Death's Dilemma (DHAD #2) by Candice Burnett

be a Reaper anymore?”
    “Maybe she was on his list, and he had to collect her soul?” I suggested.
    “Maybe, but for your dad, from what I’ve heard, to stop, I think it had to be something more than that. Like if your mom was, say… a Guardian. That would explain some of your other powers as well. It would also explain why he never brought her home.” Everything he was saying made sense, and I’d already assumed the same myself, but something just didn’t quite fit. “Did he ever let on anything about her?” Dave asked.
    “He didn’t ever really say much about her, just that we looked alike besides our hair color. We were the exact opposite he said, as where my color was red, long and wavy, hers was blonde, short, and straight. She was very stubborn he said, and they weren’t officially married when I was born. But he once said he would have given anything to be able to marry her. On that topic too, he’d once slipped that she had strict beliefs or something, which was why she wasn’t in limbo during my birth.”
    “Strict beliefs, huh? Maybe Catholic, Muslim, Baptist? I mean, all of them can be strict,” Lacie chirped in.
    “Or strict beliefs could mean Guardian, like I was going with earlier,” Dave pointed out.
    “Well, how about her maiden name? A picture? Surely you saw a picture of her,” Trevor added.
    “No,” I said and Lacie’s mouth dropped
    “You never thought that was strange?” she asked.
    “No, I remember asking about her when I was younger, but every time I did, it made my dad so sad.”
    “Still, that’s strange.”
    “Maybe you were a one night stand baby, Cendall,” Lacie said and I gave her the death stare.
    “I know you’ve never met my dad, but even in the glimpses he’s showed about her, something in his eyes just changed when he talked about her. He loved her. I know it.”
    I don’t know why I hadn’t let it bother me so much before. Thinking about it now, I should have had her picture up somewhere growing up. So many humans had their dead plastered everywhere around the house, and other Reaper families did the same. My house was the only one, in fact, that didn’t have pictures. We even had three day ceremonies as a reminder every year. Reapers were told never to forget their dead. They wanted us to embrace, remember, and learn from the dead, to ensure we didn’t make their errors and end up on the wall.
    We had a specific hall in the town square that had photos of those who had fallen. Some of my great grandparents were there, along with several other Reapers that had apparently been related to me. Every year, when we’d look at the photos, someone would stop and say how they were all worried about my dad carrying on because it took him so long to find a mate. When he showed up with me, though, they were overjoyed until they realized I was a girl, then they supposedly weren’t as happy. They did, however, seem satisfied that his line wasn’t ending.
    “So far, I think the only theory that makes sense is Dave’s, so we’ll have to try and carry on with that.” Too bad we didn’t have a picture, name, or any freaking clue who she was. If we did, you better believe I’d question every single Guardian when we got home.
    “I’ve got to go as I can feel the calling, but I’ll try and see if my dad has any more info. I hope some of this helped.” He gave me another hug, and I stared at his scythe as Trevor handed it back to him. My fingers tingled, remembering the rush I used to feel when I was about to cross off another name on my list.
    “I found it to be helpful, Thank you, Dave.”
    “I’ll try and keep an ear out for when any of our neighbors are coming for you.”
    “Thanks.” He ported out, and I ran my fingers through my hair in an attempt to command my brain to think.
    “Well, I’m just going to state the obvious. She wasn’t human,” Lacie said.
    “Well yeah, that is now assumed, but why would my dad lie to me about her being