WeavingDestinyebook (21 page)

If this was how it had always been done, then it was her responsibility to release the medicine woman. The fear, the hesitation she felt, she had to admit it was selfish. She did not want to be alone in the world. If she helped the medicine woman to die, she would be the lone Healer. She wasn't ready. Selfishly, she wanted the medicine woman to live to help her.

The circle of protection made sense now. If Malini did this, a huge target would be painted on her back.

"Ask her what her name is. I will not do it without knowing the name she was given at birth."

Jacob translated and the woman answered in a soft, pleading voice.

"She says, Panctu Soolta"

Malini dug her fingers into the bend of her arm and peeled back the glove of flesh from her bones. The hand glowed pale in the shade of the hut. The medicine woman's eyes flared at the sight of it. She lowered herself onto her side within the circle. She mumbled something into the dirt.

"She says, thank you and to hurry, please. I think she wants to get it over with." Jacob reached over and squeezed Malini's left hand. "It's okay. Do it."

Malini lowered her right hand toward the medicine woman's shoulder. The deadly skeletal fingers hovered just over the skin but she couldn't force herself to touch the woman.

Henry walked through the wall of the hut and to Panctu's side. He smiled at Malini before bowing to Panctu.

"Who is that?"

"Henry. I mean, Death. He's come for her soul."

Henry's eyes had turned from black to the burning caverns she'd seen in the ballroom. "It's time, Malini. It won't hurt. I'll take care of her," he said.

Malini lowered her hand onto the woman. The feeling was not unpleasant but was as unsettling as any she'd encountered. Her fingers met skin and the woman's body convulsed. In seconds, the movement stopped. Death reached forward, but his hand did not stop at Panctu's skin. His fingers slid into her flesh as easily as if she were made of water. He hooked his fingers on something and tugged.

Panctu's translucent form rose from her body as if she were hatching from a cocoon. And her ghost was young! Her hair was sleek black, her skin smooth, and she stood straight and strong at Death's side smiling a full set of teeth. The thing that he had hooked with his fingers was her soul.

Death led Panctu from the circle. A door appeared in the hut, a thatched door that might have been the entrance to a Hawaiian themed room at a five star resort. Henry reached forward and turned the knob. The light that poured out when it opened was so bright Malini had to turn away. When he closed the door again, plunging the hut back into shadow, Panctu was gone.

Malini slid her hand back into the glove, then wiped the tears that were cascading Niagra Falls style down her face. She looked toward Henry who had the smallest of smiles.

"See you Saturday," he said and then he was gone.

Jacob jerked by her side. "Oh my God, Malini, does that mean you're going to die on Saturday?" His arms wrapped around her in Jacob's attempt at comfort but he was nearing hysterics, babbling on about what he would do to fight off Death.

"No—" Malini unwrapped herself from his arms and grabbed his hands in demand of his full attention. "He's my prom date. He was talking about prom."

Jacob's jaw dropped open and he pulled away from her. "You invited THAT to prom?"

"He has a name Jacob. He used to be human once. His name is Henry and he gave me this. Remember?" She held up her right hand, the hand she had used to kill.

"Right. The kiss. Wow." Jacob stood, eyes darting away from her. "Just…wow." He stepped out of the circle, grabbed his staff from the wall and exited the hut without looking back.

Chapter 28

Prom

There was no way to prepare for this. Malini flipped through the rack of dresses one by one. Her mother had long since given up on helping her and was sitting on an overstuffed chair outside the fitting room texting someone on her cell phone. She'd offered to take Malini to another store. There was a bridal shop that sold high-end prom attire in Indiana, about forty-five minutes away. But Malini would hate herself for wasting her parent's time and money on a dress she would only wear once. What color did you wear to have your heart broken? She was sure as soon as she saw Jacob with Mara, that's exactly what would happen.

She pulled a red strapless gown from the clearance rack. At least this would match the red stone necklace. Panctu had said it wasn't necessary anymore, but she wasn't ready to give it away, not until she knew for sure that she could cross to the other side without it. Besides, at this point, who needed it more than she did?

