NIKO’S FINGERS STAGED A MASS PROTEST by spreading a serious case of pins and needles across his palm and over his ten digits. The reason? His refusal to reach out and touch the girl seated beside him like a delectable feast. Just one touch, his fingers begged. He wanted to delay his gratification, which his obstinate fingers didn’t seem to understand. When he’d seen her exit the hospital and cross the road without a second thought to oncoming traffic, a fierce protectiveness almost claimed his composure. His heart flat-lined and only resumed beating when she’d reached his side. He thought about his previous conversation with Tomas. He couldn’t let himself believe that what he felt for Arianne would be in any way fleeting. With each day that he spent in her company, he only grew more enamored by the way she smiled or the animated way she spoke or how much she cared for her sister and best friend.
As he drove through Blackwood, she’d lapsed into stories of her adventures with Carrie and Ben after she’d run out of guesses as to his identity. He wanted to tell her, then and there, but he needed to confer with Tomas first. Bringing a human consort into the fold wasn’t uncommon, but it was a delicate process. The trust level alone…Niko pushed the thought away. He had time, and he knew in his heart of hearts that Arianne would take it well. She could already see the dead. From his perspective, it was only a matter of time until she figured things out. He admired the cool collectiveness she exhibited. She knew he wasn’t human, but she didn’t shun him or feel fear. She’d explained that it stemmed from being able to see souls. That she’d grown used to the unknown. But to Niko, he saw it as an unparalleled open-mindedness. Humans usually feared what they didn’t understand. Arianne endeavored to find answers to her questions instead of being swallowed up by fear.
Listening to her animated chatter, he eased the Mustang into the garage of his home. Her story of Carrie jumping into a river died.
“Your garage is underground?” She’d asked after all the king’s horses and all the king’s men put her slack face back together again.
“I thought it would be practical,” he said as he parked the car beside a black Yamaha.
“You have a motorcycle too?” Arianne didn’t wait for him to open the door for her. She jumped out and walked around his bike, admiring it like someone would a large guard dog. She reached out to touch it, but yanked her hand back as if an invisible electric fence prevented her from making contact with the polished chrome. “Why don’t you ride or drive to school if you have them?”
Niko closed the car door she’d left open. “Sickleton believes it’s more human to ride the bus. The less attention I get, the better I blend in.”
“Tough. You hang out with Darla. And with your looks—” she circled a finger in front of his face “—attention is all you’ll get. You’ve got half the school drooling over you. And you not joining any clubs or teams makes you even more mysterious. If blending in is your goal, I’d say you’re not doing such a good job at it.”
“You think I’m handsome?” He bent forward enough that she flushed.
She pushed him away playfully. “Keep walking, mister. Who’s Sickleton again?”
“My Caretaker. The one who met us at the door the other day.”
“Transparent sour puss? He’s not a ghost, or at least I don’t think he’s like the souls of the dead I see. He has clothes, for one thing. But he said something interesting. He said he couldn’t go near you or you’d drain him.”
Smirking at the term Arianne used for Sickleton, he finally answered the call of his fingers and took her hand. The lunar landing had nothing on how his fingers rejoiced at the contact. A smile brightened his features as he guided her to one end of the garage.
“He’s a guardian spirit. Not human. And he’s pure energy, so if I did get near him that day, I would have taken everything he had.”
“Whoa!” She yanked at his arm. “You have an elevator in your house?”
Niko thumbed the button and the doors parted. They entered, and he pressed another button on the panel. “The elevator is probably one of the few normal things in the house.” He cupped her face with both hands. “You might see or experience some unexplainable things here. It’s technically a different dimension inside. I think you’ll be fine. But—” he kissed her forehead “—if you feel dizzy or lightheaded or anything weird, tell me.”
She nodded.
“Promise me,” he insisted as the doors opened.
“I promise,” she whispered.
They entered a hallway that the elevator funneled into. At the end stood a young boy and girl. They held hands, looking like porcelain dolls in lace and ruffles—black on black, which stood out from their ivory skin and emerald eyes. Niko felt Arianne hesitate.
“Ari, meet Rome and Paris.” He indicated the boy first then the girl with a sweep of his other hand.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Arianne held out a hand for a shake, but both kids bowed instead. She glanced at Niko.
“It’s better if you don’t touch them,” he assured.
“Master, we…” Rome began.
“…weren’t expecting you,” Paris finished.
“Is something the matter?” Niko squatted so he was at eye level with them.
“We were planning…” Paris started.
“…to clean the house,” Rome completed.
Letting go of Arianne, Niko rested a hand on each of their shoulders. “You don’t have to stop that task on our account. We’ll be in the kitchen and then the garden. Please let the Caretaker know we are not to be disturbed. Would that be all right?”
