Unfashionably Dead

Chapter Thirty-nine

Lanie can't be that far away since Adam's pushes have not yet turned to desperation. She's probably still in the building. A little more relaxed, I race to the front door. It is unlocked. I lean through the door to peek into the hallway. As I start to emerge, something clasps my wrist and pulls me backward into the condo.

Derek anchors me to the kitchen. I say his name with a sigh.

"That's some greeting after you summoned me." He smiles but it is short-lived as he takes in my annoyed stance. "So you're still angry."

I gape at him. My summoning was not completed. "I didn't, and angry isn't the best description. Annoyed and confused might be better."

"You most certainly did summon me. You called for me and here I am. My apologies for not coming immediately. I was instating a new reaper. She'll do well. If she doesn't go missing, that is." He looks toward the door. "What's so interesting out there?"

"My friend Lanie, I think she just escaped my killer," I point to the bedroom, where Adam has now started throwing his weight against the closet door "but her leaving here is like jumping from the frying pan and into the fire."

"Why did you call me?" He reaches for my hand, touches the area that still tingles from the ward. "I see. You're still smoking from it. Let me guess, you tried to get into John's." He blows on my palm. His breath abates the pain and sends good tingles across my body.

I shudder in response. He grins, does the same with my other palm.

"You can see that?"

He nods. "Stay away from that ward. You might not recover so quickly, if you survive it at all."

"Let me out!" Adam screams. "I can hear you. I'm in the closet." He throws his weight against the door again.

Derek sighs. "I forgot to mask myself." He waves his hands in front of himself, as though erasing a chalkboard. He begins to shimmer.

"You aren't going to let him out?"

"No." His response is firm. "I can't interfere with humans."

My eyes narrow and I shake my head. "Yet you're on a first-name basis with John."

"John is a special case, but I would not help him in this same situation, as it is strictly forbidden. I can talk to them and interact with them, but I cannot interfere in affairs like these."

Whatever. I find it hard to believe there isn't some clause in the Reaper's Guide to Harvesting Souls and Generally Irritating the Hell out of Ghosts. But hey, who am I to complain about so-called reaper regulations.

Feeling energized and back to normal, I pull my hand away from him. "Thank you and sorry to have disturbed you, but I have got to find Lanie."

"Good luck," he says. "You're going to need it."

If Lanie was in the building before Derek dragged me back inside the combo, she is gone now. Shrinking and careful to avoid the sun, I will myself under the shade of palm trees to search the block for her.

With no access to a car, the hotel and her apartment are within easy walking distance, but she could have contacted a ride. There hasn't been enough time for a ride to arrive, unless the ride-giver was already in the area. John is the only semi-friend I can think of who'd give her a ride, given her current circumstances.