"I can.” I kept my voice soft. I wasn't sure whether others could see him, and I didn't particularly want to be seen talking to thin air. Mom was a media star, and a daughter caught talking to imaginary people would certainly be great fodder for the gossip magazines. "And I know it's not my time to die. So if you try to take me, you'll have a goddamn fight on your hands. Sword or not.”
Something akin to surprise ran through the bright depths of his oddly colored eyes. "Reapers do not steal souls. If you can see us, you should be aware of that fact.”
"The only fact I'm aware of is the one lying in room six-eleven. Someone stole her soul. If not a reaper, then who?”
His gaze rose briefly, then met mine again. "Wait here,” he said. "Do not run, because I will find you.”
"If I'd wanted to run, I would have done so before now,” I said. "But in case you haven't realized, it's raining and cold, and I need to warm up.”
He obviously didn't. I could feel the heat of him even from where I stood. It didn't do a whole lot to warm the chill from my skin, but maybe that was due more to what I had just experienced.
"If the moisture bothered you so, you would have moved out of it before now.”
Had any other man made that statement, I might have suspected he was being sarcastic. But he said it without inflection and without the slightest hint of amusement. Did reapers even feel amusement?
I had no idea. I might have been aware of them for most of my life, and I might be related to them by virtue of my Aedh blood, but that wasn't much help. Even Quinn—the half-Aedh vampire who'd taught me to control my Aedh gifts—hadn't been able to tell me a whole lot about the reapers.
I glanced down the street and spotted a McDonald's. "I'll be in there.”
He glanced briefly at the building then back to me, his expression giving very little away. "Good.”
And with that, he disappeared again.
I blew out a breath, then spun on my heels and splashed my way toward McDonald's. Once inside, I found the restroom and changed my clothing, dumping my wet things into my pack then dragging on my leather jacket in an effort to warm the chill from my flesh.
Once I'd paid for my burger and Coke, I made my way to a table in the corner, as far away from everyone else as possible.
He appeared seconds later, striding through the restaurant like an animal on the prowl. No one seemed to think it odd to see a half-naked man wearing a sword, yet he was obviously visible, if the man who apologized for getting in his way was any indication.