you?”
“Yeah. The night of my birthday party, after you left my bedroom. Remember that?”
“How could I forget?”
At my Sweet Sixteen party—the same night I saved Rick from death and bound him to my service (accidentally, I’d like to point out)—Rath had confronted me. He’d been there to reap Rick’s soul, and I had massively interfered with the process. My triumph soon turned to regret. Rick had suffered because I hadn’t wanted him to die.
Sometimes what you want isn’t what you need (so sayeth Henry).
Anyway.
“I don’t know what happened, or how my mom’s involved, but Aunt Lelia somehow got captured by Set.”
Rath held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Your aunt’s sheut belongs to Set?”
“ Oh, you mean the god imprisoned in the Underworld who’s trying to break out and get vengeance on us? Yeah, that’s the one.” I picked at the edge of the bedcover anxiously. “I want to free her.”
“We’d need a sheut heka , Molly.” Rath shook his head. “Since they’re pretty much outlawed, it’s rare that you find anyone willing to admit, much less use, that power.” He looked at me, his gaze serious. “You need to be careful. Asking around about sheuts can get you into trouble.”
I sighed. “There’s got to be a way to help her.”
“ I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make some inquiries.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He looked at me, and for a moment, I thought he might reach out and touch my face again. Instead, he let go of my hand and offered me a wicked grin. “Rest up, brown eyes.”
“ Yeah. I’ll need my rest to kick your butt in training.”
“You can try.” He got off the bed. “See you later.” He winked at me, and then in a flash of cold darkness, he disappeared.
The clock on my nightstand reminded me that I had about three hours before my friends arrived for movie night. I didn’t really feel like having friends over, but I’d bailed once too often in the last couple of weeks. I couldn’t bring myself to cancel.
I eased out of bed, and surveyed my room. If this had been my bedroom at home, you wouldn’t be able to see the floor because of discarded clothes, thrown pillows, and other assorted junk. I had cleaned my room on a weekly basis because Nona insisted (remember, she’s Italian and has a big rolling pin). Here, at Nekyia, I’d been spoiled by Henry’s OCD tendency to keep everything clean, neat, and precisely in its place.
I looked down at my toes, and decided I had time for a long bath and a pedicure. Then I’d help Henry set up for the movie night party.
Knock, knock, knock.
I crossed the room and opened the door. When I saw who it was, I tensed up immediately.
“What do you want?”
Molly’s Reaper Diary
Frenemies
You won’t like everyone you meet. And hey, there’ll be plenty of people who don’t like you, either. Especially souls who don’t want to believe they’re dead, and will fight you all the way to the gates of the Underworld.
You don’t get choose the souls you guide, and sometimes, you don’t get to choose who you work with on certain tasks. Take, for example, the loathsome Clarissa Jacobs. Despite her attempts to sabotage and humiliate me, I still had to suck it up and work with her for the common good.
“The common good” phrase belongs to Miss Chiles. She utters it constantly. Hey, I get it. I’m not dense. I understand there’s a bigger picture. So, I resist the urge to punch certain people and choose to be a “team” member.
Woo.
Anyway, just because you have to work with your nemesis doesn’t mean you have to trust her (or him). It does mean to be extra cautious around them because they’re probably looking for opportunities to screw you.
Don’t plot back. I mean, really. Don’t do that. You’ll lose focus fast if you’re concentrating on making one person miserable instead of completing a successful mission. I’m sorry, but trust me when I say you’ll be better off
“Yeah. The night of my birthday party, after you left my bedroom. Remember that?”
“How could I forget?”
At my Sweet Sixteen party—the same night I saved Rick from death and bound him to my service (accidentally, I’d like to point out)—Rath had confronted me. He’d been there to reap Rick’s soul, and I had massively interfered with the process. My triumph soon turned to regret. Rick had suffered because I hadn’t wanted him to die.
Sometimes what you want isn’t what you need (so sayeth Henry).
Anyway.
“I don’t know what happened, or how my mom’s involved, but Aunt Lelia somehow got captured by Set.”
Rath held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Your aunt’s sheut belongs to Set?”
“ Oh, you mean the god imprisoned in the Underworld who’s trying to break out and get vengeance on us? Yeah, that’s the one.” I picked at the edge of the bedcover anxiously. “I want to free her.”
“We’d need a sheut heka , Molly.” Rath shook his head. “Since they’re pretty much outlawed, it’s rare that you find anyone willing to admit, much less use, that power.” He looked at me, his gaze serious. “You need to be careful. Asking around about sheuts can get you into trouble.”
I sighed. “There’s got to be a way to help her.”
“ I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make some inquiries.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He looked at me, and for a moment, I thought he might reach out and touch my face again. Instead, he let go of my hand and offered me a wicked grin. “Rest up, brown eyes.”
“ Yeah. I’ll need my rest to kick your butt in training.”
“You can try.” He got off the bed. “See you later.” He winked at me, and then in a flash of cold darkness, he disappeared.
The clock on my nightstand reminded me that I had about three hours before my friends arrived for movie night. I didn’t really feel like having friends over, but I’d bailed once too often in the last couple of weeks. I couldn’t bring myself to cancel.
I eased out of bed, and surveyed my room. If this had been my bedroom at home, you wouldn’t be able to see the floor because of discarded clothes, thrown pillows, and other assorted junk. I had cleaned my room on a weekly basis because Nona insisted (remember, she’s Italian and has a big rolling pin). Here, at Nekyia, I’d been spoiled by Henry’s OCD tendency to keep everything clean, neat, and precisely in its place.
I looked down at my toes, and decided I had time for a long bath and a pedicure. Then I’d help Henry set up for the movie night party.
Knock, knock, knock.
I crossed the room and opened the door. When I saw who it was, I tensed up immediately.
“What do you want?”
Molly’s Reaper Diary
Frenemies
You won’t like everyone you meet. And hey, there’ll be plenty of people who don’t like you, either. Especially souls who don’t want to believe they’re dead, and will fight you all the way to the gates of the Underworld.
You don’t get choose the souls you guide, and sometimes, you don’t get to choose who you work with on certain tasks. Take, for example, the loathsome Clarissa Jacobs. Despite her attempts to sabotage and humiliate me, I still had to suck it up and work with her for the common good.
“The common good” phrase belongs to Miss Chiles. She utters it constantly. Hey, I get it. I’m not dense. I understand there’s a bigger picture. So, I resist the urge to punch certain people and choose to be a “team” member.
Woo.
Anyway, just because you have to work with your nemesis doesn’t mean you have to trust her (or him). It does mean to be extra cautious around them because they’re probably looking for opportunities to screw you.
Don’t plot back. I mean, really. Don’t do that. You’ll lose focus fast if you’re concentrating on making one person miserable instead of completing a successful mission. I’m sorry, but trust me when I say you’ll be better off
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