Deadly Kisses

Eight





Bee gently took the injured bird from me, placing it in a cage that was on her desk. It limped, using its wing as a crutch to walk to the food bowl. It pecked at the food, and chirped when Bee whistled. It was no longer lifeless and cold thanks to Bee partially healing it.

Watching her made my stomach flip as Bee’s soul meshed more with mine. She brought her hand to her chest, feeling the coolness of my soul. It drew us together as if we were tied by invisible strings.

I liked her soul in me. “I feel it too,” I whispered, capturing her eyes with mine. Her soul kept me at a constant warm temperature that I was enjoying after two years of feeling wintry.

“I don’t want your soul in me! But if that’s what’s going to keep me alive for now, then, so be it!” She turned away from me and huffed, watching the bird.

I threw my hands in the air. “It’s not my fault. You’re the one who intertwined them, not me!”

She gave me an angry scowl. “No, I didn’t. Why would I do such a reckless thing?”

“You made a deal with the Dark Lord. Why else couldn’t I reap your soul? Look I’m not trying to fight with you, I want to help you. The bargain you made is probably harmless, seeing I was to bring you to the Golden Gates.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Bee frowned, looking out the window, gazing into the forest.

“Yeah right,” I scoffed. “Just like your little act in the woods with your ankle. I knew you were pretending just to get me to hold the bird. Whatever that proved.”

“It proved that you have your humanity still intact. You should see some of the Grim Reapers I’ve seen and what they do.” She sat down on her desk chair, picking up a pencil, scrawling on paper.

“Have you ever cursed to yourself before, or bargained in any way?” I watched as she pressed down hard on the pencil. “Did you ever say to yourself, I would do anything to cheat death, or I would give anything to cheat death?”

“No. Never.” She was making harsh dark lines on the paper, moving her hand fast, coloring in the white. Bee began to rub her thumb over the paper, smudging it.

I turned on my phone, reading through the troubleshooting section of the Manual of Death. Nothing fit, and I couldn’t fathom how our souls became entangled within each other if she had never made a bargain.

“And you’re positively sure?” I looked over my phone.

Bee growled, holding up her picture. A sketch of a Grim Reaper stared back at me. Its skin was peeled with hallow eyes. It was hideous looking. “Does it look like I would bargain for my soul to stay with you?”

I turned, walking away. “I’m going to go outside to call my boss.”

Bee waved as I went outside. I cleared my throat and was relieved to talk in my normal voice. Abe answered.

“Abe, Bee says she didn’t make a deal and I believe her. Now what?” I watched her from the window. Her hand was on the glass cage, pulsating with a warm glow, and her aura was a cool turquoise.

“I want to know why she can see Grim Reapers. If she doesn’t know, get her to ask her parents. It’s possible they could have made a bargain with the Dark Lord about her,” Abe said.

“If that’s the case, what does that mean for Bee?” I saw her inside, crumpling up the drawing and throwing it across the room.

“She would have to get her parents to break the bargain. You can do it, boy, you still have six days. I have to go now.”

I hung up with Abe, and slipped my phone into the pocket of my cloak. Bee rubbed at her eyes as I went back into her room.

She put on a hoodie, tucking her hands into the pockets. “So cold,” her teeth chattered.

“I’m sorry about that. That’s my soul making you feel that way.” I shrugged.

“I’m sorrier for you, that you have to feel like this all the time,” Bee said.

I changed the subject, getting down to business. I didn’t want her to pity me for something that I had chosen to be. “My boss wants you to ask your parents why you can see Grim Reapers. Maybe they’re the ones who made the bargain about you.”

Bee scrunched her eyebrows together. “No! That’s impossible. They wouldn’t.”

I walked to the corkboard, staring at the pictures of things I’ve missed in the past two years. “There’s only one way to find out. You need to ask. Or would you rather have my soul stuck in you forever?”

Her chest rose and fell faster. “I’ll ask, but I’m not happy about it. My mom is in a fragile state. She went to visit my cousin, Sabrina’s, grave yesterday.”

Hearing about Sabrina was bringing back memories of my death. I dreaded the death flashbacks with every fiber of my being. I didn’t want to remember how I had died, and that it was my fault. I was the one who wasn’t paying attention, driving over the collapsed bridge that had killed Sabrina and me.