by Vered Ehsani
A small pride of lions was near the pool, circling a downed zebra, reasserting their hierarchy as they prepared to feast. The large cats appeared as ghosts covered in a dull gold sheen, slipping between shadows as they silently padded around, waiting for the male lion to grant permission. Shaking its great mane, the male roared and swatted at the zebra carcass yet didn’t sink its teeth into the waiting meal.
“Why are they hesitating?” I asked Drew as I absently scratched behind his ears.
In answer, the zebra began to twitch. Its jaw hung open, revealing yellowed horse-like teeth. Snorting and rolling its eyes, the zebra scrambled up, despite having large chunks missing from its hindquarters. Grateful I hadn’t eaten recently, I clutched my stomach as the partially devoured zebra spun about on its three good legs. Startled at the liveliness of their supper, the lions sprung away, hissing, snarling and growling, their tails snapping, their ears laid flat against their heads.
Summoning the wolf energy back into my metal left hand, I stood. “Well, that explains it.”
Drew stared up at me, whining.
“It’s only the beginning.”
Spinning around, I glared at Death who stood just behind me, his expression hidden in shadows. “I detest sneaky people,” I spluttered as my hand jerked up to my chest to ensure my heart didn’t burst out of it. “Try to make some noise if you’re approaching me.”
Tilting his head to the side, he smirked, his teeth shining silver in the odd light. His smile faded as he stared over me. I followed the direction of his gaze in time to see the agitated lions all spring on the zebra, crushing it with their weight. A frantic baying was cut off and replaced with the snarls of the lions as they ripped the zebra apart.
“The sphere of chaos will expand over time,” Death intoned, “until the entire world is impacted by the broken circle of life.”
“Well, aren’t you a harbinger of joy,” I said, turning away from the sight and sounds of the zebra dying a second time.
Wordlessly, we returned to the cottage.
Chapter Seventeen
A DEAD MAN in the guest room and a dead elephant next to the barn should be enough to disturb even the most sanguine character. That it didn’t faze me in the least should have concerned me but it didn’t. Perhaps the monkey shrieking in my ear distracted me from all the other craziness.
“Shelby, blast it,” I muttered, pushing my face into the pillow, hoping near suffocation would induce a sleep that not even a hungry little monkey could penetrate. Alas, it wasn’t to be.
Grumbling and glaring, I eventually gave up the notion of returning to my slumber. The monkey wouldn’t give up. To be fair—although I preferred not to impose such a limitation on myself—it was midmorning. How I’d managed to sleep in so late was a mystery which could only be explained by my nightmare, my midnight stroll and my pregnancy.
I dressed as hastily as fashion would allow, cursing the long line of buttons. Surely there was a superior system for fastening closed a shirt? Deciding I would challenge Dr. Cricket, the town inventor, to develop one, I tugged on a heavy sweater and stumbled to the kitchen. Shelby clung to my neck, lecturing me in hisses, clicks and whistles the entire way.
“Here, you horrid little beast,” I said as I peeled a banana and dropped it on the kitchen table. There was no point in using a plate; Shelby would merely toss the plate to the floor.
My only consolation was the steaming kettle on the stove. Jonas had done his job, or else he had a highly developed sense of self-preservation. Either way, the prospects for surviving the day brightened as I prepared a pot of tea.
Carrying my second cup outside, I meandered to the barn where I found Death. He was slouched upon a hay bundle, cracking his knuckles and sulking. Simon’s horse was cowering in a corner of her stall while Nelly was chewing the ends of Death’s braids. The dead elephant was standing just outside the large doorway, her head pushed inside so that her trunk could pick at the hay.
“How do you humans manage?” Death grumbled when he saw me squeeze past the elephant.
“You’ll need to be more specific,” I said as I strolled around the barn, checking that all the water troughs were full. “There are so many things we manage, after all.”
Sighing, he swatted at Nelly and stood. “Life,” he said as he began to pace. Straw crunched and rustled under his bare feet. “Mortality. Physical needs. All of it.”
