a driver’s license, much less a car. Or a way to make an eight-hour drive fit into ninety minutes. Of course, I did have a friend with a private airplane, but given my current distance from my Nekyia friends, I didn’t feel right asking for any favors. Since Henry could get into trouble for helping me break the rules (like leaving campus without authorization), I didn’t want to ask him for help, either. He’d already put himself on the line for me too many times. I felt protective of him.
Ally
seemed really freaked out, and that freaked me out. Ally was rarely shook up by anything. In fact, she was the most emotionally steady person I’d ever met. (Except, of course, when it came to zombies. She was rabid about saving zombies.)
“Molly?”
“Yeah. I’m here. Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”
“I need to show you.”
“How am I supposed to get to Vegas?”
“You’re half god. Zap yourself here, or something.”
I heard the dial tone. Well, that was typical Ally. Did she really expect me to drop everything, skip out of school, and pop down there?
Of course she did.
There was only one person I could think of who might help me, and actually have a way to get me to Vegas ASAP.
Rath.
He didn’t exactly carry around a cell phone, but I had Henry. Being a ghoul gave him a line into the other side. And he’d been able to get hold of Rath before, too.
“Henry!”
My friend appeared next to the bed. “Yes, miss?”
“Could you please find Rath for me? I really need to talk to him.”
“Of course, Miss.” He disappeared.
I barely had time to blink before Henry returned holding Rath by the shoulders. He let go of the reaper, and Rath stumbled forward. “W
ill there be anything else?”
I choked back laughter. Rath’s expression was both incredulous and pissed-off. A giggle escaped, and he glared at me.
“You’re awesome, Henry. Thanks.”
Henry acknowledged my praise with a slight nod, and then popped out of my room.
“Why the hell did you send your ghoul after me?”
“How else am I supposed to get hold of you?”
“Most people call.”
“You have a cell phone?”
“Reapers don’t need phones, Molly. You have a scythe and a familiar.”
Oh, remembered now that he’d said my raven had gotten him for the ol’ zombie battle.
“If you’re trying to reach another reaper,” continued Rath, “your scythe is like a cell tower. It’ll reach me.”
I’d never seen Rath’s token, or knew where he kept his scythe. Tokens were supposed to be kept secret, and a reaper never revealed the hiding place of his scythe. I’m not sure why, but it probably had to with accumulation of power, Anubis, reaper wars, or some archaic rule I didn’t know about.
“Sorry. I’ll call you by scythe next time. I didn’t know that was an option.”
Rath’s expression softened. “I keep forgetting that you’re still learning everything. Plus, you’re alive, so you’re not used to the stuff we dead people can do.”
“Well, I forget that you’re dead.”
“To you, Molly, I’m not.” He crossed his arms, and lifted an eyebrow. “What was so urgent?”
I slid my legs off the bed and sat up. “I need to get to Vegas. Ally called. She’s really upset, and said she had to show me something.” I heaved out a nervous breath. “Something to do with my mom.”
“Conventional travel is out, huh?”
“Yep.”
Rath held out his hand. “It just so happens we can take a shortcut. C’mon, brown eyes. I’ll show you have to travel reaper-style.”
I took his hand, and immediately the color of the earthly plane bled away until only gray remained. My entire body felt chilled to the core. Eventually my room faded altogether and I found myself in a gray landscape known as the Shallows. This was the in-between of existence, the place reapers used to as a doorway to the hereafter.
The soil beneath my feet was like ash, soft and powdery. Around us were craggy rocks, and above us there was no sky, just an endless black. Fog drifted like ghosts throughout the place. The silence was as thick and soft as cotton.
I shivered. “I don’t remember it being so cold.”
“I don’t feel anything.” He put his arm around me and brought me in close. “When you’re dead, you don’t worry about the temperature.”
“Reapers get all the perks.”
He chuckled. “That’s one way to look at it.”
“How do we get to Vegas?” I asked.
“We think our way there.” He let go of me, and gestured at the Shallows. “Reapers don’t have bodies, Molly. I can take human form, but I’m still dead. Usually, only souls and reapers can enter the Shallows. You’re the exception.”
“What about gods?”
“I guess so, but they don’t need to use the Shallows like we do. The gods are made of different … um, stuff. It’s one of the reasons why they protect human souls. You think the heavens are just a reward for good acts on Earth? Or the bowels of the Underworld are meant only for punishing the wicked?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t thought about it much.”
“Where do you think gods get the power they need to exist?”
I frowned. “Wait a minute. You mean, human souls are like batteries?”
“That’s a simplified explanation,” offered Rath. “Everything is connected. The gods need souls, and souls need the gods.”
“I get the connected part,” I said. “But I’m not sure how the soul thing actually works. Especially since it has five parts.”
Rath reached out and tapped my nose. “That’s a lesson for another time, brown eyes.”
“Good,” I said. “Because my brain was starting to cramp.”
“You’re smarter than you think.” Rath held out his hand, and I took it once again.
“Now what?”
“
Now
we go to Las Vegas. Where to? Your house or the Zomporium?”
“
Ally said to meet her at the Zomporium.”
“You got it.” Rath pulled me closer. “Oh, and one more thing.”
He brought me fully into his embrace, dipped his head down, and kissed me. At first, it was a gentle exploration of lips. That was enough to get my heart thumping. Then he split the seam of my mouth with his tongue.
My stomach squeezed, and I latched onto his shoulders, and followed his lead. I wasn’t an experienced kisser, but Rath didn’t seem to mind.
After a long moment of our mouths meeting and parting and going back for more, Rath finally pulled back—just a little.
I blinked up at him, feeling dazed. Actually, I was felt as though I were floating, just like the fog drifting around us. “Wow.”
One corner of his mouth curled upward. “I want you to know how I feel about you, Molly.”
“I like you, too.” It seemed like such an inadequate thing to say, but Rath broke into a full smile.
“I’m glad we got that cleared up.”
“Ditto.”
Rath kept a tight grip on my hand. “We need to think about the Zomporium. As we think about it, it will appear. Then we step into the space, and leave the Shallows.”
It sounded fairly easy. But I got the feeling that only an experienced reaper travel
ed this quickly through the Shallows. I wondered how much more knowledge waited for me after I was dead. Okay, that was a creepy thought. But I knew for a fact death is not the end. Souls lived on, and according to Rath, they were energy. And I think that if human souls fueled the gods, then they also fueled everything else. In a way, the soul is like a star. Death was not really death. It was just a transformation.
“Are you ready, Molly?”
I nodded. I closed my eyes and thought about Big Al’s Zomporium. I wasn’t exactly sure where Ally wanted to meet me. But I assumed she didn’t expect me to walk through the front door. So, I envisioned Dem’s space—where he made the zombies. As I did so, I explained the details to Rath so his thoughts would give power to mine.
“Molly, you don’t have to close your eyes.”
I opened my eyes, and looked at him. “Huh?”
He laughed. “You need to be able to see your destination. See?” He pointed in front of us, and there was the
sahnetjar
. “Let’s go.”
Rath stepped forward, into the image, and pulled me with him. As we stepped into the zombie-making room, the gray dissipated the color brightened. The familiar smells of the
sahnetjar
reminded me of how homesick I really felt. Then another scent caught my attention.”