Deadly Kisses

Sixteen





I carried Bee’s lifeless body and placed her on top of the pool table. She looked sick, her pale face was surrounded by black, wispy strands of hair. I pushed her hair behind her ear, letting it go slowly through my fingers.

Jaleb hovered over her, shaking her. I wanted to tell him to stop, but he couldn’t hear me. Goose bumps covered her white skin. He took off his coat and covered her.

“Beatrice, open your eyes,” Jaleb pleaded.

I held my head against her, concentrating on our souls. Hers was a small ball of energy hiding in the depths of darkness. I coaxed it out, and it came to mine, mingling. The soft touch brought it completely out of its hiding spot. It engulfed my soul in an orb of warm vibrancy.

“Bee’s Grim Reaper, her eyes are moving. When she wakes up, you’re going to explain the X on my wrist,” Jaleb said.

Her eyes fluttered open. I held her close to me without bumping into her brother. Her aura was back to normal.

“What happened?” Bee’s voice was dry. She coughed, snuggling into her brother’s coat.

“Bee, I was so worried. I thought it killed you. It was wacked out. You were running to me yelling. Then your legs went straight out. Your Grim Reaper carried you to safety and then everything in the room shook.” Jaleb paced as his hands fumbled through his hair.

I put my arm around Bee’s neck, easing her into a sitting position.

“Ad—”

“Do not tell him who I really am. That would just upset him. Please.”

Jaleb tried helping her down from the table, but his knees buckled. He caught himself from falling to the dirty checkered floor.

“What’s wrong with my brother?” Bee moved herself to the edge until her legs dangled over the side.

“Take my hand.” I helped her down from the pool table, looking her over. She held herself steady, pulling down the leather skirt. I was glad she wore black tights.

“I’m still breathing, Jaleb, but you look like a logging truck ran you down.” Bee saw Reina, hiding in a dark corner. She stiffened.

Jaleb snorted up a wad, spit it on his wrist, and rubbed at it with the bottom of his t-shirt.

“What’s that?” she cried, her voice rising. “Tell me! Was it the Ancients? Did they mark him? Ad?”

I turned away, not wanting to see her disappointment that I had failed to protect them. She could meddle, blab, and say what she wanted, but I knew the truth. Bee had already accepted it was her time to die. I couldn’t tell her that her brother was now going to be reaped too— and worse, by the Ancients.

The ashy X mark on the inside of Jaleb’s wrist was blazing red from his fierce rubbing.

“Tell me or I’ll find out myself,” she demanded.

“Reina summoned Abe, and he came and enforced the rules. They tried to take you away from me. Abe stopped them, but I couldn’t protect Jaleb. The Ancient marked him. I’m sorry. I thought choosing to be a Reaper would be easy. I had no idea all the politics involved. It’s seriously worse than being in school and running for class president.”

“What are you saying?” Bee’s bottom lip quivered.

Reina came next to me and spoke. I was almost relieved. “Abe stepped in, reminding Ivar of the oath he had taken. But the Ancients went around the oath and code, marking your brother. They are going to reap him on Halloween.”

“We’re both going to die?”

I looked down and nodded.

“And they’re going to feed off his aura?”

I nodded again.

Jaleb started to shake. “Tell me you’re not serious? Am I going to die? What about the twins?”

“Get them out of here, Ad,” Reina said.

“What do we do? I can’t die and neither can you.” Jaleb’s eyes were wide with pure fear.

Bee pointed to his wrist. “You’re marked. I’m sorry, Jaleb, I didn’t mean for this to happen. It was supposed to be me, not you. It’s my fault I bribed you to take me here. I just wanted to have fun, see Mad Dogs, and feel close to Sabrina again.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Jaleb said.

I walked behind Bee and Jaleb as they made their way out of the building into the parking lot of Dirty Phil’s. The Ancients were gone.

“I’m not feeling so good. You can drive.” Jaleb clutched his stomach, and Bee fished the keys out of his jacket pocket to unlock the door. She helped him into the backseat. He lay cramped up, and paler than usual.

“I’m not sitting on top of death boy in the backseat. I already feel like I’m going to keel over at any moment. Since you like him so much, let him sit next to you.” He pointed to where he thought I was. “No funny stuff. The day is not over yet.”

“No funny stuff,” I said.

“Is it safe to put the garden tool in the back of the pickup again?” Bee asked.

“It’s too big to fit in the truck with us.” I placed it into the back of the rusted truck bed next to several cement blocks.

I opened the truck door for Bee, helping her climb in.

She asked, “You know this isn’t your fault, right?”

It wasn’t true. Everything I’d done since the morning of my death was my fault. I closed her door and walked around the truck to the passenger seat. She started the truck, the engine puttering to life. Jaleb shook from the death fever that had set in.

The highway was deserted. Jaleb whimpered and Bee drove fast. I took out my phone to read the Manual of Death on the book reader app. Bee swerved.

My body jerked and my face hit the window. I moved toward Bee before settling back to my original position. Jaleb moaned.

“Is he okay?” she cried. “There was a crazy Grim Reaper who almost hit us.”

Lights disappeared over a hill.

“Just keep driving. They always go around you. Don’t forget, they’re invisible to everyone but you.” The words on my phone blurred together the more I read.

“I know. They just scared me, sorry. Why do you travel the river instead of driving? I mean, you used to have a car and now you resort to a boat.”

“It’s a gondola, not a boat.” How could she not realize my car killed her cousin? I would never drive a car again.

“But why do you use a gondola?”

“And why do you wear black undies?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I do prefer the red ones.”

“Stay out of my drawers.” She smacked my arm.

“I wasn’t in your drawers. They’re lying in a pile on the floor near your closet.”

Bee blushed. “Hang in there, Jaleb.”

Jaleb panted in short breaths.

“I really need to read this if we’re going to help your brother.” I skimmed through each page, trying to pick out the important information.

“You’re avoiding my questions. Fine, be that way.” Bee tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

“Thanks, I will. I need to learn this stuff before we get into more trouble.” I felt guilty because Bee needed comfort. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and never let her go. It would be too tempting to take a kiss, and she would kiss me back.

Jaleb wailed. “I feel like dirt.”

I read faster.