Shrugging, I leaned against Nelly's stall and stroked her nose. “We don’t have much of a choice, really. It’s either manage or die.”
“I’m amazed more of you haven’t dropped dead by now,” he said. “Powerless, weak, flimsy, squishy—”
“Squishy?” I repeated.
“Like a bug.”
“All the bugs I personally know aren’t squashable in the least,” I argued.
Death was not amused. Sadly for him, he was unable to threaten me with a lightning bolt. Instead, he paused his pacing and rested his forehead against the elephant’s trunk.
“What am I to do?” he groaned into the rough skin.
“Pull yourself together, man,” I said, marveling at his decline into emotionality. What next, would he weep? “I’ve decided to help you.”
Swiveling his head in my direction, Death stared at me, his hands clenched. “Really?”
“Truly.”
“Thank you,” Death whispered as he wiped at his eyes. I pretended not to notice. “What changed your mind?”
Shrugging, I leaned my cheek against Nelly’s nose, enjoying the scent of clean hay and warm horse. My thoughts returned to the scene by the river, and the sounds of the zebra being eaten alive. “Let’s just say I’ve seen the light, and leave it at that.”
“Kam was right to give you jurisdiction over Nairobi. You are a gem amongst these pathetic humans. I’ll repay you somehow,” Death babbled, pushing away from the elephant, his eyes round as he thumped a fist against his chest. “You won’t regret this.”
Snorting, I scratched Nelly’s neck under her thick mane. “I already do.” Pausing, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Mind you, I can only spare a few days. My next shipment is arriving at the end of the week, and tea trumps all else, including the unraveling of the circle of life.”
Brushing off bits of straw from my skirt, I added, “After all, life without tea… Huh! What am I saying? Such a life doesn’t exist, nor shall we even consider such a dark and terrible notion.”
Chapter Eighteen
“WHAT A SPLENDID idea,” Lilly said as she changed Grace’s clothes for probably the fifth time that day. “Visiting a giant spider right before entering the afterworld up in the sky: Beatrice, I would expect nothing less from you.”
Satisfied, Lilly stepped back from the pink-veined marble countertop to admire her handiwork. Two dimples appeared on Grace’s round, pale brown cheeks as she gurgled at me, unconcerned about what fashion statement she might be making with her newest attire.
Leaning against the counter and facing the entrance to the Cozy Tea Shoppe, Tiberius fiddled with an unlit cigarette, his features placid apart from a slight tightening around his tea-colored eyes. “Are you sure, Beatrice?” he asked, his soft voice causing me more doubt than the dead man sitting in the opposite corner of the shop.
“Of course I’m not,” I muttered as I inhaled the steam drifting up from my cup. I was sitting at the table closest to the counter so I could watch Mr. Turner. Outside, the dark street was empty of everything but a dead elephant holding a long, ivory tusk.
Cilla swiveled about in the chair opposite me to study the behemoth waiting patiently by the balcony. “What if someone comes by and sees her?” she asked.
Koki snorted as she peered out the front door. “Even if any mortal was foolish enough to walk the street at night, they wouldn’t notice anything amiss. Humans can be so blind that way.”
From behind the counter, Yao popped up, holding a canister of candied ginger. Swinging himself onto the counter, he sat next to Grace, swinging his legs so t
hat his bare heels hit the wooden shelves under the counter with soft thumps. Frowning, his tongue poking out of his mouth as he battled to open the lid, he asked, “They can’t see an elephant?”
“They won’t see it’s dead,” I said.
The thumping stopped as the lid popped off the canister. Yao held up a slice of sugar-coated ginger, his eyes wide and wondering before tossing the candy into his mouth. A second later, he spluttered, gagged and bent over double before spitting out the ginger. “Humans taste horrible.”
“You mean they have horrible taste,” Koki corrected him. “Most of them taste just fine.”
Before I could castigate Yao for wasting the precious treat, the little bell over the front door tinkled, and in walked Dr. Ribeiro followed by Death.
“Hello, hello,” Dr. Ribeiro said, wagging his head back and forth as he lifted his hat up in greeting. “It is being a very fine evening, isn’t it? I am being most impressed with the dead elephant though.”
