Invincible (24 page)

Devus grinned as he palmed it. “Good boy. You’ve bought yourself a reprieve. Now, get out there and finish the list, or I
will
finish you.”

He took too much pleasure in causing pain.
Like my father
. The comparison really ate at him. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. In fifteen minutes, school would be out and he’d have to hustle to make it over to the St. Louis cemetery for his next lesson with Grim.

Nick turned to leave, but the coach stopped him. “Tell you what, Gautier. Why don’t you skip practice today and make sure that I have four more items in the morning?”

“Or what?” The coach’s tone had implied there was definitely an ultimatum in there.

“You’re a smart kid. I think you know the answer.”

I go to jail and die.
“Can I ask a question?”

“What?”

“Why did you pick me for this?”

“You’re a pathetic waste with nothing to lose. If you died tomorrow, no one would even know you were gone.”

Nick ground his teeth. That wasn’t true. His mother’s life would be shattered. She’d never be the same. While the rest of the world would go on, she wouldn’t. He knew that. And in that moment, he fully realized something.

How many lives one life touched. Not always with a major impact, but in little ways.

If he died, Liza would have to unload her deliveries alone. Yes, she could do it without him, but she always claimed to enjoy spending a few minutes chatting with him while he did it. She looked forward to his visits. Mennie wouldn’t have anyone to take out her trash or clean the yard. Kyrian wouldn’t have someone who busted his chops, and Acheron wouldn’t have a human friend who knew all about his weirdness.

Not big things. It was the little things in life that really mattered.

He leaned forward over the desk. “There you’re wrong, Coach.”

The coach looked up with a smug sneer. “How so?”

Nick returned that sneer with a pompous smile he was sure set the coach’s ire on fire. “I assure you if your garbage men stopped picking up your trash, you’d miss them real fast and want them back. No life, no matter what
you
think, is insignificant. Everyone has a purpose. Even you.”

Devus sputtered while Nick turned around and left him to it. For the first time in his life, Nick felt like he was experiencing the real world for what it was. Like blinders had been ripped off his face and he saw the sunshine in all its natural glory.

Beautiful. Breathtaking.

And even though he wasn’t certain about his future, for this one moment in time, he was thrilled to be alive.

As soon as the bell sounded, Nick grabbed his backpack and headed for the cemetery to meet Grim. Kody and Caleb had pretty much avoided him after their morning encounter with the Fringe Guard. Kody seemed sad about it.

Caleb’s anger was so potent, it scared him.

There was something more going on with the demon than he was letting on. And since Nick couldn’t fight him without dying, he decided to leave the demon be until he came to terms with whatever was eating at him.

It didn’t take long to walk the handful of blocks up to the cemetery, which rested on the northwest side of the Quarter, one block outside of it between Conti Street and St. Louis on Basin. The white plaster walls that surrounded it spanned an entire block and shielded the massive city of the dead, where more than a hundred thousand former New Orleanians had been laid to rest. Some of the most notable people of the city were interred here.

Because New Orleans was so far below sea level that buried bodies had a nasty way of returning to the land of the living, the city had been forced to find another way to deal with the departed. Above ground tombs and mausoleums had been erected, which was what led to these areas being referred to as the cities of the dead. The grossest thing was that most of the tombs were shared spaces, usually with a single family, but sometimes with groups such as the massive Italian monument in the center. Once someone died, their remains were put on top of someone else who’d decomposed. It was why the city had a law that no tomb could be opened for a full year and a day—giving the bodies enough time to fully decay before the next one was added. He didn’t know what they did with someone if they needed a tomb before that time elapsed, and he didn’t want to know.

Some questions really didn’t need answering, and that was definitely one of them.

Shoving that thought away, he headed through the black iron gate that was opened so that tourists and tour groups as well as loved ones could access the cemetery during the daylight hours.

Honestly, the cemetery was beautiful in a creepy kind of way. The elaborate tombs and statues went off in every direction, some dwarfing him. While most were white, others were brightly colored, and all manner of images and wrought iron decorations had been used to add flavor and beauty to the crypts.

“Boo.”

Nick cursed as Grim appeared behind him and startled the crap out of him. “Don’t do that!”

“Jumpy, are we?”

“We are in a cemetery, you know.”

Grim laughed. “Of course I know. It’s one of my favorite places.”

“Yeah, well, not mine. I don’t make it a habit of spending a lot of time here. I figure since one day I’ll be a permanent resident, there’s no need to rush and visit it while I’m not.”

“I love the way you look at things, kid. Now follow me.”

Nick did until he noticed that Grim didn’t have a single shadow.

He had three.

“What the—?”

Grim paused to look at him over his shoulder. “What?”

Nick pointed to the shadows. “What’s up with you?”

“You know my friends. Pain and Suffering were on my nerves, so I relegated them to shadow status for the day.” He continued forward.

Nick wasn’t sure he liked that, but he knew better than to argue. Picking up the pace, he closed the distance between them. Grim didn’t stop again until he reached the far back end, where one of the sarcophagi reminded Nick of a table. Images of death and angels were carved all over the intricate stonework.

“I think this will do for our next lesson.” Grim skimmed his hand over the surface without touching it. A cloth appeared, shielding the blackened surface. “Much better.” He held his hand out to Nick. “Have you been practicing?”

“For all the good it hasn’t done me. Yeah.” He handed the pendulum and book to Grim.

“Have you made friends with the pendulum?”

