The Death of My First Assignment (Death Series)

by Ami Urban

  “You…you banished him…”

  “Yes.”

  Blood leaked onto Katie’s shirt. I took her hand and inspected the glass protruding from her skin.

  “This is gonna hurt a little.” I pinched it between two fingers and carefully wiggled it free. She shut her eyes tight and gasped from the pain.

  “You…you work for Irish Moses?” Her voice was getting weaker and weaker. I placed my palm over hears and thought hard about wanting her healed again.

  “Let me help you…”

  She ripped her hand back, holding it up as she paced away from me.

  “No! Who are you?!” She paused to look at her hand and did a double-take. A small pink line of raised flesh was all that was left after I’d healed her. She gaped at it for a moment, then looked back at me, the wheels turning in her head.

  “Listen to me, Katie…”

  In the moment I said her name, something exploded behind her eyes. She curled both hands into fists and planted her feet shoulder width apart.

  “Oh, my God…! I…I remember now… Martin…”

  “Yes…” I held out my hand. It was covered in her blood. But she shook her head and backed away.

  “You…you lied to me!”

  I stopped dead. “What?”

  “You work for Irish Moses! You only helped me to get to my soul!” she cried.

  “No!” That wasn’t it. She looked scared and pissed off. I had to make it right. “No, Katie. You’re not remembering right. There’s more.” I reached out to her. “Remember the rest. Remember how we—”

  “Stay away from me!” She staggered backward. “Don’t touch me!”

  “Katie…”

  “You’re just another pawn in Irish Moses’ game, aren’t you?” She swung around and called Serena. The poor girl had been sitting there the whole time just watching our exchange with confusion in her eyes. “Come on!”

  Standing on shaky legs, Serena wobbled past me, offering a sympathetic glance. She didn’t know what was going on. As far as she was concerned, she’d known me ever since she’d moved to Texas. She’d gone to school with me.

  When she threw an arm around Katie’s waist, the most beautiful girl in the world shot me a heated look. “Don’t come near Serena or me again!”

  With that, she stalked from the alleyway. I’d screwed everything up.

  “How did I manage to do that…?”

  Chapter Twenty

  “How’d you manage to do this?”

  I winced.

  “Sorry, too tight?” Kevin smiled.

  I nodded.

  He loosened the makeshift bandage around the knee that had been scraped in my fall.

  After I’d dropped Serena off at her house, I’d gone straight to Kevin’s hotel room.

  I needed someone who I could confide in about the sudden rush of memories I’d had in the alley.

  Martin Krane. I’d known him.

  He’d been working with Irish Moses to try and get my soul during my thirty day time limit. With the memory of his treachery also came other warm thoughts.

  I’d also remembered John Gray, my crush of five years. We’d dated. I did have my first kiss.

  And remembering it felt warm and good. But the cold coiling itself like a snake in my belly reminded me that I was in danger until I could remember everything and everyone. What was still missing?

  I’d gone to Kevin to get my answer.

  And he’d been so great. He’d welcomed me into his room with open arms, helped clean my wound so it wouldn’t get infected, and ordered room service so we could eat.

  But he refused to fill in any more blanks in my mind. He kept saying something about having to find out on my own, or the memories could come back out of order.

  “So, how did it feel?” he asked softly.

  “What?”

  “Remembering Martin.”

  I winced.

  “I don’t want to talk about Martin right now.” And that was true. I felt foolish and embarrassed that I’d allowed Martin’s charms and good looks to sway me into taking him places with me and telling him things. I’d almost said yes to a date with him! “How come you didn’t sense the wraith near us?” I asked.

  Kevin’s face blanked. “I don’t know. Maybe Martin was blocking the feeling. Not sure.”

  “The wraith told us that Andy Bowdry hadn’t been murdered.”

  “Really?” The dark look was replaced by curiosity. “But the kid’s a wraith. I could sense it.”

  I nodded. “He’s Irish Moses, all right. But he said something about his soul getting pushed out. What does that mean?”

  Kevin thought for a moment. But then, he shrugged.

  “Beats me. I’ve never heard of that before. He was probably lying.”

  “He said something about us being a distraction and that we’d soon find out what that meant.”

  “Hmm…” He glanced above me into the kitchen. “Hey… There’s a Kubrick marathon that starts in ten minutes. Take your mind off the job for a few hours. You interested?”

  I tilted my head to one side. “Open the pod bay doors, Kevin.”

  He laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  I sucked in a breath when he pulled away. My knee was throbbing.

  “I’ll get you an aspirin.” Rounding the sofa, he placed a gentle hand on my head.

  “‘Kay.” I rubbed my poor knee.

  A song came into my head as the motion seemed to relieve some of the pain. I started humming to myself, helping soothe some of the frazzled nerves.

  Remembering the rat squeaking as I’d stepped on it made my blood go cold. The only thing that would help was that song.

  “Do you think maybe Andy made a deal with Irish Moses?” I asked, halfway through the first verse.

  Kevin didn’t answer. I yawned, stretched, and peeked over my shoulder into the kitchen. He was standing at the sink, filling a glass with water for my aspirin. But the strange thing about the whole scene was the fact that water was spilling over the side, overflowing from the cup.