Yao crossed his arms over his bare chest and thumped his heels against the counter. “He saw. Not all humans are blind.”
“Well, our good doctor has never been accused of being normal,” Lilly pointed out. “Has she, Grace? Who’s a good baby?”
Mr. Turner moaned, causing Dr. Ribeiro to turn to the corner. Stepping closer to Mr. Turner, he studied the large hole in the hunter’s chest. “Oh, and a dead man as well. How thrilling. You are always adopting interesting creatures, Miss Knight.”
“It’s more a case of them adopting me,” I muttered.
“Thank you for fetching him,” Cilla said, ignoring Death’s glare.
Sneering, Death said, “I’m not accustomed to being anyone’s messenger.”
Lilly shrugged as she fiddled with a bow in Grace’s curly hair. “You’re also not used to being mortal, but there we have it.”
“Did you tell everyone?” Death asked as he stepped toward Koki.
She chuckled; it sounded like the prelude to a massacre rather than a friendly banter.
“Why is the doctor here?” I asked, hoping to interrupt Koki before she could provoke Death further.
“We—that is, Lilly and I—asked Death to bring Dr. Ribeiro here,” Cilla explained, her cheeks flushing as she peered sideways at me. “Don’t you think you need his opinion before you galavant across the sky?”
Tiberius pushed away from the counter, his shoes clicking against the wooden floor. “Why would she need the doctor’s opinion?” The softness of his voice only made the sharpness in his eyes more unnerving.
“It’s nothing,” I hastened to say before anyone could speak.
Dr. Ribeiro smiled broadly, holding his hat to his chest with one hand as he prodded Mr. Turner’s shoulder. “Oh, it is being something.”
“Of course it is,” Koki scoffed as she strolled past shelves of teapots. Her fingers tapped against the shelving, keeping time with her steps. “Everyone already knows. Or…” She paused, her hands stroking a metal Japanese teapot. Gazing at me, then Tiberius, she smiled. “He doesn’t know, does he? Oh, you do like to keep your secrets, Miss Knight.”
I glared at her, unable to meet my brother’s gaze, and said, “Sometimes I wonder why I’m friends with you.”
Koki flung back her head and laughed a rich, deep melody of sound. A hand settled on my shoulder, causing me to flinch and look up.
“Why is the doctor here?” Tiberius whispered.
“Oh, Yao knows, Yao knows,” Yao called out, waving a hand above his head while setting the jar of ginger candy onto the counter with a loud clatter.
“I wasn’t asking you,” Tiberius gritted out as he knelt beside my chair, his gaze remaining on my face.
Yao seemed to deflate. Sliding off the counter, he slunk to a chair next to Cilla and slouched at the table. “Nasty, tasteless humans,” he muttered.
Smirking, Koki held up a porcelain cup; the surface was so delicate, light flowed through it. “Just tell the boy.”
Sighing, I mumbled, “I’m expecting.”
“You’re always expecting,” Tiberius said. “But the next tea shipment isn’t due to arrive for…” He glanced around at all the faces staring at him. “Did my wings sprout out?”
“Your sister wasn’t referring to a shipment of tea, my darling Popobawa,” Lilly said as she lifted Grace from the counter while shaking her head. Her dark curls bounced around her shoulders.
Eyes widening, Tiberius stood up and took one step back as he wagged a finger at me. “You’re with child.”
Koki clapped her hands slowly. “And the award for the smartest bat goes to Mr. Elkhart.”
“That’s marvelous news,” Tiberius gushed before he frowned. “Of course, it means you can’t possibly travel with Death in your state.”
“Do you even know your sister?” Koki asked as she held up the thin cup to a storm lantern. A soft glow lit the dark angles of her face. “Of course she’s going.”
“Can Yao come?” Yao asked, standing up and bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Please, please, please?”
Tugging at the bottom hem of his dark dinner jacket, Tiberius began to pace, pausing when he realized Dr. Ribeiro was still admiring Mr. Turner. “Doctor, talk to her. Tell her she shouldn’t be making such a dangerous trip.”
