Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery Trilogy #1)(31)
Author: Kim Harrison

There can’t be this many people in all of Three Rivers, I thought sourly, then jerked to a halt to avoid running into a stroller when Josh caught my elbow. There was no way to get through this fast. Giving him a mirthless smile, I slowed down.

"Maybe the black wings can’t find us among everyone," Josh said.

I nodded. "Maybe," I said, remembering the people whose lives I had stolen today. I’d never considered I might endanger them simply by walking among them, but I probably had. "I’m thinking Kairos is looking for us with his eyes, since he can’t track our auras."

From above, Grace said, "It’s not Kairos, and reapers don’t hunt people with their eyes. It takes too long and they make mistakes. You all look alike to them, especially to dark reapers."

"It is Kairos, and I don’t think he cares if he makes a mistake," I protested. "All bets are off, Grace. He wants his amulet back, and he doesn’t want anyone else to know he’s lost it."

Josh’s lips pressed together, and he angled for an opening in the crowd. "I can only hear half this conversation," he complained. "Maybe someone else is getting scythed," he suggested.

"They’ve been hanging on the horizon for hours," Grace said as we worked around the last of the watchers. "It would have happened by now and the black wings would be gone."

"Grace says if it was a normal scythe, it would have happened by now," I said for Josh’s benefit. "I still think it’s Kairos looking for us."

We dodged around a last group of people. Finally the way was clear. Leaving the band to start up an enthusiastic version of "Louie, Louie," we jogged to the parking lot, loaded down with our stuff. I relaxed somewhat when we reached it with its tired yellow balloons hanging from sticks marking the borders. Hesitating like a deer at the edge of the woods, I looked up and down the rows. Where had Josh parked?

"There," Josh said, pointing to the shade tree as if having read my mind, and we broke into a fast pace, hearing the cheer when the band stopped and Ms. Cartwright’s voice come over the loudspeaker to thank everyone for coming. I sighed when the back of his truck became visible from around a big-butt van. But my relief turned to irritation when I noticed who was waiting for us.

"How did they get here before us?" I said. Amy was in the truck’s bed, elbows on the top of the cab, trying to look sexy in her running shorts. That white bandage across her nose killed the effect. Parker stood by the tailgate, shuffling uneasily, and Len was leaning against the front door with his arms crossed, as if he wanted to start some trouble. My hands fisted. I didn’t have time for this.

"Holy sweet seraph nubs," Grace muttered. "This has not been my day."

From the truck bed, Amy called out, "Hi, Madison, sweetie."

It was mocking, and the skin around Josh’s mouth was tight as he fished out his keys from his gym bag. "Get off my truck," he said shortly.

Amy opened her mouth again, and I blurted, "Hi, Amy. What did you do to your nose?"

Turning pink in embarrassment, she said coyly, "Is that a new outfit? You’re as cute as my little sister in those tights."

The way she said it made it sound like I was three, and I fumed, thinking I might make a hundred copies of the shot with her mouth open catching flies and her nose swollen and blue – then post them in the high school’s halls.

Len hadn’t moved, and Josh stepped closer. "Why don’t you grow up?" he said tightly.

Seeing the picture in Josh’s grip, Len leaned forward. "Let me see," he said, grabbing it, and Amy snatched it in turn.

"Oh, isn’t that precious?" she mocked. "How many did you take of him, sweetie?"

My lips pressed together, but a soft rustle of leaves drew my attention up to see a black wing ghost overhead and move on. Eyes wide, I felt the whisper of my heart start up. Not here. Not now!

Amy must have thought I was afraid of her, because she jumped from the truck and sashayed closer. "The team’s going to the Low D, Josh," she said. "Everyone will be there. You’re coming, right?"

Her unspoken "you, but not her" was obvious, making me angry. Josh took the photo back and reached beyond Len for the truck’s handle. He opened it with a yank hard enough to send Len stumbling forward. "No," he said as he tucked the photo on the dash and shoved his bag under the seat. "Why don’t you go take a shower, Amy? You’re sweating like a pig."

Her mouth dropped open, and I snickered loud enough for her to hear.

Len had tried to make his lurch look like it was planned, but he had lost face and he knew it. Even his laugh didn’t help. "Come on," he said as he put his hands in his pockets and started to move away. "I’m not wasting any more time here. Let’s go. Parker?"

Amy draped an arm over Parker’s shoulders to lead him away. He looked like he wanted to say something, but all he did was shrug when Josh met his eyes. Josh shrugged back.

I tried to get my heart stopped as Amy and Parker walked between Josh and me, and I forced my hands to unclench. They were three cars away when Amy called out to someone else, and they angled that way. In the distance, the band started up again, loud and enthusiastic.

Josh looked pissed. His neck was red as he got into the truck and started the engine.

Anxious to be away, I turned to go around the back of the truck, jerking to a halt when a lithe shape dropped out of the tree and into my way. My breath hissed in. Nakita.

"You?" I stammered, trying to realign my thoughts. But it made sense. Nakita was the only dark reaper who would be able to recognize me by sight – and since she knew I had Kairos’s amulet, Kairos had nothing to lose by sending her after me.

"I told you it was a reaper!" Grace shrilled. "Get out of here, Madison!"

Nakita took a step forward, eyeing the angel. Her smile deepened. "I think Ron wants your soul destroyed. He left a first-sphere to watch you? She’s not capable of stopping me."

I stumbled back. "Josh! It’s a reaper!" I shouted, and I heard his truck creak as he got out.

With a soft, confident smile, Nakita took off her sunglasses and threw them aside. She was wearing long pants and a skintight top, all white. A gold belt hung about her hips, and she sported a white, luminescent duster, its hem dragging on the matted grass. The gem on her drawn blade glinted a rich, violet hue, matching the amulet around her neck. Death was walking – looking for me. "Hello, Madison," she said, naming me as she tossed her long black hair back. "You’re a hard soul to find."

I backed up, gripping my camera like it might help me. Crap, where was Barnabas when I needed him? I could not claim Nakita’s amulet because she was a reaper – how was I supposed to do this? I had to figure out a way to take it from her. But how? I had to do it fast.