Predestined (13 page)

“Speaking of hotness, here comes
your last drool-worthy boyfriend,” Miranda whispered.

Not what I wanted to hear or deal
with right now. Peering over my shoulder I watched as Leif spoke to
those who passed him until he’d managed to work his way to me. It
was so easy to pretend he was normal. Closing my locker door I
turned around to face him.

“Leif,” I muttered. It was the best
I could do.

He apparently found this response
amusing because his grin only grew bigger. “Pagan, it’s good to see
you too.”

Haha. Wasn’t he a riot?

“What do you need?” I asked a
little too brusquely because Miranda elbowed me hard.

“Well, I was wondering about the
tutoring. I mean, now that I’m back I need to keep up my grade and
you know I can’t do it without your help.”

Whatever. There was no way a voodoo
spirit was dyslexic. Did he think I was an idiot?

“Ah, well, when
you
left
I filled
your spot. But I’m sure there are other tutors available if you
feel you
really
need one.” I’d tried my best to get my point across without
Miranda picking up on anything.

“But you were so helpful. I doubt
anyone else will be able to help me the way you did.” He was
enjoying this. The gleam in his eyes said he was thoroughly
enjoying every minute. I wanted to push him away and head to class
but that would only cause drama and attention I didn’t want. So
instead I pulled my book bag up higher on my shoulder and stepped
around him without another word. I heard Miranda apologizing for my
behavior which was just ridiculous but she didn’t know
that.

“What’s wrong with you? I mean, I
know he broke up with you but you have Dank now. Why hold a
grudge?” Miranda asked after she caught up with me.

I opened my mouth to respond when
the ringing of her cell phone interrupted me.

Miranda rummaged through her bag in
a hurry to find it before a teacher heard it.

“You know you should turn that
thing off at school. You’re going to get it confiscated again,” I
chided her.

She pulled it out of her bag and
flashed me an annoyed glance before answering.

“Hello.”

“Why? What’s going on at the
field?”

Miranda grabbed my arm to stop me.
Her face looked puzzled. “We need to go down to the field. Not sure
why but that was Krissy Lots and she said I needed to get down to
the football field immediately then she hung up. There were sirens
in the background.”

“Sirens?” My interest had just gone
from curiosity to alarm.

“You two need to come with me,
now,” Gee appeared in front of me and I really hoped I just hadn’t
noticed her walking up. Appearing out of nowhere would freak people
out.

“We have to go to the football
field,” I explained, as Miranda ignored her and pushed past the
other students

“I know you do,” Gee replied
without one ounce of her normally snarky attitude. Instead, she
sounded worried. That could only mean... ohgod.

I didn’t stand there and wait for
an explanation. Instead, I took off after Miranda and we reached
the door leading down to the football field at the same time. We
ran the entire way toward a field that was now swarming with people
and two ambulances. There was only one person we both knew that
went to the field every morning to run. Wyatt.

Chapter Eleven

I was numb. Standing
there as paramedics worked tirelessly over Wyatt’s unresponsive
body I couldn’t seem to move. Miranda’s sobbing and begging for
Wyatt to wake up seemed so far away. Nothing felt real. Almost as
if I were having an out of body experience. Other than my
grandmother, I’d never experienced losing someone I loved. Surely
he wasn’t going to die. Wouldn’t Dank have warned me? Didn’t he
know these things beforehand?

As if he heard his name in my
thoughts he appeared, standing like a beautiful dark angel, behind
the paramedic that was bent over Wyatt and administering CPR. They
were getting the defibrillator ready to shock his heart. Nothing
else had worked.

Dank’s eyes met mine and I could
see the sorrow there in those blue depths. This couldn’t mean what
I thought it did. He’d just come to reassure me, hadn’t he? Wyatt
was too young to just drop dead. He was my friend. Not just any
friend but one I’d had my whole life or as long as I could
remember. We’d had hotdog eating contests and raced dirt bikes.
Wyatt had been the one to teach me to ride a skateboard and I’d
been the one to bait his hook with chicken liver when we went
fishing. He hated the stuff. Made him queasy. He was a part of my
life and I didn’t want to let him go. Didn’t Dank see
that?

