Kim Harrison - Early to Death, Early to Rise

Contents

Seventeen, dead, and in charge of heavens dark angelsall itching

The car was hot from the sun, and I pulled

Fort Banks Mall was a wave of air-conditioned coolness. I

Ace! I shouted, the hard pavement under my feet sending

Nakita stood beside me in her designer jeans and trendy

The spaghetti sauce smelled spicy, just the way I liked

My sneakers slid on the damp grit of the roof,

I was glad my body wasnt real as I crouched

Where the devil am I? I thought, watching my fingers

Barnabass arms were tight around me as he flew over

Shoe parked two houses down from his on the other

Shoe put Aces truck into park, but he didnt make

The double doors shut with a hush of sound when

Sweet and tangy, the ketchup dripped from my French fries

Madison!

S eventeen, dead, and in chargeof heavens dark angelsall itching to kill someone. Yup, thats me, Madison, the new dark timekeeper without a clue. It wasnt exactly how I envisioned my higher education going the night I blew off my junior prom and died at the bottom of a ravine. Id survived my death by stealing my murderers amulet.

Now its my responsibility to send a dark reaper to end a persons earthly existence. The idea is to save their soul at the cost of their life. Fate, the seraphs would say. But I dont believe in fate; I believe in choice, which means Im in charge of the very people I once fought against.

The seraphs are confused about the changes Im trying to make to a system I dont believe in, but theyre willing to give me a chance. At least, thats the theory. The reality is a bit morecomplicated.

T he car was hot from the sun, and I pulled my fingertips from it as I slunk past. Excitement layered itself over my skin like a second aura. Hunched and furtive, I followed Josh in his first-day-of-school jeans and tucked-in shirt as he wove through the parking lot toward his truck. Yes, it was the first day of school, and yes, we were ditching, but it wasnt like anyone ever did anything the first day. Besides, I thought the seraphs would forgive me; it was one of their marked souls I was going to try to save.

Josh turned to me as he stopped, crouched behind a red Mustang as he tossed his blond hair from his eyes and grinned. It was obvious this wasnt his first time skipping. It wasnt the only time Id ditched school, either, but Id never done it with a posse. I smiled back, but as Joshs gaze went behind me, his smile faded.

Shes going to get us caught, he muttered.

My yellow sneakers with the skull-and-crossbones shoelaces ground into the pavement as I turned to look. Barnabas was skulking properly between the cars, his dark eyes serious and his expression grim. Nakita, though, was casually strolling, her arms swinging and her perfection absolute. She was wearing a pair of my designer jeans and one of my short tops, looking better than I ever could, with her dark hair shining and her black toenails glinting in the glorious sun. She hadnt painted them that color, it was natural. Normally Id hate Nakita for her looks alone, but the dark reaper didnt have a clue how pretty she was.

Halting in a crouch beside me, Barnabas frowned, the scent of feathers and sunflowers coming off him. The angel masquerading as a high school senior in his faded black jeans and even more faded band T-shirt was twice fallen: first when he was kicked out of heaven untold millennia ago, and now for having switched sides in the middle of heavens war.

Nakita hasnt the faintest idea how to do this, the reaper grumbled, brushing his frizzy brown curls out of his eyes and squinting. The two had been on opposite ends of heavens war, and it didnt take much to set them off on each other now.

I cringed, waving for Nakita to crouch down, but she just kept walking. Nakita was my official guardian, assigned to me by the seraphs.

Technically, as the dark timekeeper, I was her boss. Although in all things earthly I was the smart one, she knew my job and what I was supposed to be doing. Trouble was, I didnt want to do it heavens way. I had other ideas.

Get down, you ninny! Barnabas hissed, and the petite, beautiful, and deadly girl looked behind her, confused. Over her shoulder was the trendy purse Id given her this morning to complete her look. It matched her red sandals and was absolutely empty, but she insisted on carrying it because she thought it helped her blend in.

Why? she said as she approached. If someone should stop us, Ill simply smite them.

Smite? I thought, wincing. She hadnt been on earth very long. Barnabas fit in better, having been kicked out of heaven before the pyramids were built because he believed in choice, not fate, but Nakita once told me rumor had it hed been ousted for falling in love with a human girl.

Nakita, I said, pulling at her when she got close, and she obediently dropped to a crouch, her long hair swinging. No one uses that word anymore.

Its a perfectly fine word, she said, affronted.

Maybe you could try smacking people instead? Josh suggested.

Barnabas frowned. Dont encourage her, he muttered. Nakita stood.

We should go, she said, looking about. If you cant get the mark to choose a better path before Ron sends a light reaper to keep him alive, Im going to take his soul to save it.

With that, Nakita started walking for Joshs truck. Take his soul was a nice way of saying kill him. The enormity of what I was trying to do fell on me, and my shoulders slumped.

I was the new dark timekeeper, but unlike the dark keepers who came before me, I didnt believe in fate. I believed in choice. The entire situation was a big cosmic jokeapart from the bit about me being dead. The old dark timekeeper thought that killing me, his foretold replacement, would give him immortality. No one had known who I was until it was too late to change anything, and Id been stuck with the job until I could find my real body and break the bond with the amulet that kept me alive without it.

Josh rose, peering at the parking lots entrance through the Mustangs windows. Come on. Lets get to my truck before she takes the front seat. Im not driving with her riding shotgun.

Knees bent and keeping in a crouch, we started after her. Barnabas was vastly better at this soul-saving stuff than I was, knowing how to use his amulet and having experience finding people marked for an early death in order to save them from reapers like Nakita. That he had switched sides to stay with me was as weird as my being chosen as the new dark timekeeper to begin with. Maybe it was guilt that had kept him with me, since hed failed to keep me alive when Id been targeted for death. Perhaps it was anger at his old boss, Ron, the light timekeeper, whod lied to both of us in his quest for supremacy. Or it might possibly be that Barnabas thought I had answers for the questions that Rons betrayal had raised. Whatever the reason, I was glad Barnabas was here. Neither of us agreed with heavens philosophy of killing someone before they went bad, but if Id been fated to become the new dark timekeeper, I couldve done far worse than win Barnabass loyalty. Nakita didnt trust him and thought he was a spy.

Uh, guys? Josh said, and I froze when I followed his gaze to the squad car parked before the school. Beside it was a woman in uniform, hands on her hips and looking our way.

Crap! I yelped, dropping. Josh was right beside me, and Barnabas had never risen above the level of the car. Get down! I almost hissed at Nakita, and yanked her toward the pavement. My pulse hammered. Okay, I know. I was dead, but try telling my mind that. It thought I was alive, and with the tactile illusion of a body, who was I to tell it different? It was embarrassing. If I was simply sitting, nothingbut the minute I got excited, the memory of my pulse started up. It was so unfair that I had to deal with all the physical crap of being scared when I was already dead, but at least I didnt sweat anymore.