“Yes,” they said in unison. They turned around and skipped away, swaying their clasped hands.
“Master?” Arianne cocked an eyebrow at him as he straightened.
He reunited with her hand, suppressing a grin. “They’re my minions. Well, two of them, anyway. There are a few more running around somewhere in the house.”
“Uh!” She smacked his arm.
“What?”
“That was so insensitive!”
“Ari, they really are called minions. They’re not human even if they look like it. I created them to assist me with my duties.” Niko twirled Arianne around until they touched hip to hip, his hands on either side of her waist.
She put her hands on his chest, an annoyed pout still on her lips. “You created them?”
“Yes. They are a part of me, taking energy from me.”
“You let those children starve!” She smacked him again.
His confusion must have risen to the surface because Arianne quickly reminded him of his Fade.
“Ari, I won’t let that happen again.” He fell into her eyes. “They’re fine. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Now that you’re here.”
Once in the kitchen—which had high ceilings and granite counter tops and could handle cooking for up to two hundred guests and some to spare—Niko opened one of the fridge doors and assessed its contents. Arianne had taken a seat on a bar stool by the center island. She sipped on a glass of sweet raspberry iced tea and stared at the copper-bottom pots hanging above her.
“Are we ordering in?” she asked like she’d been there all her life.
Images flashed in his mind of waking up to see her in bed beside him, her face soft from slumber, sunlight playing in her hair. To be the first person she saw when she woke up. To have those eyes gazing upon him. To have her deem him worthy of her smile and kiss. He had to pause, relishing the feeling of having her in his domain. Of how right everything seemed.
“What are you in the mood for?” He glanced at her over his shoulder.
“Pizza?”
He reached into the fridge and freed a block of mozzarella, precut pepperoni, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and basil from their cold shackles. He balanced them all in his arms and used his heel to shut the door. “Why don’t I make you some? We have a stone oven out in the veranda. It’s a beautiful day for some home-cooked pizza. What do you say?”
With each sentence Niko spoke, Arianne’s eyes grew wider and wider. “You can cook?”
“Comes with living many lives.” He pulled a bag of flour, a can of yeast, a jug of warm water, and a jar of salt from the middle of the granite island and placed them on the counter in front of him.
While he mixed the ingredients to make the dough, Arianne said, “Do you have to be more perfect than you already are?”
“Oh, trust me—” half a smile tugged at one side of his face “—I’m far from perfect. I’m probably more flawed than people think. But I do make a mean pizza.”
“And humble too!”
He flicked some flour her way and she squealed. “What toppings do you want?”
She hopped off the stool and studied the assemblage before them. “I definitely want the pepperoni, mozzarella, and mushrooms. What else do you have?” She strode to the fridge with purpose and opened the door like she’d done it countless times before. Niko thought it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. She liberated a few more items and dumped them on the island. “You didn’t tell me you have almost every kind of cheese imaginable in there.” Her grin looked positively cheeky when she bumped her hip against his. “Let’s make it a five-cheese, pepperoni and mushroom pizza.”
“Aren’t you worried about the calories?” He raked his gaze over her.
“Jerk!”
He pulled her into the circle of his arms and took her hands. He proceeded to show her the proper technique of kneading. She rested against him and spread her fingers apart so his could easily guide her hands through the motions of properly tightening and relaxing her grip on the dough. He thought his knees would give out on him.
“I always like active participation when cooking,” she whispered, tilting her head up so she could face him without turning all the way around in his arms. An invitation sparkled in her eyes.
Niko couldn’t resist the temptation. Forget delayed gratification! He bent down and took her offered lips.
On the veranda, Niko checked on the pizza while Arianne set the table. She grabbed the cut-glass vase filled with orange carnations from the kitchen and placed it at the center of the table, adding a bowl of lemons as an accent. Next, she set out the plates, glasses, knives and forks, and the pitcher of iced tea. Napkins over the plates were her final touch. Niko watched her intently, loving how natural and at ease she seemed in his environment. He almost didn’t want to take her home at the end of the day. He wanted to keep her with him for as long as she’d let him.
“I think the pizza’s done,” she said, breaking the spell she’d cast over him.
Niko fumbled with the wooden paddle, which gifted him with a giggle from her. But he regained his poise by twirling the pizza cutter in his hand and slicing the cheesy pizza into eight symmetrically triangular slices. He slid the pie onto the waiting platter and carried it to their table. Large clouds gave them enough cover that they didn’t need an umbrella.
“The table’s beautiful, Ari.” He pulled out her chair for her and she sat down with a proud smile. “Where did you learn to be so creative?”
“Carrie and I played house all the time. And Mom taught me a thing or two.” She poured the both of them some tea, ice dancing in their glasses.
