Dragon pig had disappeared and reappeared with a very put-out Bathin and an injured Ryder in tow.
Knowing there wasn’t any place in the world where Bathin could escape the dragon’s reach was one of the only reasons I slept at night.
“All right,” I said, breaking up the kissy-kissy looks. “Don’t you two need to be going? God mail waits for no man. Or woman. Or pig.”
“Hello, Reed Daughters,” a mellifluous voice said from behind me.
I turned, and the unicorn trotted around with me so that she was once again hiding behind my legs. She stuck her head out to one side and watched the man stroll our way.
Well, not man. God. Death. Than.
He wore expensive gray slacks, shiny black shoes, and a light-brown leather jacket which was unzipped. Beneath that was an outrageously yellow T-shirt with100% Ordinarysplashed in red across it.
Than was tall, lean, and carried himself with an unconscious authority that commanded attention. His hair was dark and trimmed to perfection, his skin pale, and unwrinkled. His eyes were deep and black as the night, cool and endless as the ages, older even than time.
He caught me staring and tipped one eyebrow up. There was amusement in those eyes now, but he didn’t smile. I’d never seen him smile.
“Hey, Than,” Delaney said. “Myra’s going to handle your training for the day. Show you the ropes.”
“As you wish.” He turned his body to fully face me, and his attention carried weight. “The creature behind you?”
“Yes?” I asked.
“What is it?”
“What does it look like?”
“A unicorn!” Xtelle stomped out from behind me, head lifted high. “I, sir, am a unicorn.”
Than notched his unsettling gaze downward to her. “I see.”
His cool gaze drifted back to me. “You know what she is?”
“Yes. This tiny horse thing was her choice.”
“Why?”
“Because if she were to run around Ordinary in her true form, it would cause havoc.”
“Indeed, it would.”
“All right,” Delaney said. “Call me if you need anything or if anything weird happens.”
“Weird in Ordinary,” Than mused. “I do wonder what that would entail.”
Delaney laughed and she and Ryder headed toward his truck.
They didn’t catch the way Death directed his gaze back to the unicorn/not-unicorn.
They didn’t catch the way his eyes went hard and bright.
Chapter 12
The unicorn refusedto ride in the trunk no matter how many times I told her to get back in there. She settled into the backseat and was not happy about it.
But hey, driver makes the rules, and Death rides shotgun.
I handed the other laws and rules book to Than. “Read through this and be ready for some pop quizzes. Later, you’ll have to take a written test.”