Dr. Ribeiro turned away from his study to stare at Tiberius. His dark eyes widened. “Oh, I can’t be telling her that.”
“Why ever not, man?” Tiberius demanded.
Scratching at his goatee, the doctor studied me, his dark skin appearing oily in the kerosene-created light. “Because she is being perfectly fine, a most healthy specimen of pregnancy. And after all, women in her condition are working in the fields and carrying firewood all the time.”
“You told her she couldn’t fly,” Cilla reminded him, her hands clenched on her lap.
The doctor shrugged. “It’s not being very advisable, true. Then again, it’s not being not advisable.”
Growling, Tiberius stalked away until he reached the counter. Keeping his back to us, he unscrewed the jar and chewed on a large piece of candied ginger.
“Now that we’ve settled the issue,” Koki said, smirking as she replaced the cup on its shelf and sauntered past my table and around the counter. Facing Tiberius, she leaned an elbow on the marble and rested her head on her fist while plucking a piece of ginger from the jar. “What’s next on the agenda?”
Before we could launch into another topic, Death coughed and said, “I wouldn’t do that.” His warning came too late as Dr. Ribeiro’s hand smacked against his arm, squashing a mosquito.
“Why not?” Yao asked, staring at the doctor.
“The cycle of life and death is disturbed,” I explained even as the bug floated above Dr. Ribeiro’s arm, shook its wings and buzzed angrily about our heads.
Death sighed. “The reanimation is getting faster.”
“Yes, it does seem that way,” I said.
The doctor staggered amongst the tables, swatting at the bug. “It is not dying.” Pausing in his efforts to kill the insect a second time, he tilted his head to one side. “But maybe this is being very good for business. Sick people will die and then be popping back.”
“How can that possibly be good?” I demanded as I ducked out of the way of the mosquito as it zoomed at Dr. Ribeiro. “Normal humans might be blind at times but even they will start to notice something is wrong when their evening meal comes back to life and crawls off the butchering block.”
Death raised his eyebrows at me. “Miss Knight, there is only one way we can return the cycle, and we can no longer delay.”
Grimacing, I nodded.
“When do you leave?” Cilla asked just as the bell over the front door chimed.
“We’re closed, as the sign on the door clearly states,” I said, raising my voice and wondering if the visitor was blind or illiterate.
“I know, my dear, I know,” a gruff voice boomed.
Even before I inhaled the canine stench of werewolf and swiveled in
my seat to face him, I knew who it was. His footsteps thudded against the wooden floorboards as he approached the counter. My hands clenched, and the cup in my metal hand cracked and shattered.
Her lips peeling back into a snarl, Koki hissed at the visitor, “You have some nerve.”
I stood up, pushing the chair away from me in case I needed space to swing my walking stick at my former mentor and employer. Prof. Runal stopped a few paces away, his gaze fixed on mine. His physical presence overwhelmed me: his height, his girth, his meaty hands and large boots. He scratched at the full beard that covered his ample jowls, his sizable nose twitching.
“I suppose there is one bright spot in all this,” I said through gritted teeth. “If you attempt to murder me again, I’ll return to life and make your existence miserable.”
His lips twitched into a thin smile under his beard. “It already is miserable, my dear, it already is.”
“Good,” I spat. “You deserve to be miserable after what you did: you murdered my parents and then attempted to kill me. All those years, you pretended to care for me when all along, you were the source of my troubles.”
Koki leaned across the counter and loudly whispered in my ear, “I’d be more than happy to decapitate him. Let’s see him return to life after that.”
“No,” I said. “It would make a mess everywhere, and I just had the wood sanded.”
Glancing between us, Death tapped one end of his spear against the floor and said, “As entertaining as this is, we need to go, Miss Knight.”
“You’re accompanying him to visit Enkai?” Prof. Runal asked, his voice filling the space.
“What is it to you?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest, my face pinched even as I marveled at his ability to know our plans almost before we did.
“I wish you’d let me explain,” Prof. Runal said, his words ending in a sigh.