Inside the dressing room, she slid into the red sheath dress. There was a slit up the side to her upper thigh adorned with a pattern of rhinestones. She turned to the side, happy that the dress was tight enough through the torso that it wouldn't fall down if she decided to dance. Piling her hair on top of her head, she turned side to side. It wasn't nearly as sexy as the one death had made for her but more modern and only eighty-nine dollars, which was a major bonus. It would do. Plus she had a pair of black strappy sandals that would go. No need to buy shoes.

She brought the dress out to her mother who was giggling to herself staring down at her phone. Her head bobbed up when she noticed Malini. "Your cousin Ashoke is getting married. His parents are alarmed because it is a love match and not arranged. It makes me laugh. Wait until they see that the boy you are dating is not even Indian. It will be the day I married your father all over again." She beamed in Malini's direction.

"Mom, I'm not actually dating Jacob anymore. I'm not actually dating anyone."

Her mother's eyebrows knit together. "How did I not know this? When did this happen?"

"We broke up a couple of weeks ago." Malini pressed her lips together.

"Who are you going to prom with then?"

Malini had to think of what to say. "His name is Henry. He's just a friend."

Her mother stood and reached for the hanger of the dress draped across Malini's arm. She looked disturbed, almost angry, as she held it up and pinched the fabric. "I will tell you this, Malini. Jacob Lau will rue the day he broke up with you when he sees you in this. You will make him cry."

She was going to say that she didn't want to make Jacob cry but her mother had already jetted toward the cashier. Deep within her heart, some part of Malini hoped her mother was right.

* * * * *

Malini spent the week staring out windows. What were the Watchers waiting for? She knew it was just a matter of time before an army of fallen angels came for her. She'd expected it would be sooner rather than later. She almost wished it would happen now. That would save her from prom.

She pulled on the red dress and strapped on her black heels. Her hair was curled and piled atop her head. Her makeup was more natural then what she'd worn to dance with Death the first time, but more her style. As a final touch, she reached for the red stone necklace on her bureau.

"Here, let me get that for you." Her mother walked into her room, and accepted the gold chain from Malini's hand. "You look smashing. I might have to hold your date up when he sees you. And that Jacob—"

"Mom, it's okay. I don't want Jacob to suffer for what happened."

Her mother pursed her lips and clipped the stone around her neck. "This necklace is quite lovely." She took the stone in her hand and rubbed her thumb over it. Malini placed her own hand over the jewel on her chest, worried her mother would get pulled across to the other side.

"It's nothing. Cheap costume jewelry I picked up at Macy's the last time we were there."

"I don't remember."

"You were looking at something with Dad."

"Oh. Lucky, it matches the dress so well. I think it is a sign you will have the time of your life tonight."

"I hope so." Malini smiled at her mother's enthusiasm just as the sound of the doorbell ringing turned their heads.

"Showtime," her mother said, jogging down the stairs. Malini followed but at a much slower pace; she wasn't used to walking in high heels.

The door was already open by the time she clopped across the marble foyer. Her mother and father turned to her with astonished faces. She shuffled faster to get a view of what was on the other side.

When Death went to prom, he did it up right. Henry stood on her porch looking even more dapper than before. The tuxedo he wore maintained its otherworldly quality, draping majestically over his obviously athletic figure. Despite his dark sunglasses, she knew he was checking her out. Besides the flare of red she caught behind the shades, the corner of his mouth lifted.

It was what she saw behind him in her driveway that had left her parents speechless. There was a carriage, black and intricately carved like something out of Victorian England being pulled by two sleek black horses that were neighing and hoofing the pavement. The sun was setting behind this scene, painting the sky red and purple. All she could think of was how the picture outside her door belonged in a movie scene, not in her life, not in anyone's real life.

