Soul Screamers, Volume 1

“Fine.” Though, I wasn’t at all sure of that. My ankle burned fiercely, and was so swollen it seemed to jiggle with each step. But I was afraid to look at it, so I glanced at my watch instead.

It was 2:15 a.m. on the day Abby was fated to die. Unfortunately, we hadn’t thought to ask Libby for a specific time, and Levi had been closely guarding the reapers’ list ever since Tod stole a peek at it six weeks ago, so I already felt like we were working in the dark. Regardless, there wouldn’t be time to seek medical attention until Addy and Regan had their souls back and evil had met its match. Until then, I would pretend my ankle was made of steel, like some kind of bionic joint, and that I could feel no pain. I was superhuman. I could do anything.

But I’d take some Tylenol, just in case. Lots of Tylenol.

Nash slid behind the wheel of Emma’s car again, because I didn’t feel like driving. I felt like sleeping, but sleep, like everything else appealing, wasn’t an option at the moment.

Nash twisted the key in the ignition and glanced in the rearview mirror at his brother. “We’ll pick up Addy and Regan.” He turned the wheel to the left as far as it would go, to cut a tight circle in the deserted parking lot. “You go on to Prime Life and see if you can find Avari. Here, take this.” Nash arced one arm backward over his shoulder to Tod, his cell phone clenched loosely in his fist.

“That won’t work in the Netherworld,” I said. And even if it did, I bet he’d rack up one hell of a roaming charge.

Tod scrolled through his brother’s contact list. Or maybe his playlist. “Yeah, but once I find Avari, I can cross back over and call you.”

Oh, yeah.

Tod pocketed the phone and leaned forward to stick his head between the seats. “Thanks, guys. I really owe you for this.”

I’m sure my grin looked more like a grimace. “And for this…” I propped my foot on the dash again and pulled up my jeans cuff to reveal my ankle. At which point my grimace contorted into an expression of disgust and fear, and my words trailed into shocked silence.

My ankle was twice its normal size. The flesh beneath the double ring of punctures was inflamed and covered in those weird, red webbed veins, which now crept beneath my sock and halfway to my knee. Fluid sloshed beneath the skin over my ankle, hanging lower at the back, just above my shoe, where gravity tugged hardest.

Nash’s sudden intake of breath hissed throughout the car, and I looked up to see him watching me, rather than the road. “Kaylee, we have to get that looked at.”

“Ya think?” I tried to smile, but my sense of humor had deserted me. “Eyes on the road!”

He jumped, then turned the wheel back on course, but kept sneaking glances at my ankle while I tried to decide whether or not to poke it. “That antibiotic cream made it worse,” I said. “Will a human doctor even know what to do for this?”

“I doubt it.” Nash divided his attention between my ankle and the lightly populated highway. “But Mom will.”

I glanced at Tod, eager for a second opinion. “What do you think? Can this wait?”

The reaper swallowed thickly and studied my ankle for a moment. Then he met my gaze, his blue eyes shadowed in the backseat. “I think so.”

“You sure?” I asked. Because he didn’t sound very sure.

“Yeah.” Tod nodded firmly. “You’ll be fine. We’re not looking to drag this out, anyway.”

“Okay. Good.” I sank back into my seat, feeling a little better now that we’d decided on a course of action. “As soon as we’re done at Prime Life, we’ll call your mom and have her meet us at your house,” I said to Nash, then twisted to look at Tod. “I’ll call Addy and tell her we’re on the way. You go find this hellion. Avari. But try not to let him see you. And if he does, don’t tell him we’re bringing Addy and Regan. Somehow I doubt he’ll be eager to give their souls back, even if he thinks he’ll be getting two more in exchange.”

For once, Tod nodded without arguing. Then he gave me an unexpected kiss on the cheek and disappeared with Nash’s phone before I could recover from the surprise.

“I take it that’s a thank-you,” I mumbled, rubbing the spot on my cheek where the reaper’s lips had touched me. They were warmer than I’d expected from a dead man.

Nash huffed, but he didn’t really look mad. His brother’s kiss spoke more of gratitude than anything else.

While he watched out for our exit, squinting beneath streetlights at regular intervals, I pulled my phone from my pocket. But before I could scroll through the call history for Addy’s number, a small message at the bottom of the display popped up to tell me I’d missed five calls.

Crap. My dad had discovered my empty bed.

Please tell me he didn’t call the police!