“I told them you didn’t do it. I cleared you,” I said, unable to quash the guilt I was drowning in with every word.
“You framed me for a double murder,” Nash spat, and Sabine glared at me from his side, her eyes dark and even scarier than usual. “Why, Kaylee?”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, tears filling my eyes. But there was nothing I could do or say to make things right between me and Nash. Not now. Not after everything we’d done to each other. How was it possible that a relationship I’d once thought was meant to be could have spawned so much pain? Addiction. Lies. Betrayal. Unfaithfulness. Manipulation by Influence. And now suspicion of two murders. We couldn’t have hurt each other worse if we’d been trying.
“I’m so sorry, Nash,” I said again. Because I had to try. “Beck made me. He had a knife, and he was going to—” But I couldn’t finish that thought. I didn’t want Emma to know what Beck had threatened to do to her and Sophie. Ever. “I’m so, so sorry.” And I’d be paying for what I’d done to him with every single day of my afterlife.
“Nash, she died,” Emma said softly. “That bastard stabbed her and tried to steal her soul.”
Sabine’s eyes widened, and I could see some of her anger fade, but Nash…
“What soul?” Nash stomped past me unsteadily on his way to his room, and we all stared after him.
“He doesn’t mean that,” Harmony said, and my father wrapped one arm around her in sympathy. “He’s…not himself.”
I nodded. It was my fault Nash wasn’t himself, but I couldn’t quite believe that he didn’t mean it. Wouldn’t I hate him if he’d framed me for murder? Hadn’t I hated him just a little, after what happened in the parking lot? And that was nothing, compared to what I’d done.
“Kaylee…” Harmony said, and I could see the question in the slow, pain-filled swirl of pale blue in her eyes, demanding—yet dreading—to know the extent of her loss. “Where’s Tod? He’s not answering his phone.”
Tears filled my eyes again, and my dad pulled me close.
“Harmony…” he began, and I realized then that he knew. He’d either seen Tod die, or he’d figured it out. But he hadn’t told her yet. “Tod refused to reap Kaylee’s soul. I’m so sorry.”
Harmony’s hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes watered. She dropped onto the couch and squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears leaked out anyway.
“I tried…” I whispered, as my own tears fell. “I tried to get him back, but Levi said there was nothing he could do.”
“And if you’d waited another hour, that would have been true.”
I froze in my father’s arms, and if my heart had been beating, surely it would have stopped at the sound of Tod’s voice. Harmony stood, red eyes wide, and I turned slowly.
Tod stood in front of the kitchen door, his arms crossed over his chest, his lips turned up in a half smile. He spread his arms, and I ran into them, and they closed around me, and I could feel him, warm and solid, and very real.
“Levi says, ‘Surprise,’” he whispered, and I pulled away just enough to look into his eyes. “I take it I have you to thank for this?”
Tears poured down my face and I was vaguely relieved to realize that I could still cry. “He said it was too late. He said he’d already turned your soul in,” I sobbed. “I thought you were gone….” I hugged him tighter—couldn’t get close enough—and he rubbed my back.
“He didn’t want to promise something he wasn’t sure he could deliver.” Tod stepped away so he could see my face. “Thank you, Kaylee,” he said, and I laughed at the absurdity, and the irony, and the inexpressible giddiness of getting a gift—a surprise, at that—from the very agent of death who’d taken my life.
“Does this make us even, Reaper?” I asked.
In answer, Tod kissed me.
And finally, my heart began to beat.
Acknowledgments
Thanks, as always, to my critique partner Rinda Elliot, who listens (and believes me) every time I swear that this one is the BEST ONE YET!!!
Thanks to my editor, Mary-Theresa Hussey, for unwavering enthusiasm for the Soul Screamers series, and for never even flinching at what I’ve put Kaylee and her friends through.
Thanks to Natashya Wilson, for input and encouragement.
Thanks to everyone behind the scenes at Harlequin Teen. You’ve made this possible. Kaylee and I thank you.
And, of course, thanks to #1, who puts up with me and with the multitude of fictional characters who take up most of my time and attention. Someday, more of both will be yours. I swear.