"It has been a sincere pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Gupta," Henry said in a soft voice that commanded more attention than its volume let on. He extended his hand toward her. "Shall we go? Your awesome beauty will have me standing in the doorway for hours if I'm not careful." The compliment made the bones of her right hand vibrate, as if he'd plucked a cord that thrummed through her body.

She placed the tingling hand in his and that part of her went home. She allowed Henry to lead her out the door. Her father scurried to find the camera. He snapped a half-dozen pictures of them in the yard and then another dozen getting into the carriage.

When the door was finally closed and her father had lowered the camera, the driver turned back and tipped his hat in her direction. Malini saw a flash of bones through the illusion of his flesh. With a crack of the reins, the horses broke into an even trot and Malini waved goodbye to her parents.

"This is amazing, Henry," she said.

"It is not every day I get to have a truly human experience. It's been decades since I've been invited here and normally my visits are on the heels of tragedy."

"You said you used to be human?"

"Oh yes. I was your age when I was chosen," he said sadly. Malini got the sense that it was a distressing memory and didn't press him with questions.

"I think you'll enjoy yourself tonight. Our friend Dane has helped plan the entire event. There's a dinner and dancing. It should be fun."

He turned toward her, orangey flames licking up around her reflection in his pupils. "I enjoy dancing with you Malini. You are the first in over a century to make me think about beginnings. My world is usually about endings."

"Do you think it's because of the hand? It vibrates a little when I'm near you."

"It is highly possible. Your hand is a piece of me. I've never given a gift of that magnitude before."

Malini leaned back in the seat and tossed the comment around in her head. It was odd to think of having a piece of someone attached to your body. Frankenstein-ish. If she hadn't been a freak before, this certainly pushed her over the edge. She couldn't meet his eyes, so she looked out toward the driver and the horses. A ray of light from the sunset broke through the clouds and she could see their bones x-ray style.

"The driver is dead." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. As are the horses. Besides you and the immortals, all of my friends are dead."

Malini smoothed her dress as they pulled into the parking lot of Paris High School. "Maybe it would be best if the other students didn't know who you were. Can we just say you're from a school up north?"

"Agreed. And don't worry, the only reason you can tell about the driver and the horses is your hand. To humans they appear quite alive."

"That's a relief."

The carriage came to a halt. The driver jumped down from his bench and swung open the door, reaching for her hand to help her down. At first she offered her left but the man snatched his away before she could touch him.

"Not your healing hand, Malini. Sam is perfectly happy with remaining dead."

She offered her right and gingerly stepped down to the pavement. There were hoards of students arriving and they were all staring. A couple of the wealthier students had rented limos but no one had procured a horse drawn carriage. As far as Malini knew, this was a first for Paris. But the carriage wasn't the only reason the other students were snapping pictures, some more candidly than others.

"Henry, has anyone ever told you, you look remarkably like a certain pop star?"

"What's a pop star?"

"Pop is a type of music. Popular stuff. You look like a certain popular musician."

"Like Mozart? I look like a modern day Mozart?"

"I was actually thinking more like a modern day Bieber."

"Bieber? Never heard of him."

"You could be brothers."

"I hope he's a respectable musician then. I would hate our resemblance to sully your friends' first impression of me."

"Oh, he's respectable. There will be no sullying," Malini said. If anything there might be jealousy, and she was hoping that one boy in particular would suffer from the green monster.

He took her elbow and led her toward the double doors in a straight-backed gesture that belonged somewhere in the past or in a fairy tale but not in Paris, Illinois. There were people attending in jeans and sport jackets. Malini was certain that no one would suspect that Henry was Death, but the way he looked, everyone would know he wasn't from Paris.

Henry held the door for her and she walked to a welcome table surrounded by students. When the crowd broke, she saw Dane handing out favors.

"Malini! Happy prom. Here's your table card. Would you like halo or wings?"

"What?"

"The theme….Haven't you noticed? It's heaven on earth."

Malini took a good look around. Cut out clouds hung from the ceiling, puffy cotton mounds filled the corners and the signs were decorated in sparkly gold. The doors to the gym were painted to look like the pearly gates.