I sat with a disgruntled Harold at his desk in front of me and Fate leaning against the wall behind me.
I turned around in my chair. “Is there something wrong with one of your legs?” Everywhere he went he was leaning on things. Like the vertical space he occupied wasn’t enough. He had to hog up as much horizontal area as he could possibly get, too. It wasn’t like you could miss him when you entered a room, but that just wasn’t enough for Fate.
“Does my leaning bother you?” he asked.
I turned my back on him again. There was something very unsettling about being around him. I always wanted to kill him and the fact that I found him attractive on top of that made me want to torture him first.
“Do you know how your human form was killed?”
Of course I knew. I was there. It was a stupid question intended to throw me off balance and it did.
I'd been avoiding thinking of that day. If I did, I'd remember my parents were just miles away and yet I couldn't speak to them. I'd miss Charlie and all the friends I'd lost. The only way I was mentally surviving this situation was to push what had happened from my mind. I was living day by day until I left.
“Do you?” Harold pressed.
“Harold, you know I do. Make your point.” It was one of the reasons I'd agreed to this in the first place and I resented the reminder. How could I not?
“All of those people robbed of the chance to even say goodbye. Have a few last words with their loved ones,” Harold continued.
“If you don't get to your point soon, I'm leaving. And not in a calm fashion, either.”
The last thing I wanted was to hear him talk about something I'd experienced first hand. Even when I did let myself think about it, I didn't know what to do. I knew I had a limited amount of time and yet I'd kept forcing it from my mind, not wanting to deal with what happened.
“You know you have to actively participate for thirty days.”
“Calling it active participation doesn’t change that fact that you want me to be an assassin for hire for thirty days.” I stood, unable to stay calmly in my seat and slammed my fist against his desk.
“It’s either active for thirty days or a thousand years. Don’t be stupid about this,” Fate said from behind me. “Even if Harold wanted to, you’ve got to be active for him to have the ability.”
I slumped back into my chair and just shook my head. They had me. They knew it and so did I.
“To help the situation become more palatable to you, we might be able to help you get the person who orchestrated your train crash.”
“Now you're going to help? Didn't you tell me it was my problem?”
“We've reconsidered.”
I stared at Harold and then looked back at Fate. There was something more going on but I certainly had no clue what.
“Do you agree?”
“I'm thinking.” What were they getting out of this? And I didn't believe for a second that they weren't getting something. But did it matter? I didn't know how to find him. At least I could walk away from this situation with a certain amount of peace this way. As long as I was still walking away that was.
“And this doesn't extend my current contract?”
“No.”
“Fine.”
Fate pushed off his favorite place on the wall and walked out the door saying he'd be waiting out there.
“Why's he waiting?”
“He's going home with you.”
“What?”
***
“Don't get too comfortable.” I threw my keys on the counter, and if he thought he was getting a key to this place, he was highly delusional.
Neither of us had spoken since we left the office.
“Don't worry, I've already got a key,” he said as he walked into my kitchen and opened my fridge.
Thanks a whole bunch, Harold.
“Why are you doing this? And don't give me some bull about having to listen to Harold.” He was hogging up all the space in my tiny kitchen. What if I wanted to get in there? I'd have to squeeze in past him? If they hadn't dangled such a tempting carrot, this would be intolerable.
“I have my reasons.” He took a glass from my cabinet and poured the last bit of my iced tea into it.
“Which are?”
“Which are none of your business.”
“I still don't understand why you have to sleep here.”
I saw him roll his eyes and I gripped the counter to keep myself from trying to physically drag him out. He finished my iced tea. You don't take the last of someone's iced tea!
“Because, I need to try and sync into your past fate. We're more in tune to pick up things when we're sleeping. The closer proximity to you when I'm asleep, the more I'll hopefully pick up.”
“Shouldn't you just be able to do that?”
“No, it doesn't work that way.” He looked at me and paused. “And to complicate matters, it's your past, so it's even harder.”
“So now what? We're stuck together until you start picking up on the murderer’s trail?”
“Pretty much. If it's going to work, I'll get something in the next few days.”
He took a couple of sips, made a face and tossed the remaining contents of tea in the sink. “What brand was that?”
That was it, I was on Fate overload.
I walked in my room, grabbed a pillow and a blanket and threw them on the couch before I shut my bedroom door a little more firmly than necessary.
Chapter Eight
It took a while to sleep after the beehive experience, but when I did, it was surprisingly deep. No more flashes of any type. When I woke up, I was still in shock. I was officially a murderer.
Fate was gone in the morning, so at least we didn't have to car pool. I drove to the office in my little Honda with the images of the bee stung body lying there and his screams fresh in my mind.
I parked my car outside work and went in, trying to pretend it was just another day. The usual crew were all there; Luck and Murphy looked to be gossiping off in the corner, Kitty was sharing her coffee over at her desk and I still hadn't met or seen any of the Jinxes.
I walked over and grabbed a discarded newspaper and settled at the table near the windows. It was partially obscured by the alcove it sat in. I liked it better over here. I was still technically at work but now it was a mutual choice to be separated. They didn't want to socialize with me and I decided to return the favor.
Just as I sat down, three boys on skateboards shot through the office. They looked to be around ten or eleven. What were kids doing here?
They zoomed in between the desks, knocking over files as they went and I heard someone scream “Jinxes!” and it all made sense.
All three sets of eyes scanned the room and froze on me. They kicked their skateboards into full gear in my direction. I was just about to jump out of my chair, when they skidded to a stop, inches from knocking me over.
All three were blond with blue eyes. They looked like angelic brothers but it was clear they were anything but.
“Hi,” the kid closest to me said. “I'm Bobby, that's Billy and Buddy.” He hooked his thumb in the direction of the two standing slightly behind him.
“Nice to meet you.” I hoped.
“So, you're the new Karma?” Either Billy or Buddy said, I wasn't sure which. The three of them were forming a half circle around me, their eyes roving up and down me in the most uncomfortable manner.
“Yes. My names Camilla.”
“So, Karma, you're single, right?” Billy/Buddy said.
“Having died recently, I haven't had a chance to date, as of yet.”
“Move out of the way, Bobby. She's not interested in you, are you, darling?” The one on the left said, shouldering his way to the front.
The other one stepped forward now as well. “Don't let the bod throw you baby cakes. I'm an old soul and I'm all man in the sack.” His eyebrows rose while he smiled.
I was trying so hard to keep a neutral face it was impossible to speak without giving up the ruse.
“Hey, don't laugh at us,” Bobby said when I couldn't control myself anymore. “We might look young but we've got some mad skills.”
“I'm sure you do.”