Netherworld Survial Guide
A collection of entries salvaged from Alec’s personal journey during his twenty-six year captivity in the Nether…
COMMON HAZARDOUS PLANTS
Note: Flora in the Netherworld is eighty-eight percent carnivorous, ten percent omnivorous and less than two percent docile. So keep in mind that if you see a plant, it probably wants to eat you.
Razor Wheat
Location–Rural areas with little foot traffic.
Description–Fields full of dense vegetation similar to wheat in structure, ranging in color from deep red stalks to olive-hued seed clusters. Over six feet tall at mature height.
Dangers–Razor wheat stalk shatters upon contact, raining tiny, sharp shards of plant that can slice through clothing and shred bare flesh.
Best Precaution–Complete avoidance.
Second-Best Precaution–Long sleeves, full-length rubber waders and fishing boots, metal trash-can lid wielded like a shield.
Crimson Creeper
Location–Anywhere it can get a foothold. Creeper can take root in as little as a quarter-inch-wide crack in concrete and will grow to split the pavement open. It grows quickly and spreads voraciously, climbing walls, towers, trees and anything else that can be made to hold still.
Description–A deep green vine growing up to four inches in diameter, bearing alternating leaves bleeding to crimson or bloodred on variegated edges. Vines also sport needle-thin thorns between the leaves.
Dangers–Though anchored by strong, deep roots, which have hallucinogenic properties when consumed, Creeper vines slither autonomously and will actually wind around prey, injecting predigestive venom through its thorns. The vine will then coil around its meal and wait until the creature is slowly dissolved into liquid fertilizer from the inside out.
Best Precaution–Complete avoidance.
Second-Best Precaution–Crimson Creeper blooms can be made into a tea which acts as one of two known antidotes to the Creeper venom; however, the vine blooms only once every three years. Blooms can be dried and preserved for up to two decades.
COMMON DANGEROUS CREATURES
Note: Whether it intends to consume your mind, body or soul, fauna in the Netherworld is ninety-nine percent carnivorous, in one form or another. So keep in mind that if you see a creature, it probably wants to eat you.
Hellions
Location–Everywhere. Anywhere. Never close your eyes.
Description–Hellions can look like anything they want. They can be any size, shape or color. Their only physical limitation is that they cannot exactly duplicate any other creature living or dead.
Dangers–Hellions feed from chaos in general, and individual emotions in particular. But what they really want is your soul—a never-ending buffet. Since souls cannot be stolen from the living, a hellion will try to bargain for or con you out of it. If you refuse—and even sometimes if you don’t—the hellion will either kill you for your soul or torture you, then kill you for your soul.
Best Precaution–Complete avoidance.
Second-Best Precaution–Pray.
Harpies
Location–Found in large numbers near thin spots in the barrier between worlds, but individual harpies can live anywhere they choose, in either the human world or the Netherworld.
Description–In the human world, harpies can pass for human at a glance, as long as they brush hair over their pointed ears and h
ide their compact, batlike wings beneath clothing. In the Netherworld, harpies appear less human, with mouths full of sharp, thin teeth, claws instead of hands and birdlike, clawed talons instead of feet.
Dangers–Harpies are snatchers. Collectors. They will dive out of the air with no warning to grab whatever catches their eye, which can be anything from broken pots and pans to shiny rings—often still attached to human fingers. Also, they’re carnivores and they don’t distinguish between human and animal flesh.
Best Precaution–Complete avoidance.
Second-Best Precaution–Stay inside or keep one eye trained on the sky and get ready to run.
Escape and Evasion
Note: The best way to escape a Netherworld threat is to leave the Netherworld, though that won’t keep certain species, such as harpies, from crossing into the human world after you. If you are incapable of leaving under your own power, eventually something will eat you. But to help put that moment off as long as possible, here is a list of the most effective evasion tactics:
Find a shelter in rural areas. Netherworld creatures are attracted to heavily populated areas, where the overflow of human energy they feed from is most concentrated.
Fibers from the dissimulatus plant can be woven together and worn to disguise your energy signature and keep predators from identifying you as human and thus edible.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1396-8
IF I DIE
Copyright © 2011 by Rachel Vincent
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Rachel Vincent, If I Die
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