Unchosen. Part 8

My raven cawed a warning, and I realized I couldn't go barreling through the gate holding my scythe. I skidded to a stop, and looked up.

"Time to return," I said.

The raven's spread wings cast me in darkness as it swirled down, grasping the scythe before making itself smaller and smaller. Finally, the bird returned to the silver ring.

I ached from head to toe, and my heart pounded so hard, the thumping sounds clogged my ears.

At a nearby bench, a couple kissing were startled apart. They stared at me and the zombie as I limped past them. I smiled and gave them a little wave.

I noticed the wide-eyed stares of the kids hanging out in the courtyard. Conversations ceased as Jon Lemons and I trudged by, but no one said anything.

I didn't relax until I got to my room.

I shut and locked the door, and Jon Lemons stationed himself in front of it.

I wanted to collapse onto my bed, but I was filthy, so I dropped to the floor, rolled onto my back, and shut my eyes.

It took a while for me to calm down. My heart eventually found a steady rhythm, and my breathing regulated.

"Miss?"

I screamed. My eyes flew open and I scrambled off the floor as if it were on fire. All my calm evaporated and I slapped a hand against my chest as if to keep my heart from leaping out of my ribcage.

Henry gazed at me with his usual stoic expression. "Forgive me, miss. I didn't mean to startle you. Are you all right?"

"Henry, you scared the c.r.a.p outta me."

"How unfortunate. Do you require a change of underwear?"

I stared at Henry, but his expression never wavered. I grinned. "Did you just make a joke?" I lifted my fist. "Way to go, Henry."

Henry stared at my fist. One gray eyebrow lifted.

I patted my fist. "Come on, give me a fist b.u.mp."

Henry stepped forward. He curled his fingers and lifted his arm. Then he gave me the slowest fist b.u.mp in the history of fist b.u.mps. Still, I laughed. "You really do rock, Henry."

"So do you, miss." The corners of Henry's mouth tilted up very slightly. I a.s.sumed that was his version of a smile. "I see we have a guest."

"You remember Jon Lemons, right? He saved me, Henry. We got attacked by zombies ... Rath's trying to find out who sent them."

"You were attacked? And you did not call me?" Henry sounded ... well, hurt.

"You've risked yourself too much for me. I can't keep asking you to do that."

"I am your ghoul. And I am your friend. I must insist you call me whenever you need me-no matter the perceived risk."

I blinked. "Okay, Henry. I will."

He sniffed delicately. "Perhaps a shower is in order?"

"Yeah. Definitely. And maybe you can make sure Jon Lemons gets cleaned up and back to Barbie?"

"I will take care of the zombie. What about dinner, miss?"

I'd learned to trust Henry about food. "Whatever you think is best," I said.

"Very well." Henry continued to stare at me, and I realized he was exuding a sense of urgency. Well, as urgent as Henry could appear.

"Is there something else?" I asked.

"Have you made much progress in finding the book?"

At first, I thought he was talking about Keep Thy Soul. But Henry never really bothered me about homework. Then I remembered. "You mean Anubis and The Seventh Warrior?" I shrugged. "I told you, it's been missing since like forever. Someone took it from the library and never gave it back."

"I believe it is still on the campus."

How would Henry know that? And why was he so insistent that I find the book? I trusted Henry. He seemed to think that I could find answers in Anubis and The Seventh Warrior. "Okay. I'll put it on top of my to-do list. Is there anywhere in particular you think I should look?"

"This school has many mysteries," said Henry. "Even the walls contain secrets."

I knew Henry was unable to give me direct information. So, I would try to decipher what he was really trying to say, and work harder to find the book.

You know, on top of training for the Kebechet challenge, writing a book report, worrying about Rath, and trying to avoid whoever was trying to kill me.

AFTER MY SHOWER and a nice dinner, I crawled into my bed. I've been thinking about my Aunt Lelia. She had warned me about "she." So, was that the woman I'd seen in the temple? Was Mr. Jacobs in on it with her? I didn't know. I was having doubts about my own accusations against Mr. Jacobs. I couldn't ignore the fact he gotten help for me, instead of dragging me off somewhere to finish the job.

Trying to figure out motives-and pin down who had out for me-was frying my brain.

Maybe it was time to think more about this mysterious book that Henry wanted me to find. Maybe I couldn't tell my friends what was going on with the Nekros Society, being the daughter of Anubis, and that I had serious reaper skills, but I could ask for their help. With all of us searching for information about my aunt's death and tracking down Anubis and The Seventh Warrior, I had a better shot at success.

I retrieved my phone from the nightstand.

Molly: Need help. Can't find 411 on Aunt Lelia's death. Need 2 find book: Anubis and The 7th Warrior.

Barbie: Research queen here. On it.

Trina: Daddy loves rare books. Will check with his contacts.

Daniel: Allergic to libraries. Uncle is cop. Will ask him about aunt.

Autumn: Sending ghosts on treasure hunt for 411 and book. BTW, what do u think about pink zombies serving cake?

Molly: Ugh! Poor zombies.

Barbie: NO.

Trina: Love!

Daniel: I cannot accept any kind of dessert from a pink zombie.

Autumn: C'mon y'all! It's a food-based dye. It'll wash right off.

Molly: Still voting no.

Barbie: h.e.l.l NO.

Trina: Love + infinity!

Daniel: Exiting debate. Going to bed.