  I cleared my throat—loud. “You okay?”

  He blinked, came back to reality, and cursed as he shut the faucet off. He shook the water from his hand and grabbed a towel.

  “Sorry... Not sure what happened...”

  Oh, but I did. I blushed. “No, I’m sorry... I forgot about the Siren thing...”

  He came around the sofa and handed me the water and aspirin while studying my face.

  “Oh... That was you singing?”

  “Well...I was only humming.” I stared at the floor as I gulped the glass of water down.

  “Wow...”

  “Sorry...” I said again, handing the glass back to him.

  “Don’t be.” He shook his head. “It was...beautiful. That’s why I didn’t come to your concert that day. I should have...”

  I made a face. “I don’t like using my song on people. It’s rude.”

  “Rude?” He returned to the kitchen to put the glass away. “Why?”

  “Using my powers to see how they work... I don’t want you thinking you’re a guinea pig or anything.”

  “Aw, Katie, for you...” He leaned against the back of the couch. I could feel his breath stir the hair on my head. “I’d be a lab rat.”

  “Ha!” I laughed nervously.

  He seemed to sense the awkwardness and stood up, clearing his throat.

  A knock came at the hotel room door. Kevin headed toward it.

  I allowed the tingle to ribbon its way down my spine and all the way out. I wasn’t about to let it run my thoughts.

  I listened to him exchange a few words with the room service guy while my mind went in circles.

  What was going on between us? Those feelings? What were they?

  He managed to take my stress away with a few simple words, and I was grateful for it, but...

  “Ready to eat?” he asked.

  I looked at the metal cart with a sheet draped over it. Three silver
covered dishes were laid out on top, emanating a smell too delicious to ignore.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  He uncovered each dish. The first had a big mixed salad underneath, the second had a nice assortment of sushi rolls, and the third had a huge slice of some chocolate cake.

  He smiled, picking up the sushi plate and handing it to me.

  “You get first pick.”

  I took the plate as he set everything else on the coffee table.

  Then, he sat next to me on the sofa and flipped the television on.

  I chose something deep fried smothered in some spicy orange sauce. It was so good, I had to close my eyes and savor the flavor.

  “Which one was that?” Kevin’s voice was close, soft. He was leaning in, checking out each roll. I could smell him—familiar. Finally something familiar in this existence I called a life. But he also smelled different. There was something that stood him out from the Martins and the Johns.

  What is it? And why am I trying to figure it out?

  He picked up a salmon roll and tried it. “That one’s good. Have one.”

  I didn’t answer. I was too acutely aware of his presence. It made me nervous and happy at the same time. What was going on?

  “Katie?” He seemed to notice my internal struggle. “Does it hurt?”

  “Does what hurt?” I asked. He took the plate from me and set in on the coffee table next to the others. Then, he turned and faced me.

  “Your knee. Does your knee hurt?”

  “Um... It’s not bad...”

  “Is something else wrong?” He watched me like there was something he wanted me to say. And when I didn’t utter a word, he refused to push. Finally, the unspoken words were too thick.

  “I just...had a long day...”

  He nodded. “I can relate. Let’s hope Stanley Kubrick can erase some of that stress.” He leaned forward and handed me the plate of food once again. When our fingers touched, my skin spasmed, but he didn’t notice—that, or he just didn’t say anything.

  And even though the first few minutes of the film were silent and uncomfortable, he was right. By the time Hal 9000 had his first malfunction, I felt warm, pain-free, and content.

  And by the time A Clockwork Orange came on, we weren’t even paying attention.

  We’d begun talking about other films we’d seen—films based on books and how closely they’d followed their counterparts. We talked about my assignment and how Serena had been doing. I’d started telling him about my fear of heights, and he started teaching me how to get over it.

  “When I was teaching way back when...” He looked into the distance as if searching for the memory. “I had a student who was so afraid of heights that she wouldn’t even stand up on her chair when we did an exercise.”

  “Whoa.” I pulled my knees into my chest, hugging the safe material of my jeans.

  “I know. So, I researched a few ways to help her, and I came across only one that worked.”

  I sat and waited for him to enlighten me for at least thirty seconds. But he just watched me with a smile on his face.

  “What’s thinkin’? What way worked?” I demanded.

  “Well...this was when I worked in New York. So, I took her to the top of the Empire State Building one day and made her look over the side for one whole minute,” he said.

  I shivered. “That’s terrible.”

  He laughed. “The thing was... I think she’d never been up there before. The minute she looked over, she was amazed by all the people walking around below. She kept saying how they looked like ants.

  “In the end, I had to pry her away from the edge.”

  “But isn’t there like a huge cage around the edge so you can’t fall?”

  “Yeah.” He shrugged. “So, then I took her to the Statue of Liberty. No cages there. At first, she was super scared. She hung onto me like her life depended on it.”

  He paused to chuckle.

  “But then, this little old lady—she must have been ninety—saw the whole thing and said, ‘young lady, if you hang onto that fear as tight as you hang onto that man, then you may end up marrying at least one of them...’ That set her straight.”

