Page 17 of Death Match

“And extremely satisfied, thank you very much. Can you say the same?” Her stunned silence had me beaming from the inside out. Man, I missed this. “Didn't think so.”

I turned around and strolled away without looking over my shoulder. There was no need to. I could feel Maryanne’s hateful glare shooting laser beams into my back.

Just like old times.

Standing on the transportation portal outside Styx, I debated where to go next, who to see. Of course there was Wyatt and Lisa. Marla, too. On the other side of the veil, I could see Kay, Laurence, and little Zachary. But just thinking about seeing them again brought up memories of the last time I had. Disturbing her in the wee hours of the night with a parade of otherworldly beings behind me.

Even though she’d never say it outright, I could feel her disdain at my unexpected visit. She hadn’t said it, but Laurence had—things were different now that they had Zach, and I couldn’t be bringing trouble to their door anymore. They just wanted to live their lives chaos free and as normal as possible. No more demons, no more near-death experiences…and that might mean no more me. At least until things settled down around me. And I totally understood that. It sucked, don’t get me wrong, but if leaving Kay alone for some time was what I needed to do to keep her safe, then I’d do it.

After everything with Xaver, I owed her that much at least.

But still, I did miss her, too. And with so much going on in my afterlife, it would have been nice to have someone to talk to. There was Marla, but she wasn’t the Ms. Brightside, pep-talk kind of gal. More of a straight shooter.

And Wyatt… Well, that old cowboy, he was a straight shooter in another sense. As in shoot first, ask questions later. He didn’t care aboutfeelings.

That’s when a thought dawned on me. Without thinking twice, I said the name of the town where Sean lived and where Arrogant Bastard was located. The magic shot all around me instantly as it whisked me away, tossing up my hair and blowing up my shirt. When I landed, I wanted to slap myself in the forehead for forgetting something so important.

I hadn’t told Sean I had found his mother and reunited his parents. That was something he’d want to know, and I should have told him. Alongtime ago.

Ah, shit. Looked like I was paying Sean a visit first. The trailer was my first stop.

But as I stepped off the platform and reached in my back pocket, I found it empty.

Boy, I was on a roll. I’d forgotten I didn’t have the chalk anymore. I wasn’t a reaper anymore. I couldn’t draw the door to get in and out of the living world. How was I going to pass through the veil?

Hands stuffed in my empty back pockets, I trudged down the street toward Arrogant Bastard, not sure where else to go. Hadn’t Eli mentioned something about angels being able to pass through the veil at will? That I’d turn solid once over there, too, then back to spirit form when I was here?

But the real question was, would I be able to do it now?

I paused on the sidewalk and glanced around. Ahead of me, a couple rounded the corner of a building, so I waited for them to pass. With a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure they were far enough away, I closed my eyes.

What, exactly, I was supposed to do, I had no idea, but I had to try something.

I imagined Sean’s trailer in my head like the last time I had seen it—when I’d first met Eli and we had to fight off two Halflings. The graffitied walls, the faded Christmas mat with a demon trap hidden underneath, the large property surrounded by a tall fence and barbed wire. And, of course, Angel barking in the background. The crazy dog.

I could almost hear her barking now, that loud warning kind of bark that said trouble was near. It echoed in the back of my eardrums.

My eyes shot open, and my stomach dropped when I saw the same part of the street I’d been standing in before. I knew once I turned that corner, it was a straight shot to Arrogant Bastard, so I continued walking towards it, feeling a bit foolish to think crossing the veil without a spirit door would work for me that easily.

It was just another one of those things I’d get to do after the Trials, I guessed.

When the sound of barking hit my ears again, I halted.

That was definitely a dog’s bark.

Animals weren’t brought to this afterlife when they passed, so there shouldn’t be any here.

I turned the corner hastily and hurried down the side road toward the bar, but as the neon sign came into view, the sight of something else stopped me short.

Right beside Wyatt’s bar was the foggy, distorted image of the trailer, just as I had imagined it. And Angel, the German shepherd, who stood on the porch barking furiously in my direction. As if she could see me and the afterlife around me.

I blinked rapidly. Maybe I was imagining it? Hallucinating? I hadn’t had a drink yet, so I wasn’t buzzed at all. But staring at the scene in front of me made me wonder if maybe I should be.

Scanning the trees and the street behind me, I realized every other patron going to or leaving A.B.s seemed oblivious to the riff between worlds. It was close enough to touch, but they paid no mind to Angel’s barking either—which really would be unavoidable to anyone with functioning ears.

Something wasn’t right. It wasn’t every day the veil opened up to reveal the other side like this.

Icy cold dread snaked its way up my spine. Had I done this somehow? Had I caused the hole when I’d tried to put myself in the living world?

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