The rest of us signed off, too. I put my phone on its charger, and turned off my lamp. I snuggled in my bed covers, readjusted my pillow to a more comfortable position, and closed my eyes.

Despite my exhaustion, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about what it happened in the woods. Who would send zombies after me? If Jon Lemons and Rath hadn't shown up-I might well be dead.

I s.h.i.+vered.

I s.h.i.+fted my thoughts to my Aunt Lelia. She was in real trouble. I wanted to help her so much. I worried about her warning, too. Who was she warning me about? The only person, or rather G.o.d, I could think of as a she was Anput. But I was almost certain it hadn't been Anput in the temple. Still, I didn't know. And that was the scariest part of all. Did I need to be concerned about Anput betraying her bloodline again?

Or was this "she" a new enemy?

Molly's Reaper Diary Family is Everything EVEN WHEN THE whole world is counting on you to save it from an angry G.o.d, you gotta be there for your family. I know it's tough. That whole 1 billion people versus the twelve that love you. Still, is the world worth saving if you don't have anyone that trusts you?

Loyalty is important. You gotta have your family's back. And your family includes your friends and your relatives. Look, I know sometimes you're dealing with circ.u.mstances you can't control. But if your family needs you, then it's go time.

At least, that's how I feel about it. Being a reaper can really mess with your heart and your head. That's why you need family. They keep you on track; they keep you solid.

Capiche?

"Reapers know the true meaning of sacrifice."

~Secret History of Reapers, Author Unknown.

"Come for my soul, O you wardens of the sky! If you delay letting my soul see my corpse, you will find the eye of Horus standing up thus against you ... the great G.o.d will proceed in peace when you allow this soul of mine to ascend vindicated to the G.o.ds..."

~From spell 89 in The Book of the Dead.

Chapter 7.

THE LAST TWO weeks had taken suckitude to a whole new level.

When I was at school, all I did was study and train. In fact, training with the Nekros Society had kicked into super high gear. Then there were extra sessions with Rath as I prepared for the compet.i.tion to officially win the t.i.tle of Kebechet.

But at least no one else had tried to kill me.

I'd blown off so many study groups, movie nights, and lunch hours with my friends, that Barbie, Trina, Autumn, and Daniel had stopped inviting me. Autumn had also quit including me on the texts to discuss the final preparations for Trina's going away party. Or so I a.s.sumed since she seemed to send 100 texts on the subject every day, and now I was getting nada.

On the weekends, Henry and I had been shuttled off to the ma.s.sive house of my grandparents. I couldn't exactly say spending extra time with Grandma and Grandpa Briarstock was a complete bust, especially after we taught Henry how to play Jenga. He bested my grandmother every single time. Sandra nearly busted a vein trying to outdo my ghoul, and Derek and I did a mostly okay job of hiding our laughter.

Sad, but true-being with my grandparents had been the bright spots of my time lately.

Rath had been pus.h.i.+ng me hard during our training sessions. He said he was working on a solution to help my Aunt Lelia, but he didn't really have much to tell me yet. He hadn't found anything-or anyone-in the woods to explain the attacking zombies. He popped up a lot more lately, just to say "hi," but since Henry had been doing the same thing, I knew the truth: They were checking on me.

It was sweet.

Unfortunately, Rath hadn't made any more gestures of affection, and honestly, I could've used a hug or three. Maybe even a shoulder rub.

Study. Train. Eat. Study. Train. Repeat twice a day. Sleep. Do it all again.

Exciting life, right? Being a reaper is so super awesome. (Hah!) Sigh.

AFTR MY LAST afternoon cla.s.s, I went to my dorm room, intent on a having a nap before meeting Rath for an evening session of "kick-Molly's-b.u.t.t." I tossed my bag onto the nearest chair and then fell face-first onto my bed.

I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, giving my worried thoughts full reign. It was frustrating to have all these problems and no solutions. FYI, it hadn't escaped my attention that Anubis had been quiet for a while now.

I really needed a convo with G.o.d-dad.

"Are you there, Anubis?" I whispered. "It's me, Molly."

Silence was my answer. Well, he was a G.o.d after all. Maybe he was just busy with Underworld stuff. I let a few more moments pa.s.s, and then I tried again.

"Hey ... uh, Dad?" Wow. I felt kinda weird calling Anubis "Dad." That privilege had been Al Bartolucci's for my last sixteen years. Suddenly, I missed my father, my sister, and my grandmother. There were times I felt really alone. Back before this whole Kebechet thing, I wanted to be alone because my family was chaotic and always around. Now, I felt homesick.

Surprise! Anubis didn't answer. I wasn't going to bother with Anput, either, because she'd been ignoring me, too.

The one thing I could say about my bio-dad is that he'd never let me down. If I needed him, he was always there. And even though I wasn't his "real" daughter, it hadn't mattered. In fact, I could call him right now and tell him I wanted to go home, and he would come get me. I thought about that for a while, but I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Maybe I couldn't choose my fate, but I could choose how I acted about my fate.

I wasn't giving up.

I crawled to my pillow, lay down, and closed my eyes. After a while, I started to drift into sleep.

My cell phone rang.

My eyes popped open. I grabbed the phone and looked at the display.

Ally was calling me?

I punched the ANSWER b.u.t.ton. "What's up, sis?"

"Molly," whispered Ally. "You need to come home."

For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. After all, I had just had thoughts about bailing from Nekyia.