  “No kidding...” I said, feeling as though the comment had been directed at me. Marry my fears—all of them—or marry someone I loved. The choice seemed so obvious.

  “So, come on.” He stood and held out his hand.

  “What?” I looked up at him.

  “Let’s go out onto the balcony.”

  “But... It’s like...seven stories,” I protested.

  He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Eight, if you count the lobby.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Remember what the little old lady said?”

  “Yup. But the little old lady wasn’t in the middle of watching her favorite movie star, was she?”

  “If you do this, I’ll get you a signed photo of Mr. McDowell.”

  I sat up straight. “You’re bluffing.”

  “Nope.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “I want proof before I do anything.”

  “The proof is in the pudding.”

  “What does that expression even mean!?”

  “Come onto the balcony and you’ll find out.”

  I sighed. “Fine!”

  He hefted me into a standing position. I tested out my knee, putting a generous amount of weight on it. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as it had, so we made the trip to the sliding door. As soon as he opened it, cool night air hit me at the same time as the sound of traffic below.

  Kevin nudged me. I stumbled onto the balcony, but kept away from the edge.

  I could just see the flashing lights of cars as they drove past on the street. I didn’t need to see what was over the balcony; I already knew.

  I backed up a step or two, pushing myself into Kevin as he was blocking my only way back inside.

  “Come on, Katie.” He grasped my shoulders and steered me toward the balcony. “Let go of that fear. Otherwise, you’ll end up marrying it.”

  It sounded like he couldn’t keep the laughter from escaping.

  I gripped the railing in both hands, shutting my eyes as the sound of traffic grew closer.

  When I didn’t look, it sounded like the ocean. I imagined waves crashing on the shore of a distant sandy beach.

  “See? It’s not that bad.”

  I opened my eyes. But only because I could feel him behind me, just barely pressing his body into mine. His hands were one on each side of me, curled around the balcony’s rail.

  I swallowed hard, feeling a sweep of some unknown feeling.

  He let go of the railing and moved away suddenly, as if the distance between us wasn’t enough. So, I took a deep breath and looked over the side.

  And you know what? I didn’t die.

  Nope. I just sat there for a solid minute and watched the traffic go by. Sure, I was eight stories up and could fall at any moment to my death, but I didn’t feel scared. Was it because I’d gotten over my fear of heights? Or was it because Kevin was there with me?

  I may never know.

  “Aren’t you glad I came?” he whispered.

  Another emotion stirred inside me. This time, it was frustration. “I was never not glad,” I replied.

  “Really? Because I could have sworn on the plane you wanted to throw me through one of those tiny hole windows.”

  “That’s because I thought you were coming to protect me.” I turned to face him. He was leaning against the rail a few feet away, just watching me.

  “Well... I certainly didn’t want you going alone. It’s your first assignment. You can’t do it by yourself.”

  “Says who?” My temper flared. “I can do it on my own. I even fended off the great and glorious Martin by myself.”

  For the first time since I’d known Kevin Carter, I saw his eyes roll. “And we made a full circle back to talking about Martin again.”

  What the heck was that tone of voice? I narrowed my eyes.
“I’m just making an example.”

  “I don’t think Martin is the greatest ‘for instance,’” he said. “For one, he’s kind of a renegade. He doesn’t know whose side he’s on half the time. Besides, things have changed, Katie.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s more dangerous out there.”

  I heaved a sigh and started to stalk inside, but he grabbed me, pulling me back to face him.

  His blue eyes were full of passion. But all I saw was his incessant need to treat me like a kid. Like a daughter. Like a student.

  “I don’t—”

  My cell phone buzzed in my back pocket. I jumped, then fished it out, frowning at the display. Serena was calling.

  She wouldn’t be unless something was going down.

  “Hello?”

  I watched Kevin as we stood at odds on the balcony of his hotel room. I was still upset about the way he’d been treating me.

  “Katie?” Serena’s voice seemed edgy. I gave up the fight against my feelings and turned away from Kevin.

  “Serena? What’s wrong?”

  Kevin ushered me inside and closed the sliding door behind us. Then, he sat on the sofa and watched my one-way conversation as I stalked around the living room.

  “Katie…didn’t you hear?”

  “Hear what?” I paced over to the desk against one wall and back.

  “Haven’t you been watchin’ the telly? What have you and Kevin been doin’?”

  “Serena…” I sighed. “What’s going on?”

  My nerves started to tighten inside me. Dread sat like a lump in my stomach.

  “Katie…it’s all over the news. They found Andy Bowdry’s body. He’s dead.”

  * * *

  The next morning, the school was abuzz with the news of Andy’s death. I’d tossed and turned all night on the cot in Serena’s room, wondering what the heck it all meant.

  Had Irish Moses pushed Andy’s soul out of his body?

  Had he made a clone?

  Or had he killed Andy, then wore his body around like a costume? Was he still around? Had he pushed someone else out?

  All the questions prevented my sleep. Which also prevented me from thinking clearly the next morning. I was walking around like a zombie for most of the day. Before the bell for second period rung, I ran smack into Martin Krane.