“Wyatt, please baby, please, open your eyes for me,”
Miranda sobbed brokenly as they placed the two paddles on his chest
the same way I’d seen them do to people on
Grey’s Anatomy
.
Wyatt’s chest rose and fell in a quick jerk as they all seemed to
be hovering over him begging him to respond. But nothing. I watched
them do it again and with the same results. Nothing was happening.
Then I watched as Wyatt’s soul lifted from his body and went
directly to Dank. Wyatt never looked back as a transporter I’d
never met stepped forward and in an instant they were gone. Wyatt
was gone.

The horror of what I’d just
witnessed felt like a knife in my chest. He’d taken Wyatt from me.
How could he take someone from me so easily? Miranda crumpled to
the ground as the paramedics stated the time of death as 8:02. I
couldn’t bring myself to see if Dank was still here watching as our
world fell apart. Instead, I walked over to Miranda and joined her
on the dewymorning grass. Wrapping my arms around her body I let
myself give into the pain.

The paramedics on the scene
believed it was a brain aneurysm but no one would know for sure
until after the autopsy. Seeing Wyatt’s body zipped up in a body
bag had been the most bizarre moment in my life. Although I knew he
wasn’t in there any longer it was still an odd moment. I’d fought
the urge to jump up and run over to them and demand they let him
go. He wouldn’t be able to breathe in that bag. He hated enclosed
spaces. Once I’d shut him up in my closet and locked the door and
by the time I let him out he’d gone into a full anxiety attack. Now
they were zipping him up in a bag and soon he’d be underground.
We’d see him lying in a casket then he’d be lost to us forever. No
basketball scholarship. No NBA. Wyatt was gone.

Miranda hadn’t spoken or eaten
since her mother had shown up after getting a call from the school.
Miranda and I hadn’t moved from our huddle on the ground when her
mother arrived. I’d managed to coax Miranda to get up and we’d both
ridden in the back of her mother’s Cadillac to her house. Now she
lay curled up in a ball on her pink fluffy bed with the stuffed
animal Wyatt had given her for Valentine’s Day last year. It’d had
a necklace around its neck with a small heart shaped diamond. He’d
saved up for almost a year to buy it for her. For twelve months
he’d stop me in the hall at least twice a week and whisper how much
closer to his goal he was. I’d smile and shake my head because they
really were sickeningly sweet.

“How long you plan on staying
here?” Gee asked and I jumped, startled by her arrival. I hadn’t
expected her to show up here. Frowning, I glanced over at Miranda
and I wondered if she was asleep. I knew the pill her mother had
given her as soon as we arrived had been to help her
sleep.

“She’s sleeping but she can’t see
or hear me anyway. I’m incognito,” Gee explained.

I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t
want to leave her. And truthfully I didn’t want to see Dank. I was
confused and hurt and Death wasn’t really who I wanted to see at
the moment. Miranda’s room was safer.

“I’m staying the night. I’m not
leaving until she’s better,” I replied in a clipped tone. Part of
me was angry with Gee too. This was their job after all. Had they
not considered I’d like to know about Wyatt’s death? Maybe I could
have stopped it. If I’d known he had an aneurysm I could have done
something.

“You’re mad at him, aren’t you,”
Gee said matter of factly.

I only nodded.

“This was bound to happen sooner or
later. You can’t love Death, Pagan, and not accept him. It’s what
he was created for. He’s not just some sexy guy who can sing and
play the guitar.”

I knew this, of course, but right
now I didn’t want to talk about it. Not with her and not with him.
“Just tell him I need time. I don’t want him showing up here. I
don’t want to deal with talking it out with him right now. I need
to grieve, alone.”

Gee opened her mouth to argue but
closed it when I glared at her coldly.

“Okay, fine. If that’s how you
feel.”