“Kind of one-sided if you ask me, but yeah. I think so.”

Grim sighed irritably. “Fine. Today I wanted to show you how you can locate someone with your pendulum.”

“Wouldn’t calling them be easier?”

He passed a droll stare at him. “What if the phone doesn’t work, Nick? Or you don’t have their number. Better yet, what if you don’t really know who you’re hunting, but you still need to find them.”

“Why would I waste time hunting for someone I don’t know?”

Grim clenched his teeth. “Why would you waste time playing senseless video games for hours on end?”

“’Cause that’s fun.”

“And this can be lifesaving.”

Yeah, okay, that might be better than mastering
Mario
.

Maybe.

As Grim opened the book to a blank page, a tourist came around the corner and gasped, then quickly retreated. A devilish grin lit his face. “Hold that thought.”

Nick frowned as Death turned into a dark gray vapor and made a quick exit. A few seconds later, he heard a loud scream followed by the sound of running feet.

When Grim returned, he was beaming in satisfaction. “Aw, fear. How I love the fragrance.”

“You are so sick, Grim.”

“And one day, you will learn to take pleasure in the small things as well.”

Yeah, but after what he’d learned about himself today, he hoped it wasn’t from harming others. Even mildly.

“Now, where were we?”

“Finding lost things.”

“Yes, yes.” Grim returned, and a map of New Orleans appeared in the book.

“How do you get it to do that for you? Whenever I try something like that, it back-talks me.”

“Much like a child, the book knows it can get away with back-talking you. I have no love or tolerance for it. If it annoys me, I will burn it without reservation.”

Ah, intimidation did work. Who knew?

“Now,” Grim said, drawing his attention back to the map. “Tell me someone you’d like to find.”

Problem was, he knew where everyone lived who was important to him.

Everyone except Kody.

“Nekoda,” he said to the pendulum. “Show me where Nekoda is.”

Grim handed him the chain.

Nick hovered it over the map, and nothing happened. “This is a waste.”

“No. Learning is never a waste. What you’re doing right now is discovering how not to make a lightbulb.”

“Huh?”

Grim shook his head. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Educate yourself, kid. All right, the pendulum isn’t working. Sometimes you need an accelerant to help it.”

“Like gasoline?”

“Yes, Nick. We’re going to set the book and your pendulum on fire and then use them ’cause we’re just that intelligent.”

“Knock the sarcasm, okay? I’ve had a really bad day.”

“You keep lipping off, and I can assure you it will get worse.”

Nick cleared his throat as he reminded himself this wasn’t someone he could be himself around. “Sorry. You were saying?”

“Do you have anything of Nekoda’s?”

“Uh, yeah. I have her Nintendo she lent me and a pencil. Why?”

“Do you have one with you?”

“Both.”

“Give me the Nintendo, since that is more uniquely hers. Whenever you’re doing something like this, you want an item that means something to the person you seek. Such things can tell you a lot and aid you immensely.”

Like his book and pendulum that Grim had told him to guard with his life …

Oh, no. A really bad feeling went through him.

Nick bit his lip as he balled the pendulum up in his hand. “You told me that things like that can be used to control someone, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can it do anything else?”

Grim nodded. “Lots of things.”

“Such as?”

Grim considered it a moment before he answered. “You can use it to bind them to a spell. Manipulate them. There are things you could do for good, such as help them with motivation or retrieve something else they’ve lost, but few entities do that. Usually it’s reserved for hurting someone. Why?”

“Because I think I finally understand what Devus is up to.”

“Who?”

“Never mind.” It still didn’t really make sense. Devus knew where everyone lived. All he had to do was access their student files.

Which meant Devus must be using the stolen items to control or manipulate them. But for what? The football team could be for the play-offs, but Kody and the ones not on the team …

Something wasn’t right. He needed more information.

“Are you paying attention, Nick?”

“Absolutely. Undivided. Lead on.”

Grim grimaced before he continued. “Okay, you can—”

“Can you use the item to test for something?”

“Stop interrupting me,” Grim snarled. “Or I will skin you.”

“Sorry … but can you?”

Grim let out a long-suffering sigh. “This is why I don’t have children and why I’ve spent eternity avoiding them at all costs.” He met Nick’s gaze. “Yes. You could use the item to test for something personal about the owner.”

“Like what?”

“Anything. Do they bake? Are they smart? Are they going to die for irritating me, et cetera.”

“Yeah, I don’t like that last one.”

“I really don’t care.” Grim picked up the Nintendo.

Nick’s phone started ringing.

Cursing, Grim glared at him.

“Sorry. I forgot to turn it to vibrate.” Nick looked down at the number. It was Mark. “Um. I need to take this call. Is that okay?”

“Oh, by all means. Go ahead and hold up Death for that. It’s such a smart move on your part.” That sarcasm was thickest of all.

Nick knew it was stupid to taunt the being, but …

He answered the phone.

“Where are you?” Mark asked.

“St. Louis Number One. Why?”

“I just remembered where I saw your coach. And boy, you ain’t gonna believe this one.”

And boy, if you don’t put that phone down, you’re not going to live to draw another breath.
…

CHAPTER 16

Ever irritated Death? Not recommended you try it even on the tiniest level.

Suffice it to say, the Grim Reaper was not long on patience, and if you really must press your luck with him, the best way to survive it was to be born of the ultimate evil and have him fear you screwing up unlocking your powers as much you feared screwing up unlocking your powers.