Predestined (Existence Trilogy #2)(26)

“Wake up Grandpa, come on wake up,” the boy chanted, shaking the empty body lying in the field. Dirty tears streamed down the kid’s face. Although he wanted to believe his grandfather was only sleeping he knew the truth. The sobs wracking his body were an indicator he’d already accepted the fact his grandpa had passed on.

I peered over at the soul whose face was tense with frustration. He didn’t like seeing the boy upset.

“He’ll be alright. You’ve had several years with him to make an impression on his life,” I told the soul and his eyes lifted to meet mine. Some peace drifted over him.

“Sorry I’m late, Dankmar,” Kitely apologized as she appeared to the right of the soul.

I nodded but didn’t say anymore. The transporter took the soul and left. But I waited. Leaving the boy out here alone with his dead grandfather wasn’t something I was comfortable with. Not that he would come to harm. His soul wasn’t marked to leave the earth. His life would be a long one. But leaving him to grieve alone was wrong. I watched him grab handfuls of the old man’s shirt and burry his face into the fabric. His sobs were growing quieter now. Acceptance always came easier to the young.

“COLBY!” A shrill female voice called out and I lifted my eyes to see a young woman with short red hair come running over the hill. The fear was etched on her face, her large brown eyes bright with anxiety from the cries of her child. She was worried about her son and didn’t realize yet her father was gone. I peered down at the boy once more as he lifted his head and called out to his mother. My work here was done. So I left them.

The house smelled of ammonia and vapor rub. It was a familiar smell. All the houses of the elderly I visited smelled the same. The old lady, tucked firmly into her bed under several homemade quilts that were a mixture of brightly colored patterns that I had no doubt she’d made herself, stared up at me through cloudy eyes. She’d lived a long one. This had been a good life for her. One hundred and five years on this earth was a gift very few were given. Only the best, most honored souls were given these lives.

“Well, it’s about time you got here,” she whispered in a weak voice.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. She’d been waiting on me. The oldest one always were. They knew when it was time. These were the easiest souls to take.

“I’m here on time, cher, you’re just an impatient one,” I teased her with the endearment her husband had used when he’d been alive. I remembered him murmuring, “I’ll see you in the hereafter my cher,” to her before he left his body. She’d smiled through her tears. That had been almost fifty years ago.

“Ah, you heard him,” she smiled and the wrinkles in her face crinkled even more.

“I did.”

“Well, let’s get on with it, shall we, I’m ready to see my man,” she whispered and a series of coughs wracked her small frail body. I reached for her soft cold hand and she gave me one small squeeze before I drew her soul out.

* * *

Gee was sitting in the purple chair that had once been where I spent my nights as I walked into Pagan’s room. Shifting my gaze to the bed I realized it was empty. I glared at Gee, “Where is she?”

“Snippy, snippy Dankmar. Do you have low blood sugar too?” she drawled. What the hell did she mean by low blood sugar?

“Where is she Gee?”

Gee sighed loudly and stretched her legs out in front of her. For once she wasn’t wearing the tall black army boots she was so fond of. Her feet were bare and her toenails were a hideous shade of bright green.

“She’s in the bathroom, jeez.”

I turned to stalk out of the room when Gee stopped me, “Um, Dankmar, I don’t think she’ll appreciate you barging in on her while she showers.”

She was right of course. I wasn’t thinking. It had been almost twenty-four hours since I’d seen her and I was growing more and more frustrated by the minute. Leif was completely off my radar and I was still at a standstill on how to deal with him. I’d thought after I disposed of Kendra he’d show up but I’d gotten no response.

“You missed an awfully fun day,” Gee’s sing-song voice wasn’t something that I found comfort in. It meant she was about to say something that was bound to piss me off.

“What did I miss?

“Well, let’s see, I found out Pagan has low blood sugar and becomes a complete b--witch if she doesn’t eat a candy bar during a stressful moment. And I found out that Miranda does, in fact, love gossip and, quite possibly, Pagan more than she loves the tall lanky boy she hangs all over,” Gee paused and then grimaced when she heard my angry snarl. I wasn’t in the mood for games. “Oh, and Leif has returned from visiting his grandparents up North. The entire school was abuzz with excitement.”

He’d returned to school. My disposing of Kendra hadn’t sent him to me; it had sent him back into Pagan’s world. I hadn’t expected that.

“Is Pagan okay?”

Gee stood up and threw an amused smile my way before heading for the door, “Yes, of course. I was on her like, um... I believe that old woman last week we took after she’d burnt down her house cooking said ‘like white on rice’,” Gee laughed. “That was one funny old lady. I hope I get to transport her soul again the next time around.” Then Gee left the room.