Niko served her. The strings of cheese kept the slice tethered to the pie like a dirigible. But with a flick of his wrist, he placed the perfect triangle on her plate. He served himself before sitting down across from her.
Arianne took a bite of the pizza and hummed. She licked her fingers with audible smacks. “Yup, a mean pizza. What?”
“Pardon?” Niko bit into his slice.
“Do I have something on my face? You were staring.” She gulped down her tea with relish.
He chewed then swallowed. “I just haven’t seen anyone enjoy eating the way you do. Like you’re in a daydream.”
A self-conscious blush flooded her cheeks. She stared at her plate. “Is that a bad thing?”
“It’s something I could watch all day if you didn’t think it’d be creepy.”
“You’re right, it would be creepy.”
He laughed into his next bite.
“And you’re right about some stuff in your house not being normal,” she continued as if they were talking about the weather. “When I dropped you at the basement and I was ushered out of the house—”
Niko tsked. “I have yet to punish Sickleton for that.”
She polished off her first slice and reached for a second one with a shaky hand. “You don’t have to. He was only doing his…” She paused, confusion creased her forehead.
“Ari, are you all right?”
She shook her head. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Anyway, that day, I went around your house and didn’t see this magnificent garden.” She swept a hand to indicate the circus of color performing for them. Arianne swayed, almost tipping out of her chair.
Niko bolted out of his seat and stretched his arms to form a safety net to catch her before she fell over. “I’m taking you home.”
“But the pizza,” she murmured into his chest, eyes heavy lidded.
“I’ll wrap some up to go for you.”
“Good. Good.”
With his arms behind her shoulders and knees, he cradled her to his chest until her head lolled onto his collarbone for support. The blood-rush in his body from his overcompensating heart had his head feeling lighter than air. He couldn’t understand what had happened to Arianne. She’d been fine upon entering his domain. Now, only a couple of hours later, her body seemed so small, so fragile, like the most delicate glass figurines from the Murano glass blowers. Her breathing had become shallow and ragged, as if she fought to keep her lungs working. A chill, like a clammy hand, caressed his spine, bringing with it goose bumps over his arms and legs. He fought against the rising panic. If she withered because of being in his domain, then the simplest answer would be to take her out of it. He prepared to teleport when she spoke in a voice he’d only heard from those in their deathbeds. Her lips had begun to turn an alarming shade of blue, as if she’d been pulled out of frigid waters.
“Oh, before I forget…” She raised a limp finger.
“What is it, angel?” He kissed the top of her head. A spiked ball of worry bounced off the walls of his gut.
“Come with me tomorrow…” She’d fainted before she could finish her sentence.
Niko had just pressed send for a text he’d written to Arianne when Paris and Rome entered his room. He was still shaken from what had happened that afternoon. By the time he’d teleported Arianne and himself into her room and he began settling her into bed, she’d looked marginally better. Her pallor had receded so that her face returned to its cherries-and-cream complexion, and her breathing relaxed. He’d immediately called for Tomas after he’d been sure of Arianne’s recovery. The older Reaper had been detained because of the forest fires ravaging his state, but left word that he’d meet with Niko the next day.
“Master,” Paris and Rome said. They stood a respectful distance from his reading chair.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Niko slid his phone back into his pocket and tried his best to relax by releasing the breath he hadn’t realized he held in. His joints popped as he rolled his shoulders.
“The human…” Rome said.
“Arianne,” Niko corrected.
“Arianne.” Paris nodded her head once. “This is the first time…”
“…you’ve ever brought anyone into…”
“…your domain, Master,” she finished.
Looking from Paris to Rome, Niko asked, “And how do you feel about that?”
Rome cocked his head to the side. “Better.”
“Good.” Paris smiled like a little girl, all sugar and spice.
Niko’s surprise started with the raising of his eyebrows down to his widening eyes and ended with his parted lips. “Why?” Relief and happiness allowed him only that one word.
The twins glanced at each other and shared a silent nod before they regarded their master with a neutral expression.
“If having her here…” Rome began.
“…means you will no longer let yourself fade…” Paris continued.
“…then we can rest easy.”
“Master, your happiness…”
“…is paramount to us.”
Because he couldn’t contain himself any longer, Niko rose from his seat and moved toward the twins. He knelt down and ushered them with his arms into an embrace. An act he’d never done with his minions. He felt them stiffen for a moment before they surrendered to the show of affection.
“Master,” Paris said softly into Niko’s ear.
“Yes, child?” he breathed out.
Rome answered, “New Certificates have arrived for reaping.”
Laughter unfurled out of Niko’s chest. In a single heave, he carried the twins with him when he stood. They hooked their arms around his neck, question marks in their eyes. After the last of his chuckles left the room, he said, “Let’s get to work then.”