Dank
“When are you going to start letting Pagan come with?” Gee asked as we stepped into the hospital.
“I’m not. She may be immortal but asking her to deal with this isn’t something I will ever do.” Death wasn’t easy. It was a tragic thing to humans. Unlike me, Pagan had been human. She understood those emotions; she still experienced them. These emotions were a part of her. As much as I hated being away from her, I didn’t want to bring her into this world.
“She is tough, Dankmar. The girl was able to force her memories to return through her heart. Her memories had been wiped clean, yet she
brought them back and lived through it. Give her some credit.”
I knew Pagan was tough. She loved me. Loving Death wasn’t something that just anyone could do. I wasn’t the bearer of good news.
“Leave this alone, please. I want to collect these souls and get back before Pagan and Miranda are done with their girl’s night out.”
“Well I want to get back before Loose ends up banging some random slut in a bathroom stall. We all want something.”
She was still seeing Loose. That was all kinds of screwed up. I didn’t even want to consider what that might lead to. Gee was just a transporter. She wasn’t deity. She didn’t have the power I did to get away with breaking rules.
“This still a fling, Gee?” I asked as we stood outside a hospital room where sobbing and heartache awaited us.
“I like his ‘dreads okay? And all that practice he’s had screwing around has made him rather skillful in the area. He’s just for fun.”
She didn’t sound convincing. This wasn’t good. I’d deal with that later. Maybe Loose would end up ending this and I wouldn’t have to handle it.
“It isn’t like we see each other but a couple times a week. I know he is getting it elsewhere the rest of the week. I’m good with that. He’s human, I’m not.”
Nothing about her tone supported her statement that it was okay. She was going to go jealous-girlfriend on him really soon. God help the boy survive that. He’d never pissed off an immortal before. This could not be good.
When I entered the room I didn’t see the soul I’d come to collect. However, the familiar face standing in the corner holding a weeping female caught my attention. Jay stood solemnly as he tightly held the blond in his arms. I recognized her soul. It was the one he’d been unable to stay away from while he was dating Pagan. A translucent glow wrapped around their two bodies connecting their souls.
“Well look what we have here,” Gee said as she came up beside me. Her attention captured by the bond visible between their souls.
“I didn’t see this connection between them before,” I said studying them as Jay whispered soothing words in her ear.
The soul we’d come to collect walked away from the body on the bed. He was young. He was also trouble. There was a darkness surrounding him. The darkness marked him as hazardous. This soul wouldn’t get another chance. He’d messed up in this lifetime.
“Uh, oh. We got a bad egg,” Gee grumbled as I stepped forward to wrap the iron band reserved for angry souls around his wrist. It provided control for the transporter until she delivered the soul to its final resting place. Dealing with damaged souls could be tricky. Once I’d had to take them down myself but over time we figured out a better way to handle it. I didn’t like wasting my time on the trip.
“Come on, bad boy. Let’s get this over with,” Gee told him.
This soul had been Victoria’s mate. Now that it was damaged, the connection had transferred. Jay’s soul was now complete.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Pagan
My mom was peppering Dank with a million questions. It never occurred to me until Dank brought it up on our way here that when my memory was taken away so was my mom’s. Dank’s had been wiped from the memory of everyone in my life. Miranda had forgotten about Dank and Leif just like I had. Although my memory was restored, theirs were not. In doing so it would completely mess with things. They’d know more than they should. My mom already had known more than she should. Now, Dank was the new guy I’d met at college. He was also the singer in a rock band.
Mom hadn’t been pleased when I introduced her, but Dank and his charisma were quickly winning her over.
I brought him a glass of sweet tea before sinking down on the couch beside him. This was the way it was supposed to be. My mom would love him soon enough.
“So, you sing rock music? Do you do drugs?” my mom asked, watching his face for any sign of a lie.
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.
“No I don’t take any drugs and I don’t drink either. I never have. It’s not something I’m interested in.”