“It is.”

Dank

“To say that she is
pissed would be putting it mildly,” Gee said as she stepped into
Miranda’s backyard where I’d been waiting since she went in to talk
to Pagan. I hadn’t felt comfortable barging in on Pagan while she
was in Miranda’s room. So instead, I’d sent Gee.

“What did she say?” The icy cold
fear that I’d damaged the feelings Pagan had for me had been eating
me up inside since I’d taken Wyatt’s soul. If I’d only paid
attention to the agenda and noticed his name but I’d skimmed it.
This was the first time I’d missed something like this. I always
noticed souls that held significance. I couldn’t figure out how I’d
missed Wyatt’s soul. His death had surprised me as much as it did
everyone else. If I’d known I’d have prepared Pagan.

When I’d arrived at the football
field to find Wyatt’s body, I’d almost refused to take his soul.
But as I stood there watching Pagan, I knew I couldn’t. I’d been
given one reprieve from breaking the rules. I wouldn’t be given
another. And I couldn’t leave her. My selfish nature won out.
Unable to look her in the eyes I’d reached down and drawn his soul
from his lifeless body. I’d met this soul before. This had been his
third lifetime. Miranda’s soul was his mate. Her grieving would be
deep because she’d lost a part of herself. I hated knowing I had
anything to do with it.

“She’s upset, Dank. Right now, the
fact you’re Death sheds a whole new light on her understanding of
you. Before today she’d never really soaked in your purpose because
you’d never taken anyone from her. Now, she knows. She’s battling
the fact that to most humans Death is something they hate, fear,
cower from and she’s in love with him.”

Self-loathing seeped into my skin
and I bowed my head. This was inevitable. Death wasn’t something
humans loved. Now, my Pagan had realized how difficult loving me
really was. I’d ripped up her world today and left it in shreds and
there was not one damn thing I could do about it.

“She loves you, Dankmar. I know she
does. But this isn’t going to be easy for her to deal with. It’s a
hard concept for me and I’m not human. Her human brain will have a
hard time processing everything. Just give her time and
space.”

Space? How was I going to give her
space? I could hardly stand to be parted from her for hours at a
time. How did I stand back and wait?

“How?” I asked, lifting my head to
stare at Gee. Hoping for once in my existence she had something
wise to say.

“How? Well, hell, Dank do I look
like the freaking Creator? I don’t know. You just do.”

“I just do,” I repeated, gazing up
at the window where I could feel Pagan’s heart beating. She was
safe up there. I’d have to let her come to terms with who I am.
Hopefully it wouldn’t take too much time.

“You’ll stay here and watch out for
her?” I needed some reassurance that while she put distance between
the two of us she’d still have someone near her.

Gee rolled her eyes and placed a
hand on her hip. “You know it. I’m worried about her too, Dank. I’m
not going anywhere. Since you don’t have Pagan’s desire to have you
beside her weighing you down why don’t you go deal with some voodoo
spirits and kick some ass.”

That was the first thing on my
agenda. “I intend to. After this, dealing with Leif is the last
thing she needs. I’ve got to figure out how to get rid of
him.”

Letting out a relieved sigh, Gee
nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, you do and this is the perfect
time to do it.”

Chapter Twelve

Pagan

Funeral homes were typically places
I stayed away from, because wandering souls tended to get stuck in
them. Today however, I sat beside Miranda holding her hand firmly
in both of mine. We were put in the family section by Wyatt’s mom.
She’d said the two of us were as close to him as any of his family.
Considering we’d faced every year of our lives together since
preschool I’d have to agree. The Halloween we’d dressed up as the
Three Musketeers came to my mind and a small smile played on my
lips. I hadn’t felt like smiling the past two days. Miranda and I
had grieved together. Just yesterday we’d spent hours talking about
different things Wyatt had done to make us laugh over the years. It
had been bittersweet to remember him. After awhile Miranda had
gotten so worked up again her mother had given her another sleeping
pill.