Deadly Kisses - By Kerri Cuevas Page 0,2

ice cold again.

I pushed the gondola away from the sickly warmth of the Golden Gate and steered my rig southwest, to the meeting point at the Franklin Pierce Homestead. Good thing for Google and a smart old man to help me figure out that historical fact.

I swallowed the black licorice taste that lingered from the reap, and imagined the sweetest candy. My mouth tingled, remembering sucking on Sweet Tarts as a kid. It left an ache in my heart, because it reminded me of her and of my past.

I arrived at the meeting point a few minutes before Abe. Even if we hadn’t been bonded by death, I’d know it was him walking toward me because of the long beard draped over the top of his black cloak.

“Ah, boy, excellent job. You have found the home of our fourteenth president. History is alive, feel it.”

“What’s happening, Top Hat? What do you have for me now, another sour old man? The guy who chopped his leg off with a chainsaw last week was a sight. No more water, because the one I had to go reap from drowning left water stains on the new paint job.” I pointed to the dark spot on the floor. “Give me all the nasty ones, don’t you?”

“Young Reaperling, how else would I get you to fight in my war? Besides, a busy Reaper is a Reaper who stays out of trouble. I told you death is not pretty, but essential, and you cannot always choose how they will die.” A long bony finger poked me. “If I could die again it would be you who would put me in my grave.”

“I take that as a compliment. Thank you.” I reached out and smoothed the crease in the front of his cloak. It reminded me of what my mom had done for me countless times before she started drinking—when she cared.

He pulled at his long bushy beard. “Young people have no respect for their elders. I don’t care if you’re my most efficient Reaper, you should listen to me and ascend. So help me if anyone else your age decides to hold onto their regret.”

I took out my phone. “Just hurry up and send me the next assignment because I have to go and buff out scratches. I think I got another one during the last transport.”

“Don’t be so quick to receive this assignment, boy, because it’s the one that will make or break you.” Abe’s face went from cheerful to dreadful. His high cheekbones were more prominent and his brown eyes held sorrow. His panic shadowed over me, and I felt it seeping into the decayed marrow in my bones.

“Give it to me straight, big guy. I can handle it.”

Abe pushed send on his phone and seconds later the text reached me. I tapped the screen and the seven-day countdown app started. Precious seconds of life began to tick away.

I looked at my assignment’s personal information. The picture stared back at me. I hadn’t seen her in two years, but she looked the same. My scythe fell to the wooden bottom of the gondola, and I dropped to my knees.

“This can’t be happening.”

“You haven’t read the Manual of Death, have you, Ad?” Abe said. “This is the final test.”

“I haven’t got around to reading the manual.”

A wisp of fog went in and out of my mouth as I struggled for air my body no longer needed. Abe bent down and put his hand on my back. His long legs reached over the edge of my gondola and up to my shoulders. “If you don’t reap the soul that is assigned to you . . .”

“I know, I know. Fail to reap and I end up a tossed skeleton in the River of Lost Souls, ceasing to exist on any plane.”

Abe let go of me, held his hat, and stood up.

“But Bee would still die?” There was no way around the master List of Death, but my blood boiled that Bee had made it to the top. It wasn’t fair. I could make her death quick. It was the least I could do after what I did to her family, but it was too soon. She was only sixteen.

“The assignment would be passed down to Reina if you fail.”

My hands dropped to the floor, picking up my scythe. I sucked in a stale breath, easing myself to my feet. I relaxed with the scythe’s familiar feel beneath my bony fingers. It radiated warmth and I clung